Canberra Great Cabernet Dinner

After a very successful run of Great Shiraz Dinners the theme changed to the other red bigot’s love, Cabernet (bad pun intended.) Bert normally likes small affairs (hope his wife isn’t reading this – {grin}) but it’s just as well he booked Anise as we wound up taking over the whole restaurant with an attendance of 59 people. (See photo)

Upon arrival we were handed a glass of Brands Sparkling Cabernet. I tried this wine at Wine Australia eighteen months ago and was less than impressed with it. Although I tried hard to like it this time, not much has changed. The wine is still simple, overly sweet and over priced. Sparkling reds should ideally be consumed at 10 degrees Celsius and this wine was served far to cold which was just as well as the cold helped reduce the overt sweetness, which is no doubt why some people still managed to enjoy it.

Over the next few hours we were presented with three flight of wine, two different wines in each flight. We were given a list of thirteen wines and had to try and match or guess the first five wines to the list. The last glass was a mystery wine. Those that didn’t wish to participate in the wine geeks (wankers?) guessing game antics were welcome to sit back and enjoy the wine and food with out the pressure of trying to win the prize. However, no one was excluded from the chance of winning. Bert had a reverse raffle for all the people who were not playing the wine game. (See photo of winner)

As I was feeling lazy and sitting next to another wine geek, Brian Handreck (aka Red Bigot) and across from a very fine nose, (Brian’s partner) Andrea, many of the descriptors used are theirs, however the comments and conclusions are mine and mine alone.

The first two wines were very different.

Wine one – had a ripe well integrated inviting nose showing berries, prominent spearmint and some mint. The tannins were smooth, fine grained, well integrated but still maintained a good grip; the acid still fairly youthful and the fruit was balanced to perfection. The wine was well rounded, mid weight, a complete wine showing some elegance and obvious age. Palate flavors were blackberry, blackcurrant, cherry and mint. As the wine opened up, it showed coffee, toffee and caramel on the nose. The wine was rated as Excellent and my second top wine of the night.

Whilst the wine had some obvious age based on the choices available I felt it was most likely a 95 or 96 and that narrowed it down to a choice between 95 Moss Wood, 96 Thomas Hardy or 96 Orlando Jacaranda. The toffee oak flavor of this wine reminded me of the 96 Orlando Centenary Hill, and as I had not tried the other two options, I guessed the Jacaranda. At the end of the formal part of the proceedings the wine was unveiled as the 96 Orlando Jacaranda Cabernet Sauvignon.

Wine two – showed a huge amount of sludge and tannins. (See photo) When I did the “blot test” this wine showed up as having less color intensity than the first wine. The bouquet of this wine was even more inviting than the first wine. It seemed very complex showing intense ripe fruit, almond liqueur, and “Alpine cigarette” loads of menthol. Unfortunately as inviting as the nose was, this is one of those unusual cases where the palate does not deliver what the nose promises. Judging by the huge amount of unresolved tannins and slightly sharp aggressive acid, this seemed like a very young wine. As Brian said “it’s a big extracted bastard” and the wine still obviously needs time. However I would not be prepared to bet my money on which will win out in the long run, the fruit or the tannins.

The wine complimented the Salmon fillets in balsamic vinegar and olives and its obvious it really needs food to show its best. I knew that wine needed time to show its best so left a fair bit of it in the glass to give it an opportunity. At the end of the night I still had not warmed to it and it was my least favorite wine on the night and rated as Highly Recommended.

Based on the aggressive youthful tannins and acid, I thought this most probably was one of the 98 vintage wines. Based on the fact that by the end of the night after tasting all the others and this being my least preferred wine, I went for the cheapest of the 98 options, I guessed it was the 98 St Hugo. I was quite shocked when it was unmasked to find out it was the 96 Thomas Hardy Cabernet.  I could not believe the poor value this wine represents with a list price of $84.95.

