1990s Reds tasting Grand Cru Wine Store Perth

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

Regular readers will know that I post regular tasting notes from the Grand Cru wine tasting group I have been involved with for over a decade. Coincidently, the tasting I attended this evening was hosted by the Grand Cru Wine Store in Mount Lawley W.A., which is celebrating it’s 50th birthday this year. I was a paying punter only on this occasion, and there’s no affiliation between the wine tasting group and the retail stores.

The event was promoted as “Sip Back to the '90s: A Wine Tasting Trip Through Time“, and offered ten high-end Australian red wines from that decade. The wines were all poured an hour or so before the event, and re-tasted after a couple of hours. The event was hosted by Vince Salpietro (Managing Director) who gave an introduction which, among other points, described in detail the appalling record of corks in Australia during that decade. All wines in the initial set of ten were under cork.

I do not have a lot of experience with wines of this age, so if the descriptors seem a little simplistic, then that is the reason.

Henschke Hill of Grace 1990 Shiraz (Eden Valley, S.A.): Crimson in colour, magenta around the rim. The nose showed a surprising amount of primary fruit, including blueberry, blackberry, cranberry and mulberry. There’s savoury oak in the background, and some subtle spices. The palate is juicy, with more blue and black berries, spread evenly, and well supported by fine tannins and freshening acid. It’s full of life, and has an exceptionally long finish. On further tasting an hour later, it showed even better. Fantastic wine.

Lindemans Hunter Burgundy Bin 8203 1991 (Shiraz, Hunter Valley, NSW). Light red in colour and tawny at the rim. The nose showed leather (is this the traditional Hunter Valley sweaty saddle?) initially, with red fruits lurking in the background. The palate was initially thin, with integrated ‘black tea’ tannins and slightly sharp acid. The finish was short and the wine appeared to be dried out. Retasting an hour later showed some improvement to the wine, with the red fruits emerging from the leather and the wine appearing less dried out. Not in the best of condition in my opinion (although I have no experience with the wine).

Cullen Cabernet Merlot 1994 (Margaret River, W.A.). The precursor to the Diana Madeline, and not the Reserve of the same year. Crimson colour, light bricking. I admit I am sensitive to VA, and I had trouble getting past this on the nose initially. Any observable fruit was masked by this. The palate is well into tertiary development with a liqueur flavour (i.e. concentrated and savoury). Tannins are spiky and there’s some astringency. Past it, in my opinion.

Lindemans St George Cabernet Sauvignon 1996 (Coonawarra S.A.). Crimson in colour with slight bricking at the edges. A dusty nose, with secondary blackcurrant and Christmas cake on the nose. Juicy dark fruits on the palate, with excellent supporting acid and slightly grippy tannins. Long finish and drew positive comments from the assembled tasters.

Hardy’s Eileen Hardy Shiraz 1994 (South Australia). Crimson in colour. There’s developed stewed plums on the nose, with liquorice and porty notes. The palate is more intense, and even more porty, with lots of liquorice, Christmas cake, dark plums and brandy. Tannins are grippy and the wine finishes full and long.

Houghton Show Reserve Shiraz 1995 (Frankland River, W.A.). As far as I know, this remains the most awarded W.A. table wine of all time. Deep crimson in colour. A touch of VA initially, with lots of stewed dark plums on the nose. The VA initially overshadowed the palate as well, but fortunately, this diminished over time to reveal liquorice, caramel, and hints of Christmas pudding. Acid is keeping this fresh and the finish is very long indeed. This wine also drew positive comments and was rated well by the group. I was sufficiently impressed to buy the shop’s last remaining bottle (and if I hadn’t, there was a queue to do so) to share with the maker (G’day John).

Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 (Margaret River, W.A.). Crimson bordering on purple in colour. I can’t get away from VA! It’s here as well, and somewhat masked the developed blackcurrant and kirsch nose. There’s some tangy red fruits on the palate, and integrated tannins. Then the TCA started to climb out of the glass ……
…. So Vince ripped out a bottle of 2000 Moss Wood (under screwcap) and this demonstrated the difference the closure makes. 2000 is allegedly a lesser vintage of Moss Wood, but this wine showed better – fresher, deeper in colour, more primary fruit – and less complexity. Medium to long finish.

Wynns ‘Black Label” Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 (Coonawarra, S.A.). Crimson bordering on purple in colour. Almost perfumed. Lots of primary fruit, some menthol, and some signs of secondary development. The palate is showing mocha, kirsch, lots of dark berry fruit and soft supporting acid. Mouth filling, and in very good condition for its age.

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 1998 (Barossa Valley, S.A.). Red / purple in colour. A rich nose with blue and black berry fruits, liquorice, and cedary oak. The palate is soft and juicy with more fruits and slightly smoky oak. Very long and satisfying finish, and this came second with the Houghton as wine of the night.

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 (South Australia). Deep purple. The nose shows vanillan oak alongside lots of blackberry and mulberry, and a hint of coconut. Palate is juicy with lots of fruit washing over the tongue. Very long finish, and I admit that this 26-year-old wine seemed too youthful!

Vince then finished the tasting with a mystery wine, and an Options game to accompany it. The wine is purple in colour, with a magenta rim. There’s leather, smoky oak, and stewed dark plums on the nose. The palate shows blueberry, blackberry, liquorice and some red fruits. Acid plays a supporting role, and the tannins remain somewhat grippy. Very long finish. The wine was revealed as the Henschke Mount Edelstone 1992.

Wine of the night was the Henschke Hill of Grace 1990, by a small margin.

My compliments to Vince, who presented with enthusiasm and passion, and was prepared to open additional bottles in response to group comments and the occasional corked or less than pristine wine. For the price charged to attend, this was value for money. I would be keen to attend similar tastings in future.

Cheers
Allan

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[JamieAdelaide]

What a great event! HofG 1990 is an amazing wine and I’m glad it delivered for you. Love to get my hands on the 95 Houghtons. Always heard good things but I’ve never tried.

[Mike Hawkins]

Some impressive wines… and I too am a massive fan of the 90 HoG. Probably a top 10 all time Aussie wine for my palate.

[felixp21]

still have about a dozen of the 95 Houghton's, back in the days I used to buy Aussie wine. Next time I'm out at the storage, I'll try to hunt them down. Means moving lots and lots of boxes, I think How annoying is it when you end up with the older wines at the bottom of the heap

have spent two decades comparing Moss Wood 2001 under cork vs Screw-cap, and the cork is consistently better. Haven't had a corked one yet, but my opinion is that if you disregard corked bottles, the cork closure produces a superior wine. Diam, OTOH, might end up the ultimate winner of them all.

[JamieAdelaide]

Not a fan of reds under screw cap too and double-down on this when told what to think by topic obsessed Australians.

That said, I have 1500 Italians in my cellar in Oz and not happy about statistically losing up to about 150 of them.

Corked Aussies mostly get refunded. Bit of an issue has been when the offending winery changes hands. I don’t believe they take on the responsibilities of tainted stock from 20 years ago.