Melbourne Tasting Group - Wynns Cabernet 20/06/26

[VinoEd]

Hi all - we were fortunate enough to have an incredible tasting on Saturday across a range of Wynns wines. A massive thank you to the generosity and coordination of Con, Michael and Tom (and I’m sure I’m missing others) who arranged the day. I feel very privileged to have been a part of it.

Not only were we blessed to taste an incredible range of wines, we also had Sue Hodder join us for the afternoon - participating in the tasting, providing insights and answering questions we had both specific to the wines, but also some great understanding of the broader industry. Sue was a total professional, loved the passion we had in the room and absolutely elevated the experience of the day.

The event was held at the Central Club Hotel in North Melbourne with great food to go with the wines, with us having access to their private basement room.

Below is a summary of the wines we tasted. Unfortunately I lost my detailed notes, however the standout wines for me were:

1966 Wynns BL - for a wine of 60 years, this was showing more like a 30 year old wine. Not tired, Cabernet structure. Lots of interest.
1972 Wynns BL - perfumed, fruit still poking through, meshing with the tertiary characters.
1982 Wynns JR - a consensus WOTN, it will go another 20 easy based on this showing. Mixing fruit, spice, herbs, length - wonderful drinking.
1986 Wynns JR - maybe less fruit and density than the 82, more subtle, perfume, balance.
1990 Wynns BL - my personal pick for WOTN, a wine of great interest blending all of the tertiary, secondary and primary elements in once place. Stunning.
1991 Wynns Centenary - didn’t think I’d ever get to try one of these, a wine of poise and balance.

Plenty of other wines which showed exceptionally well, including the Riesling we started with. Open to others who kept better records than me (or have a better recall, I don’t spit enough!) who may be able to share their reflections.

1979 Pewsey Vale Rhine Riesling.

1958 Black Label. (White Label).
1960 Black Label. (White Label).

1965 Black Label.
1966 Black Label.

1967 Black Label.
1971 Black Label.

1972 Black Label.
1976 Black Label.

1982 Black Label.
1982 Riddoch.

1986 Black Label.
1986 Riddoch.

1990 Black Label.
1990 Riddoch.

1991 Black Label.
1991 Riddoch.

1991 Centenary.

1994 Black Label.
1994 Riddoch.

1996 Black Label.
1996 Riddoch.

1998 Black Label.
1998 Riddoch.

1956 Roseworthy Old Tawny Port.

Cheers, Ed

[SipAndANibble]

I heard about this, another tasting group I’m familiar with had an event after this on the same night ! Both looked great !

[Waiters Friend]

What an incredible line-up! Especially the BL / JR pairings. A shame you lost your notes, Ed - I'm sure they would have been worth a read.

Cheers
Allan

[I Love Shiraz]

Great summary Ed. Happy to have you with us.

What an experience. It was a joy organising it.

[felixp21]

90 Wynns black label, lovely wine. I must drag another bottle out and have a look.
the 76 is my favourite black label, followed by the 82.
of all the wines above, the 91 Centenary should have been head and shoulders above the rest, but was it from bottle or magnum?
the magnums seem to be a completely different wine to the bottles. Lots of rumours about this, even those at Wynns have differing stories
the one I believe is that the magnums came from different barrels than the bottles. Whatever, the magnums are several levels of quality above the bottles, and I have had countless bottles of both over the years.
IMO, the magnums are amongst the best wines ever made in Coonawarra, reckon they will peak around age 40.

[phillisc]

Sitting here in little old Adelaide, what a tasting. And Sue Hodder in attendance as well. You Vic lads must have some good connections.

Felix fortunate to have had one magnum, drunk years ago and also a friend opened one up...both brilliant. To think on release in 1995 singles were $30, but magnums $90. Couple sold last month for $285, people bidding with 10 seconds to go. Oh well have half a dozen singles buried somewhere.

Interested in the comments Ed re the 82 JR, I had one in about 2020, ethereal was the word that sprang to mind. The wine was translucent, and probably the closest I'll get to an old Bordeaux. Thought it was good for another 5-10 back then, so a 50 year proposition

Cheers Craig

[Chuck]

Wow!! So many great Wynns wines. A special treat no doubt. Chuckled to myself re the 91 Centenary. Bought a 6 pack on release and thought it a very smart wine. It was so cheap I drank the lot relatively quickly and managed to buy another 6 pack. Drank those over about 10 years before it was regarded as a unicorn. Ce la vie.

