TN: a dozen 98 reds

[GraemeG]

I’m certain I posted on this subject before, but I can’t find notes on the current forum. My regular monthly group bought 30 cases of 1998 vintage Australian reds about 6 years ago to cellar and track. We’ve had a number of tastings over the years, and last month we pulled 12 bottles from the stash to ‘look at’. Because I’ve kept the notes (some of them) from previous occasions, I appended the most recent one on the end. So here are 2-3 notes, over five years, on a dozen wines...

1998 Leasingham Classic Clare Shiraz (Clare Valley) {cork, 14%}
(May02) Lots of warm minty & raspberry fruit aromas. Certainly lighter than Prodigy, but seems to fade quickly on the palate to a quite short finish. I don’t know if this is closed, or how long term a wine it is…. Other members had more faith in this wine than I.
(Oct05) Starting to come around. This is very rich and complete, warm on the palate, with spicy shiraz fruit.
(May07) Plenty of youth among the aromas here. Intense spicy berry fruit, with old-fashioned US oak and a touch of eucalypt on the nose. Not a reticent nose at all. Plenty of chalky tannins carry a dry palate which follows the nose. Medium-full body with discreet acid, I found this a bit clunky and simple, despite the richness, although others thought it very tight. Seems at an in-between stage just now – could go either way; on to greatness or collapse in a heap. Safe for another five years, though, at least.

1998 Richmond Grove Limited Release Shiraz (Clare) {cork, 13.5%}
(May02) Deep red. Oak predominates on the nose, with some inky black fruit notes. Despite this impression, it’s not over the top on the palate. Tannins are quite strong, but fine. Medium length. Seems to lack any distinctive qualities.
(Sep 05) Red, with some fading at rim. Mulberry and blueberry, with a luscious richness about the nose. Still quite primary. Lovely fruit on the front-palate, not much at the back. Quite persistent in flavour – there’s plenty of acid, but tannins are now very soft. Not over-ripe either – all round this is a pretty nice, if undemanding, wine.
(May07) A developed nose of rich warm fruit-cake. Smells more Barossa than Clare. The palate is soft and simple – attractive, undemanding wine. But the structure is disappearing fast – drink up.

1998 Barossa Valley Estate Ebenezer Shiraz {cork, 14%}
(May02)Lots of Barossa fruit cake extra-ripe qualities on the nose here. Rich and clean on the palate, but tannins are rather coarse, over some black cherry fruit. Not much back palate –this wine is very up-front in many ways.
(Oct05) Nose of developed, stewed fruit aromas with American oak. The palate fails to carry 14% alcohol successfully I feel. It’s all front palate. Not much interest here – drink up.
(May07) A soft, spicy warm climate nose of indeterminate red fruits. Nearly no acid left here I reckon – maybe that’s why I found my pen hovering over ‘off-dry’ on my tasting sheet? There is a little tannin left, but this is hardly a challenging wine. Enjoyable enough, but drink up soon before it falls apart

1998 Rosemount Show Reserve Shiraz (McLaren Vale) {cork, 14.5%}
(May02) Rich sweet plummy fruit aromas – this wine is the very opposite of the Saltram. Tannins are sweet and gentle, but it has quite an acid backbone, so it may age decently. I’m not sure that it’ll even develop much complexity – I suspect it’s best drunk quite young while that velvety fruit still dominates.
(Apr03) Darkest shiraz of the night. A deep purpley red, it’s showing rich warm red fruit aromas, with a certain sweetness – perhaps derived from some pronounced US oak? It’s reasonably tannic, but has something of a short finish for me – others disagree. Very confected I find, and the tannins are coarse after the OP&OH wine. I find this too sweet, somehow. A drinker not a keeper.
(Sep 05) A pungent, plummy, almost fortified nose. Surprisingly astringent. Hot, hollow & uninteresting. I think this is very mildly corked. I’ve tasted a lot of this wine over the years, and right now it’s like a kind of blueberry milkshake. This is clearly a faulty bottle.
(May07) No notes here. I argued this was corked – an opinion not unanimously supported. Unusually, I found it showed more TCA on the palate – there was still some trace of fruit-cake fruit on the nose, but the palate was as flat as an runway. I reckon it got worse in the glass, too. Irrespective of authentic TCA or otherwise, undoubtedly verging on undrinkable.

1998 Orlando St Hugo Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra) {cork, 13%}
(May02) Here’s a classy wine. Some sweetish spearmint on the nose. No blockbuster (especially after 707!), but a fine elegant bodied Coonawarra with an even palate and medium length. Understated in some ways, but may emerge triumphant in the end.
(Sep 05) Rank with TCA. One of the most corked wines I’ve ever smelt.
(May07) Singing with classic aromas of ripe, cool-climate cabernet. Not a lot of development yet, but has the potential. Subtle acid, medium dusty tannins, this dry, intense medium weight wine has good balance across the palate, just softening off a little at the back. The most satisfactory drinking experience of the night, a should develop nicely for another five years at least.

