1986-2005 vintages of Dave ‘Duck’ Anderson's Wild Duck Creek

[Baby Chickpea]

Great tasting and dinner at Bilson’s restaurant on last Thursday night with Wild Duck Creek Estate’s owner and winemaker Dave ‘Duck” Anderson, wife Diane, and son and winemaker Liam. This was only the 2nd occasion that Duck had reviewed his wines in a vertical. Duck: “I like wines that wound you!”. His philosophy is to make the biggest, most flavoured wines on the planet, but with a degree of structure and balance. Typically makes about 2,400 cases of the Springflat (half that in tough vintages). Vines planted in 1988. Uses heavily toasted barrels (from 1996 a 50/50 blend of French/American oak for the Springflat’s). Duck prefers (at this stage) cork to screw cap for the Springflat’s. Son Liam is experimenting with other varieties e.g. carmenère and tempranillo. 40% of production exported. While Duck and Liam believe low yields are important, far more important is vineyard management, especially leaf structure on the vines that provides the future flavours.

As I said with respect to the 2006 releases (quoting yourself is soooo hot right now, dudes!): The style is evolving since 1998 IMO and I find the wines now better structured, less ripe (some in the past like the 2000 Shiraz Reserve have been like sweet Lebanese coffee and fruit pastilles) and more focussed than in past vintages. They are NOT over-ripe “fruit bombs” or jammy or porty or fruitcake wines either. There is little or no hint of excess oak or alcoholic heat. The wines are judiciously balanced. These wines have excellent structure, and the oak, tannin, and acidity complement the extracted fruit. Dave stated: “ without structure you don’t have a wine”. Equally, I have no doubts these wines will not only age well, but also improve considerably.

In Duck’s own words: “these are honest wines – straight fermented, nothing added to them and all natural”... Duck is quick to point out that “whenever you’re an untrained winemaker you spend 5 weeks of your life shitting yourself every year!”. The move to screw caps is a positive and I hope Duck considers it for the Duck Muck and Shiraz Reserve next year (or at least offers the option).

Dave is one of the most down-to-earth guys you could ever meet. A top bloke who is unpretentious, amiable, friendly, loves to chat, makes frequent killer one liners, is full of great stories, and knows about customer service. Yes, he still hand delivers his wines to his customers! For this reason, along with Drew Noon, I remain faithful every year to his wines (being the cherry picker that I am, I am no longer monogamous to any other producers in Australia year-in year-out except Noon and WDC). Bravo!

Dave prefers a wide range of styles (as evidenced in this line-up) rather than making 6 different shades of shiraz terroir. The range is consistent and very enjoyable - they are big wines, but beautifully formed and styled.

This tasting proved beyond any doubt that these wines age very, very well. Only one was on the downhill slope – the 1993 – and that was from one of Wild Duck Creek’s two worst vintages of all time.

Notes on 2004 Releases here
Notes on 2006 Releases here

All wines double decanted in advance (not sure of quantum).

1st bracket
1992 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Springflat Shiraz
13.5%. Gorgeous red colour with hint of bricking. Ravishing sweet nose of raspberries, pinot noir-ish sous bois, with a fleck of heat. Palate remains fresh if a touch dilute. Lacks the concentration of latter day Springflat’s but a damn good wine holding up really well. Good stuff.
88/100

1993 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Springflat Shiraz
One of worst vintages ever for Wild Duck: “cool, wet and miserable”. Much more obvious bricking and lighter hues here. Reeked of nail varnish and acetone at 1st (which cleaned up after 20 minutes), with spiky tartness. Very drying tannins on palate. A tad under fruited but what fruit is there is broadening into candied flavours with little persistence. This is the only wine of the night that needed drinking up. On downhill slope.
85/100

1994 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Springflat Shiraz
14.5%. To one of the best vintages ever! Deep astonishing purple. Powerful black, spicy cherries. Still ripe, big and hungry! Palate is clean and dry. Perhaps only a tad short still. This is still a pup and an outstanding effort from 6yo vines. Brooding, dense and black fruited, with HUGE acidity and well honed oak, this is an excellent wine that requires further cellaring and is one of the best Springflat’s ever (up there with the super triumvirate of 1997-1999, as well as 2002 and 2004).
92/100

1986 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Shiraz
14.2%. Precursor to the Springflat. Picked at remarkably low pH of 3.25. Touch lighter than the 1992. Excellent colour. Nose reeks of feral animale characters, AV heat but with underlying dark cherries and overt plums. Palate is soft and cuddly, balanced and fully mature. Still retains primary fruit. Eking out a lazy and relaxing living. A life well worth living.
87/100

2nd bracket
1995 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Springflat Shiraz
Deep red. Flatter nose here with more bitter chocolate and pepper. Palate is dry. Very dry. Really needed some food. Shocking drought year with absolutely no rain for 17 months. Will the fruit hold up?
86/100

