Feature Story - Wine Australia 2002
Sydney Time
Copyright © Ric Einstein 2008
Well, it was on again. Plonk OZ 2002 promised a measly 7000 bottles of wine and only four days to drink them, but my task was made a lot easier because 3721 of them were c-through.
There was only one major improvement over Plonk Oz 2000 and that was an additional 3000 bottles of wine, mainly from producers that few people have ever heard of, let alone tried. However there were many disadvantages. Firstly due to the size of event, the Victorian producers had their own pavilion and unfortunately a number of people didn't even realise they were there. Secondly there was a distinct lack of drinking water in the pavilions and whilst many would say why drink water when you can drink all that wine, adequate water is a necessity at these events. The third shortcoming was the lack of nibbles available to cleanse one's palate. The fourth detraction was the abysmal lack of seating. My final gripe was the mandatory dose of flu or a cold that was handed out as a lucky door prize to all attendees.
As a result I have been unable to drink wine and have been in bed for days; I am cranky!
Interesting to note a few major players who were not in attendance, like Peter Lehmann; as well as the expected absence of a myriad of cult players and well subscribed smaller wineries that don't need the exposure.
It was great to see many of the smaller wineries (and some of the larger ones) had their icon wines available for tasting. Jim Barry for example had the Armagh, BVE had the Black Pepper, d'Arrys had the lot, Houghton had the Jack Mann, Yalumba had the Octavius etc. At the other extreme, Rosemount had the Balmoral on Friday but only the low end stuff on display on Sunday. The most prestige wine I saw available for tasting at the Penfolds stand was the Bin 389. Likewise on the Hardys stand the most impressive wine on display was the Tintara Shiraz, no Eileen, Thomas, etc.
Of the fifty eight wines I tried at Plonk Oz 2002 only two were clearly defective bottles, one badly suffering from TCA and one "not quite right." What was more of a concern was there were a few with wine making faults what were clearly detectable. I guess some wineries are not overly concerned about producing borderline technically faulty wine as long as they sell the stuff, even if it costs $50 a bottle or more.
Ok, onto the notes. Prior to the opening day of Plonk Oz, Winestar held its inaugural Great Cabernet Dinner in Sydney. Not a bad way to start a few days of serious wine analysis.
An unseasonably warm winters night saw sixty people gather at Le Goulue Restaurant in Crows Nest for dinner. Many of the well-known identities from a number of wine forums were in attendance as well as the usual wine loving axe murders who attend these sorts of functions.
Upon arrival Bert thrust a glass of c-through Frog Bubbles into my paw and said, "Here, drink this." With that kind of subtlety, I had to try it. Humm, not bad at all I thought. Yeasty, crisp apple with some elegance, not at all over the top. I could enjoy drinking this on a quiet Sunday morning. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value, the wine was Louis Roederer Brut Premier Champagne and its better than a lot of others at a similar price level.
The first wine served with dinner was the "Mystery Wine" It was dark purple in colour with the nose showing lots of dark fruit, cassis, blackcurrant, mint and loads of oak. Tannins are smooth and are starting to integrate, the acid is crisp and there is enough deep and strong fruit buried under the pantechnicon load of tannins to ensure this wine will be stunning in another 6 years. It's a robust full-bodied wine with very firm consistency and a harmonious level of complexity with a huge long finish. Rated as Excellent (with potential to improve) it should peak in about another six years and hold for many after that time. The wine was 1994 Penfolds Bin 707 and was received by the guests as very much a love it or hate it style.
From here on in, we were trying to match the next five wines to a list of thirteen possible options. At the end of the evening the bottles were unveiled.
The next wine had a complex soft sweet fruit forward lifted nose showing multiple dark fruits, eucalyptus and spearmint. This is the sort of wine I can sit and sniff all night. The subtle tannins are there, but are deceptive because of their silky velvety nature. The mouth filling fruit flavours are strong and concentrated but well-balanced showing plums, blackberry, and aniseed. It's an ample weight rich wine with supple consistency, seamless structure, harmonious complexity and whilst it's drinking perfectly now, it has enough backbone to last for a while. This is a very smart wine indeed with an obvious high calibre. I loved it and rated it as Excellent. It was unveiled as the 1996 Orlando Jacaranda Ridge.
These two wines were served with Steamed Tuna Fillet and Seared Scallops with Miso Butter - delicious.
Unfortunately at this time I was a little distracted by the lovely lady sitting next me so the notes on some of the following wines may be a bit brief. The next wine showed some class and was obviously very well constructed showing black fruit, liquorice and chocolate. It's a full-bodied wine that just glided down my throat and was absolutely perfect with the Duck Confit and Cassis Sauce. Rated as Excellent, it was unveiled to be the 1996 Tahbilk Reserve Cabernet. It was a toss up between this wine and the Jacaranda for my wine of the night.
The other wine in this bracket was the 99 Moss Wood Cabernet and many thought it was the wine of the night. Unfortunately the dreaded TCA struck and between the corked bottle and a comedy of errors by the staff who were incapable of finding the back up bottle, I didn't get to try it. (sad smiley)
The first wine of the next bracket had a closed nose but it still showed a huge intense inky iodine aniseed black fruity character. The tannins were velvety and the intense mouth filling flavours of liquorice, blackcurrant and plums with a mint finish were monolithic and more Shiraz like than Cabernet in their character. The wine has a velvety, rich consistency, a seamless structure and an agreeable level of complexity. However a wine this monolithic with only an agreeable level of complexity results in a wine that seems simple and a caricature of a wine. The wine seems to have been built to please a certain US critic, stand out in a show line up and please crowds with more money than sense. Rated as Highly Recommended, my feelings were confirmed when it was unveiled as 1998 Wolf Blass Black Label Cabernet, this was my least enjoyable wine of the night.
