NobleRottersSydney - Langtons Classification

A new theme – a pretty good effort after twenty years. Initially programmed as ‘Wines from Langtons Classification: Exceptional & Outstanding” the late rider, given the mostly heavyweight reds likely to be on offer, was to limit ourselves to 1986-1996 as well. This qualification was missed or defied by many Rotters, so in the end we had a near-15 year run of various well-regarded-by-the-market wines.

• 2001 Blue Pyrenees Estate Midnight Cuvée

  Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Pyrenees

  [Diam, 11.5%] There’s only a splash of pinot in this (the front label reads ‘chardonnay’), but it still manages to poke some strawberry aromas through the biscuity nose. Seven years on lees has given this wine the intriguing mix of youthful flavours but with some development, there is plenty of lemon and grapefruit on the palate to keep any yeasty notes under control. Dry palate, but the bubbles are surprisingly large and aggressive considering the winemaking. None-the-less, this is a pretty distinguished sparkler that could commence a second life in the cellar quite easily.

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• 2004 Cullen Wines Diana Madeline Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  [screwcap, 14%] This was presented blind, and I honestly thought it was a shiraz! There’s not a trace of green or herbaceous cabernet trademark, instead there’s a spiciness and refined richness to the youthful aromas. The finest of powdery tannins contribute to the soft impression on the palate, the wine is quite light on its feet and very elegant; all drawing rooms and powdered wigs, if you know what I mean. Remarkably fruit-driven, and red-fruits at that; the Merlot seems to contribute way beyond its 13% component. (Cabernet takes 84%, with 3% of cab franc rounding it out). The oak is imperceptible, as is the alcohol; right now it’s a ‘fruity claret’ that could turn into anything. I’d like to see it in another five years to observe what aging has occurred; on this evidence it will age for a very long time, but what will it turn into?

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• 2003 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier

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

  [cork, 14%] A softly developing nose of spices and gingery fruits. There’s an interesting compost-like, wet-leaf note there too. The palate has medium dusty tannins framing musky fruit flavours that really shows off the apricot/viognier qualities, to the point where I find them distracting. The wine blooms quite powerfully on the palate initially, and does fade a little on the back palate; the finish is medium length. It’s a nicely-built wine, decently structured, with some elegance and maybe some more aging potential – but with that apricot caveat…

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• 1998 Yalumba Shiraz The Octavius

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  [cork, 14.5%] I guess grapes went into this. There’s no sign of them. You can’t see the trees for the wood. I don’t know why Yalumba don’t sell this in a wooden bottle; that would at least be consistent. “Lumberjack’s Delight” they could call it. So, charry coconut on the nose. Wood, wood, wood. And a touch of volatility as well; as though they are chasing the fabled ‘Grange complexity’ but not quite making it. For all the massively chalky tannins and ponderous intensity of the wine as it thuds onto your palate, the finish is not all that long. Or, perhaps more accurately, not especially interesting; there’s just that charred vanilla note. And not that much of a back palate either, for me. I should note that others at table liked it far more; it’s an extreme style, and accordingly will live or die by that sword. Best drinking years ago I reckon, when the fruit still had the strength to withstand all those little oak barrels.

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• 1994 Barossa Valley Estate Shiraz E & E Black Pepper

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  [cork, 14.5%] Another arborist’s delight, although this is a bit more mainstream [than the 98 Yalumba Octavius]. From the mass of sediment in my glass emerges a bouquet of aged spice strongly infused with coconut. The palate is still chalkily tannic; the flavours tend towards vanillan oak & developing chocolate. It’s a bit crude and clunky, and might have sung a sweeter, better proportioned song had it not been quite so pumped up with oak. This is on the way to becoming just a warm empty shell with an increasingly brittle finish; drink up fast before it gets both feet in the grave.

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• 1995 Hardys Shiraz Eileen Hardy Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  [cork, 14%] Elsewhere in South Australia, in the Oaken Race of the nineties, things are a little better. [In the context of the 98 Yalumba Octavious & 94 BVE Black Pepper.] This has also seen plenty of wood, but there are more raspberry/chocolate/fruitcake aromas on offer here. Seems to be hovering a bit between primary & secondary on both nose and palate. On the tongue this has just enough fruit to counter the oak – it’s a far younger-tasting wine than the E&E, and the vanilla character is not so strong (I seem to recall Hardys were gradually switching this wine from US to French oak in the 90s). I wouldn’t say it’s developed a great deal of complexity, but the palate is reasonably well filled without obvious holes. A weighty finish to a solid, not quite exciting wine; it could be held a little longer without too many fears.

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• 1997 Jasper Hill Shiraz Georgia's Paddock

  Australia, Victoria, Central Victoria, Heathcote

  [cork, 15.5%]Now the oak monster’s crashed the party [98 Octavius, 94 E&E Black Pepper, 95 Eileen Hardy], we can welcome his buddy the alcohol-breathing dragon. Don’t open this bottle near an open flame. This even smells hot, with the singeing, mulled aromas searing straight up the nose. The heat on the palate obliterates everything else, leaving flat, near-musty flavours on the back-half of the palate, and just a fiery warmth on the front. I didn’t detect obvious closure/storage problems, it just seemed to be a desperately unbalanced wine aging with little dignity or integrity. Never had (in my admittedly limited experience ) a Jasper Hill wine that’s impressed me; I find it an emperor with no clothes, sadly.

