Later in the year, Wynns Coonawarra is attempting to stage a major vertical of its popular benchmark, the black label Cabernet Sauvignon. Problem is, it’s short of a few vintages from the 1960s, especially from the seasons 1960, 1963 and 1964. Back then, the varietal cabernet was labelled as ‘Claret’, so this is the identity of the wine currently being sought. If you happen to own a well-cellared bottle or two of these wines, give winemaker Sue Hodder a call on +61 8 8736 2222. She’s willing to swap a selection of recent Wynns vintages for whatever it is you’re prepared to exchange. On the Wynns note, there is one less bottle of 1966 Hermitage in existence. Singapore restaurateur and doyen of Australian wine in these parts, Michael Hadley, pulled the cork on one the other night, after a dinner of old and new Lake’s Folly wines at Original Sin in Holland Village. The dinner was, incidentally, the first wine event in 20 years that I have hosted with purely vegetarian food, and it was sensational. Back to the wine – which came from a bottle of perfect fill and an exceptional cork. Making the point yet again that you don’t need over-ripe fruit, high alcohols and assertive oak to fashion an Australian red that is steeped in flavour and able to cellar as well as (virtually) anything from Bordeaux, my notes for the wine read: Wonderful wine in the very peak of health. Deeply coloured, still largely a bright, lustrous red wiht hints of mahogany. Superbly evolved – scented with meaty, smoky and chocolate-like aromas of Chesterfield leather, cedar and cigarboxes. Full to medium in structure, but packing great richness and texture, it’s deeply and powerfully flavoured with mouthfilling spicy fruit and leathery, chocolate-like bottle-aged complexity. Built on a firm, and still slightly gravelly spine of powdery tannins, it’s still finished by lively, refreshing acidity. Long and savoury, its structure is more than merely intact. A wine of exceptional balance and harmony, not to mention remarkable youth. Extraordinarily enough, I still think it’s a few years from its apogee. (Coonawarra, 19.3, drink 1996-2006+). Something tells me Sue Hodder would swap a bit of recent red to get her hands on some of this as well…
