“Overseas Passion” is what Martel calls their yearly trade tasting of non-European wine. Attended this year’s on Tuesday, the 20th of November.
The Sadie Family Swartland Columella 2004
A blend of approximately 80% Syrah, 20% Mourvèdre, 4000 bottles made. Full ruby. Round fruit and oak, pretty wine with some depth, nice body and length. Lovely peppery spices and roasted herbs, intriguing gunpowder note, sweet finish. Not inexpensive, though. Rating: 90+/91?
Achával Ferrer Gran Malbec Mendoza Finca Altamira 2005
Quite full purple colour. Oak, scorched earth, chewing gum sweetness, but quite firm acids. Nice old-viney, a bit grainy core, minerality and tannin, faint rustic and animal touch. Medium length at best, if not a bit short. Should profit from a little cellaring, even so, I find it expensive for what it is. One of the sales assistant’s favourite wines of those that were being poured, and I could see why: it has (some) character. Rating: 89+
Clarendon Hills Shiraz Brookman 2004
Aged in 50% new French oak. I appear not to be a fan of Roman Bratasiuk’s 2004 portfolio (judging from the top two Shirazes, which are the only of his 2004s I have so far sampled), as they are sweet, oily and heavy without the requisite structure, power and in particular freshness to miraculously give these monstrosities shape, something his wines achieve in a best case scenario. Opaque, a bit murky-pruney purple-black with a red rim. The densest and sweetest and plummiest wine so far, verging on the offensively jammy, Recioto-like currants and milk chocolate, blurry at this early stage, although not without some terroir expression drowned in it somewhere. Fairly long on the consistent finish. The sales assistant I spoke to found this “offensively opulent”, smartly avoiding the term “cloying”. The irony of the matter is that an over-the-top Clarendon Hills Shiraz still exhibits or hints at more depth and soil notes than most risk-averse modern-style wines. There's a fine line between genius and madness, or stylistic love and hate, as turning to the next wine proved. Also, I will not say a wine like this cannot pull itself together with bottle age to at least some extent – I merely would not want to find out for myself. Rating: 89(+?)
Clarendon Hills Shiraz Astralis 2005
What I was told is true, the 2005 is most similar (Côte-Rôtie-like, think Guigal La Turque, if a fraction less oaky) to the great 1997! Which means nothing less than if you are ridiculously loaded and like this style at its best, this would be worth looking at. From a vineyard planted in 1920, aged in 100% new French oak. Opaque purple-black to the rim. Vanilla oak that shows more on the nose than the palate (which is good). Complex and deep, lightly crystallized-sweet, earthy-minerally fruit, this combines body and a reasonable amount of power with finesse and subtlety. Nicely old-viney, almost salty core of reserve fruit and minerality. That typical little American hazelnut coffee note that is apparently not a function of oak in these wines. Probably as balanced as the 1997, without quite the same early harmony. This came across as refreshing, and not just next to the 2004 Brookman! It combines the immediate (although to me just barely appealing) charm of dry farmed Aussie Shiraz with the expression of a cool climate wine, quite a feat. Went back at the end and poured myself a second sample, which reminded me of something quite singular about Bratasiuk’s (to me) most successful efforts: those are not the big Aussie monster Shirazes made to excel in blind tastings – this is the kind of wine one wants to have on its own, to make sure not to miss what makes it great. I found it, quite simply, the first Aussie Shiraz I have had in years that deserves that kind of attention. Having said that, it is not a great QPR buy, and I mean, not even in this category. Rating: 95+/96(+?)
Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2004
Quite full, at the center opaque purple-ruby, ruby-red at the rim. Vanilla oak, very sweet and chewing-gum-like fruit next to the structured 2005 Astralis, but this is a fair-enough medium-plus weight that a little acidity and faintly dusty tannin help keep from tasting light and cloying. Rating: 88+?