The final wine of the night had a smooth silky full-bodied nose showing rich fruit and similar to the previous wine, but not as big. The wine was well made and well constructed with a long finish that was much better balanced than the previous wine. The problem was the Blass Black Label had bombarded my palate into submission and whilst I knew I was drinking a very good wine, my sensed had been dulled. I rated this wine as Excellent and was surprised when it was unveiled as 1998 Balnaves The Tally. At the Canberra dinner, the Tally was more enjoyable and interesting; once again confirming the hit the wine had taken by being served after the Blass Black Label.
Accompanying the final two reds was either Grain Fed Farmed Bugs Bunny with Madeira Sauce or Tian Of Lamb Loin with Provencal Vegetables Olives and Rosemary Jus. The food was scrumptious. For desert the choice was Apple Tart with Grand Marnier Ice Cream or a Selection of Cheese. Campbells Liquid Gold Tokay was the perfect accompaniment to the final course. The two top up wines were the 99 St Hugo and the 99 Katnook, both very good wines for the price but I prefer the St Hugo (Highly Recommended.)
About an hour after Cinderella's coach turns back into a pumpkin, one Starboy and a couple of ugly mates were seen heading in the direction of a late night pub for a quick and quiet cleansing ale. And if you believe they were quiet or quick, call your local GP for a reality check.
Day one of Plonk Oz 2002 and I meet Red Bigot (Brian) and his good mate Wal (who is a c-through bigot; where does Brian get these friends) bright and early outside the Victorian Pavilion waiting for it to open. You can trust Brian to find the Victorian Pavilion, you can take the boy out of Victoria and transplant him in Cantberra, but you can't take the Victorian out of the boy.
First producer to try is left to Brian. Seville Estate 2000 Shiraz showed liquorice, chocolate, chary oak and a fair hit of VA on the nose. The palate was very aggressive. Rated as Barely Drinkable, not a good way to kick-start the taste buds.
Whilst we are at Seville Estate we decide to live dangerously and try their 2000 Reserve Shiraz that showed pepper and raw oak on the nose with liquorice and dark fruit on the palate. It's a muscular weight wine with a solid structure and agreeable complexity. I must have been feeling generous as I rated it as Recommended.
After this rather lack lustre start, my olfactory resources can do without Brian's gambling for a while and require a safe as houses bet so I nosey on over to the Mount Langi stand where we try the 99 Langi Shiraz. Purple in colour, the nose exhibited white pepper, dark fruit and aniseed. The wine has ample body weight, a firm consistency and a layered elegant structure. The palate has a nose sneeze full of pepper, plummy fruit and liquorice. A good example of a Victorian Shiraz with a long finish that needs about another two years to show its best. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value I don't think this was the same wine Jeremy Oliver tried. By chance, whilst typing this up I looked at his book and he rates it at 16.5 and drink from 2001-2004. Very different impressions.
Mount Langi 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon has a RRP of approximately $38. A well balanced nose shows spice (almost pepper) and dark fruit which translates to sweet cassis on the uptake, a peppery aniseed character on the mid palate and a savoury cherry finish. Although the wine is reasonably refined it has ample weight and a solid structure with some elegance and a developed level of complexity. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value, it should peak after 2005.
Brian's turn to pick again and he spots Berrys Bridge which based on his experience on a prior vintage should redeem his opening gambit. The Berry Bridge 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon shows warm cassis and mint with oaky notes on the nose which translates into sweet upfront ripe fruit on the palate, slightly flat and hollow on the mid palate but came through with a credible finish. It's a medium weight wine with dusty tannins, supple consistency and an agreeable complexity. Rated as Recommended with ** for value at a street price of $40.
Berrys Bridge 2000 Shiraz has a RRP at $32 at CD (or $40 street price) and shows loads of menthol with lifted fruit on the nose. Unfortunately there is a big hollow hole in the mid palate and whilst the length of the finish is adequate, the tannins are very bitter. Rated as Agreeable with * for Value.
Just as well its my turn to choose next and it's a safe bet, one of Brian's favourites, David Jones, no - not the store - the winemaker for Dalwhinnie can be seen lurking behind a corner booth.
Dalwhinnie 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon ($40) has an earthy nose with capsicum cedar and cigar box. On the palate there are loads of drying tannins and pure deep, but well buried fruit. It will take at least five years for the cassis and liquorice to surface from under the oak and tannins that currently dominate the palate. Despite its ample weight, the wine has a refined complexity and an elegant structure that should put on weight as it matures. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value.
Dalwhinnie 2000 Shiraz is an ample weight wine showing fine-grained drying tannins and beautiful pure deep savoury black cherry fruit. The layered structure and sophisticated complexity adds up to another beauty from Dalwhinnie that just needs time, about another 5 years should do it. Rated as Highly Recommended (the rating may improve as it matures) with *** for vale at $50.
Brian's pick and he goes for safety, there has to be something good on the Seppelts stand and there is, the 1998 Seppelts St Peters Shiraz but if they think this wine is worth $50 which is where they thought it may be priced, they are deluded. Subtle pepper, blackberry and mint on the nose that leads to a warm rich intense beautiful palate that follows the nose with the addition of aniseed. A muscular weight wine with pure distinct fruit, supple consistency and a refined harmonious complexity add up to a quality wine that despite having been made for the long haul, is approachable now. Rated as Highly Recommended.
My turn and its time to try my luck and trust some others opinions so we head to the Port Phillip stand and try the 2000 Shiraz (and Brian tried the Pinot too. -L ) The wine has intense pepper that dominates the palate and the pure strong fruit is deeply seated. It's an ample weight wine with solid structure showing some elegance even though the fruit is reasonably strong and has a long finish. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value at $30. (Don't ask me what I thought about the Peeno. -:) )
I pull a swiftie and select the next stand and should have known that cheaters never prosper. Tahbilk 1997 Reserve Shiraz has a typical Tahbilk nose showing earthy mushroom characters, aniseed, VA and menthol. On the uptake the wine shows sweet upfront fruit going into savoury black pepper, liquorice and mint. The finish is long, the flavour profile is good but the wine "lacks something" and is rated as Recommended with * for value.
