A Long Question (6July)

This one from Peter Shea who asks "I have recently been taking an interest in the differences between the wine styles and also the differences between personal taste in wines in the UK vs Aus. I had intended gathering together a small collection for friends to enjoy and appreciate these differences. As part of this I planned to purchase a few of Cullen "Diana Madeline" Cab Sauv/Merlot 2001, but am astonished with the different reviews/tasting noted out there. For example...

Aus - Campbell Mattinson - Wine Front
Cullen Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2001: Bright, electrifying crimson purple. The nose shows eggy sulphur (not a concern) at first but in time blows perfumed herbs, ripe mulberry, blackcurrant and cedar – it’s hard work but over time a sense does develop that this is something special. It’s not until the wine hits your tongue though that its greatness is revealed – or inferred. In short, it’s dramatically structured, with a palate that’s brooding and powerful and wrenched tight, with fine-grained tannins that rattle right back through the palate and in doing so bolt the rage of blackcurrant/black cherried fruit rigidly in place. Statuesque cabernet. (Labelled Diana Madeline from this vintage). Drink: 2015-2025. - tasted Jun 03 - 96/100

Aus - Ric Einstein - TORBWine
Cullen 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot ($75) will be released in July. The wine was bottled six weeks ago and the tasting bottle had just been opened. The first and most obvious observation is the consistency of style and quality in these wines. At present the wine is locked up tighter than the bank vault on a long weekend but a perfect structure is provided by the velvety, creamy ultra fine grained tannins, balanced but unobtrusive acid and obvious deep concentrated fruit. The body weight is muscular, so it's bigger than the 2000. Structure is big solid layered and tight with an intricate diverse level of complexity; this is a wine with a long finish that will age beautifully. Put simply, this wine is awesome and I will make a big call and say not only is it one of the best wines I have ever tasted, but in my opinion in time it will be one of the best wines ever produced in Australia. Rating? Who needs one with a wine like this! – tasted Feb 03

UK - Neal Martin - wine-journal
A sweet, stewed prune nose that has more lift than the 2002 but less harmony. The palate is svelte and quite sinewy. Polished mouthfeel with sweet raspberry and blackcherry. Sweet, slightly porty aftertaste which I find distracting. - tasted Jan 06 - 17/25

...does this reflect the gap in time of tasting ('03 to '06), personal taste, or a more fundamental difference in appreciation - or all of the above?

TORB Responds: An interesting question! Many factors can do influence the variables in tasting notes found between different reviewers. First and foremost is personal, stylistic preferences; one persons "rich and ripe full-bodied wine" is another persons "over-extracted goop" whilst the second persons elegant, refined wine is the first persons thin and boring plonk. In some ways, both of these people may be right and/or wrong, depending on your point of view and personal preferences.

The second fact is bottle variation. Unfortunately this is a fact of life and on a number of occasions I have tried a wine once and thought it was "ordinary" with no detectable fault and then tried a different bottle of the same wine at a later date and found it to be very different. Added to that, the environmental factors also play their part; temperature the wine is served at, the wines sampled prior to it, if there is food being served with it, the ambience and company, and even the mood of the taster all can and do play a part in influencing wine appreciation.

The third factor is bottle age. There is no doubt that wine can and does change as it ages; it also can go through a shut down phase when it is not showing well. Add to that, some people prefer wine with its first flush of fruit and do not appreciate the complex characters that can only come with bottle age.

If we look at the specific example you provided, Campbell and I both tastes the wine when it was very young and our tastings were only a few months apart. Neil tasted the wine almost three years later and as this is a long term wine, its quite probable that it is having a big sleep and is shut down. As this is a traditional style Bordeaux blend, and not the sort of wine style that causes controversial reactions, one can discount much of the goop versus elegant argument.

Campbell and I both note the soundness of the wines structure, it's tightness, the quality of the fruit and its length and whilst Neil's note does have some similarities with our notes, his conclusions are very different. This could be caused by many of the items mentioned above.

 © Ric Einstein 2007