It was with some trepidation that I approached this tasting: “not another tasting of overblown Aussie shiraz,” I thought to myself. But this was good training for the inaugural Shiraz Alliance get together that was confronting me the following weekend. But what really piqued my interest was the fact that the wine on offer came from that much overlooked wine district Clare and if the present secondary market is correct, this could represent a real bargain.
So why has Clare been overlooked? I’ll be honest; I really can’t give you an entirely adequate answer. All the hallmarks of quality are there: a small well defined region, a warm climate conducive to quality red wine production, a very long history of winemaking, old established vineyards, a long association with the much favoured shiraz grape, wines that age and it’s the home to the likes of Jeff Grosset, David O’Leary, Jim Barry, Andrew Hardy, and of course the Brady’s at Wendouree.
Some have suggested that Clare has now been tagged as a white only wine district, while others have opined that Clare shiraz is just not as opulent as their cousins make in the Barossa. And of course the Barossa heavyweights have dominated the press, in particular the American wine press. Really, how can you compete with a style of wine that exceeds 15% alcohol and achieves 100 out of 100pts by a popular American wine reviewer?
The short answer is that you can’t. So what are we left with? Hidden treasures! And one of those treasures is Tim Adam’s Aberfeldy
This wine comes with a superb heritage, no less a Wendouree heritage, as the Birk’s originally planted this block to shiraz in 1904. According to Adam’s, there are still a number of original vines left on this dry grown block and those that have “passed on” have been replanted with clones of the original vines.
As with many old vine vineyards across Australia, Adam’s is out to capture the very essence that this old block has to offer. In the winery, fermentation takes place on skins with an additional three weeks of maceration before the wine is basket pressed. All pressings are returned before the wine undergoes 12 months maturation in new American and 11 months further ageing in 1 year old barrels. There’s no filtering but the wine does undergo egg white fining prior to bottling. A very traditional approach indeed.
On a cold winter’s night, the wines and the tasters both took some time to open up, and to my pleasant surprise the host decided to start with oldest wines first – elegance before brutality was his excuse!
Adam’s describes the wine as a miracle as there was lots of rain and downy mildew and yields down. Eleven years later, the wine shows neither signs of rot or dilution nor any sign of advance ageing. With just a hint of brick red in the colour, the plum hues still remain bright. Unfortunately oak dominates the nose: just get past that blast of creamy vanilla and you will find a layer of briary fruit, stewed plums, dried herbs and a touch of chocolate. Still more sweet oak on the palate, but counteracted by a nice big dollop of ripe plum and raspberry fruit mid palate and balanced acidity. The finish however, is surprisingly and disappointingly dry and tannic, the initial promise unfulfilled and an indication of the difficulties of the year.
There were those in the tasting group who honestly felt that this wine would last another 5-10years. My thoughts: drink sooner than later as I don’t think that oak is going to relax at all. A miracle indeed!
A warm, dry year producing big flavoured and bodied wines. Ten years on, the colour remains medium bright while the nose just lifts to the smells of coffee, mint, eucalypt, cassis and vanillin American oak. Did I say that this is a shiraz? Well it is. In the mouth, there’s lots of runny chocolate, blackcurrants and fruit pastille flavours which form in a tightly packed long yet narrow palate and supported by classy, fine grain tannins and balancing acidity. There’s a whiff of menthol and spice on the finish as well.
Either drink up and enjoy or wait just a bit longer for more complexity to develop.
No do I, as the bottle we tasted had dried out and was out of balance. Not a good example. But given the huge write up by Parker back in 1998, it may be worth the hunt to find a better bottle.
A wine in great condition: achieving that balance between youthful clumsiness and aged complexity and still with plenty of room to develop. It’s colour is still youthfully bright, the nose is lifted with aromas of fresh raspberries, blackberries, mint and of course the ever present note of oak. The palate once again appears to be long and narrow, full of drying but softly dusty tannins (I think I can see a trend developing here) and good fresh acidity lifts the concentrated red fruit flavours on the mid palate. A great combination of balance and intensity.
The modern imbiber would adore this style now, but a little patience may take this wine a long way.
Let me give you Mr Adam’s full quote, “Pretty lean wines, and quite backward as a result of quite a cool season. They will be slower than normal to develop”. Now let me give you my tasting notes…Nose: Big ripe forward style, very toasty oak, rich flavours of chocolate and stewed plums, very modern. Palate: fat, ripe and alcoholic, the 14.5% alcohol really does show through. Slight porty note. I even noted that this wine showed a distinct change in the Aberfeldy style. Have we got the right bottle?
