TN: One of Those Wines That Got Away

[Martin Phillipson]

Hi All

The subject refers to those wines that you buy and then write off, only for the last bottle or two to "come good." The wine in question is Taltarni Shiraz 1998. Upon release, this was rated highly and appeared in my local state owned booze can for about $20 so I bought a dozen. Was massively underwhelmed (as were many others on this Forum) so this went into the "drink now" bin and was drunk with pizza, on Monday's & Tuesdays's, taken to dinner parties etc. However, I saved a couple of bottles "just in case." I tasted the penultimate bottle about a year ago and thought it might be coming good but tonight (a Monday!) I opened the last one. A revelation:

Colour: Vibrant purple, perhaps with a slightly lighter tinge at the edges but certainly no "bricking" as yet.

Nose: Delicious aromas of mocha/ chocolate and freshly ground coffee with an underlying hint of blueberry.

Mouth: What I noticed the most was the texture. The wines I had drunk earlier were quite thin and harsh, but this had the most luscious texture. A big rich wine but with no hint of cloying. A big mouthful of fruit & spice with more blueberry, some cinnamon and maybe a hint of cloves and a very long finish. This is clearly one of those wines that has "fleshed out" as it has aged. Yum

I don't go in for points but this wine was delicious. I would personally drink up now, although there is enough stuffing for it to go a year or two more at least.

Overall: A very bittersweet experience, a lovely wine and one that really needed time (as I should have known all Taltarni reds need) to show its true colours. Perhaps in all the hoo-ha about the 1998 vintage I let myself be initially underwhelmed, instead of being patient and allowing a wine that was built for the long haul to mature. Unfortunately, I only let bottle #12 strut its most admirable stuff. This is indeed one of those wines that got away.

Martin

[Red Bigot]

Don't you hate it when this happens? I pretty well gave up on Taltarni after Dom. Portet left and they eased off the tannin structures too much to make more approachable wines when young. I've bought the occasional one or two since to see how they are going, but never bought any quantity. I do however have two of the 98 Shiraz in the cellar, marked to peak around next year, so might try one soon based on your note.

[dlo]

G'day Martin!,

Not the end of the world, mate, I'm sure someone out there wants to/will sell you some more.

Hoping all is well in Canada.

[Mahmoud Ali]

In Canada, I too bought a couple of bottles of 1998 Taltarni shiraz. I took one to a wine tasting dinner at a restaurant but it didn't get opened. I never got around to tasting it and both bottles went into the cellar. When I saw the reviews for the wine and the last few bottles of 1998 on the shelf I picked up a couple more for the cellar. I am glad to hear that the wines are living up to their potential.

Years ago, in the 80s, when I first started collecting wine, it was the Taltarni Cabernet Sauvignon that appeared on the shelves, not the shiraz. I picked up some 1981 and 1982 Taltani Cabernet and hearing that Portet was making wines to cellar for a long time I put them away and tried to forget about them. I did try a bottle sometime in the mid 90s and found it backward and tannic.

Sometime in 2003 I served the 1981 at a wine tasting dinner and I don't think anyone picked it as an Australian wine, a few opting for Bordeaux. The wine still had good colour and tannins but the structure and fruit suggested it still had a way to go. Nobody guessed that it was a 20-year old wine. I was pleased with the result mainly because some of my wine friends were starting to think that Australian and Californian wines don't age well. I knew from reading Evans and Halliday that many Australian wines do age very well and the Taltarni helped to prove it.

With your experience of the 1998 shiraz I just might open a bottle at the 10 year mark.

Cheers.....Mahmoud.