The Auswine Forum

A few weeks ago I asked for some help regarding some mega reds from the forum for a tasting I was hosting. Here are the resultant notes. Thanks again for the suggestions, quite a few of the wines suggested turned up on the night.

The forth meeting of the Wine Cabinet had two rules:
1. Red wine
2. 15.5% alcohol or higher

Purpose: To examine the effect of lots of alcohol on the overall balance of the wines tasted.
Result: By the end of the night 8 smashed peopleÂ…and many severe hangovers the next day.

All wines were double decanted and left to sit for an hour before the first round of tasting. At the end of the tasting votes taken to determine the top three wines of the night. Wines are listed in no particular order.

2002 Jim Barry The Lodge Hill Shiraz 15.5% - Clare Valley
Deep purple; Most found pepper and spice on the nose, with the alcohol in the background. All I got from this wine was dark fruits, aniseed and alcohol sweetness, seemed to have a bit of a bite towards the finish with noticeably rough tannins. The wine lacked balance. Opened up a little (but not much) throughout the night.
Supplementary note: After 5 days sitting on my kitchen bench, it tasted a lot better.

2002 Leibich The Darkie Shiraz 15.7% - Barossa Valley
Deep purple; Strong smell of Barossa dust (reminded me of my last trip there), blackcurrants and just about any other dark fruit you can imagine. Heavy mouthfeel, peppery, spicy, some chocolate notes, mocha oak were all found. A really elegant wine, well balanced if not just a tad raisiny. Voted 1st place overall.

2002 Morgan Simpson Shiraz 15.8% - McLaren Vale
Deep purple; Quite funky on the nose, reminded me of sour cherries. The fruit really took a background role to the alcohol here, very hot finish yet fell over quickly, again lacked balance. Was probably the least enjoyed wine by all in attendanceÂ…and didnÂ’t really get much better during the course of the evening.

2003 Arakoon The Doyen Shiraz 16.5% - McLaren Vale
Opaque, blacy/purple; Dark, stewed fruits, massive whiff of alcohol. Massive!! A huge fruitbomb, heaps of dark stewed fruits, yet still complex. Prominent oak held the alcohol on check, and for such a high A/V the alcohol was not dominant. Impressive length, just kept going and going. I was surprised how pleasant this was, I wasnÂ’t prepared for it to seem so balanced and well structured. Voted 2nd place overall.

2003 Warrabilla Reserve Durif 16% - Rutherglen
Near black purple; Abundant fruit on the nose, I found cherries and plums. Viscous, again abundant fruit flavours and a bit of spice. Smooth well integrated oak, alcohol and tannin. ExcellentÂ…and IÂ’m not just saying that coz the winemaker is a regular here
Supplementary note: I drank the remains of the bottle over the next 3 days and it kept getting better and better. Voted equal 3rd place overall.

2002 Bullers Calliope Durif 16% - Rutherglen
Black/purple; Somewhat floral, specifically lifted violets and musk. Lots of sweet fruit, quite open, immediately approachable for such a big wine. Finished beautifully with dry, fine tannins and excellent length. Like the Warrabilla, every aspect of the wine seemed in balance. Voted equal 3rd place overall.

2002 Wild Duck Creek Springflat Shiraz 15.5% - Heathcote
Deep purple; Dry, dusty nose with hints of menthol, although still seemed quite closed first time around. Full, heavy mouthfeel, lots of jammy dark fruits followed by pepper. Smooth tannins and well balanced oak with the tiniest bit of heat showing through on the finish. This wine divided opinion. Opened up really nicely over the next few hours.

2002 Bullers Calliope Shiraz 16.0% - Rutherglen
Opaque purple; Lots of dark fruits and a little star anise on the nose. On the palate I found considerable amounts of sweet fruit an alcohol flavours, some chocolate followed by fine, grippy tannins. Overall well integrated, not surprisingly the alcohol was quite noticeable.

After a good couple of hours of serious tasting and re-tasting, caution was abandoned, the BBQ was fired up and a feat ensued. A fantastic night was had by allÂ…and most of us remembered enough to tell the tale.

Thanks for your time,

Cheers
cheyne

Sounds like a great bbq.......

I've heard a lot about the Bullers Calliope, I think I will buy one and try it.