Wine three – looked and smelt like a very young wine but there was no doubting its quality and attraction. The unintegrated bouquet showed blackcurrant, sawdusty oak, musk, mint and nose clearing menthol as the wine opened. (I was convinced with the musk there was some merlot in the wine – wrong.) The wine was “yum” – ample weight big fruit flavors with very soft tannins. A complex array of flavors on the palate showing blackcurrant, chocolate, liquorice and mocha. This wine is rated as Highly Recommended and that rating should improve with time.

I guessed it was a 98 Coonawarra and based on the quality and available options suspected it was the Katnook Odyssey. It was unveiled as the 98 Orlando St Hugo that just goes to prove what great value this wine was at less than $30 a bottle. It was my third favorite wine of the night and one I would be happy to drink anytime.

Wine four – trouble here, the nose shows some chary oak, something I am not at all fond of (understatement,) the rest of the intensely lifted nose was very warm with a distinct sweetness, and liquorice. Smooth fine-grained tannins, very youthful acid but its balanced and well integrated with the sweet fruit. The palate exhibits blackcurrant, liquorice and mint on the finish.

A very big-bodied wine with intense fruit forward character which came up big time as the wine opened. My first impression (did not change) was “a very up market crowd pleaser” and that many people would love. I didn’t for two reasons, the first is that I don’t like chary oak and the second is that I found it a bit simple. Rated as Highly Recommended I ranked it second last on the night. Based on its youth, appeal and my gut feel, I guessed it was the 98 Pepper Tree Reserve Cabernet and when it was unveiled, that’s exactly what the wine was, two right out of four.

These wines were served with Quail on polenta with cherry tomatoes and some funny green stuff. The food and wine match was once again very good with no clashing flavors and clashing food and wine flavors are easy to achieve.

Wine five was the last of the “guessing game” wines. This wine left the deepest blot test of the night with a dark impenetrable color; the red bigot end of the night had arrived. A wonderful rich and complex aroma shot out of the glass showing spicy roast cinnamon, fennel, a rich berry aroma and a slight level of VA. A luscious huge mouthful of almost strawberry jam flavor, blackcurrant, liquorice and chocolate lingered on the palate and combined with the very fine grained tannins, youthful balanced acid and classy French Oak to produce what to me was the wine of the night. Brian summed up the wine perfectly, “it’s got the lot, fruit, oak and structure.” Rated as Outstanding, as I thought it was a 98 and based on the quality, available options and the reputation of the wine I guessed it was the 1998 Balnaves The Tally Reserve Cabernet. When it was unmasked that what it turned out to be. My favorite wine of the night and no doubt many other peoples too.

This wine was accompanied by the mystery wine of the night. As I knew what this wine was, I asked the others around me for their comments and opinions. White pepper and tomato leaf with a slightly herbaceous nose that blew off as the wine opened and moved into the liquorice spectrum. The wine was very well balanced with loads of tannins and built for the long haul. Initially it was fairly lean, to the point of not having enough fruit, but as it opened up it improved dramatically. The black current flavors were long and lingering, or as Brian said “a real, complete wine rather than a fruit driven drop.” I rated the wine as Excellent and it may improve as it ages. Most of the participants felt would it rate as the second or third best wine of the night. I then conducted the options game and the first question, “the price on release,” knocked out the majority of the players, so after a few more options we were down to two players. The options game was eventually won the Brian Handreck (aka Red Bigot) (see photo) and the wine was unveiled as the 1998 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon.

These two wines were accompanied with the choice of roast fillet of lamb or rare kangaroo fillet and once again the food and wine match was superb.

The final course was a cheese plate, all King Island, a cloth matured Black Label Cheddar which was very mature and full of flavor, a Black Label Brie and a Blue. All perfect with the Campbells Liquid Gold Tokay, a personal favorite of mine and one I convinced Bert use as the closing wine for the Cabernet dinners.

I have been to the three Winestar Canberra Dinners, one in Melbourne and one in Adelaide and whilst they were all very good, this one was the best. They just keep getting better and better. Also, they are now even better value as the wine companies are helping by subsidizing the cost of the wine. This dinner cost $129 and we consumed about $100 (at retail) of wine per head. Not a bad deal.

Cheers

Ric ©