1996 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Springflat Shiraz
Deep red with brown trim. Black pepper galore with rollicking plums providing lush aromatics. Better length and power here with underlying acidic structure. Very good.
87/100

1997 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Springflat Shiraz
From a rich, warm year with punchy hot weather. Amazing deep purple! Soaring palate of evocative fresh cherries, peppercorn and arabian spice. Lovely length that belts the tongue. Fine pinpoint tannins and acid augment the well cloaked oak. Bit Darth Vader-ish. Needs 3-5 more years. Super wine. An uppercut to the solar plexus.
92+/100

1998 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Springflat Shiraz
Deep purple. Very similar to the 1997 but a notch less turbo-charged and far more refined (though Duck wouldn’t like me saying that). Very elegant, youthful and long. Another gorgeous wine that is a delight to drink now. Acid/tannins not as prominent as 1997 but this is a beautiful wine with time on its hands. Both primary and secondary. Duck reckons this is drink up. Couldn’t disagree more – can easily go 5 years given its balance and fruit quality! Like a fat kid burying his head in a chocolate cake! Yum. Gimme, gimme, gimme…..
92/100

3rd bracket
1999 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Springflat Shiraz
Another one of my favourite Springflat’s. Three hits in a row for the Duckmeister! From here on in all the wines were deep purple. Sweet plummy fruit with cedary oak. Touch tannic and acidic still. From youthful awkwardness this is really starting to hit its straps. Top structure and length. Entering drinking window anytime soon. Once shy, now brazenly revealing. From a variable year: “it was hot, cold, hot, cold, hot, cold”. Like a rectal examination…you know it’s uncomfortable but all for the good of the future.
91/100

2000 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Springflat Shiraz
More savoury nuances here with added complexity (sweet florals, black fruits). From a cooler/moderate year like 1994 where it was not too cold or hot. Palate is similar to 1999 but shorter and not as fine. Bigger brother who wants to play…but not quite as controlled.
89/100

2001 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Springflat Shiraz
Oak more evident here as is black pepper. Still unevolved. A shell of what it will become. Restrained black fruits that need 5-10 years. This could be exceptional in time. Screams for the benefit of time.
89+/100

2002 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Springflat Shiraz
1st bottle flat and oxidised. 2nd bottle: Softer wine to 2001. Again, quite elegant (sorry Duck!). Tannin, acid, alcohol, oak all beautifully integrated. A vintage where the wine made itself (addition of 0.5g acid to balance). Akin to Radiohead’s “Everything In Its Right Place”. One of the best of the night.
91/100

4th bracket
2003 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Springflat Shiraz
Dark liquorice. Excellent length. Structure is there. Last of the brooding wines! Intense coffee crème. Touch wobbly and struggling to come together at present – needs a long peaceful hibernation. Young.
88/100

2004 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Springflat Shiraz
15%. 19 months in 45% new French and US oak. Sweeter candy fruits, spice, dark chocolate and liquorice. It’s all there in spades! Almost the 1st wine tonight that shows hints of blackberry jam (as opposed to jammyness) but def not OTT. This is typical for very young Springflat’s in my experience. Reminds me of the 00 Springflat on release but I think this will be better after the requisite 10 years it requires. Beautiful wine. Potentially one of the best ever.
91+/100

2005 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Springflat Shiraz
To be released this year in July. Screw cap. Big drought year. Coffee and caramel. Gorgeous wine that was upfront and busty. Already approachable with elegance and balance. Another top wine that is still elementary and requiring more bottle age.
90/100

Interlude
NV Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Sparkling Duck 3
A blend of shiraz from 1993 and merlot from 1996. Deep red colour. Vigorous mousse. Charming nose with decadent fruit and oomph, offset by salami and meaty characters. Palate is clean with excellent length and ready to go. Decadent stuff that leaps from the glass! Like a Pussycat Dolls video with the gyrating hottie Nicole Scherzinger – great sensory candy! Flashy!
91/100

5th bracket
2005 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Malbec
2nd ever straight 100% malbec made by Wild Duck Creek.. 1st one made in 2000. Won’t ever be a mainstream wine for release. Sweet perfumed nose redolent of red berries with no earthy or vegetal characters I find in other Aussie malbecs. Malbec decreases the AV content of the wine. Fruity, screaming from the glass, so pleasant and huggy and easy to drink. Like to see how this will change with time…
87/100

1994 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Alan’s Cabernets Vat 1
100% French oak (20 months). Bordeaux blend of free run juice that actually includes petit verdot (others only like the sound of it joked Duck). Still deep purple. Tightly coiled, wants to burst from its seams, hibernating, ready to pounce. This is a great wine that is so young with dusty tannins and amazing balance. It’s all here. From one the great vintages, this is one of the best ever Alan’s. As the Stones awesome track “Rocks Off” bellows: “The sunshine bores the daylights outta meeeee!”, keep this hidden as it’s bound for glory in 3-5 years.
93/100

