The Auswine Forum

<b>1982 Wynns Coonawarra Estate ‘Black Label” Cabernet Sauvignon</b>
My last bottle. Excellent long cork. The bottle was packed with sediment. Double decanted. Starting to show its age with red hues and slight browns. Bouquet of plums, mocha and an alcoholic uplift. Very good so far. When first opened, this wine was all oak and alcohol with restrained fruit. After one hour the wine started coming together. Very dry with chewy dark, black fruits but little evolution. Good length but not great. Lovely consistency through the front and back palate. Balance slightly thrown off by very slight persistent alcohol. Very good wine for its pedigree and age and drinking very well. But not overly complex or exciting. And this is my problem with the vast majority of the Black Label wines, excepting only perhaps the 90 for me. This is in contrast to the John RiddochÂ’s which take off with a decadeÂ’s cellaring, transforming into nuanced and broad flavour spectrums. Most of the BlackÂ’s just, well, last and not much else. Tasted 1 and 2 days later the wine was still fine albeit undeveloped and bland. Will keep but thereÂ’s no upside.
<b>Very Good 17.0 / 20</b>

Hell, two Wynns posts in a couple of days, I can't resist replying.

We tend to forget that 1982 is now 22 years ago and whilst I like fully mature wines I think 22 years is now into the curio class which I find only mildly interesting. I've only got a couple of 82s left myself so I'll drink them up soon I think.

That said, there are a few Black Labels that are absolutely outstanding IMO. 1982, 1986 and 1991 will hold or have held their own against almost any Aus Cabs including big brother John Riddoch.

I conducted a blind vertical tasting of John Riddoch 1982 to 1990 about five years ago and to make up the numbers I added a 1982 Black. Fourteen experienced tasters voted the 1982 Black the wine of the night!

Try and get hold of the 1991 Black, it's looked stunning the last few times I've had it, may be their best ever, certainly now in front of the much vaunted 1990.

Hi Steve

I take your point but must slightly disagree on two points:

(1) I have drunk a case of the 82 Black over the last 15 years - to me, it has not got much better than on release. This was the point I was making.

(2) I have had the 86, 88 and 90 Black several times over the last decade against the JR. To me, it is a clear step below the JR in both vintages. My most recent comparison - posted at http://www.auswine.com.au/forum/viewtop ... 1986+wynns
- is an exemplification of my thoughts in general between the two. Last year I had the 93 and 94 Black against the JR and even though the quality differential was closer, the JR clearly outpointed the Black. I often find the Black relatively similar to the JR in its youth but the chasm expands substantially with time. The point being that, for me, the Black can last but it doesn't necessaily get much better with age, even in great vintages. at least in hindsight that is how I have seen it).

I suppose this just means we have different tastes. And that's fine.

Oh, I agree about the 91 being superb but I have not had a bottle several years.

707 wrote:Try and get hold of the 1991 Black, it's looked stunning the last few times I've had it, may be their best ever, certainly now in front of the much vaunted 1990.

The last time I had these two vintages side-by-side (I think notes have gone from here but may still be on WLDG) the group consensus (and my opinion) was that the 90 outshone the 91. But the 91 was a pretty outstanding wine by iself, certainly. Really, there wasn't much in it - and could even have come down to storage issues. Certainly, since then only the 96 & 98 seemed to be in the same class, but clearly needed much more development. Sadly, the 99 was corked...

cheers,
Graeme

Danny

I have had the 72 and 76 Black labels at approximately 20 years of age (on separate occasions) - both were superb old wines. I think the 86 is heading the same way - the rest of mine are being kept for at least another couple of years.

regards
Chris