I’m enthusiastic about this producer’s wines. They are invariably informed by a seriousness of intent that makes them difficult to dismiss, even if the wines themselves are not always perfect. So it was with this wine when I first tasted it some time ago. 2006 was a notoriously difficult vintage in Margaret River, red grapes often proving difficult to ripen sufficiently to make an acceptable wine. I chose not to write this up initially, as I found it challenging to the point of significantly reduced enjoyment. Too green, too aggressive, too hard. But I pulled out a bottle tonight and thought it might be time to see how it has moved along.
As it turns out, it’s significantly more drinkable at this stage of its life. It will never be a charming beauty like the 2007, but the astringent aggressiveness I remember has faded significantly. The nose shows typically Cabernet Franc aromas – fresh red capsicum mostly – floating over the top of richer, more plush Merlot fruit and a pile of pencil shavings. It’s completely varietal, though certainly on the lean, mean side. I can still see the green edges that I found difficult, but they’ve softened into the wine, becoming part of its aroma profile rather than pulling it apart.
The palate tells a similar story, though the transformation is perhaps more dramatic here. Again, I doubt this will ever shed its fundamentally lean vibe, but the elements are now well balanced for drinking enjoyment. In particular, the acid works really well to create impact on entry and power through the middle palate. It’s the sort of orange juicy red wine acid that is mouthwatering and a bit edgy. Fruit flavours are bright and firmly in a red berry spectrum, though edges of oak drag the flavour profile in a somewhat darker direction at times. Light to medium bodied, there’s a slight lack of drive through the after palate and finish, and the wine threatens to expose its slightly green core at times. It manages to complete the journey, though, thumbing its nose at a bad vintage even as it works hard to deny the scars it bears.
A very pleasant surprise.
Blue Poles Vineyard
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Retail
It is the wine I’m personally most proud of. The growing season was diabolical, I still had my training wheels on (2nd vintage in effect) and as such spend 100’s of hours in the vineyard.
We leaf plucked by hand every vine, we dropped half the fruit, and I reduced irrigation to minuscule levels … just to get it ripe enough to pick. I like the fact that this wine has some “scars” and it brought home to me how much work is involved to make fine wine. And I hope one day it has a moment in the sun when all its disparate elements come together and it drinks the bomb 🙂
Cheers
Beautifully written Julian.
Could I ask how long you had it open before getting stuck in?
Hey thanks!
I drank this over the course of an evening, so I’d say this note reflects the wine after a couple of hours’ air.