Reds
Tasted on Thursday, 31 March 2011.
A tasting of a selection of wines which were featured in Matthew Jukes’ Top 100 Australian wines for 2010 (full list of the 100 can be found here). There were only 40 wines to taste on the night, but there wasn’t a bad wine among them; in fact I didn’t score any of the wines below a B+. Below is a selection of red which particularly caught my eye, along with necessarily brief tasting notes.
Prices are retail to Noel Young Wines, Trumpington.
Three nice, matured stuff from Magpie Estate, probably those vintages are not available for sale, but just shows how good everyday drinking stuff can be if properly matured.
Magpie Estate 'The Sack' Shiraz 2001
Still so much fruit on the nose, sweet blackcurrants, like ribena, touch of mint. Fresh, vibrant, palate dries out slightly towards the end.
Magpie Estate 'The Sack' Shiraz 2003
Nice depth, dark fruits, more pronounced mint; still robust, lively, aged well.
Magpie Estate 'The Gomersal' Grenache 2002
2008 Yalumba 'The Scribbler' Cabernet Shiraz, Barossa Valley
£12.59
Red fruits dominate, some green notes, herbal and maybe mint; nice textured mouthfeel, after the not insignificant fruit hit, theres still depth. Fun stuff indeed.
2008 Bremerton 'Tamblyn' Cabernet Shiraz Malbec Merlot, Langhorne Creek
£13.25
Vibrant, exciting, plenty of things going on. Just remember this being memorable.
2007 Petaluma Red, Coonawarra
£30.75
Jammy, full on berries and currants, slight green tones; palate has good depth, evolving even in the glass. This is a serious wine, beckons attention and serious aging; that said, its drinkable even now. Deserving of its reputation.
Four fantastic Shiraz - all of them show great varietal characteristics; sweet jammy fruits, compote, mint, touches of herb.
2005 Jim Barry 'McRae Wood' Shiraz, Clare Valley
£25.95
Sweet on the nose, with touches of sweet spice, clove and cinnamon and the like - unusual, maybe the extra aging? Very fresh and lively still, exciting. Best value among the four.
2004 Peter Lehmann 'Stonewell' Shiraz, Barossa
£32.95
More pronounced mint and eucalyptus; plenty of vibrancy still, extra aging does justice.
2007 Mitolo 'Savitar' Shiraz, McLaren Vale
£29.99
Sweet fruits most pronounced.
2006 Torbreck Run Rig, Barossa
£165
Another great icon. Lots of things going on, sweet spice dominated by clove, cinnamon and aniseed; then mint and herb, all underpinned by dark berries. Layered complexity, good depth, no doubt will age very well. Great stuff.
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