In all the years of Rotters’ dinners, I’m not aware we’ve ever had a night devoted exclusively to the Great Australian Red Blend. So here it is. Heroic efforts were made to avoid an all-Australian night, but it was only half successful when you consider the maker involved… Wines were drunk more-or-less in anticipated order of weight. Interesting that all bar the first and last wines were cabernet-dominant. The two Bin 600s were double-decanted prior to the meal, but everything else was just opened at the start of dinner.
- NV Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Grande Réserve Rosé - France, Champagne
{cork, 12.5%} [Stephen] Roses and strawberries with only a faint autolysis character underneath. Fine, dry, palate, still youthful. Rose-petal and a hint of musk to the flavours. Light/medium weight, small, delicate bubbles, understated palate, about medium length finish. Good, if a little underwhelming. - 2017 Coates Wines The Shiraz Cabernet - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, Langhorne Creek
{screwcap, 14%} [Kim] Sweet, blue-jam nose, with vanilla and chocolate. Quite mature palate, barely medium weight, with low powdery tannins and medium acidity. Leathery fruit, sweet vanilla oak. Very much ready to drink. - 2021 UTOPOS Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz - Australia, South Australia, Barossa
{cork, 14.5%} [Dan] A polished, regal affair, this. Deep-chested blueberry fruit, with dark chocolate and fine cedary oak. Medium/full weight, blacker fruit on the palate, a touch of coconut too. Some black olive character (cabernet I guess) contrasting with the blueish shiraz. Medium chalky tannins, medium/long finish. Should be lovely in another decade. - 2022 Penfolds FWT 543 Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah - France, Vin de France
{cork, 14%} [Glenn] Ruby/purple colour. Restrained nose, but ripe aromas of iodine, blackberry, liquorice. Polished, youthful palate. Seems more cabernet/current-driven on the palate. Medium weight, with medium powdery tannins with tend to dominate the fruit a bit. Rather clipped finish though, without much persistence. Might improve over 5-8 years or so. Reflects the house style much less than the American versions which followed… - 2018 Penfolds Bin 600 California - USA, California
{cork, 14%} [Graeme] Cab/shz is 78/22 here. Big choco-vanilla nose. Black fruit with a hint of raisin and prune. Big chewy oak-driven palate emphasises these flavours, but also highlights some currants. Plenty of sweet oak too. Very similar to local offerings in style – there didn’t seem to be anything that shouted ‘american’ about this (if, indeed it should be any different to local wines). Medium/full weight, low/medium chalky tannins, medium acidity. Medium length finish. Likely to still improve for five years. This was much richer than the 2019 vintage which followed. - 2019 Penfolds Bin 600 California - USA, California
{cork, 14.5%} [Gordon] Given Penfolds is all about ‘house style’ it was a shock to find this so different to the previous vintage. More cabernet – an 83/17 split – but with a spicy, pepper note to the aromas. Even some spearmint. Palate seems leaner, with medium chalky tannins, medium weight and acid. Oak is less overt; wine finishes dry and savoury and rather too much tilted towards the front palate. This is priced below Bin 389 locally, and that seems about right for me. - 2018 Henschke Keyneton Euphonium - Australia, South Australia, Barossa
{screwcap, 14.5%} [DavidM] Mostly shiraz, then cabernet and merlot+malbec. Shhh, don’t tell! Big jammy nose, fruit-driven. Lots of spicy shiraz. A little baked and raw on the palate though, perhaps reflecting its ever-declining status in the hierarchy of Henschke labels. Low/medium gritty tannins, medium weight; a rustic shiraz dominates the short/medium finish. Will hold, can’t see it getting more interesting though. - 2008 Gibson Bin 60 - Australia, South Australia, Barossa
{cork, 14.9%} [Andrew] Bottle 636 of just 2000. Barossa cabernet and Eden shiraz. Lovely aged nose; leathery fruit and cedar overtones. Sweet-edged and I fancy there’s a little of that old-fashioned volatility that Max Schubert was such a fan of. Slithery palate of softly aged red fruit – more shiraz than cabernet it feels, despite the labelling. Medium/full weight; the structure is softening a little, with low/medium powdery tannins and medium acidity. Some of the handsome mid-palate presence can be chalked up to alcohol, perhaps; it finishes medium-length. Perhaps has the overall feel of a wine that is much older, but it’s still very lovely anyway. But drink soon I’d say. - 2018 Hickinbotham The Peake - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
{screwcap, 14%} [guest - Nick] A 55/45 blend. Developing but subtle nose; the usual black jammy fruits and an overall choco/vanilla flavour profile fills out the medium-weight palate. Soft structure, with low/medium powdery tannins and reticent acidity. A glassy feel to the dry palate, seems surly and reticent and weighted towards the tip of the tongue. Short/medium finish; perhaps the least convincing red tonight. - 2014 Hardys 165th Anniversary Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz - Australia, South Eastern
{screwcap, 14.5%} [guest - Michael] To judge by the effort put into this, the commemorative label boasting, the limited production and $250 back-in-the-day price (not to mention commissioned artwork from John Olsen), you’d expect a hell of a wine. And yet…? It has a bit of a coal-mine character to the nose; black soy aromas, some over-ripe raisin. Not much developed though. Palate is more leathery in flavour, with a chalky texture, medium weight, low/medium dusty tannins, low/medium acidity. Oak is well-judged, but the finish is on the short side of medium. Seems like a wine adding up to less than the sum of its parts – which were widely sourced from McLaren Vale, Frankland River and Coonawarra! Will certainly hold, I’m not certain of improvement though. - 2016 Yalumba The Caley - Australia, South Australia
{screwcap, 14%} [Gordon] 71% cab from Coonawarra, 29% shiraz from Barossa. Trying the legendary Penfolds blend of grape & region, apparently. Herb-like cabernet meets peppery shiraz. The palate is austerely coiled together, reluctant to give up much bar a surly nod to currant and spice. Medium/full weight, despite that flavour reticence. Medium powdery tannins, subtle oak, medium acidity. Appears to need lots and lots of time. Good presence along the length of the tongue, medium/long finish, but so tight. - 2012 Penfolds Bin 389 - Australia, South Australia
{screwcap, 14.5%} [DavidH] Can’t have a cab-shiraz night without one of these! And this is the best example of the label I’ve had since the 90s vintages. Developing wine, right in the slot. Black berries and spice, chocolate, tar, malt. Rich herb and spice on the palate too, medium/full in weight, with medium powdery tannins, even coverage of the tongue. Balanced oak. Feels far more natural and integral than a lot of recent vintages. Still improving, no rush to drink. - 2005 Tower Estate Chairman's Selection - Australia, South Eastern
{screwcap, 14%} [Graeme] A Len Evans special, opened because we could. Shiraz from two regions, cabernet from Coonawarra. Hunter earth shining through the soft leathery palate, all tertiary black grape and plum flavours. Low powdery tannins, medium acidity. Medium weight palate drying out a bit, medium length finish. A wine just past its peak, but which lacks a real identity somehow, despite being pleasant enough to drink. - 2020 Graham Porto Late Bottled Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
{cork, 20%} [Stephen] Corked, astonishingly. Rarely find one of those plastic-topped stoppers with TCA, but we did tonight. - 2016 Dow Porto Late Bottled Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
{cork, 20%} [Stephen] Pointedly warm blueberry syrup, with a tobacco edge. A rich, warm, brandy-infused palate, lightly translucent in flavour, acidic, and about medium-dry for sweetness. Medium length finish.
