Back in 2003 Stephen put on a dozen-bottle vertical of the Wynns Cabernet (actually labelled ‘Black Label’ since about 2009?) covering 1986 and 1990-2000. This is a later iteration, served blind, with only ten visible screwcaps revealing that the wines must be somewhere in the 2004 to 2022 vintage range. No further data supplied! The legendary, long-lived, unbroken-vintage-line began with the 1954 Stephen says, but then fails to bring a bottle for sampling!
Wines were served more-or-less in pairs; would have been nice to have ten glasses each but space forbade, sadly. For what turned out to be (spoiler alert!) a straight run of ten vintages 06-15 the wines were surprisingly different, no doubt reflecting vintages, the pull of more prestigious labels on the vineyard resources, etc. Tonight’s wines all shared common cellaring at least, so that’s one variable gone. Each bottle was decanted around 30-odd minutes before serving.
Clear favourite of the night was the 2007 (everyone but Gordon), with a distinct gap to the 2008, itself well ahead of a big cluster, with the 2014 bringing up the rear. As a group, we were generally 2.5-3.5 years adrift in our guessing save the 2009, which confused everyone by a decade (bar DavidH). Maybe that’s not too bad over a 19-year span.
- 2008 Seppelt Shiraz Show Sparkling Great Western - Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Great Western
{crown seal, 13%} [Andrew] Quite mature. Hint of leather, blackberry, blueberry. Impressive, intense aromas. Silky dark palate of medium weight. Dry. Rich shiraz flavours with a fine bead; delicate bubbles with plenty of life. Endlessly drinkable. Medium length finish, even palate, plenty of time for this to evolve further. Impressive. - 2012 Seppelt Shiraz Show Sparkling Great Western - Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Great Western
{crown seal, 13%} [Andrew] Considering the four year gap to the 2008, this seems way younger. Far more primary on the nose, with less leather; instead it’s floral, with raspberry notes. Twist of liquorice. Lively, medium-sized bubbles. Medium acid and weight, low low/medium fine dusty tannin. It’s less interesting to drink now than the 08 but seems so young in comparison that you’d be prepared to give it another twenty years in bottle with some confidence. - 2008 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra
{screwcap, 14%} [Stephen] This first wine set a standard that was hardly bettered all night. Sweetly leathery, with notes of dried herbs and black fruit. Subtle oak. Surprisingly minty palate – a trait that we saw in one or two wines, but not consistently. Quite assertive aging black fruit. Medium acid, low/medium dusty tannin, medium/full weight and a medium length finish. Impressive stuff. (2nd favourite of the night) - 2010 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Black Label - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra
{screwcap, 13.5%} [Stephen] Beside the first wine this was both a bit muted and obviously younger. Gentle black fruit on the palate without a great deal of character. Developing, certainly, but without quite the complexity. Ticks all the medium boxes for acid, tannin, weight. Almost medium length finish. Sound but not great. - 2014 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Black Label - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra
{screwcap, 13.5%} [Stephen] Spicy, light nose. Fruit-driven, mild oak only. Floral palate, gentle and soft. Low dusty tannins, medium acid. Medium weight; might evolve a little. Quite astringent on the finish. Not really convincing. (Took the wooden spoon of the night!) - 2012 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Black Label - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra
{screwcap, 13.5%} [Stephen] Sweaty, rustic, a bit closed. Unconvincing palate for me, scatty, hollow, drying out. Subdued, fading anonymous fruit, despite the medium weight, with low gritty tannins and front palate presence. Nose is better than the short/medium-finish palate. Dud for me – a little more popular with the group. - 2006 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra
{screwcap, 14%} [Stephen] Beautiful nose, reminiscent of wine no 1. Lots of new-world cigar box, herbs over subtle red fruit. The palate shows nicely maturing aussie cabernet, medium weight, acid, soft tannins, even along the tongue. Drinking well, close to peak for me. - 2007 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra
{screwcap, 14%} [Stephen] Powerhouse nose of blackcurrant and cedary oak. Wow. Medium-full bodied on the palate, with the first real tannin of the night. Chalky texture, but medium acid too. Ripe, powerful cabernet/currant fruit, but interesting and evolutionary. Medium/long finish. Not yet at peak. Very good indeed. Turned out to be the group favourite by a clear margin. - 2011 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Black Label - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra
{screwcap, 14%} [Stephen] Semi-mature, seemingly younger spicy sort of wine. Subtle oak. Medium weight. I didn’t write much here – anonymous sort of wine. Commercial? Dull? Couldn’t find anything to grab. Closed? (Post-reveal-note: probably benefited from the crap vintage in that all the other labels that normally pinch the best fruit – the V&As, Riddoch, Single Vineyard, plus anyone else in Treasury who helps themselves to Wynns’ vineyards – weren’t made.) May keep a while, surprisingly, but not too long. - 2013 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Black Label - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra
{screwcap, 13.5%} [Stephen] Pointed, younger nose; violets, roses, gentle blackberry. Background oak. Acidic, narrow palate, medium weight, with low/medium chalky tannins. A bit of mint here too, jostling with soft black fruit. A touch simple but otherwise OK. Medium length finish that sits a bit on the front palate. - 2009 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra
{screwcap, 14%} [Stephen] Bracken, herbs, blackberries. Quite youthful. Slightly patch palate; a bit malty and stretched. Medium acid, medium dusty tannins. Medium length finish. I thought this a moderate sort of recent vintage – it was a universal surprise to find it was 2009. That said, I’m not quite convinced it’ll evolve to match 06,07,08. Keep a little longer, no worries, but it’s not a complex experience. - 2015 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Black Label - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra
{screwcap, 13.8%} [Stephen] Similar to the previous wine I thought (2009!), quite youthful, with big fruit, primary in character, blackcurrant in nature. Low/medium acidity, low powdery tannins, but with a bit of oaky astringency at the end of the short/medium length finish. Soft, gentle palate overall. Good value for money. A bit of a crowd-pleaser. One of the few wines tonight I’ve also drunk quite recently – I should probably have picked it from the crowd-pleasing style. Not convinced about long aging though. - 2012 Lillypilly Estate Noble Blend - Australia, New South Wales, Big Rivers, Riverina
{375ml, screwcap, 11%} [Andrew] Largely semillon and gewurz, apparently. Several shades darker than the following 2015. Developing nose of mandarin and citrus. Honeyed palate, with a gentle medium-sweet level of richness. No vanilla oak evident. Light/medium weight, medium length finish. Medium acid. The gewurz is quite evident. Nice but a bit forgettable. - 2015 Lillypilly Estate Noble Blend - Australia, New South Wales, Big Rivers, Riverina
{375ml, screwcap, 12%} [Andrew] Muscat & sauvignon blanc. Much more interesting than the 2012, with honeycomb and caramel on the nose, a medium-sweet palate of a burnished mien, with barely any botrytis (maybe none?) but lots of sugary richness, flavoured per the aromas. The acid balances the medium-bodied weight, with a medium length finish, helped by even palate coverage. A step up from the 2012 for me; very drinkable, but not in need of further cellaring. - 2022 Château Lapinesse - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
{375ml, cork, 13.5%} [Andrew] Pale sort of straw colour. Light nose of lychee, turkish delight and puckerish citrus. Tangy, acidic palate, not much sweeter than off-dry. Hint of turpentine, vanilla bean. Light/medium weight. Little botrytis evident. Medium/high acidity, but a short/medium, somewhat glassy finish. I’ve little experience with young sauternes; maybe it’ll go the long haul but it seems to lack the richness I’d expect somehow.
Still, a very interesting night’s tasting – thanks Stephen for putting in the hard yards.
