Sydney report here!
Let me just start by saying that it was a great night - Schott Zwiesel (Vina Bordeaux?) glasses, lots of wineries, nice venue, plenty of space, ample water and breadsticks to cleanse the palate AND the spit buckets were regularly emptied by the staff there (did not envy those guys!). Very well put together and for $40 it's an absolute bargain! Definitely recommend going.
As previously mentioned there was a lovely lady doing a blind tasting of six Cabs (or Cab dominant blends) from around the world, one of which being Coonawarra. Your job was to score and rank the six according to your palate and see how well you could describe or even pick out where they were from. Very fun, I was the first one to do it and seeing how she only has one bottle of each to sample I'd make it the first thing you do!
As a foreword, I didn't get to taste every winery (didn't get to Jim Barry or Katnook
), and my notes were a bit simple (good, bad etc...). I only made note of wines that particularly impressed me from each of the wineries I tasted, or that I thought were very sub par (fortunately not many were in that category). Additionally, I barely tried any whites at all so ignore their absence! If I don't mention the winery then I didn't taste any of their wines, and for each winery the wines that aren't mentioned were either just 'okay' or not really worth mentioning.
One thing I noticed was a trend to make wines more approachable when they were young. A lot of the cheaper Shiraz was very fruity and juby, some verging on Grenache like profiles. That's not a bad thing, but not many of the Shiraz I tasted were big and bold, which is more to my taste.
Anyway, on to the wine! These are listed in the order they are in the booklet, not the order I tasted them.
Balnaves of Coonawarra 'Heart and Soul'2012 'The Blend' would be a great quoffing wine. Very smooth and easy to drink. The 2010 and 2006(?) 'The Tally' Cabernets were fantastic wines, for $90 I'd say maybe a tad over priced. The rest of the line up I thought was a bit forgettable.
Blok Estate CoonawarraTheir Cab was above average but I really liked their 2006 and 2009 shiraz offerings. Big, bold, plenty of tannins - maybe not showing their best now but built for the long haul.
Brand's Laira CoonawarraGot to try the 2012 Tall Vines Shiraz and really liked it. The 2012 (I think) August Tide Bordeaux blend was also very smart. 2012 Blockers Cab was good, but its best years are ahead of it. Did not think the Stentiford was worth what they were asking, in fact I thought it was a bit thin and lacked oomph.
Highbank 'Coonawarra's Artisan'2008 Cab was very very tight and not really revealing anything. Their 2004 offering was much more open, a beautiful drink with plenty of life ahead. Classic Coonawarra.
Hollick WinesTheir standard 2012 Cab was pretty good, very approachable now. A good quoffing wine. Having said that their older offering ('08) was pretty good, so the wine has legs. Their Ravenswood Cab was very good, but a stretch at $75.
Leconfield WinesI was really looking forward to their 2012 Merlot, and it was very good! Having said that, I preferred their straight 2012 Cab offering. The 2012 Cab Merot was also solid. I really liked their 2013 (I think he said it was 2013 and not NV) Syn Rouge Sparkling Shiraz! Raspberries - yum! Would be great chilled with ham or turkey on a hot Christmas day.
Majella WinesTheir 2012 Cab was very good, as was their premium 2008 'Malleea' Cab Shiraz. Everything on offer was good, solid, and you'd be happy drinking it - but nothing else apart from those two really
wowed me. Maybe I'm just picky.
Parker Coonawarra EstateThe 2012 95 Block Cab was good, very good in fact. Their 2009 First Growth Cab was very nice - whether it's worth the money??? They also had a 2005 on offer that was good, although you could taste it was from a hot vintage. Very concentrated flavours, maybe lacked a tiny bit of balance.
Patrick of CoonawarraThe 2006 Grande Reserve was very very nice, pricy but this was up there with one of the better wines on show. Not a huge line up on display, and the others were kinda meh.
Penley EstateI didn't get to try all of the wines on offer here. I thought the 2010 Hyland Shiraz was good value at $20. The 2010 Reserve Cab was very very good, I'd say worth $50.
PetalumaOne of the most popular tables! I thought the stand outs were the 2010 Merlot and the 2010 Cab. They had a double magnum of 1994 Cab on offer too, had a taste and thought it was really good, the only thing stopping it from being great was the length of the finish - it was just a bit too short given my expectations.
Reschke WinesThe 2008 Bull Trader Shiraz was really good, noticeably developed too which is a good thing if drinking it now, but may indicate it doesn't have a massive life ahead of it. Should go to the end of the decade, though. 2006 Empyrean was really good, it could have been a bit longer on the finish but still a great great wine.
Rymill CoonawarraAgain I don't think I tried the full line up here, or maybe I did? I can't remember, I squeezed these guys in in the middle of the night somewhere. The 2008 Cab Sav (mature release, I think) was very very good. Fruit, furry tannins that coated your mouth, great structure, will go the distance if needed. I wrote down "best of it", so I guess that says something.
Wynns Coonawarra EstateAgain, another popular table and one I came back to a few times. The 2010 Alex 88 was great, surprisingly delicate, but needs time. Of the 2012 Black Labels I liked the Cab but didn't like the Shiraz - the Cab needs to be forgotten for a while, though. The 2012 V&A Lane Shiraz was very light and fruity, maybe too much though? I thought the V&A Lane Cab Shiraz was much better, very yummy, although not sure about how long it'll go given how approachable it is now. The 2012 Wynns Shiraz is phenomenal value at $12 or whatever it is. The 2004 John Riddoch was, as expected, fantastic. Very glad they decanted it prior, and a close runner up for WOTN.
Yalumba Coonawarra EstateDidn't bother trying the 2011 Cigar. They also had a 2001 Menzies on offer which I thought was good, although maybe slightly past it? The finish was a bit short, potentially a bad bottle? The 2010 Menzies, however, was brilliant. Dark fruits, great structure, tobacco, cigar box, long lingering finish - a wine that commanded attention. There were many other wines similar to it in style but this one did it best for me. Very glad I have one of these in the cellar, but will probably grab some more. If only it was under screwcap. My WOTN, simply because it's exactly what I look for in a Coonwarra Cab! Delicious.
Zema EstateI can't remember the vintages of these wines unfortunately. Both the cheaper Shiraz (very juby) and Cab offerings were good, particularly the Shiraz. Of their higher end 'Family Selection' wines, the Shiraz stood out. I tried a 1996 offering of their Family Selection Cab and it was good, but unfortunately I got the last bit and the sediment may have spoilt it a bit - judgement reserved. Their premium 2006 'Saluti' Cab Shiraz was very nice, probably one of the better Cab Shiraz offerings but pricy at almost $100.
Anyway if you're reading this, hope you enjoyed the notes. Would love to compare with others who are going to the future events!
Alex
