Recently I was fortunate to attend a Dalwhinnie parallel wine tasting at the Hilton.
If you haven’t heard of these wines, well I hope this blog will give you a greater understanding of what a marvelous winery they have been for over 25 years. Dalwhinnie is located near the tiny village of Moonambel in the heart of the Pyrenees region of Western Victoria, Australia and is a super premium producer of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. At 595 metres above sea-level Dalwhinnie is the highest and most remote of the Pyrenees district vineyards. Surrounded and sheltered by the highest range, this unique bowl of vines is a world unto itself, located in a naturally undulating trough which falls away from the hills, forming an amphitheatre nestled into the ranges.
At the tasting I attended lately I was lucky enough to try a whole host of Chardonnays, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Each one was a masterpiece in its own right.
Chardonnay
1997 – Unbelievably well structured for such an aged wine. Starting to exude those rich buttery texture with tropical overtones. There is some viscosity on the palate, but you’d expect with a wine of this age. Wow
1998 – Broader palate, and more Burgundian (Chablis) in style. Lots of lovely citrus notes with a clean mineral finish. A little less oaky in style, but with great length of finish. A slight honeycomb finish, which comes with age, makes you long for more.
1999 – Another wine you’d think was a a $100 Burgundy. Even longer palate than the 1998 with more apparent honeycomb too. A touch of marzipan on the mid palate gives even more complexity.
2000 – Orange peel fruit characters with a marzipan undertone to finish. Not my favourite, but still showing great varietal character for a 9 year old wine.
2001 – The most powerful nose off all the whites I tried. More primary fruit characters than any of the other previously tasted here. Rich ripe melon, with citrus undertones. A really zing to finish.
2002 – Less palate weight here, but more mineral character. Soft easy drinking with a beautiful acid structure that will keep your mouth watering long after you try it. Hard to fault
Cabernet Sauvignon
1998 – Lots of briary fruit characters, with a cherry beery finish. Some obvious aged characters of savory spice and leather combine to create a beautifully crafted wine. Very inviting, well balanced fruit and acid structure.
1999 – More Bordeaux in style. Obvious ‘terrior’ characters like a good Margaux. Great concentration of primary and secondary fruits like the 1998 but finishing dry with gentle oak. My personal favourite.
2000 – Another you’d have trouble saying wasn’t a Margaux wine. Lots of dusty oak characters with all the finesse you’d enjoy spending $100 on a good Bordeaux vintage. Excellent.
2002 – This one had more primary fruit characters to enjoy. Blackcurrant, cassis, and spice all there with a dollop of cherry. A touch of leafiness brought out the Victorian character of this splendid wine.
2005 – Very drinkable now for such a young wine. The prominent nose and palate makes it easy to identify it’s a young wine. One for the cellar, but very elegant and hard to fault.
2006 – A bit of a monster this one. Very young but with oceans of blackberry, cassis and mocha characters that will age beautifully. Lots of tannin and fine acid backbone which denotes a well crafted beauty.
2007 – A little easier to drink than the 2006 surprisingly, but still a baby. The fruit characters taste even riper in this one. I’d love to put some of this one away for 5 -10.
Shiraz
1998 – Great depth of character that you’d expect from a wine of this age. More complexity that you count, tar, leather, cooked blackcurrant, spice, etc, etc. Great drinking.
1999 – Youthful nose of blackberries and spice, and even a little closed amazingly. Dry style but warming and inviting. I recommend about 2 hours in a decanter before drinking.
2000 – A full bodied wine to remember. If you like them big, this is the one for you. Amazing length, and an abundant of spicy, dry tannins to get your teeth into. Savory finish that goes on and on.
2001 – True blue Ozzie Shiraz here. Blackberry as you’d expect dominates the palate, but then blueberry fruits kick in to refresh. Smokey, savory length balanced perfectly with soft integrated tannins.
2003 – Quite well developed for a youngish wine. More barnyard, liquorice and leather characters than you’d expect. Great with food this one.
2004 – Rich, with a very long leathery finish. A little young still to show it’s true potential, but lovely aniseed, licorice and cassis characters.
2005 – More approachable than the last 2 tried, even though it’s younger. Beautiful acid structure supported with fine integrated tannins that will enabler it to age on and on. Great complexity. Best Shiraz for me here.
2006 – Very soft and drinkable, but more closed than the 2005. Worth putting away for a few years for sure. More cherry berry that any of the others. Great structure. Worth every penny.
All in all an awesome experience, one of the best I’ve had the pleasure of going to. I cannot speak highly enough about the value these wines hold once they are cellared for a few years. Grab one today and you’ll see.
Cheers,
Denis