Some notes taken at a dinner attended by some fellow wine lovers -
Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz 1990 - (Grampians, Victoria): A nice way to start the proceedings. Blackberry, cherry, spice, violets and earthy characters on the nose. Nice rich mouth-feel, with a bit of sweetness on the palate. Good, long finish. 88/100
Dry River “Lovat Vineyard” Gewürztraminer 2004 - (Martinborough, New Zealand): A style which polarised people somewhat. Lovely, varietal, intense fresh floral nose along with lychee, turkish delight, lemon, apples and a little bit of musk and spice. A concentrated, rich, sweet palate with a long finish.
There was some discussion that this was too sweet to be a table wine but not sweet enough to be a dessert wine, I’m of the opinion that in a non-offline situation you would find a food to match the wine rather than try to force this square peg of a wine into a round hole. However, I won’t argue that it isn’t worth the money. 89/100
Tahbilk Marsanne 1992 - (Nagambie, Victoria): Deep golden colour. Some honey, but mostly oxidised characters on the nose. Palate was thin and sharp. Sadly, a bottle well past its best. Not Rated
Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chadonnay 1996 - (Margaret River, Western Australia): Fairly obvious nutty caramel oak on the nose as well as grapefruit and citrus fruits. Rich, broad palate - powerful creamy texture. Very long finish. From what I’ve tasted of LEAS Chardonnay this vintage seemed to be a good representation of the style with a bit of age. 91/100
Mount Mary Chardonnay 1999 - (Yarra Valley, Victoria): A contrast to the Leeuwin Chardonnay above, but not in a bad way. Steely, minerally, gunflint and struck match on the nose. Delicate, elegant palate with minerally acid providing structure. Long finish. Very good. 92/100
Main Ridge Pinot Noir 1999 - (Mornington Penninsula, Victoria): Sour cherry with strawberry, green stalky characteristics and hints of earth. I didn’t feel that it had enough complexity or interest on the palate to make up for the nose. 84/100
L’Arrosee 1982 - (Bordeaux, France): Wonderfully youthful colour. Cedar, tobacco, blackcurrant, cassis and a bit of a smoked meat on the nose. Balanced, elegant palate leading into a long finish. Drinking so well now and not likely to fall over anytime soon. 92/100
Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 1988 - (Coonawarra, South Australia): Green capsicum, chocolate, mixed herbs and blackberries. Medium weighted on the smooth palate. Good but I thought it needed something more to take the step up into excellent. 88/100
Mount Mary Quintet Cabernets 1995 - (Yarra Valley, Victoria): One of the vintages of this wine that was recently said to not be worth higher than 80 points by Robert Parker Jr. Lovely violets dominate the nose, as well as blackcurrants, earth and sour stalks. Elegant palate, perhaps heading a bit too far towards the thin side of elegant though. 87/100
Masi Costasera 1997 - (Amarone, Italy): Very powerful and upfront. Plenty of oak evident as well as plum and cherry on the nose. Ripe, full bodied, concentrated and powerful - but not at all ready to drink - needs more time for the big tannins and oak to integrate. 87/100
Penfolds RWT 2001 - (Barossa Valley, South Australia): On the nose; Plenty of vanilla oak, cedar, coffee, blackberry, liquorice and some interesting floral overtones. Rich, fruity, oaky palate. Unsurprisingly primary at this stage - needs time for components to integrate and develop complexity. 87/100
Charles Melton Nine Popes 2001 - (Barossa Valley, South Australia): Meaty and savoury, plums, tobacco and blackberry as well as a little bit of sappiness. Smooth and well balanced on the palate - 15% alcohol but doesn’t show any sign of it. Rating is for the wine on the night, but as an afterward, the remains did show a bit better the night after. 89/100
Petaluma Botrytis Essence 2000 - (Coonawarra, South Australia): From a local store wanting to get rid of these because they couldn’t sell them. Slightly over 100 cases of half bottles made. Rich, powerful nose of honey, apricots, citrus peel and some botrytis evident. The palate is luscious, intense and sweet but held in balance by excellent acid structure. Impeccable length. Will age, but I’m not sure that it is worth waiting. Delicious stuff. 92/100
Bannockburn is an iconic winery, based in Geelong, Victoria. This was an opportune time to stop and look at Bannockburns past vintages with the ex-winemaker Gary Farr moving on to his own ventures after more than 20 years at Bannockburn and new winemaker Michael Glover coming on board for the 2005 vintage.
