Similar to the last bottle in November but not quite as good. Again, opaque ruby. Nose of plum, campfire, damp earth, iron, a bit of vanilla and leather. Black and blue fruits with a distinct toasted back tea note that many have noted. The fruit was a bit over shadowed by the more astringent elements of the wine when compared to my earlier bottle.
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Cork was soaked through and fell apart upon opening. No fears as this was another exceptional bottle. We've had 2 in the last 2 months and they've been a huge pleasant surprise.
As before, plenty of funk with dark and red fruit, black tea notes. Blind guess would have been 80's Mondavi Reserve Cab.
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Opaque ruby. Intense nose of plum, campfire, damp earth, iron, a bit of vanilla and leather. Black and blue fruits with a distinct toasted back tea note that many have noted. Stood up well in an uncorked bottle on the counter on day 2.
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The cork shredded but the wine was fine. Powerful style as you would expect, but it had some earth and wet forest floor that made the aromatics fantastic. Fun to drink a nineties extracted Aussie wine with some equilibrium, in a full bodied way
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Coravin fun - Cornas and Leeuwin Estate (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Dusty, earthy, leathery. More advanced than the 89, 91 or 96. Touches of toasted black tea, blackcurrant and blackcurrant leaf. that tea quality is evident on the palate. Tannins are medium plus intensity but silky, a little mint and muted fruit. Hmm. Happy I'm drinking this before the month is out.
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Kind of stumbled across this in the cellar. Very old world. Musty nose. Fruit very muted but lingering finish. Glass smells wonderfully barnyard after finishing. Enjoyed much more than expected.
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Decanted 3.5 hours. Classic Cabernet nose, seems to be on a plateau of maturity. Graphite, red and black currants, cedar, steeped tea. Maintains subtle red/black cherry sweetness well into the finish. Should drink well for the next 4-5 years easy.
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Agree 100% with JerM's comments below - this is simply a stunning Aussie teenager...I didn't know what to expect, but was blown away by this pristine bottle at age 15. Have several more left and hope they're all in a similar condition...
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(Brunner: Wines and Slow-Roast with Mich and Bo, Suyi and Newan) Dark tawny garnet. Great, immense pong of backalley flavors (cf Jln Alor), tar, pencil lead, dark berries, blackcurrants, beautifully perfumy nose. Generous unctious berries on the taste, lightened with sweet tea characters, in good balance with savory mushrooms, rusty tomatoes, dried hawberry, held up tall with fine but firm tannins (velvety). Sweet, savory, beautifully complex yet eleganty brewed, lightness, restrained and transparent at the same time, this bordeaux-esque beauty ends with an admirably persistent minty (eucalypt?) loamy finish. My WOTN.
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Had at Nemacolin. Decanted and drank immediately. Extremely dark, almost brown. Muted fruit with an emphasis on plum. Very balanced with a long finish.
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This was a fun one...well-evolved, wine is nearing/at peak. Intriguing nose...and a surprising minerality, in a very good way...more ferrous than anything else. Complex, balanced, unlike most cabs today. My WOTN.
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Bill's Monthly Lunch - May 2011: Tasted blind – Dark red core showing some browning at the rim. Quite a pronounced nose that had a few of guessing Chinon/cab franc with its notes of herbs, coffee grind and dark fruits. Good acidity with drying yet softer tannins. The flavours are less pronounced on the palate than the nose. This wine lacks finesse but has lots of appeal. Drink now. Excellent.
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It was delicious.. a little more brick color than expected, maybe slightly past peak but still delicious, Mrs., Froopy loved it .. could be bottle variation ( I think perhaps storage, bought at auction).. the cork was a little dry.... however this is a gorgeous wine with beouf bourgingon.. great balance, earth pencil and dark leafy fruits. mm.. Love Margaret River Cab. Tannins were perfect and bloomed over 2 hours ... excellent.
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A much more representative bottle this time around, with huge expressiveness right from the get-go, showing chocolatey herbs and currant. Rich but classically dry in the mouth, with seamlessly integrated oak tones and rounded tannin. Makes me wish I had more.
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Extremely dark, fiery garnet red. A little tight but showing sweet herbs, cedar wood, and barnyard. Chock full of glycerin, low on acid, and smooth-edged in a downright McLaren Valeish vein, this is just not behaving today as it was several years ago. Awkward phase or tainted bottle?
