The Auswine Forum

Had this recently with the 96 Dom...........good night that was!........

Restaurant too dimly lit to assess colour, but the aromas! Literally jumping out of the glass after 3 hour's decanting. Lovely sweet cherry nose with pleasant earthy, leathery nuances. Not full of tobacco leaf which was very refreshing, as had recently been drinking alot of connawarra stuff.

The palate was quite the revelation for an aussie cab. Refined, smooth, velvety. Fruit sweetness dominates the front palate, and the leathery, barnyardy palate finishes. The only gripe with this wine was it's length.....way less than expected, just a hint of presence on the back palate. The subtle nature of the fine tannins was also different, and I think contributed markedly to the lacking length.

All in all, enjoyable, but probably not worth the 150 dollar asking price at most auctions.

Drinking well now, and doubt it will improve- especially without the tannin backbone to carry it through....

Thoughts?

Cheers,

Monghead.

Hmmm, interesting in view of the fact that the 96 seemed to have emerged as one of the stars of the 90s vintages, if I recall the last MM newsletter recently. And the notion of the Quintet only really starting to sing at 10 years of age doesn't quite fit with your assessment of the 96. I've only a couple of bottles (it was my first year on the mailing list) and I was tossing up when to open one. A 97 drunk earlier this year was very acceptable, but not mind-blowing by any means.

When I pay this sort of money, I want palate length and structure (and a long finish as well). Any old wally can fill a wine with fruit, after all...

cheers,
Graeme