Briarston

[Randy Caparoso]

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.