Grape Mates - Shiraz Cabernet Tasting

[dave vino]

Tonight we convened for what will be our last soiree at the Peter Bourne Tasting Rooms due to him moving premises. Many thanks to Peter for allowing us to use the facilities over the years.

Shanon was in charge of the night and did a great job all round.

We had a Shiraz Cabernet theme and a good turnout of 17 people with a couple of new faces. We kept it simple in regards to foods with cheeses and nibbles and pizza at ¾ time. (very nice I might add). Too many wines to post notes on individually so will just post general comments observations.

Started proceedings off with a very smart 99 Pol Roger, the more I have of this house the more I am becoming a fan of it. Although showing aged characteristics it was still very tart and acidic, great way to get the juices flowing.

The 91 Limestone Ridge was close to my wine of the night, perfect drinking very well integrated and balanced at the moment, the progression was really eye opening as you could see the 98 being exactly like this in another 7-10 years.

The Yalumba Signatures stylistically were very different, the 96 and 98 were like 2 peas in a pod whereas the 02 was a completely different style (more drink now proposition) I hope it doesn’t affect the ability to age of these great wines. The 96 just edged out the 98 for me with those extra couple of years providing just a bit more integration.

The Bin 389 were all very young and you can see where it gets its reputation as a Baby Grange, moreso for its ability to last decades if anything at 1/10 of the price. They were all still very tannic and maybe would have benefited from a good 24 hour decant. As bizarre as it may sound the 98 had a distinct smell of KFC chicken skin. (got my vote in any case ) Might start hunting down some 20+ year stuff to see how they are travelling (the wine that is, not the chicken)

The Glaetzers were plush and rich in comparison. I really enjoyed these, very easy to drink and would be great on a cold winters night by themselves or with a nice big char grilled rib eye. The 04 was corked, Shannon was really disappointed as he said the 04 was one of his favourite Glaetzers and really wanted to show it against the other two.

Flight 7 was done single blind. The Rockford stood out like a sore thumb. I could pick it as it was being poured by other people just by watching how the light played on it when it was being poured. (how sad) The Whalebone and Sons most people got correct with the 1% Jura Savagnin playing a part in their decision. The Sons was an interesting wine moreso for its vinification methods and attention to detail, check them out. (http://www.sonsandbrothers.com.au/) I will definitely grab a few.

Flight 8 had some interesting Options wines. The Zinfandel was a strange one and quite polarising as to whether it was indicative of the style, I personally found it out of balance and was thinking it was an younger Italian style wine (lighter on fruit and colour, big on structure). The Petaluma was unfortunately badly corked which was disappointing, poured most of it back out of the decanter, maybe see if there is any option to get it replaced. The Gralyn was all class and still a baby and once again a lot of people didn’t think it indicative to the MR style.

Then we finished off with a magnificent 76 TBA supplied by the Deutscher Wein-Meister Shannon. Lovely burnt caramel and toffee flavours.

Flight 1
1971 Mildura O.H. Cabernet Shiraz
1984 Orlando Ltd Release Shiraz Cabernet
1990 Seaview Shiraz-Cabernet Claret

Flight 2
1991 Lindemans Limestone Ridge
1996 Lindemans Limestone Ridge
1998 Lindemans Limestone Ridge
2005 Lindemans Limestone Ridge

Flight 3
1998 Penfolds Bin 389
1998 Jacobs Creek Johann
1998 McWilliams 1877

Flight 4
1996 Yalumba Signature
1999 Yalumba Signature
2002 Yalumba Signature

Flight 5
1996 Penfolds Bin 389
1998 Penfolds Bin 389
2002 Penfolds Bin 389
2004 Penfolds Bin 389

Flight 6
2004 Glaetzer Godolphin (Corked)
2005 Glaetzer Godolphin
2006 Glaetzer Anaperenna

Flight 7
2006 Rockford Rod and Spur
2008 Tapanappa Whalebone
2008 Sons & Brothers

Flights 8 (Options)
2003 Gralyn Estate SBR
2002 Cape Mentelle Zinfandel
2002 Viking Wines Shiraz Cabernet
1999 Petaluma Merlot (Corked)

Flight 9
1976 Pieroth Bockenheimer Grafenstuck TBA

[Luke W]

Dave
U said the Rockford stood out like a sore thumb - was this a reflection on the flavour of the wine as well?

[burges]

Dave, thanks for your notes. And to Shannon, yourself and the others for organizing the event. This was my first time with the group and want to thank everyone for the great company, excellent wines and the opportunity to taste so many different wines in one sitting.

Even as the alcohol makes its way through my system, I’m already looking forward to the next one .

[TiggerK]

Dave, U said the Rockford stood out like a sore thumb - was this a reflection on the flavour of the wine as well?

