A Blast From the Past and Other Older Aussie Wines

[Mahmoud Ali]

1998 E & C by Seaview Cabernet Sauvignon, McLaren Vale, 14%

Somewhere along the line the marketing department decided that the Seaview name needed a rebranding. They dug through Seaview history and came up with a couple of names, Edward and Chaffey. So they named the regular wine E & C by Seaview. Flush with self satisfaction they went further and named the premium bottlings E & C Section 353. Enough said, I think we all know how that turned out.

The 1998 E & C Cabernet Sauvignon is the regular bottling and was bought many years ago as one-off that I found on a store shelf. It was meant to be a mid-cellaring wine, for me at least a decade for a cabernet from a good vintage. Well it is now 20 years old and coming across the bottle I thought it best get to it. It has been sitting upright at home for the past few weeks and tonight we had it with grilled steaks.

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I used a butler's thief to remove the cork and it came out easily, the cork looking pristine and the wine barely penetrating the edge. As a cabernet it should be a sturdy wine but I was unfamiliar with this wine so I used a medium sized carafe instead of a large decanter then put it in the fridge for a few minutes to cool it down on a warm summer evening. There was still a good deal of colour in the wine though the flush of youth had gone.

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The wine said a lot about the vintage, plenty of fruit and easily identifieable as a new world wine.

At first it was rather simple, but with air it gained weight and texture. There was plenty of fruit, the soft plummy kind, and it slowly developed a mineral edge as well as pepper, spice and, believe it or not some clove and mint in the last glass. The palate was a delight, medium-bodied but fleshy, the fruitiness balanced by savoury elements, a herby minerality and soft, mild tannins.

My partner thought it was a shiraz or a shiraz blend from the new world and I could well undestand where she was coming from. Then she moved to Argentinian Malbec. After I told her it was an Australian cabernet she guessed it was "from the 90s, maybe 1998?"

This E & C Cabernet, though not a fancied wine, provided the kind of drinking that I like from modest but well cellared wine.

The next day we had a friend over for dinner and among the wines were a number of older Australian wines.

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Rene Geoffroy N/V 'Expressions' Brut Premier Cru, disgorged 31/03/2009 (12.5%) - lovely aged champagne, brioche, autolysis, and richness.
2000 Pikes Riesling, Clare Valley (11%) - aged Aussie riesling, still dry but with hints of petrol; satisfying, refreshing and so characterful.
2000 Georges Duboeuf Moulin-a-Vent Eleve en Fut du Chene (13%) - disasterously wrong, chemical notes on the nose and palate, virtually undrinkable, so on to the backup.
1996 Lopez de Heredia Vina Bosconia Reserva, Rioja (12.5%) - strangely pinot-like, strawberry and cola, gradually firming up over the next half hour before showing signs of fading.
1989 Cheteau Phelan-Segur, St Estephe, (12.5%) - lovely aged claret, drinking well in an understated manner.
2004 Tapiz Reserva, San Pablo Vineyard, Mendoza, Argentina (14%) - big, intense wine, lots of minerality and depth in this cab/malbec/merlot blend from a single vineyard wine; plenty in reserve here.
1990 Peter Lehmann Botrytis Semillon Sauternes, Barossa (11.5%) - showing lots of development, botrytis mixed with a nutty maderized quality, and a slightly dryish finish, a very nice relic from the past.
N/V Dandelion Vineyards 'Legacy of the Barossa' 30 Year Old Pedro Ximinez (19%) - a lovely, rich, deeply intense wine, not as sweet as some PXs likely due to time spent in barrels, very nutty and mederised, and a very long savoury finish.

Among the wines, proof that Aussie wines, white, red and dessert, do age, and quite satisfactorily if I do say so myself.

Cheers ............... Mahmoud.

[Chuck]

1998 E & C by Seaview Cabernet Sauvignon, McLaren Vale, 14%

Somewhere along the line the marketing department decided that the Seaview name needed a rebranding. They dug through Seaview history and came up with a couple of names, Edward and Chaffey. So they named the regular wine E & C by Seaview. Flush with self satisfaction they went further and named the premium bottlings E & C Section 353. Enough said, I think we all know how that turned out.

The 1998 E & C Cabernet Sauvignon is the regular bottling and was bought many years ago as one-off that I found on a store shelf. It was meant to be a mid-cellaring wine, for me at least a decade for a cabernet from a good vintage. Well it is now 20 years old and coming across the bottle I thought it best get to it. It has been sitting upright at home for the past few weeks and tonight we had it with grilled steaks.

Cheers ............... Mahmoud.

I recall this wine with great fondness. In the days of young children and limited wine budget this was a staple for the few years it was released. Great juice. Well made wine showcasing how good McLaren Vale cabernet can be. The 98 model was a cracker.

Carl