TN: Wynns Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

Wayno · Post by **Wayno** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 6:51 pm

I reckon this wine is either in a hole or is majorly overrated (or maybe both). I suspect possibly the former. Previous bottles of this haven't been too bad but the last one fairly recently and this one confirm to me that it's not flying as high as it might. Quite subdued regional Coonawarra nose, but distiguishable nonetheless, all mentholly and fruit swathed and the palate continues along the same lines, with a watery, chalky texture and rather short finish.
This wine doesn't sing. It murmurs. I hope it gets it's voice back.

cuttlefish · Post by **cuttlefish** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 6:53 pm

Nice notes, Wayno. Cheers !

John #11 · Post by **John #11** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 6:56 pm

Sorry to say we had one here about 1 week ago, and it was as good as ever. Rich and balanced and quite a long finish. Drank well over 4 hours.

Wayno · Post by **Wayno** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 6:59 pm

Maybe I've been unlucky. I've only got a couple left so I'll leave them for awhile, for good measure. Nothing too wrong with it, mind... just a bit boring.

lordson · Post by **lordson** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 7:27 pm

So you two had the exact same bottle but gave too completely different tasting notes

is it any good?

i was thinking about buying a bottle

how much do you reckon its worth paying for? $15?

Wayno · Post by **Wayno** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 5:54 am

Two different notes can mean a lot of things, including:

- different perceptions of quality/character
- different storage conditions or conditions of storage pre-purchase
- possible oxidisation or cork taint
- bottle condition varying under screwcap (seems to happen)
- possible quality control issues/bottling batches

There's a saying, along the lines of: "There's no such thing as a good old wine, only good old bottles." I tend to think of bottle condition as a bit like chaos theory. Once they leave the winery they all start on their way to maturation but no two bottles take the exact same route. There is always the expectation of possible different conditions between two of the same cellared bottles, and I believe this possibility increases with the age of the wine.

As for the Wynns BL 03, who knows? I'm not entirely sure where you'd buy this wine currently, for $15 at least. I believe I paid about $20 at the time and on auction/market value, you'd maybe find it for $18-22ish perhaps.

orpheus · Post by **orpheus** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 8:06 am

I agree that the wine is disappointing. "Murmuring" is a good description.

Partagas · Post by **Partagas** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:56 pm

I had a similar experience with the 04 vintage. Bought a dozen of them and drank the first six early on which were all fine (great in fact). I started up again late last year but found it very flat, light and uninteresting. I really like your observation on it being in a hole because I strongly believe in this with some wines. I've experienced this a few times where if you leave the wine a bit longer, it does emerge. Two other examples for me were the 1999 Leeuwin art series Cab/Sav and 2004 Wolf Blass grey label Shiraz. They started off great, hit a hole a couple of years later but then started to really show its power again with some added complexity.

The 03 Wynns for me started off very good but have not tried it recently.

grahamg · Post by **grahamg** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 2:22 pm

I started cellaring wine with the 2001 vintage and have bought a 6 pack or more every vintage. Each vintage was talked up highly at the time but some are now not considered so good I guess. I am drinking some of the 02's right now just to thin out my wynns collection a bit. They are good drinking but a little on the boring side. I think like the 03 they have lost a bit of the initial power but haven't yet developed much secondary flavors. I have only ever been really wowed by on release and really old (good) bottles.

Wayno · Post by **Wayno** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 2:55 pm

On recent taste, I liked the 02 quite a bit and interestingly it was bagged by many on release. I think it's actually come on a bit and the 03 seems to have dropped off. The 02 is a more elegant style from a cooler year and it shows.

I suspect there is a clutch of years of the BL that will not be considered long-term-memorable - 01, 02(probably), 03. Can't say I raved about the 05 although I rather enjoyed the 04 on release but not had a bottle since. The 00 is an interesting wine, not a powerhouse but possibly underrated.

Waiters Friend · Post by **Waiters Friend** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 7:31 pm

Like grahamg, I have been cellaring a fw of each vintage of BL for a few years now. I agree they seem to go through a bit of a 'dumb' phase after the first year or so, and come good again a couple of years after that.

There is also the issue of Wynn's upgrading their vineyards around this time, and, while this has apparently most affected the cheaper reds, it's possible earlier BL vintages might not be as consistent as the last couple.

Comments encouraged!

Luke W · Post by **Luke W** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 11:14 pm

I wonder whether as Waiter's Friend suggests that this wine is in it's second phase and is just going to be average for a few years before it develops its real characters. Be patient Wayno - it may become a swan yet!

Gary W · Post by **Gary W** » Sun Oct 12, 2008 8:54 am

Opened one last week. Excellent wine drinking really well and as I remember it. Dense and savoury. Cellaring Wynn's Black Label is lthe vinous equivalent of money in the bank (an Australian one that is..)
GW