[GraemeG]

Wow. Super line-up. I've always been frightened of old Wynns, for some reason. Maybe because I never seemed to see a bottle that had a decent ullage level.
One of the great ironies; 90 BL is a much better wine than 90 JR !
I've had varying experiences with Centenary 750 bottles too; I have one magnum that I'm saving for the right occasion. What ever that is.

[Mike Hawkins]

Thanks for a great read. Some of my multi year observations….

71,76, 86 my favourite black labels, particularly the 76. Still in a superb spot. A great wine for those observing their half ton this year.

96 both black and JR are duds given vintage conditions

91 black is better than JR

86 JR is better than 82 (I know, I know, I’m in the vast minority)

91 Centenary is their post 55 unicorn

Some pre 99 JRs have a ton of bottle stink upon opening. A couple of my numpty mates poured them out prematurely thinking they were corked. Give them an hour or two air.

[phillisc]

Thanks for a great read. Some of my multi year observations….

71,76, 86 my favourite black labels, particularly the 76. Still in a superb spot. A great wine for those observing their half ton this year.

96 both black and JR are duds given vintage conditions

91 black is better than JR

86 JR is better than 82 (I know, I know, I’m in the vast minority)

91 Centenary is their post 55 unicorn

Some pre 99 JRs have a ton of bottle stink upon opening. A couple of my numpty mates poured them out prematurely thinking they were corked. Give them an hour or two air.

Mike are you referring to the '55 Michael in your comment about Centenary?
Cheers Craig

[ticklenow1]

What an incredible tasting and kudos to the organiser of that event. Very jealous. Really wish I had more old Wynns, but I was too slow off the mark on that account.

The Centenary is my all time favourite Australian wine. It may not be the best Australian wine, but I've been lucky enough to have had some incredible bottles. Bought a magnum straight from Wynns many years ago for my 50th a few years back and I thought it was amazing. I have 2 750ml bottles left that I bought from auction many years ago and they both have great fill levels and look (fingers crossed) like they were cared for well.

Cheers
Ian

[Andrew Jordan]

91 Centenary is their post 55 unicorn

This made me laugh as I still have the bottle you gave me many years ago which you said ... this is past it ... drink up!! Glad I kept it. Thanks mate

[Rossco]

Wowee guys that is one amazing night!!
One for the ages and so many memories made. Great write up and thank you Ed for the notes & pics.
Getting sue there as well..... Man.... Wow

[mjs]

Ed, I made some comments on the equivalent post on Facebook. A great tasting, I am well aware of Con's Wynns stash and his generosity, if only I was still living in Melbourne.

Pity you didn't try an older bottle of the Wynns Coonawarra riesling. Had a 2010 a few years ago and it was stunning.

Anyway, the usual suspects shone through. My experience with 82 JR in the last few years is that it is a little bottle dependant, but just a fantastic wine. I bought heaps at release, but all sadly gone now. 91 Centenary has always been favourite. I had a 76 BL with Con and others some years ago at Scopri, it was my WOTY.

Wynns are going to do a massive 70 vintage tasting some time next year, there are not many wineries outside Europe that could call on wines for that many vintages in a retrospective tasting, just wonderful heritage. At the other end of the scale, the new releases dinner recently was excellent.

My Avatar is a pic of the '54 Cabernet, the first vintage of what became Black Label, which I was fortunate to consume some ten years ago, my birth year wine.

Sue, Sarah and the rest of the Wynns team are custodians of a wonderful heritage in Australian winemaking. Must message Sue and see what her views of the night were.

[Mike Hawkins]

Thanks for a great read. Some of my multi year observations….

71,76, 86 my favourite black labels, particularly the 76. Still in a superb spot. A great wine for those observing their half ton this year.

96 both black and JR are duds given vintage conditions

91 black is better than JR

86 JR is better than 82 (I know, I know, I’m in the vast minority)

91 Centenary is their post 55 unicorn

Some pre 99 JRs have a ton of bottle stink upon opening. A couple of my numpty mates poured them out prematurely thinking they were corked. Give them an hour or two air.

Mike are you referring to the '55 Michael in your comment about Centenary?
Cheers Craig

Yep

[I Love Shiraz]

What an incredible tasting and kudos to the organiser of that event. Very jealous. Really wish I had more old Wynns, but I was too slow off the mark on that account.

The Centenary is my all time favourite Australian wine. It may not be the best Australian wine, but I've been lucky enough to have had some incredible bottles. Bought a magnum straight from Wynns many years ago for my 50th a few years back and I thought it was amazing. I have 2 750ml bottles left that I bought from auction many years ago and they both have great fill levels and look (fingers crossed) like they were cared for well.

Cheers
Ian

Yep it was a joy organising it. Sue is such a lovely person.