1984 Hollick Cabernet Sauvignon

Community Tasting Notes (3) Avg Score: 93.7 points

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  8/29/2021 - yodamark Likes this wine: 93 Points

  well this was an interesting wine. Jimmy Watson Trophy winner but i dont rate that as being special. The boys did better at picking the grape variety than i did. To me it smacked of an obscure 30+ year Aussie Pinot, a little Giaconda-ish, even old Yeringberg. it was a pale limpid brown/red, see through and with an all brown/light edge and not much given away on the nose. Very light bodied in the mouth with secondary residual sweetness. ( Yodamark cannot get everything right and must let his proteges have a few victories) Nothing special and not in the class of the other two wines ( 1997 RBP - 97 pts and 1991 Orlando Lawsons - 96 pts) but nothing bad either, quite a nice drop of red. Amazing given the vintage was not recognized. And completely incomparable to the normal Coonawarra Cabernet i drink, for example this and Riddoch are chalk and cheese. Nonetheless, not a wine i would seek out, but absolutely lovely to drink but in the last gasps of life. Drink up . Very interesting wine.

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  11/30/2018 - Headers Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Certainly deserved its 1985 Jimmy Watson this little baby; although the bottle bore no resemblance to the photo here. Label graphics have definitely moved on since Hollicks grabbed a recent TAFE graduate, for some holiday work, to design their 1984 offering.
  
  Popped with my wife for dinner after a long week. Colour slightly brown but nose and pallet still holding up; my intuition is that any bottle one might acquire would need to have been well cellared in order to still get the wow. Our cork was perfect.
  
  We decanted over 2 hours and drank over another 2 with some Filet Mignon and it held up beautifully; lower alcohol at 12% was a welcome change from the now standard 14.4 and leaves one pleasantly enjoying half a bottle without regretting it 2 hours later. I paid about $40 - no regrets!

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  7/13/2012 - JerM wrote: 95 Points

  (Cabin with Just, Ads, Geoff, Elaine, Chintz, Lisa & Jord) Wasn't quite sure what to expect with this bottle, bought on a whim on eBay for $33 - would it be over the hill? or would it still have its act together?
  
  Pop and poured - faded ruby and tawny on the rim, with a characteristic coonawarra nose of stemmy capsicum, black earth, damp moss and cocoa. Light, mulberry, hawflakes and fresh prunes on the taste, with some textural oiliness with surprising clarity and freshness, exuding refreshing delicateness - the density comparable to a white wine, with even honeysuckle notes, hemp fibre, and gentle minty finish on the back palate, along with yet more loamy minerality, pairing very ably with Adel's fantastic roast leg of lamb with rosemary and kale. What a mid-winter feast!
  
  With 30 minutes in the glass, GOSH - it's totally bloomed, now showing a broth of chinese herbs on the nose: angelica root, licorice root, ginseng, apricot kernels. The taste has also similarly evolved, now evoking chinese restorative herbal chicken soup, with yet more pronounced capsicum, spices, sour cherries, and even some light confection. Lisa observes that with further exposure, hints of fruity (pineapple?) sweetness and peppery spice begin to emerge, with even evanescent salt-baked chicken savoriness, and hokkien pig-trotter stew. Fascinating stuff.
  
  Drinking beautifully now, VERY well aged with all the right qualities, and dancing with the same elegance, complexity, maturity, fullness and dynamic light-footedness of a top pinot. I don't think I've had quite a comparable cabernet as this before! Stumped. Definitely a memorable drop - what a coup!

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