Don’t know where Apsley is? You wouldn’t be the only one. It’s a remote town in far western Victoria, not that far from the South Australian border. It is the home of Gruetzner Vineyard, a relatively cool site that has provided fruit for Penfolds Grange. Being cool and dry, it produces modest yields of small Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes that have abundant tannins and good natural acidity.
Now to the maker, Tom Riley is a one-time member of the Penfolds winemaking team turned high-end tailor. Trained as a winemaker, Tom ‘saw the light’ and moving into the more lucrative of cutting the finest cloth. Thanks for us drinkers, Tom still makes a little bit of wine on the side.
Gruetzner Vineyard Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon from the excellent 2012 vintage is his first effort, and it has a real wow factor. A classic Australian ‘Claret’, Riley’s take on Bin 389 is a real beauty. It sees no new oak being matured exclusively in seasoned oak barrels. The wine displays excellent fruit concentration and plenty of structure by way of fine powdery tannin.
In some ways, this is an anti-Penfolds wine, being the product of a single vineyard, no new wood and notably made without the use of ‘exogenous tannins’. This is a cracker of a wine for the cellar, but patience is needed. Leave for at least a decade.
2012 TB RILEY ‘GRUETZNER VINEYARD’ SHIRAZ CABERNET SAUVIGNONProducer: TB Riley
Variety: Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon blend
Vintage: 2012
Region: Far Western Victoria, Victoria
ABV: 14.0%
Closure: Screw cap
Retail Price: $40.00
Date tasted: 31 October 2015
Tasting Note:
Impenetrable crimson. Stern nose of dark fruit, minerals, wet earth, graphite. Medium bodied, silky in texture, blueberry, blackberry, cassis. Very ‘dark’. Savoury. Powdery tannins assert themselves on the finish. Classic dry Australian red executed with aplomb. Needs time – at least 5 years.
Score: 17.5/20
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