In the early 2000s, thanks largely to Robert Parker, I remember being subjected by friends to a never-ending fountain of young, over-the-top Aussie reds at our otherwise civilized Saturday tasting. One in particular, the 1998 Dead Arm Shiraz, is etched – for better or worse – into my memory. While I thought I had left that chapter behind me, a pour of the 2015 la Vieille Cure Fronsac jolts me back to those tastings.
I can’t believe a Fronsac is so seemingly related. It’s not as dense as the Dead Arm was – but it has that same mix of brooding black fruit, dill, and eucalyptus I remember. There’s acidity present – but it combines with the oakiness to add a sour-ish note to the wine. The VC is the definition of spoofified wine.
The label is terrific and it’s richly fruited. I’m sure some will really like this. I bought a few, remembering the 2000, which I enjoyed. I think I’ll save the rest for holiday gift giving.
I don’t think Dead Arm is a bad or spoofy wine. I poured a 2002 to Frank Murray, Brig Campbell and others recently and they liked it, and they’re no fans of spoofy wines.
I would think the 2002 DA would be more over the top than the 1998. The 2003 we had last year could have been mistaken for a northern Rhone or cold climate/coastal Syrah from the US.
Watching the up and coming wine makers making wines closer to the Aussie wines in saturation and ABV while getting good press tells me wines will continue to change. Who drove the saturated Aussie wines? More people loved it than hated it until about 2005 or 2006 when US wines got fruit forward and higher in ABV. How many of you here fell in love with a wine early on, got on their wine club and now won’t drink it because your “palate developed?”
1000% agree with this. Popped an 03 Dead Arm a couple months ago for my tasting group double blind, and most guesses centered on Cabernet with a split between new world and old.
Sorry you didn’t like the VC, Jim, although not entirely surprised! I too liked the 00, but VC has got more heavy handed since. I gave up a few years back but I still have a couple each of 06 and 09, which I’ve been skirting around for some years now. Eventually I’ll have to knuckle down and try them.
I thought the '05 was excellent; the '07 with a few years was a really nice lighter styled BDX from a bad vintage. The '10 shows promise. But the '09 is quite poor, and not for the reasons you might expect. I found it medium weight but lacking in character or depth, with a noticeably hollow mid-palate, which I noticed from more than one bottle despite the fact that mid-palate concentration is not a thing I tend to pick up on or look for in wines. So I’d say at best there is inconsistency there, and at worst they have changed from what made them appealing in the past.
I’m not making a big thing about this, but it’s interesting to note that when the 09 came out, RMP raved about it (93 pts) whereas NM was not so convinced (83).
I opened a bottle of the 2010 a couple of years ago and I found it to be modern-styled and marked with quite a bit of cocoa from the (presumably) heavy oak treatment. In my estimation, it did not cross over into the “spoof” realm and was somewhat enjoyable to me, even though I am more averse to oak and spoof than most.
Well I tried both the Vieille Cure 06 and the 09 last night: they were absolutely awful. I got through a glass and a half of 06 first - strong, syrupy base, but no finish and no structure. The rest went down the drain. Irritated, I pulled out the 09 which was even worse - overcooked, 14.5°, even stronger, like alcoholic cough mixture crossed with Châteauneuf du Pape, but strangely without any fruit, apart from some kirschy flavours. I can’t believe I used to like this estate. 93 points for the 09? Whatever had he been on? One glass was already too much - straight down the drain. A horrible experience.
Wow tough crowd. I might have a couple of these in random vintages, but never loaded up on it.
I like La Dauphine in Fronsac. Keeps pretty well.
Dead Arm had its fans in a different era. I don’t think the d’Arenberg higher end Rhonish stuff aged well. I liked the Ironstone Pressings on release in some years, but it seemed to evolve poorly, and I stopped buying it after the OZ dollar ran up, and the importation/distribution seemed to get narrower. I don’t think I missed anything
Arv, I think over time our taste evolves, for better or for worse. I used to like VC and bought it every year. After the 00 vintage, it did seem to veer further into a particular style of wine, but perhaps that coincided with my own veering away from that kind of taste. I could say the same for several Fronsac estates like Moulin Haut Laroque, or La Dauphine. I gave up on the latter after the 08 vintage, for the same reason that I’ll avoid the others. It doesn’t mean they’re bad wines and I hope you’ll enjoy yours!
IMNSHO, the 1998 Aussies are coming into their own right now and are phenomenal. I had one '98 Dead Arm that I got as a throw away at an auction and it was outstanding. Here’s my note from a recent 1998 Aussie:
1998 Fox Creek Shiraz Reserve- Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale (9/6/2018)
I love these 1998 Aussies. Sweet expressive fruit right out of the bottle. Smooth and soft but flavorful. (93 pts.)
I don’t have any Fronsac (I thought I did but I guess I drank my last one), but I’ll trade you a 2000 Château La Fleur de Jaugue, a St. Emillion Libournais (next door to Fronsac) for the Dead Arm.
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}