Tahbilk Tastings

Page - 2

TAHBILK 150th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION VERTICAL TASTINGS

1	1948	ALC 12.5	This wine was totally shot. It was bought at auction and completely gone.
2	1958	ALC 12.5	Leather and spice aroma. Very nice and beautifully retained fruit intensity. Colour is pale brick dust red. Sweet fruit palate, fine tannins and integrated older oak. Fruit is dominant with some warm characters. Lovely style and very good bottle of this wine. Has some subtle gamey meaty characters as well.	17.5
3	1961		Pale red and just so slightly brownish colour. The bottle seems a little tired with the palate showing some slightly musty characters. Fruit appears to have gone.	15
4	1965	DD 1463 ALC 12.5	Colour is deeper red. Nose has some slightly earthy dusty spicy overtones without getting that really leathery character. Palate displaying fruit sweetness with supple tannins and medium weight fruit intensity. Well balanced and poised with a beautiful red berry and slightly spicy intensity.	17.5
5	1966	DD 1730 ALC 13.0	Lovely scented aroma. The colour is red brick and palish. Spicy rd fruits on the nose with a subtle leathery complexity. Palate is delicious. It's medium weight with spices and leather. The fruit is still alive and in excellent balance. A little rustic and edgy on the finish.	18.5
6	1967	DD 1646 ALC 12.0	Very pale colour. Somewhat muted aroma of spice and red berry. Palate is a little thin and tired and suspect there is some volatility. Lacks fruit sweetness and weight.	15
7	1968	DD 1797 ALC 12.5	Very palate colour. Showing a lot of oxidation and the bottle is looking pretty tired. Lost all of the fruit sweetness. Simple lightly fruited wine.	14.5
8	1971	DD 1850 ALC 13.0	Good colour. The aroma is deep red berry, spice and a little leather. It's still powerful and showing some excellent fruit character. The palate is a seamless integrated thing with riper fruit flavours and fully ripe supple tannins. Has a sweet middle palate but it finishes dry. Very good wine probably a little tired, but not by much.	17.5
9	1976	DD 1858 ALC 13.0	One of the darkest colours of the bracket. Intense smells of mature fruit with savoury spice. Some firmish tannins support the rich fruit. Slightly grippy and with hints of tar and licorice. A chunkier style.	16
10	1979	DD 1811 ALC 13.0	Deeper colour and showing some slightly earthy rustic character. Might be just a hint of brett. The finish is a little hard and bitter supporting this. Good mid palate weight.	14.5
11	1981	DD 2019 ALC 13.0	Mid range colour. The nose is showing some slightly tired characters, while the palate is a little bitter and hard. Nice sweet fruit characters in the middle but falls away. Simple. Might be a little heavy on tannins and question about whether the fruit will fall away.	15
12	1986	DD 1684 ALC 13.5	Very deep red. Exotic smells of licorice, red berry and earthiness. The palate is chunky and rich without the lift of some of the earlier vintages. Clearly a riper vintage with more substantial tannins. A firm wine with robust mid palate and those firm tannins carrying the finish.	16.5
13	1991	DD 1838 ALC 13.0	Medium weight and light red colour. Scented aroma with nice spices and a touch of leather The palate is medium weight but with ripe supple sweet fruit. Fine ripe tannins and understated oak. Still retains a firm structure with substantial tannin support.	17.5
14	1998	DD 1808 ALC 13.5	Deep colour. The aroma has a slightly gum leafy character. The palate is firmish and showing the ripe fruits of this vintage. Seamless and still very tight in structure it is still concealing the real flesh and fruit of the vintage. May not have been the best bottle but it's still a very good wine.	17.5
15	1999	DD 1665 ALC 13.0	Red in colour. Medium weight. The palate is softer and quite generous though without the robust tannin structure of some vintages. It's neatly held together and focused to a long finish. Nice mid palate with the finish dry.	17
16	2000	DD 1587 ALC 13.0	Mid red colour. Sweet ripe fruit is medium weight with good flavor intensity. Seems still very tight and reserved for a wine of this age. Slight astringency on the finish.	15.5
17	2001	DD 1756 ALC 14.0	Deep red colour. The nose is appealing with enticing scented red berry perfumes and a little sprinkle of spice. Seamless medium bodied palate displaying some very nice fruit sweetness held with fine tannins and a quite racy acid.	17
18	2002	DD 1455 ALC 13.5	Medium colour is in the red spectrum. The nose is slightly muted and the palate a little dumb. Perhaps not a great bottle. Very firm and astringent on the finish.	15
19	2003	DD 1818 ALC 15.0	Deep red colour. Very ripe which is reflected in the amount of alcohol. Sweet ripe fruit with stacks of flavor though it retains its medium body. Pleasant fleshy wine almost in the context of the house style. Ripe tannins and appealing fruit. Marks a new style direction it would seem.	17
20	2004 (First screwcap)	DD 1648 ALC 15.0	Deep red colour. Lovely lightly scented aromas of spice and red berry. Palate is richly textured seamlessly integrated. Has a firmness on the middle palate but the tannins are ripe and supple. Lingering persistent palate with some really attractive sweet red berry and red currant influences.Warm finish.	17.5
21	2005	DD 1636 ALC 15.0	Deeper colour. Showing more weight and a very arm finish. The tannins are ripe but retain a suppleness. The fruit is slightly fleshy but with a core structure. A little grip on the finish. Nicely balanced but would like less alcohol.	16
22	2006 (Current vintage)	DD 1803 ALC 14.0	Medium weight wine. The bouquet is slightly spice with some subtle light cedar. Fine tannins and medium body supporting the gentle fruit flavours. Well structured with good length. Really like the weight here and the fact that it is lower in alcohol. A most stylish and elegant wine.	18.5
23	2007	DD 2042 ALC 15.0	Very deep. Sweet red berry aromas with fragrant spices and meaty savoury nuances. There's plenty of alcohol yet it seems to carry this well and it is not intrusive into the overall wine.	17.5

Best wines: 1966, 2006 and 2004.

<< PREVIOUS PAGE

NEXT PAGE >>