Voyager Estate Masterclass 2012

Completely blind tasting. Great fun and a brilliant tasting. Hosted by Voyager Estate.

Representatives from NZ, SA, Burgundy and Australia

• 2009 Kumeu River Chardonnay Maté's Vineyard

  New Zealand, North Island, Auckland, Kumeu

  Nose oak, butter, peach, stone fruit, spice, alcohol heat
  Mouth Apple, lees, oak, massive spice.
  Okay

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• 2009 Hardys Chardonnay Eileen Hardy

  Australia, Tasmania

  Nose herbal notes – thyme/sage, toasted oak, mineral, stone fruit and oak with touches of apple
  Mouth Lees feel, medium plus acid, spice, apple and a touch warm.

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• 2009 Hamilton Russell Vineyards Chardonnay

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley

  Nose Farmyard funk, mineral, biscuit, slight apple, cream, butter
  Mouth lacks acidity which leads to a certain flabbiness. Bitter spice over slight citrus notes of lime, oddly enough

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• 2009 Voyager Estate Chardonnay

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  Nose slight dish water, stone fruit, slight apple, cream and butter
  Mouth Spicy oak, apple, medium plus acidity. Not so much butter in the mouth but touches of cream. Young, balanced, good. Needs time.

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• 2009 Yabby Lake Vineyard Chardonnay Single Block Release Block 1

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Mornington Peninsula

  Nose creamy rich, toasty with tropical fruit and buttery notes
  Mouth Doesn’t really match the nose – the fruit is tart – green apple and citrus, there are cream notes but the finish is slightly flabby (which contradicts the fruit profile)…hmm. Out of whack.

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• 2009 Blain-Gagnard Bâtard-Montrachet

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

  Nose Medium minus intensity, very muted, slight candy floss, slight sulphur
  Mouth medium plus acid, green apply, very tart, mineral, tight, crisp, mineral notes, lees time. Very nice.

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Representatives from Northern Rhone, NZ and Australia

• 2010 Glaetzer Dixon Family Winemakers Shiraz Mon Pere

  Australia, Tasmania, Coal River

  Nose Leather, cherry, sl. dirty notes, spice, cream, black pepper dominates
  Mouth Savoury blackberry and spice, black pepper, front of mouth phenolic grip, slight bitter on the finish

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• 2010 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier

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

  Nose Muted green and black pepper, deeply perfumed, red cherry, earthy, spice. Slightly metallic note
  Mouth black pepper, red cherry, spice, slight leather, cream, meh for me.

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• 2010 Voyager Estate Shiraz

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  Nose medium minus intensity, clean and developing. Cedar wood, cream, slight black fruit and touches of red currant over black pepper and slight caramel
  Mouth juicy black fruit, tight, tannic grip, dry savoury and spice. It’s a little old school new world, but very nice none the less. Well balanced

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• 2010 Mac Forbes Syrah Gruyere

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley

  Nose Medium minus intensity, clean, developing, green and black peppercorn, sweet spice, concentrated but not jammy black fruit, cedar wood, herbaceous, leather.
  Mouth Red currant, black and green pepper, spice, plenty of front of mouth phenolic grip. Very nice.

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• 2009 Domaine du Coulet (Matthieu Barret) Cornas Billes Noires

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  Nose Cork taint, clean, medium intensity, developing leather, black fruit, and wet wood
  Mouth savoury, tannic grip, mineral notes – graphite, black pepper and fruit (black berry) massive! Very nice indeed.

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• 2010 Trinity Hill Syrah

  New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay

  Nose clean, medium intensity, developing, cream, toast, black cherry and berry, cedar wood, spice and alcohol, touch of black peppercorns
  Mouth Blackberry, damson, almost plum. Tight savoury tannic grip that is not intrusive, fruit carries on

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Representatives from Italy, USA, Bordeaux and Australia

• 2008 Wantirna Estate Cabernet Merlot Amelia

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley

  Nose Ribena, Blackcurrant, graphite, pencil shavings, cedar
  Mouth Juicy black fruit, cedar and spice and cream. Quite savoury. Medium plus acid, body, alcohol and tannin. This is a big wine, built to last. Very nice but, perhaps, the alcohol is a little hot and intrusive on the long finish.

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• 2008 Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  Nose slightly closed, brambles, cream, vanilla, graphite, black currant and cedar.
  Mouth juicy bramble and blackcurrant, vanilla, lacks spice. Immediate up front fruit appeal but finishes a little wet. But very good indeed.

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• 2008 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Nose Cream, jammy black fruit, spice, slight floral top notes, and alcohol heat
  Mouth Savoury and juicy black currant and spice. Medium plus tannins that grip. Medium plus body is mouth coating. Having said that the oak is savoury and the wine has a very long finish that carries the fruit. Good.

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• 2008 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia

  Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Superiore

  Nose Closed, muted, cream and vanilla, jammy black fruit, slight herbal, slight stalkiness
  Mouth vanilla cream, black over red berry fruit, stalk in the mouth. Bit warm, bit short. The tannins feel a little chalky and grippy

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• 2008 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

  USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

  Nose cream, vanilla and muted black fruit, slight dusty, slight cherry
  Mouth Jammy red and black fruit, Christmas cake, sweet spice, dry, savoury. Oak there but non-intrusive. Bit warm on the finish. Very well balanced though. Good.

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• 2008 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon John Riddoch

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

  Nose Cherry and currant over graphite and bramble and cream, vanilla, herbaceous notes and touches of biscuit
  Mouth medium plus acid, jammy blackcurrant over vanilla, slightly bitter on the medium plus finish. Medium plus body. Alcohol slight warm. Okay

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Lovely tasting...In the Chardonnay bracket the Batard Montrachet was pretty special. In the Shiraz bracket, which was my favourite bracket, there were four winners for me - The Voyager Estate Shiraz, The Mac Forbes Gruyere Syrah, the Dom du Coulet Billes Noires and the Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels - the latter of these opened beautifully over the course of the tasting. From the Cabernet Sauvignon blends the Voyager Estate Cab Merlot, Ducru Beaucaillou and the Spottswoode were very nice but all different in their own way.