I opened this bottle a week ago tonight - and immediately though "ugh, something is seriously wrong with this bottle." I recorked it, put it in the fridge, and forgot about it until Thursday, at which point I took it back out of the fridge, stashed it behind the toaster, and forgot about it again. Tonight, seven days later, I finally thought "well, I should brave another taste before throwing it out." Good thing I did.
I don't know what changed in a week or why the chill-and-warm cycle should have helped, but this wine finally tastes good. There's still just a flash of that strange, off-putting note on the nose, but at this point I can at least pretend it's some kind of Australian mintiness, something particularly Coonawarra here. Underneath that is a rich, woody sort of reek peeking its nose around the corner; it's simultaneously surprisingly youthful, but with flashes of unsuspected age here and there.
Texturally, this wine is absolutely perfect to me: full bodied, nicely supported by lingeringly grippy tannins, ending on a very solid woody note that lingers for a while. The overall effect is of very earthy cigar box and pencil shavings: not much rich primary fruit left but all of the body has been left behind to duke it out with well judged oak.
Given that it's been beat up so much over a week and still drinks so nicely, I think the best thing to do would have been to decant this thing at least an hour before drinking. Sadly, this was my last bottle so I won't get a chance to do so, but trust me: this wine ain't dead yet.
I don't know what changed in a week or why the chill-and-warm cycle should have helped, but this wine finally tastes good. There's still just a flash of that strange, off-putting note on the nose, but at this point I can at least pretend it's some kind of Australian mintiness, something particularly Coonawarra here. Underneath that is a rich, woody sort of reek peeking its nose around the corner; it's simultaneously surprisingly youthful, but with flashes of unsuspected age here and there.
Texturally, this wine is absolutely perfect to me: full bodied, nicely supported by lingeringly grippy tannins, ending on a very solid woody note that lingers for a while. The overall effect is of very earthy cigar box and pencil shavings: not much rich primary fruit left but all of the body has been left behind to duke it out with well judged oak.
Given that it's been beat up so much over a week and still drinks so nicely, I think the best thing to do would have been to decant this thing at least an hour before drinking. Sadly, this was my last bottle so I won't get a chance to do so, but trust me: this wine ain't dead yet.
Wow - glad to hear the Yalumba opened up to such a handsome wine. Your description of the tannins sounds really tempting - and you know how I like tannins...