Community Tasting Note
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Rote Kappelle Likes this wine: 90 points
March 14, 2023 - The reviews to date on this site are pretty much where I land as well. You are getting a classical Left Bank style Bordeaux that takes me back to the best of what I loved in the 1980's and early 1990's. The tannins are quite muscular but the wine is ripe without being fat.
Down in Oz, this style is hard to find in the local product. Yeringberg and Wantirna Estate from the Yarra Valley are pretty much there and in a blind tasting I think I might struggle to differentiate them from the Cissac, even when you look at things like the structure and texture. Coleraine from NZ is also similar but much better (and more expensive) and needs a lot more time to show its best. The Wantirna and Yeringberg are at similar prices to the Cissac, so it is a rare example of Bordeaux in this country that has a decent PQR. Good stuff.3 people found this helpful 1,800 views
3 Comments
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chatters commented:
3/15/23, 7:13 PM - Thanks for your excellent note,
What do you think of the offerings from WA - Margaret River and Frankland River?
cheers,
Chatters -
Rote Kappelle commented:
3/15/23, 7:49 PM - Chatters, I love the WA Cabernets, in all their iterations, from Cape Mentelle and Cullens (both must have's every year), to Iron Gate and Howard Park and Moss Wood. Sometimes I think they have a slight resemblance to big St Julien years but the tannins are usually closer to Italian in style than left bank Bordeaux. I still enjoy Coonawarra cabs as well and Domaine A's fairly out there, somewhat weedy and green and definitely right bank resembling top line Cab.
The Cissac would also sit in style with Mt Mary but there we are in another price category again.
Does any of that help? Let me know your favourites. I am a big fan of Dukes and Frankland Estate and Plantagenet too, though I think the latter two can be variable. -
chatters commented:
3/16/23, 7:51 PM - I concur on the St Julien comparison for Margaret River but don't necessarily agree with you about the Italian tannins (I'm guessing you mean more pronounced and overpowering?) and I feel that Margaret River Cabernets & blends perform better at the entry levels e.g. Woodlands, Frankland Estate (with a nod to the vintage variability you mention), Fraser Gallop, Leeuwin Estate ...I find the Cullen Diana Madeline quite expensive for what it is.
I find the same challenge with Coonawarra - the reserve wines often feel over-extracted and over-oaked (with some notable exceptions like the Wynns John Riddoch) so it's to wines like (the vintage variable) Redman, Bowen Estate and Wynns Black Label that I tend to find myself gravitating. I like the Brian Croser era Petaluma Cabernet's and have fooled friends with those at blind tastings (same with his Merlots) but I don't find the continuity with the Tapanappa wines.
In Victoria I do love the Yeringberg and, though it may be sacrilegious, I've never been that impressed by the Mt Mary Quintet or the Yarra Yering Dry Red No.1; the former of these two always felt as if it was harvested a little early/unripe and presented as a bit too red fruited for a left bank Bordeaux blend...a bit like a sociando mallet from an exceptionally challenging vintage