Plantagenet Shiraz Tasting - Perth 21 June 2017

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

Plantagenet Wines in the Great Southern of Western Australia has been producing wines for over 40 years. Although they make excellent Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and some others, for me their best wines are their Shiraz and Riesling. The Riesling was the subject of a vertical earlier this year (viewtopic.php?f=1&t=15374&p=139242&hilit=plantagenet#p139242).

This gave us the opportunity to track any stylistic changes over time, and also to estimate a peak drinking window for this wine. Alcohol levels ranged from 13.5% to 14.6%, and varied generally from year to year.

The wines were sourced from my cellar and double decanted 3 hours before the commencement of this tasting. 11 of us were present at the Terrace Hotel, and the notes below, as usual, are a compilation of the group’s comments. Vintages from 2005 were under screwcap.

Plantagenet Shiraz 2013: 13.5% alc. Purple / crimson in colour. The nose opens with dark cherries and black plums. There’s white pepper, menthol, oregano, and dusty vanillin oak. One taster referred to “Masterfoods Italian Herbs”. The palate shows fresh cherry and plum fruit, a bit of tar, and there’s plenty of acid. It’s a medium bodied wine with integrated tannins leading to a medium to long finish.

Plantagenet Shiraz 2012: 14.6% alc. Purple / crimson in colour. The nose is more savoury than the 2013, with bigger, darker fruit. There’s also some leather and continental meats. The palate is a little richer (partially, we suspect, due to the higher alcohol content) and almost viscous, with lots of white pepper, mocha and five-spice. This is full bodied and long, with well integrated tannins, and was rated highly by the group.

Plantagenet Shiraz 2010: 14.1% alc. Purple / crimson in colour. There’s lots of dark plums, some savoury vanillin oak, smoked meats (pancetta was identified) and earthiness (possibly a sign of bottle development). The palate was mellow and round compared to the previous two wines, and harmoniously balanced, apart from a slight astringency. There’s lots of white pepper and fruit on the back palate, and it’s medium weight but finishes quite long. Starting to show maturity, we reckon.

Plantagenet Shiraz 2009: 13.5% alc. Deep crimson colour. This is smoky, meaty, with red fruits (including cherries and raspberry lollies, apparently). There’s also lots of white pepper and some menthol, and a little ‘band-aid’ was detected (although not by me). The palate is lively and spicy, medium bodied, with cleansing acid, balanced tannins and a medium (though slightly hollow) finish. The group considered that this might be a ‘drink now or next 2 years’ wine.

Plantagenet Shiraz 2008: 14.2% alc. Deep crimson colour. More and varied aromas than the previous wine, with blueberry, mocha, white pepper, cloves, cinnamon, and burnt orange (one taster detected “Terry’s Choc Orange”). There’s some of the viscosity of the 2012 here, with chocolate and five-spice alongside Christmas cake mix. It’s medium to full bodied, and finishes long and satisfying, with fully integrated tannins. Totally in balance.

Plantagenet Shiraz 2007: 14.5% alc. Deep crimson colour. Sweet, rich dark and red fruits, including dark cherries, and slightly stewed “but in a good way”. Some pepper and capsicum as well. The palate is warm, complex and rich, with high acid, aniseed, mocha, tangy red fruits, and beef stock. There’s grippy / chalky tannins, and savouriness leading to an exceptionally long finish that seemed to be evolving even as it faded. This wine seemed young compared to the 2008, and one taster commented that it was on steroids.

Plantagenet Shiraz 2005: 14.5% alc. Crimson colour. The fruits have definitely moved into the raspberry and red spectrum here. There’s also some mocha, leather, bramble and menthol. The palate reflects the red fruit, and it floods the palate – there’s richness especially on the middle palate and good supporting acid, and a medium to long finish. This was described as “perfection right now” and it very much in a happy place. Well, I was, anyway.

Plantagenet Shiraz 2004: 14.5% alc. Crimson colour. Stewed ripe red fruits, yet somehow still fragrant and elegant. The palate is mocha and more red and purple fruits, and some cocoa butter. A long finish. Compared to the previous wines, this was described as “The Ballerina”.

Plantagenet Shiraz 2001: 14.5% alc. Crimson with a touch of tawny. Sharp red fruits led to some dried herbs, a varnished desk (!), and bacon, with a hint of mustiness noted by several tasters. The palate was excellent, with prunes and raisins, and a very long finish. I thought it was slightly past its best, and one taster compared it to “being in an English library”. Now we’re getting technical!

Plantagenet Shiraz 1995: 13.5% alc. Red / tawny colour and slightly cloudy. Poured from magnum. The fruit’s long departed, and many tasters commented on charcuterie, leather and savoury characters. The palate reflects the nose mostly, with stewed vanilla bean, savouriness, and noticeable acid. Surprisingly (well, to me anyway), most people considered this wine to be OK, and the magnum was drained. I retasted some of the other wines instead …..

The last four wines were all tasted with a meal, and one taster commented at all the wines shown tonight are fantastic food wines. The wine of the night was declared to be the 2007, but there’s not a lot between many of them, and there’s some consistency (although not total) from year to year. We reckon these wines drink well from a couple of years after release, to about 15 years.

Another top night, and once again, it’s fascinating to see how one wine changes from year to year.

Cheers
Allan

[JamieBahrain]

Really interesting Allan. Not a wine you here too much about these days but I do remember some cracking wines long ago . 15 years only? Do you think that's universal for WA Shiraz?

[TiggerK]

many tasters commented on charcuterie, leather and savoury characters. The palate reflects the nose mostly, with stewed vanilla bean, savouriness, and noticeable acid.

Suspect I would have loved the 1995 !!

Nice work people, verticals are so interesting.

[Waiters Friend]

Really interesting Allan. Not a wine you here too much about these days but I do remember some cracking wines long ago . 15 years only? Do you think that's universal for WA Shiraz?

Hi Jamie. We're not necessarily talking about the maximum cellar time (see TiggerK's comment on the 1995!), but potentially the peak drinking time.

Also, I certainly do not think this is universal for WA Shiraz. They vary according to vintage, wine making, fruit sources, just like everywhere else. I'm happy with shiraz generally if it's still looking good at 15 (Grange excepted!).

Cheers
Allan

[Ian S]

Ditto on the 1995, probably to my tastes, though I might have been grumbling about the vanilla flavouring

[Waiters Friend]

Ditto on the 1995, probably to my tastes, though I might have been grumbling about the vanilla flavouring

Agreed, Ian. "Stewed vanilla bean" has not previously been in my lexicon, and I refer you to the disclaimer in my writings: "the notes below, as usual, are a compilation of the group’s comments". However, I have learned a lot over the last few years by taking in others' comments, whether I agree or not.

[daver6]

Ditto on the 1995, probably to my tastes, though I might have been grumbling about the vanilla flavouring

Agreed, Ian. "Stewed vanilla bean" has not previously been in my lexicon, and I refer you to the disclaimer in my writings: "the notes below, as usual, are a compilation of the group’s comments". However, I have learned a lot over the last few years by taking in others' comments, whether I agree or not.

Sure there isn't a comma missing there? Stewed, vanilla bean...

I recall we discussed the "good" verse "bad" kind of stewed when it comes to shiraz.

[Mark Carrington]

As part of a Western Australia tasting, the '05 Shiraz was shown. IIRC, the first time I'd tried a Plantagenet red. Impressive & tasty, it was served blind & I was surprised how youthful it seemed, when the wine was revealed.