Tastings Notes - Lake Cairn Curran Current Releases

Blanc de Blanc 2006 (Recommended)
Not a bad effort. Simple style with a dash of approachable fruit sweetness, a good combination. Drinks easily and finishes with a firming and almost liqueur-like edge. Will be priced in the low $20s and looks well placed here.

Shiraz 2006
I wanted to like this wine. Unfortunately it’s made in a style that I struggle with, that is, seemingly a deliberate ploy to leave some residual sugar. This wine is quite well made but the grapey, sweet liqueured fruits prove to big a distraction for me. Sweet plum and pepper drive the flavours in the most simple of ways. Very grapey and fruit juice-like across the bouquet and palate. The finish is much dryer than expected with some tang from the acid coming through but the fruit flavours largely drop out.

Lake Cairn Curran ‘Sur Lie’ Chardonnay 2005
A reserve wine of sorts given it is sourced from the pick of the barrels from the 2005 vintage. Medium yellow gold in colour, very clean, but looks to be showing some development. Nose doesn’t give me too much; oldish subtle oak and vague stonefruits. Flavours are quite interesting. Fruits are quite firm and almost bitter very early in the palate, quite ripe, some oak, more harder grapefruit-like flavours. For a fleeting moment one gets the impression this is very serious chardonnay but the palate weight tails off considerably. Notwithstanding it’s not a bad attempt.