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Peter Bourne GWT Limestone Coast Cabernets Star Performers Tasting
8 Danks street, Sydney
Tasted June 17, 2015 by chatters with 574 views
Introduction
nice to see Peter again after a bit of a break. Standard elbows at dawn tasting based on the June/July 2015 tasting from Gourmet Wine Traveller magazine on Limestone Coast Cabernets and blends.
Flight 1 - Cabernet Shiraz Blends (2 notes)
Red
2012 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Shiraz V & A Lane
Aromas of black cherry, berry and currant, cedar and spice. In the mouth it's a little tart with blackcurrant fruit, spice and a bitter coffee note. Meh.
Red
2010 Majella The Malleea
Slight rubber note then ripe black fruit with slight liquorice there is a bit of a chocolate core here as well on the nose. There's more of the same on the palate with alcohol heat on the back palate and chalky slight drying tannins. There is a certain bitterness to the finish. Hmm.
Flight 2 - 2013 Cabernets (5 notes)
Red
2013 Petaluma Cabernet Sauvignon White Label
Slight red currant over mint and slight herbaceous notes; tobacco here as well on the nose. Unsurprisingly juicy with crunchy red currant and considerable spice and front of mouth tannic grip. Also a bit of a mid palate scoop…well, nothing comes back to it's just a bit short leaving alcohol warmth in the mouth. Nah
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Red
2013 Wolf Blass Cabernet Sauvignon Gold Label
Ripe blackcurrant and slight cherry. A certain woody spice note there is something a little confected here as well. In the mouth it tastes like quite alcoholic Ribena with a fair pinch of spice joining and carrying through the drying, flour textured tannin. Long. Hmm
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Red
2013 Mr. Riggs Cabernet Sauvignon Outpost
Cream vanilla, Ribena buttery notes, cedar, slight spice on the nose. In the mouth there are flavours of tobacco and spice over smoky black currant fruit, slightly tough tannins, quite long and complex but it's all a bit out of whack at the moment.
Red
2013 Lindeman's Pyrus
Medium minus intensity aromas of polished oak, sightly meaty, red and black currant. In the mouth the wine is juicy with red and black currant, fine silky tannins, it dries out a little and doesn't carry and fruit. Nah
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Red
2013 Lindeman's Cabernet Sauvignon Trio St. George
Red currant, slight meat, slight burnt toast, cedar, polished oak and spice on the nose. The wine I juicy on the palate with flavours of red currant and slightly burnt notes, tannins are drying though the fruit does carry beneath and is joined by a bitter note. Nah.
Flight 3 - 2012 Cabernets (10 notes)
Red
2012 Cape Jaffa Cabernet Sauvignon
stinky and reductive slight rubber, cheese over black fruit, quite dense with spice here as well on the nose. There's more of the same as regards that density on the palate, a little savoury with some alcohol warmth. The fruit is quite muted. Meh.
Red
2012 Hollick Cabernet Sauvignon
Slightly farty notes, red currant pencil shavings, graphite and sweet spice. In the mouth there is slightly sweet red fruit, drying, chewy raspy tannins that dry out the finish completely. Ugh
Red
2012 Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Bramble, pencil shavings, cigar box, cedar and spice. In the mouth there is broad then slightly tart brambly fruit that has talc textured tannin and finishes a little too bitter for me. Meh
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Red
2012 Yalumba Cabernet Sauvignon The Menzies
Medium minus intensity aromas of blackcurrant, peppery spice, graphite, cedar. In the mouth the wine is juicy, with blackcurrant flavours and then a bit of a mid-palate scoop then finishes with drying tannins that close everything down a bit on the finish. Time?
Red
2012 Yalumba Cabernet Sauvignon The Cigar
medium plus intensity aromas of spice, blackcurrant, it's a bit smoky as well. On the palate the wine is dense with black fruit flavours, it's juicy and long with tannins joining but all very balanced, spice and tiny cream & vanilla notes join the fruit on the long finish. Good
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Red
2012 Brand's Laira August Tide Dry Red
Slight dusty with red cherry and meaty blackcurrant fruit and spice. In the mouth the fruit slight slightly sweet with spice, juicy then warming alcohol and talc textured tannins whit leave a drying but hot finish in the mouth. Not very nice.
Red
2012 Pepper Tree Cabernet Sauvignon Calcare Reserve
Plum and black currant also a slight pyrazine quality here as well, a herbaceous lift if you will. In the mouth the wine is juicy and fresh with black fruits then drying chewy tannins, fruit struggles to persist underneath this. Hmm.
Red
2012 Brand's Laira Cabernet Sauvignon Blockers
Red berry, tobacco leaf and smoky elements. Sour and spirituous. More of the same on the palate with fine tannins. Meh.
