I’ve included my own impressions and rankings, the group votes, and a group ranking based on most preferred votes counting for double, second and third one vote, and least preferred minus one vote.
Following up last weeks superb mature Shiraz tasting was going to be a tough ask, but Steve gave these wines a double decant before the tasting and they really hit stride from the opening bell.
In contrast to last week my votes weren’t in line with the panel, and also a single most or least preferred vote really had an effect on a wine’s overall panel ranking. I found this a very enjoyable group of wines and it turned out to be a tough task to decide on a winner from my top two, and equally hard to deny a vote to the fourth place wine. If the quality’s this good it’s a nice problem to have.
2000 EY Estate Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon $28: Inky purple/red colour with a glowing hue. For a Coonawarra wine this opened unusually with sweet/dusty oak and quite ripe fruit, featuring coconut, cinnamon, dark chocolate, some raisins and VA. The palate was equally sweet on entry with tangy blackcurrant, sweet cherry and strawberry, finishing with good length and noticeable oak. I’m not entirely sure why this did so badly with the rest of the panel, but I’d guess the obvious oak and extremely sweet characters were too much for some.
My ranking: =5th place
Panel ranking: 10th place
Votes: 0 most preferred, 0 second, 5 least
2003 Glaymond Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon $30: Inky red/purple colour. A very ripe nose with blackberry and toasted/buttery oak, followed by some ozone with breathing. The palate was just as ripe, with a spicy/dark fruit entry, spicy, concentrated blackberry mid-palate, and finishing long but with some noticeable alcohol with breathing. This was just a little too simple and hot for my liking.
My ranking: 7th place
Panel ranking: =4th place
Votes: 0 most preferred, 5 second, 0 least
2001 Clairault Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon $25: Inky purple/red. This was a complex, constantly changing nose bouncing between dusty/sweet oak, cassis, mint, ozone, VA, and dried herbs sitting patiently in the background. The palate likewise featured serious oak but also serious fruit, tannins and acid to match; a sweet entry with dusty blackcurrant leads to a wonderfully layered, chalky tannin structure, finishing long and lingering with black olives. This was an exorbitant wine and yet still remained true to the variety – I was impressed from the start and in the taste-off for top it stood out again.
My ranking: 1st place
Panel ranking: 8th place
Votes: 1 most preferred, 2 second, 1 least
2001 Voyager Estate Margaret River Cabernet Merlot $31: Inky purple/red colour. The nose was markedly greener than the Clairault, with dry herbs, chalk, beetroot, and capsicum. The palate continued the green theme, with capsicum/dried herbs on entry, followed by chocolatey fruit that really seemed to drop off, leaving long, extremely dry tannins quite exposed on the finish. While I found the palate too green and disjointed the panel disagreed, voting it overall WOTN in a close one.
My ranking: 9th place
Panel Ranking: 1st place
Votes: 3 most preferred, 5 second, 0 least
2002 Serafino McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon $21: Inky, glowing purple/red colour. Despite the decanting this was relatively closed at first, slowly revealing sweet, dusty blackberries and roast coffee. Likewise the palate begins softly, slowly building in the mouth with cherry/cassis fruit, dark chocolate/mocha shot with spice on the mid-palate, finishing long, clean and wonderfully nutty. This was clear third on my scoresheet all night, and was unlucky to be pipped at voting time (which ultimately cost it equal overall top place for the panel). Did you notice any charred oak this time Steve?
My ranking: 4th place
Panel Ranking: 2nd place
Votes: 3 most preferred, 4 second, 0 least
2002 Glaymond Wines Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon $30: Inky, glowing purple/red colour. If the nose of the Serafino was relatively closed at first, this was absolutely shut tight, slowly revealing some sweet blackberry, beetroot and marshmallow characters, but also stinky burnt rubber. The palate was far more convincing, opening with rich, smoky red fruits, large but well integrated tannins and good length, finishing with creamy vanilla oak. By voting time the slightly off characters on the nose and unresolved oak on the finish left me wondering where it was going; I think it’s an abnormal bottle based on previous showings and/or it’s going through a sulky stage and needs some snooze time.
My ranking: 8th place
Panel ranking: =6th place
Votes: 2 most preferred, 0 second, 0 least
2002 Shingleback McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon $25: Inky red/purple colour. This really lost me from the very beginning with what appeared to be overly toasted oak matched to over-ripe slender fruit, resulting in earthy wheat/toast/tequila characters dominating all tasting, with a hint of licorice after voting. The palate opened extremely dry, was equally dominated by wheaty/malty oak and alcohol heat mid-palate, and finished quite short with a hint of mint. This was a real polarizing wine, with the panel ranking pulled up by the most preferred votes but stopped short of a top three finish by the two dissenters. While the wine had its supporters I hated it from the start and had no problem casting my least preferred vote.
My ranking: 10th place
Panel ranking: =4th place
Votes: 2 most preferred, 3 second, 2 least
2002 Villa Tinto Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon $20: Inky, glowing purple/red colour. A sweet, ripe, typically Barossa nose matched to equally sweet oak with chocolate, roasted nuts, some toast, raisins and perfume/coconut. The palate was predictably slippery and inviting, with big tannins enveloped by sweet, rich blackberry fruit, finishing long and remarkably soft. I liked this a lot more than at the 2002 Barossa Cabernet Showdown back in March; this leaned more towards a rich, ripe Barossa style than a strict varietal, but it was always in my top two. The panel was with me on this one.
My ranking: 2nd place
Panel ranking: 3rd place
Votes: 2 most preferred, 5 second, 0 least
2002 Majella Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon $28: Glowing inky purple/red. After the previous wines the first thing I noticed was the real lifted style of the nose, displaying a real sense of bite/grip to match the complexity. Like the Clairault it was really bouncing between classy oak and equally powerful cool-climate fruit, with dried herbs, coconut, ozone, capsicum and rich, roast coffee featuring in an engrossing and intensifying battle. The palate follows a similar theme, opening with capsicum/mint and finishing very long with massive, chalky tannins and buttery oak. This was always in the shadow of the Clairault, but managed to peek out at voting time to snatch mine away from the unlucky Serafino.
My ranking: 3rd place
Panel ranking: =6th place
Votes: 2 most preferred, 3 second, 3 least
1999 Leasingham Bin 56 Cabernet Malbec $17: Inky red/purple colour. The nose was remarkably similar to the Majella at first, lifted but a touch more exotic and ripe with Vietnamese mint/dried herbs, dark cherries/plum, coconut, ozone, and buttery oak. The palate wasn’t as impressive as the Majella from the beginning, with a lighter body weight, drier tannin structure and a fraction of alcohol heat. A few of the panel thought this was rather bretty, and yet the fish sauce characters they were noticing is pretty consistent for this label with bottle age. This was another polarizing wine.
My ranking: =5th place
Panel ranking: 9th place
Votes: 0 most preferred, 3 second, 2 least
Cheers
Ian