Balnaves, The Tally Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra

Good colour, still purple-red. Still surprisingly primary with ripe blackcurrant and blackberry. Eucalyptus, lead pencil and some herbaceousness follow. Plush tannins. Big mouthfeel, a hint of dairy on the palate as well as alcohol give it weight, the texture effect is lovely but the alcohol a touch hot. Good wine but a bit big for my taste in Cabernet, feels like Cab Shiraz with the ripeness and weight.

2005 vintage

Wow!!!

2004 vintage

Ripping. Blackcurrant, plum, eucalyptus, tobacco and some refreshing greenness (but not capsicum!). The Tally to me is always a powerful rather than elegant expression of Coonawarra and this bottle lived up to that reputation. At 20 years I think this still has improvement to come as there's fruit that still seems quite bright and has space to evolve. Great wine and I'm happy to have 1 more for the future.

2005 vintage

(CNY) Dark violets, cedar, graphite. Well resolved, excellent balance and development. Sweet tea, long lingering finish. Yum.

2004 vintage

Blackcurrant and red cherry. The fruit is juicy with lipsmacking acidity and tannins. Graphite and eucalyptus. Better than previous bottle.

2005 vintage

A sleeping beast. Tasted sour on opening but I thought it would need time to open. 2.5hrs in decanted and this had blossomed. The nose is cooling with mint and eucalyptus. The palate has red berry and blackcurrant fruits showing just a little bit of stewed character. Tannins are potent but powdery and integrated. Seemed disappointing on opening but this absolutely flourished.

2005 vintage

Decanted for 3 hours, still very fresh & vibrant with lots of fruit. Lacks the complexity of a grand cru but excellent for what it is. If well cellared can see this going for another 5 - 10 years.

2005 vintage

(Sealand Rd) Sweet fruited, cedar, autumn leaves and wood spices. Well resolved, rounded, and drinking at a great place now - went easily with Portuguese grilled pork!

2004 vintage

Wow. Best yet!!!

2004 vintage

Dark red ruby in glass; effusive sweetness of bramble, blackcurrant, tomato leaf and gentle black earth, wet clay. Some incense and sweetly resolved cedar cupboard. Certainly age shows with the velvet tannins, sweet tobacco and some tall cranberries and beets. Resolved elegance. Really clean, layered purity, almost some confection too. Drinking in a really nice place now.

2004 vintage

This is a stunning wine with plenty left in it. It shows signs of age but is still a textural, rich, powerful wine (the cork was very soft and crumbled, but there was no leakage). Typical Coonawarra notes - blackcurrants, mint, lavender, cedar - a real regional treat - but nice vanilla notes - great tannins

2004 vintage

Still deep ruby in colour. Nose is intense with strong coffee, Cedary, ink aromas followed by some blue berries notes. Full body, soft, mellow,intense flavours of coffee beans, oaky notes and ripe sweet blue berry and cassis fruits coat the mouth. long aftertaste. Good aged wine that is still youthful but lacks bit of complexity for a higher score.

2005 vintage

Seventh bottle from a full case purchased at auction in 2016. Pristine bottle, perfect level and cork. Decanted for three hours. Straight from the bottle it is very youthful with big fruit, powerful and concentrated, impressive but not easy to approach, with pretty fierce tannins. The time in the decanter softens it nicely however, on the nose the aromas harmonise and start to display a lovely whiff of beef stock, the balance on the broad but energetic palate is excellent …

2005 vintage

There has been some bottle variation but this was my last bottle and it was the best. Still a rich and bright red, there is perhaps now some browning on the edges. Complex beginning on the nose with dark fruits, blackcurrant, spices and leather undertone. Body has lovely laser like focus of intensity and richness, with perhaps lacking somewhat on drive. Lovely fine tannin now that is well integrated and little hints of wood anywhere. All well integrated. Fine finish …

2005 vintage

Tally mini vertical : A very elegant Tally. Understated, yet profound. Cranberry. Red licorice. Leather. Mandarin. Beetroot. More developed than the 2005,06,07, and more closed. A pleasure now, but this feels like it’s still on the up (94 Excellent wine)

2004 vintage

Tally mini vertical : Cassis and vanilla. Smooth and delicious. Dark fruit and mocha. Slightly acidic. Still quite primary, with plenty of bright fruit and acid. Swathes of grainy tannin give it some real stuffing. Drinking really well. (93 Excellent wine)

2005 vintage

Nose; quite complex from the get go. Ripe black fruit with secondary nuances. Dry herb, fresh grass, cigar, spices, oak, camphor, lilac, leather. Palate; robust, full bodied, mouth filling flavor, ripe black fruit, tannins softish but still hanging around, the finish balanced and rich. My personal feeling is there is enough fruit and tannin structure to see this wine sail into another decade (if well cellared). 92 with up side.

