Wyndham Estates Show Reserve Cabernet Merlot
Wyndham Estates Show Reserve Cabernet Merlot
Vintage: 2002
Region: Australia
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon – Merlot
Alcohol: 14.5%
Price: $24.99
Do rewards come to those that wait? I have had this wine in my cellar for a few years and Sunday was going to be its day of reckoning. I had this wine several times before in the form of the 1997 vintage and it was stunning. I hope the offering from 2002 will meet and exceed my expectations.
I am going to talk cellaring, as if you want to make an investment in wine, you should most certainly understand what you are going to need at the very least to support your investment. First, you need a dark, cool place with an ideal temperature range between 12 to 15 degrees Celsius. Sunlight and heat are wines biggest enemies and they will take years off it’s life if you are exposing your wine to them. Secondly, if you are cellaring, lay your bottles on their sides or store them upside down. This will keep the cork moist which if not kept moist, will shrivel and allow the wine to be exposed prematurely to the environment. Humidity is important as well as this will help to keep those corks moist, but can be looked past if you are diligent about keeping your bottles on their side.
Out of the bottle, this wine still looked as fresh as if I would have opened it the first day I brought it home. In looking at the cork, it was completely saturated and in fact some of the wine had begun to actually seep out of the top of the bottle and had rolled down the side. This had me somewhat concerned about whether the blend of 70% Cab and 30% Merlot was dead but after giving it a sniff, it was still very much alive and it hinted at notes of cedar and cinnamon with plums and berries and even a bit of something green and vegetative that brought a smile to my face. In contrasting this vintage to the 97, this wine was more reserved and required time to open and unwind. In the mouth, the surge of delectable stewed plums was evident across front of the palate, along with black currants and oak leading into velvet like tannins over its balanced finish. The downside to this wine, the terrible cork enclosures that Wyndham Estate sources which often dry out or in this case couldn’t even contain the wine. If there was a time to go screw cap, it is now.
So, was I happy that I waited for this wine? No question, it was absolutely worth the wait and I would encourage you to try the same if you have the means to support it. You’ll be glad you did.
90 points
- Wyndham Estates Show Reserve Cabernet Merlot
- by Adrian Bryksa
- Published on February 4th, 2009
- Rating:
- 90 Points
- Website:
- wyndhamestate.com
More from Adrian Bryksa:
-
Book Review: Simple Truths
It’s not a new book or one that is burning down the best seller lists. Put simply, it is a guide to life written by an individual with a PHd in Theology and Art.
-
Conti Zecca Donna Marzia Primitivo IGT
Valentine’s Day might be a commercial holiday for some, but it seemed like a good enough day to hit up the cellar and try out some Italian red.
-
Vinya l’Hereu Petit Grealo
Every time I think that I have seen all this wonderful city of Calgary has to offer in terms of wines and spirits, I encounter something more amazing and more jaw dropping than I could possibly imagine.
-
Super Bowl Beer Sampling
After nearly choking over a thirteen dollar six pack, I decided that my sampling would be done based off of 500 mL cans of 4 various import beers coming in at an average of $2.45 per unit. Not cheap, but not unreasonable for 2 liters of the nectar of the gods.
-
La Vieille Ferme Red 2006
When I saw this inexpensive French red, I imagine myself drinking wine out of a tumbler at some rustic vineyard in the south of France.
-
Adamas Pinot Noir
Burgundy: there are few words in the world of wine that can mean so much. Often setting an oenophilles heart aflutter, its wines are esoteric, complicated and more often than not, misunderstood.
Other recent features:
-
Sónar 2010 – Barcelona, Spain
The festival attracts a lot of outsiders, but the Mediterranean, Spanish and more specifically Catalan nature of the people makes the festival what it is. Catalan people are passionate and this passion is infectious. The atmosphere is electric in Barcelona as a city and heightened by music and intoxicants at Sónar.
-
Summer Party Naval Styles at Seven RestoLounge
Oysters, like wine are affected by terroir and these Miyagi’s flavor profiles ranged with one showing a cleaner, almost tropical profile and the other being more salty, marine driven. As I was devouring the seemingly endless plates put in front of us, I sipped on a glass of fine sauvignon blanc.
-
R4NT Radio March 2010
R4NT Radio March 2010 um wow it’s been far too long since the last edition edition, featuring: Hector Hernandez, The Infesticons, Blockhead, Gramatik, Emika, Thunderheist, Parov Stelar, Eddy Meets Yannah, Anti-Pop Consortium, The Slew, Lighterthief, Andreya Triana, Parasyte Woman, Mathon, Venetian Snares, and Funki Porcini.
-
O Restaurant & Lounge revisited
Calgary has a diverse set of urban communities, most of which have the ubiquitous strip mall watering hole. In the South West community of Marda Loop, a reinvention of this paradigm has been established.
-
Predictions 2010.. and beyond!
So 2010 eh? Almost but not quite (no year zero they say) another decade? It seems like just yesterday that the world was waiting for Y2K. R4NT started publishing in March 2001, so we’re not quite 10 years old yet, but in internet years we are already a senior citizen.
-
Invictus
No matter what, the reality of Nelson Mandela is something that deserves screen time. Should this film even remotely intrigue the masses to take interest in this figure, the world would likely benefit greatly from it.
