TN: 1998 Parker Terra Rossa “First Growth” Coonawarra Estate. Do you remember the Australia mania that Bob Parker spun out in the early 2000s. This is a remnant of my buying wine based on scores and a lesson learned long ago, but not long ago enough. It is good to revisit our foibles. So, ok, this is definitely not the worst of those errors, but it makes laugh to think the Wine Advocate gave this 96 points and led me to plonk down $45 back in the day. Anyway, on the positive side, this Bordeaux-blend does not come off as “hot” as so many Aussies are, at a respectable 13.5%. But there is just no there there. The fruit has faded not into complexity of age, but into obscurity. A hint of eucalyptus on the nose is not enough to hold one’s interest. 82 points.
the 1996 is a joyous delight right now, very much BDX, very little anywhere else
I got “very little anywhere else,” but not much Bordeaux.
Drew,
I would not call this producer/cuvee typically a particularly “parkerized wine”. It had a lot of respect/reputation in Australia well before Parker started slinging scores around. In fact I’m a little surprised he scored it at all, let alone highly.
Now 1998 was a notoriously hot dry year, so it’s probably atypical for the wine. I may have a bottle of this, so I’ll try to pull the cork soon.
Clayton
Drew,
I was living in Sydney when this was released, In fact I tasted it out of barrel, it was quite a “worked” wine and looked promising when first released, the shine went off it pretty quickly after that, there was quite a few wines coming out around that time that fit into this bracket.
You are drinking the wrong Aussies Drew. There are so many that are not hot. In fact we have some terrific cool climate regions here and there are many makers in the warmer regions making wines of balance and elegance.
The problem is that in the US there’s still an idea that all wines from Australia are made by Sparky Marquis and taste like Mollydooker.
It’s a huge place with coastal regions that are as cold as many other places, and it’s full of talented wine makers. Overall, I don’t think Bob did much good for Australia or Spain. Initially he didn’t seem to grasp the fact that neither country was uniform from one end to the other, and when he finally did get it, it was too late.
Clayton’s comment is interesting, as 1998 was hyped to the rafters in Australia, and like the young(ish) newly enthused wine hobbyist I was, I believed the hype coming from the long-established Aussie critics.
There are some very good wines, but these days I’d think twice about a warm climate region talking up a warm-hot vintage. I’d certainly be looking towards those producers who deliver a little restraint in their style
I have just 5 bottles left, 4 Wynns John Riddoch (the one bottle opened I found nicely restrained) and one Wirra Wirra ‘Penley’ which I’m told is ready to drink, so may crack in the next year or two
Of those drunk, too many clumsy Penfolds wines, the St Henri being best of a decidedly average bunch, and Wynns Black Label the only shining star. For too many, cellaring didn’t really achieve much. Much more enjoyable to me were Craiglee Shiraz and Best’s Cab Sav across the border in Victoria… and the vintage not as highly touted there. Make of that what you will.
Finally, much of what we know about Aussie wines is already out of date. Alcohol is being reined in sharply by many producers, such that there are a remarkable number of wines at 13/13.5%. New grapes, new techniques, new styles. It is to the Aussies credit that they don’t stand still long, and they’re not slow to change when they think change is necessary.
How are they reining in the alcohol? They basically have a very similar climate to California (Mediterranean) and could either pick earlier or water back. Curious, because I haven’t been tempted by the ‘Land of Plenty’ for years, not to mention selection Stateside really sucks.
Try some Margaret River Cabs or Cab blends. I’ve been especially impressed by Cullen. I’m sure Jeremy and others down under could recommend many more.
Cheers,
Hal
That’s a question best asked of the winemakers, but watering back is in theory illegal. I doubt anyone would admit to using ‘the black snake’, but then for something that doesn’t exist, why have a name for it…? Picking early certainly an option, plus using different vine training, or different yeast strains that result in less alcohol (I think I’ve seen this one talked about in respect of this recent trend). Different sites also present opportunities.
Interestingly enough, I have a bottle each of 2001 and 2002 Marquis Phillips Integrity Shiraz. I am going to open one up over the holidays but I am not sure what to expect!
For sure,
but I doubt that those wines are readily avalable in the states
I was never a fan of Parker Estate wines in general back then. The Wynn’s lineup is a much better example of the region, and I have a soft spot for Yalumba as well.
Yalumba did some pretty good wines and they weren’t too expensive either.
Todd - I will say that a few years ago I was really surprised by one of his wines. I’d decided that he hit my limit on wood and alcohol and so on. Then some guy brought a wine he served blind one night. It was clearly from a warm place, but wasn’t bad at all. Turns out it was a Henry’s Drive that was about 12 years old. Who knew? The wood had faded somewhat and the wine had picked up some tertiary notes - wasn’t too bad really. Let us know how those wines turn out.
Also not to forget Lindeman’s St George, Limestone Ridge and Pyrus. No idea what they’re like these days but the 1980s and 90s examples were fine.
John Riddoch.
I attend a Coonawarra Tasting most years and the Parker wines can be hit and miss. A couple of years back, the Terra Rossa my pick of the event but this year they didn’t rate at all with me. As an aside, I also think that “First Growth” is a bit of a wanky term to have on an Australian wine.
Still around and usually fairly solid but they are part of the Treasury Portfolio along with Wynn’s and as a result they feel a bit neglected as a brand in my view.
Wynn’s is a pretty big operation with the highest profile of the region. The black label cabernet is a staple of Australian cellars and with the John Riddoch being the flagship cabernet of the winery it is generally a very high quality wine. Prices are rising sharply to match, as is Treasury’s way.
Coonawarra is an outpost for Yalumba. The Menzies is a decent wine year in, year out and the Cigar Cabernet often offers a good QPR
My personal favorite from the region is Balnaves, but I doubt that much of that is seen in the US
There was talk of a slip in quality from those three labels at the start of this century, and Paul is right (and arguably quite understated) about the brand management. Lindemans brand has been utterly trashed, now including cheap imported wines masquerading under this historic label. Considering the high regard for the the old 4 digit hunter shiraz and semillon bottlings, it’s a crazy level of mismanagement.
There was an interesting discussion on Auswine forum recently, with Casella (yellow tail) buying up Baileys from TWE. The concensus was that family run Casella is a business that is run an awful lot more sensibly than the behemoth of TWE. The feeling is that Baileys will survive and prosper under the new ownership, whereas it had a very uncertain existence with TWE. Similarly Seppelts has been trashed by TWE, the fortified business at least sold to someone who wanted to make it work, but the historic ‘Drives’ winery/cellar was in the process of being closed last time I heard, with the grapes having to be shipped to the neighbouring state (TWEs main complex is in South Australia).
We may not think much of the yellow tail product in wine terms, but it’s a genuine business success, and the feeling was Casella could become the major player in the Aussie market if they carry on making good decisions (and TWE keep making bad ones).