I’m always up for a wine tasting that involves big Ozzy reds, so when Yellow tail rolled into town to show off their reserve line, I was keen to taste. I understand the consumer friendly regular Yellow tail line’s appeal, but for my palate, I find there is too much residual sugar in the bottle, although I do think the Yellow tail bubble at $13.99 is a great value and I’d be happy sipping on a casual glass or two. But wine is all about personal choice, and voting with your palate and dollar determines who wins on the liquor store shelves, no matter what the point score is or how the wine writers rate your favourite bottle.
The afternoon was led by Doug Frost, not only a Master of Wine, but also a Master Sommelier and John Casella, the son of the founder of the original winery and one of the family members that still own and run Yellow tail. Despite the massive size of the winery, it is is still indeed a family operation. Yellow tail had rather humble beginnings when John Casella’s father, Filippo, came from Sicily to settle in Yenda, outside of Griffith in New South Wales. He first worked as a cane cutter and fruit picker and, in 1965 had saved up enough money to purchase 47 acres in the area. In 1969 Casella Wines was born and the winery crushed the grapes with a locally built and fill beer barrels to take to Queensland to finish the wine.
By 1990, Filippo health issues dictated that his younger brother took over the helm and the winery started making bulk wine to supply the much needed cash flow. In 1994 John Casella took charge. At the time there was 2000 ton being produced; they would crush in February or March and were completely sold out by September. By 2000 the family was crushing 20,000 tonnes and was among the top 15 wine producers in volume in Australia. In 2001 the Yellow tail brand was born and the winery took the product to the Dutch they made 1 million cases and were running the bottling line 24/7. Yellow tail now employs over 500 Australians to create the wine and was just named the Most Powerful Australian Wine Brand in the World and ranked fourth Most Powerful Wine Brand globally.
The tasting was done blindly, so there was no prejudice as to what were were tasting. In other words, the cuddly kangaroo criters couldn’t charm us into voting either way.
First up four bold Shiraz’s.
Yellow tail Reserve Shiraz 2009 ($15.99) Plum and jam – – mint – honeysuckle – a little eucalyptus – clove – allspice – alcohol med high – low med tannins – acid med to high – good length
Layer Cake 2009 ($27.99) Dark cherry and plum – somewhat figgy – jammy descent length – leather – pepper – sandalwood – medium acid
Marquis Philips 2008 ($21.99) Red cherry plum – ripe blackerry – tomato paste – floral notes – medium tannins – vanilla – dried sage – dried apricot – low acicity – red apple vinegar note – some volatile acidity
D’Arenburg The Dead Arm 2006 ($69.99) Rather sharp – acid and tannins noticeable unripe cherry -tobacco – pencil lead – olive
Despite the higher price, the D’Arenburg failed to show well, and the Yellowtail certainly stood its ground. At that price point, how can you go wrong? Of note is the fact that the vintages were not the same, which would cause some variance.
Onto the Cabernet Sauvignon
Mollydooker The MaitreD’ 2008 ($25.99) Plum cassis and black currant – some cherry lifesaver – vanilla – res sugar – high alcohol – tannin med
Peter Lehman 2006 ($19.99) Unripe cherry rather thin – green pepper – vanilla extract
Yellow tail Reseve ($15.99) Blueberry syrup – cassis – harsh tannins – vanilla bean – cinnamon – high alcohol – med high tannin
Pirramima 2006 ($29.99) Prune plum leather – molasses – black currant – rather high tannins – higher acidity – med alcohol
I picked the Mollydooker here as my favorite, with the Yellow tail running a close second. Certainly for the extra $10 Molly may not be for all, but I would suggest trying both before making your final decision. Again for value, I can’t argue that Yellow tail is the best bet.
We finished the tasting with lunch at Cibo, whose Chef, Neil Taylor was fresh off a placing at the Vancouver Gold Medal Plates. His cuisine is always inventive. Italian influenced, using local ingredients.
First up the bruschetta of roast squash, talegio, prosciutto and sage served with the Yellow Tail reserve Chardonnay. A great pairing, the richness of the dish complemented by the noticeable oak and buttery-ness of the Chard.
Secondly I choose the Roast 45 Day aged beef, red wine lentils, bonemarrow and black pepper salsa served alongside both the Yellow tail Reserve Cab and Shiraz. Taylor’s dish softened the tannins in the wine, while the bone marrow helped tame some of the acidity.
Gnocchi Alla Romana, with yellow footed changerelles, savoy cabbage and marscapone ordered by my neighbour looked equally tempting, but alas, I was not offered a bite.
Great afternoon, suprisingly well priced wines that stood up to their higher-priced competitors.
