Grand Cru (Perth) Great Australian Red tasing 17 May 2017

[Waiters Friend]

G’day Bruces and Sheilas, Blokes and Blokettes

Tonight’s tasting was promoted by the following piece of prose:

“Here in Straya, we make the best bloody red wine in the world. And not just any red wine, but a wine that is uniquely Strayan, coz we was the first to throw these grapes into the crusher at the same time. Maybe it's because some of the early growers couldn't tell the difference. We use those two bonza grapes, Cab Sav and Shiraz

They're not wimpy wines like that poncy Pinot Noir. And, unlike this Claret stuff from Bordeaux, we don't have to mix 5-6 grape varieties to get a mouthfilling and ripe plonk.

Some of Straya's longest running blends have been made from these two varieties, in a range of combinations: Cabernet Shiraz, and Shiraz Cabernet. How much variety can a koala bear?

It doesn't matter which part of this wide brown land it comes from - just bring a bot of the good stuff, made from these two grapes only, and we'll rip the corks out and chuck it down our necks.”

So, tempted by this subtle advertising pitch, a full house descended on our usual (the Terrace Hotel in Perth) to ockerise ourselves for the evening.

As usual, the notes below are a compilation of comments made throughout the evening. In addition, the delightful Amy also took on ‘scribe’ duties, so you will see a second set of notes posted for this event.

Wines were tasted blind, in brown paper bags, with the only information about the wine being the vintage. We generally taste from youngest to oldest, and tonight followed that pattern.


2015 Wirra Wirra Church Block Cabernet Shiraz Merlot (McLaren Vale). Strictly speaking, this did not meet the criteria for the tasting (i.e. containing Merlot), it was an interesting start to proceedings. It also kept the tasters honest, as at least 4 of us felt that there was a third grape variety present, and we correctly determined it was Merlot. Deep crimson in colour, with a nose of tobacco, blackcurrant, some herbaceousness / leafy, and dusty. All of these pointed to the wine being cabernet dominant.

The palate shows rich dark and red berry fruit. Tannins are firm, but not overly prominent. There’s good supporting acid, leading to a slightly silky finish.


2014 Penfolds Max Shiraz Cabernet (South Australia). Deep purple in colour, and was originally served too cold, and needed time to warm up. Lots of red fruits, dried herbs (especially oregano), some savoury oak, green capsicum and slightly peppery. The palate had some tannic grip, reasonable length and some pronounced glycerols, making for a slippery mouthfeel.


2012 Burrowing Owl Shiraz Cabernet (Canada). And you thought this was a great Australian red tasting! Deep purple in colour. Lots of savoury and vanillan oak. Ripe dark berries, leather and mocha. The palate showed lots of chocolate, good slinky glycerols and chunky tannins, leading to a long, full finish. Surely we’re in the Barossa? We were wrong!


2012 Metala Shiraz Cabernet (Langhorne Creek, South Australia). Purple / black in colour. Savoury nose backed up by dark fruits and a little black pepper. It's medium bodied and medium acid, with lots of black fruits and supportive but not overpowering tannins. Quite a long finish for the palate weight.


2010 Tahbilk Old Vine Cabernet Shiraz (Nagambie, Victoria). Red / purple in colour. Plump, soft red fruits, over-ripe plums, slight alcohol heat. A touch of smoke (bushfire), but not overly oaky. Maybe a touch of VA? The palate is soft, with moderate acid and body, leading to a short-ish finish.


2009 Rockford Rod and Spur Shiraz Cabernet (Barossa). Red / purple. RIbena and a touch of cough medicine and confectionery. Also some iced tea. The palate has some alcoholic heat, and stewed / jubey fruit. There’s some supporting acid, and modest tannins.

2007 Millbrook Shiraz Cabernet (Perth Hills, WA). Purple, slightly red on the rim. Oak is prominent on the nose, with vanilla and savoury characters. There’s both red and dark fruits, some mocha, and some tasters detected a hint of barnyard. The palae has grippy tannins and noticeable acid, alongside dark chocolate. It’s full bodied, and many considered it to still be young, and will improve.


2001 Metala Shiraz Cabernet (Langhorne Creek, South Australia). Surprise! Two vintage of the same wine, brought along by different people. Red / garnet in colour. Spicy oak, with savouriness and developed plumy fruit. The palate is slightly sharp, although the tannins are slippery, and one taster picked out stewed mulberry.


