TV: Catherine Vale (Hunter) 2003 releases

[GraemeG]

Last Sunday we visited Catherine Vale, in the Broke sub-district of the Hunter, for the launch of their 2003 vintage wines and the almost-opening (the liquor licence still has to be transferred 50 metres) of the new CD facility. Brief notes follow. Wines made by John Hordern, all 2003 vintage wines are under screwcap (hooray!).

2003 Catherine Vale Verdelho Semillon
Pale straw. Lifted floral notes, a splash of musk and lemon. The palate shows perhaps just a touch of residual sugar (not prominent, only highlighted by the following wine) giving it a rich round texture. Slightly short finish. Acceptable.

2003 Catherine Vale Semillon
Very pale straw – almost colourless. A restrained lemon-limey nose, followed by a lively palate. Acid is fresh but not dominant (this is no Vat 1), and the wine, with 12.5% alcohol is perhaps reflective of the hot growing season. Attractive wine with a medium term cellaring future.

2003 Catherine Vale Chardonnay
Deep straw/pale yellow. Plenty of butterscotch and peach on the nose here. I anticipated a somewhat flabby palate, but restrained use of oak (only a hint of vanilla) and lees contact has given this wine a certain sophistication. Partial malolactic only, but you wouldnÂ’t call the acid prominent. It hasnÂ’t the structure to be a long ager, but for a few years will be very acceptable drinking.

2003 Catherine Vale Dolcetto
Light crimson red, the wine has aromas of raspberry, bubble-gum, perhaps even a hint of banana. Some carbonic maceration here perhaps?. Grapey on the palate, with a lick of sour red berry fruit, thereÂ’s very little in the way of tannin, and a generally forward balance in the mouth. A refreshing light red which needs to be served no warmer than about 14C. Not particularly my style of wine, but interesting none-the-less.

2003 Catherine Vale Barbera
Glowing dark crimson, the nose is sour cherries and dried leaves. The palate is very dry, savoury in style, with dusty fruit, no oak tannins, and yet a little gentle astringency. Medium bodied at best, it’s not exactly lush – it does have something of an austerity to it. It doesn’t exhibit any faults that I can find, but I’m no expert when it comes to Barbera, so I can’t really comment on typicity. (A second bottle, shared with my parents for dinner last Tuesday, prompted the observation that they preferred last week’s wine – which was a 98 Domaine A Pinot opened to celebrate our 2nd anniversary!) The vines are quite young, and Barbera is evidently quite temperamental in the Hunter (surprise) – some of the 2004 fruit failed to ripen properly and was left still sitting on the vine last weekend…

Wines pretty much sell only via mailing list – there’s a website with the obvious URL. At around $15 or so each they’re not bad value either, especially compared to many of the bland offerings by industrial labels at this price. And they’ve done pretty well at regional and boutique wine shows around the country with previous vintages.

(I should add that although I am an acquaintance of a proprietorial Lawson family member, I derive no benefit from any sales, have no financial interest in the operation, and have received no largesse of any kind from any association with Catherine Vale.)

cheers,
Graeme

[Gary W]

Yes. We left the Shiraz and the Barbera on the ground a couple of weeks ago at Mudgee. Very sad.
GW