This is the first in a series of tasting notes that will attempt to give a personal view of how a number of Australian wines are ageing. This particular article is my notes from a recent tasting event. A group of Adelaide wine enthusiasts known as 'The Blacktongues' meet on a regular basis throughout the year and taste their way through a line-up of premium wines. The wine is served blind, and the group of 14 to 17 persons have an hour to decide on their favorite, least favorite and two other wines that would come in at second and third place.

My personal tasting notes and the voting results of the panel are listed below. As a comparison I thought it would be interesting to see how respected wine critic Jeremy Oliver's scores matched up with the panels view on the wine and it is interesting to note that most of the wines tasted were within Jeremy Oliver's drinking window and the only wine he scored below 90 points happened to be the one the tasting panel voted as their least preferred wine. I have also included the current price these wines fetch at auction (before commission) as this can also be a good (but not accurate as other factors influence demand besides quality) indicator on how the market views these wines.

Jeremy Oliver Scores and drinking windows were obtained via the Onwine website at http://www.onwine.com.au/
 

1. 1991 Lindemans Pyrus Cabernets, Coonawarra A garnet color, lightening at the edges with an aging nose of cedarbox, leather and black cherry.The palate is medium bodied with subtle berry flavours, some greeny characteristics, a bit light on the middle palate and falling a bit short on the finish. Personally I thought this was a nice wine but nothing special.
Personal rating: 5/10
Blacktongues panel: (5/18 best, 1/18 Least, 2.5/18 - Equal second/Third)
Jeremy Oliver: 95 1999 - 2003+
Current Auction price: $45

2. 1991 Seppelt Dorrien Cabernet Sauvignon, Barossa Valley A bright ruby color with some bricking at the edge. A wonderful, sweet, somewhat youthful nose with huge amounts of coffee-sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. Good body and fruit intensity with integrated tannins, blackberry, black olives and hints of sweet chocolate on a good finish. A very good wine with a nose I kept coming back to, this was one of my equal second choices of the evening.
Personal rating: 6/10
Blacktongues panel: (5/18 best, 0/18 Least, 4.5/18 - Equal second/Third)
Jeremy Oliver: 94 2003 - 2011
Current Auction price: $40

3. 1991 Lindemans Saint George Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra A purple color with some lightening at the edges, a perfumed, complex nose of blackfruits, violets and some chocolate. A good, medium bodied palate with good intensity and balance and a medium finish.
Personal rating: 5/10
Blacktongues panel: (0/18 best, 2/18 Least, 1/18 - Equal second/Third)
Jeremy Oliver: 95 2003 - 2011
Current Auction price: $40

4. 1991 Hollick Ravenswood Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra A nice garnet color with a complex, perfumed nose of sandalwood, cedar, violets, sweet berry, earth and after 30 minutes, gusts of rich, sweet chocolate. Medium bodied palate with good fruit intensity and a very nice, lingering finish of plums, fine berries and chocolate. A very nice wine with a compelling nose. This was one of my picks for equal second place.
Personal rating: 6/10
Blacktongues panel: (0/18 best, 3/18 Least, 3.5/18 - Equal second/Third)
Jeremy Oliver: 95 2003 - 2011+
Current Auction price: $45

5. 1990 Balnaves Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra A sharp garnet color with a very nice nose of sweet leather, berries and after about 30 minutes truffle aromas started to dominate. A medium bodied wine lacking palate complexity but tasting of nice, sweet black fruits that lingered for a pleasant amount of time.
Personal rating: 5/10
Blacktongues panel: (2/18 best, 1/18 Least, 1/18 - Equal second/Third)
Jeremy Oliver: ??
Current Auction price: $30

6. 1990 Lindemans Pyrus Cabernets, Coonawarra Some chocolate and mint were quite obvious on the nose but with an underlying greeness that I didn't much care for. Medium to full bodied palate with with good fruit intensity although somewhat lacking in the complexity department.
Personal rating: 4/10
Blacktongues panel: (2/18 best, 1/18 Least, 1/18 - Equal second/Third)
Jeremy Oliver: 90 1998 - 2002+
Current Auction price: $40

7. 1990 Wynns Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra (Also commonly referred to as their Black Label Cabernet) An opaque purple with a nose of black fruits and some menthol. A youthful, somewhat sloppy palate with intense savoury fruits and malty oak lacking in complexity. I thought this might have been a ring-in younger wine to throw us off. This was my least preferred for the evening.
Personal rating: 3/10
Blacktongues panel: (1/18 best, 2/18 Least, 1.5/18 - Equal second/Third)
Jeremy Oliver: 94 2010 - 2020
Current Auction price: $40

8. 1990 Seppelt Dorrien Cabernet Sauvignon, Barossa Valley A clear ruby color with a gorgeous savoury/sweet nose of soy, berries, pure, sweet liquorice and new leather. A medium bodied palate with good fruit intensity and complexity, integrated, silky tannins and excellent length. This was my preferred wine of the evening.
Personal rating: 7/10
Blacktongues panel: (2/18 best, 2/18 Least, 0.5/18 - Equal second/Third)
Jeremy Oliver: 91 2002 - 2010
Current Auction price: $45

9. 1991 Rosemount Show Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra A nice ruby/garnet color with a slightly pongy nose but with intense fruits, liquorice and some clove. The palate was mainly savoury with some black fruits but it didn't linger on the palate for long, drifting away in slight bitterness on the back palate. It was actually a toss up for me between this one and number 7 (Wynns Black Label) as to which I least preferred.
Personal rating: 4/10
Blacktongues panel: (1/18 best, 6/18 Least, 1/18 - Equal second/Third)
Jeremy Oliver: 87 2003 - 2011
Current Auction price: $18

Copyright © 2005 Mark Wickman, All Rights Reserved
About the Author
Mark Wickman is the owner and manager of Wickman's Fine Wine Auctions. You may reproduce this article providing you credit the author, email the author with the details of where it will be published and and add a link to the authors website (http://www.wickman.net )