Tahbilk Tastings

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TAHBILK 150th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION VERTICAL TASTINGS

1	1981	DD 2019 ALC 13.0	Deep red colour. Spicy aromas strike immediately. Palate displays some nice spicy fruit with an effortless long spine of tannins and fine acid sustaining the finish. Has a slightly gamey finish and there's a little bit of funk. Firmish high tannin finish.	16
2	1982	DD 1917 ALC 13.0	Brick red colour. Has a gamey camphor character on the nose which is distinctive of this vineyard. Medium weight with firmish tannins and a slightly dry finish suggesting the fruit is starting to tire.	15.5
3	1984	DD 1669 ALC 12.5	Lighter colour a suggestion of volatility. Lacks fruit weight with those tannins and high acid evident. It's a more aggressive wine and really lacks the generosity you might expect, even from this style.	15
4	1986	DD 1684 ALC 13.5	Bright red crimson colour. Nose has a spicy savouriness to it. The palate is seamless and firm with the ripe firmish tannins controlling the long finish. It's deceptive wine with a lot of underlying power present in a slightly angular fashion. Excellent wine. Got even better with breathing	18.5
5	1987	DD 1481 ALC 12.5	This has a real pong of green mercaptan I suspect. It's loaded with volatility.	14
6	1988	DD 1888 ALC 12.5	Light pale red crimson colour. Spicy gamey savoury and slightly green characters. It's a very firm style with tannins controlling the medium weight palate.	15
7	1990	DD 1810 ALC 11.5	Lighter pale red colour. The nose is a strong petroleum-like character. Palate is firm and very dry. A difficult wine. (second bottle: This was better with some sweet fruit character albeit on a medium weight palate.)	13.5 15.5(#2)
8	1991	DD 1838 ALC 13.0	Nice crimson red colour. The nose is slightly red berry and leather with a little sprinkle of spice. The palate is still very firm and tight with the tannins dominant. Some slightly sweet succulent fruit on the palate but it remains a firm and unyielding wine style. Pretty well held together and the fruit is still holding	17.5
9	1992	DD 1798 ALC 12.5	Medium red colour. Spicy camphor and slightly under ripe tannin aromas. Very firm and tight palate with string firm tannins and subdued fruit. Palate is really tight with a dry savoury finish. Fruit dominated by the tannins	15
10	1994	DD 1509 ALC 12.5	Medium red crimson colour. Seems to have a little oak influence. The nose is dry and savoury with a dry dusty character. The palate is still firm but the fruit sweetness is appealing. One of the most seamless wines in the bracket. As it breathed it got thinner and greener.	15.5
11	1995	DD 1749 ALC 12.5	Crimson red colour. Has more obvious sweet stewed fruit characters on the nose. The palate is quite lean and medium weight but the fruit shows a degree of sweetness. A degree of astringency on the finish.	16
12	1996	DD 1466 ALC 13.0	Deeper colour. There is a greater depth of fruit on the nose. Firmish medium weight palate with good integration of fruit and oak. I like the finish here with the acid and tannins a lot friendlier. Not as tough as some of the wines and striking a very good balance.	17.5
13	1997	DD 1649 ALC 13.5	Pretty poor bottle which is largely stripped of flavor. The finish shows some harsh tannin and clearly lacks fruit weight. Second bottle was a lot better with more generous fruit characters.	14
14	1998	DD 1808 ALC 13.5	Deeper colour. This is a riper fuller style with more generosity on the palate. Nice ripe fruits on the nose with a little licorice and savoury characters. The palate is seamlessly integrated and finely balanced. Quite long and precise with an effortlessness. Perhaps not the best bottle with the firm assertive tannins overtaking the fruit	16
15	1999	DD 1665 ALC 14.0	This has a strongly stewed fruit character on the nose suggesting fairly ripe picking. A little prune and savoury meatiness. It's integrated yet lacks the effortless ease of length of some of these wines. More chunky.	16
16	2000	DD 1587 ALC 13.5	Deep colour. The nose is ripe and slightly dusty at the same time. Red fruits with a little earthy savouriness. Seamless elegant wine with good fruit and oak integration. Nice wine.	16.5
17	2001	DD 1756 ALC 13.0	Bright almost crimson red colour. It's quite brilliant. Aroma is lifted and lively with a distinctive perfumed scent. Really good oak treatment here and the wine seems to have a freshness and life in it for the first. In fact it appears a little floral.	17
18	2002	DD 1455 ALC 13.5	This wine appears slightly simple and dull. Really lacks fruit weight albeit the wine is medium weight. Quite bitter on the finish.	15
19	2003	DD 1818 ALC 13.5	Crimson red colour. The nose has a fresh floral perfume supplemented with a little light cedary character. The palate retains a typical tight restrained firmness and at this stage is unyielding in the fruit sweetness. It is a wine that will need further cellaring.	16.5
20	2004 current	DD 1648 ALC 14.5	Deeper colour and more alcohol. Has a stewed savoury aroma with some earthy nuances. Perfumed with plenty if fruit weight delivered on a medium body. The tannins are ripe and the fine grained oak adds to the mix. Nicely made wine and one of the most appealing in this bracket.	17.5
21	2005	DD 1636 ALC 13.0	Deep colour. Spicy savoury dark plum aromas. Palate showing just a hint of oak dominance. The fruit is quite beautiful and the oak and fruit perfectly integrated. It has good palate weight and intensity. Still obviously very young.	17
22	2006	DD 1803 ALC 13.0	Medium body in colour and palate weight. Beautiful fragrant aromas of cedar and cherry plum with a sprinkle of spice. Palate is seamless and precise with an effortless easy length that stamps the quality if this wine.	18.5
23	2007	DD 2042 ALC 14.0	One of the darkest colours of the bracket. Very ripe intense fruit with those savoury plum characters and light cedar evident. There's a little camphor character. But it is more extracted and firm and has been driven hard to get the best out of it.	17

The fruit from the 1860 vines shiraz was kept separate and released as the "1860 vines" shiraz for the first time from the 1979 vintage. There was no release in 1980, 1983 or 1993.

Used original open vats with a mix of old and new oak. The 1860 vines wines is fermented in small stainless steel and have been plunging the cap. The rest don't get plunged. It is small oak matured and there is more new oak influence in these wines than in other wines we make.

Recent vintages have been very small and a lot of the 1860s vines were lost in the frosts of October 2006.

Every grape off the vineyard goes into this wine and we won't be changing that in the future.

The switch small fermenters was in 2007. Before that there was still some small open fermenters being used (oak).

Best wines were the 2004, 2006, 1996

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