Wines from Down Under -
Results from an Aussie tasting - Saturday, February 12, 2000, at the Wine Exchange in Orange, CA. Twenty-two wines were poured for a tasting fee of $24.
The wines, in the order tasted:
'98 Cascabel Grenache et al - McLaren Vale, SA. $17.99. Medium
garnet color. Sharp and slightly tart nose, but with lots of cassis, vanilla
and floral notes. A bit thin in mouthfeel, there's an initial tartness
that does smooth out a bit at mid-palate, then gets tart again at finish.
Grenach, Shiraz, and Mourvedre.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B
'98 Fox Creek Grenache/Shiraz - McLaren Vale, SA. $19.99. Medium
ruby purple color. The nose: yeah! Big spicy sweet raspberry, with a toasty
and nutty nose. A tad rough on the palate, but smooths out nicely at finish.
Very nice. 70/30%
Aroma score: A Taste score: A- Overall score: A-
'98 Torbreck Grenache/Shiraz/Mataro The Steading - Barossa
Valley, SA. $39.99. Dark ruby purple color. Rubbery background notes
to the fruit in the nose. Rough, tight and tart mouthfeel. Sort of the
Dunlop of wines.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B
'98 Christa Rolf Shiraz/Grenache - Barossa Valley, SA. $18.99.
Dark ruby purple color. Nose of spicy black fruit and beet. Sweet and
scrumptious mouthfeel, long finish.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: A- Overall score: B+
'98 Peter Lehmann Clancy's - Barossa Valley, SA. $15.99.
Dark ruby purple color. Massive nose of herbs, stems, cassis, sweet juicy
fruit and creamy vanilla. Thick mouthfeel, sweet and juicy taste, with
slightly off-sweet but long finish. 54% Shiraz, 22% Cab Sauv, 12% Merlot,
12% Cab Franc.
Aroma score: A Taste score: A- Overall score: A-
'98 Veritas Cabernet/Merlot - Barossa Valley, SA. $19.99. Very
dark ruby purple color. Floral and stemmy nose, with toast, vanilla, and
a bit of greenness to fruit. Huge chewy mouthfeel, toasty semi-sweet finish.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+
'98 Barossa Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Rocky Valley - Barossa
Valley, SA. $28.99. Purple black color. Nose of cassis, shoe polish,
cedar, stems, and vanilla. Big and chewy mouthfeel, but tight core of
fruit. Slightly tart, but smooths out through toasty finish.
Aroma score: A- Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+
'98 Summerfield Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Moonambel, Victoria.
$49.99. Purple black color. Nose of cassis, toast, shoe polish, and
cheddar. Sweet-sour cassis fruit, with excellent palate coverage, and
nice long finish.
Aroma score: A- Taste score: A- Overall score: A-
'98 Henry's Drive Cabernet Sauvignon - Padthaway, SA. $28.99.
Black purple color. Nose of herb, cassis, and mint. Smallish core of sweet
chewy fruit, nice toasty finish.
Aroma score: A- Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+
'98 Lengs & Cooter Cabernet Shiraz Swinton - McLaren Vale,
SA. $27.99. Dark purple ruby color. huge nose of cassis, vanilla,
mint, and shoe polish. Big mouthfeel, chewy somewhat tart fruit, long
finish.
Aroma score: A- Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+
'98 Parson's Flat Shiraz/Cabernet - Padthaway, SA. $29.99. Nearly
black color, with hint of purple. Huge nose of black spicy fruit, cassis,
toast, and vanilla. Sweet and juicy mouthfeel, chewy consistency, very
long finish.
Aroma score: A Taste score: A Overall score: A
'96 Elderton CSM 1996 - Barossa Valley, SA. $29.99. Dark
ruby garnet color. Ripe, nearly candied nose of cassis, oak, cheddar,
vanilla, and toast, with a fleshy and stemmy quality. Sweet and smooth
mouthfeel with nicely integrated tannins, and smooth finish. Blend of
Cab, Shiraz, Merlot.
Aroma score: A- Taste score: A- Overall score: A-
'98 Clonakill Shiraz - Canberra, New South Wales. $39.99. Dark
ruby purple color. Herbaceous and stemmy nose, with black fruit and floral
notes. Sweet toasty mouthfeel, light floral notes on palate, and nice
smooth tasty finish. The small % of Viognier really comes through in both
nose and mouth.
Aroma score: A Taste score: A- Overall score: A-
'98 Summerfield Shiraz - Moonambel, Victoria. $33.99. Dark ruby
purple color. Toasty and spicy nose. Chewy sweet mouthfeel, with toasty
finish.
Aroma score: A Taste score: A- Overall score: A-
'97 Dalwhinnie Shiraz - Moonambel, Victoria. $35.99. Dark garnet
ruby color. Stemmy, fleshy, and spicy nose, with mint and vanilla notes.
