The Auswine Forum

Jimmy Watson Trophy Winner 1992 13.5% A/V

A blend of Coonawarra Cabernet and Langhorne Creek Malbec aged in new French and American oak. (no percentages of either stated)

Medium ruby core with considerable bricking in the edges, this wine threw up some reductive character at first but blew off quickly. I must say this has deteriorated somewhat over the years. I last tried this 2 years ago and there's substantially less fruit and considerably more oak apparent. Nonetheless, it still drinking quite well, with a cedary/savoury/sandalwood nose with some spicy plum underneath. The palate reveals medium-body, a smooth, rounded mouthfeel and slightly better (read sweeter) fruit/oak balance than the nose. The soft tannin structure plays second fiddle to relatively high acid. Finishes very dry and quite long. Somewhat enigmatic, as such, and rated somewhere just above Recommended. Drink up.

I picked up a few magnums of this wine back in 97, for the bargain price of about $30 each. The last one was drunk in 99, and although very pleasant I felt it was very much in the secondary stage of life - probably drunk at its peak in fact. I seem to recall this was the last vintage that Harper's Range was South Australian sourced - I believel the 92 vintage was an all-Victorian wine.

Similar experiences with the 93 Rouge Home Richardson's Red Block (JW winner the following year) - a pleasant wine at 6 years of age, but nothing earth-shattering - cured me of any urges to chase Jimmy Watson winners, and in fact I don't think I've owned (or even tasted) one since, apart from a small batch of very good Leasingham 94 CC Shiraz. But the winners from the 95 vintage onwards have never darkened my lips...

cheers,
Graeme