Woodland Cabernet / Merlot, 2008

Woodland
Margaret river
Cabernet/ Merlot
2008

   The woodland I came across was because I have become genuinly interested in Margeret River lately, The woodland top shelf I am familiar with. However, in the search of good value plonk, this Cabernet / Merlot proved to be more than just 'plonk'.
    Being a 2008 the nose threw a rich stalky texture a little menthol infact, the wine is too young i thought but through its youth came a well rounded fruit feel of blackberrys and a little dark plum. Quite intiesing and i could see that the aromatics were in balance, this would be an interesting wine to lay down for a while and allow those stalky textures to tone themselves down a touch.
   At first the wine showed an intense stalky feel ofcourse but after 20 minutes the green notes sliped into more of the structure of the wine rather than the centre peice and fruit weight became complemented by an extremly velvety tannin influence, overall acidity was in balance and I could really see some real production skills at work in this wine. The merlot is not here to drive the wine but merely to cut the edges of the youthfull west coast cabernet and it will continue to keep this wine like velvet throughout its life, but as the cabernet loses its green notes I expect the middle palate to lift and start working with the back palate in a way that will allow these velvety tannins to come to the fore and retain a fairly dry crisp finish.Often 'crisp' is refered to when discussing white wine but in this case it refers to the finese of the wine and the belief that the fruit will retain a refined feel throughouit its life and not develop into a flabby of stewed fruit character.
   Personally  I would like to see this wine in 5 years but also curious about its ability to keep improving with further age.

4 / 5 case rating
5- 10 years cellar
classy good value catagory
5 / 5 for good value
screw cap seal
value-$20.99 / Dan Murphys- fine wine

Leuwin Estate Cabernet 2004

   Sometimes we try a wine when it is too young like an 04 Leuwin Estate Art Series Cabernet with layers of green capscicum and menthol strengthened by tight youthful acidity hiding the fruit that we all know is in their somewhere, this was by no means a bad experience. Rather an insight into just how much classs and finese the Margeret River region can throw into the top shelf . The wine may have needed another ten years but I cant help thinking about the importance of blending in WA, many of the west coast growing regions are heavily influenced by a maritime climate this leads to a Mediterainian style of viticulture similar to Rhone or Bordeaux so I look at other top shelf success stories from the west such as the Cullen, Madeline who use Cabernet and malbec blend to tone down the dominant green textures thrown forward from Cabernet, creating a wine of balance from the begining right through its 20 years of life. The art series is one of the most collected and sort after wines in Australia and I can see why, the wine has the character to change quite often throughout its cellar life which means that one must have enough on hand to experience this. Expensive, yes! good value, absolutly!    Other times we experience a wine when it is over the hill and past its prime,where we could not pry it from the cellar in time and we realise that somebody had most likely broken into the cellar and stolen the fruit. such as the Redman 78 I have in my cellar that I am quite concerned for.
   Then we have the occasions where we negotiate our way through the cellar only to come out the other side with liquid velvet layered with aromatics of sweet fruit textured with firm and inviting tannins that have risen to the fore, relagating the once dominant oak to the obligations of balance in order to give the wine a feeling of finese and refinement. The Clare Valley palate was just perfect, seemless and the more blackberrie textures tended to be joined by well balanced acidity that assisted by draging the fruit feel to every part of the universe, the tannin structure that was quite obviouse on the nose formed more of an assisting role on the palate helping to give the wine firm edges and a firm lingering finish, the drying feel was great and good to experience a wine packed with Natural Tannin

I give both wines a 5 / 5 case rating
both were cork seal
5 / 5 for good value drinking
personal preferance - undersided!
Comming features - 08 Woodland Cab, Merlot
                               09 Grant Burge Shiraz 

Dead Arm

The Dead Arm is on the way! after a lengthy chat with cellar door on the history of cork taint, the wonderful people at Darenburg have decided that due to the problem of the 2001 Dead Arm is sold out, it would be best for everyone if they send me a current vintage. This means however that i will not be able to blog it for about ten years or so.
  for all those interested I will be opening a Classic Clare Magnum 1999..... soon!

