Trial and error

Your recent article on magnums (February/March) prompted me to write about our recent experience. A couple of months ago, my father-in-law asked if I wanted any of his wines as he was going to throw them all out. This was surprising, given he gave up drinking about eight or nine years ago due to ill health. But there in his study (south- facing, no sun) in a cupboard (dark, with a reasonably constant temperature), on wine racks was his remaining modest selection of wine. Some were unusual and some obviously past it, but eventually I took a selection, including two magnums, ensuring the corks were in reasonable condition with no deterioration. We recently tasted the magnums – a 2000 Rosemount Estate Diamond Label Chardonnay, and a 2001 Xanadu Secession Semillon Sauvignon Blanc. Both were a deep, dark whisky colour, still with a faint bouquet. But sadly, and not unexpectedly, both well past their best, though not undrinkable. A couple of friends weren’t keen, but I enjoy older wines, and managed a few glasses. Another wine was a NV Jacob’s Creek Sparkling, at least eight or nine years old. This surprised us all, as it had a lovely golden colour, was slightly honey-sweet and toasty, and very drinkable. It was fun tasting the magnums. Five years earlier and I believe they would have been wonderful. As for keeping wines, with reasonable care and time, I think sometimes less ‘cellarable’ wines can pleasantly surprise us. We still have a few more of these bottles to try – several reds that are about 10 years old – and after our other tastings, my hopes are high.

EDDIE MARYNOWICZ, PERTH

Cellar systems

I enjoyed reading the description of Jim Taylor’s cellar system (Mail, February/March), because I have used a similar system in the past, but it was not always easy to keep the wine labels updated. I recently started using the Cellar Tracker app, and it has changed my world. Not only can I sort and classify my wines using the app (as it has barcode and label photo technology), but my wife also has full access on her phone and can find all the information to make a great choice for herself (so it helps with other people who have access to the cellar). I also put all the wines I want to buy on the wish list that I pull out when I’m in wine shops. So I have found the app far more useful than my previous method and am more at peace with the fact that the right wine is being drunk at the right time!

MATHEW CUNNINGTON, MELBOURNE Ed’s note: That’s great you’ve found an app that suits! Halliday members can also use the Virtual Cellar at winecompanion.com.au to log wines, keep notes and know when to drink the wines.

A Cullen journey

My dad collected wines when he lived in Australia and took many cases when he moved the family to Switzerland in the 1980s. In the late ’90s, I was looking through some of the dusty old bottles lying around in his cellar. A bottle of the 1975 Cullen Cabernet Sauvignon piqued my interest, and we really enjoyed it that evening. It was so different from the big Barossa shiraz that I associated with Australia at that time; it was medium-bodied and elegant like some of the great wines of Bordeaux that I’d had the good fortune of tasting. I had never heard of this winery and was only vaguely familiar with the fact that wine was even made west of the Nullarbor.

A few months later, I was at an Australian wine tasting in Zurich and a friendly lady from Cullen (Vanya!) was there showcasing some of their wines. I excitedly told her that we’d found a bottle of the 1975 in my dad’s cellar and it had been absolutely lovely. Vanya told me they still had a few cases of that vintage under the kitchen, but her mother didn’t really like it that much. I recall having two thoughts: how good the other vintages of this wine must be if her mother doesn’t like it; and why would it matter so much if her mother doesn’t like the

’75. After moving to Perth years later and learning more about Margaret River wines, I realised how ignorant I’d been back then. Vanya’s mother was, of course, a legendary winemaker who helped establish Margaret River as one of the world’s top wine regions.

MARK CARNIELLO, PERTH