Coldstream Hills Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1994

I dug up some old notes from late last year and will post a few of the more interesting ones. I had this wine with the delicious food at Oscillate Wildly in Newtown.

Really beautiful cool climate cabernet aromas of the leafy/cedary type, along with aged mushroomy characters, complex and changing in the glass over the course of the meal. On the palate, more of the same, but with a surprising amount of primary fruit flavour and vanillan oak. Tannins still a little prickly, and noticeable acidity still present, so it wasn't too late to drink the wine by any means. Not an overly structured wine, but nonetheless very much in proportion, with flavours moving through in a well ordered procession. The impression was mostly one of complexity, balance and coherence from smell to finish. Lovely wine.

Yalumba The Menzies 1996 - redux

My last bottle. I tasted this a few weeks ago and found the fruit in that particular bottle had receded too far with respect to the oak.

How nice, then, that this bottle seems in much better condition and is altogether more satisfying a wine. The last bottle's oak spiciness is still present, but the big difference is that, here, a panorama of other flavours sit alongside it. There's clean, primary fruit, dusty leafy cabernet character, aniseed, secondary notes that are slightly stinky and sweet, all delivered through a silky, largely resolved mouthfeel. All the elements seem in balance and, although it's not a wine of inscrutable complexity, I love the extra dimension that bottle age has added to what was, in its youth, a fruity and fun wine.

Good bottles of this probably have some way to go, and I regret, now, not having purchased more so I could follow this wine further along its life. Perhaps auction will provide a solution. No matter -- a sophisticated wine that is drinking well.

Bannockburn "The Estate" Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2004

In an attempt to compensate for the explosively faulty Cotes du Rhone, we opened another bottle last night. This Bannockburn wine is apparently a "Dan Murphy exclusive." Mercifully, no brett was apparent, though this wine isn't in a style that I'd describe as especially "clean."

It does, however, possess a clear, bright line of juicy, grape-like fruit that is evident both on the nose and the palate. It's like a cross between black currant and raspberry and, although it's a little one-dimensional, it's certainly tasty. There are darker, dusty savoury notes that frame the fruit, and these take over towards the end of the palate, with a nice tobacco leaf note edging in just as the mild tannins wind up the wine. Balanced acidity adds a little sourness to the flavour profile, in addition to some brightness to the mouthfeel. It's medium bodied, not especially structured, and a nice drop.

As an aside, before this wine, we finished the bottle of Gulf Station Shiraz Viognier, which had been sitting out (cap on) overnight. It had lost a bit of its freshness, and the viognier was showing itself more, with a slight apricot note and a more floral flavour profile. The wine remained good, though, its "sour fruit" profile intact. Interestingly, it overpowered the rump steak with which we had it. It was too bright, too acidic and light.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

I bought a bottle of this the other day, with a view to determining whether it would be worth putting a few in the cellar. I already have a few 2003s and 2004s tucked away.

This wine just screams Coonawarra cabernet. It opens with that dust-on-leaf note that will be very familiar to anyone who has had a few cabernets from this region. It's funny how familiar, identifiably regional wine smells can be comforting. I find the same thing with Hunter semillon. Anyway, the nose continues with a clear, structured line of flavours, from the dust/leaf through to mulberries, aniseed, menthol and vanilla. The wine's line and flavour profile continues through to the palate in a consistent manner. What's evident in the mouth is the fruit's sweet ripeness, although you could hardly call it a fruit bomb. Instead, the mulberry-like fruit glows brightly within a tight structure of leafiness, savoury spices and oak. Tannins and acid are present, showing the enthusiasm of youth, but well balanced.

It's actually drinking quite well now but the wine seems designed to improve with age. I would hope the rawness of each flavour will mellow and the components further integrate with some extra time in bottle. I think I'll get some to cellar.

Yalumba The Menzies 1996

I remember tasting this wine at a comparative Coonawarra tasting back in 2000, I think. There were 70-something wines on the night, and this was one of the first. At the time, I was struck by the bright, attractive quality of its fruit. I bought a few bottles and tucked them away safely.

I've been meaning to try it the last few years, but somehow never got around to it. Tonight, however, saw me popping the somewhat crumbly cork on a bottle.

