TN: 1990 wines (mostly) - a grand night

[GraemeG]

Noble Rotters August 2004 dinner was vintage specific – must be 1990 vintage – otherwise it was open slather. As usual, there were a few ringers…

1984 Le Piat de Beaujolias Chapelle de Guinchey 12.5%
Served blind. Pale brick and orange. A pongy old nose of brambles, earth, and a lick of VA. Thin and dry on the palate. No real length of finish at all. I know they say great Beaujolais demands some age. None demands this much. I should officially record that this was eminently drinkable, though, just not very exciting!

1993 Lakes Folly Cabernet blend (Hunter Valley) 12.2%
Also blind. Brick red. A faint cedar nose, with some decayed raspberry, earth and dust. Somewhat astringent on the palate. Good balance of weight across all the palate, with a medium weight finish of moderate length. Unlikely to improve further. Not a wine for fruit-bomb fans. If you like gentle Hunter earthiness, itÂ’s a fine wine drinking at its peak. Will complement rather than overpower food, which is precisely the intention.

2002 Cleanskin Cabernet Sauvignon “Kemeny’s Hidden Label” (Goulburn Valley)
Crimson purple. Warm nose of stewed red fruits, strawberries and a splash of vanillan oak. You might think it has a whack of Grenache, but youÂ’d be wrong. Clean aromas, but a bit reticent at first. Plenty of fresh acid in the mouth, and the weight is generally towards the front palate, so not particularly varietal in terms of structure. Warm finish. Fair wine. At an anticipated price of $50 a case, it speaks volumes about the quantity of unsold wine washing around Australia at the momentÂ…

OK, with those out of the way, we proceed to the actual ‘themed’ wines;
1990 Henschke Abbots Prayer Merlot Cabernet (Lenswood/Adelaide Hills) 13%
A 60/40 blend, this was brick red with a little orange appearing at the rim. A softly wafting nose of coconut and vanilla, but with a fruity-sweet edge, rather than just oak aromas. Initially, tannins appear very soft, but gradually build in weight. Overall, a distinctly velvety texture, and very attractive. Nowhere to go in terms of development now, but showing no signs of falling over either. Lovely wine.

1990 Seppelt Dorrien Cabernet Sauvignon (Barossa) 13%
Solid red with a little brick colour at the rim. First aromatic impression is of vanillan oak, with supporting blackberry fruit. This label has copped some flack for overt oakiness over the years, and itÂ’s true that the flavour component of the oak is strong, but itÂ’s more of a gentle, Rioja-like sweetness than a blast of woody tannin. The palate is soft yet powerful, with (just) enough acid to maintain freshness. ThereÂ’s a warmth about this cabernet which stands in utter opposition to more austere expressions of the grape, and contributes to the palate-saturating mouthfeel on offer. A polished finish of medium-full weight. Certainly showing no signs of decline and will live for years yet.

1990 Dunsborough Hills Cabernet Sauvignon (Margaret River) 12.2%
A private label wine apparently made for a few years by John Wade between leaving Wynns and setting up Howard Park. Pure red, beginning to take on a brick-like tint. The opposite expression of cabernet to the Dorrien, and the nearest thing to a Bordeaux all night. Tight blackcurrant aromatics, with herbaceous notes (but not in any way green or unripe), all overlaid with some graphite-cedary tones. ThereÂ’s lively acid on the palate; the tannins are very soft and nicely integrated. This wine is all-of-a-piece, with the focused integrity that comes only from quality fruit. Medium weight, perhaps only a slightly short finish detracts slightly from what is otherwise a class act of a wine.

1990 Redman ‘Claret’ [Shiraz] (Coonawarra) 12%
Brick red. Smoky nose, with earth and bacon fat. Some herbaceousness. Tannins are soft on palate, and acid is beginning to become prominent. Weight is on the light side of medium. Attractive lighter style food wine, pleasant enough in isolation, but outclassed in this company. At, or just past, its drinking peak. Not bad at all, though.

1990 Yarra Yering Dry Red No 1. [Cabernet blend] (Yarra Valley) 13%
Mid red colour, but I wondered if at first it was a bit cloudy. Very odd nose, closed with just a general mouldy smell. Very hard to find much here at first. Smells somehow dirty. Things are better on the palate – some fine iron-like tannins, and lovely palate coverage. An idiosyncratic wine indeed – seems earthy but not bruising. A big wine clearly in need of more time. I kept a glass of this and after an hour it developed lovely tobacco notes and really began to open up – some spicy/coffee/chocolate fruits emerged. Would doubtless have benefited from a longer decant. Super wine.