Brian's belated turn and he decides enough is enough and takes me to one he has tried before that I haven't, but then there is one there that I have tried and he hasn't, so are we even? I tell him to try the 1998 Mitchelton Cabernet Sauvignon and he tells me to try the Mitchelton 1998 Print Label Shiraz. Now we are cooking, a complex nose of various black fruits that's just screams "sniff me and drink if you dare." The wine has great structure, loads of drying fine grained tannins and layered complex pure flavours derived from the pure deep strong fruit tasting of peppery black berry, plums and prunes. A full-bodied intense rich sweet wine with perfectly balanced tannins, with a developed complexity that's well worth buying, why didn't I listen to Brian when I got him a six-pack at mate's rates and get some for myself? Rated as Excellent with **** for value at $40.
Right, Brian just hit a home run after my strike so it's his turn to bat again and he takes us to the BlackJack booth to have another gamble and says with a poker face, "I think these should be pretty good." Just as well he didn't bet the house.
BlackJack 2000 Cabernet Merlot exudes musk, earthy notes, menthol and spice. Brian summed up the palate description perfectly with "sweet juicy fruit" (the chewing gum.) It's an ample bodied wine with supple consistency and rather plain complexity. No doubt it will appeal to some, but I am not one of them although its good enough to be rated as Recommended with *** for value at $30.
BlackJack 2000 Shiraz has a slightly closed nose but still manages to express some sweet upfront fruit. On the palate you will find pepper, liquorice, chocolate and dark berry fruit. It has a good flavour profile but to me lacks something and the complexity is a bit simple. Its better than the Cabernet but still not great value and rated as Recommended with *** at $30.
Enough of this fun and frivolity in the Victorian section, looking at all these new producers in the Mornington Section trying to tempt punters with unknown labels with fruit from vines that are five minutes old and asking fives times what the green unripe stuff from the 2000 vintage is worth was getting depressing, so it was time to head for red bigot heaven, the South Australia section.
So we head down the road and into the new pavilion which is fairly vast and what do we see? More new names than the most sophisticated "crims" could come up with as aliases. Literally many hundreds of wineries that we have never heard of and just like Victoria, the majority are from new vines. It's Friday early afternoon and we decide to wander round. Surprise surprise, the majority of the players are playing it safe and sticking to the well known brands, the majority of the new brands stands look about as popular as a priest in red light district trying to convert the "ladies."
Brian and I amble around to get a feel for the place, after all we have both recently spent time is South Australia so how much is there from that section we really want to taste? Can't be much more can there? Bingo! We spot the Langhorne Creek stand and we both want to try the 1999 Lakes Breeze Wine Makers Selection Shiraz that had been recently released. When we received the News Letter Brian asked me if I wanted to split a case and I declined saying we could try it at the show first which with 20-20 hind sight was a smart move from me.
The nose is gently lifted with some VA, liquorice, plums and complex dark fruit. The dominant piquant acid may eventually soften into the pure fruit. Although the wine has ample weight, it shows some elegance in its structure with an agreeable level of complexity; the finish of liquorice and plums is very long but unfortunately the wine does not have the hedonism of the 98. There will be some that love the refinement of this wine but I could only rate it as Recommended with ** for value at $35.
Lakes Breeze 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon (there was no Cabernet WMS) has a lifted fragrant floral nose which comes through onto the palate as upfront sweet blackberry fruit that progresses into savoury liquorice flavours with good length. An ample weight wine with a solid layered structure and more than agreeable level of complexity that just needs about another 3 years plus to show its best. Rated as Recommended with *** for value, the rating should improve with time.
Next to Langhorne Creek is a stand that was manned by an old telephone acquaintance that would win the Plonk Oz 2002 Award for being able to talk underwater with a mouthful of marbles whilst drinking some of his own reds, not a mean feat. Do I dare risk introducing myself, why not; it can't be more expensive than my phone bill when I last bought his wine. So we nosey on up and Tony De Lisio of Classic McLaren Wines and start muttering a few words. A big beam comes to Tony's face and he splutters "Mr Einstein!!!" (I look around seeing if my father is standing behind me and feel like answering, "well who do you expect mate, Dr Livingstone or Professor Einstein?" But I bite my tongue - oouch that hurt - and answer, "no it's Ric, good to finally meet you Tony."
And they are off and racing in the third race of the day at Fox Studios, the Verbal Stakes. …But its easy to forgive Tony's chatter, he is extremely passionate about his product and anyone who genuinely loves what they produce as much as he does, has every right to be proud and enthusiastic about their product. I have some of Tony's wines going back to the early 90's, some with plain typed labels that state nothing more than the name of the wine and the vintage, so I was looking forward to trying his line up.
Tony being a bloody comedian offers me a GreenAsh to start and when I pass on that grabs my glass and pours me a straight MerLot, knowing that I love that almost as much as GreenAsh.
La Testa 2000 Merlot has a bouquet dominated by cedary French Oak, floral musk, mint and dark chocolate; not your average Merlot by a long shot. The first thing that strikes your palate senses is the fruit used in this wine is great, even from the poor 2000 vintage. The wine has supple consistency, ample weight, and a fairly developed complexity for a straight Merlot. Although it's obviously a Merlot of the highest quality, I still prefer this grape blended and Rated the wine as Recommended with * for value at $55.
Anyone tasting these wines will very quickly notice two things. Firstly, the whole range all have an obvious style that expresses itself as great quality intense fruit without being heavy or extracted. The second is the use of high quality French Oak.
La Testa 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon has a nose that is dominated by loads of cedar, cassis, chocolate fruit, liquorice and mint. It's a fruit rich, intensely flavoured wine without being heavy and Brian summed it up perfectly, "a true McLaren Vale varietal Cabernet." This wine is a great result from the 2000 vintage expressing ample weight, a solid layered structure that is well supported by tight tannins and deep distinct fruit. Rated as Highly Recommended with ** for value the rating should improve with time as it matures after 2005.
