Friday, July 7, 2017

Can You Criticise Wendouree?

There are some people or businesses in life that by strategy or luck seem to be beyond criticism. In music, Radiohead comes to mind, as they have not produced anything decent in the last 15 years, yet have maintained their reputation. Could this apply to Wendouree in wine? This thought occurred to me as I was tasting the 2002 Wendouree Shiraz/Mataro. Wendouree has this cult status, as its wines are not easy to buy and because of their apparent legendary longevity.

Therefore I was not worried about opening this 15 year old wine. The cork was perfect and the colour still deep purple. The bouquet did not give too much away. On the palate, however, I was disappointed. The plum and mulberry fruit flavours are accompanied by eucalypt (which happens at Wendouree a fair bit and I do not like too much) and some spice. However, the fruit is overtaken by licorice and plenty of it. The structure stands up, but the flavours are not well balanced. The finish is medium with firm tannins. On day two, the wine is better balanced, but licorice still dominates.

Wendouree wines need a lot of airing, but against high expectations, this wine did not deliver.

Score: 88/--

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