- posted
18 years ago
*1996 Yarra Yering Dry Red #1 - Australia, Victoria, Yarra Valley (9/4/2005)* Tasted with an assortment of cheeses after a cookout dinner at Bryan and Amy's. Young claret purple has softened to red except at the very center. Nose is completely closed at first, taking about ten or fifteen minutes to open up. Once open, the nose is a dead ringer for a St. Julien like Beychevelle or Ducru -- has that elegance masking weight that I associate with St. Julien, with classic cassis, cedar, graphite, a little herb, and a dose of sweet vanilla. On the palate, it is of middle weight with substantial but fairly well resolved tannins. Nice dry (if a little short) finish from the silky dark berry and deep cherry fruit. Perhaps a the high degree of ripeness on entry says Australia, but otherwise still seems like a good St. Julien from an average year. After another fifteen minutes or so, though, it all starts to come apart. Nose turns a little dusty, fruit a little muddy and disjointed and the oak steps up to dominate the finish. This could have been a result of mismatched cheeses or of a dumb phase, but troubles me enough that I wouldn't buy it without tasting again.