Colour: Golden with slight brownish tinge. Nose: Butter, peach, stewed pears and nutmeg. Palette: Rich, butterscotch, butter, honeydew, still holding a bit of lime in the aftertaste. Right at the end of it's drinking window. Because of the cork this vintage is really hit and miss. I'm running 50-50 at the moment as to what gets poured down the sink and what gets enjoyed. Still considering the price this just reinforces my view that this is the best value white wine to cellar on the market.
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APPEARANCE: Deep to medium deep golden colour. No sediments. Driven cork. NOSE: Initially; lots of waxy notes, some fresh butter and a hint of flint smoke. Then yellow cherries and yellow plums appear. With time and air come white peach, pear and red apple as well as hints of almond and marzipan. (89-90p) TASTE: A slightly matured but vital and fresh fruitiness, with yellow cherries and yellow plums in spades. Slightly underripe mango. Medium to medium rich body. A little, mild fruit stone bitterness on the mid palate (alongside the fruitiness) and in the exit and the rather long aftertaste. (89p) OVERALL: Pure drinking pleasure. TOTAL SCORE 89 points. Appears to be on the younger side of mid age (served blind I think I would have guessed 8-10 years rather than 18), with an estimated remaining drinking window until at least 2025, probably longer.
UPDATE 10.03.2020: Ten days after opening, the nose has developed the fruit notes further, into more tropical sweet, ripe fruits like mango, honeydew melon and a smoky hint of Lapsang Souchong. Wonderful. (90-91p). The taste has not changed much other than perhaps presenting a little softer mouthfeel. (remaining at 89p). I up the TOTAL SCORE by 1 to 90 points.
Uncorking was problematic. Cork seperated halfway and had scungy oderous Gray brown sections. Base of cork was Gray and smelt unpleasant. Had to dig it out with a spoon handle. On pouring the 2002 Marsanne, of which I still have 8 bottles, the last vintage with corks. From 2003 on all have Stelvin/screw caps. I have half a dozen of those. The nose is weak, musty and unfortunately missing the full flavourful bouquet of a healthy Marsanne. NOT a nice drop and as I was having it with our Christmas dinner and a major disappointment and embarrassment. A very good illustration of why Stelvin Caps are an essential on good quality wines. I remember when Stelvin Caps were first started being used on quality wine around 15 years ago it caused a bit of an uproar as only soft drinks and cheapies had screw caps. This Tahbilk 2002 Marsanne, one of my favourite drops, is a good reason why Stelvin are now used on Australian wines almost exclusively. I know in Europe at, least any wines without a cork are viewed with suspicion, as "only Plonk and Soft drinks have screw caps". I'm looking forward to trying the rest of my 2002 Cork closure Tahbilk Marsannes over the next month or so, with my fingers crossed that they haven't been corked and exhibit the wonderful full flavours of a mature Marsanne that I so love.
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Deep, dark yellow. Much like previous note. Open nose of peach and balsamic tones. A touch of oxidity. Good mouthful of peach and honeysuccle fruit. Complex. Long slighly bitter finish. Drink soon.
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Dark, deep yellow. Open nose of peach, honey with a slight touch of oxidaty. Full mouthfeel, concentrated, some acid left with a long salty, honeysuccle finish. Good wine. Drink up.
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This has aged beautifully (under screwcap). similar to my last note. Served it blind to a wino friend who did correctly get the marsanne grape variety, but when asked the age thought "around 5 years". And to be honest, even knowing it is 14 years old, I could see where he was coming from. Will be interesting to try again in a few years!
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Mid yellow. Nose of honey, freesia(?), lemon and 3 in 1 lubricating oil. Entry starts with the honey, then a lime wash. Thick and mouth coating, it's now that the floral comes back. On the back end, I get a smoke trail and a salty finish. Delicious and a long way to go yet, I think.
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Drinking really well at this point in its life. Soft cashew butter lemon nutmeg cream on the nose, with a gentle, slippy palate with racy acidity and a long, soft finish of honeyed minerals. Beautiful wine, and proof that this is better with a fair amount of age then when it's young. On the other hand, though, there does appear to be low level TCA in it... sigh. Better than the last bottle, though.
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Really nice! Honey, lemon and grapefruit on the nose and palate, with some minerality at the end. Plenty acidic with a finish of honey that remained in my mouth long after I finished.
