TN: A super Cabernet blind tasting 1/9/08

[n4sir]

A few weeks ago I attended a tasting that examined primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and it’s blends with a sprinkle from around the globe. Overall it was a top night featuring some very tasty wines - as usual all of the following were served blind.


FLIGHT 1: Three wines from the acclaimed 2005 vintage, a couple of lowly priced Bordeaux and an Aussie to keep them honest – nothing spectacular in this lot.

2005 Beau-Rivage (Borie Manoux), Bordeaux: Bright but rather pale red. The nose was a little damp at first, then perfumed and mineraly. The palate’s very dry/tart with absolutely no fruit sweetness, finishing grippy/powdery and becoming increasingly metallic with breathing. The bilgy old oak, thin fruit and brett all pointed to Bordeaux – the only thing to potentially lead us astray was the screwcap.

2005 Chateau de Fonbel Grand Cru, St. Émilion: Bright red, slightly darker than the first wine. Riper nose with loads of tarry/vanilla characters; there’s riper/sweeter cherries/berries on the palate, the mid-palate tangy leading to very dry/bitter finish with fine tannins and a lick of buttery oak on the end.

2005 Penley Estate Phoenix Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra: Medium red. The crowd-pleaser of the trio, a sweet and ripe nose full of currants/berries and red liquorice, then tea rose with breathing. The fruit of the palate is ripe and tangy like the previous wine, but it’s a little more savoury/meaty with breathing, the tannins softer/not bitter, the finish showing more vanillin oak with breathing.


FLIGHT 2: Another trio of ‘05s - the very good, the good, and the handicapped.

2005 Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River: Medium blood red. Tarry nose with some red liquorice, gradually changing to reveal sweet cedar and tobacco with just a touch of the vegetal, lots of attractive notes but there’s also a nervous/tense coolness to it. In contrast to the tight nose the palate opens with an explosion of cedar and crushed berries, the sweet fruit leading to a very long/grippy/mineraly finish with lingering, sweet chocolate/berries.

2005 Petaluma Coonawarra: Bright red. Lots of oak on the nose, loads of sweet cedar, vanilla and butter; the palate’s slightly herbal with sweet cherry fruit and again loads of buttery oak, lots of soft fruity depth and good grip on the finish. Doesn’t have the edgy elegance or complexity of the Vasse Felix, but it does have a lot of stuffing and time on its side.

2004 Ridge Cabernet Merlot, Sonoma County: Medium crimson red. Corked.


FLIGHT 3: An interesting quartet, and an overall step up on the previous wines.

2004 Chateau Montrose, St. Estèphe: Medium blood red. Lots of sweet oak on the nose, but there’s also some brett – bananas/cloves, bandaids, hints of smoke/cherries, then cedar and butter. The palate’s riper and much more attractive, mouth-filling choc-mint fruit with powdery/velvety tannins, leading to a long, smoky finish. A slutty wine – there’s something morally wrong with it, yet you still can’t help wanting another look.

2005 Cullen Diana Madeline, Margaret River: Dark blood red. From Paris Hilton to Charlize Theron – this is just elegant and beautiful, the nose full of sweet cedar, spice and crushed minerals. The palate’s more tightly wound, still seemingly medium-weight with bright cherries, finishing long, fine and dry with loads of grip and a lick of chocolate. The best of this flight, and one of the best wines of the night.

2002 Stonyridge Larose Cabernet Sauvignon, Waiheke Island: Medium crimson/brick. Interesting cool-climate nose, raspberry cordial, herbs and beetroot, then chalk and smoke, becoming more medicinal with breathing. The palate’s only light to medium weight and the fruit’s minty/green and rather simple, with a slight peppery finish. Quite a few people were disappointed when its identity was revealed – was this a dud bottle, a lesser vintage, or just out of its depth against quality opposition?

