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Phwoar, what a nose on this one rising from the deep deep purple wine are phenomenal heady aromas – primarily berry fruits like black currant? and dare I say raspberries complete with a hint of apple juice (think concentrated fruit drink just not as sweet) complete with fresh spices dominated by very subtle pepper tones, but no specific spice jumps out – perhaps a little corriander?

On to the mouth feel and taste – oh yeah – still probably a little young and in need of opening up a bit – but everything is there from a big bold Australian Shiraz? – plently of fruit flavours a nice chunk of pepper and perhaps a tiny bit too much oak. Mouth feel is very nice and my prediction is that this wine will open up in a few hours and be exceedingly pleasant to drink. There is nice integration here with everything flowing nicely from the initial hit on the tongue all the way to the end with a nice lingering more-ish-ness to it all.

This is the “White Label” do your self a favour and get into today! When I collected this one – I drank its big brother from 1997 and it had aged beautifully, this one is just as likely to age just as well.

With a name like Wynns Coonawarra Estate you would be forgiven for thinking this wine hails from the Coonawarra region of South Australia, well, you’d also be correct ;). This Cab Sauv has a fantastic nose – black berries combined with two year old bush fire zone complete with hint of road tar.

Having loved the 1997, I’m expecting this one to be pretty damn good, and thus far its holding up to that expectation – relatively smooth tannins on the initial palate complete with liquorice then this wine seems to lose its way a little – it does not have the fantastic aftertaste of the ’97 it seems to just up and die as I sit here waiting for it to kick in, the mid palate while nothing spectacular is pleasent with fruit and wood being present, but I can’t help but be disappointed by the failure of the back palate to kick in, hoping that it will improve with a little more opening up – but not holding out for it to be great. 2003 was not noted for being a phenomenal year in this region, I’d be inclined to check out the 2004 which is said to be a corker for Cab Sauvs’ from the Coonawarra and potentially even 2005 and 2006.

This is a dissapointing drop, after loving so many of their other wines, especially the Shiraz Viognier trying this one has left me feeling like something is lacking, its not up to the usual calibre from this winery. I’m getting dried stonefruit on the nose with a little of that Glen 20 Cotton Sky airfreshner. Its deep deep red/purple in colour, once you take a mouthful you’re hit with a chunky amount of alcohol, after that you have a fruit, liquorice, tannins and acid along with a oak, but none it comes together to form a wine with wonderful mouth feel, its all disjointed and all over the place (much like many of my posts). I think this one may need a lot more time in the cellar to give it some hope for greatness, but as at today, its not a cohesive well rounded wine, it has its highs, which are broken up by too many lows to make it a great wine. Will cellar a bottle of the ’05 for a few more years yet and see what its like in 5 or 6, but for drinking now – look elsewhere its just not come together at this stage.

Woah – what a nose, ribena drink (Blackcurrents) right from the fore – sweet, inviting and appealing. Initial mouth feel – bitey herbaceous notes swamped suddenly by green peppery tannins that flow into an astringent finish. A definite Cab Sauv – its no Coonawarra this one – but stands up for its own. (It should be noted this has been written about 3 minutes after opening – expecting it to open up wonderfully over the next 30-90 minutes. Check this drop out!

I told you so! About an hour after the above was written, the wine had opened up very nicely and went down a treat – mellowing slightly, losing any stelvin taint but retaining a very big and full mouth feel. Its rather disappointing to see how quickly it disappeared ;).

While a little weak on the nose – slight pine cones crossed with a wild berry icecream. Mouth feel is most interesting – definite a fair chunk of alcohol (14%) its very dry mid palate – the initial palate is an oak monster with a fruity breath, I’m getting dried peaches or dried apricots, the tannins on this one finish after quite some time lingering, but very very smooth, not velvety, but still extremely fine.

Check this one out – its definitly quirky and not your average red.

Lovegrass is a grassy weed that when is mature leaves its seeds stuck to your clothing and can be very annoying to remove. Like the seeds sticking to your clothes the flavour of this wine will stick in your mouth, unlike the seeds this is a good thing. A peppery notes with a hint of fruit and a little oak monster inside the bottle, a rather pleasing drinker. Probably more enjoyable as the weather warms a little.