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{cork - stamped "CSA R2", 12.5%} Even looking at this, unopened, through the dark green glass, I knew it was oxidised all to hell. Ullage was fine, and only in one spot was the cork (R2 = "reference 2" I suppose, as supplied to Australia - doubtless it's 3rd rate rubbish) stained to about halfway up. Nonetheless, the wine was a dark yellow; exactly the kind of urine sample you'd be afraid to give to a doctor. And although parts of the structure have survived - the acid spine is magnificent - the aromas and flavours are mildly sherried and flat, and there is no length of flavour whatsoever. The is was my last cork-sealed, standard-release Tahbilk Marsanne (from the 03 vintage the Australian market got screwcapped bottles); how disappointingly fitting it should be ruined as a tribute to all the other ruined vintages that have gone before. Sigh.
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Pretty unusual stuff. Fragrant nose dominated by elastic bands, lemon and banana. High acid, clean mouthfeel, a little like Riesling with a similar amount of age, but with more viscosity. Delicate but rather beautiful. Worth the £12 price tag just to try it, and very good drinking, too!
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Light yellow/gold in colour, with a nice nose of fennel, honey and herbs. Medium bodied palate, with honeyed honeysuckle. lemon, herbs, mango and yeast/toast notes. Bracing acidity, but a nice core of deep flavour adds interest and complexity. Always an enjoyable wine, and still has years to go. What other wine of this price can last so long and be so unique? Gotta love the Tahbilk Marsanne, one of the great wine values in the world (B+).
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This one was still quite surprisingly youthful. Some tropical fruit and butter on the nose. Not unlike something from southern Burgundy. After a while also some honey. Quite full-bodied, with nice acidity and bitterness in the finish. Will keep my last bottle for 3-4 more years.
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Tasted in vertical with 1992, 1995 and 2006. This one was my clear favorite. Petroluem, honeysuckle, citrus on the nose - not so far off from a good aged Rielsing. Nice acidity with a long complex flavour. Very good!
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Certainly showing some age now and I wouldn't hold onto any of these for much longer. Much better than our previous bottle of this vintage which was showing too much tropical fruit.
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A disappointment for this label (one I've enjoyed greatly over the years), but not I suspect a bad bottle per se.
Colour was promising, being a bright light-gold. Typical oilyness on the nose, but the fruit was clearly in the Pineapple/Mango spectrum, with the (overripe) Mango particularly dominant. There was also a touch of Vanilla (even though IIRC this wine doesn't see new oak) - Not the first I've seen it in this wine, so suspect it could be a varietal feature. The palate was slightly less dominated by the Mango, but it was still unbalancedtowards that one flavour. The finish was reasonably long. I really need to go for the cool vintages for this wine.
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Somewhat shy nose with lemon notes. Medium bodied in the mouth, with more lemon flavours and just a touch of honey. Medium acid level and a medium length finish. Not the most expressive bottle of this wine I have had, and I was a bit disappointed.
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Clear pale straw core with some green highlights of mod- intensity out to a thin watery rim. Youthful in appearance. Clean peach, apricot, pineapple, green apple, cantaloupe and lemon/lime (7-UP?) aromas of moderate+ intensity. Very youthful nose. Dry with moderate+ acid, medium body and moderate alcohol. Cantaloupe and tropical fruit (mango and guava) flavours of moderate+ intensity with some rubber and mineral notes later. The finish is medium plus in length with mineral flavours and lime acidity palate cleansing notes. Very well made - well balanced and interesting. Good food wine. Drink now for it's freshness although it is rumoured to age very well.
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{12.5%, cork,$10} Glowing lemon colour. Medium intensity aromas of honeysuckle and peach. Just enough acid to keep it fresh, but that always seems to be the case with this wine - the acid is always discreet yet always up to the job. Lovely full palate of medium weight and finish. The remaining third of the wine, just stoppered in the fridge overnight, was even better the next evening, the additional oxidation seeming to add to the honeyed weight of the wine. Plenty more years left here, and the usual bargain at $10.
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A wine of high standards, as always. A nose of tropical fruit, with mango taking the lead, and a rich, balanced nutty taste with just a hint of sweetness (honey?).
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Mid-winter tasting (Gibby's Wine Den): Notes of pineapple accompany a faint lanolin note. Great depth of fruit flavors, with pineapple shining the brightest. $15.95.