On the basis of this bottle, I may have left it too late. Things looked promising as I poured our first glasses, with exciting spicy aromas emerging from the glass on impact. Unfortunately, these spicy, oak-derived flavours are almost totally dominant, as the fruit has receded to nothing and left a dearth of secondary flavour in its wake. That said, the oak displays some complexity, with spice, vanilla and tobacco notes. But the wine shows no balance, and the finish is quite thin and astringent.

I have one bottle of this wine left, and I'm wondering if I should leave this for a while, to let the oak recede and the whole wine to perhaps turn into an altogether subliminal experience.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Johnson's Block 2003

Interesting wine, this one. It's a little ungainly at the moment, but I will be interested to see how the other three bottles in my cellar change over time.

The ingredients for a more harmonised wine appear to be present. The nose is quite forward and fruit-driven. The fruit is bright and has good intensity, if not great complexity. It's mostly raspberries with a bit of blackberry thrown in, both fresh and jammy at once, if that makes sense. On the palate, the fruit again leads the way. Tannins are very much present, not coarse exactly but a little raw at the moment. They are the sort of tannins that ache for time to soften and integrate with the wine. Acidity very much along the same lines. I'm not sure it's worth the price ($30-something) but it's a wine that I will follow with interest, because it expresses personality, and that's something that is worth a lot to me as a wine lover.

Suckfizzle Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

Interesting wine, this one. It's almost like a pastiche of different wines and styles -- not to imply it lacks integrity. It's actually quite delicious in its way.

I was a bit put off by the nose, which is a predominantly meaty and stewy. It's "hot" in the sense of "overcooked," and that's not a flavour profile I tend to go for. The palate, however, is less stewed, medium bodied and has a beguiling silkiness and elegance. The wine rushes over the tongue and has an elegant lightness of touch, without sacrificing intensity of flavour. There's a greenness that almost threatens to become unbalanced, but never quite does, thanks in part to ultra fine tannins that dry the palate without feeling unripe. Most remarkable is an intense sourness that is mouthwatering and is reminiscent of pinot noir.

Charles Melton Rose of Virginia 2007

This is the first wine I've tasted from the notoriously difficult 2007 vintage. I've had the Rose of Virginia quite a few times and always look forward to revisiting this wine.

When we first opened this wine, it felt a little one-dimensional, with a very attractive but simple floral fruitiness at its core. Over the course of half an hour, the wine rebalanced and opened up to greater complexity. This is a very well-judged wine. On the nose, there's a nice duality between seductively sweet, lifted floral notes and a subtle meaty savouriness. The palate echoes and amplifies this structure, with an entry that is predominantly fragrant/floral, leading to a middle palate that is quite full (owing partly to some residual sugar). The back of the palate is most engaging, with the fruitiness whisked away by more of that savoury meatiness and quite a dry, lightly tannic finish. Refreshing acidity supports the wine and prevents it from being at all cloying.

Really nice wine.

Wirra Wirra Scrubby Rise Red 2006

This wine is seriously cheap. I think we paid about $11 for it at Dan's. The reason I'm writing a note is that it's the sort of wine that the Australian industry has historically done so well at: multi-region, multi-varietal blends in a mainstream style.

The blend is shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and pertit verdot, with the latter contributing its distinctive aroma and flavour of what I experience as darkish bubblegum fruitiness (Hubba Bubba grape flavour, to be exact). The region is listed as "South Australia", but a little digging on the Wirra Wirra website reveals a blend of Fleurieu Peninsula and Adelaide Hills fruit.

Basically, this is an easy wine; full of flavour, totally unchallenging; but what makes it interesting (and a repeat buy) is that it's not corporate-tasting at all. In fact, it has some personality in its flavour profile, as well as enough structure to reward a bit of contemplative tasting if in the mood. It has a reasonable intensity of flavour (none of that horrible, lolly water taste one sometimes gets from low end wines) and goes well with food (rump steak last night). Basically, a perfect quaffing wine.

I'd much rather drink this if on a budget than a Rosemount Diamond Label, Yellow Tail or equivalent mass produced thing.

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.