1996 x 4 (Rockford BP, Wendouree, Bests Thomson & YY No.1)

[brodie]

I bought a lot of 1996 Aussie reds.... We were living in Melbourne at the time, I was on some good mailing lists. It was my son's birth year and it was a really good vintage in most areas. Well those were my excuses at the time.

Time has past and I can't believe it is now 20 years past vintage. All were bought on release (mailing list for Wendouree, Rockford and Yarra Yering). I have recently been reunited with my Aussie cellar, so when a friend decided to come over to drink some wine, it seemed like a good opportunity to try some.

Bottom line: All have aged gracefully and all have plenty left in the tank. Four very different wines, with distinct personalities and none were over ripe or over oaked or over extracted. A nice tribute to the diversity of Aussie wine makers and wine styles. All were under cork and were decanted for 2-3 hours

1996 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz: From the Barossa Valley, this is Rockford's flagship wine and made from old vines from a variety of vineyards. This was the most mature, medium to dark red with some bricking. Nose was fruit cake and plummy red fruits. Palate was rich and harmonious with more plum and earth. Good finish with soft tannins and enough acidity to keep it fresh. A very traditional style of Barossa shiraz, a bit like a warm woolen jersey on a cold day; warm and soft and comforting. Not especially complex but very good drinking and surprisingly elegant. I would say fully mature and ready to go but will hold for 5 years

1996 Wendouree Shiraz: Famous Clare Valley winery and their most sought after wine. Made from a blend of 1910 and 1940 plantings I think from memory. Most youthful of the bunch, dark red without much sign of ageing , some eucalyptus/menthol on the nose, very powerful structured and intense with dark fruits and spice. Beautiful youthful example of a Wendouree Shiraz as it is quite approachable and very enjoyable. The rather uncompromising structure of this wine is impressive and quite along way out of the Oz mainstream. The tannins were a bit Nebbiolo like in the sense that they got more pronounced as time went on. I bought a whole case of this, this was first bottle; wait 10 years for the next bottle. Very optimistic as it has the fruit depth to handle the structure. Good for my son's 50th I reckon.

1996 Best's Great Western Thomson Family Shiraz:. This is Best's flagship old vine shiraz, conveniently with the my family name. This is a bit like a half way house between the softness and plushness of the Rockford and power and structure of the Wendouree. Also a youthful dark red colour. A bit more fruity and some gentle vanilla/spice oak notes than the Wendouree on the nose. Some milk chocolate notes on the palate. Very polished and well made in a sophisticated way. Balanced and poised with lots of depth to the flavour profile. Nicely integrated and quite seamless. Lovely wine and also quite youthful, keep 5+ years easy.

1996 Yarra Yering Dry Red No.1: Definitely the odd man out. A cool climate Cabernet blend from the Yarra Valley. After the big ripe Shiraz wines this was a bit leafy and green on the nose. Palate wqas bdx like with lots of cassis. Very refined fine grained tannins. Acidity was a bit too noticeable and stuck out on the finish. Better with food for sure. Still quite young but not sure where it will go. I love Yarra Yering wines but this was a bit too cool climate for me..

Cheers Brodie

[Waiters Friend]

Good onya Brodie.

I love to hear how older wines are travelling, and I envy the line-up you tasted. Especially with the Wendouree, it will be interesting to see how subsequent bottles open up - a shame you'll wait another 10 years. I bet you don't

Cheers
Allan

[brodie]

Good onya Brodie.

I love to hear how older wines are travelling, and I envy the line-up you tasted. Especially with the Wendouree, it will be interesting to see how subsequent bottles open up - a shame you'll wait another 10 years. I bet you don't

Cheers
Allan

Hi Allan, I think I might try a 1996 Shiraz/Mataro fairly soon to see how this one is coming along. You may well be right about the 10 years thing. But I have lots of other Wendourees to try as well.

Cheers Brodie

[Michael McNally]

Nice write up thanks!

Cheers

Michael

[JamieBahrain]

Had an amazing 96 Basket Press last night. Better than a recent magnum! Bravo. Great wine.