Chal, I had one a month or so ago and I thought it was pretty clean:
01 Voyager Cabernet Merlot: beautiful pencil shaving, mint and cassis nose. Taut, gravelly casiis, varietal leafiness (tomato leaf for some), quite complete, good intensity. tannins are a bit clunky. Cellar 5 yrs+. Very good, espacially for the $30 street price 90/100
It is the cleanest I have ever had from Voyager and I hate Brett. Heaps of green pepper (capsicum) but no brett and I have had 3 bottles so far, the last over 2 nights last Sat and Sun.
Loved the cassis and shavings, and the juicy fruit. However, had a fair whack of tannins, which i'm not sure will soften and integrate before the fruit falls over.
Anyways, a great medium term wine, and great value.
I haven't tried this wine, but I believe myself to be particularly sensitive to Brett. Or at least a common "failing" amongst some wines that I believe to be Brett. It's slightly OT, but I'm hoping for confirmation that I'm not simply insane. I've recently found the following wines to be Brett-affected to varying degrees:
I tried the 01 Voyager a couple of months back (cork sealed bottle), and certainly didn't notice any brett in it. The 98 and 99 have been a bit bretty, but the 01 seemed pretty clean to me.
Can anyone comment on their own experiences with these wines, and if they're thought to be Brett-affected.
Thanks heaps,
Stuart
Stuart, I didn't notice it on the Bin 128 (just spicy, juicy Coonawarra Shiraz aromas and flavours) or the Pikes 2002 Shiraz, but some bottles of the 1998 Pikes from my cellar are starting to show more brett than I can cope with. Pity, it seemed so youthful and fresh until a year or so ago.
Cheers Brian Life's too short to drink white wine and red wine is better for you too! :-)