WTN: A St. Emilion and two Aussie Cabs

1998 Château Quinault L'Enclos (St. Emilion)
Dark red colour throwing a lot of fine sediment in the bottle and glass. Big nose showing intense black fruited flavours over smoke, tobacco, coffee and oak. In the mouth it's just a mass of oak and ash-like flavours at first. The oak/ash flavours subside slightly with air to show some dark fruits, coffee and herbs underneath, but the oak still dominates and obscures the fruit and other flavours. Most of the pleasure in this comes only from the aromatics, it's lovely to sit and smell but each sip made me wince.

2003 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon (Margaret River)
Dark red in colour with a nose that shows cassis, black cherry and tobacco over a frame of spicy oak. Medium bodied in the mouth with flavours echoing the nose - more sweet dark fruits mingled with herbs, spices and oak with a smooth, round mouthfeel and soft tannins. Finishes with medium length. Unlike the Quinault, the oak here isn't excessive and blends in nicely with the other flavours. That said, while it's pleasant it's not particularly interesting especially at the price.

2004 Orlando/Jacob's Creek St. Hugo Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra)
The nose has a lovely forestal character with damp earth, cedar, cassis and red fruits over softer leafy and leathery notes. Medium bodied and elegant on the palate with sweet blackcurrants mingled with earth, green herbs and tobacco flavours, good acidity and chewy tannins. Finishes with medium length and no trace of the 14.5% alcohol indicated on the label. Very young, but already drinking very well right now with the structure and stuffing to go on for some time longer.

2003 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon (Margaret River)
Dark red in colour with a nose that shows cassis, black cherry and tobacco over a frame of spicy oak. Medium bodied in the mouth with flavours echoing the nose - more sweet dark fruits mingled with herbs, spices and oak with a smooth, round mouthfeel and soft tannins. Finishes with medium length. Unlike the Quinault, the oak here isn't excessive and blends in nicely with the other flavours. That said, while it's pleasant it's not particularly interesting especially at the price.

2004 Orlando/Jacob's Creek St. Hugo Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra)
The nose has a lovely forestal character with damp earth, cedar, cassis and red fruits over softer leafy and leathery notes. Medium bodied and elegant on the palate with sweet blackcurrants mingled with earth, green herbs and tobacco flavours, good acidity and chewy tannins. Finishes with medium length and no trace of the 14.5% alcohol indicated on the label. Very young, but already drinking very well right now with the structure and stuffing to go on for some time longer.

Salil

Whilst Leewin Estate consistantly makes Australia's best chardonnay, they really struggle to turn out a decent cab sav; a fact confirmed by their winemaker who in one review I read recently simply put it down to an inappropriate site location. The St Hugo on the other hand is from a very good vintage and should easily return good rewards if left alone for 10 years or so.

Mark

Mark
I was going to make the same comment about Leeuwin, but didn't have the inside word from the winery! Interesting comment and refreshing honesty. They're not that far away from the stars on the Caves Road (just a few kms), but it does seem the best (red wine) dirt is up there.

I do wonder though, whether sharing the same designation "Art Series" seems a little wrong, where one wine (the chard) is so highly rated, yet none of the others even come close. Does it devalue the "brand" or lift the profile of the lesser wines?

regards

Ian

Whilst Leewin Estate consistantly makes Australia's best chardonnay, they really struggle to turn out a decent cab sav; a fact confirmed by their winemaker who in one review I read recently simply put it down to an inappropriate site location. The St Hugo on the other hand is from a very good vintage and should easily return good rewards if left alone for 10 years or so.

Thanks for the info about the Leeuwin Mark. I'd heard that their Cabernet wasn't in the league of the other WA heavyweights like Moss Wood, Cullen and Vasse Felix, but at the price it was really disappointing - fortunately that was the only bottle of that wine I've had (and I won't be running out to get more, especially as I managed to load up on some Cullen DM and recently some Parker First Growth for significantly less).

The St. Hugo on the other hand was a beauty, and I can only imagine how much pleasure it'll offer in several more years.

Mark
I was going to make the same comment about Leeuwin, but didn't have the inside word from the winery! Interesting comment and refreshing honesty. They're not that far away from the stars on the Caves Road (just a few kms), but it does seem the best (red wine) dirt is up there.

I do wonder though, whether sharing the same designation "Art Series" seems a little wrong, where one wine (the chard) is so highly rated, yet none of the others even come close. Does it devalue the "brand" or lift the profile of the lesser wines?

regards

Ian

Ian I know you like your Aussie wines so I think you would really appreciate Campbell Mathison's book. If I can buy Geo Trumper shaving cream from Mayfair and ship it to Aus, someone down here can send Campbell's book up there. It really is THE best book written on modern Australian wine I have come across. It is not like the "tehcnical" manuals written by Halliday. It provides geninue insights to what is being produced down here. In pursuit of this goal, he literally visits all the top quality producers such as Bindi, Castagna, Dalwhinne, Cullen, etc and writes up an honest takeway from the visit hence Leewin's comments about their reds. I also agree it might have been useful to come up with another form of branding for their red. I recall from the book they are seeking to address the problem by searching out a new site. The 04 chardonnay on the other hand is a superb chardonnay. Unlike some vintages such as the 02, it is approachable now with amazing structure and depth of finish.

The St. Hugo on the other hand was a beauty, and I can only imagine how much pleasure it'll offer in several more years.

04 has been a particuarly good vintage for Coonawarra. I had one of the 94 St Hugos a year or so ago and it was a an excellent wine, only just starting to enter its drinking window. You can safely leave the 04 for 10-12 years and it will reward your patience. Most of the top end Aus cabs from good vintages such as Moss Wood, Cullen, Tally, Petaluma etc, I try not to open inside 12 years. I know some people love to try one every couple of years to watch their development but as a true hedonistic amateur, I am only interested it them once they fully hit their stride.