2005 Australians (and some interlopers)

Runny very generously, as always, supplied a range of 2005 Australians from his collection to try out as "works in progress" over a great dinner at Crown. The rest of us chipped in with a few addidions and distractions. Because of their young age, all the reds were given 4 hours' decanting and were then drank over 2-4 more hours in the glass.

• 2005 Kesner Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

  Very nice lemony colour. Very alluring nose: nice uplifted citrus, very light toasty oak and green ripe fresh melon. On the palate, good refreshing acidity nicely balances the oak then the acidity ramps up and almost takes the edge off your tongue, though not unpleasantly. Some length. Impressive and very enjoyable. Has plenty of ageing potential.

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• 2004 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Bâtard-Montrachet 94 Points

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

  Light greenish colour more suggestive of a Sauvignon Blanc. Reticent but nice flinty nose with very little evident oak that morphs into something very perfumed and alluring with time in the glass and a bit of warmth. The palate is initially a little coy: charming and lightly elegant gunflint with fresh green apples coming through. Wow, this just gets better and better, extending to burnt rubber with extended time in the glass. Needs a good few years to fully develop but it is already a very exciting wine.

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The South African "ringer" was lost without trace........

• 2005 Yarra Yering Dry Red N°1 89 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley

  Deep opaque ruby red colour. Ripe, fruit-driven nose with distinct overtones of new bicycle tyres. It is a bit disjointed on the palate with pretty good fruit but overpowered by overly predominant acid. Thin on the finish but good length. I think the acid will poke through even more as the tannin mellows. I'm not sure that this wine will ever come together but I hope that I'm wrong.

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• 2005 Glaymond Wines Cabernet Sauvignon ASIF 92 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  Deep red, almost black opaque colour. The blackberry nose just jumps out of the glass at you.....boxwood too. Mouthcoating palate of coffee, glycerine, nicotine......sharp but velvet-coated tannins. Good resonance and lovely length. Very Californian Cab style. Built to last but at the moment it is way too young.......headachingly young. This wine offers real promise for the future but probably needs at least another 5 years.

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• 2005 Yalumba Cabernet Sauvignon The Menzies 91 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

  Reddish purple in colour and opaque but lightening at the edges. BANG!.......nose of Bazooka bubblegum mixed with barnyard, tons of blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, lots of alcohol and nail polish. Lovely on the palate.......bitter mocha coffee, lovely deep rich blackberries and peach stones, tannic but not too much so. Good length with some resonance but austere, brooding and headachingly young. This could be a great wine in 10-15 years.

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• 2005 De Toren Fusion V 86 Points

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

  Dense inpenetrable purple colour. Vanilla-forward nose with fresh-sawn wood and alcohol. Palate of mouthfilling glycerin, vanilla and big deep dark fruit that opens up a bit more with extended swirling to cheesy, melted camembert flavours. The acid is unintegrated and overall the palate is slightly disjointed and very alcoholic. Quickly dries out in the glass to christmas cake and stollen on the back end. Some resonance and length but very green and one-dimensional. Made for early drinking....despite my description.... and I doubt this will age in a way that will improve it.

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Being numerically dyslexsic, and without a 2005 Witchmount anyway, I introduced the "ringer".....

• 2005 Kilikanoon Shiraz Oracle 94 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley

  Black and inpenetrable colour. BANG! ....sweet, primary, incredibly powerful, petrolly lifted nose of burnt rubber, a touch of wet rocks, white pepper, all still very primary. WOW! palate....... silence creating, glycerine, mouthcoating bitter coffee, white pepper, pepper grounds, deeply tannic but velvety, fresh and very refined. Huuuge resonance and length that silenced everyone. Headachingly young at this stage but oozes class and excitement. This needs revisiting every 3 years for the rest of my life.

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• 2005 Oliver's Taranga Vineyards Shiraz HJ Reserve

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Black and deep dark impenetrable colour. Reticent, tight, totally closed nose. Inky but with some sweetness. Did open up very slightly with time in the glass but then went watery. Overall, totally closed and therefore unfair to point.

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• 2004 Witchmount Shiraz

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Sunbury

  Black and totally inpenetrable in colour. Very reticent but pure nose of black fruits. Hard to get much from it. Black, pure, bitter black coffee palate giving into tart blackberries that remind me of a wet English summer. Not much length. Just way too young and was the youngest, most closed wine of the night despite being a year older than it's cohorts. Needs at least 10-15 years to show its true colours. Too closed to point. My contribution to the evening.

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• 2005 Elderton Shiraz Single Vineyard Command 91 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa

  Deep ruby red colour, barely opaque. Lovely but still primary nose of coffee, violets and oak. Mouthpuckeringly tannic, black ink palate. Tastes almost like a barrell sample. Huge length and conversation-stopping resonance and quite gorgeous but in a headachingly young way. After a combined 8 hours in the decanter and the glass it developed a fatastically rich and complex, caramelly nose with woodlands and wet leaves. The palate stayed acidic on the tongue edges but the tannins softened dramatically .....it started to reveal true indications of future greatness that could take it to 95-96 points, based on older vintages I have tasted. My WOTN......despite my 94 to two other wines.

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A great evening.......the takeaway is that if you have any high end Australian 2005 reds you should probably keep your hands off them until 2015.