On my recent to Edmonton I noticed a “reduced” sign by this wine a downtown store. It had retailed at $32, and now was $20. Hmmm… an Australian red from 1999 for $20? I asked the owner the cause of the discount, and he said it was a paper work mis-communication between his supplier and him, and that he made enough margin on it anyway. So I asked, “Has it passed its used-by date?” “No,” he said, “the odd cork issue but its fine; all the lawyers in the building are buying it up as gifts for their clients.” For $20 I decided it was worth a shot.
Lake Breeze is a boutique family owned winery with a pedigree going back 120 years within the Langhorne Creek area in South Australia. Originally an unfiltered wine, I decided to get the strainer out to pick up the expected heavy residual tannins. There was some accumulation in the bottle and in my wire mesh above the decanter, but not nearly as much as I thought. On the nose the wine was a heady but satisfying aroma of stewed plums, and dark berry flanked by a minty or eucalyptus note. But it felt flat to me in the mouth. The berries were there again, but it just seemed a little faded, past it’s prime. There was a nice finish, but it felt lethargic. I decided I needed to leave it over night. I poured it again into the bottle (after cleaning out the tannins staining the side of the bottle) and sealed it. Opening up again with some cave aged grueyere cheese the following evening I noticed the increased aromas straight away. The dark fruits rolled on, but secondary notes of caramel and milk chocolate arose. In the mouth the wine felt more alive – soft, fine tannins, working together with blackberry and accented by oak and mint flavours. The finish lengthened the second day with an additional earthy complexity.
So was 1999 too late to wait? The winemaker says on the bottle that the 1999 will develop for another 6-8 years, which means its certainly on the edge of its lifespan. Its a personal preference. By waiting the extra couple of years one one loses the juicy, vibrant flavours that have come to define the Barossa. Yet the wine today would drink with a wider variety of foods now without overpowering them. If its power you want, drink these wines young. After finesse? Wait a while. Overall, reckon this wine would have been best drunk as the wine maker suggested – around 2006/7. I’d trust a winemaker over a lawyer any day!
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