Red
2010 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Black Label
Should have been the 2012 - oops! Medium minus intensity aromas of cigar box, black fruits and cream on the nose. In the mouth the wine has flavours of blackcurrant and slight black cherry, juicy with spice and plentiful integrated tannins. Rather pleasant but a bit of alcoholic warmth on finish.
Red
2012 Parker Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 95 Block
Low intensity aromas of a slight briny quality, some meatiness, no real fruit. In the mouth the wine is quite flat on the palate as well with slight peppery notes. Meh.
Flight 4 - 2010 Cabernets (10 notes)
Red
2010 Pepper Tree Cabernet Sauvignon Elderslee Road
Aromas of red over blackcurrant, cedar, spice, also something a little metallic and off putting. Also herbaceous notes. There are herbaceous notes and sweet blackcurrant translate to palate with talc textured tannins. Hmm.
Red
2010 Tapanappa Merlot Cabernet Franc Whalebone Vineyard
Medium minus intensity aromas with red berries, spice…more red berries on the palate, alcohol heat, grippy tannins. Nah.
Red
2010 Penley Estate Chertsey
Slightly funky, slightly wet, red over black fruits, touches of cedar and sweet spice. In the mouth there is big fruit, chewy tannins all carrying on the medium plus length. Hmm
Red
2010 Balnaves of Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon The Tally Reserve
Muted sweet red fruit with a toasty note. There's a lovely polished oak note here as well underpinned by sweet spice. Juicy, fruity, spicy, long, plentiful tannins, rather nice.
Red
2010 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon John Riddoch
Blackcurrant fruit, polished oak, spice…more of the same on the palate, juicy with chewy tannins, slight mint notes join on the finish. Lovely
Red
2010 Jim Barry Cabernet Sauvignon First Eleven XI
Peppery spice dominates, slightly belchy fruit, cedar. In the mouth slight sweet Ribena fruit then this transmutes into a more tart note which is joined by drying tannins which close tings down. Nah
Red
2010 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 169 Coonawarra
Muted and closed on the nose. On agitation ripe blackcurrant fruit and slight cherry and little else. Broad on the palate, black currant but it's all surprisingly muted. Travels long on the palate. Tannins are fine. Nicely balanced but, despite it's polish, it's a little anonymous for me.
Red
2010 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Alex 88
Aromas of biscuit, black berries and cherries and cloves, a slight herbaceousness, spice and cream as well. In the mouth the wine is juicy with flavours of blackcurrant, spice…then slightly chalky drying tannins but fruit persists, jolly nice indeed. Very good and difficult to spit.
Red
2010 Brand's Laira Cabernet Sauvignon One Seven One
On the nose there are aromas of rubber, funky, sweet black fruit, herbaceous notes as well. Very juicy, wet in the mouth, mid palate scoop fruit is a little muted in the mouth as are the tannins but I kind of like it. It's a little austere and none the worse for that.
Red
2010 Petaluma Cabernet Merlot Coonawarra
Biscuit, ripe black currant almost toasted berries with cedar. More of the same on the palate. Instantly gratifying and pleasing. Some coffee notes encroach on the long finish.
Flight 5 - Other vintage Cabernets (4 notes)
Red
2009 Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Odyssey
Herbaceous aromas, black currant fruit, quite bolshy though, some muted chocolate, spice and vanilla. It's got a bit of a show wine nose. On the palate there are flavours of sweet & ripe black fruit, tobacco leaf, massive tannins. Old school Aussie cab sav with touches of chocolate alcohol heat. Boo yah. Kind of fun though I feel guilty for admitting it.
Red
2009 Parker Coonawarra Estate First Growth
meaty, blackcurrant, sweet spice, very slight leather, plentiful cedary oak. In the mouth a more smoked eucalyptus with black currant fruit here, bit of a mid palate scoop Flour textured tannins. Fruit kind of persist but alcohol heat joins here though it is fairly non-intrusive. Carries long. On this basis I should like this wine. But...Hmm.
Red
2007 Geoff Merrill Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Slightly funky, black fruits on agitation the fruit ripens and is joined by cream vanilla, spice and alcohol heat. On the palate leather, eucalyptus, sweet black fruits then tannins comes in . Not very nice. Kind of out of whack for me. It's okay at best.
Red
2006 Reschke Cabernet Sauvignon Empyrean
Reductive and closed, slightly toasty notes and black fruit. On agitation farty black fruit dominates a herbaceous element. More of the same on the palate with drying tannins. Disjointed and out of whack. All over the place. I wonder if this bottle is out of condition?
Closing
Plenty of tannin here! My standouts were the Yalumba Cigar, Balnaves Tally and the Wynns John Riddoch and Alex 88 so I went back and retried them with some bread and cheese. On that second taste the Yalumba and Balnaves proved to be the better of the four.