TN: 2004 Clarendon Hills Grenache Hickinbotham

WINE TALK
1

Dinner at “the club” tonight with the in laws. Our club has a very good wine list, and many of the best deals are from Australia. So, I ordered this one…

Fascinating nose that stayed with us the whole night. Eucalyptus, menthol, it screamed of old Cabernet from Napa, but it clearly did not taste like that. I think, at first opening, it was in a shut down phase. I thought it was just old, but over time in the glass, this wine blossomed into a very pleasant drink. You will never confuse this wine for CDP, but the aromas kept me coming back. Not big and bold and overblown as you might expect. I would like to believe that this wine will not get better, but the first 30 minutes of lack of a mid palate and finish and then how that turned around, would indicate that this will hold up another few years.

My wife loved it, which surprised me a little.

When looking up Parker’s note on this (which he says to drink through 2014), I saw Jay Miller’s tasting note on the 2006…no drinking window…“The 2006 Grenache Hickinbotham Vineyard offers more aromatic complexity as well as several years of aging potential.”

Are we sure this guy gets paid for this work? Besides the 100 point Ringland wine with no TN, could there be a more useless tasting note than what he printed? He must have savored that one for 15 seconds.

2

Aussies at the Country Club?? Fortunately for my CC I am the member wine buyer. Nothing from kangarooville on our list. There are several NZ wines though that people have enjoyed and requested.

3

We have a very good buyer, he knows wine, I just joined, but I have known him for a few years. The list is pretty well rounded, although I saw Wayne Gretzky wine tonight for the first time.

4

I hope his wine is better than his Coaching.

5

I am somewhat surprised you liked this wine as much as you did. How did you find the oak levels? I never got Parker’s fascination with this winery.

I have only had the Gretzky Chard, as a member of a video tasting panel. It was innocuous but drinkable. For $19, it wasn’t the worst value in the world. I doubt I would buy it again. I would be curious how theother wines are. FWIW, the tasting can be viewed here: http://www.intowine.com/2007-no-99-unoaked-chardonnay-wayne-gretzky-estates-intowinetv-episode-78" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

6

Loren

The oak was of no consequence for me. Did not feel it. I have enjoyed many Clarendon Hills wines over the years (I drink plenty of over the top wines-Alto Moncayo, El Nido, Clarendon Hills, Two Hands, Clos Erasmus, SQN, Alban etc etc) but many of the over the top wines, I just find not well made.

That being said, I am not a believer that CH should be aged beyond 8-10 years. I have had bad luck with old Astralis.

7

Nothing? No Western Australia Cabs? No Victoria Riesling or Pinot? No Penfolds St. Henri or Bin 707 or Brokenwood Graveyard? No Tyrell’s, Two Hands, Wynn’s John Riddock? No stickies?

I can do without the searing fruit bombs foisted off on an unsuspecting world in early years of this decade but we’re talking a friggin continent with 200 years of wine experience. A little baby with the bathwater perhaps?

[shrug.gif]

8

Amen! Really sad that the “critter assault” has maligned almost the entire wine industry in an awesome and varied country such as Australia.