Lake's Folly, Cabernets, Hunter Valley

Still drinking well.

2005 vintage

Pale ruby with garnet rim. On the nose, it shows red cherry, dry rose petals, violet, mushroom, umami, cashew nut, On the palate, the wine is dry, high acidity piercing all the way through. Medium tannins but fully integrated and very smooth. Medium alcohol, medium plus flavour intensity with red plum, red roses, tomato paste. Still very young, fresh and vibrant. Medium to long finish. There’s no sign of tiredness at all. Could be easily mistaken as super Tuscan in …

2011 vintage

Dark fruit. Cabernet on the nose. Methanol, cassis and small vanish. Tannin good. Big still. Can go longer.

2011 vintage

Super fragrant nose, light wood shavings in a tobacco box with a residue of dried blackcurrant. A huge lifted or freshness but tertiaries have taken over. Coffee and chocolate in the background of mint, dried herbs and a medium body with a long finish. Some farmyard and leather too but small amounts that add to complexity. So well integrated and showing superbly for its age.

2005 vintage

Tasted blind and was a decade off on vintage, this is holding so well and looking so fresh! Blackberry and blueberry, tobacco, quite a ripe Cab blend. A whiff of saddle leather, not unpleasantly strong just distinctively Hunter Valley.

2005 vintage

Wow. Deep garnet colour with a vibrant nose of plums, cassis, herbs, cedar, smoke jelly snakes and pepper. Palate is super balanced with refined tannins and plenty of acidity keeping freshness into a lengthy finish.

2005 vintage

This vintage is 67pc Cabernet with 13pc Petit Verdot, 11pc Shiraz and 9pc merlot. This is absolutely lovely medium bodied red. Vaguely reminiscent of Bdx but in a uniquely Australian / Hunter guise. Very harmonious red fruit flavours with a mellow, even flow to the palate. Genuinely excellent and drinking well at the moment. 93-94pts

2010 vintage

Cherry and Raspberry fruits, lighter bodied and fresh, pronounced acid but in balance and giving the wine tremendous length. Lovely, and will drink well for a few years yet. NOW TO 5+

2010 vintage

Opened the 3 litre bottle for a 67th birthday weekend. Simply wonderful.

2010 vintage

Still drinking well.

2005 vintage

My first time to try this wine and I’m quite surprised. Vivid medium garnet. Very intense nose, earthy, eucalyptus and menthol. Medium body, very soft with slight tannins left, marked acidity that is well integrated and makes the wine more mellow. Similar earthy flavours, minty, red berries. Very intense flavours throughout with an excellent red berries earthy finish. Well developed and drinks nicely now , but I’m sure it can offer further development in the future. Excellent wine and really …

2011 vintage

Outstanding

2011 vintage

Trying this as a 30yo and wasn’t sure how it would go but wow, it is great. Based on tasting note from JERM below this has hardly moved in 10 years. Still going strong but I have no idea for how much longer.

1993 vintage

Love the nose on this puppy. Blueberries and blackberry fruit, violets, charred meat, cigar box. Soft and smooth on the palate, purely delicious. Went down a treat. Drink and enjoy. A special wine in the Aussie stable. (94 Excellent wine)

2011 vintage

Lovely drinking wine showing no loss of flavour

2005 vintage

Delicious

2011 vintage

On the nose, there is little hint of it’s a Hunter origins although on the palate the Hunter earth underlies a complex palate of seamless Cabernet dominant flavours. The lightness on the palate is a feature of the wine that effortlessly integrates the fruit, oak and fresh acid spine. It is well worth holding the remaining two bottles for a few years to see if there is any further development. I suspect however it may well be marginal.

2011 vintage

Americana + James Bond Dinners and Ang and Adrian’s; 11/18/2022-11/19/2022 (Byron Bay) : Very good. Fullish body but not a super heavyweight. Still fruity forward but a fair bit of leather. Mackay folks claim it smells like a yellow rain jacket and they buy some every year …

2010 vintage

Don’t know if it was Past drinking window or the cork had given way after all these years

1987 vintage

From Lake’s Folly 2022 Release Notes Vintage Rating 96+ Drink now-2030

2011 vintage

Beautiful drinking - balanced and refined.

