Educate me on Tyrrell's Vat 9 shiraz

[kenzo]

Hi everyone. Surprisingly over my years of enjoying Australian wine, I had never tried any of the pricier Tyrrell's bottlings. When preparing for a wine tasting recently I decided to rectify this situation by selecting a 2013 Vat 9 and a 2011 Vat 1 to fill a case.
Interestingly these seem to be cheaper in Japan than in Australia.

I cracked the screwcap on the Vat 9 the other day and tasted slow-ox over a couple of days. My impressions were that it is a medium-bodied wine, with well-balanced acidity and silky tannins, but it appeared to be almost completely shut down. I got some tart cherry and other red fruits, with just a hint of perfumed complexity that seemed to be hidden, yet never emerged. I got the impression of quality fruit, but it really didn't give much up at all.

Before I rush to judgement of this wine, how do they normally behave? With much more bottle age do they emerge to reveal more complexity, such as a Tahbilk shiraz might? I've not been keeping up with wines at the AUD$100 price point, but how does this wine compare?

Still yet to try the Vat 1, which under screwcap is bound to be far too young...

[Dragzworthy]

Also curious to hear...I recently picked up a 2006 Vat 9. Yet to try.

[Mahmoud Ali]

I have only tasted the Vat 9 once, and that was at cellar door, so I will leave others to comment on how they age. The vintage I tasted was the 2000 and I thought it was a good candidate for the cellar so I bought some and brought them home but I have yet to open any of them (I also bought the Vat 11 Baulkam Shiraz). Since then I found a bottle of the 2005 Vat 9 (a single bottle) and have not yet open that one either.

Like Dragzworthy I am also looking forward to any responses.

Mahmoud.

PS: Dragzworthy, picking up an '06 is a nice find, well done. If there is more available I would try a bottle - and let us know whay you think.

[Polymer]

The older VAT 9s I've had have been very good, at least the ones I've had via Cork (without being corked).
The oldish VAT 9's I've had under screwcap have been young but very approachable...I think this comes back to whether reds age "properly" under SC...they age, they age differently.

The 13 VAT 9 seems to be a bit weird right now based on other people's feedback...so I think that's a bit of an outlier. Could be it is shutdown....When I tried it young it seemed fine.

IMO, the Tyrrells top tier Shiraz are all very light compared to most AU Shiraz...so it could just be a stylistic difference you're not used to but I'd probably go with, it is just in an odd space right now.

13 VAT 1....you're 20 years away from drinking that...

[GraemeG]

90s wines were variable, and the packaging was only a part of it. I reckon from about 98-02 they were terminally bretty. Nearly everything under screwcap (from '06?) is still too young, at least judging from my last note on the '07, although lesser vintages are probably good to go. Maybe '10 is right to drink now? Or possibly '06.
Some dredged-up notes of mine:

• [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7962877]2007 Tyrrell's Shiraz Vat 9[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley (27/10/2019)
  {screwcap, 13.5%} Still a vivid purple garnet colour. Only marginally developed nose of mild spice, black pepper, plums. Ripe and rich, even a touch sweet. The palate is about richness rather than sugar, although it’s super-ripe, with a cranberry twist to the sweet plum jam flavours. It still has medium acidity to give it freshness, there are low/medium dusty tannins in support, but almost devoid of overt oak influence. It’s not much more than medium-bodied, but it has a fleshy ripe character, and so much fruit still that I wonder if the structure will keep up over the years. The finish is medium-long, and nicely balanced too; this will take as much time as you give it.
• [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=6562003]2005 Tyrrell's Shiraz Vat 9[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley (9/09/2017)
  {cork, 13.5%} Still a dark garnet, but age is apparent, Mostly tertuary, with a mix of decaying sweet raspberry fruits, savoury earthy dustiness and a touch of volatility/ I thnk this marked the end of Tyrrell's (inadvertent) brush with winery-wide brett which many of the reds across the turn of the century. Anyway, this is medium-bodied, well into its drinking window, with fine dusty low/medium tannins and pronounced acidity. The finish is a touch hollow, tannins have departed on the finish; it's a bit bacterial to be properly enjoyable. There are red earthy fruits in a Hunter-sort of way but it's all very winemaker/chemical if you know what I mean. Cork looked good (I didn't decant but drank over about two hours), but this was the last hurrah for this antiquated closure.
• [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=6649884]2005 Tyrrell's Shiraz Vat 9[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley (29/10/2017)
  {cork, 13.5%} I think this was a little better than last month's bottle, but it still had bretty overtones. It's medium weight, seems fully resolved and ready to drink; a bit leathery, compost, some aged red fruit. Mild tannins, medium acid. Just seems a bit simple and washed out for a flagship red. These might hold longer, I guess; I'm not sure there's much to be gained from further cellaring.
• [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=2777967]2004 Tyrrell's Shiraz Vat 9[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley (11/05/2012)
  {cork, 13.3%} Developing. Spices, raspberries, plums. Pretty low-key nose all round. Looks a murky sort of garnet in the glass. The palate is pretty gentle, with soft dusty tannins, but still rather distinct, almost cutting acid which etches its way around the edges of the tongue. Dry, and rather savoury, with little oak evident; medium-bodied and drinking OK, but really lacks lacks great depth or interest on the palate. As it sits in the glass it picks up a smokey, peat-like note; the finish is medium-bodied but a bit anonymous. I doubt there's anything truly interesting still to come from this wine, but it seems like it will hang on for a good many years yet.

