Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Michael Begat Michael


The Chairman had made a special trip to visit us, and with him, he brought a number of vinous treasures, from his cellar, not ‘long left’ in our case, but one that has regular withdrawals, so that nothing gets too old.  (Well, that’s the official line.)

A little while ago, we had opened up a bottle of the very first Wynns ‘John Riddoch’ Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon – from the 1982 vintage, and it was glorious, in great condition, showing both strong varietal character and structure, with the benefits of bottle-age bringing secondary and tertiary expression
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So it was a treat for The Chairman to bring and open the first Wynns ‘Michael’ Coonawarra Hemitage – from the 1990 vintage.  This is a wine I remember well on release; from a great vintage with ripeness, and destined for a long life ahead of it.  It was inspired by the then one-off 1955 Michael Shiraz which had extraordinary personality, some of which supposedly came from the barrels that previously housed fortified wine.
On this showing, the 1990 Wynns ‘Michael’ Coonawarra Hermitage was remarkably refined, still with a dark-red colour and some garnet hues, but near impenetrable.  SWMBO and I thought it was going to be a bit of a monster, but no, it had perfume and fragrance, showing black cherry and berry fruit with that classic mint and herb notes that speaks of Coonawarra.  Don’t get me wrong, it was rich and succulently sweet in fruitiness, and tempered with very fine-grained tannin structure.  The acidity was perfect in balance and gave vitality to the wine.  Subtle secondary and tertiary dried herb and earth, maybe a little game too, and just a hint of TCA that came in and out of perception – so that gave a little cause for concern, but in all practicality din nothing to stop us drinking and enjoying it.  It was a beautifully elegant and deliciously sweet-fruited and refined wine.
 
The Chairman’s name is Michael, who begat this Michael Hermitage for us to share.  Thank you!      

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