1990 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon (Barossa, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale) 13.5%
Deep red. Yes, the vanilla oak is very much to the fore, supported by coconut and musk aromas. ItÂ’s a nose that exudes class, though. Full bodied and weighty, itÂ’s hugely impressive, yet somehow less satisfying than the last bottle I tasted of this wine 3 years ago, which was somehow more complete and integrated. This bottle just seems to be a bit oakier, somehow. The blackcurrant fruits and underlying tarry notes are playing second fiddle here. Needs more time still.

1990 Orlando LawsonÂ’s Shiraz (Padthaway)
Red with some bricking. Alcohol unknown – this bottle was wearing a trade/show label. There’s plenty of sweet raspberry fruit here, lifted with that classic Padthaway spearmint/menthol quality. Tannins are soft, acid is quite prominent and perhaps not entirely integrated. Attractive balance through the palate though. Drinking nicely now, and unlikely to benefit from further aging. I think perhaps Orlando missed the boat fractionally with this wine – some years ago at a dinner I recall it being clearly overshadowed by its 1988 and 1991 siblings.

1990 Jim Barry Armagh Shiraz (Clare Valley) 14.4%
Deep red. A monolithic nose somewhat dominated by coconutty American oak. There’s quality chocolate-peppermint fruit underneath, but it struggles to emerge from beneath the wall of fine but immensely strong tannins. An impressive if slightly controversial wine, and demonstrating very little of its 14 years, this needs considerably more time. Hopefully the tannins will soften out before the fruit fades – I think it will be a close race, and the ideal drinking window will possibly be quite small. It’s easy to see how it took Grange as a model – so here’s the comparison…

1991 Penfolds Grange Shiraz (mostly Barossa)
Not quite 1990, and although we had one with us, after the 91 we really thought it would be wasted this early in its life. The 91 remains black in colour, and quite monolithic in its aromas – fine mocha oak dominates. The palate follows with coconut & tarry fruits, together with some chocolate/vanilla qualities. It’s very powerful – the tannins are fine-grained but build cumulatively. All parts of the palate are coated with flavour, and the finish is long and impressive – there are no balance problems here. Yet the wine is obstinately restrained – rather like a locomotive traveling at walking pace. At 13 years old, showing about a quarter of its potential I would say. Put it away with the 95 Latour and leave it for another 30 years.

1954 Seppelt Para Liqueur Tawny ‘Port’ [Grenache & Shiraz] (Barossa) 24%
Bottled 6 weeks ago upon request, to celebrate David’s 50th. One good sniff of this from a large glass and it could cure pneumonia! A hot spirity nose infused with burnt toffee & caramel aromas. Despite the high alcohol and consequent heat, it’s in no way unbalanced, just very powerful indeed. The palate is an equal paradox – immensely strong acid supports an otherwise thick oily, golden syrup texture.

A very good night. No corked wines (hooray – only the second time this year, I think), and, bar the ‘novelty’ wine, all were showing very well. And I imagine that in every case, the 2001 & 2002 vintages for these wines are higher in alcohol than their 14 year old brethren – a change I’m not convinced is entirely necessary or beneficial. I tend to agree with Jancis’ rant in the latest AGT Wine magazine on this subject.

Cheers,
Graeme

[DJ]

1990 Redman ‘Claret’ [Cabernet Sauvignon] (Coonawarra) 12%
Brick red. Smoky nose, with earth and bacon fat. Some herbaceousness. Tannins are soft on palate, and acid is beginning to become prominent. Weight is on the light side of medium. Attractive lighter style food wine, pleasant enough in isolation, but outclassed in this company. At, or just past, its drinking peak. Not bad at all, though.

Graeme unless you have good reason to say other wise the 90 Redman Claret will have been close to 100% Shiraz. Until about 94 when claret was being droppped from labels, Redman's usually had two wines a 'Claret" (Shiraz) and Cabernet Sauvignon. In about 91 a third wine (Cabernet Merlot) was introduced. Sure my memory doesn't go back to early 80's or beyond on such things but pretty sure on this from working with Hardy's in 94-96 and selling the stuff.

[GraemeG]

OK thanks for that. Yes, I didn't get a chance to check the bottle that closely - but it makes sense - they'd been selling a bottle labelled "Cabernet Sauvignon" for years, hadn't they?

A shiraz is a claret - of course! makes perfect sense!

I'll edit the original.

cheers,
Graeme