2019 vintage

Drank over 2 nights. Beautiful nose and still plenty of fruit. Very smooth but on the lighter side.

2005 vintage

From a half bottle. Oak prominent but very balanced. They say that the best time to drink the Cabernets in either within 2 years or give it 12 years. For me, I am happy to wait.

2019 vintage

Drinking very well.

2010 vintage

beautiful structure-youthful - cant wait for the older bottles. have revised my score - really it is the different times you drink this and the other wines you taste the day before! Thanks for the comment, Pinotcchio

2019 vintage

Lake's Folly mini vertical. Drank in Gabriel Standart. Appearance is clear, medium intensity, ruby colour. Legs. Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of blueberries, blackberries, black cherries, black plums. Developing. On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium alcohol (13%), very fine high tannins, medium+ body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of blackberries, blueberries, black cherries, dark plums, bits of chocolate, sweet spice, faint hint of capsicum. Long fruity finish. Very good quality. Still fresh and fruity. Early days. 61% …

2011 vintage

Lake's Folly mini vertical. Drank in Gabriel Standart. Appearance is clear, medium intensity, ruby colour with thin garnet rim. Legs. Nose is clean, pronounced intensity, with aromas of dark grilled herbs, tobacco, smoke charred oak, blackberry, blackcurrant, black cherries, cassis, old aged leather. Developed. On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium- alcohol (12.7%), very fine high tannin with some good chew, medium+ body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of blackcurrants, fruity crunch of blackberries, cassis, old leather, background of grilled …

2010 vintage

Very good to Excellent, perhaps lacking the depth of other vintages, but may also be the quicker raging of a half bottle. Very similar comments to 2019, though maybe has gone downhill slightly. Colour: dusty red berries Bouquet: red and black berries, sappy, chocolate, and a touch of spice and vanilla, earthy forest floor, old leather, cigar box Palate: as bouquet, with soft tannins. Very uplifted acid, cedar, very savoury though still has lots of sweet fruit, great length. September …

2011 vintage

So good, I got smoke and lots of berry flavour and such an amazing wine to keep but also to drink now

2019 vintage

Drinking very well right now - does that Lakes Folly thing where they go flat for a few years then climb back out, loads of flavour, long dry finish, little alcohol, decanting knocks out the fruit and replaces with spice but loses some flavour, delicious undecanted.

2005 vintage

Had this yesterday. Decanted for 90mins which it probably didnt need that long but the colour was so inky and purply coming out of the bottle which hinted at the power of the fruit to come. It didnt disappoint, really impressive and i actually found it a bit too powerful to drink without food. Luckily i managed to save a few glasses to go along with dinner which was some sliced sirloin steak. We had the 2009 a few weeks …

2011 vintage

SLDS May 2021 : Raspberry, cherry, cranberry and plenty of floral notes as well. Sweet palate profile at this stage but has structure with good acidity to keep it fresh. Fresh and vibrant, with good potential to develop well.

2019 vintage

Graphite, lead pencil, cigar box: the hallmarks of a great Bordeaux blend. This is an Australian first growth, and Mad Max’s folly is our left-bank joy. No doubt this wine has many years ahead, but it’s certainly drinking well now. I look forward to serving this wine blind in the coming years. My left bank enthusiast friend may struggle with its origins.

2011 vintage

Was a little suspicious of my initial tasting (visavis maker notes) so opened a 375ml bottle giving it a 1hr+ decant. The wine presented darker in both colour and flavour. Deeper classically cabernet primary and secondary flavours - more black fruits (vs red fruit dominance on first tasting) and savoury complex characteristics. Still of course very young and plenty of lively acid to integrate and evolve. A beautiful wine. And could likely evolve into something v special

2019 vintage

Tasted at winery. Very young of course and bottle freshly opened. Mid weight colour (red and darker blues) and mid weight (red and blue fruits). Red and black cherry and hints of darker berries. Stylish easy structure and light dry finish. Superfluous to say needs time to see where this goes.

2019 vintage

Vintage 2011 Tasting : light to med wt colour delicate red berry essence, finely balanced, no aged development, silky style.