La Testa 2000 Blend (Shiraz, Grenache and Cabernet) has a lifted nose with a complex array of fruit aromas. This is a well balanced early drinking style wine with a very interesting flavour profile including chocolate, berries and plums. The medium weight supple consistency combines with a structure that shows some elegance and sophisticated complexity to make this a very food friendly wine. Rated as Highly Recommended with * for value, lovers of refined wines would go ape over this wine, but like many Pinots, it's a pity about the cost.
La Testa 2001 Blend (50% Shiraz, 40% Grenache and 10% Cabernet) has an intense nose with lots going on, including liquorice, perfume, raspberry and menthol. A medium weight wine with strong pure deeply seated fruit that comes across as an intensely flavoured well balanced wine without having any heavy or extracted characteristics. This is a very upmarket crowd pleaser, and I say that in the nicest possible way, because its almost impossible for anyone not to enjoy the liquorice, raspberry, chocolate and cassis that explode across the palate and linger for longer than the smell of a pooey nappy stays in the room after the baby has been changed. Rated as Highly Recommended with ** for value, I could go for this, even though I don't like the $55 price tag.
The flagship wine is the La Testa 2000 Shiraz. An inky black nose with the chocolate and mocha fruit characteristics dominating the oak. On the palate the wine comes across as very youthful, the tannins are incredibly tight and fine-grained and the lively crisp acid cuts through the fruit sweetness that finishes very long. I would love to try this wine again in five years. Rated as Highly Recommended with * for value.
To his credit, Tony realises the market for wines at these prices are limited and is ramping up production of his sub $20 range of wines. Quantity for the 2000 vintage is extremely limited but there will be lot more of the 2001 CMC Range wines available. They will be ones to watch out for with great flavour profile, *** to **** value food friendly easy drinking high quality wine. I did try some of them very briefly and although I didn't take notes, the conclusions were firmly stamped in place.
Round the corner we goes and where we stops no body nose, but wait, I smell (spot) the Mountadam stand. In days gone by I have never been much of fan of this winery because I found their wines a bit too subtle and way overpriced for my tastes. Recently I was having dinner in my local up market pizza joint and at the next table was a old friend and his wife who were drinking a bottle of 95 Mountadam The Red which I tried. For a wine from a generally very ordinary vintage, it was impressive. A couple of days later I was lucky enough to review a bottle of 98 The Red and it too was impressive. The prices are still not cheap, but whilst everyone and their dog has been lifting their prices faster than a groom lifts a brides nightie, their prices are no longer way as hard to take as previously.
Mountadam 99 Patriarch Shiraz is another wine with a dark inky liquorice nose. This is a very well made ample weight wine with sound structure and pure distinct fruit that flows across the palate as sweet plums going into savoury liquorice with a lovely lingering flavour. A good drop and achieves a Highly Recommended rating without a second thought with (just) *** for value at $45.
At this time we ran into Brian's mate Wal, The c-through Bigot who has a smile on his face that would make a kid in a lolly shop look like a snarling dog. The c-through Bigot is having a marvellous time and as an original foundation shareholder in Petaluma he is continually going back to compare their c-through wares to every other c-through vendor in the place, but only to ensure his is investment is protected. The sacrifices The c-through Bigot makes to protect his beloved Petaluma is awesome and deserved the DSC medal. That's the Distinguished Soaks Cross (with oak stave cluster.)
Brian spots the Barossa Valley Estate stand and is anxious to try the 1999 Black Pepper Shiraz. Very dark purple in colour the wine is reasonably well balanced with zingy acid, muscular in weight which means its leaner than in past years, but none the less a reasonable effort for 1999. There is an initial hit of very sweet upfront fruit that goes savoury very quickly and finishes into plums and liquorice. Rated as Highly Recommended with ** for value it should be approachable about 2005 +.
Ebenezer 2000 Cabernet Merlot was a case of "very ordinary wine" do not pass lips.
Black Pepper 1997 Sparkling Shiraz was another monumental disappointment. Both Brian and I found the wine exhibited a high level of EA, to the point Brian went and politely asked if the bottle open was faulty or was it meant to smell and taste that way. He was informed it was "sound" and that's the way its meant to be, which means it rates as Barely Drinkable with * for value. This wine is not going to do their reputation any favours.
Enough of this fun and frivolity, it was time to take a wonder out of SA and make the big move to WA. After having rave reviews (and a big tip to get some at any cost) from a nameless critic (hi Campbell) I tried to track the 1999 Devils Lair Cabernet down only to be told it was being sold to restaurants only. My local bottle shop tried to buy some but was refused and given the restaurant only story too. Finally, when my local bottle shop was able to ask the Southcorp rep why if it was a restaurant only wine it was being sold in another (large) local bottle shop as well as in many Vintage Cellars stores, he was able to get an allocation of the wine, so both Brian and I were interested to try it. Interesting to note, whilst chatting to the Southcorp staff member manning the stand, the restaurant only story was confirmed again. This sort of thing doesn't do your credibility much good Southcorp, so why not wake up and stop trying to spin this sort of BS to your customers.
Getting off my soapbox now and back to the tasting notes. The wine is dark purple in colour with an "almost" Shiraz like nose with some leafy characters, however the palate is a surprise and very much like a varietal Cabernet with an added liquorice finish. There is ample weight, a layered structure and the developed level of complexity; the great intensity of fruit has a long lingering finish that is very enjoyable. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value.
Brian has always liked Peel Estate's wines, so it was a pretty good bet that the wines here would be good. (Alas - there is no such thing as a sure bet!)
Peel Estate 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon has medium weigh but persistent fruit, dusty tannins, and young acid. It's a good honest wine tasting of pepper, cassis, and liquorice finishing with a good length. It holds some interest and is rated as Recommended with ** for value at $30, it should peak after 2005.
Peel Estate 1999 Shiraz has a nose that is heavily dominated by varnished (volatile) French Oak with some fruit deeply buried underneath it. Tannins are dusty, the acid fresh and whilst the fruit on the plate is obvious, its medium weight. All in all, a well-balanced package with an agreeable complexity that needs time but unfortunately is about as exciting as a man in a mid grey suit. Rated as Recommended with ** for value.
