*all wines double decanted 1hour prior to tasting in late August 2018
2009 Timaeus
Fine sediment
Kirsch with a dusting of ash, strawberries, rhubarb, hung meat, tree bark, dried oregano
Gentle tawny-like complexity, walnut and more rhubarb on the palate, good persistence
Shows the sunniness of the season. Drink now or over the next 3-4 years
Day 4 – mild oxidation, not as resilient as other Timaeus
2010 Timaeus
Fine sediment
Dark fruits, bramble, tar, meat, strong wine, strong tannin, succulent, very good length.
Still young, should age well for another 10 years
Day 4 – still bright, a very resilient wine at this stage
2012 Timaeus
Heavy sediment
Bold resinous dark fruits, blue cheese and rosemary, green woods, forest
Undergrowth, quite earthy, green tree bark, greenstone, tar, bitters, soy, umami
Very earthy in the mouth, screaming out for food and needs food
Should continue to age well for another 5-7 years
Day 4 – menthol, eucalyptus, resinous, tar, green tea, sweet palate with savoury tannin
2013 Timaeus
Fine sediment.
Restrained perfume, pink fruit, tree bark, fungi, fine tannin but zippy super succulent acidity
Rhubarb, watermelon, pink ruby grapefruit – needs food
Lovely mouth-feel once your palate has adjusted to the acidity
Should age well for another 10 years.
Day 4 – still looking very good, raspberry and ash, concentrated and plenty of tannin.
2014 Timaeus
Fine sediment.
Light and spicy, smoke, pink fruits, toffee apple
Lovely supple entry with seamless flow through to the finish, little bit of black pepper in there, cranberry fruits. Very restrained, light, succulent, nicely balanced, moreish.
Should age well for another 3-5 years
Day 4 – a little nutty, lovely light mouthfeel
2015 Timaeus
Fine sediment
Honeycomb, tea leaf, toffee apple, watermelon, smoke
This wine slides on to your palate before continuing to build powerfully. The finish seems slightly unresolved at this stage – slight coarse tannin in what is otherwise a supremely silky, slinky pomegranate fruited experience.
Will continue to age well for another 10+ years
Day 4 – lovely perfume of strawberry, tea leaf and cashew
2016 Timaeus
Heavy sticky sediment
Super dark colour, dried cranberry, tea leaf, iron bark, tar, bramble, five spice and black current.
Nice mouth-feel, very young, so much tannin wound up in this wine
Ripe fruits with a lot of chewy phenolic material. Needs time.
Should age well for another 12 years. Strong.
Day 4 – aromatics of dark satsuma plum, tea, wood smoke, hint of sultana, ripe
*
2009 Efferus
Heavy sediment.
Petrichor, five spice, tree bark, spicy plum, tea leaf, ash, rosemary, charcuterie, cocoa, cigar box
Very gentle dry mouth feel, dry spice, sweet earth, dark chocolate, nutmeg, red fruit, kirsch
Persistent and wholesome, would work well with food,
Should continue to age well for another 4-6 years
Day 4 – slight oxidation, still strong
2010 Efferus
Heavy sediment
Dark wine, tar, earth, rose-petal, floral, some black pepper, chinese five spice
Palate shows the Syrah component on entry before becoming unmistakeably Mataro – like
Slightly wild, flavours of black tea, soy, mettwurst, burnt cherry, Satsuma plum, honeycomb
A little orange rind in there, cigar box, red delicious toffee apple, violets
Age another 7-8 years
Day 4 – slight oxidation showing in aromatics, still strong in the mouth
2012 Efferus
Medium sediment
Very dark feel, tarry, soy reduction, extremely savoury
Chargrilled green pepper, sourdough, freshly cracked black pepper,
Slow to open up, potash, cut grass, soy, dark leather boots, black tea, savoury licorice, smoked red meat
Palate entry is nice, a surprise, almost sweet after such savoury aromatics. Tight, dark, tannic
Will age another 10 years.
Day 4 – slowly starting to relax, more give but still strong savoury baseline, very resilient wine
2013 Efferus
Heavy sediment
Meat, dust, tree bark, green tea, white pepper, molasses, woodsy
Subdued entry almost tricks before the flavour powers up, so savoury, Campari, soy, umami, long
Will age well for a further 10 years
Day 4 – aromatically singing with redskin and petrichor
2014 Efferus
Light sediment
Tar, earth, smoke, grass, dust, mescal, mint, gaseous
Light and graceful (is that possible for Mataro?)
Tart fruit, tarragon, balsamic, soy, seaweed, pomegranate, chinese five spice
Intriguing wine with surprising balance
Should age well for another 6-7 years
Day 4 – remarkably good, I had expected this lighter wine to fall over by now, savouriness and balance has given it an surprisingly enduring nature, there is something in that!
