Kalleske 2004 Old Vine Grenache Aug 06

Tasting Note

Sydney Time

Kalleske 2004 Old Vine Grenache Aug 06

I am going to admit that this wine had me completely flummoxed and perplexed. When I pulled the cork out, I thought to myself, ooh that smell is alright. A small sample of wine was poured and the bottle re-corked. A couple of hours later, after it had had a chance to breathe, I came back to assess it. The nose was incredibly subdued and whilst it showed some sour cherry, spice, chocolate and earthy mushrooms it was so flat, that I was thought it was probably corked. The palate was a different story, the red fruit on the uptake was quickly overshadowed by spice and then annihilated by charcoal, which completely dominated the mid-palate and then tailed off to pepper, and black chocolate. There was absolutely no scalping of the flavour which one would normally find with TCA affected wine, but that dominant charcoal was really weird. The bouquet was telling me it was corked, the palate was telling me it was not corked, but still weird. I did not know what to make of this wine, so decided to leave a bottle for 24 hours.

On day two, the bouquet was still somewhat subdued when it was first poured, but after a little time some perfumed notes surfaced which gave the bouquet little more life. Upon the first sip, the excellent structure and balance of the wine was immediately apparent. Well-backed by very fine, powdery tannins and refreshing acid, the deeply-seated fruit was primarily off-sweet showing black chocolate, spice, black fruits and a touch of sweetness below; some charcoal/liquorice character is still noticeable. It’s a muscular-weight wine with a supple consistency, a solid, layered and above all, tight structure; the complexity is well developed and whilst it is a bloody nice wine, it needs many hours in a decanter or a good long sleep in the cellar (till 2010+). Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value, on day two it was most enjoyable. The wine sells from about $44.