Barossa 15.7% Screwcap $50 Source: Sample
So, 2007 – tough vintage in the Barossa. Could the maestro of Grenache, Marco Cirillo orchestrate another symphony of Old Vine grapes to rival the Châteauneuf-du-Papes that inspired him to head down this crazy path to begin with. Simple answer? Yes.
Tightly coiled, the wine took all of four days to really start talking. Before that, it was all minerality, structure and latent depth. But speak it did, with dark cherry, red currants, aniseed and even hints of blue fruit emerging from the savoury pits of charcoal, earth, dried herbs and almonds. The trademark tangy orange popped up too.
The acidity is spot on again, the tannins a touch longer but still fine. It’s wonderfully complex and should, ideally, be put away for another 8-10 years minimum. Mind you, I’d be forgiving if you wanted to take a peep now. Just decant the bloody thing for as long as you can beforehand!
Email winery- marcocirillo@adam.com.au
Interesting your point with decanting. I tried it last week and found it very appealing but my one question mark over it was its acidity. To me it really seemed full on in that regard and made me questions its balance, but maybe this is something that works itself out with time (as you would have seen over 4 days)
I can understand what you mean Andrew. It's certainly still predominantly structured by acid and, like all the 1850s, it's built to age. The acid did settle with time.
I was fortunate to taste 03-07 together over four days and they all benefited from time. The 05, which isn't totally to my tastes, also just kept getting better. It's going to live an extremely long time…I'll be writing it up and probably buying more.
My money would be on that acidity in the 07 being a big plus in about ten years time. I think it's just part of the intent to make a style that ages.
Good to hear. How was the 04 looking with your vertical? I bought one recently as a birthday present for a mate, and happily his declared plan is to drink it with me in 2014!
04 is my favourite at the moment, already a joy to drink (post decant). It will be even better in 2014 and will live longer than that. Make sure your mate keeps his promise!
I've just taken custody of a couple of bottles of the 07 to take down to Jen, Mark & co from Capital Wines and thought I'd revisit a few TNs. A timely reminder re decanting.
Angus Hughson made mention of the 2007 in his piece on Grenache for the latest GTwine (April/May 2011), writing that "for the moment" it had a "slightly closed personality" and labeling the wine "a sleeper"…which is pretty much how I see it.
I haven't tasted a bottle since the one reviewed above but I'd certainly still allow time for a good decant.