2000 Rockford Rod and Spur Shiraz Cabernet (Barossa). Surprise #2! Two vintage of the same wine, brought along by different people. Unfortunately, this was severely corked, so not assessed.

1999 Penfolds 389 Cabernet Shiraz (South Australia). Possibly the definitive Australian Cabernet Shiraz blend, and someone had to bring one (it was me!). Garnet in colour. Vanillan oak (this is matured in American oak, including the previous year’s Grange barrels) mocha / coffee and the remains of some powerful fruit. The palate has integrated tannins, lots of secondary development, and good supporting acid. Possibly a little past it’s best, but I will let you know when I open my remaining bottle.

Wine of the night was the 2012 Metala Shiraz Cabernet. I suppose this shows the virtue of blind tastings, when a $12 bottle takes out the award. Second was the 2007 Millbrook Shiraz Cabernet.

It’s also interesting that, as we discussed the wines, we tried to pick the state or region the wine hailed from. I was surprised (with the obvious exception of Canada!) that most of us were somewhere in the ballpark.

Cheers

Allan

[Ian S]

Ha - that was a sneaky move putting a Canadian wine in the tasting, especially finding one that pointed towards the Barossa.
Good to see the old school Metala do well, but Langhorne Creek has often been an under-rated source of value.
I noticed the Penfolds 'Max' appear on the shelves here this year, squeezing the last drop of goodwill from the Max Schubert name?

[phillisc]

Allan, thanks very​ much for this...and no surprise to me anyway that the Metala came out on top. Went very long on the 2012 and brought several cases for $10 or less.
Ian, you are spot on with the continual crassness of Pennies...the MS range is very odd...the cheapies will go the way of Thomas Hyland and the outrageously expensive one is rather lost/overlooked amongst the premiums. Whatever next a Davoren, Bird or heaven forbid...a Gago??
Cheers
Craig

[Mahmoud Ali]

I'm very surprised that the 2012 Metala White Label Shiraz-Cabernet bettered the 2001 vintage of the very same wine. I would have expected the reverse. I'm also surprised that the '99 Bin 389 did not do better and that there wasn't a Yalumba Signature in the tasting.

Mahmoud.

[Rory]

Good tasting.

The '99 Bin 389 "possibly passed it's best"? Yikes... doesn't sound right.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Good tasting. The '99 Bin 389 "possibly passed it's best"? Yikes... doesn't sound right.

Agreed.

[Waiters Friend]

I agree with the concerns about the 389. Possibly a less than wonderful bottle, although not obviously corked. I had not tasted one for years, so did not have a reference point.

As far as Mahmoud's comment on the 2001 Metala, it was slightly TCA affected, so that may have made it a lesser wine than the 2012 version.

A shame, in fact about the last 3 wines (the oldest wines) - none of them were possibly all that they could have been, and one was totally corked.

[Mahmoud Ali]

A shame, in fact about the last 3 wines (the oldest wines) - none of them were possibly all that they could have been, and one was totally corked.

Good point. I have a bottle of 2002 Metala 'Black Label' as well as a few 2001 Wirra Wirra 'Church Block' in my cellar and have not thought either one in danger of being past their prime though the Church Block is the first I would consider opening.

It now occurs to me that an older Koonunga Hill would have been interesting because in my experience they age very well.

[Michael McNally]

It now occurs to me that an older Koonunga Hill would have been interesting because in my experience they age very well.

Yes, these used to be top notch, before the proliferation of levels in the Pennies portfolio sucked the life out of them (and spat out the husk).

Cheers

Michael

[Waiters Friend]

It now occurs to me that an older Koonunga Hill would have been interesting because in my experience they age very well.

Yes, these used to be top notch, before the proliferation of levels in the Pennies portfolio sucked the life out of them (and spat out the husk).

Cheers

Michael

Agreed. I had a 1983 KH (I think 7 years after the invention of the label) around 2001 and it was a really interesting and very much alive red. I suspect the last 10 vintages might not reach these lofty heights.

[Waiters Friend]

It now occurs to me that an older Koonunga Hill would have been interesting because in my experience they age very well.

Yes, these used to be top notch, before the proliferation of levels in the Pennies portfolio sucked the life out of them (and spat out the husk).

Cheers

Michael

Agreed. I had a 1983 KH (I think 7 years after the invention of the label) around 2001 and it was a really interesting and very much alive red. I suspect the last 10 vintages might not reach these lofty heights.

[Ian S]

I suspect more like 20 years on the KH.