The tasting offered 10 wines in each category, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz. The standard label wines are priced at around $45 AUD each. Bannockburn also produce four single vineyard wines, the SRH Chardonnay ($110), the Stuart ($75) and Serre ($120) Pinot Noir and the Range Shiraz ($55).
All tasted wines were stored since release at Bannockburn Winery.
Chardonnay
2002 - Better body than the ‘01 - fuller, richer, creamier and more intense but retains balance. Well integrated oak treatment. Good structure and should get better with additional bottle age complexity. 89/100
2001 - Drinking nicely enough now, but lacking power, complexity or anything to really get excited about at the moment. More young fresh fruit characters than the ‘02 - quite tight apart from that. Best to leave a few years before trying. 87/100
1997 - Looking a little bit developed in colour, especially compared to the 1995. Slightly oxidative on the nose with straw/hay characters and a heap of butterscotch. Acid is sticking out a bit on the finish which spoils an otherwise full flavoured and powerful palate. 87/100
1995 - Straw yellow in colour - very youthful looking at ten years of age. Toasty, nutty, slightly minerally nose. Lovely texture to the palate. A pleasure to drink. Not in any danger of falling over. 89/100
1994 - Two bottles of this poured at our table. First bottle was not great, with a fair bit of heat on the palate throwing things off. Second bottle was a big improvement, colour was better and the heat was gone. Excellent intensity, full flavour but perhaps trailing off on the finish. Second bottle was at its peak and drinking well indeed. 88/100
1990 - Quite developed on the nose - honey, citrus, butterscotch, onion and a bit of sweet apple juice. Palate is similar. Quickly went downhill after being poured. 85/100
1986 - Amazing colour for a 19 year old Chardonnay. Unfortunately the nose and palate didn’t live up to the visuals - some VA, slightly oxidised on the nose - quite disjointed on the palate. Drinkable, but sadly well past its days of being good. 82/100
2001 SRH - Showing young and primary - but showing good intensity, especially in comparison with the standard ‘01. Tight nose with barrel input evident as well as some butter and melon. A touch of heat on the front palate disrupts the line. Length is good. Give it time. 90/100
2000 SRH - Funky, cheesy, butter and butterscotch on the nose. Good depth, balance and concentration on the palate. Very good length - clean finish. 90/100
1999 SRH - Excellent. Toasted cashew nuts, spices, lemon, lime and pear on the nose. The palate is where the wine moves up a class - textured, complex, concentrated without being over the top, outstanding length and the acid and structure to age wonderfully. Close to the best Chardonnay I have tasted. 93/100
Pinot Noir
1990 - Browned edges. Nose is a little bit dirty and I found a predominant burnt toast character. Palate was a little sharp but was otherwise showing good complexity. Drying out a little on the finish. Holding on, but past its peak. 85/100
1995 - Nose of violets, with prominent stalks and undergrowth/forest floor characters. Good length but perhaps starting to lose structure and balance on the palate. 87/100
1997 - Great nose! Roses, plums, stalk, earth, cherries and some background oak. Very nicely textured mouth-feel. Good complexity on the palate - excellent long finish. Drinking close to its peak. Very good. 91/100
2000 - Violets dominate a perfumed floral nose as well as earth, plums and restrained stalks. Palate is fairly full, powerful yet classy and balanced. Will get better given time to develop complexity. 91/100
2003 - Rather primary, floral, shy closed nose. Lacking vibrancy, flat and short on the mid-palate and finish. Lacking any depth at this stage, which may be fixed with age but the length is a concern. 86/100
2001 Stuart - Sappy, stalky, plums, mushrooms and gamey elements form the powerful nose. Youthful palate - acid and tannins are quite prominent right now but will integrate with time. The finish has good length. 90/100
2003 Stuart - Very tight nose - a bit of sour cherry and earth. Palate is also primary but the structure and length are good - all it needs is time to develop. 89/100
