TN Lengs & Cooter latest releases

[n4sir]

2003 Watervale Clare Valley Riesling Pale green colour. The nose is very delicate and floral, with predominantly lemon and lime fruits and hints of orange, lemongrass and aniseed in the background. The palate in contrast is very intense with course slate/mineral flavours, and a mealy, almost wheaty texture. Another different style of Riesling from Clare’s mixed bag of 2003.

NV Sparkling Malbec/Shiraz Cleanskin Bright red colour. The palate is very sweet, with aged, chocolatey fruit and some coffee oak. Not really my style; it seems to lack freshness, body and length.

2002 Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir Deep, raspberry red. The nose features an aggressive mix of funky fruit and toasty/smoky oak. At first I thought the palate was a little disjointed and short, but the second mouthful was much better. There’s possibly just enough raspberry/strawberry fruit to go with the healthy lashing of acid to hint it could evolve in a few years time. Then again it could end up like the Penfolds 2001 Cellar Door Pinot which seems to be going nowhere fast.

2002 The Victor Shiraz Grenache Deep, dark purple; not especially inky, but glowing. Glorious nose featuring some coal/tar, cigar-box, and rich raspberry fruit. The palate backs up the bouquet, with rich, chocolatey Shiraz supplying the depth and backbone of the wine, and the 30% Grenache softness, with that sublime, sweet raspberry aftertaste. It’s so good I’d like to taste it against the Penfolds 2002 Cellar Door Grenache; a must for those under-$20 2002 hunters out there.

1994 Clare Valley Shiraz Deep, brick red with hints of mahogany. A very pleasant bouquet of old leather, mint/menthol and some medicinal (cough medicine) characters, and some ash. The fruit has really dropped away on the palate, leaving a soft structure with nothing in reserve. This is at the very end of its use-by date, and is probably best with Camembert or Edith/Capricorn cheeses rolled in ash to match it.

2002 Old Vines Clare Valley Shiraz Like all the following wines, the colour is a gorgeous, youthful, glowing, inky purple/black. Although it’s aged in predominantly new American oak for 14 months, pure chocolate and blackberry fruit dominates the nose. The palate has a soft body with blackberry and hints of those cough medicine characters, and coffee oak really kicking in to dominate the finish. There seems to be a battle going on, with the fruit dominating the nose, and the oak the palate. According to Karel Lengs the oak tends to back off and integrate after about three to four years.

2002 The Swinton Cabernet Sauvignon French oak barrel ferment ground coffee dominates the nose at first, with some green, slightly stalky characters appearing after extended breathing. That oak again dominates the palate, and the structure really seems to fall away on the finish. I can’t see this one integrating somehow.

2002 Reserve Shiraz Again there’s that battle going on between the rich fruit and oak, and this time both feature heavy artillery. The rich, syrupy blackberry fruit is winning out on the nose and palate, which are big and soft with no sign of any alcohol hotness. Expensive, but a great finish to a good line-up.

Cheers,
Ian