Spicy mouthfeel, a little light on fruit at mid-palate, and medium slightly
tart finish.
Aroma score: A- Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+
'98 Lengs & Cooter Shiraz Old Vines - Clare Valley, SA.
$35.99. Dark ruby color. Nose of cassis, toast, vanilla. Toasty, fleshy
and smooth mouthfeel, but feels short on substance. Nice nose, but what
happened to the mouthfeel?
Aroma score: A- Taste score: B Overall score: B+
'98 Cascabel Shiraz - Fleurieu Peninsula, SA. $26.99. Dark ruby
purple color. Nose of mint, toast, and cassis, with a bit of green stem
quality. Coarse and slightly pungent sense on the palate. Medium tart
finish.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B Overall score: B
'98 Barossa Ridge Shiraz Old Creek - Barossa Valley, SA. $33.99.
Black ruby color. Big herbal and toasty nose with spicy black fruit. Sweet
chewy mouthfeel, lots of mouth filling juicy fruit, long finish.
Aroma score: A- Taste score: A- Overall score: A-
'97 Christa Rolf Shiraz - Barossa, SA. $24.99. Dark garnet ruby
color. Nose of envelope gum, toast, newsprint, and mint. Tight and tannic
mouthfeel, slightly tart-sour finish.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+
'98 Clarendon Hills Shiraz Liandra - Clarendon, SA. $55.99.
Dark ruby garnet color. Nose of toast and cassis. Tart chewy mouthfeel,
but still very tight. Long finish. This is Clarendon Hills? I'm underwhelmed.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B Overall score: B
'98 Cape d' Estaing Shiraz - Kangaroo Island, SA. $39.99.
Black with hints of purple. The group dubbed it the Black Hole. Brooding
(yes, brooding) nose of sweet black fruit, shoe polish. Huge, tight and
heavy mouthfeel, and yet quite smooth on the palate. Off-sweet fruit and
toast lasts through very long finish.
Aroma score: A Taste score: A- Overall score: A-
'90 Veritas Tokay - Barossa Valley, SA. (375 ml) $13.99. Light
carmel color. Citrusy, butterscotch nose. Coarse and a bit citric on the
palate, it tastes as though someone dropped a praline on a grapefruit
half.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B
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Overall impressions: what a great tasting - nothing like lots
of heavily extracted purple-black wines to perk up a weekend. Best of
the lot: the Parson's for its flat-out rich taste, and the Clonakill
for its interesting complexities. The Clancy's and the Fox Creek
represent definite bargains at under $20. On the downside: both Cascabel
wines were pretty weak efforts, with lots of tart fruit and palate
roughness. The Crista Rolf wines were a funny pair. In both cases
the mouth overcame the odd noses. And, the Clarendon Hills was
a decent wine, but at $55, way overpriced.
___________________
Here is my relative ranking, by tier and in order of preference, of the wines tasted.
'98 Parson's Flat Shiraz/Cabernet - Padthaway, SA. $29.99.
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'98 Clonakill Shiraz - Canberra, New South Wales. $39.99.
'98 Peter Lehmann Clancy's - Barossa Valley, SA. $15.99.
'98 Fox Creek Grenache/Shiraz - McLaren Vale, SA. $19.99.
'98 Summerfield Shiraz - Moonambel, Victoria. $33.99.
'98 Barossa Ridge Shiraz Old Creek - Barossa Valley, SA. $33.99.
'98 Cape d' Estaing Shiraz - Kangaroo Island, SA. $39.99
'96 Elderton CSM 1996 - Barossa Valley, SA. $29.99.
'98 Summerfield Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Moonambel, Victoria.
$49.99.
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'98 Barossa Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Rocky Valley - Barossa Valley,
SA. $28.99.
'98 Henry's Drive Cabernet Sauvignon - Padthaway, SA. $28.99.
'98 Lengs & Cooter Cabernet Shiraz Swinton - McLaren Vale,
SA. $27.99.
'98 Dalwhinnie Shiraz - Moonambel, Victoria. $35.99.
'98 Lengs & Cooter Shiraz Old Vines - Clare Valley, SA. $35.99.
'98 Christa Rolf Shiraz/Grenache - Barossa Valley, SA. $18.99.
'98 Veritas Cabernet/Merlot - Barossa Valley, SA. $19.99.
'97 Christa Rolf Shiraz - Barossa, SA. $24.99.
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'98 Clarendon Hills Shiraz Liandra - Clarendon, SA. $55.99.
'98 Cascabel Shiraz - Fleurieu Peninsula, SA. $26.99.
'98 Cascabel Grenache et al - McLaren Vale, SA. $17.99.
'98 Torbreck Grenache/Shiraz/Mataro The Steading - Barossa Valley,
SA. $39.99.
'90 Veritas Tokay - Barossa Valley, SA. (375 ml) $13.99.
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Mail & Comments - Eric Anderson
