It seems like only a few years ago that I was in the cellar at Taltarni in Victoria’s Pyrenees district tasting young reds from barrel with then chief winemaker Dominique Portet.
However, a check of my records showed that it was actually December 1982 and Taltarni had been operational for just over a decade, with its vines, mostly shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, planted in the late 1960s.
Fast forward 40 years and those vines are still producing excellent wines, with the benefit of vine age showing strongly.
The latest releases that showcase their fruit are a 2019 Old Vine Shiraz ($50) and 2018 Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon ($45), both rich, delicious wines showing complex fruit and oak on the nose and palate, with fine, lingering tannins.
While both offer balanced drinking already, they have the structure to age well for some years, particularly in light of the winery’s past prowess in producing wines that benefit from time in bottle.
Another new release that deserves to be kept for years is the 2019 Reserve Shiraz Cabernet ($75), a blend of 57% shiraz and 43 % cabernet sauvignon selected from the best barrels of each variety, with the fruit matured in French oak barrels (40% new) for 14 months. It’s a lovely example of this quintessential Australian blend.
I’m pretty sure some of those wines I tasted from barrel with Dominique are still going as he made them with a decent shot of tannin to achieve long-term cellar life, although I don’t have any left in my cellar to pronounce on that definitely.
Dominique is still making wines from his own winery in the Yarra Valley under the Dominique Portet label with his son Ben and they are certainly worth seeking out.
Not all of Taltarni’s wines are made to cellar for decades, with the 2020 Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre and 2020 Sangiovese Cabernet Sauvignon (both about $26) delicious drinking now and good shorter-term cellaring prospects.
The 2018 Estate Shiraz ($40) falls somewhere in between. It’s drinking very nicely now but another decade in the cellar won’t hurt it.
And if you want a celebratory drink, Taltarni’s range of bubbles, particularly the Brut Rose, is always rewarding, as is the wonderful array from its Tasmanian offshoot Clover Hill (some of my favourite Aussie bubbles).
While Taltarni may have been one of the pioneers of the Pyrenees district, it is not alone in producing wines worth a try. Among the excellent producers in the area are Blue Pyrenees, Dalwhinnie, Mount Avoca, Peerick and Sally’s Paddock and several more.
For more information on individual wineries and the region, check out
www.taltarni.com.au
www.pyrenees.org.au
www.sallyspaddock.com.au
www.bluepyrenees.com.au
www.dalwhinnie.wine
www.mountavoca.com
www.peerick.com.au
www.dominiqueportet.com
Very Informative article Thanks Buddy
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