Some time ago it was reported that Palandri Wines had taken over Rosabrook Estate and Brian was surprised to see them having their own stand. Brian decided to try and find out the latest goss and we ambled on over and asked a few questions.
It turns out that Palandri didn't purchase the labels, juts some of the vineyards and Rosabrook decided to do a phoenix. Rosabrook 2001 Shiraz has a lifted nose with perfumed floral characteristics. The wine has just been bottled and it needs time to come together but showed peppery fruit and cedar. It's a mid-weight wine with loads of dusty tannins that's reasonable for the price. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value at $20 the rating should improve as the wine comes together.
Rosabrook 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon's aroma is dominated by dusty oak with some obvious good fruit below the oak. Its solid layered structure is sound and well supported by loads of fine drying tannins, muscular weight persistent distinct fruit, and young acid. The blackcurrant, cassis and liquorice combine to provide a long finish. A big with a developed level of complexity and obvious quality that will age well and should peak in about 6 years. Rated as Highly Recommended with an anticipated price of $40-50. At $40 it would rate *** and at $50 **.
Brian's partners surname is Conti so when we spotted Paul Conti, Brian wanted to check out a long lost possible relative, check out his booze and see if it was worth claiming relatives rates.
Paul Conti 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon has an earthy nose showing cedar notes over dark fruit, cassis and mint. The fruit although delicate is persistent flowing thought to the palate to show cassis plums and chocolate. It's interesting, but in some ways more like a light Shiraz than a Cabernet Sauvignon. Rated as Recommended with *** for value.
Paul Conti 2000 Maringiniup Shiraz showed as a simple wine with sweet upfront front fruit going very bitter on the back palate. Rated as Cats Piss
, needless to say Brian didn't try and claim relative status. (A second bottle was slightly better than the first, but still nowhere near the standard of the excellent 99)
After that poor experience it was time to go back to SA for a punt on a proven performer. The crowd is ten deep at the Grosset stand wanting to try his renowned RySling but we wont be deterred; eventually elbow the little old ladies out of the way and get to a shot at a proven performer, the Grosset 2000 Gaia which unfortunately on this occasion is "lacking" and rated as Recommended with ** for value. Sigh, it wasn't worth the cracked shins from the little old ladies walking sticks after all.
Now I know a dead set winner when I see one and although Brian has always said he isn't wrapped in Jim Barry The Armagh I have tried the 99 already (he hasn't) and I am reasonably confident this wine will finally change his mind. We get to the front of the que which is a lot less than the RySling que next door (silly silly people) and get a sample of The Armagh. Brian takes a sniff and his eyes light up and open WIDE! He takes another sniff and they open even wider!! The Red Bigot takes a taste and rolls it around in his mouth and a smile extends from ear to ear which is pretty hard to do with a gob full of wine. The smile get bigger, the eyes widen, the heads nods, the tongue swallows. The lips are licked, that's one wine that's not being spat out, it can't be all bad after all! I almost got "that's good, damn that's good" (which is Brian's ultimate compliment) but he said nothing, Brian was to busy licking his lips again.
After a big win its time to head off and as we are leaving we head back to the Victorian section to try and find a wine that another friend has recommended. After fruitless searching we give up but notice we are in front of the Bullers stand. God does work in mysterious and wonderful ways, now we can get some answers to what's going on with the rumours about the 98 Calliope Shiraz being flogged off to a pack of ungrateful foreigners. Luck is on our side and both Richard Buller and Phil Goodman (their International Sales guy) are manning the stand. So here is the poop from the horses mouth (so to speak.)
"There was no 1998 Calliope Shiraz as the stock that was set aside for this release was deemed not to be a true reflection of previous vintages and was thus not released under the Calliope label. Calliope Shiraz is only made from fruit on the non - irrigated Calliope Vineyard which is a small block of vines planted in 1921at our Rutherglen winery.
The 1998 vintage was released as Rutherglen Shiraz which allowed us to utilise other Shiraz fruit from alternative Rutherglen vineyards other than the Calliope vineyard. The 1998 Rutherglen Shiraz is a superb and much sought after wine and yes a portion was sold to the USA market.
Unfortunately there will be no 1999 Calliope Shiraz either as the vintage was destroyed by an extremely late frost. The 2000 vintage was better but still not good enough as it was adversely affected by rain and did not meet our stringent standards for the Calliope label.
The next release of the Calliope Shiraz will be late 2003 or early 2004 but will only occur if Andrew Buller deems the product worthy to carry the Calliope label."
So there you have it, the poop, the whole poop and nothing but the true poop, it's a scoop of poop and you read it here first. (Eat your heart out Jimmy Olsen.) Brian being smarter than the average bear figured that after a long day of tasting wines we would need a good meal and bottle or six of wine, so many moons ago he booked at one of Sydney's most popular, long established and difficult to get into restaurant, Claudes.
At the appointed time the bigots, that's Red Bigot, The Other Red Bigot and The c-through Bigot and partners met to enjoy a nine course degustation diner. (Red Bigots are equal opportunity social butterflies and do occasionally enjoy the company of others that are not red bigots. However we are glad that The c-through Bigots wife has red hair and drinks real wine.)
We started off with a bottle of Oz c-through Bubbles from the Hunter (that's two strikes) but it was a special occasion so I even drank a glass.
Next up was a 1985 Seppelts Show Reserve Sparkling Shiraz what was simply perfect. Great bead, sweet raspberry taste that is just starting to gain some leathery aged complexity, a wine to die for. It gets a rare The Ultimate rating.
Next up was 1991 Tahbilk 1860's Vines Shiraz that's reasonably elegant and did not overpower the food. Rated as Highly Recommended.
Brian scored an Outstanding rating with a bottle of 1990 Penfolds Bin 707. The wine was simply superb and perfect with the last two full flavoured meat courses.
