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I don’t know how much it costs locally, but I want to buy a few. It’s Merlot dominant (as you would expect) with a small percentage of Cabernet Franc and as an unreformed Merlot enthusiast..well let’s just say I’m very enthusiastic…

Delightful aromatics - black plum and blue fruits, tar, minerals, white flowers, camphor and liquorice all backed up with toasty oak. It’s a veritable shopping list of descriptors all right. In the mouth full bodied, concentrated and strong with plenty of dry tannic extract, fresh acidity and rich ripe fruit that saturates the palate - falling to savoury and earthy rather than sweet. Finishes long and dry with a slick of fine powdery tannin. Authoritative and engaging: a great wine.

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A rich nose, blackcurrants, black cherries, graphite, moist earth, dusty cedar. There might also be a baked character, but perhaps given the vintage this is just the power of suggestion. The palate showed black fruits, but also more than a hint of red currants, graphite and creamy oak on the finish. Certainly has some tannins, but they are fine and firm. Needs a couple of years before trying again, and should do 15 years or more.

Other vintages: 2003, 1985

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A blend of 60% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Bouchet. Never heard of Bouchet eh? Well, it is just an alternate name for Cabernet Franc when grown in certain cru areas of Bordeaux. Now I know nothing of Bordeaux vintages pre 2003 so this was a bit of a speculative purchase, but at the price didn’t seem too risky. And it showed a good red colour. The nose was initially milky, but settled to show red fruits and cedar, with a only touch of mocha and leaf. No ripeness problems. The palate showed red currants and was quite smooth, though there was a tarry edge, especially on the finish. There was also a touch of pippy bitterness that was more obvious without food. A wine displaying drying fruits, not lush, and a bit of dustiness too. After a couple of hours grippy tannins emerged, so I think it will go a few more years.

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This is 100% Merlot off vines with an average age of 35 years and as it’s just outside the St Emillon AC, only qualifies for a more humble status of AC Bordeaux. Good news for the consumer I think. Now if you have any blocks you want busting then this could well be the wine for you - it has enormous extract and grip, and whilst perhaps a bit New World in style (but without the sweetness), it still looks like Bordeaux to me. Importers: Ce Soir

Strong dark colour with great aromatics including raspberry compote, violet, camphor, mineral and earth. On the palate medium to full bodied with ripe purple fruit, raspberry, violet and a strong earthy mineral character. Rich but dry to taste. It has huge extract with strong dry tannins and a good earthy finish. Already throwing a crust, I’d give this beast a few years to settle, and then enjoy it over the next five (or more).

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I popped down to Coldstream Hills last week to take part in a couple of tastings. The first was a comparative of top end Pinot from Stefano Lubiana, Felton Road and Coldstream Hills and the second being this session - ‘Cabernet at the Crossroads’. Not sure why it was called that, I must not have been paying attention, but I do know that I felt on home ground getting back to that superior and most noble of grapes - Cabernet Sauvignon. This tasting amply illustrates how good the Yarra Valley can be at producing great Cabernet, and indeed I feel it is the regions best red grape, yet it’s such a shame there are not more producers. Coldstream, Oakridge, Mount Mary, Yeringberg, Wantirna Estate, Yarra Yarra would be the main players with some smaller, newer operations such as Hillcrest creating successful wines.
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This is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc from the outstanding 2005 vintage (which for some reason I decided to skip buying on indent..cutting off my nose to spite my face no doubt). Enquiries to marcus@cesoirwine.com

Nice and rich with cassis, cherry and currant fruit, licorice, camphor and some floral notes. Beautiful aromatics. On the palate medium bodied with cassis, cherry, mineral and black olive flavours backed with subtle mocha oak. Ripe but just staying this side of being over. It has smooth tannins, good extract and fresh balanced acidity. Nice and light in the mouth with good length of flavour. This is a great success. A thoroughly delicious wine.

