Category: Cabernets

2021 Monte Benardi Tzingarella Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT

A possible treat and maybe a risk as it’s from a natural leaning producer and who knows how it’s been looked after before putting up for auction. A blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Colorino, I suppose it’s what we used to call Super Tuscan last century. From vineyards in Panzano’s famed Conca d’Oro I think, sort of Chianti grand cru? There’s some odd idioms in the English language, one of them about a curate’s egg which seems to have come from an old Punch cartoon and has stuck in usage for something that’s good in parts. This is indeed good in some ways and a bit off in others, but puzzlingly enjoyable. The dodgy things first, volatile even beyond my own inability to notice and a whiff of the old plastic smelling band aid. The good, extraordinarily tasty fruit, just ripe and of beautiful mineral crispness. The cool reserve of old style Bordeaux perhaps? Fresh juicy cherries, sweet but a little tart just like the beauties in season in southern Australia at the moment. Red currants and fresh blackcurrant too. No hint of jam or sugary over ripeness. Pleasing drag of dusty, in a good way, drying and very fine tannin, well meshed to fresh acidity that maybe just gets a touch too tangy to end. Somehow makes another sip inevitable to see if it’s too much, perhaps yes, maybe no. Wabi sabi as it’s so well put in Japan.

14% alcohol. Cork. $32 at auction, good hunting I think.

Barely a score in technical terms, 93 if you ignore the warts.

1999 Château Pierre Bise Anjou Villages Sur Spilite

Hello stranger. This was a wine I fell in love with over twenty years ago when it was imported by a wine loving doctor from the industrial town of Newcastle NSW where beer was perhaps more the drink. Think it was about $25 a bottle and it seemed such great value compared to equivalent quality Bordeaux. A blend of Franc and Sauvignon Cabernets I remember. Andrew Jefford’s ground breaking book The New France has a profile of the great Claude Papin of Château Pierre Bise and his devotion to the geology of Anjou. According to google, Spilite is a volcanic rock that comes into contact with sea water as it cools. Maybe along with schist, it’s one of the stones of black Angers? Geology aside, Claude Papin and sons also grow some grapes of great quality. This was still lively and had me wishing I had aged as well. The cork was still in good nick, came out in one piece and the only stains were on the tip highlighted with pretty tartaric crystals. Dusty old wine smells with still some gravel, leaf and rich dried cherries. Rounded and still some richness in the mouthful. Again dark berries, cassis and cherries with some concentration and a satisfying round chew of extract and rocky minerals. Great skin tannin hanging in there, freshened by still bright Loire acidity. Plateau or gentle decline, certainly no waiting needed. Couldn’t believe my luck to win a few bottles at auction for a lot less than the original RRP. A nerdy triumph.

12.8% alcohol. Cork. $17 including buyers’ premium and delivery.

93 points.

2018 Blue Poles Allouran

A Margaret River version of a Merlot and Cabernet Franc blend. All very clean and fresh still with maybe the variety characteristics write large in the candid Australian way. Loads of leaf, sweet red capsicum, plum, raspberry and mint both in smell and flavour, seasoned with some spice and biscuit oak. In shape and texture, it’s plush and velvety, with a counter attack of cool gravel. As energising as a dip under a cool wave on a bright Australian beach day. Different but good. Blue Poles and White Horses.

13.8% alcohol. Screw cap. $30.

93 points.

1997 Domaine des Roches Neuves Marginale Saumur Champigny

Somehow forgot to take a photo before the bottle hit the recycling bin and had to make do with a dodgy internet version that makes the GIN stand out. Odd. Must admit to liking this producer for some time but I’ve never ventured beyond the two or so basic Cabernet Francs in the range. They’ve always been delicious and very clean, perhaps unusually so for a lot of red wine making in the Loire? This bottle was another that appeared at auction and attracted no other bids apart from my less than extravagant $32. The current release is well over $AU100. Nonetheless quite a risk for something so old for someone so old and careful with the budget. Twice the corks gods have smiled in succession. Just about in one piece, good level and no leaks again. It seems the fruit comes from the domaine’s oldest vines on limestone including part from the famous Poyeux vines. The quality shone brightly in a still dark red colour, fresh aromas of squishy over ripe raspberries, dark cherry and an almost Bordeaux gravelly mineral thing. Noticeable char of oak gently sinking into the fruit. All very melded and of a whole with age but not tiring, more plateauing. Lots of darker complications as it opens, pleasure and deeper thoughts. This and the ancient Mitchell Shiraz from the last post will only provoke more bids for old things.

13% alcohol. Cork. $38 at auction, absolute bargain.

94 points.

