1999 Chateauneuf du Papes vs. Australian GSMs Blindtasted

Introductory comments by tasting organizer Ross Bott:
Six weeks ago we had a 1998 Chateauneuf du Pape tasting with Vieux Telegraphe, Beaucastel and other top releases from what was an outstanding vintage in the Rhone region. As a ringer, we had the 1998 Hattrick from Australian Domaine, a little known but highly regarded maker of Syrahs and Rhone blends in the McLaren Vale in South Australia.

All of the wines showed well, with the Vieux Telegraphe winning and a terrific wine now, but with a long future still. Coming in second was the Hattrick, which was fragrant with blackberries and dark chocolate and lush and layered in the mouth. Perhaps even more impressive was that most of the tasters guessed it to be a top Chateauneuf!

One message to take out of this is that many of the Australian Shiraz and Shiraz blends, while seemingly over-the-top rich and ripe when young, do calm down with a few years in the bottle. And many of these age remarkably gracefully for many years after that, converging into wines which can be mistaken for a first class Chateauneuf or Hermitage or Cote Rotie.

As many of the best 1998 through 2005 Australian Shiraz and GSMs age over the upcoming years, we'll have a chance to compare them against their French counterparts and test this premise. Tonight, as a case in point, we'll pit some of the best 1999 Chateauneufs against some Australian Chateauneuf lookalikes. Among those on the Chateauneuf side will be the 1999 Guigal, Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year for 2002. On the Oz side will be the 1999 Hattrick, the Steading from Torbreck and the lovely Ironstone Pressings from d'Arenberg.

• 1999 Torbreck The Steading 92 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  Group's #1 (my #2) – 22 pts; 3 firsts, 5 seconds, 3 thirds, 0 last places – medium red violet color; focused cherry cordial, blackberry and bittersweet chocolate nose; tasty, blackberry, dried cherry palate with depth and garrigue notes; medium-plus finish 92+ pts. (60% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre, 20% Syrah)

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• 1999 d'Arenberg The Ironstone Pressings 91 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Group's #2 (my #3) – 28 pts.; 3, 2, 3, 0 - dark red violet color; dried berry and plum nose; ripe cherry cordial, dried cherry, spicy berry palate, a little hot; medium finish 91+ pts.

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• 1999 Domaine Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée des Félix 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Group's #3 (my #1) – 34 pts.; 3, 3, 0, 1 - dark red violet color; liquid smoke, graphite and dried berry nose; tasty pepper, graphite, garrigue palate, very balanced; medium finish

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• 1999 Greenock Creek Grenache Cornerstone 88 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  Group's #4 (my #6) – 49 pts.; 1, 0, 2, 1 - medium red violet color; dark berry, dried cherry, smoke and dried plum nose; tart berry and ripe cherry entry, smoke and pepper mid-palate with black fruit; medium finish (100% Grenache)

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• 1999 E. Guigal Châteauneuf-du-Pape 90 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Group's #5 (my #4) – 50 pts.; 1, 0, 3, 3 - medium red violet color, very clear; herbal, garrigue, oregano, roasted lamb and pepper nose; oregano, sage, liquid pepper, lamb jus, herbes de Provence palate; medium finish 90+ pts.

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• 1999 Domaine Pontifical Châteauneuf-du-Pape 90 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Group's #6 (my #5) – 61 pts.; 0, 0, 1, 3 - medium red violet color with pale meniscus; sage, pepper and thyme nose; peppery tart black fruit palate with smoke; short-medium finish

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• 1999 Australian Domaine Wines The Hattrick Flawed

  Australia, South Australia

  Group's #7 (my #7) – 62 pts.; 0, 1, 0, 3 - dark red violet color; slightly corked, with pepper and smoke nose; very peppery, hot, with TCA on palate too; short finish (50% Grenache, 45% Shiraz and 5% Mourvedre)

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