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The Tom Hill Archives

The Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium presents the musings and reflections of Tom Hill. We think it's great that Tom, who has sampled so many wines, has shared his tasting notes with us. We do have, or have had for sale a few of the wines Tom writes about, and we include a link to our stock page whenever it is a producer we carry (but since the stock page is kept up-to-date and the wines are sold, don't expect any but the newest of wines to show up in our stock!). Mostly though, since we specialize in County of Santa Barbara Wine and Central Coast Wine, we don't carry a lot of the wines Tom writes about. But we think it is important that you be able to have an idea what they're like in case you are planning to buy some somewhere, or have them in your own collection. Enjoy.

Here are Tom's notes from March 2, 1999:

Australian Rhones

Tasted last night a few Aussie Rhones:
  1. Torbreck Barossa Valley The Steading (Grenache/Mataro/Shiraz; 14.5%) '97: Dark color; intense grapey/strawberry/blackberry fragrant some oaked nose; tart/ sour grapey/strawberry/plummy earthy light oaked flavor; tart some metallic plummy/strawberry/grapey narrow/lean finish w/ some tannins; wonderful Grenache nose but very tart & lean on the palate.
  2. Veritas Barossa Valley Mourvedre(70%)/Grenache(30%) (14%) '97: Very dark color; deep plummy/Mourvedre dusty/earthy some oaked nose; soft/lush bit bitter quite oaked fairly rich plummy/Mourvedre flavor; long very oaked some bitter lush/ plummy/Mourvedre/earthy finish w/ some tannins; good Mourvedre character but pretty oaky & rather bitter.
  3. Greenock Creek Cornerstone Grenache (15.8%) '97: Med.dark color; fragrant strawberry/ blackberry/Grenache very juicy some alcoholic/overripe some oaked nose; rich/lush perfumed talc/aromatic some oaked strawberry/licorice/juicy ripe flavor; med.long soft very juicy strawberry/Grenache/licorice finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; a big ripe juicy Grenache w/ restrained oak & carries the alcohol well.
  4. Coriole Lalla Rookh McLaren Vale Old Vines Grenache (14%; 12% Shiraz; matured in Fr.oak) '96: Dark color; very intense toasty/oaked/licorice deep strawberry/ Grenache some dusty nose; rich/lush big grapey/strawberry/spicy dusty/old vines deep rather smokey/oaked/menthol bit bitter flavor; very long ripe/lush/ grapey/strawberry/Grenache lots of smokey/oaked/slight menthol bit bitter finish w/ fair tannins; needs 2-5 yrs; loads of Grenache fruit but lots of old vine depth; great Grenache at a great price.
  5. Clarendon Hills Old Vines Grenache Clarendon Vnyd (14.5%) '97: Med.dark color; intense dusty/earthy/walnutty old vines low fruit slight cranberry/strawberry nose; soft lush very walnutty/earthy/dusty old vines light/bright/cranberry flavor; long very dusty/walnutty bit lean light/bright/cranberry/strawberry light oaked finish w/ light tannins; lots of dusty/walnutty character & not a lot of fruit; disappointing given the price.
  6. Clarendon Hills Old Vines Grenache Blewitt Springs Vnyd (14.5%) '97: Dark color; very intense corky/musty/cardboardy nose; richer/lusher some strawberry/ Grenache some musty/corked/dusty flavor; bigger & richer than #5 but way to corked to tell much.
  7. Deakin Estate Victoria Shiraz (14.5%) '98: Dark color; very strong blackberry/ Syrah smokey/pungent/oaked pretty intense nose; tart bright vibrant ripe blackberry/strawberry/Syrah some oaked/pungent bit astringent flavor; med. long bright cranberry/blackberry some toasty/oaked finish w/ light tannins; what a great wine for only $7.60.
  8. Leasingham Domain Clare Vlly Shiraz (13.5%) '95: Very dark color; classic Oz/ strong Am.oaked/licorice/toasty intense plummy/blackberry bit earthy nose; soft loads of toasty/smokey/licorice/Am.oaked rather plummy/earthy/blackberry flavor; med.short bit bitter/astringent bright strawberry/blackberry loads of pungent/Am.oak rather tannic finish; good fruit & plenty of oak; a distinctly Aussie-style Shiraz at a good price.
  9. Rosemont Estate Orange/McLarenVale Shiraz Show Reserve (13.0%) '95: Very dark color; bit stinky/reduced/skunky/burnt rubber toasty/pungent/oaked some blackberry/Syrah/fragrant some dusty nose clears somewhat to a oaky/bit musty (not corked) walnutty/blackberry/Syrah pungent/oak nose; bit dried-out/ tannic/astringent strong blackberry/Syrah pungent/smokey/oaked walnutty flavor; med.long bit dried-out some blackberry/Syrah pungent/toasty/oaked bit dried out/tannic finish; interesting wine but a bit disappointing and seems to be prematurely aged. Not worth the $29.00.
