1997 Shiraz Tastings - Blacktongues (16th March 2005)

[markg]

Another excellent Blacktongues tasting with a few surprises from some nicely maturing 1997 shiraz.

Blacktongues tastings are usually held fortnightly with around 14 to 17 persons tasting ten lots of 40ml pours, served blind with an hour to dwell over each wine. At the end of the hour each person is asked to vote on their favourite, least favourite and two others that would come in at equal second place.

My personal tasting notes and the voting results of the panel are listed below. As a comparison I have added respected wine critic Jeremy Oliver's scores and drinking windows where available. I have also included the current price these wines fetch at auction (before commission) as this can also be a good (but not accurate, as other factors influence demand besides quality) indicator on how the market views these wines.

Jeremy Oliver Scores and drinking windows obtained via the Onwine website at http://www.onwine.com.au/

All of the wines presented this evening were excellent and I enjoyed them all.

1997 Majella Shiraz, Coonawarra
A nice purple color with some lightening at the edge. An excellent nose of sweet chocolate and blackberry that fairly leapt out of the glass. A medium bodied, elegant wine with with complex nuances of berry, plums, nuts and lovely spices. Good length and tannins.
Personal rating: 7/10
Blacktongues panel: 2nd
Jeremy Oliver: 94 2002 - 2005+
Current Auction price: $30

1997 Summerfield Reserve Shiraz, Pyrenees
Good fruit intensity and body, sweet berry and sage with elegant, nicely complex flavours on the finish.
Personal rating: 6/10
Jeremy Oliver: Not available
Current Auction price: $30

1997 Scarpantoni Block 3 Shiraz, McLaren Vale
Quite a suprise, this is coming along just nicely, good fruit intensity with some chocolate and berrys on the palate and nicely integrated tannins. Good mix of primary and secondary flavours. This is great quality for about $15 on the secondary market.
Personal rating: 5/10
Jeremy Oliver: 87 2002 - 2005
Current Auction price: $15

1997 Bowen Estate Shiraz, Coonawarra
A nice nose of dusty chocolate but the finish had a slight bitterness,unbalanced and starting to dry out a bit. Still a pleasant wine on its own but its faults showed up in the company of the other wines.
Personal rating: 4/10
Jeremy Oliver: 88 2005 - 2009
Current Auction price: $20

1997 Lengs and Cooter Old Vine Shiraz, Clare Valley
A lovely, well defined nose with nice fruits and tannins, but the palate was a bit hollow in the middle and seemed to finish a bit short.
Personal rating: 5/10
Jeremy Oliver: Not available
Current Auction price: $30

1997 Pirramimma White Label Shiraz
This was my second favorite for the night and the clear winner from this selection.
Dark opaque purple. An elegant nose that opened up gloriously over time with complex aromas of dark chocolate, leather and blackfruits. Mouthfilling, intense fruits with redcurrant, chocolate and some leather on a long elegant finish.
Personal rating: 6/10
Blacktongues panel: 1st
Jeremy Oliver: Not available
Current Auction price: $15

1997 Saltram Mamre Brook Shiraz, Barossa Valley
A nice nose with some pronounced secondary aromas of shoe leather, chocolate and tobacco. Good fruit intensity, dominant barossa chocolate, with some underlying tobacco/apricot nuances. A firm backbone of grainy tannins, good length and finish.
Personal rating: 5/10
Blacktongues panel: 3rd
Jeremy Oliver: 95 2005 - 2009+
Current Auction price: $15

1997 Sandalford Shiraz, Mount Barker
This wine stood out as a more polished shiraz. A nice elegant nose, following through on the palate with pleasing fruit intensity and nice complexity although with a finish that seemed to fade and taper off too quick.
Personal rating: 5/10
Blacktongues panel: 4th
Jeremy Oliver: 82 1999 - 2002+
Current Auction price: $15

1997 Leconfield Shiraz, Coonawarra
A lighter color than the rest with a wiff of seaweed on the nose. Flavours were ok but finished abrubtly and without much flavour in the middle palate.
Personal rating: 4/10
Jeremy Oliver: 92 2002 - 2005
Current Auction price: $20

1997 Water wheel Shiraz, Bendigo
Good fruit intensity on entry and lovely rich chocolate, licorice and berry flavours that unfortunately finished somewhat short.
Personal rating: 5/10
Jeremy Oliver: 90 2005 - 2009+
Current Auction price: $10

[707]

Thanks for the notes Mark, I like the way you summarised each wine and added further details, very professional.

These wines came from my cellar. I didn't buy much 1997 as I'd overspent on the great 1996 vintage and new the 1998 was getting raves from winemakers I trusted.

Blind tastings are very hard on wines so it was nice to see all of them have something to offer at maturity with the two bought in quantity, Pirramimma White Label and the Majella showing really well. The other wines were ones that impressed at the time so I bought two or three only for interest down the track. I'm well into both of those two cases now, have been using them as house wines when I need a break from the newer stuff I'm always drinking and assessing at home.

Even lesser vintages produce outstanding wines but as I'm finding with the 2003 vintage, it's mainly from the small producers who have great viticulture.