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Clear straw colour; nose of oak, stone fruits and nuts; very dry on the palate with decent weight; wax, more stone fruit and dried under-ripe apricots (is there such a thing?), a bit astringent on the finish with the oak showing a bit. This is clearly a well made wine, apparently from some of the oldest marsanne vines in the world, and while it's not flawed, I'm not really sure I like it. To be fair, the winery suggests aging this another three years and maybe it will integrate with time. I think I'll buy another out of curiosity and put it away for a while.
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Tucker Seabrook trade tasting (Redfern): Slightly honey aromas & flavours. Has some zippy acid which lifts it, but there’s not a lot here at this age. Weight sits a bit on the front palate. Expect the usual transformation with age, I guess. This vintage still under cork – why, for god’s sake?
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5/20/2020 - corkus Likes this wine: 89 Points
Colour: Golden with slight brownish tinge.
Nose: Butter, peach, stewed pears and nutmeg.
Palette: Rich, butterscotch, butter, honeydew, still holding a bit of lime in the aftertaste.
Right at the end of it's drinking window.
Because of the cork this vintage is really hit and miss.
I'm running 50-50 at the moment as to what gets poured down the sink and what gets enjoyed.
Still considering the price this just reinforces my view that this is the best value white wine to cellar on the market.
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3/1/2020 - SAND Likes this wine: 90 Points
APPEARANCE: Deep to medium deep golden colour. No sediments. Driven cork.
NOSE: Initially; lots of waxy notes, some fresh butter and a hint of flint smoke. Then yellow cherries and yellow plums appear. With time and air come white peach, pear and red apple as well as hints of almond and marzipan. (89-90p)
TASTE: A slightly matured but vital and fresh fruitiness, with yellow cherries and yellow plums in spades. Slightly underripe mango. Medium to medium rich body. A little, mild fruit stone bitterness on the mid palate (alongside the fruitiness) and in the exit and the rather long aftertaste. (89p)
OVERALL: Pure drinking pleasure. TOTAL SCORE 89 points.
Appears to be on the younger side of mid age (served blind I think I would have guessed 8-10 years rather than 18), with an estimated remaining drinking window until at least 2025, probably longer.
UPDATE 10.03.2020: Ten days after opening, the nose has developed the fruit notes further, into more tropical sweet, ripe fruits like mango, honeydew melon and a smoky hint of Lapsang Souchong. Wonderful. (90-91p). The taste has not changed much other than perhaps presenting a little softer mouthfeel. (remaining at 89p). I up the TOTAL SCORE by 1 to 90 points.
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12/24/2017 - Frank S. wrote: flawed
Re: Corked 2002 Tahbilk Marsanne.
Uncorking was problematic. Cork seperated halfway and had scungy oderous Gray brown sections. Base of cork was Gray and smelt unpleasant. Had to dig it out with a spoon handle. On pouring the 2002 Marsanne, of which I still have 8 bottles, the last vintage with corks. From 2003 on all have Stelvin/screw caps. I have half a dozen of those. The nose is weak, musty and unfortunately missing the full flavourful bouquet of a healthy Marsanne. NOT a nice drop and as I was having it with our Christmas dinner and a major disappointment and embarrassment. A very good illustration of why Stelvin Caps are an essential on good quality wines. I remember when Stelvin Caps were first started being used on quality wine around 15 years ago it caused a bit of an uproar as only soft drinks and cheapies had screw caps. This Tahbilk 2002 Marsanne, one of my favourite drops, is a good reason why Stelvin are now used on Australian wines almost exclusively. I know in Europe at, least any wines without a cork are viewed with suspicion, as "only Plonk and Soft drinks have screw caps". I'm looking forward to trying the rest of my 2002 Cork closure Tahbilk Marsannes over the next month or so, with my fingers crossed that they haven't been corked and exhibit the wonderful full flavours of a mature Marsanne that I so love.
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10/22/2017 - vassnesen wrote: 89 Points
Deep, dark yellow. Much like previous note. Open nose of peach and balsamic tones. A touch of oxidity. Good mouthful of peach and honeysuccle fruit. Complex. Long slighly bitter finish. Drink soon.
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5/17/2017 - vassnesen wrote: 89 Points
Dark, deep yellow.
Open nose of peach, honey with a slight touch of oxidaty. Full mouthfeel, concentrated, some acid left with a long salty, honeysuccle finish. Good wine. Drink up.
