Cabernet Uncorked hosted by Phil Reedman MW
Sydney Wine Academy, 250 Blaxland Road, Ryde
Tasted Tuesday, May 24, 2011 by chatters with 525 views
Introduction
Comparison tasting of Aussie and Frog Cab Sav's and blends
Flight 1 - Australia wines (6 Notes)
All the major Cab Sav regions are represented. If I was nit picking the Coonawarra and Margaret River could have both had an additional contribution as the lake's folly from the Hunter is a bit of an oddity and the Clare is more about Shiraz and Riesling (though the Grosset did show well)
Flight 2 - Token Tasmanian and Bordeaux (6 Notes)
The Domaine A was slotted into this group for convenience and because it is the coolest climate cab sav example from the Australian group. Again, to be a bit nit picky, it would have been nice to have a Margaux and a Graves in here as well but it is still a pretty good line up.
Closing
Great tasting. Everyone other than me thought the Mount Mary Quintet was the wine of the night and that the Australian wines were better than the Bordeauxs. For myself the stand out was the Lynch Bages, followed by the Sociando Mallet. The Wynns was completely different to everything else and glorious in it's own right. With it's herbaceous dominant flavours, the Leeuwin Estate stood out as an individual. The Domaine A was probably the closest to what I would call a Bordeaux style wine from Australia.
2009 Lake's Folly Cabernets
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
Colour: Ruby, some rim fade, slight medium paced tears, medium intensity, bright.
Nose: Clean, developing, medium intensity nose with aroma's of cherry and berry, slight clove, slight farmyard, tobacco and leather notes and subtle hints of toasted oak
Mouth: Medium plus acidity, body and alcohol. The tannins are quite subdued though. Flavours of red berry and touches of cherry. The slight savoury spice notes, leather and slight black tea. The alcohol begins to intrude on the medium plus length. Good but needs time.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2008 Yeringberg
Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley
Colour: Ruby, medium plus intensity, clear with slow legs
Nose: Clean, medium intensity and developing with aromas or red berry and currant, slight sweet tobacco, sweet spice - clove, cedar and leather notes. Also cream and vanilla.
Mouth: Medium alcohol and body. A dry wine with subdued tannin that does demonstrate some front of the mouth phenolic grip. Medium plus acid and flavour intensity of red fruit and spices (clove and touches of nutmeg) that all carry on a long finish.
Very good. Quite closed but lots' going on. Needs time.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2008 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon John Riddoch
Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra
Colour: A clear medium plus intensity purple wine with a ruby rim
Nose: Medium plus intensity, developing, clean wine with aromas of black currant jam that is savoury and, almost, porty, vanilla, clove, cinnamon, and, oddly, herbaceous notes with touches of tomato leaf.
Mouth: A dry wine with medium plus tannin, alcohol (that is generous on the long finish) and body. The mouth feel is quite chunky with flavours fo black currant and boiled sweets rolling into sweet spice and vanilla.
Very good - stylistically old school Australian, big fruit and vanilla oak. Needs time and experience tells me that it will be good for the next 17-20 years.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
2007 Leeuwin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Art Series
Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River
Colour: Medium intensity, bright and clear ruby wine
Nose: Medium intensity, developing, clean wine with aromas of mint, graphite, pencil shaving, eucalyptus, blackcurrant and pyrazine notes
Mouth: A dry wine with flavours of savoury blackcurrant, mint and eucalyptus. It lacks body and weight in the mouth.
Drink now to ten years.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2004 Grosset Gaia
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley
Colour: Medium plus intensity ruby fading to garnet wine that has plentiful slow tearing on the glass
Nose: Medium intensity, developing, clean wine with aroma's of black and red currant, slight herbaceous mint and eucalyptus, savoury meaty notes and cigar box. Hmm, a bit like Ragu.
Mouth: A dry medium acidity, flavour intensity and alcohol wine with smooth and talcy tannin, red and black currant, mint, graphite, cedar, clove and slight nutmeg. These, and leather and earth notes, carry on the long finish.
Very good.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2004 Mount Mary Quintet
Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley
Colour: Medium intensity, clear ruby wine
Nose: Medium intensity, developing, clean wine with aromas of farmyard, black currant & prune, leather, tobacco, cedar and slight bitter coffee notes
Mouth: Flavours of earth, leather, farmyard funk, savoury meatiness, and slight eucalyptus. The wine introduces astringent, bitter and almost slightly metallic notes on the long finish.
Nah. This isn't my first encounter with MMQ and I still don't what all the fuss is about. Not for me: The nose promises so much and the mouth delivers so little.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No