Tasting Notes - Liebich Vertical Tasting

All tasting impressions are sourced from a Melbourne trade tasting in mid 2004. Hard to draw any generalisations about varieties or vintages as there were surprises and disappointments across the board.

For the record:

Best Wines
Tempranillo 2004
Merlot 2001 & 2002
Lofty Cabernet Sauvignon 1999
Darkie Shiraz 1996, 1999, 2002
Tawny NV (av. age 15 years)
VP (Shiraz) 2004

Disappointments
Merlot 1998
Lofty Cabernet Sauvignon 1998
Darkie Shiraz 1998

Tempranillo 2004 (barrel sample)
Massive fruit lift on nose, very fresh and vibrant. Powerful and sweet in the mouth but not overdone. Heaps of fruit cake notes. Lots of fun.

Petit Verdot 2004 (barrel sample)
Expressive nose, fresh and inviting. Again a big palate with some drying oak.

Merlot 2004 (barrel sample)
Sweet fruit wafts off the nose. Lots of sweet berry flavours on the palate with a firm tannic finish.

Pinot Noir 2002
Drying, tannic, fruit seems shy right now. More of a dry red style. Hard to part with the $$ when there are some many good pinot options from Vic under $20.

Pinot Noir 2003
Much more overt fruit on the nose. Again a big, dry tannic style but certainly has a core of quality varietal fruit.

Potters Merlot 1998
Subdued nose, showing some age. Doing nothing in the mouth, some hot porty notes but not much else. Past its best.

Potters Merlot 1999
Looks a bit tired in the glass but no doubt better on the nose and palate when compared to the 1998. Feels ripe on the nose but less convincing on the palate. Oak and tannin structure the wine nicely. Not unlike the 2000.

Potters Merlot 2000
Nice pretty fragrant style. Not a heap of fruit weight (reflective of the vintage?) but quite pleasant. Some drying tannin edges. Unlikely to get any better with age.

Potters Merlot 2001
Very impressive. Shows a lot of front and middle palate balance with what may be house style tannins to define the finish and structure. Fruit is very varietal and sits nicely. Should have at least 3 years ahead of it.

Potters Merlot 2002
Great lifted aromatics; herbal blackberry fruit. Excellent clarity. Soft mouthfeel relative to the 2 previous vintages. Stacks of pure 'fruity' fruit. Drinking so well now it's hard to see why you'd hang onto it.

Crackerjack Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
Medium bodied in style but didn't show a lot of varietal traits. Still quite tannic. Needs time but I'm not sure if the fruit will rise above the tannins.

Lofty Cabernet Sauvignon 1998
Balanced nose with vege and capsicum notes - nice. Soft palate; primary fruit is fading but 'house' tannins ever present. Can't help feel it should a bit brighter for a 1998?

Lofty Cabernet Sauvignon 1999
Similar nose to the '98 but more fruit lift. Much more about primary fruit, very balanced mediumed bodied style and seemingly in the prime of its life. What a great example of a 5yr cab, and should probably be drunk over 2005 and 2006.

Lofty Cabernet Sauvignon 2000
Ups the fruit power on the nose to another level. Sweet fruit on the palate but absent the fierce structure seen in many of the other wines. Very good drink now option and clearly an outperformer given the poorly regarded 2000 vintage.

Lofty Cabernet Sauvignon 2001
Nice balance. Early days, some grip but the necessary fruit is lurking.

Lofty Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
Big rich fruity style. Very hard not to like; heaps of overt plush fruit. Just needs time to pull its head in (so to speak!).

Darkie Shiraz 1996
Mature nose with pepper and vege notes. Beautiful in the mouth with a balanced easy drinking feel; primary fruit just starting to fade. Tannins still holding nicely, not aggressive. Slightly funky. A great 8 year old and has the legs for another 2 - 3 years yet.

Darkie Shiraz 1997
Travelling ok. Doesn't have the gracefulness of the 1996 - this one's a bit more one dimensional but very much intact. I don't think there would be a heap of SA 1997's going as well?

Darkie Shiraz 1998
A non-descript wine. Quite mellow and going ok but lacks any real character or excitement. Not as good as the 1997 and quite a disappointment given vintage status.

Darkie Shiraz 1999
More overt power than the 3 preceeding vintages. Nice licorice notes weld nicely with some funkiness. Needs time. Yet another 1999 Barossa that blows the socks of its 1998 counterpart.

Darkie Shiraz 2000
NQR - nice simple sweet fruits quickly swamped with mushy off-fruit notes.

Darkie Shiraz 2001
Sharp powerful liquered nose (some menthonal?). Pruny and cooked in the mouth, and it feels like the fruit is about to give into the tannins. Product of a short hot vintage?

Darkie Shiraz 2002
Nose a little closed. Very understated relative to the other vintages. Palate shows pristine fruit; good drive and shows very good balance. A bit of a fruit bomb right now although spicy tannins lurk. Should be very good and will rate with the 1996 and 1999 in time.

Muscat
Tasting was consistent with previous notes. A bit hot and spirity on the nose, too sharp for my liking. Good fruit in the palate but finishes a little short and hot. Nice nutty notes on finish.

Tawny (15yr old)
Powerful nose. Thick palate with complexity; shows the benefits of aged base material. Remains the best tawny we stock under $25 and absolutely competes with the 'classic' styled classifications from Rutherglen.

Fortified Semillion (nv)
Hot nose. Nice fruit carry and body is quite light relative to the previous fortifieds.

Vintage Port 2004 (shiraz)
Fruitcake nose - just like a ripe zinfandel. Massive power on the palate, you can almost feel the the sugar. Plummy and intense - needs 20yrs +.