2015 Efferus
Very heavy sediment
Blue fruit, tar, pepper, ash, rhubarb, Satsuma plum
Nice mouthfeel, reasonably fine tannins for Mataro, grey rock almost slate like sheen with redcurrant, molasses, pomegranate flavours. Concentrated, youthful, lingers well
Should continue to age well for another 10 years
Day 4 – showing some aromatic development but palate is smooth and persistent
2016 Efferus
Heavy sediment
Brambly dark wine, green tree bark, smoke, dark blue fruits, wild in the best way
Some floral notes, minty mountain herbs, charcuterie.
Open savoury attack before substantial dark tannin kicks in to guide it through to a long finish.
Fruit concentration is there, just well masked by the huge savouriness of the wine – a common theme for Mataro
Should age well for another 10+ years
Day 4 – lovely chalky texture, bitter plums
2017 Efferus
Light sediment
Black pepper, charcoal, rhubarb, dark boot polish
Spacious attack without lacking presence. Succulent, charcuterie, light blue fruit, green pepper, five spice
This Efferus has a medium bodied, racy feel to it compared the darker, dryer earlier versions, time will tell
Should age well for 10-12 years min.
Day 4 – Singing along nicely, not surprising given it is the youngest wine in bottle
*
2009 Archaeus
Heavy sediment
Cake spice, sage, tangerine, tar, tea leaf, mushroom, sweet earth
Full flavoured and reasonably soft before the mild tannin kicks in, quite voluptuous for us.
Shows the sunniness of the season but pleased with the presence of herb, tar, bitters to counter the sweet nature of the fruit. Nicely balanced, perhaps slightly full. Drinking well now and will still age well for a further 3-4 years
Day 3 – smoky red plum
2010 Archaeus
Medium sediment
Dark colour, dark dusty black fruits and anise, tea leaf, tar, black pepper, rhubarb.
Palate quite soft on entry before a pleasing long slow building of reasonably firm tannin.
Orange rind, sarsaparilla, bitters
Presents youthful and bold, persistent, should age well for further 10 years
Day 3 – candied apple, red skin – looks good
2012 Archaeus
Light fragmented sediment.
Rhubarb, green pepper, smoke, tar, sage, very savoury.
Bold savoury entry into mouth with reasonably green tannin present
Palate still has the richness of Syrah, largely offset by the savoury acidity, reasonably resinous nature of the wine This is a food wine for sure, challenging without food
Leave another 6-8 years at least
Day 3 – dusty earth, smoke, mushroom, granite, pencil lead – nice
2013 Archaeus
Light fragmented sediment.
Big presence, full bouquet, rhubarb, red plum, cocoa, nutmeg, ash, sarsaparilla, has that rain on hot rocks (petrichor) thing going on, nice.
Young wine with super flavour and plenty of tannin. Tannin is much riper than the 2012, will also enjoy food
Will age for a further 10 years
Day 3 – subdued bouquet, complex smokey ash/earth perfume, palate is solid with nice length. Concentrated
2014 Archaeus
Dark crystalline sediment
Minty, pink fruits, a lot of sage, eucalyptus, five-spice.
Palate has really nice flow, so much lighter than any previous Archaeus, but still achieving good length.
Tannins are slightly course but not too bold, they are well slotted into the shape of the wine.
Savoury after taste, good acidity, likes food
Day 3 – aromatically lively – smoke, tar, redcurrant, cola, rhubarb, parsnip – sleeper wine?
2015 Archaeus
Fine to medium sediment
Wow – super aromatics of sweet earth/ petrichor, cocoa, raspberry, anise
Lovely mouth-filling entry, raspberry, chocolate. Palate has plenty of tannin but seems barely enough to clean up
such strong flavour, lovely shape, needs savoury food to offset the richness – persistent
Drink now or leave another 5-7 years and look again
Day 3 – gentle spice, earth, dust, graphite, fungi, discreet but long
2016 Archaeus
Fine sediment
Very dark wine, beautiful floral red fruit, grey rocky aromatics, quite crystalline, ripe red cherry, smoke, dark freshly tilled earth, pear blossom, cinnamon, licorice
Palate has lovely flavour filled entry, salivation starts early flavour flows nicely until the gravelly tannin cleans up I love the flavour / feel/ length of this wine, persistent too, should age well for 10-20 years
2017 Archaeus
Fine sediment and tartrate ring
Colour good, where perhaps the aroma of the 2016 shone, the palate of this wine is its greatest strength, aromatics still great, just down a bit from last year, perhaps slightly more blue fruited and definitely rocky – mica rich siltstone and that pink quartz too, ash, peat, anise, quite blue fruited in the palate, lovely swing and flow. Persistent, good extract, should age well for a further 7 – 18 years.
It was pretty cool to taste all of these together