Balnaves The Tally Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Description

Hailing from Coonawarra, this is arguably Australia’s best cabernet.  Owner, Doug Balnaves, came up with the name –  as a young bloke he was a shearer of merino Sheep … The Tally stands for Australian tradition, skill and hard work.   Grown on the famous Terra Rossa strip and usually made up of 2 Vineyards “Dead Morris” and “Walker”.  The grapes receive a long maceration on skins and spend about 20 months in French Oak.  Only produced in the best years, the wine is initially always very firm and tannic and has a maturation potential of more than 20 years.  2005 was an early ripening vintage with good flavour and tannin structure.

Winemaker, Peter Bissell (Qantas Winemaker of the Year 2005) has done marvels with the quality of their wines over the last decade or so.   It has been listed in the Outstanding category of Langton’s Classification ans since 2001 James Halliday has scored each release with either 97 or 96 points.  This is extraordinary consistency!

96 points, James Halliday “.. an incredibly powerful and expressive bouquet, the luscious but tightly framed blackcurrant, cassis and French oak precisely fulfilling the promises of the bouquet.  This is gorgeous full bodied cabernet tasted Feb 2013 up there with the finest cabernet ever tasted.  A few years bottle age has softened the tannins a wee bit although this is still a baby.  Decanting for a few hours is a must or cellar for another 5 or 10 years.”  Very limited.