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A pleasant nose, showing red currants, cedar, dry undergrowth, a bit of gravel and also a hint of leaf and pepper. The palate was elegant and understated, red currants, tomato leaf (but not green), with soft tannins that seemed to build after a couple of hours. There was some richness, though it would never be described as plush, and also a gravelly dryness. Average length with a dry acid finish. Not especially complex but oh so drinkable.

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A mature release from a well regarded producer. This is a blend of Merlot (85%) with the remainder being Canbernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Enquiries for trade and stockists can be directed to marcus@cesoirwine.com

Aromas of plum, cherry, orange peel, earth and pencilly oak. On the palate medium bodied with plum and cherry fruit, mineral and earthy flavours supported with attractive toasty oak. Dry and refined. It has soft lightly chalky tannins with a good crisp acid attack. Well balanced, charming and ready to drink.

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A French friend brought this to dinner. I tend not to enjoy Cabernet wines that much but this was a cracker. It had the classic Saint Emilion nose showing a hint of tobacco, some fennel and a hint of ripe cabernet style fruit. The palate was in superb balance showing great length and supple tannins that suggest this wine will develop and hold for at least a few more years. I had the usual trouble with the image because of the foil, humble apologies.

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Canon Fronsac is usually Merlot based with a goodly splash of Cabernet Franc thrown in and I’d guess this is no different. Recent warm to hot vintages are helping this AC produce excellent wines at very reasonable prices. Imported by Ce Soir Wine Importers.

Aromas of raspberry and black fruits, dried herbs, smoke, earth and a bit of oak. Savoury rather than fruity with some black tea fragrance adding interest. On the palate medium bodied with cherry, chocolate, dried herb and earthy flavours. Not especially weighty but has good sweet fruit supported by loose knit talc-like tannins and enough acidity to provide balance. Finishes nice and fresh with dark fruit and some licorice flavours. Delicious and highly drinkable.

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This wine did not have a low fill like the vintage pictured and the cork was in perfect condition. I quite like these off vintage Bordeaux as a refreshing lunch wine, although they are not exactly cheap locally.

Aromas of red cherry, redcurrant, capsicum, plenty of spice and some earthy animal scents. On the palate light to medium bodied with red fruit, capsicum, tobacco, spice and some gamey flavours. Not a great deal of depth but does have refreshing tangy acidity and light dry tannins making it very drinkable. Clean spicy finish. A very good wine from a pretty iffy vintage.

Other vintages: 2003

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I don’t own much Bordeaux, perhaps 3 dozen. This is mainly because I can never pronounce the names of the wines nor the communes, and it is easier to say I don’t drink Bordeaux than it is to stumble over the names and look a fool.

On the nose, graphite, blackberries, blackcurrants, smoke, underbrush, animal hide, and maybe a bit of oyster shell-like dryness. I like it. There was also some blackcurrants on the palate, with earth and minerals, and a pencilly dryness that flowed from the mid-palate and to the finish. It still has quite a lot of furry tannins (and there was quite a bit of sediment too in the bottle). Good length, with a drying finish - very enjoyable. Not sure on aging this, because the fruit doesn’t quite seem up to the tannins - wiser heads might have some better advice.

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I had this wine a few weeks back when friends came to dinner. They bought a Balgownie Cab but I already had an old Barossa ready to go. My old thing was not so nice and I was certain I had some more older wine in the pantry. Next thing we were throwing this back with great joy when it sunk in why I had it! This was my late brothers favourite wine and I was saving it for some reason best known to brain cells no longer present. The colour was still quite red and showed just a bit of brown in the edges. The nose had lovely ripe cassis with a little green pepper. The palate was superb, great balance and nice length. The flavours began as an integrated sensation that spread across the palate to reveal red berries, a little oak and an earthy finish. Not a hint of the dreaded brett just a lovely wine which if you have any, subject to cork condition, I feel it will hold for many years yet.

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We had a very nice dinner on Saturday night with a bit of Champagne (Egly Ouriet NV), a white Burgundy (Paul Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet 2004) and this lovely old wine. Obviously 1970 is renowned not only for the birth of famous and highly intelligent people, but also for producing some excellent Bordeaux, and while not as good as the prostigious Palmer and Latour, the Lynch Bages must be one of the top wines of that particular vintage. This bottle had an excellent cork with the fill level right into the neck.

