Kilikanoon 2001 wines and lunch

Recently I received an invitation from Nathan Waks, MD of Kilikanoon Wines to attend a lunch club at The Mixing Pot Restaurant in Glebe where I would have the opportunity to try their 2001 release wines. Although it’s a two hour drive each way it sounded like a pleasant outing and a good chance to try their wines so I accepted the invitation.

It transpires this lunch club was started just after the Second World War and by a few University of Sydney academics who were into wine and food. It looked like there were one or two of the older members still around but it seemed rude to ask if they were original members but judging by their age they could have come close to being foundation members. The lunch club is currently being organised by Dr John Cook.

There are two legal entities involved in Kilikanoon. The first is Kilikanoon Wines Pty Ltd which in reality is just the winery and marketing machine. The second, in many ways seems more important. Watervale Estates (SA) Pty Ltd owns the vineyards that supplies Kilikanoon with the grapes. Watervale Estates is a private investment trust that currently owns thirteen vineyards and is still on the purchase trail. They also supply grapes to many of the major producers although Kilikanoon has first option on any new grape contracts. The two companies have a common Managing Director and probably boards. This operation is very forthright about their profit motivation.

Due to the dual structure of the organisation all the grapes are costed and sold to Kilikanoon and these grape costs are factored into the price of the finished wine, something that wineries that own their own vineyards would not necessarily take into account. It's just one example of the business and profit methodology used in running this operation.

Now before we get onto the tasting notes some interesting news about a new venture between the Kilikanoon and their winemaker, Kevin Mitchell and Rolf Binder of Veritas fame. The plan is to start producing some wines jointly (limited quantities from 2002 vintage) to capitalise on the names and reputations of these two winemakers and their wineries. There are a number of wines on the drawing boards for the “Binder Mitchell Wine Company” which will utilise the best that both have to offer. Fruit from the Barossa will be provided by Binder and fruit from other Watervale Estates vineyards will be contributed to the combined operation. Whilst there are a number of different wines planned one of the first is a single vineyard Shiraz from the “exciting” Southern Flinders Ranges (but most of them will be multi regional wines). According to information from Watervale Estates, “the major wineries are eager for quality fruit from this area (Flinders Ranges Vineyards) as it is one of the first to ripen is SA (reds were picked in January 2001)”.

During our conversation Nathan informed me that a major factor behind this venture was Heritage Fine Wines which will have first option of the wines for their investors. As they will be pitched at the $30 price point I would guess they were aimed at the “Heritage Ready to Drink” monthly packages rather than being sold for investment purposes.

Prior to the reds, a Rose and three Rieslings were served but being a red bigot I passed on these wines and drank water instead. All the reds are made in a ‘hands on’ traditional manner and most of the grapes are hand picked.

It was hard to accurately assess the bouquet of the reds as the glasses were not ideal and the food arrived as the same time as the wines; for example the gorgonzola sauce on the pancakes was very aromatic and pervaded the room. As the flavours in the starters would have played havoc with my palate and this was a working lunch I passed on the entrée. For a main I had Barramundi (without the offered butter sauce), a good choice for a red bigot but it was no surprise to see so many go for the Ossa Bucca. It appears food and wine matching isn’t a great concern to this luncheon club, but a good time seems to be mandatory for all attendees. Onto the wine.

Kilikanoon Medley 2001 GSM sells for $25 at CD and is the first release of this wine. A sweet berry fruit driven nose with dark notes and some fairly prominent floral scents was all I could identify over the gorgonzola. Liquorice, plum and dark berry fruits provide some sweetness on the attack, a savoury mid palate and a lingering finish. The wine is ample weight with a slightly soft consistency, an almost seamless layered structure, and a harmonious complexity that holds some interest. A well made blend with obvious fruit and smooth velvety tannins which hold the wine together; it’s drinking well now and is unlikely to improve further. Rated as Recommended with *** for value.

Kilikanoon Prodigal 2001 Grenache sells for $25 at CD. The bouquet of wine is locked up tight and didn’t show much at all. Deep strong fruit provides the stuffing for this full bodied wine that is well supported by smooth unobtrusive tannins and balanced acid. The wine has a great flavour profile (for a Grenache) with no lolly characteristics, far from it; the flavours are savoury plum, chocolate, cherry and long lingering liquorice. This is a very good Grenache and one of the few I could recommend buying. The consistency is supple, structure almost seamless and the complexity agreeable but harmonious. Rated as Recommended with *** for value it should drink well over the next four years and I preferred it to the GSM.

Kilikanoon Blocks Road 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon sells for $27 at CD. It exhibited sweet cassis fruit, almost dusty oak, milk chocolate, sweet mint and eucalyptus on the bouquet. Smooth ultra fine grained unobtrusive tannins do a good job of hiding but they are there to provide a solid backbone and supple consistency to this ample weight wine with an agreeable level of complexity. The palate is a bit of a surprise due to the sweet characteristics of the bouquet. Taste is very savoury berry on the attack, milk chocolate and some sweet berry flavours on the mid palate with dark, almost bitter chocolate on the finish. Not exactly varietally correct but a nice well made Cabernet (that lacks distinction) but one that should get better with time. Rated as Recommended with *** for value. It should enter its drinking window in a few years.

Kilikanoon Oracle 2001 Shiraz sells for $40 at CD. Nothing subtle about this wine with its big fruity black plummy nose with liquorice and chocolate that was dominated by coffee essence when the wine opened up. Ultra smooth tannins and deep obvious strong fruit provide the backbone for this full bodied rich wine with a big solid structure and harmonious well developed complexity. Savoury cherry on the uptake which is underpinned by sweet plums and coffee on the finish, the wine has very good intensity of mouth filling flavours without being heavy. The finish as expected in a wine of this class was respectable. A big wine which drinks well now but will need about four years to start showing its best, its rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value; the rating should increase as it matures.

Summary

All the wines are consistently well made and stylistically similar with lashing of fruit driving the wines. Only the Oracle will be a longer term wine and the other three will show short to medium term improvement. Nathan was unashamed about the limited availability of the Oracle Shiraz, Covenant Shiraz (not tasted) and Blocks Road Cabernet. The only way these wines are available from the winery are in mixed dozens (two bottles of each of the three previously mentioned wines with three of the Grenache and three of the GSM.)  Club Members get a 20% discount from RRP.