2001 Wendouree Shiraz Mataro

[Adair]

2001 Wendouree Shiraz Mataro: 13.8%: “A blend of Shiraz (90%) and Mataro (10%) from the 1893 Central and 1920 Eastern vineyard plantings" - $35 plus freight and insurance:

Upon opening:
Excellent cork. Well bottled with only a millimetre of ruby red penetration.
Bright red with purple tinges. Nothing suggesting great depth.
Raspberry, pepper, dustiness, slight mintiness with dry oak very prominent - not the sweet vanilla type of oak but more like the wood shavings/wheat gluten kind. Sensational length but the acid and tannins are very aggressive. The tannins are fine, slightly chalky, slightly pencil shaving-like but in massive abundance. Nothing green about them. The wine seems to build once swallowed due to the fact that it seems that the front palate does not exist. The lack of bold fruit on the front palate, which I expect from wines today, is unusual. It is quite obvious that it has the structure to age but it is hard to see that the wine would ever have the flavour breadth to match its structure.

After 2 hours:
Red plums and cherries have opened up on the front creating a more complete wine, even dare I say it, a slightly enjoyable wineÂ… then the tannins come throughÂ… the cork goes back in the bottle for the next day.

Day 2:
Any mintiness has been covered over with plum, raspberry, redcurrants, chicory and almond. Dry, rustic flavours are also becoming apparent. The wine is more enjoyable than the previous evening but the cork still quickly goes back in the bottle.

Day 3:
The wine continues to broaden. Intense, broad yet very dry red and plumy fruits with strong rustic, savoury flavours are coming to the fore. Despite the fierce tannins, the wineÂ’s broadening and deepening flavours combine with the wineÂ’s other facets to providing astounding examples of power and elegance as well as complexity. I have never tried an elegant wine with so much power, and vice versa.

Day 4:
The wineÂ’s showing yesterday and today enables me to envisage where the wine will be in a decade. The wine has gained a silky facet although no one would describe the wine as silky given the wineÂ’s underlying structure that starts to make itself very apparent after a few moments on the palate. The wine again is broader than yesterday but I sense that it has come to its peak. As it was yesterday, this wine is now definitely able to be enjoyed as well as appreciated. The flavours are broad, dry and rustic with red fruits and nuttiness that have great length and power. The length is ensured by the abundant yet fine tannins and well proportioned acidity which create a wine of great elegance. This is a wine of uniqueness and obvious longevity.

Giving this wine a points rating would be pointless. There is nothing I have tasted with which to compare. I must state that this is a wine all wine lovers should try and I will open my next Wendouree with great excitement, although that will probably be in around 5 years time as I only have 2001s in my cellar.

Aside: I donÂ’t know if this is possible, and in no way have I done this in a controlled environment (I am sitting in a slightly dimmed room watching television) but I think the wineÂ’s appearance is deeper.

I hope these tasting notes provide a good impression of the wine, especially to those who have yet to try a Wendouree. This bottle showed that, despite having read so much about Wendouree, I had little idea of how one would taste.

Kind regards,
Adair

[Red Bigot]

Great notes Adair, and the Shiraz-mataro is possibly the least of the Wendourees in many years, I've seldom ordered it preferring the Shiraz-Malbec of the two shiraz blends.

I've got most vintages of Shiraz and Cab Malbec back to 90, might be a good theme for an off-line sometime.

[Justin B.]

Tried the 96 SM a few months ago and had a similar experience. the lesson is to have a glass, then cork the wine and dont touch for at least a few days and then drink over a few days. If you judge the wines on their opening you will be dissapointed, but leave for a while and the wines blossom out of this world.

[markg]

Great notes and very realistic perspective, thanks ! I only wish I could get on the mailing list

[George Krashos]

Thanks Adair, now you've got me on the verge of commiting
(v)infanticide. I'll try and hold out for 5+ years.

The longevity of these wines astounds me. A couple of my uncles mentioned earlier this year abour ordering some '01s and I cheekily told them that I thought it was wonderful that they were buying wine for their children and grandchildren ...

-- George Krashos

[Paul]

Its been a couple years since I tried a Wendouree.
I have a variety of 97, 98, 00, 01.
I'm also on the verge of (v)infanticide.
Any suggestions as to which variety and year I chould choose to try this weekend.
THX in advance.

[Adair]

Its been a couple years since I tried a Wendouree.
I have a variety of 97, 98, 00, 01.
I'm also on the verge of (v)infanticide.
Any suggestions as to which variety and year I chould choose to try this weekend.
THX in advance.

You should probably open it tonight to drink on the weekend. I believe (I have read/heard) the blends, Shiraz/Malbec & Shiraz/Mataro, are the most approachable - so go with your oldest of these. Make sure you post.

Adair

[David Lole]

Its been a couple years since I tried a Wendouree.
I have a variety of 97, 98, 00, 01.
I'm also on the verge of (v)infanticide.
Any suggestions as to which variety and year I chould choose to try this weekend.
THX in advance.

Just don't do it! Leave them all in the cellar! Doesn't matter a lot about variety or year, Tony Brady makes wine for the absolute long haul - 15-20 years minimum. A '86 Cabernet (tasted mid 2002) was robust, very minty, full of plums, vanilla, and still aggresively tannic. All it needed was more time. Drinking 'em this young, albeit over several days, is an interesting exercise in intellectualism; leaving 'em to do their thing in the bottle is surely the way to go.

[David Lole]

Adair,

Just in case you thought I forgot - nice bit of writun, my friend

[Adam]

I opened a 71 Shiraz last year, it was so youthfull, I passed a glass to the chef and to a bunch of wino's at a nearby table who were gushing over some grange and asked them how old they thought it was, everyone agreed it was probably a mid-late nineties wine, and were flabbergasted when they found out it was 31 years old.

Also had a 77' blend of a few varieties, mainly cab I believe, this was drinking absolutely superbly, such superb balance and intensity, I know its unfair to compare but this shone out over a number of first growth bordeaux on the night.

Great stuff that demands cellaring...

[Adair]

...an interesting exercise in intellectualism

I'll take that as a compliment!

Adair