2005 vintage

First bottle out of 6 pack I have cellared for 16 years, so it’s been a wait! Under cork, it’s showing age on the pur, as colour has oranged at the rim. One the nose menthol, eucalyptus, no so much earthiness. Still pretty big on the palate- but not overly tannic. Black fruits, alc there, medium scidity. Went well with the roast lamb. Is it as good as Oliver raved about? Not sure.

2004 vintage

Still ok - ongoing tannins. Not dissimilar to 389 it’s long notes. Agree with comment in cork - looked like an artificial stopper at first. Gentle push in prior to withdrawing it did the trick- out in one go.

2005 vintage

Very nice still beautiful. Good time to drink. Bold, rounded, fruity nicely integrated oak. Can definitely go for 3 more years I would think

2005 vintage

2005 Tally Retrospective note. Cork, with a weird plastic film on top of the cork under the capsule. Looked synthetic and spongy, and broke off half way with a screw pull. Got it out with a double screw pull side by side. Hour in decanter, moderate sediment. Mature transparent with a brick heading to tawny colour. Red fruit and iron, medium weight, with crunchy acids and fresh tannins. Oak not a feature, it’s lean and austere. Excellent, and feels ready …

2005 vintage

I've only every had the 2000 before tonight but it's clear the reputation is well deserved. Firm, tight early, plenty of grainy and spicy oak. Opened up quite well but the drying tannin is very pronounced. Not a beginner wine but you just know it's got great bones. Without doubt will go 20yrs and possibly quite a bit more.

2005 vintage

Sample from Asparagus. Aired in container overnight. Drank in Grassl 1855. Appearance is clear, deep intensity, ruby colour with thin garnet rim. Legs. Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of blackcurrant, cassis, integrated vanillin toast oak, cinnamon spice, black cherries. Developed. On the palate, dry, juicy high acidity, high alcohol (14.5%), big fine grippy high tannins, full body. Pronounced flavour intensity, with flavours of blackcurrant, black cherries, cassis, cinnamon spice, integrated oak with bits of chocolate, some earth and …

2005 vintage

Similar to DDT's notes, though I clearly enjoyed its slutty fruit more

2005 vintage

This has a complex nose of blackcurrant, cherry and violets as well as menthol and subtle oak and cedar. There is some sweetness on the concentrated palate where the alcohol peeks through at times. This has entered the drinking window and has plenty of ageing potential.

2004 vintage

Pristine bottle, perfect level and cork. Decanted for 2.5 hours. After three more or less disappointing bottles, this is once again firing on all cylinders. Spectacular Coonawarra Cabernet, still youthful and energetic after almost fifteen years, deep aromas of black fruit, eucalyptus and cedar, powerful and concentrated but fresh and structured, with firm but beautifully integrated tannins, earthy warmth, and still lots of grip on the tight finish. Early maturity, but really needs another 5 years. Revisit 2025.

2005 vintage

intense blackberry and spice but still has grippy tannins

2005 vintage

Definitely coming into its drinking window now. The tannins have softened and integrated with the dark red fruit to produce a highly enjoyable wine. Secondary developing is starting to come through with a long finish. Still a long, long life ahead of it.

2004 vintage

This bottle I found a little imbalanced. The fruit profile is good with blueberry, plum, cedar, mint. It is quite intense and its the balance of that and the acidity which is a little bright that challenges me. The tannins are now quite soft and muted. All up it is quite different from the previous bottles.

2005 vintage

Loads of blackcurrant with tobacco, leather and some mint. The tannins are chalky, the wine is medium bodied, though the fruit is very present. Initially the wine was a little out of balance, with the acidity a bit too sharp. After an hour or so it started to become more balanced, but never quite got to the level I expected. Given the previous bottles have been so good, I am going to assume that this was an aberration.

2004 vintage

Would appear to be in its window now, however not much in the way of tertiary development so I feel another 4-5 years would benefit. Hold.

2004 vintage

A private tasting and dinner at a friend's (Amsterdam, NL) : Tasting, brief note. Very powerful and very tannic, and very Coonawarra too. Classic style, still very young.

