Thursday, December 23, 2010

Wolf Blass Black Label

A colleague winemaker once said to me: "Chris Hatcher (Wolf Blass winemaker) should get an extra medal for the quality of wine he makes from the crappiest vineyards". Be that as it may, the Black Label Cabernet Shiraz is an iconic Australian wine. I have not had it in 10 years, but I put some of the 2002 vintage down, and I had my first experience of it yesterday.

This is not a bad wine. It tastes predominantly of blackberries, is quite well balanced and has a smooth finish with silky tannins. It carries the eight years without problem.

Yet it somehow tastes industrial. Do I say this because I know it? To me, this wine has not much personal character. There is nothing really wrong with it, in fact it ticks quite a few boxes (see above), but it is simply not that interesting.

Score: 93/0

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