1998 Serre - Closed for business. Tight nose gives not much of anything away - some cherry, some pepper and mixed spices. Velvet smooth, elegant palate. A classy wine, but as with a lot of the Pinot tonight, needs to be given more time. 88/100
2001 Serre - A step up from the Stuart of the same vintage. Plenty of earth, mushroom, cloves, stalks and a bit of funky gamey-ness adding interest. Balance and length are exceptional. Superb to drink and is going to get even better. 93/100
2003 Serre - Vibrant, fresh nose - floral, plums, cherries and earthy characters. Quite concentrated on the palate. Has the structure and balance to be great. 91/100
Shiraz
1988 - Quite youthful looking but nose and palate are dried out. This bottle well past its peak. 79/100
1991 - Holding up better than the ‘88 but fighting a losing battle to do so. Pencil shavings and a bit of funkiness about the nose. Palate has complexity but lacks vibrancy and is starting to dry out. 85/100
1994 - Vegetal, under-ripe, weedy, off-putting nose. The fully mature soft palate is better than the nose but it can’t make up the lost ground. 82/100
1995 - The pick of this flight (88,91,94,95,96). A bit of pepper, floral notes, stalks as well as some oak. The palate is good, although perhaps a bit on the thin side of elegant. Lingering finish. Has hit its peak and is drinking well. 88/100
1996 - Prominent white and black pepper as well as earth, herbs and spices on the nose. Again, currently drinking at its peak with integrated tannins and oak and the structure to hold this peak for a few years to come. 87/100
1997 - Stalky, green vegetal notes, pepper and some menthol characters. Tannins are quite prominent and perhaps need some additional time to settle, I’m not sure that time can heal the nose. 86/100
2000 - Violets, pepper and a touch of earthy funk to make things interesting. Palate is concentrated and rich but still has balance. 89/100
2001 - Nice nose of black pepper, spices and a delicate floral lift. Elegant, with excellent length and the structure to age. I think this wine is going good places given time. 90/100
2003 - Smoky, meaty and almost a butterscotch like character to the nose. The stylish palate shows good textured mouth-feel and is silky smooth through to the finish. Let down by the nose. 87/100
1996 Range - Some green under-ripe characters as well as sappy, stalky notes. Good texture and elegance, but thins out somewhat as it approaches the finish. 86/100
Summary:
The Chardonnay were very good as a whole. I really enjoyed the SRH on offer - but 110 odd dollars per bottle is stretching the friendship.
The Pinot as a whole were looking fantastic and the Serre and some of the standard vintages really are up there in the top echelon of what Australia has to offer in Pinot.
The older Shiraz were concerning in variable quality but the more recent vintages were looking much better. I would have liked to try the ‘98 to see how the non-estate fruit changed the style after hailstorms damaged the estate vineyards.
I think the standard label wines are priced fairly, and if you pick the right vintages can over deliver at the price point. However, the premium label wines are probably over priced compared to the competition, no doubt excellent wines, but when you have other exceptional Australian chardonnay like Leeuwin, Mount Mary, Savaterre and so on at half the price - and you are getting into very smart Burgundy territory at the price of the pinot …
My favourites:
Chardonnay: 1995
SRH Chardonnay: 1999
Pinot Noir: 1997
Stuart Pinot: 2001
Serre Pinot Noir: 2001
Shiraz: 2001
The future:
Along with the change in winemaker, Bannockburn plan to allow visitors to the winery by appointment, something that wasn’t possible in the past.
This is a critical time for Bannockburn, with the loss of not only their winemaker, but the face of the company - when people think Bannockburn they think Gary Farr. I think the main challenge for Bannockburn is for Michael Glover to get the chance to place his own style with the wines over the coming years while keeping the loyalty of existing customers.
You can find out some more about Bannockburn and their history at their Website.
Thanks to Michael Glover, Bannockburn and Divine Magazine for putting on an excellent tasting.