The food was very intricate and involved and I won't attempt to describe the nine courses, however there are advantages to having friends with different tastes. About the fourth dish was cauliflower that had been creamed and wrapped in a green leaf of some description and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and other tasty stuff. Now I hate "white trees" but this being such a fine dining experience and the flavours so unique, I give this dish a real chance and eat some with an open mind. YUK! Still tastes like disguised white trees so Marion being a vege lover gets to have seconds and eats mine.
I am so glad I am such a generous soul and shared my cauliflower with her. When the ninth and final course arrives Marion is full as a googie egg, so I have to help her out and eat hers. The finale was a soufflé that the diner stick a spoon into, then the waitress pours in melted chocolate and Amaretto, and finally sprinkles with hazelnut macaroons. YUMBO BUMBO!! Give me decadence over cauliflower any day.
The final wine of the night was the Bullers Museum Release Calliope Muscat. A perfect wine to finish the night and a delight with the deserts. Saturday was a relaxing day with no wine activity till the evening. That night I was asked to organize a dinner for six American wine buyers by a US wine importing friend. The wines were to come from my cellar and were designed to show how Australian wines age, some of the different styles we offer, that not all Australian Shiraz are bruising bastards, not all expensive wines are great and finally there are some real bargains out there when you know what to buy. The location chosen for the dinner was Marque (in Surry Hills) where the chef is the ex chief of Bank and the Sommelier recently came second in the Australia wide Young Sommelier of the Year Competition.
Very few Americans have tried or are able to develop a taste for ORB (Oz Red Bubbles) and many of the examples of this wine sold overseas tend to be the sweet and nasty low end stuff. The first wine served was the 1990 Seppelts Show Reserve Sparkling Shiraz. There were many oohs, arr's and contented sighs as the guests sniffed and sipped this wine. It was a clear winner and we had a table of converts by the time they had all consumed a glass. The rest of the bottle disappeared very quickly.
From here on all the wines were served blind so the guests had no idea what they were drinking. Questions were asked about the wines to gain their unbiased feelings and impressions before being unveiled.
The next wine was served and most participants were commenting on the amount of obvious Cedary oak notes on the nose. Most correctly judged its approximate age. The wine was a 1986 St Henri and did not show as well as expected (slight bottle variation) but was still sound. Interesting to note the wine is aged in old 2000-liter hogsheads and has almost no oak influence.
The third wine most people judged to be very Rhone like and about 10 years old. It was the 1992 Tahbilk Reserve Cabernet and went down well but did not set the world on fire. (Gees, I did'nt know they grew Cabernet in the Rhone, I guess you learn something new everyday.-:) )
The fourth wine was thought to be a Shiraz based wine which is interesting as it was a 1992 Petaluma Coonawarra Cabernet. Most felt the wine was just starting to turn and go down hill.
The fifth wine was judged to be a quality Shiraz at about the $30 price point. It was a 1991 Tahbilk 1860's Vines Shiraz (cost $100) and everyone was glad to have had the opportunity to experience it.
The sixth wine WOWED the whole group. This wine was the clear wine of the night so far and most felt it was in the $100 category. It was the 1991 Wynns Centenary Reserve Cabernet Shiraz blend. This wine clearly showed how well these two grapes can be blended and the ultimate superb result that can be achieved. Why don't we do more of it?
The seventh wine showed fresh primary fruit and the group was most impressed with it feeling it was a wine of very high caliber and class. They were impressed when I told them it was a 1994 Henschke Mt Edelstone
but then some smart arse rained on my parade and noticed it was a 1997....oops! I had grabbed the bottle without looking at the vintage and it had been "misfiled" in the cellar - but it still was enjoyed which was the main thing.
The eight wine many felt was a little acid dominant and concerned by it. From my perspective, I thought there was enough fruit there and the wine still needs more time. It was the 1994 Tim Adams Aberfeldy.
Wine nine was a knockout. The seamless character of the wine was highly regarded and most felt it was a wine of the highest caliber and worth about $100. It was the 1996 Elderton Shiraz (not Command) with an original price tag of $18 on special. The second best (non specialist) wine of the night.
When I opened and decanted wine ten earlier that afternoon I was not sure about it and detected the slightest hint of something so through in a reserve bottle. A few hours after being decanted, the 1998 Shottesbrook Elisa was clearly corked.
Wine eleven was opened and went down very well. All were impressed with its primary fruit and complexity. It was the 1996 Jacobs Creek Limited Blend and proved two things. Firstly that Orlando (Jacobs Creek) does not just make low end wines, they are very capable of making top quality wine. Secondly, we had another winner in a Cabernet Shiraz blend.
The final two wines of the night were specialist wines, Oz fortified at their best. The guests were mightily impressed with the Bullers Museum Release Calliope Tokay and Muscat. As they were drinking these wines there were lots more oohs and arrs.
Hopefully we finished the night with some influential converts to Oz wine that will help spread the word about our wines in the US, and also understand there is a very broad base of styles and varieties available.
Sunday, being a glutton for punishment, although I am starting to develop a sore throat, finds me at the front of the que at Plonk Oz as the doors open. (I must have known something.) It's a good idea to get in before the $25 get as pissed as you can brigade arrives and I plan to be out of there in a few hours and go back on Monday, which is trade day.
On my last SA trip, I didn't get to Coonawarra so I am interested to try some wines from that region. First stop is Balnaves where I start with the 1999 Balnaves Shiraz. The nose shows slight VA with sweet blackberry fruit, hints of pepper and liquorice. The ample weight wine has a good structure and is well supported by a substantial quantity of drying powdery tannins and the obvious fruit comes across as a yummy profile of pepper, chocolate and liquorice that finishes long and will improve with about another four years in the cellar. Rated as Recommended with **** for value at $24.