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7/14/2016 - empire80 Likes this wine: 90 Points
This has aged beautifully (under screwcap). similar to my last note. Served it blind to a wino friend who did correctly get the marsanne grape variety, but when asked the age thought "around 5 years". And to be honest, even knowing it is 14 years old, I could see where he was coming from. Will be interesting to try again in a few years!
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3/6/2015 - nsellen Likes this wine: 90 Points
Mid yellow. Nose of honey, freesia(?), lemon and 3 in 1 lubricating oil. Entry starts with the honey, then a lime wash. Thick and mouth coating, it's now that the floral comes back. On the back end, I get a smoke trail and a salty finish. Delicious and a long way to go yet, I think.
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7/12/2013 - fullpour wrote: flawed
Corked.
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5/18/2013 - empire80 Likes this wine: 89 Points
This wine ages really well. Full mouthfeel, melon, peach and long finish of honey balanced with decent acidity.
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8/13/2011 - fullpour wrote:
Drinking really well at this point in its life. Soft cashew butter lemon nutmeg cream on the nose, with a gentle, slippy palate with racy acidity and a long, soft finish of honeyed minerals. Beautiful wine, and proof that this is better with a fair amount of age then when it's young. On the other hand, though, there does appear to be low level TCA in it... sigh. Better than the last bottle, though.
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8/6/2011 - Quarked wrote: 90 Points
Really nice! Honey, lemon and grapefruit on the nose and palate, with some minerality at the end. Plenty acidic with a finish of honey that remained in my mouth long after I finished.
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7/19/2011 - KriLis wrote: 86 Points
Still very crisp and fresh, plenty of acidity left. Bit of honey and citrus, not unlike a Riesling
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7/18/2011 - graemeg wrote: flawed
{cork - stamped "CSA R2", 12.5%} Even looking at this, unopened, through the dark green glass, I knew it was oxidised all to hell. Ullage was fine, and only in one spot was the cork (R2 = "reference 2" I suppose, as supplied to Australia - doubtless it's 3rd rate rubbish) stained to about halfway up. Nonetheless, the wine was a dark yellow; exactly the kind of urine sample you'd be afraid to give to a doctor. And although parts of the structure have survived - the acid spine is magnificent - the aromas and flavours are mildly sherried and flat, and there is no length of flavour whatsoever. The is was my last cork-sealed, standard-release Tahbilk Marsanne (from the 03 vintage the Australian market got screwcapped bottles); how disappointingly fitting it should be ruined as a tribute to all the other ruined vintages that have gone before. Sigh.
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11/5/2010 - fullpour wrote: flawed
Badly corked. Glad to see they've since switched to screwcaps.
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4/29/2010 - Benj wrote: 89 Points
Pretty unusual stuff. Fragrant nose dominated by elastic bands, lemon and banana. High acid, clean mouthfeel, a little like Riesling with a similar amount of age, but with more viscosity. Delicate but rather beautiful. Worth the £12 price tag just to try it, and very good drinking, too!
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4/16/2010 - JohnSh wrote: 89 Points
Light yellow/gold in colour, with a nice nose of fennel, honey and herbs. Medium bodied palate, with honeyed honeysuckle. lemon, herbs, mango and yeast/toast notes. Bracing acidity, but a nice core of deep flavour adds interest and complexity. Always an enjoyable wine, and still has years to go. What other wine of this price can last so long and be so unique? Gotta love the Tahbilk Marsanne, one of the great wine values in the world (B+).
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3/20/2010 - millwhat Likes this wine:
Unusual - rich and complex with aged characteristics of honey and nutty notes. Delicious
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3/1/2010 - asheio wrote:
This one was still quite surprisingly youthful. Some tropical fruit and butter on the nose. Not unlike something from southern Burgundy. After a while also some honey. Quite full-bodied, with nice acidity and bitterness in the finish. Will keep my last bottle for 3-4 more years.
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5/14/2009 - Barbalax wrote: 91 Points
Tasted in vertical with 1992, 1995 and 2006. This one was my clear favorite. Petroluem, honeysuckle, citrus on the nose - not so far off from a good aged Rielsing. Nice acidity with a long complex flavour. Very good!
