Seven Australian Cabernets from 2015
BY NEAL MARTIN |
During the onslaught of 2020 Bordeaux samples, my beleaguered palate yearns for something …anything… but Bordeaux. With this in mind, I recently participated in a useful benchmark tasting of 2015 Australian Cabernet Sauvignons. Once upon a time I tasted a lot of wines from Down Under. I even acted as an international judge at Australian wine shows including Margaret River and Coonawarra. As my responsibilities toward Bordeaux and Burgundy deepened and consumed more and more time, Australia regrettably became sidelined. So I looked forward to reacquainting myself with half-dozen top-notch Cabernets from Margaret River, Yarra and Eden valleys and Coonawarra. I must admit, I approached these wines with modest expectations. How would they show after tasting First Growths and Grand Cru Classés?
Well, they acquitted themselves supremely well, offering a pertinent reminder of the pleasures derived from well-crafted Australian Cabernet. Exploring the Old World in such depth, you can occasionally get lost in the intellectual side and forget that wine should deliver as much sensory satisfaction and hedonism. These wines did exactly that. Even though we were limited to a septet, it neatly showcased the range of styles, from the drier Médoc-inspired examples that hail from the Yarra Valley to the menthol-tinged hedonic lovelies from the red iron soils of Coonawarra.
The 2015 Black Label from Wynns, which debuted way back in 1954 but only sported a black label from 1965, is aged for 18 months in 19% new oak. It has a ravishing bouquet of black cherries, menthol, lavender and pitted black olives, well defined and displaying just the right amount of plushness. The palate offers vibrant red fruit laced with white pepper and clove, plus touches of orange peel. There’s plenty of vibrancy here, and hints of cough candy toward the well-balanced, fresh finish. This is a delightful Cabernet Sauvignon that is à point but will have no problem aging for another 20 years. The 2015 The Tally from Balnaves comes from vines planted in 1990: Cabernet Sauvignon from the Dead Morris vineyard (95% of the blend) co-fermented with 5% Petit Verdot from Dunstan. It is aged in two-thirds new oak from the Sylvain and Taransaud cooperages. Its name actually derives from sheep shearing. You cannot help but fall in love with the bouquet here, gushing red cherries, crushed strawberry, orange blossom, eucalyptus and hints of licorice, all delivered with great purity and style. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent ripe tannins, fine acidity and ravishing red fruit mixed with marmalade and tangy orange zest, voluminous but not heavy toward the finish. What a wonderful Coonawarra – hedonistic but controlled. The 2015 Dry Red Wine No. 1 from Yarra Yering comes from vines planted in 1969 on gray silty loam. This is a more classically styled Australian red insofar as you can clearly tell the country of origin, but it has pretensions toward the Médoc. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and pure red berry fruit (strawberry and cranberry) interlaced with mint and cedar. This has succinct control toward the silky finish, which is impressive in terms of length and delivers a satisfying freshness that urges you back for another sip. Superb.
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Maybe, like me, you have forgotten the joy a bottle of top-notch Australian Cabernet can bring. In a brief diversion away from tasting Bordeaux primeur, I sampled several wines that jogged my memory.