1998 Houghtons Jack Mann Cabernet Sauvignon (Great Southern WA) {cork, 13%}
(May02) Another pitch black wine, monstered through with splintery oak. Hard to find much specific fruit beyond ripe black berries. There is some acid, but I fear that it will not last. Tannins are not so strong as the 707, but are very fine and persistent. Full bodied, and reasonable balance ensure it’s a very satisfactory drinking experience.
(Apr03) Red black. Presents absolute essence of ripe cabernet. This fairly leaps out of the glass, yet it’s not uncouth. Ultra-concentrated blackberry fruit, fine tannins. Very big, really rather wasted at this early stage of its life (and this late in the night).
(May07) Immensely rich wine – a concentrated nose of tightly-wound currant fruit has begun to evolve, but it’s still as secretive as a government department. There are rich black cabernet fruits on the palate, with plenty of dusty tannins, and a thick, almost syrupy texture with little development to show for nine years aging. Needs more time, but should be wonderful.

1998 Wynns Coonawarra Shiraz {cork, 13.5%}
(Jun02) Quite a deep red. A nose of pepper & spice. A light-medium bodied wine with spicy fruit. Perhaps a little simple on the palate (how much of the best fruit went into Michael?) and possibly even a little stalky & extractive. Reasonable balance, although the finish is a little short.
(Sep 05) Still a bright, quite deep red. Much sediment. Smoothly peppery nose with lifted spice notes. Light-medium weight on palate, with only soft grape tannins remaining. The mid-palate is it’s strength, but the palate balance is generally not bad. Not a long finish, but balanced. Opinion evenly split on whether it deserves more than another 2 years.
(May07) Now nicely aged, the developing nose offers soft spicy notes. Low-medium acidity gives gentle mouthfeel, coupled with low-level tannins. Aging, warm spicy shiraz fruit has developed that classic sweet-candy characteristic that so many Oz wines show with age. Only medium bodied, but attractive layering across the palate gives a satisfying medium length finish. Ready to drink.

1998 Tollana TR16 Shiraz (Eden Valley) {cork, 13.5%}
(Jun02) Deep red, with aromas of eucalypt & iodine. Tasted very black, if that makes sense, with a hint of herbaceousness. Quite tannic, but in a gentle kind of way. This is a fair wine for the price – I’ve often thought that Tollana reds were better than generally given credit for. The future of the brand is in some doubt, I believe.
(Apr03) Deep red. Lots of dark chocolate & iodine on the nose. The wine smells impressive, with very pure aromas. The palate falls short of the promise though – well balanced, but finished surprisingly short. Not over-ripe (good) and a better wine than the Chalambar.
(May07) A rich developing nose of dark chocolate, fudge and coffee, with subtle oak. The palate is quite dense and rich. Lovely balance of cool-climate shiraz flavours without veering into greenness. Some chalky tannins remain, medium acidity integrates well, this medium weight wine offers a nicely balanced medium length finish. Lacks ultimate complexity, but for the price is very good indeed.

1998 E&C Block 353 Shiraz (McLaren Vale) {cork, 14.5%}
(Jun02) Black/red. A spicy French oak nose with almost Grange-like intensity. Very plush, plummy, and velvety, with deliciously fine tannins and great length. Still very much in its primary phase – I really like this wine. We tasted it from barrel back in 2000 (courtesy of Fiona Donald, the winemaker), when it was very raw and tannic – the oak has integrated nicely. Something of a bargain at under $30, I believe.
(Apr03) From Riedel, smelt very tarry, but the palate was dead. Harsh & astringent, there’s clearly something wrong here. Might have been my first ever taste of an ultra-ripe, young, badly-oxidized shiraz. A pity, cause I was really looking forward to this one.
(May07) Halfway between young and aged. The nose is very intense, with a great blast of blueberry, blackberry, cinnamon and spice aromas swathed in rich oak. The palate is ripe and raisiny, with a big warm finish, a lash of oak, furry medium tannins, not much acidity, full body and medium finish. A big boofy crowd-pleaser whose structure will fade away before the fruit does. A wine for drinkin’, not thinkin’.

1998 Wynns Michael Shiraz (Coonawarra) {cork, 13.5%}
(Jun02) Almost black, and a nose of pure American, coconut & vanilla oak. Phew! There’s a little pepper & spice on offer, but lots of oak. Surprisingly, the palate is not nearly as wooden as the nose would suggest. There’s even some acid detectable, which hints that the wine may actually come together nicely at some point. I think it’ll be a tightrope walk, though!
(May07) Oh dear. Acidity pokes out like a fat man hiding behind a lamp-post, yet fails to disguise the assault of American oak. The fruit is very submerged – dark, ripe – still somewhere in the bottle perhaps. Big and clunky on the palate, yet oddly hollow. What a shambles! At nine years old this isn’t looking good – it’s like waking an aging rocker at 6am after a long night on the turps. Will it come together by nightfall? I’m dubious…

1998 Maglieri Cabernet Sauvignon (McLaren Vale) {cork, 13.5%}
(Jun02) A clean open ripe modern, not-particularly-characteristic Australian cabernet. Indeterminate red berry fruit, soft tannins, just enough acid to keep it from being flabby, but a bit of a short finish. An early drinker, but pleasant none-the-less.
(Sep 05) Mid red with some brick tints. A somewhat pungent herby nose, but manages to offer a slightly stewed note as well. This has moderate acid & tannin remaining, medium weight & length, biased a bit to the front palate. I was surprisingly impressed. On this showing, has a few years to go yet. Better than expected.
(May07) Opens with classic aged aromas – leathery old hints of herbaceous fruit. Unfortunately the palate is losing interest fast, with a whiff of approaching volatility, soft structural components and a shortish finish. Last drinks, gentlemen.

