Faber Vineyard is a Swan Valley landmark, and John Griffiths has been a stalwart of Swan Valley shiraz for 25 years now. He makes three different shiraz in most years – the entry level Riche (which lives up to the name), the Millard (from his mate’s vineyard up the road), and the Reserve.
For the past couple of years (perhaps longer, not sure), John has hosted a benchmark Shiraz tasting, where a dozen Australian shiraz wines of equal or greater value to the Faber Reserve are tasted blind by 60-80 Shiraz lovers. The tasting is interspersed with a three course lunch prepared and overseen by wife Jane. This year, all wines were from the 2020 vintage, to coincide with the release of the Faber Reserve 2020.
Apart from enthusiastic amateurs like me, there’s a few guest professionals – this year it was Brian Kent and Elizabeth Smith from Frankland Estate, and David and Stuart Watson from Woodlands. Professionals and amateurs alike are called upon to give their tasting notes / opinions on the wines.
John claims the wines are tasted in random order within the three brackets of four wines. There’s a show of hands after each bracket to gauge the group’s preferred wines.
Although the tasting notes are my own, I will also indicate the wines that I preferred, and which the group preferred. Not surprisingly, there’s not a direct match!
Here are the wines, in order of tasting. All Shiraz, of course, and all 2020 vintage. On this occasion, all wines were from Western Australia or South Australia. I haven’t described colour, as the tasting is held in the barrel shed and comparisons are difficult. They’re all various shades of purple
.Kay Brothers Block 6 (McLaren Vale, S.A.): Cloves, red plums and vanilla on the nose. There’s juicy dark fruits on the palate, with grippy tannins and savoury oak supporting the fruit. Medium length and weight.
Swinney Farvie (Frankland River, W.A.): The cedary oak is dominating the dark fruits and mulberry at present. There’s licorice on the palate with supple tannins, and supporting acid. Good length and medium weight only. This was well regarded by the group, but didn’t fire me up.
Deep Woods Reserve (Margaret River, W.A.): This was bigger and richer than the previous two wines, with dark plums and a little eucalypt on the nose. The palate is rich and mouth-coating, with grippy tannins, prominent acid, and lots of red and blue fruits flowing across the tongue. Long finish.
Upper Reach Reserve (Swan Valley W.A.): Black and red fruits on the nose, with some milk chocolate. A substantial palate, with dark fruits and cocoa powder over supporting tannins and acid. Great length and balance. I was able to taste this again two hours later, and it was even better. Somewhat supported by the group, and strongly supported by me.
Henschke Tappa Pass (Eden Valley, S.A.): Cedary oak, milk chocolate, red berries on the nose. There’s ripe almost juicy red fruits on the palate, along with some licorice. Tannins are fine but appear dense, and acid is a little prominent. Medium weight and length. Somewhat well regarded by the group and myself.
Frankland Estate Smith Cullam (Frankland River, W.A.): Herbal nose, initial sense of cough syrup, red fruits and sweet candy floss. The palate shows cola, sarsaparilla and cranberry, with prominent acid, moderate oak influence and grippy but fine tannins. Medium length. Syrah style.
Shaw and Smith Balhanna Vineyard (Adelaide Hills S.A.): The nose was initially vegetal, but some red berries and savoury oak emerged. The palate was a significant improvement, with milk chocolate, sweet blueberries, moderately grippy tannins and soft acid.
Wendouree (Clare Valley, S.A.): Complex nose – vanillan oak, rich black plums, blue and back berries, cloves, cinnamon and a little tar on the nose. The palate is dominated a little by oak, and there’s grippy tannins and moderate acid. Long finish and full bodied. Highly regarded, by myself and the group.
Standish (Barossa Valley, S.A.) Blueberries, redcurrant, savoury oak and mulberries on the nose. Raspberries and red fruits on the palate, with fine but grippy tannins and prominent acid. Medium to long finish.
Faber Reserve (Swan Valley, W.A.): Initially a little shoe polish on the nose, which opened up quickly with lots of dark berries and plums, a touch of leather, and vanillan oak. The palate was rich and ripe, almost mouth filling, with blueberries and blackberries. Tannins and acid play a good supporting role, with neither dominant. Medium to full bodied and very long finish. Highly regarded by the group and myself.
Penfolds Bin 150 (Barossa Valley, S.A.): Lots of vanillan oak, Christmas pudding / brandy and a little leather polish. There’s more Christmas pud on a palate that’s dominated by rich plummy fruit and cocoa powder. Tannins and acid are supporting only at this point. Long finish and my equal wine of the day.
Hickinbotham Brooks Road (McLaren Vale, S.A.): Confectioned red berries and modest vanillan oak on the nose. Redd cordial, cranberry and Cherry Ripe on the palate. Noticeable acid, and fine grippy tannins. Medium bodied, and a clean finish, not overly long.
A well structured tasting, with plenty of humour and irreverence, and some wonderful company. It was a good opportunity to catch up with a few people from previous tastings as well. Also good to see how well the Faber Reserve stands up in this company. Good onya John and Jane.
Cheers
Allan