2004 Ramey Jericho Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley: Medium to dark crimson red. Spicy dark cherries, hints of scorched earth, and lots of toasty/fireplace oak on the nose, becoming jammy and slightly cheesy with breathing; the palate’s full of shredded coconut, medium to full weight, smoky/chocolaty with bourbon on the finish. The lashings of chocolate and sweet oak reminded me of the Montrose – and yes, I thought it was just as slutty.


FLIGHT 4: The first two wines were another significant step up, while the third never had a chance…

2000 Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux: Dark crimson/brick. Glorious and complex, perfumed and sweet but never OTT, smoky at first, then coffee grounds and tar/chalk and dried herbs, then hints of celery, creamy coffee/vanilla, coconut and cigar box, later toasty and a little soupy. The palate’s just as complex and lovely, restrained and elegant with sweet/herbal fruit on entry followed by cedar/creamy characters, finishing refreshingly dry and slightly minty. A stunning wine constantly evolving, at first elegant and feminine, later toasty and masculine – I’d love to spend some time with a full bottle of this, my runner-up for WOTN.

1998 Yarra Yarra Cabernets, Yarra Valley: Medium crimson/brick. An incredibly different but no less attractive nose, full of raspberry jam and cranberry, red liquorice and freshly brewed tea; the palate’s full of the same spicy raspberry and milky tea characters, weird and wonderful with a long, soft but gum-draining finish. Like a few there I’ve never tried a Yarra Yarra before and this was stunningly good – my third favourite WOTN.

1999 Poliziano Le Stanze Toscana IGT, Tuscany: Bright red/brick. Corked.


FLIGHT 5: The previous flight was hard to topple, and only one of the following wines met the challenge.

1998 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Nappa Valley: Medium red/brick. Cedar with a green/herbal tinge on the nose, later developing some cloves and metallic characters; medium-weight and slightly green palate with tobacco leading to some vanilla on a long fine finish. With breathing this seemed to deteriorate, with more cloves/bandaid and green/pea characters taking over with breathing - disappointing wine.

1990 Chateau Cos Labory Grand Cru Classe, St. Estephe: Medium brick/red. Whoa this is stinky, the first whiff being barnyard followed by metallic and toasty/earthy characters, gradually sweetening to reveal chocolate/truffle, sous bois and mint. In contrast the palate’s more attractive from the outset, tart blackcurrants leading to a slightly smoky/leathery mid-palate, finishing very long and fine, tarry and smoky with lovely melting tannins. I initially really disliked the nose of this wine, but with breathing it matched the class of the palate to become one of the better wines of the evening.

1988 Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon: Medium brick/red. I tried a brilliant bottle of this going on two years ago, which was the best aged Cabernet I tried that year – this bottle was even better! Massive, clean but complex nose of ripe blackcurrants, coffee grounds, sweet leather and cigar box, liquorice and black tea, a little mint and tobacco. The weight, length and plush feel of the palate betters everything else here, still very young and tangy/spicy laced with coffee/truffle and even a little nectarine on the finish. While this vintage has a mixed reputation a good bottle is something to behold, and makes you feel sorry for those who have struck lesser examples. WOTN, and a fitting way to finish the tasting.


Cheers
Ian

[Waiters Friend]

Fabulous! And I'm really surprised at the 1988 Wynns JR being the wine of the night, amongst such esteemed company. Is there a case perhaps that some of them were drunk too early? Certainly 2005 Cullen DM would have been a baby, especially if a screwcap version.

[Craig(NZ)]

2002 Stonyridge Larose Cabernet Sauvignon, Waiheke Island: Medium crimson/brick. Interesting cool-climate nose, raspberry cordial, herbs and beetroot, then chalk and smoke, becoming more medicinal with breathing. The palate’s only light to medium weight and the fruit’s minty/green and rather simple, with a slight peppery finish. Quite a few people were disappointed when its identity was revealed – was this a dud bottle, a lesser vintage, or just out of its depth against quality opposition?

