Whitsend Estate 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Oct 04

Who has ever heard of Whitsend? The only reason I have ever paid attention to the occasional tasting notes of wines (seen mainly on US wine boards) from this obscure winery was because one of the six properties in my street is called Witsend so when I saw the winery was located in the Yarra Bloody Valley, I could not resist making an appointment to try the wines. We were met by a layback Ross Baldwin in his small but adequate tasting room adjacent to his house. Although the winery was established in 1998 and only produces 500 cases a year, they are not new to the game as their vineyards are well established and they only use 5% of their grapes for their own label, the rest are sold off to one of the other local larger producers.

This wine sells for $18 a bottle by the case from the winery. The had just been opened and the bouquet was brooding; there were glimpses of a varietal cabernet nose with a touch of spice. Medium-weight, the consistency is firm, and the complexity agreeable; it is a credible wine with a solid structure. Good sweet upfront fruit, coffee, capsicum, blackberry and hints of cigar box complete a wine that is a credible result for a difficult vintage. Rated as Recommended with *** for value, it will peak about 2007.