The Auswine Forum

Bit of a newcomer to John Riddoch. Only ever cellared a handful though recently have found it a great way to show the Coonawarra to international friends and audiences. The 86 presents the age-worthiness of Coonawarra cabernet; within a powerful framework there's just a hint of tertiary development with more dominant, almost fresh, minty blackcurrants, olives, light capsicum and spices in depth, squaring off in good length. The 96 was explosive, best wine of the three. Crème de cassis, peppemint chocolate, classy supporting oak, layered and in length- plenty of development going forward. Great. Mission accomplished- John Riddoch is a an easy and consistent way to show off, the often too diverse styles, of the Coonawarra.

Rockford Basket Press is a an easy crowd pleaser home and abroad. I'd high hopes for this vintage in my preferred style of classic Australia in the 80's and 90's. Obviously a wine of the new millennium. Surprisingly ripe, Rum n' Raisin Dark Chocolate, custard oak and underneath more typical red plum and fresh leather notes. It's quite big and granted, with little aeration in tonight's case, will integrate better at the 20 year mark. Which I'm sure the more technical will dispute. As always, delightfully well received! For me, I'm still back in the 80's and 90's.

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Slumming it!
Great wines.

I assume both corks shown are from the JRs. Looks like an AhSo or Durant job on one of them at least! My one minor complaint with Wynns wines from the 80's and 90's is that corks have been a bit hit and miss in terms of ease of extraction. However, did have an '86 JR pre-Covid that was absolutely beautiful. Old JRs very underrated IMO and I suspect more recent vintages will be just as age-worthy. But, then I would say that wouldn't I?

Yes. Corks are John Riddoch 86 & 96. Perfectly cellared and firmly sealed. Durant was used though wasn't required and more a just in case!

I agree with your sentiments on JR. For me, it's more the consistency of experiencing the Coonawarra in a deeper style. I'm less convinced of Black Label ( though not as well exposed as many here ) and happy to pay the extra for JR.

Good on you Jamie... moving into the wonderful of JR. Other than the 82 (first of the line and silly secondary market price)...pains this correspondent to actually admit JR is good value. Aside from this decade's releases, never paid more than 3 figures for any bottles. BL is actually commanding higher prices in some instances.
Have just signed up to a couple of auction houses as I have a few of the 'lesser' 80s/90s vintages that I would like to backfill a little.
Thanks for the note on the BP...need to look at these too
Cheers Craig

phillisc wrote: Have just signed up to a couple of auction houses as I have a few of the 'lesser' 80s/90s vintages that I would like to backfill a little.

I did this for a JR tasting event and a little consumption on the side. Despite some obvious poor storage in some cases, there was still "enough" aged Coonawarra cabernet in the wines to be pretty satisfied. And yes, the price for lesser vintages quite modest. Well south of $100.

JamieBahrain wrote: Rockford Basket Press is a an easy crowd pleaser home and abroad. I'd high hopes for this vintage in my preferred style of classic Australia in the 80's and 90's. Obviously a wine of the new millennium. Surprisingly ripe, Rum n' Raisin Dark Chocolate, custard oak and underneath more typical red plum and fresh leather notes. It's quite big and granted, with little aeration in tonight's case, will integrate better at the 20 year mark. Which I'm sure the more technical will dispute. As always, delightfully well received! For me, I'm still back in the 80's and 90's.

Had an 02 Basket Press on the weekend as well. Cork stained 1/4 of the way up, and the wine was fine. Very similar notes
to yours, however this one still seemed quite young and in particular the acid still poking out a touch. No heat/alcohol, lovely integrated fruit,
tannin and oak. Length was good. Still not a style I love any more, but the better half does, so the remaining ones will keep her happy.
Have some birth year wines for the kids too.