1995 Allinda Cabernets

A RISING STAR

At Vintage Direct we taste thousands of wines a year and every so often a new winemaker emerges whose wines stand out, well above those of his peers. In the past, such rising stars have included Ken Eckersley of Nicholson River, Warren Randall at Seppelts, Rick Kinzbrunner at Giaconda, Di Cullen of Cullens, John Middleton of Mount Mary - and a handful of others. In recent times John Wade at Howard Park (in fact John Wade anywhere was a star), Lindsay McCall at Paringa Estate and Roman Bratasiuk at Clarendon Hills have all excelled. What is the underlying quality that makes these winemakers and their wines stand apart? The most obvious link is the total mastery of their craft from a technical point of view - viticulture and wine making. Having mastered the technical skills, the next step is to add to the knowledge pool - and to make a quantum leap and create an individual and great "finger print" on the wine - create and innovate over the fundamental rules of science. However, there is another quality required, and that's passion. Allinda is a tiny 800 case winery, just outside the township of Yarra Glen. There are just three hectares planted - but winemaker Al Fencaros has made a leap out of the growing crowd of Yarra Valley winemakers. The 1995 Allinda Cabernets topped a recent all day judging of Yarra Valley wines, coming in front of the formidable 1994 Mount Mary Cabernets. Judges on the day included Martin Williams (formerly winemaker at Tarrawarra, and now at Yarra Valley Hills), Jenny Port (Age journalist), Phil Meyer (wine educator), Peter Simic (Editor Wine State Magazine) and Nick Chlebnikowski (Wine Merchant).

THE 1995 ALLINDA CABERNETS SURPASSED ITS PEERS AND REACHED NEW HEIGHTS - ECLIPSING THE 1994 MOUNT MARY CABERNETS!! THIS WINE IS EXTREMELY LIMITED AND AT A THIRD OF THE PRICE OF MOUNT MARY REPRESENTS OUTSTANDING VALUE FOR MONEY

Stars rise, shine and fall, Fencaros is too talented to be seduced by the fast buck - and having made such an impressive wine can only go forward. The secret to Allinda's success started in the vineyard. Low yielding vines, minimal, yet careful management of water - and the production of small, flavour filled grapes. Fencaros fermented the wine at 24C to maximise the tannin structure whilst retaining fruit flavour. At the end of fermentation Fencaros left the wine on skins for a further 8 days - the process is called post fermentation maceration. This is a traditional technique used to stabilise colour, remove bitter tannins and produce more of the soft tannin groups. The wine is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot.Tasting notes: Deep crimson ruby colour. The nose is superb with strong Bordeaux inspiration. Aromas of confectionary, mulberry, truffle, plum, liquorice and spice - sniffing pleasure. The palate is mouthfilling - again with a profound Bordeaux influence. Layers of fruit all perfectly married to form a supremely elegant, velvet textured wine. Flavours of blackcurrants, spice, earthy truffle, cedar and plum with a hint of leather in the background. Excellent depth and persistence. Perfect balance and very long aftertaste. Cellar 8-10 years. Without a doubt a rising star!

RETASTED 13/01/1999: This wine is out of stock, but made it as a front cover wine of Vintage Direct late last year, and so with a sort of lavish praise we gave it, we were keen to see how this relatively unknown vineyard was tracking over time. Everything we said about the wine is vindicated. A year later the wine has evolved further, and become even more sophisticated. Deep crimson brick red colour. Superb aromas of blackcurrant, spice and cigar box - very Bordeaux like. The palate is a perfect follow through of the nose. Superb length and balance - a wonderful counter balancing of flavours. Cigar box, blackcurrant and earthy truffle flavours are supported by spice oak. Exceptional balance and aftertaste of blackcurrant, cedar, spice and truffle. Superb. Cellar 5-8 years.