Not a great vintage but not a shocker. Best years are 87,94,96,99,00,04,05. Id say next to a Pontet Canet it wouldnt look in its place.

Many years ago I attended a tasting with the same theme which included PC and SRL (also Montebello, Lafite, Cyril, 707, Coleraine, Cos, Sassacaia etc) . SRL suffered there too coming near the bottom of the pack. Kiwi reds generally suffer from lack of structure and size in this sort of event. Having said that in a social drinking environment they can be ample.

06 is out now. Havent tried it and havent heard from anyone that has. Getting too expensive now to be bothered. Personally I have usually found stonyridge to be a good wine. I have bought the odd bottle and have a sprinkling of top vintages only in the cellar (no 02).

[Irregular]

Have to agree with your assessment of the ‘05 Vasse Felix Ian, a cracker of a wine. On a recent trip around Margaret River, this was amongst the highlights and offers great value for the price.

I’m another pleased to hear the ‘88 JR is travelling so well. I had one from magnum some years back which didn’t show as expected, so I’m looking forward to another now.

cheers
Ian

[n4sir]

Fabulous! And I'm really surprised at the 1988 Wynns JR being the wine of the night, amongst such esteemed company. Is there a case perhaps that some of them were drunk too early?

We discussed this on the night because some people were stunned how good it was - there's a fair amount of variation and some people have struck less than impressive bottles over the years. I don't think drinking them early was a factor as such - there's been consistently less than flattering comments of bottles sourced from VC's Anders Josephson collection, so I'm guessing provenance is a bigger issue.

Cheers,
Ian

[hmmm]

have you had a chance to try the 1986 john riddoch? how does it compare against the 1988?

[orpheus]

Terrific descriptions of these wines.

THough, I'm sure I would have enjoyed being there significantly more, your tasting notes really brought them to life.

[Mattwine]

Ian, fantastic notes as others have said. I cannot vouch for too many of the wines as I've not tried them but your note on the Vasse Felix was exactly what I experienced when I tasted it! However, my mind did not process it so eloquently...

Matt

[n4sir]

Thanks for the complements guys.

have you had a chance to try the 1986 john riddoch? how does it compare against the 1988?

I think I last tried the '86 about 16+ years ago, just when I was starting to drink wine (but well before I started to string a few useful thoughts together and wrote anything down about it). I remember it being a very good drop, but nothing more unfortunately - the distant, vague memories of a reckless youth...

Most people rate the '86 as better than the '88, and the logical successor to the brilliant '82 (which unfortunately I haven't tried to date).

Cheers,
Ian

[Sharkey]

Great notes Ian. I have had several '88 JRs over the last 5 years and agree that it can be a fantastic wine if you get a good one.

Any idea how long it had been decanted for. I still have a few bottles - and a magnum - and would love them to be as good as the one you have described.

[Muscat Mike]

Thanks for the complements guys.

have you had a chance to try the 1986 john riddoch? how does it compare against the 1988?

I think I last tried the '86 about 16+ years ago, just when I was starting to drink wine (but well before I started to string a few useful thoughts together and wrote anything down about it). I remember it being a very good drop, but nothing more unfortunately - the distant, vague memories of a reckless youth...

Most people rate the '86 as better than the '88, and the logical successor to the brilliant '82 (which unfortunately I haven't tried to date).

Cheers,
Ian

I shared an '86 with Craig (NZ) almost 2 years ago. It was in very good nick with plenty of time to go.
Unfortunately only have 1 or 2 left.
Mike.

[n4sir]

Any idea how long it had been decanted for. I still have a few bottles - and a magnum - and would love them to be as good as the one you have described.

The wines coincidentally arrived at the same time I did, and they were rushed into the available decanters - I was on a table on the opposite end of the room to the people handling them and didn't see much, but I'd guess the later wines including the JR hit the decanters halfway through and would have had about an hour tops.

Cheers,
Ian