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Briarston - Printable Version

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- Innkeeper - 12-06-1999

Earlier this year I was asked to evaluate an Australian red that we had not seen before. It was a Coldstream Hills , Briarston, Yarra Valley, 1995. Have no idea what it cost. Since it was a Bordeaux blend, assumed that a Briarston would be something like an American Meritage. After letting it rest for six months, we recently gave it a go. We opened and decanted it (as we routinely do with all high shouldered reds), and detected no sediment in the bottle. Nothing untoward on the nose, only pleasant fruit. The first taste delivered a strong dose of acid. It was like tasting a huge young red, except without the tannin. Honestly, no trace of tannin. Just fruit and acid. We cleaned our pallets and tried again. Same thing. Hate to go negative on something like this when there is more than one possibility. It could be that with no tannin to work on, the wine would be forever acidic. It is also possible that the tannins were there, but so soft we could not detect them, and further aging would make it just fine, if not wonderful. Does anyone have any experience with this baby?


- Randy Caparoso - 12-19-1999

I do not know the chances of the distinguished Australian wine journalist/author, James Halliday, contacting you himself; but he does retain winemaking duties at Coldstream Hills, the winery he founded and owned until sold to Southcorp in '96. Maybe someone on the Board knows him and can direct your question.

I do know this, having visited the Victoria region: The Yarra Valley is one Southeast Australia's coldest regions, which is why Chardonnay and even Pinot Noir does very well there. The Briarston is always at least 80% Cabernet Sauvignon (the balance, Cabernet Franc and Merlot), and French oak finished. I have not tasted the '95, but it is not listed in Halliday's recent Wine Companion 2000 as one of his favorite vintages (he recommends '94 and '97 above it). In fact, I distinctly remember being there in March '95 just between harvest dates, which was occurring a good month after the rest of the country. It was not an "easy" year for full ripening.

At any rate, although Cabernet certainly is not a normal "high acid" varietal, in both the Yarra Valley and the nearby Mornington Peninsula it tends to be rather lean and tough. I would surmise that the combination of slightly green tannin, higher-than-normal acid, and below-average fruit intensity are what gave you the impressions of no-tannin/all-acid on the palate.


- Innkeeper - 12-20-1999

Thanks Randy. That's a logical conclusion. I think that gives me the where-with-all to provide my friend with information that will keep her out of trouble, and also not hype the wine. Innkeeper.