I keep expecting these wines I'm dragging from the cellar to be corked or faulty, but I seem to be having a good run so far.
I bought this wine years ago in Canberra as I wandered through a large wine shop in one of my periodic buying frenzies.
A very dense purple red colour. Initially on the nose, a clean burst of concentrated blueberry fruit was pretty dominant. I've been swirling a bit, though, and a real complexity of flavour is developing, mostly oak-related. The fruit is still lovely and clean, but there are well integrated spice and mocha flavours too. Some alcoholic sweetness at the edges.
The palate is similarly concentrated and lip-smacking, and the wine has a clearly defined structure. Tannins are present but not overwhelming by any means (they will probably melt away as I tuck into my steak in a few moments). This wine is generous and attractive in its flavour profile, and not unsophisticated in its own way. This is the sort of big red wine that I enjoy.
Showing posts with label 1998. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1998. Show all posts
Thursday, 21 June 2007
Tuesday, 19 June 2007
Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 1998
I had a fresh one of these (2004) the other day and it was quite nice, albeit somewhat boring, with good varietal definition and a pleasant structure.
I'm not sure about this one, though. On opening, the wine reeked of VA and tasted of camphor. I left the glass for a while and came back to it, whereupon it had changed to show dusty cabernet fruit flavours and chocolate/vanilla oak. In the mouth, the wine has (to my taste) an unpleasantly thick feel, mouthfilling but in a coarse way. Structurally, the wine strikes me as pretty one-dimensional. It's not a bad wine, just stylistically far from the sort of cabernet I'd like to drink.
I'm not sure about this one, though. On opening, the wine reeked of VA and tasted of camphor. I left the glass for a while and came back to it, whereupon it had changed to show dusty cabernet fruit flavours and chocolate/vanilla oak. In the mouth, the wine has (to my taste) an unpleasantly thick feel, mouthfilling but in a coarse way. Structurally, the wine strikes me as pretty one-dimensional. It's not a bad wine, just stylistically far from the sort of cabernet I'd like to drink.
Friday, 15 June 2007
Two aged reds
I'm trying to drink my cellar down at the moment, as the wine storage fees are a little excessive, and there's wine lying all over the boat. So, last night, in the name of good housekeeping, we had:
Ridge Geyserville 1994
This is the last bottle from the amazing Chinatown buyout Chris, Dan and myself effected a few years ago. I can't remember how many bottles we ended up buying, but I do know the last two bottles opened were very much over the hill, showing overwhelmingly unpleasant oxidised characters. So I didn't have very high hopes for this bottle.
What a wonderful surprise, then, to see a bright, not-overly-dense ruby red colour pour into my glass. Good start. The nose showed complexity and balance, flavours tending towards dusty, leathery sourness (the other half chimed in with "radishes!", which pretty much nails it). The palate delivered more of the same, plus the last vestiges of distinctive zinfandel fruit flavours, and, susprisingly, a light dusting of fine tannins. Very much in balance, lots of flavours swirling around in there, like some sort of beautiful yet sad last gasp.
Brands Coonawarra Shiraz 1998
Quite a different beast, this one. It's ageing quite well, but is a considerably younger wine, the balance of flavours still tipped more heavily towards fruit compared to the Ridge. I remember this wine being really enticing as a youngster, with that lovely clear, elegant fruit flavour profile that Coonawarra shiraz tends to have. So there's definite aged complexity developing, and the mix of flavours is relatively well balanced, but compared to the Ridge there's a clumsiness to this wine, a coarseness, that relates in particular to its structure, and perhaps to its mouthfeel also. Still, for less than $20 when purchased, not a bad performance. I have one of these left and will probably drink it soon.
Ridge Geyserville 1994
This is the last bottle from the amazing Chinatown buyout Chris, Dan and myself effected a few years ago. I can't remember how many bottles we ended up buying, but I do know the last two bottles opened were very much over the hill, showing overwhelmingly unpleasant oxidised characters. So I didn't have very high hopes for this bottle.
What a wonderful surprise, then, to see a bright, not-overly-dense ruby red colour pour into my glass. Good start. The nose showed complexity and balance, flavours tending towards dusty, leathery sourness (the other half chimed in with "radishes!", which pretty much nails it). The palate delivered more of the same, plus the last vestiges of distinctive zinfandel fruit flavours, and, susprisingly, a light dusting of fine tannins. Very much in balance, lots of flavours swirling around in there, like some sort of beautiful yet sad last gasp.
Brands Coonawarra Shiraz 1998
Quite a different beast, this one. It's ageing quite well, but is a considerably younger wine, the balance of flavours still tipped more heavily towards fruit compared to the Ridge. I remember this wine being really enticing as a youngster, with that lovely clear, elegant fruit flavour profile that Coonawarra shiraz tends to have. So there's definite aged complexity developing, and the mix of flavours is relatively well balanced, but compared to the Ridge there's a clumsiness to this wine, a coarseness, that relates in particular to its structure, and perhaps to its mouthfeel also. Still, for less than $20 when purchased, not a bad performance. I have one of these left and will probably drink it soon.
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