To quote James Halliday: “A winery steeped in tradition (with National Trust classification) which should be visited at least once by every wine conscious Australian …..”. I made the pilgrimage back in 2012, and you’ll find the report here: Tahbilk wines - The Auswine Forum
Tahbilk’s “Eric Stevens Purbrick” wines are high in the (considerable) range of Tahbilk wines. The Cabernet Sauvignon is the top cabernet they make, while the equivalent Shiraz is second only to the iconic 1860s Vines.
Eric Purbrick was the second generation of the family to run the business (they’re currently up to the fifth) from 1931. He introduced considerable change and development to the business, including the use of labelling wines by grape variety rather than the generic style. The 2002 vintage saw the “Reserve” label replaced with the “Eric Stevens Purbrick” moniker.
I’ve been collecting these on and off for many years, and it seemed like a good idea to have this vertical tasting, to see how they evolve over time, and to see if there was any stylistic changes. The current vintage available from Tahbilk is the 2017, so the wines already have a few years’ bottle age.
A dozen of us came together at the wonderful Lulu’s Little Bistro. As usual, we tasted from youngest to oldest. We commenced with the shiraz wines, with the only logic being that the vertical didn’t extend as far back as for the cabernets
All wines were decanted several hours in advance. Tahbilk ‘Eric Stevens Purbrick’ Shiraz 2017: Purple colour. A nose of ripe red plums, vanilla, cloves, capsicum, nutmeg, five spice, white pepper and sour cherry. There’s more red plums and sour cherry on the palate, along with redcurrants. There’s a fair amount of acid, and the tannins are grippy. The wine has a slightly ferrous character, and some tasters noted salinity. Medium to long finish without being overly heavy, and quite balanced.
Tahbilk ‘Eric Stevens Purbrick’ Shiraz 2016: Purple colour. Red plummy fruit is prominent on the nose, with Italian herbs, cedary oak, soy and again some tasters noted brine. One taster noted “English library”. The palate is showing juicy red and dark plums, olives, blackcurrants, and more red plums on the back palate. Tannins reminded me personally of black tea, and acid plays a supporting role. Medium length and well regarded by the group.
Tahbilk ‘Eric Stevens Purbrick’ Shiraz 2014: Purple / red in colour. The plum fruits are starting to show a small amount of development. It’s showing mocha, cloves, soy or balsamic, and cedary oak. The palate has fully ripe plummy fruit, savoury oak, and some white pepper. Supporting acid, and tannins are noticeable, although starting to integrate. Medium to long finish.
Tahbilk ‘Eric Stevens Purbrick’ Shiraz 2008: Purple / red. The gap between vintages was noticeable here. Sweet plum conserve on the nose, with plum pudding, mocha and cloves. A touch of menthol also. The palate echoes the plum conserve flavour, with some figs, mulberry and white pepper thrown in. Tannins are dusty and acid is maintaining freshness. Long finish.
The previous wines were under screwcap, while the next two were under cork.
Tahbilk ‘Eric Stevens Purbrick’ Shiraz 2006: Purple / red. Initially, savoury oak was dominating, but a little more time in glass revealed a complex nose of cherries, plums, lavender, Christmas cake, violets and leather polish. Maybe a touch of VA. The palate has juicy red fruits and plums, along with some white pepper. One taster saw “old lady’s purse mint”. Persistent tannins, a velvety texture and a long finish. Another taster referred to an “iron fist in a velvet glove”. Highly regarded by the group and Shiraz of the Night.
Tahbilk ‘Eric Stevens Purbrick’ Shiraz 2004: Purple / red. Spicy oak and jammy dark and red fruits. Christmas cake, cedary oak and After Dinner Mints on the nose. A supple palate, with red fruits, white pepper, freshening acid and grippy tannins leading to a medium finish. On this and the 2006, the tannins exceeded the fruit towards the finish, so personally I wish I had opened them a year or two earlier. We then moved onto the Cabernet Sauvignons. The cabernets were overall slightly lighter in colour than their shiraz counterparts, and I have therefore omitted colour references in the individual notes.
Tahbilk ‘Eric Stevens Purbrick’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2017: Eucalypt, blackberries, violets, and cigar box on the nose. The fruit is youthful, with one taster likening it to ruby cabernet. The palate shows more jubey fruit. Acid and tannins are somewhat dominant at this point, and there’s some viscosity. Needs time.
Tahbilk ‘Eric Stevens Purbrick’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2016: Eucalypt, blackberry, coffee grounds, mocha and cedar on the nose. The palate is bigger than the 2017, with stewed dark fruits. Acid is slightly dominant at present, with fine grained drying tannins. Ling finish, well balanced and well regarded by the group.
Tahbilk ‘Eric Stevens Purbrick’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2014: Dusty oak. Mint, garam masala, coffee grounds and formic acid, with fruits in the background. They appear more on the palate, which is surprisingly fruit forward (give the nose) and showing signs of development. Soft acid, grippy tannins, some viscosity, and a long finish.
Tahbilk ‘Eric Stevens Purbrick’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2008: Surprisingly, and given the vintage gap, this was more fruit forward than the previous cabernets. There’s fresh capsicum, blackberry, vanilla, violet / pot pourri, and celeriac on the nose. There’s rich blackberry fruit on the palate, with black olive, blueberry, mulberry, Cherry Ripe and mocha. Integrated tannins, velvety texture and supportive acid. Balanced and a long finish. The remainder of the wines were under cork.
Tahbilk ‘Eric Stevens Purbrick’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2007: Eucalypt, savoury oak and cigars on the nose, with fruits taking a back seat. Modest red and blue fruits on the palate, with menthol, a touch of black tea, and integrated tannins. Fruit is falling away on the medium length finish.
Tahbilk ‘Eric Stevens Purbrick’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2005: Blue and red fruits, umami, choc / mocha eucalypt and furniture polish on the nose. The palate shows lots of tertiary characters, with ripe dark and red fruits, menthol, and more mocha. Viscous and a medium to long finish, this was well regarded by the group.
Tahbilk ‘Eric Stevens Purbrick’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2004: A lot of eucalypt on the nose initially, which made way for capsicum, red fruits, sage, mushroom, and sarsaparilla. A complex palate, with mint, chocolate, red fruits, especially cranberry, porcini mushroom, tobacco, and Cherry Ripe. There was some discussion around the quality of the tannins – polished, delicate, even austere and one taster described the tannins as ‘porcelain’. It’s medium bodied, almost light but shows plenty of cabernet varietal character and is surprisingly long. Highly regarded by the group, and voted Cabernet of the Night.
Tahbilk Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2001: The nose shows beef stock, menthol and cement, with diminishing fruit. This may have been slightly corked. The palate is more giving, minty fresh with blackberry conserve. Tannins and aggressive and the acid dominates the finish. Obviously past its prime.
Tahbilk Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1998: Fruit has pretty much gone, leaving a nose of tobacco, rosemary, cola and furniture polish. The palate has some jammy fruit in the red spectrum, but tastes more of mint toothpaste. Still drinkable though!
There’s no doubting the longevity of these wines. The early vintages on both varieties (were just getting warmed up, and they seemed to improve between 10 and 20 years of age.
A number of the tasters had not come across these wines before (we are in WA, after all) and were surprised at how good the wines were. They are generally medium bodied, not blockbusters, but generally in balance and built to last.
My thanks to Mark and Jodie at Little Lulu’s Bistro – the food was unfailingly fantastic, and to those who joined me for this tasting.
Cheers
Allan