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Dark ruby w/some brick, aromas of clay, mineral, olive, herb, currant, cedar, toast, mint, blackberry, b3, a3, t4, great balance, earthy, higher score if not so tannic/tough
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Ready to drink and a solid effort. Peat and earthy nose with an inital mouth of overripe cherries and mint. Finish goes dry but in a pleasant way. Liked it. Felt and tasted like an older mature wine.
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Cherries and vanilla on the nose transforming into citrusy blackcurrant. A dense flavor consisting of cherries and earth. A distinctive clay-like taste, also. The finish turns a bit musty, but not in a bad way; kind of smoky. This is a good wine and despite what others may think, it's ready now.
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Tasted double blind as part of a ’92 vs ’97 vintage challenge. This Aussie ringer finished in first place in group voting. The oldest looking wine on the table, with fairly significant browning on the edges. The most Bordeaux-like profile, with cigar-box and cedar aromas. Interesting combination of baking chocolate, cassis, dill, coconut butter, and minerals. Quite complex, with a silky texture. Really stood out when tasted with the prime rib. At its best 2 hours after pouring. Drink now through 2008.
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Tasted in double-blind fashion at Vintage Wines, Ltd. Bottle provided by John Pollack. Bright disc. Opaque purple robe with violet rim. Clean nose, showing moderately intense aromas of currants, cedar, underbrush and roasted herbs. Full-bodied on the palate, with medium acidity, big tannins which are somewhat coarse, and similar flavors as for the nose. Medium-to-long, coarse finish. Still needs time to allow the tannins to soften, but this is definitely the real thing.
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Dark maroon color, with some bricking on the edges. Northern Rhone-ish forest floor aromas (peat moss, mulch), with some pickling spice nuances. Extremely smooth and satiny in the mouth, with a blackberry and currant core. Some interesting secondary notes of iron, iodine, oregano and juniper. A couple tasters pointed out a slight dairy/feta cheese component. Nice long finish. Very different than most Aussie cabs I have tried. Enjoyable now.
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Pleasant without making the earth move. Pretty forward, good fruit with minimal, or at least well-integrated oak. Perhaps a little too sweet and lacking a little backbone. No point in waiting as far as I could judge - few discernible tannins, probably as good as it's going to get.
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12/24/2020 - JuliannaDHS Likes this wine: 94 Points
Cork in better condition with this bottle. Once again, fantastic. Still has fruit along with earth, leather, and funk. Lots of funk.
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4/20/2020 - short and confused wrote: 91 Points
Similar to the last bottle in November but not quite as good. Again, opaque ruby. Nose of plum, campfire, damp earth, iron, a bit of vanilla and leather. Black and blue fruits with a distinct toasted back tea note that many have noted. The fruit was a bit over shadowed by the more astringent elements of the wine when compared to my earlier bottle.
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4/18/2020 - Rhone Rick wrote: flawed
Cork shredded again (2 of 2 bottles) but this time wine was past peak. Drinkable and enjoyable, but not what it should have been.
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4/2/2020 - JuliannaDHS Likes this wine: 93 Points
Cork was soaked through and fell apart upon opening. No fears as this was another exceptional bottle. We've had 2 in the last 2 months and they've been a huge pleasant surprise.
As before, plenty of funk with dark and red fruit, black tea notes. Blind guess would have been 80's Mondavi Reserve Cab.
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2/7/2020 - JuliannaDHS Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wow! I would guess a very aged California Cab and not an Australian cab. Red fruit, black tea, leather, and wonderful funkiness.
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11/25/2019 - short and confused wrote: 92 Points
Opaque ruby. Intense nose of plum, campfire, damp earth, iron, a bit of vanilla and leather. Black and blue fruits with a distinct toasted back tea note that many have noted. Stood up well in an uncorked bottle on the counter on day 2.