No, not really, Dave can just spot a Rockford in a glass from far across the room. Flavour was fine, perhaps a touch uninteresting compared to the other two in the flight, but a decent wine nonetheless.

Thanks for the post Dave, nice work, and thanks especially to Shannon for hosting, and being so generous as always. Pol Roger 1998 started us off, a bit lacking in fizz and freshness, but flavour was good, then the Pol 1999 was very well received and much fresher and crisper. The Pieroth TBA 76 to finish was another showstopper, no typical dessert wine will really ever live up to the likes of these old BA's & TBA's that Shannon keeps presenting. (@ RareWineDinners etc). Only a recent 97 d'Yquem came close to this quality level. The nose alone on the Pieroth was staggeringly attractive, let alone the huge length and acid spine holding it all together. Memorable wine. Some fantastic cheeses as well! Anyway, back to the theme!

The 71 Mildara 'Opera House' was fun, just holding on by the skin of its teeth, while the 84 started to fall apart in front of us after a very promising nose to start with. The Seaview 90 was still fairly young, vibrant red colour and plenty of primary fruit.

The Limestone Ridge 1991 was excellent, all together, very composed and a complete wine. The 98 seemed to want to follow in the 91's footsteps one day style-wise, while the 96 was a different beast, not as well integrated yet nice mouth filling fruit, tannins and grip. The 05 was dense, sweet fruit and nicely oaked, attractive yet begging for more time.

Daves comments sum up the rest really well, the Signatures were all good wines, the 96 winning for sheer drinkability. The Jacobs Creek 98 showed very well. All the Penfolds were young, the age and class of the 96 winning the day. Pity about the Godolphin 04, as the 05 and 06 were very good wines. The Tapanappa was also most enjoyable.

2 wines badly corked out of 23 (under cork), so a fairly typical cork failure rate of 9%

Wines voted WOF were the Seaview 90, LR 91, Jacobs Creek 98, Signature 96, Bin 389 1996, Godolphin 05, Whalebone 08.

Nice tasting, great company and sad to see the last of that wonderful tasting space. The hunt for a new clubhouse begins, but that will be hard to beat!

Next Grape Mates tastings are Mick's White Burgundy event and Ben's masterclass highlighting stylistic differences, winemaking influence and terroir..... Happy days.

Cheers
Tim

[Michael R]

A wonderful night, huge thanks to Shannon for putting on a cracking show. Also was great to welcome some new friendly faces.
Thanks Tim, Greg, Andrew & Chelyn, Dan for helping out on the night, enabling me to sit on my ass for the night just enjoying the banter.

Dave's notes are on the mark, personally I struggled with a few of the 98s, and leant heavily toward the 96s.

Really going to miss PBs tasting rooms, I know we haven't used it for a while, but I'll be surprised if we find a place as good in future. All suggestions welcome

[ufo]

Another first timer here. Definitely was a brilliant night. Many thanks to Dave and Shannon and all the others who contributed to the night. Looking forward to the next one.

[rens]

Thanks for the wright up Dave. Always very envious of the grape mates.

[dave vino]

Petaluma were apologetic and will send a current vintage replacement to me (under screwcap). So kudos to them.

[camw]

Petaluma were apologetic and will send a current vintage replacement to me (under screwcap). So kudos to them.

Good one, I knew they would do something for you.

[dave vino]

Well Petaluma went one better in my opinion, and sent out an absolutely pristine bottle of the 1999 to me. Massive kudos to them for that.

[ufo]

That's great news Dave, when & where is the next tasting?

[ScottW]

Howdy, I thought I would sign up and tip my hat to the Grape Mates for another great evening!

It was Sandy and my first visit to the tasting rooms, which is a bit like listening to a great new band and finding out they have already broken up.

Straight off the mark: flight 1 was good fun with the Seaview being a crowd favourite. Among its notes I wrote: red Skittles, pomegranate and red apple – I am now inspired to use this to create the greatest fruit platter known to man. The Mildura will probably make a marketing man cry with a nose that reminded me of wet redbrick – fitting as the slowly crumbling remains of something we can only speculate about.

The Limestone range was a great mix with an interesting vote for both favourite and runner-up. The Penfolds was a very close battle with each vintage boasting big and unique character.

I have to take my hat off for the Glaetzer lineup on the night – despite the heartbreak of a fallen soldier.

Of course as flight 8 arrived my notes are a little more... subjective (read: manic). I can say that Pieroth 76 is worthy of leaving me speechless. Sandy on the other hand happily described it as “glowing sunshine in a bottle” – praise that has been unequaled since the 76 Weingut der Stadt Frankfurt that we had the pleasure of trying at the last Grape Mates event!

Cheers,
Scott (aka Cam’s brother, aka Justin)