1999 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Bridie’s Row 13 Shiraz
15%. 16 months new French oak. Mid purple. Drier and more savoury nose like Pizza Shapes! Excellent length and balance. Touch acidic. Youth on its side. What a surprising beauty! Bridie’s got the touch!
88/100

2004 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Shiraz Reserve
15.5%. 100% French oak. From the same vineyard as Bridie’s. Purple. Viscous tears that stain the glass. Picked the same time as the Springflat. Touch pruney but in no way OTT. Dense, chucky, intense black fruits. Lovely. The sort of wine that Barossan and McLaren Vale makers would swamp with molasses-like characters and alcohol heat. This has a degree of measure and is all the better for it. Much better than bottle at last year’s release which I felt lacked some wow. This has filled out in the bottle and has the structure for extended ageing. Iron fist in velvet glove.
92/100

6th bracket
1997 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Duck Muck (from Magnum)
“Well over 17% alcohol… and the most organic wine I have ever made”. Shiraz picked at 17.5 Baume. Includes 33% cabernet pressings! Still purple . Pure, ripe nose of sweet tar, scorched earth, blackcurrants, five spice and soy. Awesome balance on palate with outstanding length that keeps peaking. Even after swallowing, the wine’s flavours cascade around the mouth refusing to dissipate. Voluminous yet tactile. Textured yet still youthful and hedonistic. This mammoth, Herculean wine has barely budged from release. Fabbo wine that knocks your socks off – yet almost imperceptible heat, oak, port characters. A big bear of a walloping wine packed with sheer class and va-va-voom. This is the wine that put Wild Duck Creek on the map internationally. Heroic effort that is evolving at a glacial pace. Wow! Drink 2010-2018.
94/100

2002 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Duck Muck
16.5%. Compared to 97 Duck Muck, here the oak (2 years French and American oak) and AV heat is more evident. Sweeter fruit of jubes, Lebanese coffee, coal and freshly ground bastourma. Black, dense and viscous but not syrupy. A bit hot on back palate (typical of young Duck Muck’s). Needs at least 10 years to cool down with a cold shower when the dusty, chalky tannins reign in all the components. A yummy Beyoncé / Monica Bellucci wine – all ravishing curves and bumps that tempt and seduce. Should come with a Health Warning such is its guilty pleasures and savage power.
92/100

2001 Wild Duck Creek Estate Heathcote Original Vineyard Shiraz (from Magnum)
17%. From vines planted in 1988. 2 yrs French oak. 200 magnums only. Liam reckons this is Wild Duck Creek’s best ever wine. I was getting a bit p!ssed by now so notes trail off and wasn’t taking much notice. This is a BANG! wine – like stars hurling through the cosmos, everything comes at you in bucket loads, yet never tipping the scales or balance. A 125kg heavyweight straining in a spandex suit.
91/100

[Gianna]

Danny,
as usual, your notes are outstandingly descriptive, thanks for an awesome write up on the Duck Creek wines.

I have an unopened 1/2 case of the 2002 Springflat and by the vibe of your notes, this wine should continue to age well. ( given the ageing assessment of previous vintages )

[bacchaebabe]

Hey Danny,

Sounds like a fun night out with the duck. HOW did I miss my invitation to this one? Probably just as well, as we're booked in for Bilson's next week anyway. Very pleased when you said the releases weren't until July. Will give me some time to start saving!

Thanks for the write up - great to hear how all the vintages are going without having to open them, although everything I've opened so far, has been worth opening!

[Nigel Bruce]

Danny,
Just wondering, as I'm trying to organise a cab-shiraz tasting in October, is the Duck Muck a cab-shiraz blend? - it was after all Duck Anderson's house "muck". Or has it varied across vintages?
Nigel

[Baby Chickpea]

Nigel, yes the Duck Muck does contain some cabernet (varies vintage to vintage though). Aussie Cab-Shiraz blends include:

1990 Penfolds Bin 920 Coonawarra
1990 Penfolds Bin 90A Kalimna/Barossa
Yalumba The Signature
Yalumba The Reserve (had a super 1990 last night --> awesome wine!)
Wolf Blass Black Label
Penfolds Bin 389
Majella The Mallea
Lindemans Limestone Ridge
Rosemount Mountain Blue
Casa Freschi Profondo
Taltarni Cephas
Orlando Jacobs Creek Johann
Tyrrells Vat 8
Dutschke WillowBend (has some Merlot IIRC)
1990 Wynns Special Release Centenary
Parson's Flat
McWilliams 1877

Even Grange has some cabernet in most vintages (but only 5-10%) --> check Penfolds website for more info.

[bigkid]

Spoke to Mrs Duck recently. I understand that Mr Duck may be in Sydney shortly with some deliveries and perhaps a tasting. Regards,

a

[Nigel Bruce]

Danny,
Many thanks for confirming that - and the list.
If I were to choose 3 in total to compare against Trevallon, Anwilka, Solengo [- we already have 04 & 05 Godolphin and 1996 bin 389] ?
Nigel