TN: Veritas (Rolf Binder) Heysen 1998

[Jay60A]

Veritas (Rolf Binder) Heysen 1998
I've been trying to source this wine (at a semi-reasonable price) for a while now. The Heysen was a favourite of Parker in the early days he started to take Australian wine seriously ... while this by itself is no recommendation I have drunk the 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2004 Heysens and they have all been very good-excellent wines, and with a clearly defined Heysen style that at least initially stemmed from a single-vineyard origin. Also as it was an export-only label: it mainly went to the US, a little to the UK and likely almost none in Oz so it's hard to find the early vintages. I was lucky enough to pick up a six-pack this week and naturally wanted to try one, with some trepidation in cases I'd been sold a pup, or a dried out oak-alcohol-cough mix-fruit bomb ...

For me it is the structure and balance that impresses so much after a day. Now open after 24 hours (and it needs 4 in a decanter to even start sorting itself out) this is a hugely perfumed wine yet with massive fruit that brings home that old "velvet fist in an iron glove" expression. It does some big tickmarks for me ... tannin layer on the side of the bottle (check), reasonable alcohol (14% - check), trick of being a big wine yet refined (check). It smells sweet without being jammy, is dark red without being at all black in colour, has perfectly supporting and integrated oak without being overt. It simply takes a ton of blackberry and plums, crams them into a wine without extracting them at all, adds a great acid structure with un-massaged and yet fully ripe tannins, really great length, and lovely long linear palate which then expands backwards into your mouth after you have swallowed to give you a lovely savoury aftertaste. It is layered and expressive. Delicious. Drink now-2018.

In terms of it's peers from 1998 that I have drunk in the last few months, I'd rate this and Rockford pretty evenly, then Penfolds Magill, then Penfolds Henri. It's in the very top league - in this vintage is anyway.

Hope it's of interest - Jay

[monghead]

This sounds like a great wine.

I have not seen this anywhere...

Have heard of and tasted the Hanisch though.

Same people make them I think.

Monghead.

[Phil Wilkins]

Good timing with this note, Jay. I have 2 cases of this in storage bought on release (one is on their broking list) and had no idea how this was progressing. It seems another 3-5 years in storage will only improve things given your description & am now really looking forward to drinking a bottle or 3 and better still, both cases!

Cheers

[Jay60A]

I didn't like this much on opening, some overly sweet fruit, the core of it locked up tight. I think many of the Parker-philes yanks would have now slated it. But it was getting better and better from 4 hours on, and the last glass-and-a-half at 24 hours (which the TN was based on) was had come together and was really really good. I reckon it's pretty good now with a good decant but will be a lovely old shiraz in a decade, to be lined up against a Rockford BP.

Hanish 1998 is supposed to be pretty special, but it's more than I care to pay for any Shiraz these days ...

[Eboracum]

Jay, what is a semi-reasonable price? This wine is on offer by a Belgian merchant for.....€99!!

In the early 00s, the price was already about €70 at a time when Lay & Wheeler were offering a vintage of it for £15.

I planned a detour via Colchester to pick up a few but got late for my shuttle so missed it.

[Jay60A]

I'd pay £25-£30 for this wine (in fact I paid £25) based on in-the-bottle quality. For me that's based on pricing versus it's peers (Rockford BP is about this range in the UK, as is Clonakilla SV, Penfolds St. H, Edelstone is £40 etc) and the price range is comparable to very good Hermitage or Cote Rotie. Anything above this is either rarity value or vendors trying to sell at prices based on a bygone Parker era "bubble" economy on Australian wines.

[Eboracum]

I'd pay £25-£30 for this wine (in fact I paid £25) based on in-the-bottle quality. For me that's based on pricing versus it's peers (Rockford BP is about this range in the UK, as is Clonakilla SV, Penfolds St. H, Edelstone is £40 etc) and the price range is comparable to very good Hermitage or Cote Rotie. Anything above this is either rarity value or vendors trying to sell at prices based on a bygone Parker era "bubble" economy on Australian wines.

I don't know many very good Côtes Rôties and Hermitages in the £25-30 (€28-33) price range and the most hyped cost many times more. Perhaps in the UK, like with Champagne, there are some very interesting bargains around nowadays. I'm a Jamet fan and paid around €50 for my last C-R from him.

I think that my Belgian merchant is indeed pushing hard on the basis of Parker ratings and this is not the only wine where he is doing it.