The Auswine Forum

Sean wrote:

phillisc wrote:Have tried the 13 and 14 Wynns...not convinced about the 13 premiums yet...but time will inevitably win out.
Think the 13 is a lighter style, the 14 BL cab I thought was very good.

Cheers
Craig

I posted the following on the weekend, then deleted it. (Sorry, it is a bit of a rant.) But I have noticed no-one else is talking about the new Wynns wines this week. Just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience (or a better one) than mine?

Well, the tasting of the new Wynns wines that I did went something like this. I check the DM website. Big flashy ad and prices look the same as last year. I go to the Brighton store. No Wynnsday posters or the usual paraphernalia. Usually there is. Where are the cartons of Wynns wines? Where are all the Wynns wines on tasting?

I spot the two Black Labels among some other bottles of crap on tasting. The staffer doing the tasting has wandered off. I do the same. I see a few pinots like Kooyong (the Estate and the Massale), Farr Rising, Paringa Estate, Toolangi, Wedgetail and an Oregon pinot I haven't tried before. Meanwhile I notice they have the 2013 vintage of the Black Labels on the end of aisles for sale. Also cartons of the same vintage on the floor. No sign of the new 2014 vintage yet. No sign of the Michael or John Riddoch. OK there's some V&A Lane. Is that the new vintage?

Must be looking in the wrong place. But they are obviously still flogging the previous vintage. I notice the staffer is back pouring wine at the tasting bench. I go over and ask to try the BL Shiraz. I check the vintage. Yep it is the 14. Long silence. I think he is expecting me to say something. It's oaky, I tell him. He says nothing. I wonder if he thinks I said, it's OK not oaky. Pepper, spice, dark plums, red fruits and oaky I am thinking. A hit of big, powdery tannin like a film over the palate when I sip it a second time. All gone.

So did you do the Wynnsday tasting on Wednesday? I ask. Yes we did, he tells me. (My mistake going on the following Saturday afternoon.) I bet the staff enjoyed that anyway, I am thinking. He pours the 14 vintage of the BL Cabernet Sauvignon. He tells me he thinks 13 is a better vintage in the Coonawarra. Really nice aromatics, I say. It has a bit going on I am thinking. But my heart isn't in this. It is bang on actually. Mint, earth, blackcurrant. Good tannin. Feels structured, this one is playing the long game. I wonder what the John Riddoch is like. Who knows?

He is telling me there is a lot of other Coonawarra cabernet you can get instead of this. He mentions Zema. I like Zema, I say to him, but they can feel a bit warm sometimes. I like the way Wynns have been able to keep down the alcohol levels in their wines. A few Coonawarra wineries haven't done that. Silence again. I thank him for the tasting. If I was really interested in buying a case of Wynns BL or a John Riddoch I would have asked where it was I suppose. I wander off and browse the store for a while.

Here's the thing. The two wines I tried are pretty good, they are up to the standard set by Wynns in recent years. (I like the 13 BL Shiraz more than the 14 that I tasted however.) But why weren't all the Wynns wines on tasting? And where were they? I eventually find some 14 BL Cabernet Sauvignon mixed in with the 13's and get that. Get some of those pinots too, not just the Wynns. I am drinking a red I've had on the go over a couple of nights as I write this and mull it over - not the wine (I am enjoying that). Just the lackadaisical way these people sell a wine they probably think walks straight out the door every time.

Ian S wrote:

Rocky wrote:2009 Diana Madeline
I have 8 bottles of these which I had purchased from the Cellar Door. Last night was my first try at the 09, and given the hefty price tag and the big JO call as 'Wine of the Year' 'Reminiscent of how Bordeaux use to be', my expectations were high. Whilst I wasn't disappointed I felt I little let down, perhaps I was expecting too much or the lighter weight of this wine wasn't to my palate. Medium purple / red with malt, black olives, black and red fruits. Very fine tannins and almost feathery through the palate. Long finish. If wines were gender specific this was certainly feminine. I could envisage this would be a polarising wine.

He also went OTT on the 1998 and 1999 editions which were (in that context) disappointing. Caution advised.

Chuck wrote:On the subject of John Riddoch pricing of $150 you can get well aged JR from quality vintages eg 96 and 98 and with good provenance from auction for around $100 including buyer's premium. As they say the market is always right so the secondary market is pricing its quality in comparison with other wines so perhaps Treasury Wine should note this when it dreams up new release prices. I think TW needs to understand that the rest of the wine industry has caught up with it over the past 30 years and it no longer has a mortgage over the premium cabernet market and Coonawarra may be losing its mantle as the regional king of cabernet.

