Blue Pyrenees Reserve Red 2004 (Pyrenees, Vic)
$40, Cork

40 years young, and still sporting the same label from 10 years ago (the pic to the left is of the 02 vintage, but little change for the 04). That’s Blue Pyrenees for you & I can’t say that I would want it to change. I like ’em. I like the beefy, herbaceous, eucalypty, dense & minty wines, the no nonsense whites and I really like the prices, however I can understand why you could be turned off – they are unique. To me, these wines have an applaudable depth of fruit & complexity that only comes from old vines in the right spot, and that alone deserves celebration.

The nose of this wine then is, almost predictably, spearminty & eucalypty. Its almost like someone cleaned the glass with Colgate & Vicks. Importantly however, I don’t think this is unripe – though the nose will clear the sinuses. The clearly ripe fruit comes through on the densely packed, particularly well built, muscular palate. Its big, increidbly tannic and almost antiquated in its density & chewiness. Nothing to cuddle here. Rather, like Cabernet based wines of yore, it actually needs cellaring. It won’t just get softer and rounder, it will actually evolve, like a sullen teenager who comes out of his shell and becomes a top bloke. It just needs patience.

This is a wine for woodchoppers, sailors and other gruff types. It’s so very masculine, yet, don’t tell anyone, its actually really well balanced (if you can hack the mint & eucalpyt) & will, quintessentially, reward the patient like few other modern Australian wines.

I’ll be buying some. 18.4++