1998 Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra) {cork, 13.5%}
(Jun02) Black wine. Incredibly rich, upholstered über-cabernet nose. Very oaky, true, but somehow aristocratic, with plenty of ripe fruit underneath. Far too young to drink now, and hard to see (after this much wine) exactly where this will go, but it seems to have the right stuff to be a long ager…
(Apr03) Black-red. Predictably monolithic nose, somewhat closed, and I suspect not particularly indicative of the wine’s potential. It smells as black as a coal mine, and still tastes extraordinarily disjointed. The tannins are fine, but they grow over time, burying the ripe fruit. Really shouldn’t be touched for many years.
(May07) Remarkably opaque in colour – still black! The nose is tight, closed, a bit smoky. Ripe & powerful, but sullen. The palate gives away lots of chalky tannins, but is otherwise very unyielding. Everything spells potential; this is all anticipation and not much achievement at the moment. Will be very good in the end, I think, but not for some time. Leave in cellar.

One interesting thing about this exercise is the changes that do or don't happen over time. I don't 'post-edit' these notes - sometimes it's alarming to find the contradictions you seem to find several years apart. But then there a similarities as well.
cheers,
Graeme

[Ian S]

Graeme
A fascinating exercise and this is a great move posting previous notes. Something I might try and do myself as I'm sure it would be educational to revisit older tasting notes in the light of a more recent tasting. Educational not just for the wines development, but also to see if my tasting note style has changed!

It seems there's a lot of disappointing Rosemount bottles around these days. <<Troll>> A big jump, but based on their early introduction of micro-oxygenation, does this indicate a risk of premature advancement from such treatment?
regards
Ian

[Mike Hawkins]

Thanks Graeme,

The only one of those I've had recently is the Leasingham (in 05). It was too oaky for my tastes so I sent the remainder to auction.

[Wycroft]

Thanks Graeme,

a great exercise, and in particular I love your note taking style - it really expresses the wines in terms I can understand.

I would have loved to see three or four goes at the 1998 Coriole Lloyd - I only have two left, have taken no notes when drinking the previous four and only know I'd be a silly bugger to drink either of them any time soon.

Cheers,

Nick

[n4sir]

Thanks again Graeme,

It's an interesting exercise to compare bottles over the years - quite often I'm looking over the 1998s ands putting it off, then checking my past notes to see it's been two to three years since the last one!

I've been putting off trying more of my stash until the ten year mark, and the regular 1998 Blacktongues tastings the last two years has helped delaying the process (not that those results have been awfully encouraging - neither was the ridiculous %age of cork faults I struck last year for that matter).

Cheers,
Ian

[GraemeG]

In retrospect, we should have bought fewer wines - and only six-packs. There are between 7-9 bottles left of all the wines, and some of them:
Jacob's Creek Reserve shiraz & res cab
plus a few of the dozen above are getting to the end of their cycle. We've got a heap of 'drinking well' wines still:
Jamieson's Run Alexander & Reserve
Bin 28, Bin 128, Bin 389
Balmoral, Mountain Blue,OP&OH
Chalambar, Mamre Brook Cab
Pepper Tree reserve CS, Haselgrove Reserve H Shz
Bailey's 1920s, De Bortoli CS,
together with a few big guns that should easily see another 10-15 years:
Bin 707, Eileen Hardy, Prodigy, Saltram No 1.

It's funny how much of these list doesn't overlap with my own personal cellar - most of my early/medium drinkers from 98 have gone, remaining are only things like a few top Penfolds, Gaia, Quintet, Wendourees, Petaluma, Cyril.

I only really started buying wine in '96, so 96 itself was the first really decent SA vintage I had to stock up on, which I did a bit, but not so much as 98, which still just pips both 96 and 04 for volume. And there are some pretty lean years in between. My cellar contains precisely 1 Australian red from 97, for instance, and only about 5 from 2000!

There's just so much good wine out there!
cheers,
Graeme

[Justin B.]

Excellent notes Graeme. Must have taken you hours!

[Muscat Mike]

Excellent notes Graeme. Must have taken you hours!

But obviously the work was rewarded by the enjoyment of tasting the wines.
Mike.

[GraemeG]

Excellent notes Graeme. Must have taken you hours!

No - it's only a dozen or so wines each time, so no trouble to add notes to an existing file. I do rather wish I kept a few additional notes when we've drunk many of the wines at our annual Christmas lunch, but there are often so many wines flying past that there's not time to do them justice.
As we fill in the gaps on the 'missing' wines from my list above I'll add them to the forum too.
cheers,
Graeme