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 +.