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The wines of Plantagenet, Mount Barker, Western Australia

The largest winery in the cool Mount Barker region of Western Australia, Plantagenet enjoys a good reputation for the 15 000 or so cases of wine it produces each year. The second label wine, Omrah, left me unimpressed, but I liked the Plantagenet wines. The reds, especially, had a real depth of flavour and are drinking well with a few years' bottle age on them. This range of wines reinforces my generally high opinion of wines from Western Australia.

Omrah 1999 Sauvignon Blance, Western Australia
Aromatic, slightly spicy, techno wine. Dullish.

Plantagenet 1999 Riesling
Fresh, crisp, citrus-laced wine. Quite lean and tight at the moment, although there's potential for development here. Good.

Omrah 1999 Unoaked Chardonnay
Boring. At this point I gave up tasting the Omrah wines, and stuck to the Estate wines.

Plantagenet 1999 Chardonnay
Much better. Attractive, toasty oak nose; richly fruited on palate. Good stuff.

Plantagenet 1997 Shiraz, Mount Barker
This is a dense, complex wine. Concentrated with a full nose. Intense, oaky, menthol-laced character. Very good.

Plantagenet 1997 Cabernet SauvignonThere is the same heavy winemaking imprint, with thick, concentrated fruit. Soft on palate, with menthol-like character. Ripe and rich. Impressive stuff. Very good.