It is, on occasions, more than enough for winemakers simply to live up to expectations. Gary Farr and Vanya Cullen have more than achieved this with two astonishing wines from the stellar 2000 vintage. Sounds almost oxymoronic, doesn’t it, but the broadly under-achieving 2000 vintage was actually close to perfect for Geelong shiraz and Margaret River cabernet blends. I dropped in on Bannockburn’s 2000 harvest the day after the dam ran completely dry and while his crops were tiny, Farr was smiling. Margaret River’s vintage was also close to perfect, and none of its winemakers could conceal their delight. Bannockburn Shiraz 2000 There’s nothing mainstream about Bannockburn’s 2000 Shiraz. Farr has always said he’s made it like a pinot noir, and in 2000 the small yields of fully ripened and concentrated bunches have produced his most powerful yet. These have always been Rhoney styles, wild and spicy, occasionally quite herbal and sometimes very peppery. Because it ripens later than pinot noir, shiraz actually presents a greater viticultural challenge, as Farr’s habitual approach of deploying a large proportion of whole bunches can create herbal, stalky characters that exacerbate any under-ripeness in fruit. These influences tend to dissipate with time in the bottle, leaving complex, earthy, bony wines with tightness and fineness, and virtually nothing in common with mainstream Australian shiraz. Take that to an exceptional extreme and you have some idea of what the 2000 vintage delivers. It’s deeply aromatic, with wild, heady aromas of dark plum and cassis fruit, almost matched in intensity by exotic, musky spices and black pepper. There’s plenty of earthy, reductive character, and leathery development, plus carefully handled chocolate and vanilla French oak. Muscular, deeply concentrated and substantial, it’s also finely crafted and stylish. Its length of flavour is even better than that of the Giaconda 2000, and its tannins are as fine as they are firm. A great wine, rated 19.3 (drink 2012-2020), and a genuinely Australian expression of what Hermitage can do in a classic year. Cullen Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2000 There’s something rather predictable about the inclusion of this wine in this company, but I’m making no apologies. After naming the 1998 vintage as the OnWine Wine of the Year two years ago, I’m not the only one who expected great things in 2000 from this mature Margaret River vineyard. It’s clearly a warmer year wine than the 1998 edition, more expressive of the ‘restrained power’ approach than the 1998’s sheer elegance and fineness. Pure, almost essence-like aromas of cassis and dark plums have a vibrant floral quality, over a background of lightly dusty, cedary oak. Undertones of dark olives add to its complexity. Ripe and sumptuous, yet never jammy or out of shape, the palate is exceptionally long and seamless, with intense juicy dark cherry/plum flavour, creamy oak and tobaccoey merlot influence beautifully wound in by powder-dry tannins. A hint of bitumen attests to the warmth of the vintage, while the wine’s compactness and balance belies its strength. Marking hard, I rate it 19.3 (drink 2012-2020+), but wouldn’t be surprised to upgrade it in future.
