continued here. Notes follow:
Tahbilk 1999 Marsanne (Central Victoria) Honey, but more verdant than that. Honeysuckle might be more accurate. Rich peach flavors, well-spiced, rest over a foundation of clay. Nice early maturity, though theres no hurry. Quite appealing. (3/05)
Peregrine 2004 Ros (Central Otago) A non-saigne ros of pinot noir. Sand and strawberry start light, but develop hints of complexity with air. That said, it neither aspires to nor achieves elevation. Nice enough, but ultimately forgettable. (3/05)
Henschke 1990 Mount Edelstone (Eden Valley) Rich and mature, showing some of the familiar soy, but this time infused with black pepper and soaking into the wines leathery texture. Theres blackberry and a good measure of black dirt as well. Starts sorta triangular, but as it airs it reforms into a more appealing roundness. The finish is long and earthy, with beautiful morel and black trumpet enhancements. And a hint of vanilla, perhaps? Fully developed. Very good, though I dont think Id hold it any longer. (3/05)
AP Birks Wendouree 1997 Shiraz (Clare Valley) Shocking. Thats mostly a comment about the nose, which is a little insane: blackberry dust, volatility, and a huge stonking wallop of eucalyptus. Its as if someone distilled the air in the Blue Mountains into shiraz form. Once one gets past the eucalypt, however, theres a lot more to discover: the darkest possible black fruit streaked with anise, a dusty tannin that develops increasing bitterness as the wine lingers (and boy, does it linger), though eventually this bitter streak starts to grate a bit. Striking and incredibly individualistic. Probably not mature, but I have absolutely no baseline for that judgment. Im not sure I would say its a great wine, nor would I want to drink it every night, but I absolutely love it. All wines should have this much character. (3/05)
Seppelt 1939 Para Liqueur (South Australia) One of the first press tastings to which I was ever invited was a Southcorp portfolio event that toured the U.S. Each represented producer was asked to bring something from their library stock. Seppelt brought two. The first was an aged sparkling shiraz, which I didnt know was possible before that bottle. And the second was a Para Liqueur from the very late 1800s (the date is lost to memory). I still remember that wine: fig syrup, molasses, balsamic vinegar (the real stuff, not a cheap knockoff), and finish that seemed to last for hours. I mean that literally: two hours later, back at my desk, I could still taste the wine.
Thus, theres extra meaning for me in this bottle, which is incredibly rare and an expression of remarkable generosity on the part of our hosts. It tastes of pure distilled brownness, dusty/particulate and burnished with antiquity, but still alive with remarkable intensity and persistence. Theres brown sugar, molasses, the sharp cling of balsamic something-or-other, to be surebut also, a lively hint of honeydew melon, and a perfect note of bitterness contrapuntal to all the well-aged sugar. The finish is beyond incredibly long, its endless. An absurdly great wine. (3/05)
