Print this Wine         1998 Mount Horrocks Cabernet Merlot   WATERVALE, CLARE VALLEY                 January Release   Bordeaux Blends       Winemaker Stephanie Toole ensures that every aspect of her winemaking operation is directed towards producing the highest possible quality. This covers grape growing through to winery techniques. The warm and dry Clare Valley climate does the rest. The 1998 vintage was particularly successful with near perfect ripening conditions. The yields were quite low, which is great for the taste of the wine, not as good for the supply. The Clare Valley produces big rich Cabernet Sauvignon fruit. The use of a little Merlot is advisable as these big rich wines can be a tad tough with tannin. Mount Horrocks has always produced a blended wine for this very purpose. Appearance wise this wine spells richness and concentration. It is very dark in color with a blue to black tinge to the basic deep red hue. The color fills all the liquid, right to the edge of the glass. There is plenty to assess on the nose. The fruit flavors hit you straight away with mulberry and blackcurrant being the most obvious. There is plenty of oak flavors but in no way would you call the wine oaky. Also there are some earthy characters that must be regionally specific to the Clare Valley. The palate sees quite a bit of intermingling of these flavors. The wine seems a lot more developed compared to the nose. The fruit flavors are sweet and ripe and they are counterbalanced perfectly against the hint of bitterness from the oak. As well as these characters there are some drying tannins at the back of the palate. This is a wine that will benefit by a short to medium term cellaring. The wine is starting to develop; however it still has a fair way to go. Give it somewhere between 4 to 7 years. The balance is there at the moment and with the little softening influence of the Merlot you can certainly enjoy the wine in the near future. Try the wine with a hearty dish like cassoulet. This dish has plenty of different flavors and with the starch component of the beans it requires a wine that has plenty of up-front flavor with some firmness at the finish. The Mount Horrocks certainly fits that description.         How do I download Hi-Res Labels?

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