TN: 1986 Wolf Blass Black Label

[wine bloke]

I told you I was a glutten!!

Santa ( Dad ) dropped the third and final bottle of filthy booze into my stocking. A 1986 Wolf Blass Black Label. None of my kid's asked Santa for it so I will happily consume it.

I have had the '86 on a few occassion's, but can not remember it as being a wine to write home to your mum about. Maybe it's because I tasted it in a vertical of black label and it was about the 16th wine in the line up.
Palate fatigue?? Yep. Geez it was my day off and I aint spitting when the line up is that good.

Once again the bottle is in great condition, suprisingly, due to the fact Dad's moved house more than a hermit crab, then stored them under his bed. The level is right up there, no dribbles coming from through the foil and a deep crimson colour permiates through the dark glass.

After removing the foil I examined the cork: it looked as if it had been corked no more than three years ago, with no sign that the wine had ever come to the outer edges of the seal. Opening the bottle was easier than a great deal of much younger wines that were consumed in the past. No violet crumble there, the cork in one piece.

Pop, then waft!! The bouquet leaps out the bottle even at this stage, filling the room with pungent christmas pudding aroma's.

Throwing this monsterous wine into the glass only concentrates the nose even more. With lashings of blackberries, plums, dark cherries, underlayed with some herbaceous menthol notes. It was only after re-examaining the bouquet a good couple of hours later that I noticed some bottle aged smells starting to develop, (subtle porty, savoury notes coming through).

The density and colour of the wine just blew me away. Deep, dark crimson, with no hint's of dull hues. In fact it looked as if it had been put in the bottle recently. The wine clung to the glass like an Englishman to his M.B.E.

The palate is dominated by sour cherries and blue berries, combining with savour and spiced flavours of white pepper, tomato leaf and eucalypt. The weight and structure thumps onto the palate, leaving no doubt that this wine is made for longevity. Young, balanced and bold best sums it up. Not looking like a 20 year old aussie wine at all. But then again they don't make them like they used to.

Sadly Dad didn't drop any others into ths stocking. Maybe next year.


Cheers, Wine Bloke.

[Baby Chickpea]

Nice one. The corks in those old WBLass Black Labels are amazing. Best I've ever seen from Australa. two years ago I had several from early 1980s and all corks seemed almost like new.

[n4sir]

Thanks for another great TN Wine Bloke.

I was wondering how this one was going - I thought the VA was over-the-top on release, but Steve said a magnum at a Blacktongues dinner a couple of years ago was drinking well, although it probably would have been better a few years back.

Looks like you got a good one - while your Dad may have moved around a bit, at least it wasn't peddled around the auction circuit for years.

Cheers,
Ian

[707]

If you can take the oak levels those old Wolfie Black labels are generally an excellent drink. I remember the 1986 being great wine right from release so no surprise it's opened so well after 20 years.

Wynns John Riddoch corks from the same era are like that too, long and dense with almost no wine seepage into the cork. Considering the large number of JR's that I've drunk, I can barely remember a bottle that wasn't in great condition.

[Gianna]

Great TN Winebloke, I could sense your anticipation of this wine.

The more I taste and read about 1986, I am convinced it will be reverred as one of the best vintages of the last 40 years.

I've had a JR, 707, St Henri, Grange all from 1986 in this last year and not one has disappointed.

[Mike Hawkins]

Gianna,

IMO 86, at least for SA is THE best vintageof the past 25 years (don't have experience prior to that).

Cheers


Mike