  10. Trevor Jones Dry Grown Barossa Shiraz (13.5%) '95: Very dark color; very intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah very toasty/pungent/pencilly/Fr.oaked some complex rather "international-style" nose; big ripe blackberry/boysen- berry pungent/toasty/Fr.oaked flavor; tart extracted intense boysenberry/ blackberry/Syrah strong toasty/Fr.oaked finish w/ ample tannins; needs some 3-7 yrs age; an unusual rendition of Syrah from OzLand, more an international- style wine.
  11. Clarendon Hills Liandra Shiraz (14.5%) '97: Black color; very strong dusty/ old vines/walnutty bit volatile/perfumed/aromatic toasty/oaked strong ripe blackberry/Syrah complex nose; tart rich some walnutty/complex some gamey/ Syrah/blackberry/meaty perfumed rather lean/hard/tannic flavor; long rather tannic/walnutty/complex dusty/old vines light blackberry/Syrah/gamey finish; needs 4-8 yrs; very good but not worth the $57.00.
  12. Veritas Winery Barossa Valley Shiraz/Mourvedre "Pressings" (13.5%) '96: Very dark color; very intense blackberry/boysenberry/cranberry/plummy modest pungent/ oaked some dusty/old vines nose; rich intense boysenberry/blackberry some dusty/old vines some toasty/pungent/oak bit bretty flavor; very long some bretty/unclean intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/gamey some dusty/old vines complex finish; great Shiraz at a good price.
  13. Penfolds Bin 707 South Australia Cabernet Sauvignon '86: Very dark color; very intense herbal/Cab/bit vegetal dusty/earthy some pungent/oaked nose; soft lush herbal/Cab/Monterey-like some Bordeaux/herbal/earthy bit tannic flavor; long soft lush/fat rather strong herbal/Cab near veggy some Bordeaux/oaked finish; lots of character like a soft/ripe Monterey/Jekel Cab; disappointing given the price some time ago.
  14. Lindemans Coonawarra Lime Stone Ridge Shiraz/Cabernet (80%S, 20% CS; 12.5%) '92: Dark color; beautiful complex Am.oaked/perfumed/smokey/toasty/licorice/oaked some blackberry/Syrah/chocolatey nose; soft smooth complex round pungent/smokey/ Am.oaked ripe blackberry/Syrah complex flavor; very long beautiful complex toasty/pungent/Am.oaked bit walnutty ripe blackberry/Syrah/black cherry cola finish w/ light tannins; a beautiful mature complex Aussie red.
  15. Mitchelton Victorian Shiraz (13.0%) '90: Med.color; rather funky/Rhonish/somewhat bretty/unclean some strawberry/Syrah nose; tart bit dried-out some Rhonish/ bretty light strawberry/Syrah flavor; med.long light strawberry/Syrah rather Rhonish/bretty/unclean finish w/ light tannins; interesting red in great shape for a cheap wine at $9.00
  16. Evans & Tate Gnangara Western Australia Shiraz (12.5%) '92: Med.color; rather dusty/walnutty some raspberry/blackberry/Syrah some complex/pungent nose; soft lush bright strawberry/Syrah complex/dusty/walnutty flavor; med.long lush strawberry/Syrah/bright rather walnutty/dusty/complex finish; pretty interesting wine.
And yet another mini-sermon from the bloody pulpit:
  1. Grenache: I've sung the praises of this variety a number of times as a variety that can make great, world-class wines. The Aussie versions have been, to me, some of the best. These were not that bunch. Save for the Coriole LallaRookh, these were a bit on the disappointing side, especially given the prices. Nonetheless Grenache (and Syrah) is where the action's at.
  2. Syrah & oak: Many of the first Calif Syrahs I felt were a bit on the overoaked side. The ones I like the best are the ones that are a bit more restrained in their use of oak. Sometimes the use of heavily-toasted Fr.oak gives the Syrahs a sorta ersatz-Cote-Rotie character, like the Lewis or the Arajuo or the Kongsgaard. They same a bit fakey; I'd like the terrior to speak a bit more loudly in the wine. It's all too easy to glibly dismiss many of the Oz Shirazs as being way too over-oaked (American, usually). But, to me, it represents a distinct style of wine that I've grown to know and love. And, by and large, many of them have such a fruit intensity they can support that character. Larry Archibald has the opinion that there is something in the terrior of the Aussie Shirazs that inherently gives the wine a taste & smell not unlike Am. oak. Perhaps so. I'll be sending my emmisarries (Howard & Rhoda Sherry) over there in a month or so to check this theory out (on their nickel, not mine!!). You Oz folks take care of them for me!
  3. Overall, a bit of a disappointing tasting, given the prices. I was expecting to be blown away by some of these wines. But wasn't.
TomHill

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