5 From Xanadu

My virtual friend, Arthur Needham, of Brisbane, Australia, has been pestering me to give him a good reason as to why the Gang of Pour doesn’t do more features about wines from Down Under. And I have to admit that whilst we HAVE touched on some bloody fine examples over the last several years, we’ve never focused on a particular winery or even a region. Sadly, what’s available in our neck of the woods is a rather limited selection of some of the usual suspects like Penfolds, Rosemont, Lindemans and d’Arenberg, all of whom make very respectable wines, at the very least, and we’ve said so. But, there’s just so much more selection out there that we never see.

That changed recently, when Alan (Canadian Zinfan) Kerr, Scott (The Geek) Tobias, Kim and this taster convened on the Ides of March to sample  a representative selection from Xanadu Wines, an operation we knew very little about, located in the Margaret River region of Southwestern Australia.  As it turns out, the winery was founded by Dr. John Lagan, who planted some of the first vines in that area in 1977. Yielding better than two thousand tons of premium grapes from one hundred and thirty hectares of vineyards, these produce eleven varieties of wine under three different labels, Secession, Xanadu and Lagan Estate.

2000 Xanadu Margaret River Chardonnay, $14.99, 14% alc.: After taking an initial whiff of this medium straw colored libation, Alan remarked, "It’s Chardonnay, it’s not just all oak." And he’s right, it shows rich pear, butterscotch and honeydew melon character that is prettied up, but not overwhelmed by toasty oak. It saw whole bunch pressing and full barrel fermentation in premier French barriques, 50% of which were new. Zippy acidity shocks the saliva glands with the first sip, and gives the flavors an added green apple nuance; it should also allow this to age and develop for at least a few years. "It has a Chablis-like crispness, if not flavor," Alan commented. It also has a fairly long finish, making for a complete package that we all found most enjoyable.

2000 Xanadu Margaret River Merlot, $21.99, 15% alc.: Dark garnet, and turning slightly pink towards the rim, this was produced from a small block in the original Lagan Estate vineyards, and was aged in French barriques for 20 months prior to bottling. The Geek stuck his nose in the glass and opined that "It’s almost like root beer," but Kerr countered, "It’s almost like cola." And it does have a certain nuance reminiscent of sodas of those sorts. Kim added impressions of "fruit stick," and "white sugar cream confection, but not sweet." However, these were only supporting elements to what Alan accurately described as, "dusty couvature chocolate, blackberry and plum in the finish," characterizing it as "a food wine." And in fact, it works quite nicely with a mixed grill of vegetables and specialty sausages, including lamb, chicken and turkey. It has a fairly smooth mouthfeel, despite at least a few years worth of tannins and plenty of acidity. It leaves long, lanky legs down the inside of the glass, one indication of its concentration and intensity, and it finishes fairly long. Alan and Kim also noted some alcohol heat, which is borne out by the 15% level listed on the back label. Yes, it’s Merlot, not one of my favorite varietals, but this one is quite nice. Scott didn’t care for it at first, but as it opened with air, he amended that view to a more positive one.

1999 Xanadu Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon, $17.99, 14.5% alc.: This deep, dark garnet exudes an unmistakably Cabernet Sauvignon nose, or "big, classic black currant right up," as Alan put it. It displays true varietal character, with dusty, chalky tannins and added flavors and aromas of cassis, dark cherry, plum, leather, button mushroom, and what Mr. Kerr described as "a faint hint of spearmint." It’s not an oaky fruit bomb, but rather a rich young claret with a reasonably long finish, and similar tannin and acidity levels to the Merlot, which would best be tamed by at least two or three years in the cellar.

1998 Xanadu Lagan Estate Margaret River Cabernet Reserve, 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot, $31.99, 13.5% alc.: Named after John Lagan, this purple edged dark garnet is all about elegance and refinement, with its silky texture and lovely flavors. The individual varietal components were blended together one year after harvest, then spent another twelve months in premium new Troncais French barriques. And while the oak treatment is noticeable, like the rest of these, it’s not at all overdone. A note of aquarium graces the black currant, cassis, Maraschino cherry and violet bouquet, following through on the palate with hints of tobacco, more good acidity, and a long finish. And while it will be best with five years or so in the cellar, it opens and improves so much, it’s hard to keep hands off now. A big thumbs up from all four of us, and worth the suggested retail, no sweat.

2000 Xanadu Frankland River Margaret River Shiraz, $16.99, 14.5% alc.: Fruit for this inky dark garnet wine was picked from select vineyards in the Frankland River and Margaret River regions, and aged for 12 months in 50% French and 50% American oak barriques. We saved this for the last of the Xanadu wines, reasoning that if it was any kind of Shiraz, it would be big, boisterous and rather more assertive than the other four, and we were quite correct in that regard. It starts off with just a touch of tire rubber on the nose, with tons of big plum and dark berries quickly coming to the fore, along with notes of aquarium and what Alan described as "coconut, walnut shell, faint black pepper and Bassett’s Liquorice" (which he clarified as not being sweet, but good quality liquorice.) Flavors echo loudly, and Mr. Kerr continued to spew out impressions such as "damson, blueberry coulis and a little charcoal and smoke on the finish." There’s no mistaking this for anything but Shiraz, as it shows excellent varietal character. With its smooth, almost silky mouthfeel, yet good acidity at the same time, a few years worth of tannins don’t keep one from enjoying this now, with half an hour in a decanter.

We were most impressed with these wines right across the board. The quality level was consistently high, and they all showed promise for the future, whilst delivering a good bang for the buck right now, as well. And, as a kind of rough measuring stick, Alan brought along a bottle that might give us some little hint of what can be expected of at least one of these a few years down the road.

1995 Cape Mentelle Shiraz Margaret River, $22 Can. (approximate retail price 5 years ago), 14% alc.: This deep dark garnet is showing no brick tones to speak of yet. A little barnyard blows off of the nose to reveal an alliance of aquarium and garrigue at the expense of much fruit, but in this case, it works quite well. These impressions carry over into the flavors, where they gain good plum, prune, mulberry and a little pepper on the long finish. This is some serious Shiraz, with good acidity and some tannins yet to be resolved; easily a 10 year wine. The garrigue and secondary elements set the tone from the get-go, and just don’t quit. Simply marvelous, especially given the cost.

Xanadu Wines are imported by William Grant and Sons Inc, Edison, NJ.

5 From Hamilton's Ewell Vineyards

Back to the Top 

February 2002