Clear garnet all the way through.  Considerable bricking.  A little wet-sponge and brett initial runs quickly into soft, pure, clean fruit.  Touch of alcohol, but oh so warm and polished.

Anyone who knows my palette understands I am a huge wonk for Australian wines.  Despite it being pretty much the originator of the whole hi-alcohol thing which has invaded California with a vengeance and caused uber-extraction to take over the taste-preferences and marketing-type throughout the New World and even–the HORROR–trickling down to France and Italy.

Gone are the days of 12-5 wines.  Ten years ago, I commonly extended a challenge to any of my wino-friends:  Go into ANY shop in Europe and I DARE YOU to find a wine over 13.0.  Go into any California shop and I DARE YOU to find a wine UNDER 13.0.  Now the Rhone norms out at 13-5 and many creeping to 14.  But Australia somehow always did it with class and finesse and BALANCE.  I love my Penfold’s and Peter Lehmann’s… all things Barossa and an occasional Mclaren will always pique my interest.  But I had never heard of Annvers.  Don’t even know where Langhorne Creek is.  Adelaide?

This wine was at its peak a couple years ago and is fading fast.  It is still solid and good and drinkable.    Great cedar, tobacco smells and taste and sharp acidity and still-ample tannins.  Unfortunately, the fruit has faded below a balance-point with these two.  This is still an incredible wine, just need to be drunk. NOW.  Falls apart fairly quickly in the glass into a more pronounced AL and acidity.

Not wonderful at this point which is unfair because I know this was solid stuff a few years ago.  This came from *wine shop* provenance, so a HUGE asterisk is attached.  Under perfect storage conditions I am confident this would have another 10 years on it.  Still a fabulous wine, just… fruit is fading hard.

1998 ANNVERS Cabernet Sauvignon Langhorne Creek Australia 14.5

http://www.anvers.com.au/