With the warmer summer weather here, we usually start drinking more white wine and less red. However, last night I just felt like I needed a red wine so I opened a bottle of the 2005 Taltarni Cabernet Sauvignon Pyrenees Victoria. This Australian Cabernet comes from the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains in the state of Victoria. This is way down in the south-east of the country.
Victoria is Australia’s most populated state and second in the amount of rainfall after Tasmania. The Taltarni Vineyards have been around since 1969 and are located about 2 hours driving distance from Melbourne.
What struck me when I first poured the wine was how dark it was, a really dark garnet. In the nose there was a hint of earthiness with dark fruit and mint, a very nice combination. The flavors were dark fruit, leather, licorice and a little green pepper. There were big tannins but plenty of acid and flavor to complement them. The finish was long with flavor and tannins. This would be a great wine to have with grilled meats. Highly recommended. Now that we drank the last one in our cellar I’ll have to find some of the newer vintages to try.
