After he died, Winston Churchill bequeathed to posterity one final stumper. Throughout his life, he ate heavily, breathed through a cigar and drank more liquor than Charles Bukowski (starting at 11 a.m. with whiskey or a pint of champagne). When he was asked the secret of his longevity, he replied “Sport — I never, ever got involved in sport.” This is the Churchill Paradox. You can guess about risk factors, healthy living and genes, but no one really knows how long they’re going to live.
I had this in mind when I had dinner with one of the longest-serving winemakers in Australia, Wayne Stehbens of Katnook Estate. He pointed out that almost all wine critics (including your reporter) have a bad habit of closing their wine reviews with prognostications about the wine’s lifespan: “drink or hold for 3 to 5 years” or “best between 2015 and 2018.”
These predictions generally follow the conventional wisdom that only ultra-premium wines can go past the 10 or 20 year mark. Australian reds — especially those that sell for under $50 — are rarely included in this club. Wayne tactfully calls this rubbish. “They lie!” he says, jabbing his menacing finger in the direction of my rack of lamb. “These critics are wrong. It will go a lot longer than they realize.”
To prove his point, Wayne brought several Katnook bottles to dinner — some from the 1990s and others from the vintages that are now in the LCBO. By opening yesterday’s wine, he wanted to show what today’s will be like tomorrow. His 1996 Katnook Merlot was stupendous; after 14 years, it was intense and going strong. Without declaring an upper limit, I would certainly say that it can evolve into its 20th birthday. That’s more than I can say for my cat.
Katnook is located in Coonawarra, one of the best appellations in Australia — and one that is often compared to Bordeaux. Its reputation comes from its cool climate and a strip of red soil that gives its grapes an enchanting minerality. In most of Australia, hot-bodied Shiraz freely gasconades, but Coonawarra is the realm of more classical varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon. The resulting wine tends to be elegant and architectural.
Although Katnook makes an excellent Cab Sauv, I was particularly struck by its Merlot, which is — quite frankly — a very special wine:
Katnook Estate 2006 Merlot ($29.95 [Ed. note: No longer available], Vintages #718528)
Mocha, sweaty leather and graphite come together in this finely balanced and juicy wine. The weather of 2006 was even more promising than the 1994 vintage, so this wine is assured great longevity — I’ll be drinking mine circa 2020. As it ages, it will acquire a fleshy texture, a hint of buckwheat honey and even more elegance. Superb. 92/100
Matthew Sullivan is a civil litigator in Toronto. He blogs weekly here on lawandstyle.ca. The Short Cellar column also appears in the print edition of Precedent. Matthew can be reached at matthew@lawandstyle.beta-site.ca. Follow along on Twitter: @shortcellar.
Photo by Robert Scarth