Chateau Leoville Poyferre 2001 (review)

85 points

St. Julien, Bordeaux, France. 13%

Dark slightly unfiltered looking. Somewhat vegetal aromas. A bit of a blend between ripe and rich fruit and some vegetal (not herbaceous) flavours. I’ve never tried this Chateau before and I’m a bit underwhelmed. It’s not too difficult to get wine of this style and quality in Bordeaux and even elsewhere (like South Africa, Chile, or New Zealand).

If more greenish grapes were removed from the blend this would be a bit rich and dull.

Not what I expected from a 2nd Growth.

November 2008 – the above review seems a little harsh, but only a little.  85 points.

August 2012 – I enjoyed this last night.  Sweet open-knit fruit, nice herbaceous touch, oak becoming more integral.  Drink now and over next decade.  90 points.

Wendouree Shiraz Malbec 2000 (review)

89 points

Clare Valley, South Australia. 13.2%

An unusual blend, not just for Australia anywhere. It has that intense dry grown Wendouree style, with tightly integrated oak yet this is a more fruit driven style. There is an ethereal aspect about it, on the palate its concentrated but not syrupy in the slightest way. Low glycerol, and restrained alcohol. Rather distinctive, and rather good.

I do hope they never change their fabulous labels.

Wendouree Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 (review)

84 points

Clare Valley, South Australia. 13.3%

I’ve had very few of Wendouree’s wonderful wines in the past decade. Prices rose and they have disappeared from retail shelves. This bottle was bought from auction. While I’m a fan of Clare cabernet I’ve never thought that this was Wendouree’s best wine, but this is from the great (cool) 2002 vintage so I have high hopes.

It’s a heroic teeth-staining sort of wine, yet quite different from the 15% alcohol monsters that a so common nowadays. Considerable acidity, much of it added, lots and lots of fairly dry French oak, and firm tannin too. Enjoyable to sniff, almond oak esters and dry-grown concentrated fruit, warm but not cooked. But it’s hard work to drink even with food.

This needs a lot of time, and yet I don’t think it will develop like a similarly concentrated Bordeaux. The added acid will probably result in it turning into a leathery, warm but simple old red. Well we’ll see.