Coldstream Hills Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Big, slippery, briary wine, flooded with liqueurous blackcurrant, olive and herbs and in lovely harmony with its oak. I really like it. Drink: 2012-2020. 95 points. Campbell Mattinson
I popped down to Coldstream Hills last week to take part in a couple of tastings. The first was a comparative of top end Pinot from Stefano Lubiana, Felton Road and Coldstream Hills and the second being this session - ‘Cabernet at the Crossroads’. Not sure why it was called that, I must not have been paying attention, but I do know that I felt on home ground getting back to that superior and most noble of grapes - Cabernet Sauvignon. This tasting amply illustrates how good the Yarra Valley can be at producing great Cabernet, and indeed I feel it is the regions best red grape, yet it’s such a shame there are not more producers. Coldstream, Oakridge, Mount Mary, Yeringberg, Wantirna Estate, Yarra Yarra would be the main players with some smaller, newer operations such as Hillcrest creating successful wines.
We were only given an hour to taste and cobble together some notes on the wines, so while I am reluctant to assign scores based on a small hasty taste, I will do so because it’s important to establish my perspective on relative quality. The notes are pretty much as typed up on the day and I provide a little of the background discussion and my own thoughts in order to provide a bit of additional insight - which is after all pretty much what these tastings are all about. The photo is of the upstairs tasting room at Coldstream and at the end of the table you can see winemaker Andrew Fleming but not James Halliday (to his right) who is obscured by a radiant god-like glow..
Juicy cassis, cedar, flicker of mint. Rich and varietal. Lush cherry/cassis, some chocolate and dried herb/tobacco flavours. Nice tannins – slight greenness but attractive. Smooth and fluid. Very smart wine. 94-95 points Gary Walsh, Winorama
