Taylors, St. Andrews Cabernet Sauvignon, Clare Valley

Loic and Peta bye bye - battle of Australia vs France (Strand Cellars, Croydon) : "Served blind. Plummy, jammy sweet spice, alcohol prickle, chocolate, caramel, a little soy, sightly volatile. Medium plus intensity acidity, plenty of alcohol warmth is integrated, grippy drying tannins, savoury black treacle notes join the fruit. Woof. Barossa Cabernet 1998 for me."

Really nice structured cabernet. Red fruits, cherries, spice. Medium bodied with good acidity and good length. The tannins are still quite firm, this will likely last for a few more years.

Clare Valley goodness. Wonderful wine from a wonderful vintage. 12 years on, this is better than ever. Still some black fruits, with Clare Valley eucalypt and licorice. Plenty of fine tannin, palate is beautifully balanced. Who said the Clare Valley doesn't do good cabernet? If you like a balance between primary and secondary, drink it now.

Nose of raspberry, red cherry, blackberry, and lavender. Palate shows tight acidity and tannins, with bright fruit (blackberry, raspberry) and and lots of smoke and spice (pepper, cumin).

Deep Garnet in the glass with some lighter edges. nose of Dark fruit, peppers, Dust and some roast meats. The palate was full of dark berries and, pepper with balancing acidity. Long Finish.

Deep red with a lighter rim. Showing signs of development. Nose of dark fruit, vanilla, cedar box. Full bodied with firm drying tannins. More dark fruit on the palate, with hints of liquorice.

A superb drink, another winner from the '04 Clare vintage. Elegant palate of red fruit flavours.

NobleRottersSydney - Taylors wines with Mitchell Taylor (Lucio's, Paddington) : {screwcap, 14.5%, A$50} The 2004 ruby-coloured youthful wine seems riper and fleshier than 2003, with a more curranty note on the nose which nevertheless doesn’t submerge the olive-green Clare character. Somewhat oaky on the palate too, with strong chalky tannins easily buffeting the ripe currant fruit. It’s a bit of a brute now, to the point where I imagine in the end the structure will leave the fruit behind. Minimal …