Voyager Estate Masterclass 2010

Benchmark tasting tour that is run by Voyager Estate. 20 wines over 3 flights - Chardonnay, Shiraz and Bordeaux blends. Attended by the General Manager (Alexandra Wright), Manager of winemaking and viticulture (Steve James) and Winemaker and Winery Manager (Travis Lemm)
The only issues with a tasting like this is that you'll always have vintage variation and some wines are designed to be drunk younger than others. The vintage variation certainly knocked out Burgundy in tasting flight 1 and the ageability of wine probably shot some of the bordeaux blends in flight 3 out.

• 2007 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

  Nose: Smoked Bacon, Oak, light fruit with tropical notes
  Mouth: Acid, spice, alcohol heat, not so much oak on the mouth. Not as much fruit either. Still tastes quite young.

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• 2007 Craggy Range Chardonnay Les Beaux Cailloux

  New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay, Gimblett Gravels

  Nose: vanilla, coconut, pineapple, very tropical, some spice
  Mouth: spice, oak, tongue coating oak and vanilla. Quite hot. Okay

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• 2007 Voyager Estate Chardonnay

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  Nose: touches of elderflower not much else. Under considerable agitation melon and stone fruit show through
  Mouth: Medium acid, stone fruit and touches of tropical fruit, also tannin and cream. Okay

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• 2007 Kistler Chardonnay Vine Hill Vineyard

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Nose: Butter, malo, toast, tropical fruit, honeysuckle
  Mouth: Meaty and chunky, plenty of spice, oak, vanilla, coconut and tropical fruit
  Absolutely huge and terribly good rambunctious fun.

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• 2007 Giaconda Chardonnay Estate & Nantua Vineyards

  Australia, Victoria, North East, Beechworth

  Nose: Touch of greeness/unripe leaf. Stone fruit - nectarine and apricot. touch of smoked bacon
  Mouth: Apricot, touch of bitterness, quite dry acidity. Hmm. not for me.
  Apparently there is Roussanne in this blend as well.

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• 2007 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Art Series

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  Nose: pineapple, perfume, touch of vanilla
  Mouth: spice, dry acid, some oak and little fruit. Bit light. Not working for me.

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• 2008 Dalwhinnie Shiraz Moonambel Pyrenees

  Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Pyrenees

  Nose: Perfume, black and red fruit, some savoury
  Mouth: little acid, lovely perfume, black fruit, not much finish but a big oaky, tongue coating. Hmm

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• 2007 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Cuvée Classique

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Nose: Sublime rose perfume, some damp dark fruit, something slight off though
  Mouth: Rose and smoke, spice, tannin, long finish, glycerol. Very good

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• 2007 Shaw and Smith Shiraz

  Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills

  Nose: Bacon, lack of fruit but then opens to jammy fruit with hints of rhubarb
  Mouth: tight, black pepper, tannin, very young and lack of fruit leads me to have aging concerns

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• 2008 Voyager Estate Shiraz

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  Nose: perfume & smoked/BBQ meat, black fruit and, perhaps, touches of cinnamon
  Mouth: savoury black fruit, not much acid but plenty of tannin. Peppery long finish. Quite nice, far better than in April

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• 2008 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier

  Australia, New South Wales, Southern New South Wales, Canberra District

  Nose: perfume & red and black fruit
  Mouth: spice, black fruit and apricot, medium tannin, long finish. Oddly enough a little fruity for me and, perhaps, a touch to obvious.

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• 2008 Craggy Range Syrah Le Sol Gimblett Gravels Vineyard

  New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay, Gimblett Gravels

  Nose: perfume & meat, spice and pepper, perhaps chocolate, toast.
  Mouth: tight, very high acid and tannin, very young, pepper. Lacks fruit - some people are never pleased.

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• 2005 Cullen Wines Diana Madeline

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  Nose: funky, toast, muted black fruit, some meaty overtones, cream, butter and, on aeration, a little more jammy fruit
  Mouth: Medium to high acid and tannin, not much fruit coming through at this time. Quaffable.

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• 2005 Mount Mary Quintet

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley

  Nose: spice, nominal fruit, more spice!
  Mouth: red and black fruit - far more on palate than on the nose - a little wet, low acid but medium to high tannin. Nice long finish. The lack of acidity gives me concern for its ability to age.

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• 2005 Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  Nose: green herbaceous tones, cream, vanilla, toast, eucalypt, some jammy fruit
  Mouth: medium to high acidity (which I assume has been bumped up but am assured by the winemaker that it hasn't been) and tannin, toast, leather and a certain gritty, bitter tannin. Black fruit here as well. Hmm, nice.

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• 2005 Stags' Leap Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Nose: lovely briny seaside, leather, cedar, mint, venison, blue and black berries
  Mouth: jammy initially, medium acid and medium to high tannin, diminishing fruit, spice. More on the nose than the mouth but quite pleasant none the less.

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• 2005 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia

  Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Superiore

  Nose: chocolate and black currant
  Mouth: bitter and tannic, very tannic, medium acidity and, under this, some fruit. Needs more time. Far too young. As it is, it's not very pleasant. Come back in ten years.

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• 2005 Te Mata Estate Coleraine

  New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay

  Nose: Fruit cake, toast, black and red fruit, something almost citric
  Mouth: Beautifully balance acid, tannin and fruit. Still a touch young but drinkable now. Lovely.

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• 2005 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Nose: Biscuit & toast, black currants, cream, cake mix but pre-cooking
  Mouth: high acid & tannin which dominate wet fruit, more on the nose than the palate. Very young.

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• 2005 Balnaves of Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon The Tally Reserve

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

  Nose: Almost chemical, candied peel, black fruit, cassis & spice, some hot jammy tomes, leather? Mint? Dill? Lots going on.
  Mouth: Leather, mint, spice, high tannin and good acidity. Hmm, needs more time but rather pleasant.

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Cracking evening had by everyone. After each round of the tasting the wine three 'experts' discussed the wines we'd had and at the end there was a three course meal accompanied by the Voyager Estate wines. I had a lovely time but would re-iterate my point about vintage variation and ageability above. In the end I picked up two cases of the Voyager Estate Cab Sav Merlot (which performed a lot better than it had done in Margaret River in April 2010).