Apologies for sidetracking the thread.

Carl

Chuck wrote:Coonawarra may be losing its mantle as the regional king of cabernet.

Carl

Hunter wrote::Ballycroft 2012 small berry shiraz American oak 15.3%
Despite the high alcohol, it's not Noticable.
Very well put together,Vanilla , sweet cassis and leather. Like you've set fire to old leather couch with sugar all over it. 
Class and character.
Joe Evans is making some serious stuff here ..

Phil H wrote:2001 Petaluma Coonawarra. Colour starting to show its age, tannins have all but disappeared . Cedary oak in the background, full bodied, dark berry fruits with a touch of earthiness, drink up now. Enjoyably, however worth holding onto for the last 13 years, probably not.

Con J wrote:

Phil H wrote:2001 Petaluma Coonawarra. Colour starting to show its age, tannins have all but disappeared . Cedary oak in the background, full bodied, dark berry fruits with a touch of earthiness, drink up now. Enjoyably, however worth holding onto for the last 13 years, probably not.

I've had a couple of these in the last 12 months and thought they were still primary and needed a few more years to gain some complexity. Got 10 more in the cellar so I should have a look at another one soon.

Cheers Con.

Phil H wrote:

Con J wrote:

Phil H wrote:2001 Petaluma Coonawarra. Colour starting to show its age, tannins have all but disappeared . Cedary oak in the background, full bodied, dark berry fruits with a touch of earthiness, drink up now. Enjoyably, however worth holding onto for the last 13 years, probably not.

I've had a couple of these in the last 12 months and thought they were still primary and needed a few more years to gain some complexity. Got 10 more in the cellar so I should have a look at another one soon.

Cheers Con.

Hi Con
Let us know when you open one, I will be interested on your notes. I am starting to get to wines that I collected for cellaring over 14 years ago. Now it's a decision to give them a few more years, or drink now before it's too late. I use Cellar Tracker, and there were mixed opinions when to drink this wine. Unfortunately, most of my older wines are single units, so I don't have the luxury of trying a bottle every year to check on its development. You could be right that the wine is still primary, however I did not see much change in the wine over 4 hours, and I don't think there is much left in the wine to keep it going for a few more years, but I certainly could be wrong.

Ian S wrote:

Chuck wrote:On the subject of John Riddoch pricing of $150 you can get well aged JR from quality vintages eg 96 and 98 and with good provenance from auction for around $100 including buyer's premium. As they say the market is always right so the secondary market is pricing its quality in comparison with other wines so perhaps Treasury Wine should note this when it dreams up new release prices. I think TW needs to understand that the rest of the wine industry has caught up with it over the past 30 years and it no longer has a mortgage over the premium cabernet market and Coonawarra may be losing its mantle as the regional king of cabernet.

Apologies for sidetracking the thread.

Carl

Yes I recall their 'price correction' when they realised the market didn't value the wine as highly as they did. IIRC it was a 40-50% reduction. Maybe the time is right to repeat that. FWIW I'm a fan of this and the black label Cab Sauv, but not so much of a fan that I'll buy at any price.

WAwineguy wrote:2005 Bouchard Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus

After drinking this stunning wine, how can one go back to Aussie pinot?

Michel, what do you think?

rooman wrote:

WAwineguy wrote:2005 Bouchard Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus

After drinking this stunning wine, how can one go back to Aussie pinot?

Michel, what do you think?

I'm interested to know a bit more about how you found this wine. I have a few tucked away as part of the wines I collected for my son's birth year. So far I've kept my hands off these I was concerned they would still be too under developed. Sounds however as those they might be open for business?

Mark

WAwineguy wrote:

rooman wrote:

WAwineguy wrote:2005 Bouchard Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus

After drinking this stunning wine, how can one go back to Aussie pinot?

Michel, what do you think?

I'm interested to know a bit more about how you found this wine. I have a few tucked away as part of the wines I collected for my son's birth year. So far I've kept my hands off these I was concerned they would still be too under developed. Sounds however as those they might be open for business?

Mark

I'm a member of a Bordeaux-based wine "club" - they partner with most of the top Chateaux and Domaines to bring wines to members ex-chateaux.