Jancis Robinson on Wine

'IN A BRAVE NEW TASTING, AUSTRALIA'S FINEST WINES WERE SERVED BLIND TO THE BRITISH SCEPTICS, WITH UNEXPECTED RESULTS'

"….Never before, even in Australia, has there been such an opportunity to judge more than 100 of Australia's best wines blind….In a way, this was a remarkably brave exercise on the part of the Australians.
Nothing is more guaranteed to highlight the shortcomings of any wine, no matter how highly regarded, than to serve it blind, without the cocoon of its label and status, alongside dozens of its peers….And as in all flights, I was deliberately looking for wines that could only be gloriously, rip-roaringly Australian wines, rather than copies of European wine archetypes. What was fascinating was the variation in regional styles, from rich, choclately Barossa Shiraz such as Glaetzer's succulent 1998…"

MY PERSONAL FAVOURITES

Mount Pleasant, Lovedale Semillon 1996, Hunter Valley
Giaconda Chardonnay 1999, Victorian Alps
Katnook Cabernet Sauvignon 2001, Coonawarra
Petaluma Cabernet Merlot 2000, Coonawarra
Lake's Folly Cabernet Sauvignon 1998, Hunter Valley
Coriole, Lloyd Shiraz 1999, McLaren Vale

GLAETZER SHIRAZ 1998, BAROSSA VALLEY

The 1998 Glaetzer Shiraz was one of 113 Australian wines assembled for the tasting by Andrew Caillard from respected auction house, Langton's.  The blind tasting was designed to show off Australian fine wine to UK wine industry heavyweights.  Robinson reported on the major tasting event in her widely-read wine column in the UK Financial Times.