An
amazing Australian wine tasting
Tasting rare and old Australian wines, back to 1884
Chairman’s Dinner, Royal Melbourne
Wine Show, 10 October 2012

This was to be a special evening. The
judges at the Royal Melbourne Wine Show gathered to taste a
remarkable collection of mostly old Australian wines with dinner. It
seems mad to give special old bottles like these a score, so ignore
the numbers if this grates with you. It's also really hard to assess
old wines when there's something special about them aside from
simply how they taste.

David Bicknell, Chairman of the
RMWS, speaks
Seppelt Drumbourg Riesling 1978
Drumbourg/Great Western, Australia
Lovely texture and good acidity here: rich and toasty with notes
of apricot, ripe citrus fruit and some herbal notes. Odd-dry style.
93/100
Orlando St Helga Riesling 1996 Eden
Valley, Australia
Toasty, herby and citrussy with richness and boldness. Some
tangerine notes. Attractive, structured style. Dry. 91/100
Orlando Steingarten Riesling 1997 Eden
Valley, Australia
Nutty, toasty and pithy. Rich, evolved style with waxy, herby
notes and a dry finish. Some richer peach and apricot notes in the
mix, too. 90/100
Peter Lehmann Reserve Riesling 2001
Eden Valley, Australia
Austere, dry style, still youthful and dense with intense lime
cordial character. Primary flavours need time to develop. 89/100
Orlando Steingarten Riesling 2005 Eden
Valley, Australia
Pithy, lively and intense. Primary, grippy, taut and austere.
Hard to assess at this stage. 89/100
By Farr Chardonnay 2004 Geelong,
Australia
Mealy, rich and broad with notes of peach, pear and spice. Soft
palate with nice depth of creamy pear fruit. Broad and appealing.
92/100
By Farr Chardonnay 2008 Geelong,
Australia
Textured and pure with peach, pear, apple and melon fruit. Rich,
smooth, polished and rounded. 91/100
Tyrrell’s Vat 47 Chardonnay 2008
Hunter Valley, Australia
Taut and quite fresh, but rich at the same time. Nice peach and
pear fruit with some lively acidity. Not as rich as you’d expect
from this wine, but 2008 was a tricky vintage indeed in the Hunter.
Fine and expressive with some toasty notes. 92/100
The Mooraduc Chardonnay 2008
Mornington Peninsular, Australia
Mealy, peachy and rich with bold fruit flavours. Soft textured
and broad. Very rich in style. 91/100
Giaconda Chardonnay 2008 Beechworth,
Australia
Fine, bold, rich and peachy with some pear notes. Ripe and full
with lovely texture. Toasty, mealy and rich with a long finish.
94/100
Bindi Quartz Chardonnay 2008 Macedon
Ranges, Australia
Beautifully precise with a hint of matchstick and some
pronounced mineral notes. Lovely texture and freshness with lemony
fruit. Fresh, precise, wonderful. 95/100
Salo Chardonnay 2008 Yarra Valley,
Australia
Taut and precise with some phenolic notes. Lovely pear, peach
and apple fruit with appealing minerality and a bit of grip. 93/100
Penfolds Yattarna 2008 Coal River
Valley, Tasmania, Australia
Rich and intense with lively, complex pear, peach and tangerine
notes. Very lively with good acidity. Fills all the gaps in the
flavour space. Quite profound. 94/100
Yarra Yerring Dry Red No 1 1983 Yarra
Valley, Australia
This is a Cabernet-based wine. Savoury, earthy yet fine with
lovely leathery notes as well as cherry and plum fruit. Fine and
expressive with lovely weight. 93/100
Mount Mary Quintets 1986 Yarra Valley,
Australia
Earthy, mushroomy, taut, precise with iodine and mineral notes
as well as bright, fresh notes. Savoury and linear. 94/100
Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 1990
Margaret River, Australia
Savoury, a bit earthy, spicy and dense. Nice acidity with some
berry fruits and a bit of blackcurrant. Good depth and freshness.
Nice fruit here. 92/100
Bests Pinot Meunier 1976 Great
Western, Australia
From an 1860s planting. Some soy sauce, iodine and mineral notes
but the dominant theme is sweet, pure, linear cherry and berry
fruits. So linear and pure, with real elegance and freshness. 96/100
Bass Philip Pinot Noir Premium 1989
Gippsland, Australia
Meat, bovril and spice notes on the nose. Firm and savoury with
some spicy depth. Dense, evolved, earthy and quite tannic. 86/100
Tyrrell’s MT Hermitage 1986 Hunter
Valley, Australia
Earthy, jammy, mature and leathery with nice berry and plum
fruits backed up by firm tannins. 90/100
Brokenwood Graveyard Hermitage 1991
Hunter Valley, Australia
Minerally and earthy with notes of spice and herbs, as well as
cherry and plum fruit. Savoury notes of iodine, earth and leather on
the palate, with warm, precise berry fruits. 94/100
Wynns Hermitage 1965 Coonawarra,
Australia
Herb, mineral and spice notes on the nose, with nice precise
cherry and berry fruits. Good acidity, and notes of leather, herbs
and spice. Fine and expressive. 94/100
Wendouree
Pressings 1977 Clare Valley, Australia
Lovely taut, dense, spicy black fruits with a hint of earth.
Nice density and savoury seriousness, with good structure. 93/100
Mount Langhi Ghiran Shiraz 1981
Grampians, Australia
The first bottle showed rather tired fruit and meat, bovril and
spice notes. The second is much fresher with vitality, lovely fruit
and good weight. Stylish stuff. 93/100
Saltram Vintage Port 1945 Barossa,
Australia
This is Cabernet: the cellar hands fortified the wrong fermenter,
and instead of Shiraz, fortified this Cabernet. Sweet and intense
with notes of mint, meat and warm sweet raisins, as well as
cherries, spice, plums and a hint of treacle. Very sweet and warm
with lovely mint notes. Brilliantly integrated spirit. 96/100
Campbells Rare Muscat NV, Rutherglen,
Australia
From the 1950s and 60s, blended in the 1990s. Complex, rich and
raisiny. Spicy and bold. Viscous, powerful palate, so lively and
intense with great acidity and amazing concentration. 95/100
Seppeltsfield Para Tawny 1884 Barossa,
Australia
Seppeltsfield have an unbroken line of tawny ports in bottle
from 1878-2012. Amazingly intense nose of treacle, spice, raisin,
balsamic vinegar. Viscous and amazingly concentrated. Powerful,
spicy flavours with treacle, molasses, raisins and stunning acidity.
Some crème brulee too. A
remarkable experience. 98/100
See
also:
A
historical perspective: tasting old Aussie wines
Wines
tasted 10/12
Find these wines with wine-searcher.com
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