Tasting Notes - Isabel Estate Pinot Noir 2003

Slightly murky red with a touch of brown. Nose is a little run of the mill nose: berries and cherry. Primary fruit is a little shy in the mouth but there's heaps of structure and some nice non-fruity notes going on. Quiet sour and a fraction bitter (at this stage) but has good acid carry and should age well for at least a another 3 - 5 years. Like the Marinda this wine definately needs time. A good drop but will price in the mid forties and will compete with some pretty hand (and probbaly better) pinot's from Martinborough and Central Otago.

Tasting Notes - Lenton Brae Chardonnay 2002 (Recommended)

Pale gold in the glass, looks about right for a 2 year old. Very powerful, ripe, penetrating nose - almost intimidating. Heaps of sweet peachy fruit lift. A little more subdued in the palate. A bit hot and is quite ripe and powerful. Good structure and nice wine making touches although this is essentially a fruit driven wine. A bit of burn at the finish (no surprise). This one might be a fraction young right now and I reckon it would be interesting to have another look in late 2006.

Gapsted Barbera 2002 (Recommended)

Giving nose; soft sweet berries that penetrate nicely. Interesting palate. Varietally correct in-so-far as the noticable acid is concerned (a bit sharp on opening) but this is countered through a soft, almost milky feel to the structure of the wine. More berry fruit, quite ripe, and bolstered with the plushness of the structure. Could be an oak driven effect? Acid never really departs, and keeps the wine tight at the end. Another good effort from Gapstead for the left field varieties (ie relative to Oz). We don't see many decent examples of this Northern Italian come our way but this is one we'd stock.

Tasting Notes - Ashton Hills Vineyard 'Picadilly' Pinot Noir 2001

Up until the 2002 vintage the only non-estate PN from Stephen George. 2001 was a hot year for the Hills and many whites did struggle, the reds less so.

Light garnet in the glass; no browning. Ripe, lifted nose with some powerful cherry characters. Ripe palate, reflective of the vintage. Some nice sweet and sour cherry notes define the mouthfeel in what is a fairly clean style. Some heat (14%) although the wine doesn't really tred into overripe territory. Travelling well for a 3yr old and should go ok for the remainder of the year.

(after a hour in the glass the sour cherry notes gave way to some savoury spice and cloves with good intensity)

Tasting Notes - The Blok Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 (Recommended)

Small producer based in the Coonawarra. Peppery, herbally nose. Lots of interest and quite intense. No green unripe notes. More pipper and spice in the mouth along with berry fruits. Almost like a good cool climate shiraz (in the best possible sense). Very good mouthfeel - quite balanced and hits all corners of the mouth. Finishes quite long, driven by some noticable tannin. Could do with another year or two in the cellar. Good effort, and a much better showing than a number of previous tastes over the past 12 months.

Tasting Notes - Hackersley Sauvignon Blanc 2004 (Recommended)

Tasted this just after bottling and was very tight at the time. Happy to report 6 months has done it a world of good and now travelling very nicely. Nose is still quite austere with faint tropical fruits. Palate is much more expressive with overt tropical fruits and a surprisingly dry finish laced with a chalky acid (ie, almost in a Clare riesling style). Only quibble is a little burn from some heat in the throat. Otherwise looking pretty good.

Tasting Notes - Arakoon 'Blewitt Springs' Shiraz 2003 (Recommended)

Arakoon has just released 4 of its 2003 reds onto the market. The Blewitt Springs is the 2nd ranked wine behind the Doyen and I think replaced the Reserve Shiraz. (??)

Pretty nose; quite pronounced fresh fruits, clearly ripe, yet quite serious with good depth. A bit lighter than expected in the mouth (initially) but this is not a negative in any way. Fruit is very bright early but does firm up with some licorice and berry fruit, a touch of bitterness and some subtle wood. Probably a bit young as it feels just a smigden disjointed but don't let this detract from purchasing - it's a good drop and probably the best 2003 McLaren Vale we've had yet.

Tasting Notes - Arakoon 'Doyen' Shiraz 2003 (Recommended)

Year in year out one of the region's biggest ball tearing wines. Shows some similarity to the Blewitt Springs shiraz but is essentially an upsized version - more of everything. Ripe, lifted nose with sweet fruits but muted with some oak. Big in the mouth; very ripe with nice tannins (not agressive), some heat, more assertive sweet berry fruit, but the oak is less apparent than the nose would suggest. Finish is long, helped by the 16.5%.

This wine won't please everybody but you have to hand it to Ray and Patrik - they make no apologies for the wine they are trying to make - and for the most part succeed. Our experience with the last 3 vintages shows the wine always has the fruit to match the structure and the alcohol is always carried well, although perhaps a little more obvious this year than in 2002 and 2001. Hard to put a finger on a drinking window but it couldn't hurt to leave this baby until early 2006 (at least).

Tasting Notes - Arakoon 'Lighthouse' Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

The components of this wine has varied over the years with shiraz and Adelaide Hills fruit (I think?) included in the makeup. 2003 is a straight cabernet from McLaren Vale. Straight out of the bottle there's no doubt this is a monster of a wine. Massively ripe nose, hot and penetrating. Exactly the same in the mouth and to be honest the wine was just too hot and searing, and did not go well with dinner (curry) at all.

In fact, I assumed this with was a shiraz grenache blend, and thus quite surprised to discover it was cabernet. Left the glass for 30 minutes and this was time well spent as the wine settled a little and some varietal notes (capsicum and berries) starting creeping onto the palate. However the structure and ripeness of this wine is still too fierce and would be hard to recommend as a drink now option. That said, this will look better with cellaring over the next 12 months.