Thanks Cheyne, what a great way to get a BBQ rocking! A few of those monsters are lurking in my cellar too.

Great theme for a tasting, particularly as it tested the hysteria that can surround high alcohol, albeit only in a young sample.

I find high alcohol intrudes and unbalances wine when there's not enough fruit weight to carry it.

Interesting that you had the Darkie at the top, a wine I like and it has a stack of fruit to be a balanced package.

At the other end is the Morgan Simpson that to me always looked a little light on for fruit weight and will quickly dry out to a more unpleasant drink than it is in it's youth.

Time will tell the tale with many of these but quite a number with the right amount of stuffing in them will cellar well IMO.

Very interesting theme and I would imagine that preferences were pretty well influenced by individual sensitivity not only to alcohol, but also oak and astringency. IÂ’m somewhat insensitive to alcohol and oak (actually have a preference for oak), but am sensitive to astringency and very sensitive to acidity.

IÂ’ve only had the first two wines. The Darkie (Special Late Harvest) tried both at the cellar door and then in bottle is definitely what I would call a mega red. Both the 2002 and the 2003 are big in every respect, particularly astringency. But still well structured and without any intrusion from the alcohol from my TNs.

Due to my individual preferences and sensitivities I would not call the 2002 Jim Barry The Lodge Hill a mega red, even though it does have a big alcohol number. I know some folks are not fans of this wine but IÂ’m very partial to it, and after seeing CheyneÂ’s TN I opened a bottle because it sounded like the wine might be changing.

My original TN was Cherry red with a pink edge. Very open with attractive berry and mixed spice notes. Slightly below medium weight. But nice soft tannins make for a very supple wine that finishes clean and crisp. Flavors carry through on retronasal for a prolonged finish. Not a wine for the ages but one that is drinking well now and will do for several more years at least. After 24 hours the wine had become more port-like and was showing signs of early oxidation, but then its not meant to be Grange just bloody good value! 2, 2, 4.2, 10.2=18.4. 15.5% alcohol. Tasted August 23-24, 2004.

The bottle last night was cherry red with red edge. Very open with sweet vanilla oak, blackberry and plumb and slight mint. Medium weight with good acidity. Soft and supple across the palate. Flavors carry well onto the palate. Well balanced. Developed toasted oak character. 2, 2, 4.3, 10.1 = 18.4/20, 92/100. Tasted June 23, 2005.

So the wine has changed. There is more oak coming through but the flavor profile seems to have picked up some mint and there is more acidity there than I remember. But no problem for me with alcohol or astringency. Miranda and I both liked this wine back in August and as she is very sensitive to alcohol I gave her a glass to taste without telling her what she was tasting. She frankly thought the wine too acidic and that put it out of balance for her but alcohol and astringency were not a problem. I guess that means I get the rest of the bottle!

Mike

I have to admit that i'm not the biggest fan of these big,high alcohol wines, even though the theme was my idea.

Having said that i will probably go out and pick up a few of the wines to put in the cellar and see what they turn into, in particular The Darkie, The Doyen and probably both of the Durifs!

Cheers
cheyne

I really like the Lodge Hill 02 {for its Quility For Value} and agree it changes very differently to any other wine after a couple of days.

Has anyone sampled the 03?

Anonymous wrote:I really like the Lodge Hill 02 {for its Quility For Value} and agree it changes very differently to any other wine after a couple of days.

Has anyone sampled the 03?

Tasted twice. First at a tasting of Aussie Shiraz under $15USD. I think the TNs are on the forum somewhere but...

Jim Barry The Lodge Hill Shiraz 2003 $11.99USD
Dense cherry red. Very ripe, rich flavors of blueberry and blackberry. Full bodied and well balanced with flavors carrying well on retronasal. Has to be the Jim Barry. (2, 2, 4.0, 10.0 = 18.0/20, 90/100, 15.5% alcohol).

And then a few days before with a full bottle and a litttle more time. Notes were “chocolate, blueberry, sweet oak. Full bodied, well balanced with good retro, good acidity, but does not carry across the palate cleanly. Alcohol is evident. Not a patch on the ’02.” 2, 2, 3.9, 9.8 = 17.7/20, 88/100.

Still good value just not as good as the 2002 IMHO.

Mike