I suppose it’s more than likely you are expecting some wise and insightful comments on the nature of the vintage? Well I’ll come back and do that later as I am under the pump at the moment!
This tasting was held at Brokenwood in the new Albert room on Friday 15 September. A blind tasting. We knew only the vintage and the region but none of the wines. Beautiful room for tasting by the way. First Rate. Running through forty one wines in a short space of time is a pretty tough job so the points are not the same points I would give if I sat down to taste at a leisurely pace. They are fairly arbitrary but they do illustrate a relative ranking if nothing else. Nor are the notes as accurate or meaningful as they might normally be. Then again in some ways they are better because tasting so many wines at once highlights both their strengths and weaknesses. I think I got the measure the wines well enough but to quote Bilbo Baggins - “I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.” On with the show.

1. Wandin Valley Bridies Reserve $28 13.5%
Earthy and tarry. Very Hunter. Spicy oak with dark fruit, licorice and pepper. Firm powdery tannins. Good fruit. Slightly herbal and spicy. Some warmth and light bitterness to finish. Like this. 91 points

2. Margan Family $20 13.5%
Lighter red fruit, licorice and earth. Very fresh and dry. 88 points

3. Benwarin $18 12.8%
Sulphide, vanilla and horse. Tangy red cherry and herb flavours. Light dry tannins. Bit short. 87 points/

4. Tatler Archies Paddock $22 13.1%
Clean yet subdued. Spicy raspberry fruit. Nice smelling wine. Dry tannins, light red fruit. An elegant style. Savoury too. Good length. 90 points

5. First Creek $25 13.0%
Raspberry, leaf, earth. An attractive classic smelling wine. Good earthy red fruit. Has grip but not OTT. Slight bitterness on exit but good length. 90 points

6. Marsh Estate Vat R $ 12.5%
Power packed. Confected red fruit, earth and vanilla oak. Soft red fruit withj red licorice and earth flavours. Subtle yet tasty. Maybe a bit shapeless. Good finish. 90 points

7. Hungerford Hill $28 13.5%
Smoke, baked plum, vanilla. A regional palate that is distinctly savoury but I like it. Some juicy blackberry flavours too. 90 points

8. Mistletoe Reserve $26 13.0%
Earth, dark plummy fruit. Bit unfocussed. An earthy richness on the palate. Lower acidity and a little baked but very nice. 89 points.

9. Pokolbin Estate Reserve $70 14.0%
Dark cherry, licorice, lots of toasty oak. Sexy though and good quality. Savory dark fruit and earth palate. Toasty meaty oak. Lovely tannins. Looks very good. 92 points

10. Pyramid Hill $22 11.5%
Earthy, mulchy, green tinges, subdued aromatics and some licorice. Assertive dry tannins and a combination of green and porty flavours. 86 points.

11. Evans Family Reserve $45 14.0%
VA. Very bright cherry and pepper aromas. Not focused. Slightly confected cherry, dried herb and pepper characters. A lighter style. 86 points

12. Stonehurst $21 13.5%
Dried herbs, vanilla spice, sweet red fruit. Tasty red fruit. Nice medium bodied style. Bitter exit. 89 points.

13. Tulloch Pokolbin Dry Red $25 13.0%
Slightly grassy, spicy capsicum, light red fruit. Looks a bit washed out. Fresh lively red fruit palate. Interesting. Light grainy tannins. Quite nice. 89 points.

14. Kelman Lakeview Lane $18 13.0%
Rich, sweet, slightly horsey, slightly baked fruit. Also tarry and peppery. Smells like a Telmo Rodriguez or a wine from central Spain. I like it! Assertive mouthcoating tannins.Good this. Quirky but won me over. 90 points

15. Glandore $35 13.5%
Smoky and horsey. Brambly fruit. Juicy brambly berry fruit and tarry flavours. Fine soft tannins. Good finish. Lovely soft wine. 91 points

16. Tyrrells Vat 9 $45 13.5%
Raspberry. Very light fruit. Delicate wine. Tart red fruit. Lighter bodied with some leathery walnutty flavours. A balanced lighter style. 89 points

17. Chatto $35 13.5%
Nice smelling wine. Earth, licorice, bit of oak. Tarry spicy regional palate. Gritty tannins. Has class. 90 points.