Balnaves 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon shows a warm lifted nose of sweet berry fruit and mint. It's a full-bodied wine that's well balanced with huge amounts of powdery drying tannins, balanced acid and strong blackcurrant and liquorice fruit that will need ages to come together. The solid layered structure and agreeable level of complexity contribute to make a good wine with a long finish. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value. Interesting to note I wasn't wrapped in the 98 Balnaves Cabernet (although I rated it HR) and much preferred the 99 version.
One of the Coonawarra Icons was next. Parkers First Growth 2000 is a blend of 87% Cabernet and 13% Merlot. This is the archetypical Coonawarra Cabernet with lots of fine grained powdery drying tannins and the lashings of pure fruit expresses itself as upfront sweet cassis and black berry fruit moving through a savoury spectrum, some liquorice type fruit and finally a minty finish. The wine is ample weight with a solid layered structure and some refinement to its complexity. Rated as Highly Recommended with ** for value the rating should improve as the wine matures over the next five years.
I didn't taste the Parkers Terra Rossa on this day but whilst it's not quite as good, it's far better value. Having previously tried the 1999 S Kidman Cabernet and not thinking it was anywhere near as good as the 98, I took the opportunity to try it again to see if the wine had improved, I had got it wrong or I had changed my mind. The wine has an interesting structure but the acid is still a bit crisp and lively. The weight whist medium seems slightly thin and the wine would be better with food than drunk on its own. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value it may improve but I wont be betting my money on it.
As I don't want to drink nothing but Coonawarra one after the other (unless it's with dinner and that's hard to achieve at 11.30 on Sunday morning) I head across to the Yalumba stand. The Yalumba 1998 The Signature has recently been released and although Brian and I have split a dozen (as we seem to do most years now) I was anxious to try it. Whilst I was chatting to the lady on the stand I took a very small quick sniff and thought no, that can't be right
and kept talking. We were rudely interrupted by the person who had received a pour of the wine at the same time as I had when he plonked his glass on the counter and said "that corked luv" and it was, fairly badly. The staff should not have missed that one.
A new bottle was opened; the nose is rich, complex and inviting showing a multiplicity of dark berry and fruit flavours. A full-bodied wine with solid layered structure that is supported by dusty drying tannins and very deeply seated pure distinct sweet fruit. This is one of the better wines of the show with a big long finish and one I really didn't want to spit. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value, its rating is bound to improve in time.
Yalumba 1998 The Octavius came across as a bit of a surprise. I have previously called it Oaktavius due to the copious quantities of tale unmistakable Missouri Oak used in the wine, but this 98 is very different. A very intense black inky nose of iodine, liquorice and plums. This is a huge wine but in perfect balance with the fine grained dusty drying tannins offsetting the strong, concentrated distinct fruit that shows on the palate as plums and liquorice. Although this is rich wine with a big layered structure the complexity is sophisticated and intricate with loads of refinement, despite its size. A bit like a gentle giant 150 kg front row forward doing a ballet movement. Rated as Excellent with ** for value, I am very tempted to get a couple of bottle of this for a special occasion.
Much as been written and many have raved about the Majella so naturally I had to try the 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon. Typical Coonawarra nose, cedar, sweet berry fruit and mint. The wine is well balanced with drying dusty tannins and fresh acid; the savoury blackberry, mulberry fruit with hints of liquorice combine to present a pleasant flavour profile with an agreeable level of complexity. It's an OK wine that may improve with time but for my money others tasted are better. Rated as Recommended with *** for value. (I must be one of the few that are not a fan of this wine from this vintage.)
Petaluma 2000 Coonawarra has only recently been bottled. The nose is very youthful showing floral violets, cigar box and VA. The wine shows great balance with loads of drying, powdery tannins, piquant acid and concentrated deeply seated persistent fruit. It's a full bodied wine that's locked up tight on the palate but lifts its skirt enough to show a little of its racy undergarments. Its developed complexity, layered solid but tight structure have helped to produce a very good wine that will improve over the next seven years as it matures. Rated as Highly Recommended now, it could be a classic in the making. In terms of value, that depends. At $40 or less it's a steal, at $50 not worth it
and if the price is $60 leave it to languish on the shelf and become the next John Riddoch on the way up.
Back to a bit more Coonawarra even if it's to be found in the (predominantly) NSW pavilion on the Beringer Blass Stand.
Jamesion Run 2000 O'Dea Cabernet Sauvignon is a single vineyard wine and has been produced instead of the 98 Alexanders Block. The first glass I tried of this wine had a "dried corkiness" rather than wet hessian TCA character to it. It also finished a little short on the palate. I asked if it was sound and they called over the winemaker who explained that the "dried corkiness character" was not to be confused with "wet TCA" and the wine was indeed sound. They opened another bottle, and whilst the dried cork character was evident, the wine finished much fresher on the palate and was superior to the first bottle. It could still only manage an Agreeable rating with ** for value.
Jamison Run The Reserve 1999 was a wine I was anxious to try as I had seen it on a few retailers shelves for about $50 and had loved the 98 McShanes from the same producer. The nose was an alarm bell in itself, slight EA, drying cedar and blackcurrant. The structure is dominated by massive drying, powdery dusty tannins and although there is some fruit under the tannins, I am not sure if the fruit will ever win the battle. Rated as Agreeable with * for value.
A very disappointing couple of wines and by this stage I am starting to get cranky as my throat is getting sore, although my nose is not blocked up which is a blessing. Time to put on my football clobber, shin pads, arm guards, and elbow spikes because its time to head over to the middle of the Western Australian Area. Its lunch time and the invading Sunday hordes are arriving. Crunch and shove time has arrived and I am prepared to do battle, time to put life and limb on the line, all in the interests of proving truth knowledge and good plonk to the red bigots of this world. After running over five little old ladies, pushing eight teenagers out the way, kicking six ladies in the shins, I finally managed to get to the front of the Houghton Stand where I monopolise a position right in front of the wine maker and its going to take a forklift to remove me from my prime position. For it being Sunday, I have been given the good word from upon high, (a phone call from Brian who attended yesterday) this stand has some good stuff that must be tried.
