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94 Chapoutier Hermitage La Sizeranne--Good dark
color. Nice aromatics. Smoky. Elegant light tannins. Suave dark fruit flavors
strung up by high acidity. Complex, leather and mineral core. Balanced
with chewy, fine tannic finish. Great value at $10 (there's a story there).
Drink over next 2-4 years. 89+
97 Del Dotto Cab Franc--Medium dark. Cherry, cassis, floral nose.
Suave, lush, very long with rather noticeable tannins. Healthy dose of
oak. Top notch. Will improve over next 2-4 years. A lot going on in this
wine. 92+
97 Pride Mountain Cab Franc--Medium dark purple. Smoky dark berry
bouquet. Sweet plum fruit. Big, structured, long and tannic. Neees 4-5
years. Potential for layers of complexity. 93+
97 Fox Creek Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve--Medium purple.
Sweet cassis and framboise nose. Plush complex fruit framed by oak.. Cherry,
black raspberry. Linear zippy high acidic, tighly tannic structure.
Finishes fairly smooth. Needs 8-12 years. Fairly impressive. 92+
95 Arrowood Cab Reserve--Medium dark Burgundy red. Somewhat funky
bouquet at first showing cherry, dark floral, some nutty/nutmeg aromas.
Sumptuous fruit, tightly wound, acidic, dense fruit. Very tannic, very
long. Toasted oak on finish. Needs 6-10 years. 93+
96 Pride Mountain Claret Reserve--Dark violet. Beautiful forward
nose showing suave oak, plum, dried flowers. Lush, smooth, really top rate.
Balanced, deep, rich. Very beautiful, complex mid-palate envelopes the
tastebuds. Layers of dark fruit, lead pencil, earth, carbon. Very
long. A fabulous wine that could handle 8-12 years of cellaring. 94+
96 Pride Mountain Cabernet Reserve--Very dark purple. Smoky,
bit closed nose. Lush, ripe, rich, suave, classic CA cab. Gorgeous. Velvet
and power (you know the cliche...). Very complex. Seemless, but solid tannins
give very long finish. Cocoa, blueberry, cedar. Chewy. Should cellar 6-15
years. 96+
97 JC Cellars Petite Sirah St. George Vyd.--Very dark red. Huge
perfumy, oaky, toasty, floral nose. Lush sweet fruit bomb. Chewy, very
highly extracted. Black raspberry. Fun wine. 90
97 Babcock Syrah Black Label--Dark violet. Suave forward bouquet
with floral, chocolate, black cherry aromas. Very ripe, lush, chewy, extracted
dark plum. Very tannic, very long. Impressive. Give this 6-8 years. 93+
93 Peter Lehmann Shiraz Stonewell--Medium dark. Huge cassis nose.
Lush, ripe, delicious. Soft, sweet, bright red raspberry fruit. Good tannic
support. Light oak on finish. Drink over 2-4 years. 92
97 Trevor Jones Shiraz Wild Witch Reserve--Medium dark red violet.
Killer nose. Mint, black raspberry, smoky oak. Very high acidic core. Boisenberry
flavor. Not bad, but not my style. Needs 1-2 years. 88
94 Henschke Shiraz Hill of Grace--Blackish maroon. Sexy, warm,
smoky black cherry nose. Really suave, dark cherry. Smooth, lacking some
core complexity. After an hour, picks up gamy aroma, some complexity, and
puts on more weight. Should evolve over next 5+ years. Clunkier than the
Grange that follows. 94+
94 Penfold's Grange--Dark red violet. Bouquet dominated by eucalyptus.
Sweet cherry fruit, high acid, firm tannic finish. Lacking mid-palate density,
but should gain weight with time. Needs 8-15 years. Has more mid-palate
harmony than HOG. A classic Grange in the making with potential 98 point
status. 95+
More lunatic rantings from the bloody pulpit:
This is easily the best Lazy Acres tasting yet. Of course, any tasting
that had HOG, Grange, and the Pride Reserves would easily constitute a
great event. But let's start at the beginning...
Bob Wesley scored a coup with the 94 La Sizeranne. Considering that
the wine should normally sell for $60+, I am happy to report that
the sell off is NOT because of problems with the wine. It is a decent,
quality issue from Chapoutier that is generally scoring around the 90 point
mark vintage after vintage. Though the 94 is not as dense and fruitful
as better vintages, this is neither austere nor one-dimensional. Not destined
for greatness, it is still a mighty fine every day $10 bargain bin wine
that won't break the bank and will offer sufficient name recognition value
that the true wine geek should not be ashamed to serve it to Parker-philes
and other wine lovers alike.
Of the two cab francs (for crying out loud, Bob, where was the Maya?!),
most preferred the Pride Mtn. The Del Dotto was somewhat controversial
and I quite liked it, but others found it a tad unusual. I cannot say why.
Pride has been on a tear the last few years, and this 97 CF keeps the streak
alive. Bravo! One of the best CA francs, period. It shows classic breeding.
The Fox Creek cab was also controversial, more for the style, I think,
than for the substance. The palates raised on expansive, low acid CA cabs
seemed to not care for it, but I allowed the wine to speak from its roots.
Why should Aussie cab need to be made in that international style?
I was impressed by this wine, and I think it has a fine future as the acidity
settles down. It may even be a better FOOD WINE than most CA cabs
(with ever so much overblown oak). Imagine that. If you got 'em, stash
'em away for a decade.
The Arrowood cab reminded me of the young Montelenas, tightly wound,
dense, closed in, only hinting at its personality. In its formative years,
this wine may not so much please as impress. Give it time and it will shine.
95+ potential.
Yikes! Pride Mtn. score BIG with these two reserve wines. WOW and double
WOW! Add Pride Mtn to the CA elite. The Reserve Cab is magnificent
and could hit the 98 point range when it reaches its peak.
Finally, Australia's two greatest wines. This was my first HOG, and
I was not disappointed. Not knowing how it compared to previous vintages,
I can only say that the 94 has a lot of stuffing, and should it all harmonize
over time, it will be great. But for now its clunkiness is apparent when
tasted alongside the Grange. Having earlier this year tasted through a
vetical of Grange, I can place the 94 among the best. Though not as showy
as older Grange, this one has all it needs to impress a decade down the
road. |
