1999 Redbank Sally's Paddock
Made from a single vineyard established in 1973, consisting of Cab Sauv, Shiraz, Cab Franc and Merlot. Colour is a dark red with slight bricking at edges, of a brown/orange note. Certainly shows its age (perhaps more so than it should) however fresh out of the bottle this wine can be likened to a young and energetic athlete. Nose is initially strong with eucalypt characters but quickly blows off to encompass an even assortment of spice, earth, tomato leaf and black berries. Quite complex, and evolving. With 24 hours the nose becomes somewhat subtle, less intense fruit and transforming to mocha and some vegetal aromas. The fruit on the palate is a joy, even detecting some citrus flavours, ironically suited to the high acid like freshly squeezed OJ. The tannins are perfect right now and easily ooze the class and careful extraction one associates with a basket press. Finish is long and satisfying, with the cedar oak leaving a favourable expression of the wine. A surprise package given I'd viewed bad things about this particular vintage from a certain online retailer. I don't know whether it's a $50 wine but I'll probably grab a couple to put down at the $30 price I paid.
Cheers,
TN: 1999 Redbank Sally's Paddock
TN: 1999 Redbank Sally's Paddock
Max
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Avant d’être bon, un vin doit être vrai
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Avant d’être bon, un vin doit être vrai
The tannins are perfect right now and easily ooze the class and careful extraction one associates with a basket press.
Max,
Interesting statement, without wish to get into a stouch (and I assure you that is not what I am trying to do so this will be my only post on this subject;) how can you tell it is a wine is "associated" with a basket press, a bladder press or any other type of press? Surely there are so many other influences on the tannin structure that dictates how the tannins are precieved.
Max wrote:The tannins are perfect right now and easily ooze the class and careful extraction one associates with a basket press.
TORB wrote:Max,
Interesting statement, without wish to get into a stouch (and I assure you that is not what I am trying to do so this will be my only post on this subject;) how can you tell it is a wine is "associated" with a basket press, a bladder press or any other type of press? Surely there are so many other influences on the tannin structure that dictates how the tannins are precieved.
Ric,
Indeed there are many influences on tannin structure and how they are perceived - a tasting note is but a personal reflection of this. Of the basket pressed wines I've tried - Rockford and Chateau Reynella spring to mind - I've found the tannins softer, smoother and finer. With the bladder presses of current technology found in most commercial wineries, the emphasis is on maximum juice extraction. This process is far more agressive and less gentler than the lighter, more controlled extraction of a basket press, creating harsher and altogether different tannins IMO. If presented with two wines and told one had the fruit basket pressed, could you not make a fairly informed decision as to which was which (generalising)?
Max
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Avant d’être bon, un vin doit être vrai
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Avant d’être bon, un vin doit être vrai
Hi Max,
Thanks for the PM asking me to comment again.
There are a range huge number of factors that influence tannin structure, mouth feel and the way they are perceived.
Some wineries will tell you that it all starts with how the grapes are picked, the hand-picked grapes providing a better result. In theory, crushing can have an impact to because the more gentle it is, the less invasive and the less damage.
From there we moved to fermentation and this can also impact. Is it whole bunch,is it fermented in open plastic fermenters, close stainless steel, or wax lined old concrete fermenters?
In terms of crushing whilst your comment about maximum extraction from a bladder press is technically correct, that is as a result of the setting that the winery chooses to use. Some of these sophisticated bladder presses can press just as gently, possibly even more gently than a basket press.
And then of course, where the juice goes from here is critical. The type of oak can have a massive effect on the mouth feel and the tannin structure. For example the d'Arenberg Footbolt has a silky smooth mouth feel and ultra fine-grained tannins. A lot of this has got to do with thehuge old vats the wine is matured in.
Classic McLaren wines from 2001 on have a gorgeous mouth feel and the tannins are as fine as you can imagine and they do not use of the basket press, in fact they use a bladder press.
I'm not an expert, and I'm certainly not a winemaker. During my travels, whilst speaking to winemakers, there is one thing that I have definitely worked out. Making wine is an incredibly complex business and there is so much that even top wine makers don't understand about the science of making great wine. I mean, let's face it, we still don't know something as fundamental as how wine ages in the bottle and the role that oxygen plays in that process.
The reality is, it's an incredibly complex processand there is not "one single cause" that dictates how tannins are perceived in the mouth. It's a result of a myriadof factors, and in this case, the basket press is just one of them.
Thanks for the PM asking me to comment again.
There are a range huge number of factors that influence tannin structure, mouth feel and the way they are perceived.
Some wineries will tell you that it all starts with how the grapes are picked, the hand-picked grapes providing a better result. In theory, crushing can have an impact to because the more gentle it is, the less invasive and the less damage.
From there we moved to fermentation and this can also impact. Is it whole bunch,is it fermented in open plastic fermenters, close stainless steel, or wax lined old concrete fermenters?
In terms of crushing whilst your comment about maximum extraction from a bladder press is technically correct, that is as a result of the setting that the winery chooses to use. Some of these sophisticated bladder presses can press just as gently, possibly even more gently than a basket press.
And then of course, where the juice goes from here is critical. The type of oak can have a massive effect on the mouth feel and the tannin structure. For example the d'Arenberg Footbolt has a silky smooth mouth feel and ultra fine-grained tannins. A lot of this has got to do with thehuge old vats the wine is matured in.
Classic McLaren wines from 2001 on have a gorgeous mouth feel and the tannins are as fine as you can imagine and they do not use of the basket press, in fact they use a bladder press.
I'm not an expert, and I'm certainly not a winemaker. During my travels, whilst speaking to winemakers, there is one thing that I have definitely worked out. Making wine is an incredibly complex business and there is so much that even top wine makers don't understand about the science of making great wine. I mean, let's face it, we still don't know something as fundamental as how wine ages in the bottle and the role that oxygen plays in that process.
The reality is, it's an incredibly complex processand there is not "one single cause" that dictates how tannins are perceived in the mouth. It's a result of a myriadof factors, and in this case, the basket press is just one of them.
Max wrote:
Most of the wines from small and boutique wineries are basket pressed. For one thing it is the only kind of press that we can afford! It is rarely stated on the label as it is the norm.
Ric's point is also very valid as it is possible to press gently with a bladder press and it is also possible to double or triple press at high pressure with a basket press.
Roger
Of the basket pressed wines I've tried - Rockford and Chateau Reynella spring to mind - I've found the tannins softer,
Most of the wines from small and boutique wineries are basket pressed. For one thing it is the only kind of press that we can afford! It is rarely stated on the label as it is the norm.
Ric's point is also very valid as it is possible to press gently with a bladder press and it is also possible to double or triple press at high pressure with a basket press.
Roger