My regular readers know I’ve been going back and reviewing my cellar insuring I haven’t forgot anything. Imagine the horror of waiting too long, opening a bottle only to find it undrinkable. That would be an unspeakable tragedy worthy of a trip to the confessional … forgive me father for I wasted alcohol :(.
You may wonder what is the value in your reading about a wine you can’t buy? Well it will give you some idea of what the aging potential of a wine may be as well as to allow you to learn at my expense 🙂
This one slipped through the cracks. I had expected it would keep until 2008 and only the other night cracked it. Oops. So I was reluctant. A BBQ striploin was on the menu so a mild over kept wine would not have done.
Cab/Merlot’s like this are always an odd one for me. The only purpose for the Merlot IMHO is to tame the cab. Let’s face it the chance of actually tasting the fruit forward plummy nature of a Merlot with a Cab are slim to none.
Upon opening the cork was deep inky black. Classic Aussie. Poured into the glass the wine was quite dark with some browning around the edges, a classic sign of an aged wine. As it gets past it’s prime this brown becomes more and more pronounced. On the nose are some mild elegant black fruits with nothing in particular jumping out at me. On the mid pallet, right out of the bottle this wine is dominated by strong spices, pepper with some underlying fruit still there. 1/2 hour in the decanter did the trick and the spicy nature of this wine was more in check. The next day even more so! I was shocked to find that even after 11 years this is still a big wine. After the time in the decanter the mid pallet is dominated by red fruits currents and cherries, with the cab franc quite prominent. On the finish there are firm but smooth tannins, on a lovely velvety medium finish. I can not believe how well this wine has held up. Still a solid 90. It held up really well to the striploin and complemented it nicely!
From the LCBO web site at the time: (be sure and save ANYTHING you can about the wine you are going to cellar at time of purchase!)
Margaret River, Western Australia (D) 750 mL (Vasse Felix) Vasse Felix’s Cabernet/Merlot is a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc. Tasting note: Rich and generous, redolent of currant, cherry, mint and spice, with the tiniest hint of herb sneaking in on the round, beautifully polished finish. Drink now through 2008. Score – 90. (Harvey Steiman, www.winespectator.com, Sept. 30, 2002) 947879 CABERNET/MERLOT 2000 $ 24.95 Featured 3/9/2004
Currently not in the LCBO.
Copyright John Galea for CanadianWineGuy.com