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9/30/2019 - dlduchon Likes this wine: 90 Points
The cork shredded but the wine was fine. Powerful style as you would expect, but it had some earth and wet forest floor that made the aromatics fantastic. Fun to drink a nineties extracted Aussie wine with some equilibrium, in a full bodied way
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4/26/2018 - chatters wrote:
Leeuwin Estate Birthday dinner (with ringins) (Bitton Restaurant, Erskinville): Slight red currant over spicy peppery black fruit, cream and leather, herbaceous notes. Still quite tight red over black fruit, spice, tannins are a little chalky. Nice
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4/16/2018 - chatters wrote:
Coravin fun - Cornas and Leeuwin Estate (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Dusty, earthy, leathery. More advanced than the 89, 91 or 96. Touches of toasted black tea, blackcurrant and blackcurrant leaf. that tea quality is evident on the palate. Tannins are medium plus intensity but silky, a little mint and muted fruit. Hmm. Happy I'm drinking this before the month is out.
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3/26/2017 - Rhone Rick Likes this wine: 92 Points
Cork shredded but wine was excellent...per the other reviews, bright and crisp, age comes through but not dominant.
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6/4/2014 - ogres3 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Kind of stumbled across this in the cellar. Very old world. Musty nose. Fruit very muted but lingering finish. Glass smells wonderfully barnyard after finishing. Enjoyed much more than expected.
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4/19/2014 - Giggs wrote: 94 Points
Decanted 3.5 hours. Classic Cabernet nose, seems to be on a plateau of maturity. Graphite, red and black currants, cedar, steeped tea. Maintains subtle red/black cherry sweetness well into the finish. Should drink well for the next 4-5 years easy.
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6/1/2012 - Philly NQ King wrote: 94 Points
Agree 100% with JerM's comments below - this is simply a stunning Aussie teenager...I didn't know what to expect, but was blown away by this pristine bottle at age 15. Have several more left and hope they're all in a similar condition...
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4/21/2012 - JerM wrote: 95 Points
(Brunner: Wines and Slow-Roast with Mich and Bo, Suyi and Newan) Dark tawny garnet. Great, immense pong of backalley flavors (cf Jln Alor), tar, pencil lead, dark berries, blackcurrants, beautifully perfumy nose. Generous unctious berries on the taste, lightened with sweet tea characters, in good balance with savory mushrooms, rusty tomatoes, dried hawberry, held up tall with fine but firm tannins (velvety). Sweet, savory, beautifully complex yet eleganty brewed, lightness, restrained and transparent at the same time, this bordeaux-esque beauty ends with an admirably persistent minty (eucalypt?) loamy finish. My WOTN.
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6/24/2011 - PSUSteve wrote: 90 Points
Had at Nemacolin. Decanted and drank immediately. Extremely dark, almost brown. Muted fruit with an emphasis on plum. Very balanced with a long finish.
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6/7/2011 - zoeldar wrote: 92 Points
This was a fun one...well-evolved, wine is nearing/at peak. Intriguing nose...and a surprising minerality, in a very good way...more ferrous than anything else. Complex, balanced, unlike most cabs today. My WOTN.
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5/20/2011 - David J Cooper wrote:
Dark red. Very herbal dark fruit and coffee nose, quite intense. Nice dark fruit and coffeee flavours and a very long finish. An excellent wine.
Had me geussing Chinon.
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5/13/2011 - godx wrote: 90 Points
Bill's Monthly Lunch - May 2011: Tasted blind – Dark red core showing some browning at the rim. Quite a pronounced nose that had a few of guessing Chinon/cab franc with its notes of herbs, coffee grind and dark fruits. Good acidity with drying yet softer tannins. The flavours are less pronounced on the palate than the nose. This wine lacks finesse but has lots of appeal. Drink now. Excellent.
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5/9/2011 - pepin503 wrote:
Still strong, tannins integrated, chocolate and cassis, peaking and able to hold or drink now
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9/13/2009 - mrfroopy wrote: 91 Points
It was delicious.. a little more brick color than expected, maybe slightly past peak but still delicious, Mrs., Froopy loved it .. could be bottle variation ( I think perhaps storage, bought at auction).. the cork was a little dry.... however this is a gorgeous wine with beouf bourgingon.. great balance, earth pencil and dark leafy fruits. mm.. Love Margaret River Cab. Tannins were perfect and bloomed over 2 hours ... excellent.
