Wendouree Cabernet Malbec 1999

AP Birks Wendouree. Clare, South Australia. 13.7% alcohol. Sealed with cork. Approx $A65 on the secondary market.

The wine stains on the label suggest this is a bottle with a eventful past. It is my speculation, that the previous owner had probably had a skin full and managed to break a bottle or two in his cellar one night, splashing wine and glass all over the place.

Albert Percy Birks initially worked with Edward Salter (Saltram) in the Barossa (from 1873). He later moved to the Clare, planting vines and starting AP Birks in 1892. He passed the enterprise onto his son Roly, who eventually sold out in 1970 - to a business that promptly went into liquidation. The larger portion of the original AP Birks enterprise was purchased by Max Liberman, whose son in law and daughter - Tony and Lita Brady still run AP Birks Wendouree.

James Halliday, has said exactly the same thing in the last few publications of his annual Wine Companion: The iron fist in velvet glove best describes these extraordinary wines. They are fashioned with passion and yet precision from the very old vineyard with its unique terroir by Tony and Lita Brady, who rightfully see themselves as custodians of a priceless treasure. The 100 year old stone winery is virtually unchanged from the day it was built; this is in every sense a treasure beyond price. For two reasons, neither Tony Brady nor I see any point providing tasting notes for the most recently released vintage. First, the wines will have sold out, and there is no room for newcomers on the mailing list for the next release. Second, all I will ever be able to say is wait for 20 years before drinking the wine.

My tasting note:

Deep and dark, the rim is still crimson. Powerful, penetrating, idiosyncratic nose - menthol, crushed leaf, cedar, iron and rubber. There is an initial soft embrace before it becomes lean, muscled and tannic. The tannins are quite something - firm, linear and focusing. They grip and give chewy fine granular structure. The conclusion is distinct, hard and satisfying with ink, iron and dark chocolate.

Very good.
17.2/20 (91/100)
Drink now - 2017.

Day 2: Unchanged - firm, structured and from another time and place. This wine is an outlier - recognisably cabernet and yet so different from other examples.

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