Dense strong colour. Quite remarkable really. Rich and fragrant aromas of cherry, berry, roast coffee, beef and lead pencil. Full bodied palate with beefy cassis, earth, cedar and roast coffee flavours. Initially the dry tannins dominate the fruit and flatten the palate but with time the fruit intensity grows and the tannins begin to melt away. Finishes with lovely roast coffee and earthy flavours. Ah..nothing quite satisfies like a really good bottle of Bordeaux.

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This is the second wine of Château Pichon-Longueville Lalande. It is a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon and 27% Merlot, with a smidge of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. A lurid red/purple in colour, with aromas of red currants, creamy oak, savoury black olives, spicy cedar and some smoke. The palate is fleshy, leaning more towards black currants, with woody spices and a leathery complexity. And just like Shrek and Sara Lee, the wine has layers, and the fruit sweetness is in harmony with the savoury characters. The finish is drying. Super value Bordeaux.

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I have a lot of Bordeaux in my cellar but I had never seen this wine before Nat brought it out at dinner. Many people think we drink just Pinot, well here is evidence that he even drinks Cabernet blends, even if it is his private label. The nose was clean with an enticing mix of tobacco leaf, green pepper, cassis and a dash of vanillin oak. The palate was very unctious, with great power and integration. It was like great cabernet blends from Napa, Yarra Valley, etc but it seemed to have a little extra something. Lovely wine.

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Apparently an 87-pointer from Mr Parker, which seems quite low for such a good vintage. A lovely nose, leather and smallgoods, cassis, pulpy fruit tannins, tobacco leaf, dusty cedar and some earthiness. The palate is smooth, but still shows some strong tannins, and the finish is very drying. Perhaps there are a few too many tannins for the fruit, but it was a fine wine as far as I’m concerned. And a tough one to rate.

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I only purchased this yesterday - there were a few bottles available so I chose one with the level still in the neck. It was left standing upright for the day, and I think this showed when the wine was poured. A clear light red with some brown notes. On the nose, red currants and a certain cheesiness and soft old red leather. The palate showed red fruits, soft tannins, a rasher of bacon and a tiny bit of leaf. All up, a very pleasant wine. A big thank-you to the person who cellared this for 20 odd years before allowing me to drink it.

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I was given the task of extracting the cork from this wine, and it was a time like this that I cursed pissy corkscrews with tiny short threads. But with a determined chin, I removed it without distributing millions of cork fragments in the wine itself. It was then decanted and tasted immediately, fearing that it might fall over pretty quickly. The colour was browny red, which was encouraging, and the aromas were agricultural: earth and farmyard poo, but in a sweet grassy kind of way. Think of the elephant enclosure at the Western Plains Zoo. The palate was delicate and ephemeral, with tobacco and old savoury leather, red currants and some dirt. With time, some sweetness in the fruit emerged, but the tannins also appeared drier. Certainly not dead, but definitely on a decline now. It was lovely to try a wine as old as Walshie, and almost as smelly.

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Another wine from my mystery stash. The colour was red with a bit of brown in the edge, and a little murky, but it had travelled a few hours. The nose had a hint of mint, cabernet aromas of the tobacco form rather than herbal. The wine was in tip top condition on the palate. Nice fruit, oak and earthy firm Saint Esteph style. The palate was well balanced without excessive oak or grip or even the Brett that seemed to be about in some of my older Bordeaux. We used to look at a cru each vintage and it seems Saint Estephe was always over represented in our cellar. But we could usually manage a vertical and maybe a horizontal showing several levels of classification. The result is that I know it pretty well and maybe think this was a good example, but I have had Napa Cabs of a similar age that were richer and more satisfying. many thanks to Michel, Dominique, Lisa, Stew, Linc and Pip for sharing your fine selves and wondrous tucker with this.

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