Hi Jenise
Can you send me the plane fare so I can come and join you at your wine club tasting?
Here are some random thoughts about the wines you have listed.
06 Hayshed Hill Margaret RiverPersonally I haven’t had Hayshed Hill cab sav, but if it is typical of Margaret River you’ll probably get a nice glassful of cassis, cherries and mint. I seem to recall summer 2006 was cooler than normal in Margaret River, followed by a flush of hottish weather in March, probably good for this variety.
06 Longview Devil’s Elbow Adelaide HillsMacclesfield, where wine growing is a fairly new occupation. Longview has been going since 2001. The vines are quite young. Cool climate. I haven’t any experience with Longview. I have tried other wines from the southern Adelaide Hills, near to this winery’s location, and can say that this sub region can turn out good fruit.
06 Books End West Cape (West Cape Howe Book Ends?)Great Southern region, near-ish to Margaret River, shares some of the same climate characteristics – cool, maritime. A bit cooler, if anything. As mentioned above, the 06 vintage’s growing and ripening seasons were among the coolest on record. A long cool ripening period is quite good for cab sav.
Mawsons Rotten Boy (Rotten Bay?)
No information, sorry. Haven’t heard of this one.
06 Bleasdale Langhorne CreekI am very fond of Bleasdale’s red wines. They have a velvety voluptuousness without being overly fruity. I think I’ve had the 06 Mulberry Tree, if that’s the one you have available. It would age for a few years more, but is perfectly good drinking now. The mint and eucalypt notes are typical of Langhorne Creek cab sav. You might like to buy this one and give it a try.
06 Tait Basket Press, Barossa ValleyTait’s winery is located in the Barossa, where the summers are hot. They produce fairly big, rich, full bodied wines, the real Barossa experience. However, they are a smallish operation so we can expect evidence of a fairly hands-on wine, not industrialised anonymous stuff. I haven’t had this particular wine but would predict you’d find an interesting wine of its type that might still be a bit boisterous at four years old. Might be an interesting contrast to some cooler-climate selections?
03 Henschke CyrilThe most expensive but …
The fruit comes from old vines in the Eden Valley. Cyril is usually about 90% cab sav, softened down with some merlot, which supports the natural aromatic qualities in the cab sav. Cyril usually delivers on the violet and plum characters quite nicely. I have drunk Henschke’s Cyril quite often; if I kept more orderly notes I could tell you whether I’ve had the ’03 (the answer is, probably) and what I thought of it. Cyril is a reliable, handsome wine. Is it worth nearly seventy bucks a bottle? Who knows. Henschke’s top shelf wines tend to have a pretty hefty price tag. But their wines are well made. I’d give serious consideration to including it.
07 Jim Barry Cover Drive Clare ValleyThis is a drink-now wine. Nothing wrong with it, but it doesn’t have a lot to say. There are better choices.
Rainbolt, Marg RiverI haven’t heard of this one. The price doesn’t suggest greatness.
04 Pirramimma, McLaren ValeSummer 04 was cooler than usual at McLaren Vale, which probably helped its Cabernet Sauvignons. The weather can get a bit hot there during the ripening period. Locally, we see a “Stocks Hill” range cab sav (not intended for long cellaring) and a “White Label” range cab sav (higher quality and longer lived). There is also a “Wattle Park” range that is made for export, which I don’t know much about (eg where it sits on the quality ladder). Is this what you have available? Pirramimma is a well respected long established winery at the Vale, and produces good reds of solid reputation that are fairly typical of the McLaren Vale style.
05 Shirvington McLaren ValeI don’t have any experience with this particular wine. I’ve tried their shiraz, but not the cab sav. Shirvington is a small winery that aims for the upper end of the market. They go for complex, full flavours. Could be an interesting wine.
Mitolo JesterThis is an entry level wine. Don’t bother. It has no conversation of its own and won’t add to yours.
Jenise, you will of course have your own frame of reference for buying your wines for the wine club meeting, but FWIW my shopping list might look like this:
1. 06 West Cape Howe Bookends … representing Great Southern, a cool maritime region of emerging reputation (noting that at the price it is possibly not going to be a very complex wine)
2. 06 Bleasdale … representing Langhorne Creek
3. 06 Tait Basket Press … representing Barossa Valley
4. 03 Henschke Cyril … representing Eden Valley region, a ‘tried and true’ wine of good reputation
5. EITHER 04 Pirramimma or 05 Shirvington … representing McLaren Vale. I would suspect both would be well representative of the McLaren Vale style, but at different price points. Hell, buy them both and compare!
6. For a wild card, 06 Longview Devil’s Elbow. Maybe.
Interesting that you don’t have any cabernets from Coonawarra or other regions in the South East (eg Padthaway, Wrattonbully) available. Either we aren’t sending you enough, or people are buying them up quick.
Please post on the event – I’m keen to read what people thought!
