The Auswine Forum

In the last 20 odd years has there ever been an Aussie wine that people ignored or wrote off in it's youth that 8-10 years later turned out to be an absolute gem?

Or do the experts always get it right?

While this isn't proof it sure will be a good judge.

Houghtons White Burdgundy 2005.
JO gave it an 86 and recommended consumption 2005 - 2006.

About 6 months ago my friends old man (quite an experienced wine drinker) say that this will be bloody beautiful in 5+ years (when JO would probably consider it past its drinking period) and Vintage Cellars quote the same thing in the previous cellar press (~1 month agho).

The friends old man ago bought a carton he was so confident at $8ea. He has shelves of grange (80+) and heaps & heaps of other expensive shit so it wasn't in his normal purchasing market, something i found very reassuring.

Will sure be a test in 5 years when ppl open them. When the cellar press came out with them on special i recalled his statement and bought 2 AS much as my pay packet would allow. Yeh go me! *flexes*

Houghton White Burgundy has always aged well showing improvement up to and beyond 10 years. Unless they have dramatically changed the formula the 2005 should be no different.

I have not personally tried this vintage, however, just base my comments on 30+ years of Houghton gear.

I guess you could argue that the whole 1991 and 1999 vintages in SA were underappreciated in their youth, but began to shine much later on,

AB

Houghtons occasionally release some reserves, which are actually as the name suggests - the standard bottling kept back for a while (or so I have been informed). (*)
The Reserve White Burg has appeared at between 5 and 8 years old, and is usually outstanding. Keep an eye out for them if you want to get an idea of what can develop from the cheap stuff after a few years.
But then again, many experts will advise putting away a case of this.

(*) - not to be confused with the occasional special show reserve which may be a unique bottling, eg 1995 Show Reserve Shiraz.

Davo wrote:Houghton White Burgundy has always aged well showing improvement up to and beyond 10 years. Unless they have dramatically changed the formula the 2005 should be no different.

I have not personally tried this vintage, however, just base my comments on 30+ years of Houghton gear.

Houghton did change the formula in he mid-late 90's to increase the amount of Chardonnay in the blend, which previously was more Chenin-based. To me this reduced the ageworthiness a touch however the value has remained excellent.

If only they'd get rid of the "White Burgundy" label and put it in screwcap. What is it about those Western Australians???

Murray wrote:
If only they'd get rid of the "White Burgundy" label and put it in screwcap. What is it about those Western Australians???

Well it has been renamed "White Classic". Dunno about the screwcaps tho.

1983 Grange... I am told!

Adair

Davo wrote:

Murray wrote:
If only they'd get rid of the "White Burgundy" label and put it in screwcap. What is it about those Western Australians???

Well it has been renamed "White Classic".

And about time too!! Although the change may take a while to drift throug. I see online retailers are still carrying the WB tag for the 05 vintage.

It's interesting the twist that Houghton has taken here. WA wineries have long used the "Classic Dry White" term to denote the Semillon/Sav Blanc blend they do so well. Houghton have taken the term "White Classic" for a different blend (while still carrying an SSB in the range). Clever marketing perhaps?

I think this may be JO not appreciating the HWB aged style, rather than a belief it's a short-term vintage. He seems to oscillate between a 1-5 year window, which is shorter than (say) Halliday. My own limited experience is of a wine that's often excellent at 5-6 years, but I've not cellared any bottles longer than this.
regards
Ian