Corison Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2001
Black ruby of medium depth, watery ruby rim. Initially weird gingerbread nose (but that is what the slightly evolved fruit tastes like). Alcohol and cocoa dust tannin with not too much stuffing or density of plum and black raspberry in the middle, but what is there is nice. Fair enough length. This could use a little more bottle age, but its further development should probably be monitored carefully: my notes – this being the third time I tasted this in a three year span, with consistent ratings, which always amazes me given I was unaware this morning I had ever had the 2001 before – reveal I am increasingly less convinced of its upwards potential. Better safe than sorry? Rating: 88+/89?
Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District One Point Five 2004
Should it not be the genitive form “Stag’s Leap”, by the way? 2% Petit Verdot in the blend here. Full a bit purple ruby-black, watery rim. Oaky but also firm with tannin and just enough fruit for balance. Complexity and depth seemed fair enough, and I would expect the (lightly grainy) core to carry this through for a while. Medium length. Rating: 88+?
Heitz Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2002
Showing better than when last tasted in March, this is rather forward and evolved. Lightly plummy garnet-red, soft black hue. Nutty oak, warming fruit, medium concentration and depth, drinks easily. Good length if a bit light. Rating: 87
Heitz Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Bella Oaks Vineyard 2002
Less weird if also noticeably less big than the Martha's Vineyard from the same vintage. Fraction fresher coloured than the standard Napa Cabernet, if similar. Tobacco and faint tobacco ash, more fruit to the here walnutty oak, nice tannin if without much depth or finesse, medium-plus complexity overall. But a pretty medium-plus weight that is not too stylish, nor of course as endearingly rustic as Heitz’s wines once used to be. Soft maltiness on the softly subtle, medium-long finish. Even though the to me offensively chocolatey-pruney fig juice-like Martha's Vineyard offers so much more stuffing that it should keep longer and acquire greater complexity on the way, it is the Bella Oaks that is more true to style. Rating: 89(+?)
Viader Cabernet Sauvignon/Franc Napa Valley 2000
A blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon and 37% Cabernet Franc. Looks almost disturbingly evolved, faintly pruney ruby-black with orange at the rim. Soft horse sweat and tobacco and dried lemon to the fruit, more like a 30- to 40-years-old Piedmontese Nebbiolo (a healthy one, of course, not quite as freshly citrusy as those perhaps), with black cherry and rose-hip, and a soft Cabernet Franc leafiness. Mildly dusty, softly flavourful tannin. Medium finish. Drinks easily, pretty food accompaniment, but very expensive for what it is. Rating: 89-/88
Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot Santa Cruz Mountains 2004
51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Merlot and 1% each of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. 13% alcohol. As harmless as when last tasted in March. Lightly plummy ruby-black. Jammy-sweet if light, barely medium complexity, bit watery/medium weight raspberry jam with some pine needles, soft if lightly austere tannin, short finish, sugary aftertaste. Rating: 86(+?)
Ridge Geyserville 2004
75% Zinfandel, 18% Carignane and 7% Petite Sirah. Same as when last tasted in March, these bloodless Ridges of recent vintages are strange. Relatively light, also plummy ruby-black. A light to medium weight wine that manages to almost integrate its 14.9% alcohol, which really only sticks out a little. Vanilla oak, a bit syrupy but fairly dry crystallized raspberry and blackcurrant cough drop fruit. Barely medium complex, very light on the finish and aftertaste. Luckily no one dared claim the point of these recent Ridges would be their subtlety, finesse or elegance – they even lack the requisite concentration to achieve any of that. I may be overrating this, too... Rating: 86(+?)
Ridge Lytton Springs 2005
77% Zinfandel, 17% Petite Sirah and 6% Carignane. 14.4% alcohol. as lightly coloured (even though the colours are the least worrying aspect of all). Vanilla oak with nuttiness here, a bit firmer crystallized red fruit, good freshness and palate-cleansing acids (especially in the context of so many modern-styled wines), lightly blood-orangey on the medium finish. No more than medium concentration at best, a bit warming with alcohol, but drinking easily, I like this as well or better than the 2004 here back in March. The knowledgeable sales assistant I spoke to is as clueless as I am, tossing in somewhat helplessly he used to like Draper’s “intense and attractively wild wines of the past”. Rating: 87
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
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„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti