Tasting Forty Years of Australian Shiraz (1966 - 2001)
Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 4:52 pm
Peter Lehmann, Andrew Wigan, Peter Scholtz and Andrew Caillard (from Langtons) took about 30 of us through a very interesting, structured tasting of four decades of Shiraz. An excellent morning and a very insightful experience listening to the early days of winemaking at Saltrams, tasting those wines and seeing how they progressed and comparing them to the comments made by Peter Lehmann with additional comments coming from Huon Hooke, Max Allen and other wine writers interspersed throughout the tasting group.
Brief tasting notes follow;
1966 Saltram bin 44 shiraz
13.55% alcohol
A light brown, predominantely coffee and treacle on the nose with a pleasing, pruney palate, a hint of VA and some tannins in the finish. Peter Scholtz made the comment that is was opened an hour previously and many of the fruit flavours had since declined.
1968 Saltram Bin 61 shiraz
13.0 % alcohol
I loved the nose on this, sweet chocolate, fruits and raisins, however, others tasting nearby me did not share my opinion and said it was disgusting, smelling too porty. The palate was very pleasing (too me anyway) with delicate fruit and swiss chocolate flavours finishing with some fine tannins and acid.
1971 Saltram bin 71/88 shiraz
13.3% alcohol
A darker, chocolate brown color with a strong nose of earth and truffles. The palate was, too me, predominately earth and a hint of chocolate, not my style, but still very pleasamt to drink for a 33 year old wine. What was interesting was that this wine sold throughout the mid-70's as an everyday drinking wine for around the $2.50 mark - not bad for something that was not meant to last this long.
1973 Saltram Shiraz bin HP (Hydraulic Pressings)
13.9% alcohol
I found this wine one of the most interesting of the line up. On release this was supposed to be a highly extracted, high alcohol, high acid, muscular blockbuster. It matured for 27 months in oak and then got bottled as a show dry red in champagne bottles. Apparently very popular in the mid 70's and people would line up to get it on release.
Today, it probably still has 10 years left in it !
Dark brown with a nose of earth, fruits and some chocolate and a lovely, earthy palate of truffles and swiss chocolate, finishing with a good backbone of integrated tannins.
1981 Peter Lehmann Shiraz
Just a standard commercial release of a wine that is still very much alive today, probably with another 10 to 15 years left in it. A dark brown color with a nose of earth and mulberry. Pleasing acid, nice weight in the mouth and nicely structured layers of fruit with good, stiff tannins on the finish.
1989 Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz
Sourced from a magnum this was a lovely wine. A delightful, complex nose of black fruits. The palate had a wonderful mouthfeel and a good structure of fruits and chocolate.
1998 Willows Vineyard Shiraz
A dense opaque purple with a sweet nose of fruits and coffee. A lovely, silky smooth palate with layers of fruits, cinnamonn, coffee and dark chocolate.
1998 Peter Lehmann Eight Songs Shiraz
Not my style. Most others thought it was great, I thought it as dry and closed. I could not get any fruit on the nose or the palate.
1998 Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz
A dense, dark, glass staining purple. A nose of chocolate and berries. Tanninc, muscular fruits and long lingering flavours of coffee, dark chocolate and some plum.
2001 The Willows Bonsetter Shiraz
Yum, a wonderful savoury, earthy nose and a dense savoury palate with a wondeful finish and flavours that lingered for ages.
Brief tasting notes follow;
1966 Saltram bin 44 shiraz
13.55% alcohol
A light brown, predominantely coffee and treacle on the nose with a pleasing, pruney palate, a hint of VA and some tannins in the finish. Peter Scholtz made the comment that is was opened an hour previously and many of the fruit flavours had since declined.
1968 Saltram Bin 61 shiraz
13.0 % alcohol
I loved the nose on this, sweet chocolate, fruits and raisins, however, others tasting nearby me did not share my opinion and said it was disgusting, smelling too porty. The palate was very pleasing (too me anyway) with delicate fruit and swiss chocolate flavours finishing with some fine tannins and acid.
1971 Saltram bin 71/88 shiraz
13.3% alcohol
A darker, chocolate brown color with a strong nose of earth and truffles. The palate was, too me, predominately earth and a hint of chocolate, not my style, but still very pleasamt to drink for a 33 year old wine. What was interesting was that this wine sold throughout the mid-70's as an everyday drinking wine for around the $2.50 mark - not bad for something that was not meant to last this long.
1973 Saltram Shiraz bin HP (Hydraulic Pressings)
13.9% alcohol
I found this wine one of the most interesting of the line up. On release this was supposed to be a highly extracted, high alcohol, high acid, muscular blockbuster. It matured for 27 months in oak and then got bottled as a show dry red in champagne bottles. Apparently very popular in the mid 70's and people would line up to get it on release.
Today, it probably still has 10 years left in it !
Dark brown with a nose of earth, fruits and some chocolate and a lovely, earthy palate of truffles and swiss chocolate, finishing with a good backbone of integrated tannins.
1981 Peter Lehmann Shiraz
Just a standard commercial release of a wine that is still very much alive today, probably with another 10 to 15 years left in it. A dark brown color with a nose of earth and mulberry. Pleasing acid, nice weight in the mouth and nicely structured layers of fruit with good, stiff tannins on the finish.
1989 Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz
Sourced from a magnum this was a lovely wine. A delightful, complex nose of black fruits. The palate had a wonderful mouthfeel and a good structure of fruits and chocolate.
1998 Willows Vineyard Shiraz
A dense opaque purple with a sweet nose of fruits and coffee. A lovely, silky smooth palate with layers of fruits, cinnamonn, coffee and dark chocolate.
1998 Peter Lehmann Eight Songs Shiraz
Not my style. Most others thought it was great, I thought it as dry and closed. I could not get any fruit on the nose or the palate.
1998 Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz
A dense, dark, glass staining purple. A nose of chocolate and berries. Tanninc, muscular fruits and long lingering flavours of coffee, dark chocolate and some plum.
2001 The Willows Bonsetter Shiraz
Yum, a wonderful savoury, earthy nose and a dense savoury palate with a wondeful finish and flavours that lingered for ages.