2005 vintage

Lots of blackcurrant jam, but in a rather good way. This wine presented itself quite happily, well integrated, though a little sweet. Made for very enjoyable drinking on the night. In a good place right now in terms of its drinking window, but will still keep for 5-10 more years at the very least. A very good wine in a category just a notch below Australia's finest. Will definitely seek out more bottles if the price is right.

2004 vintage

Drank this at Chef Chan's Restaurant tonight with some wine mates. Theme of the night: Wines from the Year of the Rooster. Bottle breathed for 6 hours prior to consumption. Dark purple in colour with notes of raspberries, mint, chocolate, grounded black pepper and cinnamon. Has a lot of Aussie Shiraz characteristics and it is easy to mistake this for a Shiraz or Shiraz-Cab blend. A couple of rough edges and the integration of the wine is far from perfect. …

2005 vintage

Still a puppy, robust tannins that are still at least five to ten years away from being approachable. It will be good but frankly it's a waste of a good bottle opening one this decade.

2004 vintage

Still really enjoy this wine, but I got quite a different taste experience this time. Lots of blackcurrant, brambles, bitter chocolate. The tannins and acidity are tightly integrated, and provide great balance. It still presents as young, though i feel there is a risk the fruit will fade faster than the other elements. Worth keeping a bottle or 3 for later years.

2005 vintage

Grabbed another bottle of this for the neighbour's Christmas party. Like the last bottle, it's well structured with a great cassis and spice nose. It's more tannic than I remember or maybe that just because it followed the more mellow Domaine A. Either way, just hitting its strides now.

2005 vintage

Two bottles opened today. The first was tired and not really distinctive, so I decided not to use it for the tasting. Not really sure what went wrong; the level was into neck and the cork showed no signs of seepage, even if it was very soft. The second bottle was in fine fettle, screaming Coonawarra with its blackcurrant fruit, mint and eucalyptus, youthful and energetic and with powerful tannins - not as spectacular as the first two bottles though.

2005 vintage

Second bottle from a case. Too young really, but I couldn't resist. Identical to my previous note.

2005 vintage

Really nice wine. Deep dark ruby colour. Cherries and eucalyptus on the nose. Mixture of red and black fruits, with some plums, cloves and mint on the palate. The tannins are firm but restrained. The wine has a wonderful long drying finish. Medium bodied. Again really nice, with a long future.

2004 vintage

Still fresh. Blackcurrant, plum, eucalyptus and mint. Deep ruby colour. Medium bodied with great length. The tannins are softened. This wine will continue to develop for some time. Lovely.

2004 vintage

Nose of blackberry and prune. Medium weight with a deep ruby colour. Liquorice, plum, leather and some spice. Medium length with fine tannins. Drinking really well right now and will last for some time, but not sure it will improve now.

2004 vintage

Brought this to a tasting at Imperial Treasure, Great World City. Theme of the night: Wines from 2004. Decanted for 2.5 hours before consumption. Colour is purplish. Wine was thick and viscous when opened. After breathing it was more approachable. Nose delivered a punch, with some green, herbaceous notes. On the palate the wine had hints of the mint, chocolate notes which the region is famous for. Other notes that complete the wine includes prunes, ripe berries, black tea leaves …

2004 vintage

Decanted over 1 hour. Good nose of plum, dark berries and smooth tannins, even some smoke and leather, very good expression of cab sav. However when drinking in the mouth, a slightly harsh and sharp taste developed. Which reminds me the differences between new and old world wines: the new world wines wanted to showcase single grape variety which carries all its glories and faults, while the old world would blend to smooth out the rough edges, giving more layers …

2004 vintage

Monday night Dinner (Bedrock Bar & Grill) : Dark red with glossy crimson hue. Rich fruity nose, ripe and creamy, along with milk chocolate, blackcurrant, capsicum and toasted vanilla oak. Minty palate, capsicum and blackcurrant. Medium+ bodied, chocolate aftertaste with soft chewy tannins. Better than 06 I just tasted recently with more concentrated fruits.

2004 vintage

Langton's Cellar Club Tasting 11 December 2012 - Pierre de la Grange (Luneau-Papin), Champagne Delamotte, Balnaves of Coonawarra (Roof Terrace Australian Museum) : vanilla oak over blackberry and currant and clove spice both on the nose and in the mouth...alas there is a sizable dollop of hot alcohol in the mouth and the spice gets quite peppery.

2004 vintage

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Balnaves, The Tally Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra

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