2011 vintage

Drinking window starting to open up. This Folly feels restrained compared to others, but it’s no worse for it. Dusty and still fruit driven. Red currant is predominant, some tartness to the finish but I like it. No rush on the rest.

2011 vintage

Appearance: medium garnet. Nose: medium plus intensity; aromas of farmyard, violet, blueberry, dark plum, chocolate, dried cranberry, button mushroom, toast, vanilla, cedar, subtle black tea. It’s developing. Palate: dry, high acidity, medium plus fine grain tannins, medium alcohol, medium plus body, pronounced flavour intensity. Dark chocolate and bitterness of chewy tannins come through. The finish is long. Overall, it’s an outstanding wine. Can drink now, has potential for further ageing. Drink half bottle over 2 hours. Always love Lake’s Folly …

2005 vintage

Cork. 13% alc. CS 61%, Shiraz 18%, Petit Verdot 13%, Merlot 8%. Red and black fruits, almost jubey. Nicely weighted and structured. Varietal. Cedar, spice and tannins are there, but overshadowed by the fruits. Clean and fresh. Good length too. Did not show well the following day though.

2011 vintage

Took a few hours decant for the funk to blow off and settle down, but when it did, a very nicely balanced wine appeared. Loving the smoky nose with graphite, cassis and blueberry. Add a dose of hunter earth and tertiary development to the palate. Impressive to see this come out of the below par vintage. Start to drink up now.

2010 vintage

Excellent. Colour: dusty red berries Bouquet: red and black berries, sappy, chocolate, and a touch of spice and vanilla, earthy forest floor, old leather, cigar box Palate: as bouquet, opens out to become quite full bodied, with soft tannins. Very uplifted acid, cedar, very savoury though still has lots of sweet fruit, great length. September 2019

2011 vintage

Enjoyable wine. Very smooth and evolved (decanted 3hrs). Perhaps past peak - a tad flat, flavour locked and undistinguished for me. That may sound harsh but I had expected more. The wine was still neatly structured and colour wise not overly evolved. Classic Cabernet black and blue fruited with earth and leather tones. Like a neat enjoyable easy quaffing aged wine.

2005 vintage

Subdued nose. Sour and tart under ripe cherry and red plum. Fine tannin. Not as luscious as I was expecting.

2005 vintage

Restaurant purchase. Corivan by the glass. A fair bit of earth and funk to go with the blue fruits. This is at the wet end of the spectrum. Only an OK showing this time around. Always hard to gauge conditions when ordering by the glass.

2005 vintage

Lake's Folly Birthday lunch (McLeay Street Bistro, Potts Point) : Red and blackcurrant fruit, a little smoky bonfire, savoury and sweet spice, leather…it's juicy, black fruit, sweet spice, long. Beautifully balanced, a little leathery, softly tannic. Long. Good

2005 vintage

Lake's Folly Birthday lunch (McLeay Street Bistro, Potts Point) : Cream, jubey red & blackberry and currant, slightly spiced. Cedar. Juicy, similar fruit profile on the palate, a smidge of sourness which lends freshness. Lovely.

2011 vintage

Lake's Folly Birthday lunch (McLeay Street Bistro, Potts Point) : Slight cork taint, leather, blackcurrant and a little sweet spice and cream. In the mouth it's juicy blackcurrant but that cork taint is here as well. Tannins are soft but this has to be FLAW.

2010 vintage

Excellent Colour: red/black berry Bouquet: dusty black berries - blackberries, morello cherries, plus blueberries, black pepper, touch of vanilla, earthy, cigar box and leather Palate: as bouquet, relatively full bodied, blueberries, cedary, clean finish, though not as long as the 2009 and some others. Much of the character seems on the bouquet. Still a superb wine. July 2018

2011 vintage

Very nice. elegant.

2005 vintage

Lake's Folly Cellar Door : Leather, spice, cherry and blackberry with a light briar note. Good mix of sweet red fruit and the start of some rounding out of the fruit profile with plenty of texture too. No hurry to drink, it's on a good trajectory.

2011 vintage

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Lake's Folly, Cabernets, Hunter Valley

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