2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

Community Tasting Notes (19) Avg Score: 89.7 points

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  2/11/2022 - Rote Kappelle Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Context is very important. I am making this note on a Friday night, eating steaky, feelin' goooooooood and listening to a mix of lighter jazz, blues and southern rock. The wine I am reviewing is the base level Xanadu Cab, under screw cap (no cork foibles to worry about here, folks), open about 4 hours but un-decanted and poured down my loathsome gullet from a Riedel Cab stem. Ladies and gentlemen, the wine fits the occasion really damned nicely.
  
  I have scored this as on the cusp between excellent and very good on the CT scale. Given that on release it was about AUD/South Pacific Peso $35 one could score it higher as a value for money proposition.
  
  The problem with most wine scoring systems is they don't include a 'pleasure/excitement' element. I drink a lot of wine that merits high scores, but doesn't manage to engage my emotions. Sometimes a technically 'not great' wine can really hit the spot and have you crawling back for more. Other times the wine is perfect but it ain't got no soul.
  
  I have a solution for this, which is to score wine on the CT scale, but also to retain my 'other scale', which is about hedonism and which, for me, is the stiffy scale. This is, of course, a rather unreconstructed scale but I do have Anais Nin, Doris Lessing, Nina Simone, Jancis Robinson, Betty Davis, Patti Smith, Mo'Ju and a few others working on a scale that may engage a slightly broader cross section of the population. At any rate, this wine, although very pleasing, fails to engage much wood. It isn't as though it is like a dip in the cold ocean, or seeing Melania Trump, but it sure as hell isn't like Unskinny Bop.
  
  Does the stiffy rating make this an inferior drink? I don't think so; partly because the wine is clearly very good and more than that, given its price when I bought it. Also, this is a Cabernet and it is made on classical lines. It is made to engage the intellect more than the grinding/hump day parts. If I scored this for intellectual engagement I would score it very well.
  
  I guess the message from this is to evaluate a wine for what it is, not just what it should be and even less for what you would like it to be for the mood you are in, or the preconception you have.
  
  Oh yes, details on the wine itself.
  
  Colour is promising. Not some inky, purple v12 swine. True Claret colour - medium depth, ruby, little evidence of bricking, nice concentration to rim. Promises Cabernet in the classical style, not blackberry jam.
  
  Nose is quite lovely and engaging. Definite woodsy/forest floor elements, some sweet cassis fruit, but no jam. I wouldn't mind a little less alcohol, but I don't think you could call this alcohol hot. You are getting a lot of complexity and class for a mid-price wine.
  
  Palate is intense, with good length and nice balance. The tannins are ripe and whilst they provide some nice balancing firmness on the finish, they are not aggressive or chunky, something that can bedevil Margaret River wines. There is a slight black tea element to the flavour, but this works and doesn't dominate the pleasing cassis, woodsy characters. This could pass for good left bank Bordeaux.
  
  If I opened this on a night when I wasn't feeling slightly 'hyper' I would have really loved this, I suspect. As it is, it reminds me a little of the band Great White - better than its critics say, not quite as good as its fans claim, but damned good in that second rank. Enjoy without shame, or fear.

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  1/28/2022 - Gman64 Likes this wine: 90 Points

  11 years old, ruby garnet slight haze but bright. Browning around edge. Medium on all fronts (intensity, acids, tannins etc. lost its aroma a bit from half hour n decanter. Quality good but not a home run. Moderate Tertiary leather and tobacco supported by black fruit and sour cherry. I note $100 per bottle at outlets, I would class as a $45 to $50 value.

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  6/29/2019 - Gdubya Likes this wine:

  Solid wine. Great QPR. Re-iterate my 93 score, but not bottles left now :-(

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  12/7/2018 - Gdubya Likes this wine:

  Not as good as previous. Bought from different source. Last one was direct from vineyard

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  10/10/2018 - Gdubya Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Drinking very well right now. Can’t imagine it getting much better from here and superb for a c33$ wine

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