Medium deep garnet with a touch of brick color, the 2001 The Steading is meaty, ripe and rich with really complex aromas of menthol, potpourri, sandalwood, some tobacco and leather. It is a touch sweaty on the palate but not unpleasantly so, and is followed with rich and full flavors, medium levels of grainy tannins, and a long and earthy finish. It is mature now and ready to drink. Importer: Wine Creek Cellars, Sonoma, CA.

The 2001 The Steading is an ageworthy effort. Made from the same blend as the Juveniles, but aged 18 months in old French and American hogsheads (300 liter barrels), it exhibits a deep plum/garnet color in addition to a big, spice-driven nose of cinnamon, pepper, soy, damp earth, dried herbs, and red as well as black fruits. Ripe, full-bodied, and complex, it is a French-styled red that should drink well for a decade. Importer: Deborah Gray, The Australian Wine Connection, Carlsbad, CA; tel. (760) 438-5714

Ripe and distinctive, a generous mouthful of peppery blackberry, wild raspberry, mossy, mushroomy flavors all in wild profusion. It all lasts beautifully on the finish. An exciting wine with real personality. Grenache, Mataro (Mourvèdre) and Shiraz. Drink now through 2010. 4,000 cases made, 1,500 cases imported.??–HS??Region: Australia / Barossa / Barossa Valley Select to Add

This GSM is almost the same blend as the Juveniles (with “only a few parcels’ difference,” says winemaker Dan Standish), but it spends 18 months in oak. Me, I narrowly prefer the Juveniles’ freshness—The Steading’s palate shows oak and cedar, and the heavier tannins that go with it. Nose is pretty closed. Very good, and perhaps one to revisit in a year or two. ——D.T.(2/1/2004)—— 89