My woes continue because Parker calls it impressive (#127 2000, 93pts) but advises to drink now, while Tanzer of the International Wine Cellar describes it as oaky and penetrating. I need to retry this one and I’ll certainly take advice on its longevity.
If any wine out of this line up should give us any indication of an Aberfeldy “style” one would have thought the 1998 would be it: such a splendid year. The colour is lively, the nose expressive: with lots of mocha, chocolate and coffee, eucalypt and mint, sweet red fruits and sweet American oak. On the palate, broad and fleshy with lots of concentrated dark fruits, coffee and chocolate, good length, fine gritty tannins, balancing almost crisp acidity and the ever present oak. In fact a very big mouthful of flavour.
As with all modern Australian shiraz: can be drunk now, but will benefit with 3 or more years of additional ageing.
As with most wines from this vintage, it was a hard act to follow after the “textbook” conditions of 1998. I had a sneaking suspicion that the ‘99’s were better constructed, less ripe but better suited for long term maturation than the 1998’s.
The 1999 Aberfeldy can be described as having attack! Lifted nose of shiraz spice and black pepper and an assortment of other dark fruits. It initially appeared to be lean, tight and very intensive with lots of spicy fruit, cedar and dried meats notes along with a big dose of very fine grain, drying tannins but once warmed up, the silky texture and rich chocolate flavours became evident. It finishes very dry and spicy and thankfully, the oak is in balance.
I couldn’t drink now, but I would love to see around 2009.
Adam’s unashamedly calls it a “blockbuster” others have described it as “oak saturated”; to me though, Adams has been able to achieve a second miracle (does this mean canonisation?). The wine is deeply coloured, the nose is very intensive: lots of dried herbs, concentrated berry and cherry fruits, surrounded by the mocha, vanilla flavours of the new oak. There’s density and richness on the palate but the hallmark drying tannins and creamy oak dominate this youngster. There’s also just a hint of alcohol heat on the finish and all this from a difficult year!
2008 would be a good time to re-visit this wine.
A work in progress: youthful, inky, oaky. Deep, full bodied, lots of sweet black fruits, sweet oak and fine tannins and an interesting touch of lantana on the nose, amongst other things. This wine really needs time to come together; harmony needs to come to this intensely rich wine.
Hold for 2 years and then drink up to 10.
Another work in progress: but given this nations predilection to drinking very young, very sweet, high powered shiraz, I know my screams in the night to hold onto this wine will generally be ignored. The nose is very expressive showing ripe blackberries, mint, eucalypt, chocolate, coffee, mocha, there’s a touch of spice and of course the vanillin oak. Classic Aberfeldy on the palate, the body is long and without too much width, full of concentrated fruits, crushed berries with a slight herbal note. The tannins are fine and drying, the acid fresh and the finish persists with sweet oak and pastille fruit flavours.
For many in the tasting group, this was the wine of the night, for Tim Adams, it ranks amongst his best, along with the 1994 and 1998. Let me say it again, hold for 2 to3 years then drink up to 10.
Here’s what the Aberfeldy’s are currently been quoted at Oddbins:
1990 $30-40
1991 $38-44
1992 $30-40
1993 $30-40
1994 $40-50
1995 $30-40
1996 $40-50
1997 $35-50
1998 $40-50
1999 $35-45
2000 $35-45
2001 $30-40
As I have mentioned above, the Aberfeldy’s tasted are thankfully not overblown nor surprisingly over priced. Stylistically, look for the drying yet restrained tannins, to me they typify the Adam’s Aberfeldy style. Ripeness appears to be just right with good concentrated red fruit flavours, oak is very much evident but the fruit just soaks it up and the tannins are drying but nice and grainy. Alcohols while around the 14%, are in harmony with the style. Acid levels appear to be good from balanced to quite fresh, indicating moderately long cellaring times could be enjoyed. And there’s that regional hallmark of mint and eucalypt.
Finally from the pricing estimates listed above, these wines can only be classified as hidden gems given the vineyards pedigree and the amount of care and attention to detail by both the winemaker and those responsible for looking after those very old vines. These wines are worth hunting out.
Thanks to John Leydon of The Wine & Food Society and John Swanson of Melbourne Street Cellars.
Cheers,
Graham Wright
Wine Consultant
Oddbins Wine Auctions
graham@oddbins.com.au