Red purple colour. On the nose this started out quite earthy and savoury: olives and other deli smells, and some red berries. The palate also starts as red berries (and maybe craberry?) and the fruit is quite bright. These are joined by some black ones (which take over in time). The savoury notes follow from the nose. Theres a chalkiness/dustiness to this as well. The tannins are fine, and the wine finishes with decent length. The 14.5% alcohol sticks out a bit on a warm finish.
Over a couple of hours, the wine changes completely. The nose turns to spirity blackcurrant, and the palate becomes much more ripe, fleshy blackberry / boysenberry driven, and there's a trace of leafiness and pepper/spice coming through. The alcohol integrates a little over time too (does that make sense? I've never struck this before), but the dustiness disappears, and seems to be replaced by blocky, chewy tannins.
I liked it better with breathing time, and I have a couple of glasses left to revisit tonight to see if it moves again.
Leave this alone for a couple of years, and then watch it improve for quite a few more after that. Very good, but wont be a buy for me unless tongiht shows improvement.
Cheers
Andrew
TN: Howard Park Scotsdale Cabernet 2001
Hi Attila,
No, I havent had the Leston, I picked the Scotsdale up form a local bottle shop as part of a selction of Cabernets to try (see the other posts further down, and there are two more to come). There was no Leston in stock at the time.
Interestingly, when I came back to drink the last glass a night later, the wine was showing as somewhere between the two "phases" described in my original post, and for me it showed its best that way.
I wonder sometimes when we talk about a wine evolving in the glass what we are actually seeing is our palate evolving to the wine as we drink it over a period of time - a couple of hours in this instance.
cheers
Andrew
No, I havent had the Leston, I picked the Scotsdale up form a local bottle shop as part of a selction of Cabernets to try (see the other posts further down, and there are two more to come). There was no Leston in stock at the time.
Interestingly, when I came back to drink the last glass a night later, the wine was showing as somewhere between the two "phases" described in my original post, and for me it showed its best that way.
I wonder sometimes when we talk about a wine evolving in the glass what we are actually seeing is our palate evolving to the wine as we drink it over a period of time - a couple of hours in this instance.
cheers
Andrew
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Grant Dodd
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Attila wrote:Of the two vineyard selection Howard Park cabernets I bought the 2001 Leston. Any thoughts on that? I loved your detailed description of the Scotsdale though. Very good read.
Thanks and cheers,
Attila
Ps: Has anyone else tasted the 2001 Leston out there?
Yes, compared both side by side. I preferred the Leston. The Leston also seemed to improve the most with breathing time. Needed about 3 hrs in the decanter to show it's best though, but it's worth the wait. Excellent wine!
Bill
Anonymous wrote:Attila wrote:Of the two vineyard selection Howard Park cabernets I bought the 2001 Leston. Any thoughts on that? I loved your detailed description of the Scotsdale though. Very good read.
Thanks and cheers,
Attila
Ps: Has anyone else tasted the 2001 Leston out there?
Yes, compared both side by side. I preferred the Leston. The Leston also seemed to improve the most with breathing time. Needed about 3 hrs in the decanter to show it's best though, but it's worth the wait. Excellent wine!
Bill
I went and found a Leston in the end, will try soo to compare.
AB