A Trio of Very Aussie Wines

Dinner with Karam, Eddee and Ray last night threw up some very interesting wines, with two very differerent Shiraz styles and a rare Swan Valley Cabernet-Malbec.

• 2004 Greenock Creek Shiraz Alices 92 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  An unashamedly huge, modern, unbridedly fruit-driven Aussie Shiraz. Usually not my cup of tea, but this was pretty well-done. Really nice nose - lots of savoury notes with earth, meaty scents, umami nuances, sprinkled with bramble and minty notes on a bed of rich, rich blackrurrant, blueberries and plummy fruit, all wafting out of glass alongside perfumy floral tone and sniffs of smoke and licorice. Ridiculously attractive. Plus point was that the thick glycerol fumes that accompany so many of these wines were absent. Palate was predictably rich and plush, with oodles of plum, cassis and blackberry - definitely on the sweet side, but I did not think it was candied or artificial in any way. In fact, I found the fruit expression deep and pure. Not for Rhone lovers maybe, and I certainly felt that more acidity and some tannin structure would have been welcome, but the wine had decent balance and nice depth. The savoury notes on the nose were also picked up on the mid-palate, where meaty notes mingled nicely with earthy, umami tones. Finish showed a bit of alcohol, before a nice lengthy tail with more earthy smoky tones. Not quite my style, but this was enjoyable in a really hedonistic, fruit-driven way. We decanted it for a quick 15 minutes before serving, which certainly helped, but I am not sure this needs too long or decant or, indeed, much longer aging time in the bottle. It just does not have the structure and shape for long aging, quite unlike the Orlando we had alongside.

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• 1998 Orlando Shiraz Lawsons 93 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Padthaway

  Wow. I loved this. So very different from the ultra-modern Greenock Creek, this was a really solid, old school Aussie Shiraz. Classic Aussie Shiraz notes on the nose grabbed you from the get-go. There was no mistaking what this was - eucalypt, menthol, with plums and blueberries just starting to take on slightly dried, preserved notes, with a touch of American wood hanging around and a whiff of crushed beetles and Chinese incense. Typical idiosynractic stuff. Either you like this or you don't, and I really liked it. Palate had a lovely aged aspect to it, with savoury meat married to almost salty preserved plums and dusty earth notes. Lovely balance and structure, with fresh acid and still grippy tannins giving the wine a nice strong shape. Good strong finish as well, with a dusting of plums in the background and a touch more of those American oak notes. Profound, interesting, full of character, they just do not make them like this anymore. I loved this wine. Best thing is that there is plenty of life in this yet. I think it was just about hitting its stride, opening up after about half an hour in the decanter. This should be wonderful to drink in a couple of years' time.

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• 2000 Houghton Cabernet Sauvignon Jack Mann 91 Points

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Frankland River

  Good, but still really young for an 11 year old wine. Rather Bordeaux-like on the nose I thought. Ripe cassis was wreathed with cigar box, tobacco leaf and earthy, woody notes, along with just a touch of vanilla. Just a little dash of Australian eucalyptus, which got stronger and stronger with time, broke the illusion. Still very structured on the palate, with ripe but firmish tannins forming a frame for rich cassis and cedary notes dusted with vanilla shavings. I really like the shape and structure on the wine. Almost Pauillac-like I thought, with fine-boned but substantial tannins and well-balanced acidity. Finish was very decent, with ripe cassis notes and whiffs of spice and eucalyptus closing the wine off. Still very young actually - this could go on for decades. On the night, it was very serious, almost stern, really coming alive only when paired with the Wagyu Beef Cheek, which drew the fruit and fresh acidity from the wine. Still, lots of quality here. Should be really nice in 4-5 years' time, and it probably will last for far longer than that.

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