Langtons has done three tastings of their Classifications and all three have been done very well..
I only attended the non Exceptional categories...
Highlights:
Maurice O'Shea Vertical. I love when wineries do this because it really gives you the opportunity to try several different versions of their wine at once. In this case they did 94, 98, 99, 2000, 2003, 2009. My favorite of the bunch was the 1998...Great acid, good structure, a bit of leather and dirt, red fruits, a bit of tannin structure still there...great wine. My least favorite was the 2000 which was overly tannic (a huge style change) and in a very awkward place.
Bests Thomson Family 2012 - Great wine. Great structure, wonderful fruit. Acid in the right spot, tannins in the right spot..fantastic complexity....A bit on the expensive side but a very good wine.
Wendouree Cabernet Malbec 2012. My pick of the Shiraz/Malbec (which was almost sweet and VERY approachable), the Shiraz Mataro (Still very approachable) and straight Cabernet Sauvignon which is generally my least favorite Wendouree. Great acidity and firm tannins, red fruit, mint, a bit of eucalyptus, herbs, spices..really great wine. I'm really convinced the Cabernet Malbec is the best of the whole bunch (which includes the straight Shiraz).
Langmeil Freedom 2010. Big fruit but at the same time, great acid, great overall structure. Bigger wine than I'd generally like but the acidity really helped carry this through. Dark fruits, spices, herbs, noticeable oak but the wine carries it well. The tannins are there telling you it'll be around awhile but they're not so aggressive as to make this undrinkable. The acid gives it great freshness. I'm not sure if they added acid here given they're at 15% alcohol and 6.9g/L of acidity...but either way, the wine is looking quite good and while not my top 3 for the night, it was my biggest surprise of the night. Apparently these vines used for this wine are well over 100 years old. I'm not sure I'd buy it at 100/bottle but still, I'd be happy to drink it.
Yeringberg 2011. A very elegant version of Yeringberg. Red fruits, good acidity, softer tannins..no sign of being unripe though. I was actually expecting something pretty bad but they did an excellent job of making this. Not typical of what I think of Yeringberg but still a very good wine given the vintage conditions.
Kilikanoon Oracle 2010.
Another big wine that surprised me. Coming through with mint, dark fruits but really good acidity to balance out this normally large large red. I'm certain a lot of these places are starting to add acid but few will actually admit to it. Either way, this is drinking quite nicely. Great complexity, really nice wine...
Penfolds St. Henri 2010.
This has had so much press lately, I tried to approach this with as little bias as possible. First thing - the structure. Big tannins but not overly aggressive tannins. Good acidity, surprising acidity. Fruit is VERY VERY young. Because they don't use new oak, just very large barrel old oak, I'm not picking up any oak at all and that is probably contributing to the mouthfeel and the freshness of the fruit. The fruit itself is very complex, dark and red fruits, some spice, a hint of mocha, but still, very young. To be quite honest, I don't feel like this is showing well right now...and given all other St. Henri's, that's probably right. It isn't supposed to be drinking well right now..and it really isn't. That said, I know this will age, Penfolds wine generally does age very well. St. Henri in particular, has a long history of aging very well. Some critics are calling this quite possibly the best St. Henri ever...is it? I don't know. I do know it has great structure, great fruit and given the pedigree, I'm sure this will end up being a fantastic wine..but it'll probably be 2030+ before you should drink it...
Chambers Rosewood Rare Muscat.
I've never had this but I know it is supposed to be great..and let me tell you, it is great. Huge complexity, wonderful mouthfeel....In general I find there are a lot of very good rare muscats..this one is just a step above those. At the same time, this is probably 4-5 times more expensive. Worth trying if you get the opportunity, definitely worth trying.
Other honorable mentions: Tyrrells Vat 1 2008- Young, maybe too young, but a great Semillon. This will be great in another 10 years.
Lakes Folly Cabernet Blend 2011. Great acidity, great Lakes Folly...Might be their best one in awhile.
Bowen Cabernet Sauvignon 2012. A great comeback after a really poor 2011. Probably one of the best values out there at 25/bottle. Great acid but still very Coonawarra.
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