Houghton 2000 Franklin River Shiraz has a reasonably intense lifted nose dominated by sweet dark fruit that translates to the palate as intense blackcurrant with a long finish. The wine has muscular weight well supported by drying powdery tannins, and a harmonious but simple complexity. It a good well made wine rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value at $30 it will be better left for three years. Whilst this wine may not be as approachable when young as the 1999 version, I feel it is a better made wine and a step up in quality.
Houghton 2000 Franklin River Cabernet Sauvignon has an aroma that is dominated by cedar over dark berries which comes across the palate as blackcurrant dominated by cedary tannins. An ample weigh wine with very firm consistency and an agreeable level of complexity its rated as Recommended with *** and will need about five years more to show its best.
In 1995 Houghton's released a one off wine called the Show Reserve which was a stunning wine. In years of when exceptional fruit is available, they intend to release other reserve bottlings. The next one will be the Houghton 1999 Gladstone Shiraz and I just had to take a gander at it. This is a one sniff wine. All it takes is one good sniff to know you have a sophisticated quality drop in your hand. The nose is full on spice, pepper dark fruit and plums. Tannins are fine grained and drying, the sweet plummy muscular fruit intense but elegant. You don't need 1000 word to describe a wine like this, just the smile of your dial when you taste it. Rated as Highly Recommended the rating should increase in time as the wine matures after 2005. The price is yet to be established.
The next wine poured was the Houghton's 1999 Jack Mann and whilst I was talking to the wine maker a group of "very happy ladies" in their late thirties or early forties fought their way to the front of the stand and wanted to try the Houghton Verdelho. The Franklin River section staff member pointed to the next stand and said it's over there and "Jim" will fix you up. "Ooh said one of the ladies, he looks very tasty, wouldn't mind being fixed up by him."
"God said I; that's one tasting note I wouldn't like to see, let alone have to write."
Back to the wine. The 99 Jack Mann is a wine of obvious quality. Ripe intense fruit on the palate starts off sweet and moves through a series of complex flavours that include savoury plums and finishes very long. An ample weight wine with an elegant layered structure and developed sophisticated complexity. Rated as
Excellent with ** for value at $80 it should peak after 2006. At $50 it would be reasonable value.
Over to the slightly less crowded Leeuwin stand where everyone is trying their SharDonAy but I opt for the Leeuwin 1998 Print Cabernet. The nose is somewhat "pongy" showing mushroom surrounded by bright savoury elegant fruit. It's a medium weight wine with delicate but persistent fruit. The palate is a harmonious complexity of elegant yet intense pepper, aniseed, plums and chocolate that finishes long, very long! Rated as Highly Recommended with ** for value.
Now for a bit more Coonawarra I head to the St Mary stand where I try the 2000 St Mary's Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose is inviting and shows sweet up front spice, cedar, liquorice and blackcurrant which flow through to the plate as fairly intense pepper, blackcurrant and liquorice. This is an ample weight wine that may well become seamless in time. Its rated as Recommended now (may improve) with *** for value. It's a nice wine, well made, very appealing and should improve in the short term. I would buy this ahead of the Majella.
Some time ago I reviewed a wine blind and when I found out what it was said, "this is an obviously well made wine and I would like to see what they are capable of when they have access to fruit from a better vintage." The winemaker was John Loxton (of Maglieri fame) and the brand was his own new one called Ballast Stone. The winery is located near Victor Harbour about 20k from McLaren Vale and has a much cooler climate.
At the show they had exactly what I was looking for, a 2001 Ballast Stone Shiraz. The wine exhibited a typical young perfumed "violet Vales nose" that will mature into plums, liquorice and vanilla. It's a muscular weight wine with supple consistency and a structure that should come close to being seamless in time. The fine grained tannins are drying and dusty, and the deep strong fruit comes across the palate as sweet plums going into savoury pepper and liquorice. There is great fruit intensity without it being heavy or extracted. This is a rare wine that gets a Recommended rating with ***** for value at less than $19. The rating may even improve as it reaches maturity in the next five years.
Things are starting to get pretty crowded in here and its time to head home, but as I pass the Bowen Estate Stand there is room for one, so I elbow my way in for a shot of the Bowen Estate 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose seems well balanced between the black fruit and the oak. The palate is blackberry, plums, pepper and chocolate, in some respects more like a Shiraz than a Cabernet. There is nothing wrong with it, but to me the wine seems a bit dull, (which is exactly the way I am feeling) and is rated as Recommended with *** for value, it may improve in the short term.
The plan is to return for the final day, Trade Day and hopefully it will be a lot quieter then, so off I head to my parents place. That night I have arranged to have dinner with Robin Shaw who is the manager of the new Orlando facility in the Barossa. We head off to another one of Sydney's long time successful French restaurants called Tabou with a couple of bottles of good red. My throat is getting worse by this stage and I am starting to feel very ordinary, about as ordinary as cask plonk.
Robin brought a bottle of the Jacobs Creek 1998 Limited Shiraz Cabernet Blend that has just been bottled for me to try and I am looking forward to it. Unfortunately the restaurant glasses didn't do much for the bouquet but from the first sip you can tell this is great wine. The ample weight fruit provides multiple berry flavours on the palate with huge flavour intensity, yet there is an understated elegance. The wine is very complex and harmonious. After drinking a mouthful of wine, I had a sip of Perrier water and there was a literal explosion of mouth filling berry flavours that lingered and lingered. The wine is currently rated as Excellent but may well go to Outstanding in time.
Unfortunately we had to cut the dinner short as my flu matured and by the next morning I had a bad dose of a corked throat, sulphurous nose and oak legs so had to drive home and miss the trade day. I must have been crook, no wine for five days. There were so many wines to try at a show like this, no one can get more than a superficial appreciation of what's out there, what's available and what good, so I tried to pick the eyes out of it and go for likely winners. Naturally there were some surprises, both good and bad, but overall I had a ball and both tried and drank some great wine and food.
Only two years to go to Plonk Oz 2004, hopefully.
Copyright © Ric Einstein 2003