18. Draytons Vineyard Reserve $24 12.5%
Shaving foam oak. Red fruit. Dried out palate. 84 points.

19. Evans Family $25 13.6%
Jammy and peppery. Not an inviting smell although it opened up very well on return. Light red fruited palate. Abrasive and savoury rather than sweet. 87 points

20. Mount View Estate Reserve $25 13.2%
Peppery, savoury, smoky, brambly fruit. Tarry cherry fruit palate. Distinctly savoury and a bit metallic. Not too bad though. An interesting darkness. 89 points.

21. Macquariedale Estate Thomas $20 13.5%
Horrid. Smells like VP. 82 points.

22. Chateau Pato DJP $40 14.5%
Sweet, bretty and reductive. Dark sulphury fruit. 83 points.

23. Racecourse Lane $22 12.5%
Herbal and stalky. Pinot like. Bacony oak. Fresh raspberry and stalk flavours. Light and classy. Interesting. 90 points

24. De Bortoli $18 13.5%
A touch grassy, cherry and apricot fruit. Light and dry with red fruit flavours. A touch of spice. Stylish this. Luncheon wine. 89 points.

25. Tyrrells Brokenback $20 13.5%
Raw young and jammy crushed berries. Fruit driven style. Abrasive tannins. 86 points.

26. Bens Run Single Vineyard $18 13.2%
Bit baked and pruney. Rubber. A bit dried out. OK. 85 points

27. Adina $22 13.1%
Spicy vanilla, sweet grass and berries. Red cherry , grass and leathery flavours. Dry tannins. 88 points.

28. Thomas Kiss $48 14.0%
Lovely berry fruit, leather/earth, cedar oak, smoke. Savoury tarry palate. Very regional. Plenty of oak. Plenty of length. 93 points.

29. Brokenwood $35 12.5%
Reduction, dried herbs, blackberry. Not much presence upon the palate. Soft blackberry fruit. Dry finish. 88 points.

30. Krinklewood $28 13.1%
Peppery bright red fruit, herbs. Assertive acidity and tannin. Smoky spicy red fruits. 88 points.

31. Tranquil Vale $19 12.0%
Jammy over-cropped fruit. Green capsicum. Some rubbery flavours. 84 points.

32. Lindemans Bin 0403 $20 13.0%
Viogner like lively red berry fruit with some sulphide complexity. Red fruit. Dry grainy tannins. 86 points.

33. Tinklers U&I $25 13.8%
Ribena/blackcurrant, corn, pepper. Blackcurrant, vanilla and herb palate. Earthy too. Bit hot. Has length. Odd wine though. 89 points

34. Gartelmann Wilhelm $26 13.0%
Peachy red fruit, vanilla, lighter almost floral style. Fresh bright floral red fruit and vanilla flavours. Nice. Good palate. 90 points.

35. Tintilla Estate Reserve $26 13.0%
Confected red fruit, tar, reduction. Sweet slightly cloying red fruit and some rubbery flavours. Not bad. Would be popular. 87 points.

36. Brokenwood Graveyard $100 12.5%
Tarry, earthy, vanilla oak, cherry. Some licorice. Prominent acid and earthy dark fruit. Developing well in glass. 90 points.

37. Tower Estate $42 13.0%
Peppery, spicy, blackberry, leather and undergrowth. Nice. Fuller palate with dark cherry and peppery fruit. Dry finish. 90 points

38. McWilliams Mount Pleasant OP&OH $38 14.5%
Porty and overdone. Licorice. Washed out porty flavours. 83 points.

39. McWilliams Rosehill $32 15.0%
Rich leathery dark fruit but with capsicum/grass/pepper. Blackberry, earth and spice flavous. Alcohol heat. I like it though. 89 points

40. De Iuliis $20 13.5%
Foul rubbery aromas. Rich blackberry, tar, bitter chocolate palate. Good palate. The stink was subsiding so 88 points.

41. Ridge View $18 12.7%
Port and dried grass. 81 points.