1990 Orlando Padthaway Lawson’s Shiraz
Mid red with clear browning. Showing its age. Beautiful sweet black fruits showcase the ripe vintage conditions. Good dose of obvious pepper and spice, with faint echoes of well-used and quality oak. Palate is nicely balanced with very good mouth texture, very good length and well structured. Distinct alcohol evident on finish. Finely grained and chalky tannins finish the wine. Plenty of primary fruit remains. A very nice, medium bodied wine. Oak dropped off after an hour of decanting. At its best and I don’t think it will improve.
90/100
1990 Penley Estate Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon
Beautiful long cork and hardly saturated. Mid red with clear bricking. Palate oozes sweet blackcurrant, hints of chocolate, caramel mousse and no astringent green characters. Poise and class. Palate reiterates the olfactory facets. Just excellent and a surprising elegance that is extremely silky that impresses. Very good length and not a hint of oak or green or alcohol. Tannins almost fully integrated. At its peak but may last. A truly beautiful wine and classic Coonawarra to boot. One of the very few 1990 Coonawarra’s that has delivered and lad I have been a fan of the estate since inception (the 91 and 96 and 98, now called “Reserve”, are even better). Bravo!
91/100
1990 Wynns Coonawarra Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon
Excellent colour of mid red with only slightest hint of developing brown. Nose is all ripe fruit, especially blackberries and slight whiff of 14% A/V. Some tangible leafiness but bot the distinctly derogatory Coonawarra “green” or capsicum. Palate is medium bodied. Good length. Plenty of tannin on the finish. Still developing. Drinking well now, but probably needs another 2-3 years. Hope the fruit holds up. Marred by obvious roasted oak flavours. Very good but nowhere near outstanding (unlike the John Riddoch). Not a patch on the 1976 (the best I have ever had from early 70s on) and this should be better that what it is now and I question if it will improve by much.
89/100
1990 Yalumba The Signature Reserve Shiraz Cabernet
Deep red. Excellent bouquet of sweet black fruit and very elegant. Palate is balanced and drinking very well. A real surprise this – top wine in a vintage that promised so much but has not really delivered 15 years down the track IMO. This wine is seamless and at its peak with years to go. No hard edges and the primary fruit is augmented by the fin tannin and restrained use of oak. Lacks the power and concentration of Yalumba’s 1990 The Reserve and Octavius but this is a fine wine.
90/100
TNs: 1990 South Australian Reds
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Baby Chickpea
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TNs: 1990 South Australian Reds
Danny
The voyage of discovery lies not in finding new landscapes but in having new eyes. We must never be afraid to go too far, for success lies just beyond - Marcel Proust
The voyage of discovery lies not in finding new landscapes but in having new eyes. We must never be afraid to go too far, for success lies just beyond - Marcel Proust
Danny,
Lawson's: I have some difficulty with padthaway shiraz - just unconvinced about the area's style I guess. Having said that, the 1991 was/is by far the best I have seen, and I agree that the 90 is not going anywhere but downhill from here.
Penley is attractive but does not have the complexity which I expected from the 90: my criticism is a little simple for the flagship.
Wynns BL: approaching - but not yet entered its ideal drinking window to my eyes. I think the fruit was so opulent in this vintage that the decisionmakers decided to increase the oak (note that they had learnt by the time of recurrence of similar conditions in 98 not to repeat the dose). Hence it is taking longer to integrate but the stuffing IS there- just that the great majority will have been consumed prior to it reaching its peak (remember when you could predict Wynns BL reaching its window after 8 years...). Also this was a $12 mass-produced bottle - pretty damned good wine.
Signature: untasted recently, but agree that the 90 Reserve is very good indeed.
fred
Lawson's: I have some difficulty with padthaway shiraz - just unconvinced about the area's style I guess. Having said that, the 1991 was/is by far the best I have seen, and I agree that the 90 is not going anywhere but downhill from here.
Penley is attractive but does not have the complexity which I expected from the 90: my criticism is a little simple for the flagship.
Wynns BL: approaching - but not yet entered its ideal drinking window to my eyes. I think the fruit was so opulent in this vintage that the decisionmakers decided to increase the oak (note that they had learnt by the time of recurrence of similar conditions in 98 not to repeat the dose). Hence it is taking longer to integrate but the stuffing IS there- just that the great majority will have been consumed prior to it reaching its peak (remember when you could predict Wynns BL reaching its window after 8 years...). Also this was a $12 mass-produced bottle - pretty damned good wine.
Signature: untasted recently, but agree that the 90 Reserve is very good indeed.
fred