[Dragzworthy]

I have only tasted the Vat 9 once, and that was at cellar door, so I will leave others to comment on how they age. The vintage I tasted was the 2000 and I thought it was a good candidate for the cellar so I bought some and brought them home but I have yet to open any of them (I also bought the Vat 11 Baulkam Shiraz). Since then I found a bottle of the 2005 Vat 9 (a single bottle) and have not yet open that one either.

Like Dragzworthy I am also looking forward to any responses.

Mahmoud.

PS: Dragzworthy, picking up an '06 is a nice find, well done. If there is more available I would try a bottle - and let us know whay you think.

Unfortunately it was the last bottle. I was in Melbourne at Xmas and wandered into a reputable wine shop and I bought it alongside a giaconda Chardonnay and a Wynns Black, the latter of which also has a Long bottle age. When I got to the counter and they scanned the Tyrrells, the lady informed me that the price tag ($55 if I recall correctly) was not right and the real price should be $100+. I told her that I’d be happy to pay the correct price but she insisted to sell at the advertised price, it being Xmas and their last bottle....!

[Dragzworthy]

90s wines were variable, and the packaging was only a part of it. I reckon from about 98-02 they were terminally bretty. Nearly everything under screwcap (from '06?) is still too young, at least judging from my last note on the '07, although lesser vintages are probably good to go. Maybe '10 is right to drink now? Or possibly '06.
Some dredged-up notes of mine:

• [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7962877]2007 Tyrrell's Shiraz Vat 9[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley (27/10/2019)
  {screwcap, 13.5%} Still a vivid purple garnet colour. Only marginally developed nose of mild spice, black pepper, plums. Ripe and rich, even a touch sweet. The palate is about richness rather than sugar, although it’s super-ripe, with a cranberry twist to the sweet plum jam flavours. It still has medium acidity to give it freshness, there are low/medium dusty tannins in support, but almost devoid of overt oak influence. It’s not much more than medium-bodied, but it has a fleshy ripe character, and so much fruit still that I wonder if the structure will keep up over the years. The finish is medium-long, and nicely balanced too; this will take as much time as you give it.
• [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=6562003]2005 Tyrrell's Shiraz Vat 9[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley (9/09/2017)
  {cork, 13.5%} Still a dark garnet, but age is apparent, Mostly tertuary, with a mix of decaying sweet raspberry fruits, savoury earthy dustiness and a touch of volatility/ I thnk this marked the end of Tyrrell's (inadvertent) brush with winery-wide brett which many of the reds across the turn of the century. Anyway, this is medium-bodied, well into its drinking window, with fine dusty low/medium tannins and pronounced acidity. The finish is a touch hollow, tannins have departed on the finish; it's a bit bacterial to be properly enjoyable. There are red earthy fruits in a Hunter-sort of way but it's all very winemaker/chemical if you know what I mean. Cork looked good (I didn't decant but drank over about two hours), but this was the last hurrah for this antiquated closure.
• [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=6649884]2005 Tyrrell's Shiraz Vat 9[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley (29/10/2017)
  {cork, 13.5%} I think this was a little better than last month's bottle, but it still had bretty overtones. It's medium weight, seems fully resolved and ready to drink; a bit leathery, compost, some aged red fruit. Mild tannins, medium acid. Just seems a bit simple and washed out for a flagship red. These might hold longer, I guess; I'm not sure there's much to be gained from further cellaring.
• [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=2777967]2004 Tyrrell's Shiraz Vat 9[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley (11/05/2012)
  {cork, 13.3%} Developing. Spices, raspberries, plums. Pretty low-key nose all round. Looks a murky sort of garnet in the glass. The palate is pretty gentle, with soft dusty tannins, but still rather distinct, almost cutting acid which etches its way around the edges of the tongue. Dry, and rather savoury, with little oak evident; medium-bodied and drinking OK, but really lacks lacks great depth or interest on the palate. As it sits in the glass it picks up a smokey, peat-like note; the finish is medium-bodied but a bit anonymous. I doubt there's anything truly interesting still to come from this wine, but it seems like it will hang on for a good many years yet.

Thanks Graeme, great notes...I guess it’s a bit of a mixed bag there. Hopefully my bottle is more 2007 than 2005 like...

[Mahmoud Ali]

Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated. I shall see if I can unearth my 2000 Vat 9 and give one a try.

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

[Polymer]

90s wines were variable, and the packaging was only a part of it. I reckon from about 98-02 they were terminally bretty.

They're nicely bretty IMO...very Hunter...They got a lot cleaner later and while I still really enjoy their wines, wouldn't mind seeing a bit of brett come back..

[sjw_11]

I have apparently got 15 bottles of Vat 9 (across 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017) and three magnums but I have never opened one yet. I guess I plan to start opening them when they start hitting 10yrs old.

[Mark Carrington]

The only formal notes I have are for a couple of ‘91s. Both were bretty.

[kenzo]

Thanks for the feedback everyone - I agree that the wine appears to be in a "weird" place now. I'd be tempted to lay a few bottles down, but at the price point I have other wines higher up on the list at the moment (birth year wines for the kids).
FWIW no brett in the wine I tried - it was very clean.