big shed wines tasting notes 2010
2007 Macedon Sparkling Pinot/Chardonnay
Pinot noir on the nose; bright citrus fruit and strawberries on the palate. Good balance and length with a clean dry zingy finish.
Macedon Ranges Wine Region – 12.5% alcohol
Bronze medals - Kyneton Wine Show 2008
Kyneton Wine Show 2009
Daylesford Wine Show 2009
2008 Pinot Rosé
Pale salmon pink in colour; light, dry and smooth with cherry and pinot flavours.
Macedon Ranges Wine Region – 12.5% alcohol
Third Sash ‘Other Varieties and Styles’ – Kyneton Wine Show 2009
2005 Chardonnay
Buttered toast on the nose, followed by ripe and complex flavours of figs, cashews and tobacco. A dash of citrus and honey on the finish.
Macedon Ranges Wine Region – 14.3% alcohol
Silver medal – Daylesford Wine Show 2007
Bronze medals – Daylesford Wine Show 2008
Ballarat Wine Show 2008
Victorian Wines Show 2008
2006 Chardonnay
Crisp and zingy.
Macedon Ranges Wine Region – 13.2% alcohol
2006 Pinot Noir
Estate grown fruit. Cherry and cedar aromas with a nice balance of soft sweet fruit. Lightly oaked with good weight and length.
Macedon Ranges Wine Region – 13.5% alcohol
Second Sash ‘Pinot Noir’ – Kyneton Wine Show 2008
Bronze medal - Daylesford Wine Show 2009
2008 Pinot Noir
100% estate grown grapes from the Big Shed vineyard were divided into 3 batches. One batch was crushed and destemmed, with one quarter of the juice being run off after 24 hours to make a rosé. Another batch was whole-bunch fermented with pigeage (foot-stomping); and the final picking was crushed and destemmed and fermented in stainless steel. The wine then spent 18 months in new and one-year-old French oak barrels.
This pinot noir is dark red, medium-bodied, balanced and smooth with aromas of stewed rhubarb and roasted tomatoes. The flavour is of strawberries, cherries and spicy plums, with savoury notes. Seamless oak, silky texture and a lingering finish; this is a wine which is still very young. It will continue to develop in flavour and complexity for at least the next 5 years.
Macedon Ranges Wine Region - 12.7% alcohol
Bronze Medal – International Cool Climate Wine Show 2010
2003 Cabernet Merlot
Dark red in colour; ripe blackcurrants and blueberries with allspice, chocolate and licorice. A savoury, full-bodied wine which with careful cellaring will continue to soften and open up over the next 5 years.
Bendigo Wine Region – 14.5% alcohol
Silver medals – Daylesford Wine Show 2005, 2008
Bronze medal – Daylesford Wine Show 2006
2004 Cabernets
A typical Bordeaux blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot, this is a deep inky black wine with strong purple edges. Cool-climate green on the nose, with mouth-filling ripe mulberries and blackcurrants on the palate, layered with liquorice and vanilla. Good length and ripe rich tannins.
Bendigo, Heathcote and Macedon Ranges Wine Regions – 14.7% alcohol
Trophy – Best Cabernet or Blend, Daylesford Wine Show 2008
Gold medal - Daylesford Wine Show 2008
Silver medal – Victorian Wines Show 2006
Ballarat Wine Show 2008
Bronze medals – Daylesford Wine Show 2006
Le Concours des Vins du Victoria 2006
Kyneton Wine Show 2006
Ballarat Wine Show 2007
Victorian Wines Show 2008
Daylesford Wine Show 2009
2005 Cabernets
This deep ruby-coloured wine takes a little time to open up. Initially it displays some blackberry aromas with a hint of bubblegum but it soon also develops some savoury, cherry and caramel notes. This is a ripe style that has a considerable depth of flavour: black cherry and sweet blood plums along with the pronounced mintiness of cool climate cabernet sauvignon. The palate is fleshy, full bodied, with generous alcohol and balanced with a just a hint of bitterness and soft, powdery tannins. It needs a little air to fully display the depth and range of its flavours and so would benefit from careful decanting. Drink now or cellar until 2015.
Preservative free.
80% Cabernet Sauvignon 20% Cabernet Franc
Bendigo Wine Region – 14.9% alcohol
Silver medal - Victorian Wines Show 2008
***1/2 Winestate Magazine, July/August 2008
2004 Bendigo Shiraz
Big tannins with powerful fruit to match.
Preservative free
Bendigo Wine Region – 14.9% alcohol
Bronze medal - Daylesford Wine Show 2008
2005 Reserve Shiraz
Grapes from Sanctuary Hill Vineyard at Faraday in the Bendigo Wine Region were blended with a very small quantity of ultra cool climate grapes from near Daylesford, and matured in American oak barrels for 20 months.
The resulting shiraz is a youthful deep purple-red in colour, with a little American oak and licorice evident on the nose. The palate shows restrained elegance with mixed sweet ripe berries, plums, licorice, and chocolate undertones. It is a medium- to full-bodied wine; complex, rich and velvety smooth with balanced oak and silky ripe tannins.
Delicious now and for the next 5 – 8 years
Bendigo and Macedon Ranges Wine Region - 14.7% alcohol
Bronze medals – Ballarat Wine Show 2007
Victorian Wines Show 2007
James Halliday rating 93 (2009)
05 Shiraz Cabernet
Spicy, ripe raspberry and plum aromas meld with the attractive vanillin oak notes in this wine. There is considerable depth of flavour in the glass: black fruits, plum and violets and mint. The well handled oak provides a chocolate note and fine, powdery tannins. This is a harmonious wine, with both sweet and savoury notes, that has a long palate and aftertaste. It is drinking well now but also develops in the glass – showing that it has some cellaring potential.
55% Shiraz, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon
Alpine Valleys Wine Region – 14.9% alcohol
Silver medal – Cairns Wine Awards 2010
Bronze medal – Winewise Small Vignerons Awards 2009
2003 Garnet
One of those serendipitous mistakes, this was a barrel of merlot destined for fortification; only somehow it got lost in the shed (it is a very big shed, after all) for a few years. During this time it developed a flor yeast, which has resulted in nutty, slightly aldehidic flavours and high alcohol. Serve chilled as an aperitif.
Riverland region – 17.9% alcohol
FORTIFIEDS
Sticky Stuff – Vintage ----
A young, Merlot based single vintage (2005), still dark red, warm and chocolatey in the glass. A sweeter style that will develop in the bottle for 20 years or more, although we wager none will last that long.
Riverland region, 18% alcohol
Sticky Stuff – Muscat
What can we say about this one? It’s like liquid Christmas pudding. Our most infamously delicious potion, one so fiendishly seductive… her siren song draws customers from as far away as Queensland, and Mars. Felix, our much lauded cellar door host, has been known to drink up to 14 bottles a day, so best to come early while there’s still some left for you.
Rutherglen region, 18% alcohol
