Interesting to taste this for second time – almost two months after I asked for a Ben Haines wine to be included in a public tasting of ‘Rhone whites’ which I was co-hosting for “Swirl, Sniff, Spit“. It was extremely reticent back then but it showed promise. Flash forward to now and it’s just beginning to feel comfortable with itself.
The lemon curd flavours remain and it’s still tangy but the acidity has settled into crispness as opposed to the crackling character it presented as a young wine from a cool vintage. Very gentle viscosity is starting to balance the wine further. Aromatically it’s developing well too; paraffin, honeysuckle and a little orange oil are now in the picture. It’s still focused and persistent with a finish of spiced orange rind rounding things off. Some hints of what we’ll see as it continues on the long journey ahead of it. Very Good
Region: Yarra Valley
Alcohol: 13.0%
Closure: Screwcap
Price: $28
Tasted: July 2012