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4/20/2009 - rwgray wrote: 90 Points
Just as good as the last one. Sorry it's all gone
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1/28/2009 - rwgray wrote: 91 Points
Powerful concentrated cab. Large bouquet and still lots of tannin. Quite impressive. Needed 1 hour in decanter
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8/25/2008 - rwgray wrote: 90 Points
Lovely Cab from Western Australia. Not as heavy as most Austrailans. Perfect age -drink now
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5/28/2008 - tcfishler wrote: 92 Points
A much more representative bottle this time around, with huge expressiveness right from the get-go, showing chocolatey herbs and currant. Rich but classically dry in the mouth, with seamlessly integrated oak tones and rounded tannin. Makes me wish I had more.
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10/8/2007 - tcfishler wrote: flawed
Corked.
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9/30/2007 - tcfishler wrote: 87 Points
Extremely dark, fiery garnet red. A little tight but showing sweet herbs, cedar wood, and barnyard. Chock full of glycerin, low on acid, and smooth-edged in a downright McLaren Valeish vein, this is just not behaving today as it was several years ago. Awkward phase or tainted bottle?
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8/1/2007 - Easter Everywhere wrote: 90 Points
Dark ruby w/some brick, aromas of clay, mineral, olive, herb, currant, cedar, toast, mint, blackberry, b3, a3, t4, great balance, earthy, higher score if not so tannic/tough
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4/1/2007 - tbdman wrote: 93 Points
Ready to drink and a solid effort. Peat and earthy nose with an inital mouth of overripe cherries and mint. Finish goes dry but in a pleasant way. Liked it. Felt and tasted like an older mature wine.
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12/13/2006 - Snarf wrote: 92 Points
Brick red around the edges. Strong chocolate and earth flavors, as well as some cedar and mint. Very nice.
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11/24/2006 - sakemakibug wrote: flawed
SKunked. Purchased when Sunflower Mkt in Scottsdale was playing with a "fine wine" cellar room.
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8/8/2006 - jonradus wrote: 90 Points
Cherries and vanilla on the nose transforming into citrusy blackcurrant. A dense flavor consisting of cherries and earth. A distinctive clay-like taste, also. The finish turns a bit musty, but not in a bad way; kind of smoky. This is a good wine and despite what others may think, it's ready now.
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3/17/2005 - mouton45 wrote: 90 Points
Brought to dinner at Bistro Bisou. Very pleasant, seemed a bit young - may have nneded more time. Not the overpowering, over the top Aussie red
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2/5/2005 - otisabdul wrote: 93 Points
Tasted double blind as part of a ’92 vs ’97 vintage challenge. This Aussie ringer finished in first place in group voting. The oldest looking wine on the table, with fairly significant browning on the edges. The most Bordeaux-like profile, with cigar-box and cedar aromas. Interesting combination of baking chocolate, cassis, dill, coconut butter, and minerals. Quite complex, with a silky texture. Really stood out when tasted with the prime rib. At its best 2 hours after pouring. Drink now through 2008.
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8/6/2004 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 91 Points
Tasted in double-blind fashion at Vintage Wines, Ltd. Bottle provided by John Pollack. Bright disc. Opaque purple robe with violet rim. Clean nose, showing moderately intense aromas of currants, cedar, underbrush and roasted herbs. Full-bodied on the palate, with medium acidity, big tannins which are somewhat coarse, and similar flavors as for the nose. Medium-to-long, coarse finish. Still needs time to allow the tannins to soften, but this is definitely the real thing.
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7/23/2004 - otisabdul wrote: 92 Points
Dark maroon color, with some bricking on the edges. Northern Rhone-ish forest floor aromas (peat moss, mulch), with some pickling spice nuances. Extremely smooth and satiny in the mouth, with a blackberry and currant core. Some interesting secondary notes of iron, iodine, oregano and juniper. A couple tasters pointed out a slight dairy/feta cheese component. Nice long finish. Very different than most Aussie cabs I have tried. Enjoyable now.
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3/24/2004 - Golfer wrote:
Pleasant without making the earth move. Pretty forward, good fruit with minimal, or at least well-integrated oak. Perhaps a little too sweet and lacking a little backbone. No point in waiting as far as I could judge - few discernible tannins, probably as good as it's going to get.
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3/9/2003 - cybergod wrote: 89 Points
Very Bordeaux-like, with Cedar, Tobacco, cassis and new oak, tannic. Hint of eucalyptus gives away its origins. Excellent to Outstanding.
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