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3/30/2009 - dagfinne wrote:
85 -89
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1/10/2009 - peteng wrote: 80 Points
Disappointing. Dominated by old apples
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1/7/2009 - Ian S wrote:
Certainly showing some age now and I wouldn't hold onto any of these for much longer. Much better than our previous bottle of this vintage which was showing too much tropical fruit.
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6/25/2008 - FjordogFjell wrote: 88 Points
:-D Fra kjelleren til broderen. Fantastisk spesiell vin. Smør, flat, rund, blomster. miner omn Soave vin.
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4/7/2008 - dagfinne wrote:
Bedre en for ca 1 års siden, frisk og godt med innslag av appelsin og sitron, lang ettersmak med glatt og god munnfølelse.
88
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3/24/2007 - Ian S wrote:
A disappointment for this label (one I've enjoyed greatly over the years), but not I suspect a bad bottle per se.
Colour was promising, being a bright light-gold. Typical oilyness on the nose, but the fruit was clearly in the Pineapple/Mango spectrum, with the (overripe) Mango particularly dominant. There was also a touch of Vanilla (even though IIRC this wine doesn't see new oak) - Not the first I've seen it in this wine, so suspect it could be a varietal feature.
The palate was slightly less dominated by the Mango, but it was still unbalancedtowards that one flavour. The finish was reasonably long.
I really need to go for the cool vintages for this wine.
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12/22/2006 - winemark wrote:
Somewhat shy nose with lemon notes. Medium bodied in the mouth, with more lemon flavours and just a touch of honey. Medium acid level and a medium length finish. Not the most expressive bottle of this wine I have had, and I was a bit disappointed.
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6/19/2006 - Deadheadno1 wrote: 84 Points
Nose of lemon, pear, mango and pech. Taste of lemon, smoke and yellow fruits. Boring.
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6/8/2006 - biggie wrote: 89 Points
Clear pale straw core with some green highlights of mod- intensity out to a thin watery rim. Youthful in appearance. Clean peach, apricot, pineapple, green apple, cantaloupe and lemon/lime (7-UP?) aromas of moderate+ intensity. Very youthful nose. Dry with moderate+ acid, medium body and moderate alcohol. Cantaloupe and tropical fruit (mango and guava) flavours of moderate+ intensity with some rubber and mineral notes later. The finish is medium plus in length with mineral flavours and lime acidity palate cleansing notes. Very well made - well balanced and interesting. Good food wine. Drink now for it's freshness although it is rumoured to age very well.
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4/15/2006 - graemeg wrote:
{12.5%, cork,$10} Glowing lemon colour. Medium intensity aromas of honeysuckle and peach. Just enough acid to keep it fresh, but that always seems to be the case with this wine - the acid is always discreet yet always up to the job. Lovely full palate of medium weight and finish. The remaining third of the wine, just stoppered in the fridge overnight, was even better the next evening, the additional oxidation seeming to add to the honeyed weight of the wine. Plenty more years left here, and the usual bargain at $10.
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3/19/2006 - magnord wrote: 88 Points
A wine of high standards, as always. A nose of tropical fruit, with mango taking the lead, and a rich, balanced nutty taste with just a hint of sweetness (honey?).
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1/29/2006 - AllRed wrote: 87 Points
Mid-winter tasting (Gibby's Wine Den): Notes of pineapple accompany a faint lanolin note. Great depth of fruit flavors, with pineapple shining the brightest. $15.95.
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1/22/2006 - AllRed wrote:
The Blind Drunks monthly tasting (Rich & Dana's): Tasted double blind. Deep straw color with beeswax and lanolin notes.
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9/21/2005 - Patrick wrote: 89 Points
Clear straw colour; nose of oak, stone fruits and nuts; very dry on the palate with decent weight; wax, more stone fruit and dried under-ripe apricots (is there such a thing?), a bit astringent on the finish with the oak showing a bit. This is clearly a well made wine, apparently from some of the oldest marsanne vines in the world, and while it's not flawed, I'm not really sure I like it. To be fair, the winery suggests aging this another three years and maybe it will integrate with time. I think I'll buy another out of curiosity and put it away for a while.
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9/1/2003 - graemeg wrote:
Tucker Seabrook trade tasting (Redfern): Slightly honey aromas & flavours. Has some zippy acid which lifts it, but there’s not a lot here at this age. Weight sits a bit on the front palate. Expect the usual transformation with age, I guess. This vintage still under cork – why, for god’s sake?
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