2001 Darremburg Dead Arm

Dead Arm- 2001
Darremburg, Mclaren Vale
Shiraz
cork seal
Chester osbourne / WM
Tasted 19-11-2010
rated - 0/5

Caths birthday at Santorini Restuarant in Hawthorn.
   I chose a wine that i thought would be traveling really well, not cellared to the best of its performance but something where I figured that the structure should have developed well across the middle pallet, thus creating a wine of balance that on a night where not too many drinks are too be had then it would really stand up well to the high quality cuisine we had come to expect from 'Santorini'. Wasn't I surprised, when with rapid pace the fruit vanished with the aromatics,  then the obvious 'cork taint' took over the senses.
   Usually cork taint is present quite strongly from the moment the wine is open as it is often present in the wine from back as early as the bottling day, so over time the wine becomes spoilt as the taint develops within. This is because in Portugal and Spain where the cork originates from the cork material soon after harvest is bathed in chlorine to sterilise it pre being made into the smooth texture product we see today. This chlorine bonds with the cork material and cannot be removed, once bottling of the wine occurs, our precise product is then given the opportunity to come into contact with the cork and so we then experience a chemical reaction between the cork, chlorine and the wine, this reaction sends the wine volatile and we lose all fruit characters relating to smell and taste.
   For this Dead Arm it took some time for the taint to fully take over and it was like the oxygen contact was causing this fruit texture to disappear, which was probably true. but too me it was as though we were experiencing a very young taint effect. The wine itself had a seal over its top explaining that the wine had been quality tested prior to my purchasing, this meant that the wine had been opened the liquid tasted and checked for taint and then delivered to me. I had purchased a vertical selection some years ago, again another reason for choosing this particular wine, it was to be my fail safe and I did not take a back up! So I will be notifying the cellar door directly that I believe that the cork that they resealed the Dead Arm with gave the wine its terminal disease. Thankfully the  94 and 98 already enjoyed were great if not a little young.

The Ned

The Ned 2010- Sauvignon Blanc/ Marlborough [Waihapai River].
The aromatics throw an intriguing texture of sweet fruits that show its character through a thick syrupy passionfruit intensity that really appears to be quite condensed, not a bad thing to have a little residual sugar on the wine but the aromatics do finish a little sharp, nevertheless an appealing style.

The palate presents itself in a big way with bold citrus, completely out-waying the acidity and in some ways goes to explain the finish on the nose. This is backed up by thick velvety tropical notes that assist in carrying the texture through the palate. In saying that this wine does not linger on the finish, instead it sits on the front palate and most of the middle and teases you a little. This is a really good example of high altitude growing and it is nice to see a zesty front palate, a good welcoming party to help balance out some of those citrus textures.

The alcohol on this wine comes in at a respectable 13% so my only thought was that maybe if harvest was delayed by about 5 days we may have seen more of a finish on the style that may have brought on more of those velvety passionfruit notes.

Overall a very pleasant wine
screwcap
1-3 years
summer social
2 case rating
good value if under $20 retail

Wine Rating 'System'

I do have a couple of more savys to add but first I must clarify my choice of rating wine 'systems'.
Instead of a numbered system or the borrrring star system I am going to rate all wine using my own design [meaning my wife's idea!]. My rating system is based on a magical formula consisting of value, quality and investment potential and pure pleasure.

The how many cases would you or I put in the cellar:

• 1 case means moderate drinking, give it to people who drink cask wine
• 2 cases means you will drink it over the next 4 months for whites or for reds up to 2-3 years               
• 3 cases means good value drinking for all whites and for reds 4-7 years in the cellar
• 4 cases means great value drinking for whites and for reds 7-10 years in the cellar
• 5 cases means outstanding cellarability for whites, whilst also superior value for money. For reds this indicates top shelf drinking for 10+ years.

Naturally this is a work in progress and I don't guarantee that the rating system will not be adjusted over time!

Savvys continued...

Whither Hills Sauvignon Blanc, 2010 - Marlborough [Wairau Valley]
The aromatics of the wine throws a soft approachable feel / velvety passionfruit with a hint of the tropical notes to come. No obvious signs of acidity, attractive.  The arrival on the palate shows some upfront acidity, this should tone down a little with a few more months bottle age. In the background is a thick, full flavoured savvy that is fustrated by the tight acidity, a little residual sweetness comes along to lend a helping hand to the fruit weight, thus allowing a welcoming serving of citrus and stone fruit. With an alcohol of 13% this wine appears to be in the lower flavour spectrum for its region.
Overall the wine is very pleasant, a fairly seemless experience that does make an effort to harness its regional identity. But the wine is not about keeping up with the jones's, a good summer wine . Drink + Enjoy!
1- 2 years
In terms of value I would say $14-20 retail, good value if you can find it under $15
'summer social wine'
3 case / 5 rating