Top Australian Cabernets Shine in Singapore

Last Saturday afternoon it was an enormous pleasure for me to present to a well-informed and influential audience in Singapore a tasting comprising twelve of Australia’s finest cabernets. As part of the Ritz Carlton Hotel’s hugely successful New World of Food and Wine Festival, the tasting provided me with the opportunity to draw due attention to this rather forgotten category of Australian red wine.

The first bracket comprised the classically elegant and complete Mount Mary Quintet 2000, the perfumed and willowy Wantirna Estate Amelia Cabernet Merlot 1999 and Giaconda’s sumptuous and intensely flavoured Cabernet Sauvignon 2001. On the day the Mount Mary appeared rather closed and backward, which is unusual since it was the only wine sourced directly from its distributors in Singapore. It opened up slowly, but was made to work hard against the charm and intensity of both other cabernets. The Giaconda, with some pretty smart and overt oak on display, was rated very highly by the attendees.

The next bracket featured the latest and indeed greatest from Lake’s Folly, the 2001 estate red, against two absolute classics from Margaret River, the Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 1996 and Cullen’s Cabernet Merlot 1999. Living up to all its charm and reputation, the 1996 Moss Wood was both sumptuous and smooth, a polished and readily approachable cabernet of both immediate appeal and longevity. Not to be outshone, the Cullen flaunted its sheer quality and class with a silkiness and length that went on forever. A flamingo next to the more extroverted, peacock-like Moss Wood. Sitting comfortably next to these wines was the tightly focused, spicy and satiny Lake’s Folly, whose pristine fruit, balance and suppleness stamp it as the best red yet to wear this label. It shone.

Coonawarra contributed the next three wines, comprising Orlando’s stellar Jacaranda Ridge 1998, Parker’s sumptuous 1996 Terra Rossa Reserve and Katnook Estate’s opulently ripened and oaked 1996 Odyssey. Its evolution of slightly meaty, gamey flavour, its silkiness and smoothness won the Parker a large share of admirers. The magnificently powerful and balanced Jacaranda Ridge revealed some deep, dark minty fruit of great concentration, plus some finely handled oak and firm tannins. Its extended maturation in cedary, chocolatey oak and a suggestion of ultra-ripeness conspired to make the Odyssey look less complex and harmonious than the other two wines, but its depth and structure were admirable nevertheless.

The final bracket combined Primo Estate’s Joseph Moda Amarone Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 1992 entirely from McLaren Vale fruit with Penfolds’ Bin 707 from 1996 Coonawarra and Barossa predominant and Rockford’s wonderful Cabernet Sauvignon 1996. The Joseph perfectly married cedar, chocolate and animal hide characters and still lively primary fruit with significant length and strength; the quality and firmness of its tannins something to behold. The combination of a cooler, but perfectly ripe Barossa season and Rockford’s enduring philosophy of balance and tightness leads the Rockford to present some beautifully sweet and ripe flavours, tightly wound around some fine, powder-like tannin. The 707 was everything it is and should be, simply one of the best of its kind. There’s been some easing back of fruit, but it’s as sumptuous, firm and powerful as ever. A pup to be sure, but one of extraordinary pedigree.

A truly great tasting, and one of the best I have ever presented on an exclusively Australian theme. However the most gratifying thing about the event was the quality of the reception that these wines received. The established greats were recognised as such, while the cabernets from makers like Wantirna Estate and Giaconda, new to most of the audience, were genuinely appreciated. There is certainly a place for Australia’s elite wines in Singapore. Please login to post comment