2023 I Feudi di Romans Etichetta Bianca Friulano and Cabernet Franc Isonzo del Friuli

Wine prices in Italy are often half of those imported in Australia, thanks WET. Travelling for a few weeks does make some sort of budget necessary despite the extreme temptation of great bottles for less. Happily there are some good things under €10 a bottle to try. Both these bottles made by Azienda Agricola Lorenzon were under €8 from a local Trieste supermarket not far from the DOC of Isonzo itself. The Friulano has the typically restrained fruit of Italian whites but shows a rich savoury quality of dried herb, subtle yellow fruit and a twist of amaro, very Italiano, almond and soft but lingering acidity. Gets the appetite whetted indeed. The Cabernet Franc like other Friuli versions takes the wine memory to the Loire. This time the sort of lighter weight, fresh and crunchy version. Sparkle of red raspberry, cherry and leaf. A gustatory, nice word, twang of refreshing acidity brushed with a little gentle tannin. Really not the most concentrated fruit as it got a bit washed out by day three but delicious on day one. Neither white or red wine making showing more ambition than the fruit quality but just so and still sensitive to the need of a good mouthful to help all that incredible Italian food go down.

Both 12.5% alcohol. Both Diam, so far ten bottles and only one natural cork. €7.80 both.

Both 89 or 90 if food’s involved.

2022 Dorigo Cabernet Franc Friuli Colli Orientali

Spell check turned Dorigo into Dorito, maybe not a recommended food match. I wondered if this producer is related to one of the best Australian left backs who unfortunately played for both Chelsea and England. Secular things aside, it’s interesting that Cab Franc and Merlot are not recent international arrivals in Friuli. Very unsubstantiated sources suggest they either arrived pre phylloxera with pilgrims wandering back from France or were established by Napoleon which may be at odds with his supposed love of Burgundies. Nonetheless the two most offered reds around here in Trieste seem to be these Bordelaise upstarts, with Refosco and Schioppettino making the odd appearance. So, a random Franc from the supermarket shelf and a good result. Easily fooled into thinking this a good Loire version with just so Franc flavours of dark raspberry and sweet leafiness. Good sinewy tannins are carried by ripe acidity. Just medium bodied and not trying too hard. Good value from the shelves of Trieste’s Coop supermarket. Their deli section is impressive too.

13% alcohol. Diam. €14.

91 points.

2000 De Bortoli Yarra Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

I remember the year 2000 was a good one for the variety that does so well in the Yarra Valley. This bottle was a bit of a gamble at auction. Who knows where it’s been slumbering through many hot summers? Add the lottery of cork and the chances of a duff bottle increase to the point of not risking a huge bid. It was enough to score what turned out to be a tiring but still very lovely bottle. Loads of reliable Cabernet leaf, cedar and tobacco with plenty of cassis and red fruit plumping up the cushion of those fine Yarra Cabernet tannins. A pleasing roundness and resolution with age. A sort of savoury sweetness, if that makes sense? Maybe the flavours are very different but Yarra Valley Cabernet can produce a lingering sensation of timelessness just like some Bordeaux does, at a fraction of the price.

13.% alcohol. Cork. $30 at auction.

93 points.

2020 Soumah Cabernet Merlot

Reading the label, Soumah is a geographical reference, South of Maroondah, as in the highway. The road to good Cabernet for us lovers of the Yarra Valley’s star variety. Cool mint, red currant and cassis, cedar and tobacco, tweaked with sweet herb and gravel. Pleasing cut of fine tannin and refreshing acidity. Many flavours set against a watercoloured wash of gentle ending. Understated but not diminished in expression. Nice round feel, it sort of seems comfortable, if not incredibly concentrated. On the basis of about five or so bottles, Soumah seem to like restraint and an agreeable savoury invitation more than grabbing your lapels. Civilised, nice.

Happy days, the post Covid energy fog is clearing and stumbling to describe a nice drink seems to be compulsive again. Instead of just sitting there and enjoying the warming effect.

13.5% alcohol. Screw Cap. $28 RRP

91 points maybe 92.

2021 Wynns Coonawarra Estate The Sidings Cabernet

This and Wynns Shiraz are often discounted to below $15 which perhaps makes them amongst the best value Australian red wines. From a cool year with a late burst of glorious autumn weather, this opens with a pretty purple red colour and smell if colours have perfume? Thick in texture and fragrant with sweet earth and green herbs, Tart blackberry and blackcurrant that just qualify as ripe with much fruit sweetness and a tweak of Cabernet leafiness. Lots of extract helps the feel of soft tannin and gentle acidity but doesn’t hinder the impression of Coonawarra claret as it was last century. Just ripe enough but some will perhaps prefer more fruit sweetness rather than the savoury and earthy side of a La Niña season. For the price the discussion could be a bit precious.

13.7% alcohol. Screw cap. $13.25 in a Murphy six.

89 points.

2020 Oakridge Over the Shoulder Cabernet Merlot

Last bottle from the Dan Murphy’s October six buy and in some ways the best. Well, that’s if you’re convinced the Yarra Valley is best suited to the noble Cabernet family? Seems bouncy and keen to escape the bottle with a perfume of raspberries and blackcurrants, like a waft of passing aftershave but much nicer. An overlay of tobacco and green leaf, fresh and refreshing. Finished with a rich note of just turned sod for want of a better phrase. Mineral and sweet ripe tannin and acidity mingle well. The sort of fruit and earth you’d want from Bordeaux but closer to home and much better value.

13.3% alcohol. Screw cap. $19 Dan’s member special.

91 points.