Category: Gundagai

2014 Eden Road Gundagai Cabernet Sauvignon

A quick break on the road from Melbourne to Sydney is perhaps not the terroir you’d expect to produce interesting Cabernet. Always alert to this producer’s wine, when a bottle came up at auction a quick search on Winefront and a great review prompted a bid. Took a while to shrug off a sleep in the bottle, then things flowed well. Just medium bodied, cool blackcurrant, sweet cherry and mulberry all controlled by dry, almost austere crushed rock skin tannin and a savoury ferrous twang. Lovely lacy acidity. A bit of fine dark chocolate too. No fruit bombing but proper dry claret. Sits well in my tucker box.

13.5% alcohol. Screw cap. $31 at auction.

94 points. They’re good those Winefront people.

2013 Eden Road The Long Road Gundagai Syrah

So very Australian to be on the long road to Gundagai, now bypassed, once a stop on the interminable drive from Melbourne to Sydney. This was a fine drink when released five years or so ago. Some turning up at auction for about the same as the original discount price gave reason to see how age treats the stems and all style of modern Shiraz from a good vintage. Well, there’s certainly mulch and undergrowth but time sweetened red fruits of some purity and good ripeness build well. Tar, pepper and spice too. Lick of old oak. Settled acidity mingles well with the stalky tannin. Probably at its zenith but not going to fade that quickly. Seems a good spot for Shiraz, the warm climate tempered by cool nights at altitude. That odd ode about dogs sitting on tucker boxes still makes me wonder if its owner ever got to their sandwiches.

13% alcohol and nicely ripe. Screw cap. $24.50.

92 points, almost more for that just right fruit ripeness.