23 August 2011

By

Dr Brendan Jansen

As I walked into the foyer of the Hyatt Hotel and asked for the location of the 2nd annual Perth Hyatt Cup, I felt a little as though I was asking about a horseracing event. The equine comparison turned out to be in some ways apt, as I shall return to later.

The Hyatt Cup began last year, a competition to showcase the best of Western Australia’s Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet dominant Bordeaux blends. Punters (attendees) taste the wines selected blind, and then rate them, with wines selected from either the Margaret River or Great Southern regions. Points are collated and the results made known at the end of each bracket. This year, the 2007, 2008 and 2009 vintages were featured. For my general thoughts about the greatness of WA (and Margaret River in particular) Cabernet, please refer to http://wineup.wordpress.com/2011/07/20/margaret-river-and-its-affinity-with-cabernet-sauvignon/

On the expert panel providing commentary were esteemed WA winemakers and industry pioneers Dr Bill Pannell (founder of Moss Wood, now of Picardy), Keith Mugford (Moss Wood), Rob Bowen (Domaines and Vineyards, formerly Chief Winemaker at Houghton’s) and Kim Horton (Ferngrove). 19 wines were pre-poured, in brackets of 6 or 7. We began with the 2009 vintage, moved to the 2007, and finished with 2008. The list of wines follows.

2007

• Cullen – Diana Madeline
• Cape Mentelle
• Moss Wood
• Houghton – Jack Mann
• Forrest Hill
• Howard Park – Abercrombie

2008

• Woodlands – Shelley Anne
• Vasse Felix – Heytesbury
• Cape Mentelle
• Houghton – Jack Mann
• Howard Park – Abercrombie
• Houghton – CW Ferguson
• Moss Wood

2009

• Woodlands – Alma May
• Fraser Gallop
• Cullen – Diana Madeline
• Howard Park – Abercrombie
• Ferngrove – Majestic
• K & B

From the first bracket, discussion ensued as to whether there was ‘typicity’ in the wines of each region that would allow them to be identified. Kim Horton suggested there may be, with cool climate features and a different quality of tannins setting the Great Southern wines apart. (Amy Burch echoed from the floor that differences in average daytime temperatures were indeed significant between the two regions).

Keith Mugford did not fully agree that regional differences were easily picked, especially with the 2009 bracket, suggesting that if indeed there was a difference in terroir, this was trumped by winemaking – use of oak, timing of picking, extent of extraction – and in ripe vintages (as all 3 vintages were), where achieving full phenolic ripeness is not an issue, “the hand of Man was more important than the hand of God”.

I agree with Keith Mugford’s comments – perhaps the choice of wines in this year’s competition for the 2009 vintage in question reflected winemaking more than terroir. And here it is appropriate to return to the horse racing analogy, perhaps “training” was more important than “pedigree” in these particular thoroughbreds.

The terroir argument received more support, however, in the second and third brackets (2007 and 2008 vintages), in that it was easier to detect regional differences, perhaps also reflecting the wines chosen (but also possibly reflecting the brilliant conditions in 2008 in particular, prompting Bill Pannell to declare that in some amazing years, wines just make themselves!) Kim Horton and Rob Bowen insightfully pointed out that the Great Southern region was also made up of very heterogenous terroirs– with Mt Barker and Frankland being very different in terms of rainfall, and as a consequence, vine vigour (with the latter subregion being drier).

Dr Pannell provided an eloquent critique of the show system, suggesting palate fatigue played a part in bigger, fuller styles gaining credit over lighter bodied, more elegant wines. He also made insightful comments about the perhaps bogus task of trying to pick a winner between the two regions. He cited the Rhone Valley, and Cote Rotie and Hermitage in particular, as examples of extremely high quality appellations, commanding equally high prices, but with very different styles. Perhaps we should trust our palates, and choose our favourites according to the style we prefer!

I for one enjoy Cabernets that are of medium body, which are varietally faithful, have all the hallmarks of Cabernet (like tomato leaf, capsicum, cassis, and cigar box when a few years old), complemented but not overly encumbered by oak, with fine, dusty but ripe (not green) tannins, good acid and the structure to allow aging. I say this as a preface to sharing my favourite wines of the tasting, as all the wines selected were of superlative quality, and my preferences simply reflect, well, my preferences.

For what it’s worth, these are the wines I awarded my highest points to, with a brief tasting note:

Forest Hill – Cabernet Sauvignon – 2009 (18). Wow! Opulent, stewed (but not over-ripe) fruit characters, varietally spot on, with nicely developed tannins on the front palate.

Ferngrove – Cabernet Sauvignon – Majestic – 2009 (18.25). Layers and layers of rich cassis, dense, rich, with chocolatey oak. Great length and all elements in balance.

Moss Wood – Cabernet Sauvignon – 2007 (18,75). Still dominated by chocolatey/mocha oak, this wine had amazing depth, palate reach, and flavours that just went on and on. Superb ripe tannin structure allied to liquorice, plum, blackcurrant and boysenberry. (The Moss Wood – Cabernet Sauvignon – 2008 also brilliant, but young and tight – 18.25 pts).

Cape Mentelle – Cabernet Sauvignon – 2008 (18.75). On the money. Dusty tannins, tomato leaf, capsicum, some development with cigar box and tobacco, ripe cassis fruit, beautiful medium palate weight, persistence and tannin structure. (I gave the Cape Mentelle – Cabernet Sauvignon – 2007 18.5 pts also).

Woodlands – Cabernet Sauvignon – Shelley Anne – 2008 (18.75). Beautiful and beguiling. Like a gentle kiss, warms your cheek for a good time after. Dense, complex and displaying currant, berry, cherry and mint, it had superlative length, and a lovely tannin structure. My wine of the night. (The Woodlands – Cabernet Sauvignon – Alma May – 2009 , not released for another year, is also a cracker – 18.25 pts).

So what were the results? Well, Margaret River came out on top – by a whisker – amongst both the tasters and the expert panel. In the end, though, the difference was far from being statistically significant, and the real winners were Cabernet Sauvignon, Western Australia, and those of us lucky enough to enjoy these wines!

John Jens and the Hyatt should be congratulated for putting on such a stellar event, and at such a bargain price. John should get a special mention for his tireless attempts at promoting WA wine, and Cabernet in particular.

If you get the chance to attend next year, go for it! I’ll bet in you having a great night!

Ciao for now!

Brendan Jansen