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• 2000 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  [cork, 14.5%] This was squarely in line with a bottle tasted eight or so months ago. A super effort from an unheralded Margaret River vintage, the nose offers plenty of youthful ripe cabernet-currant aromas, livened with a dash of oak. A nicely integrated palate shows up the preceding wines; the rounded flavours fill the mouth, and a little bracken/herbaceous note reminds that this is not shiraz! No doubt about the ripeness either, it’s a full-bodied, strongly tannic cabernet of even length and medium-high intensity. With a handsome medium-length finish, this is a good example of modern Margaret River cabernet. Expect it to show better over 5-10 years.

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• 1996 Wendouree Cabernet Sauvignon Clare Valley

  Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley

  [cork, 13.1%] The first wine of the night that’s really looked its age, with a tell-tale brick tinge around the rim. Trademark Wendouree mintiness is well in evidence; it’s more spearmint than eucalypt, and has a nicely formed halo of development about it, but if you’re allergic to these most characteristic Australian traits then it’s not for you. It tastes a lot younger than it looks, with plenty of fine tannins in evidence, other structural elements hidden by the dark-hued fruits, and an evenness to the length that is its best quality. Not much true secondary development yet on the palate, although I suspect its true peak might be a fairly short one, and rather hard to find, especially in view of the colour. Certainly an interesting wine, and very different to anything else on offer tonight.

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• 1991 Henschke Shiraz Mount Edelstone

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

  [cork, 14%] If you’ve had an old Edelstone, you’ll know the aromas, if not, I can’t really describe them. Spices, cloves, plums, wet earth & soil, fruit-cake, oh, this is seductive stuff. The palate is comprises a wonderful smear of blurry ripe fruit, with tobacco touches, cedary oak tinges, a powerful yet subtle series of flavours parading elegantly over the tongue. Integrated, medium-full bodied, with lovely balance and persistence, this is Edelstone at the peak of its form. Doesn’t seem like it has anywhere to go, but then it doesn’t need to, tasting the way it does. A triumph in every respect.

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• 1990 Henschke Shiraz Hill of Grace

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

  [cork, 13.5%] Since the [1991] Edelstone was so good, what is to be said about Hill of Grace? My third tasting in eight years, and this remains one of the best wines I have tasted. A infinite kaleidoscope of aromas and flavours, with a spiced, almost-candy-like sweetness settling like fairy-dust over the plummy red-berry fruits. Discreet oak offers more texture than aroma/flavour, fine tannins and soft acid work together to hold up this remarkable wine. It seems youthful yet developed at the same time, at once powerful yet exquisite, forceful yet delicate. Lush, voluptuous, yet still structured; it’s like a Rachmaninoff symphony in a glass. There’s something different in every mouthful, its cloak of silken development revealing a different aspect the longer you taste it. Seems looser-knit than my last taste 4-5 years ago, but no less seductive for than. More Burgundy than Bordeaux, it’s more sensuous than cerebral, and remains a privilege to taste. Plenty of time left too, although it’s hard to grasp that it could get better than this. Bravo!

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• 1997 Penfolds Grange

  Australia, South Australia

  [cork 14%] All of 4% cabernet in this vintage. Immensely impressive in isolation, its really suffering tonight just by being too young, and therefore less expressive. Hasn’t yet developed the vocabulary of the Henschkes [91 Edelstone, 90 Hill of Grace]. Spiced ripe tarry fruits make up the youthful aromas, the palate still retains a monumentally youthful quality about it. Primary black fruits, fine dusty tannins, great intensity and length are all present; the oak has integrated nicely. Perhaps lacks the final touch of magic about it; yet remains eminently drinkable now despite the feeling that only some potential is being realised. Not clumsy or gauche in any way, just needs time – 10 more years? – to strut its stuff properly. Could be a ‘bargain’ in years to come, especially being sandwiched between the lusted-after 1996 and 1998 wines. Very, very good, could be great, if the fruit can keep up with the tannins...

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• 2005 De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Sémillon

  Australia, New South Wales, Big Rivers, Riverina

  [375ml, screwcap, 11%] Lovely pale yellow colour. Not short on botrytis character, but this is the first 21st century Noble One that’s had enough acid to avoid a sickly, cloying character. Lowish alcohol helps; a bright effort that actually might be worth cellaring for a few years.

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So, how did this lot hold up as a representative of the best reds Australia has to offer (at least according to Langtons’ customers)? Not too badly, although the South Australian obsession with new oak in the nineties proved a real evolutionary dead-end, and the case for aging high-alcohol reds will need a far better advocate than Jasper Hill. The night was a tribute to Henschke and the old-school of winemaking. Clonakilla and Wendouree were authentic, individual, and possibly polarising, but no worse for that. Stately wines from Margaret River played a straight bat. And our charmed run with corks continues in 2009…