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Yarra
Valley, part 7
The
wines of Coldstream Hills
The winery at Coldstream Hills
For the full background on Coldstream Hills see the
interview I did with James
Halliday, after which I tasted through the range with him (notes
below).
In brief, Halliday (pictured below right) achieved his
dream of establishing a Yarra Valley winery back in 1985, when the
first vines were planted. The property was expanded in 1987, and was
bought out by Southcorp in 1996. Halliday has retained ownership of
his house, with views over the vineyards, and is still involved in a
consultancy role.
 There’s
a large range, made from 200 hectares of vineyards – 100 hectares of
which are owned, and the rest managed by Coldstream Hills. Quality is
admirable, with a couple of real highlights.
Coldstream Hills Sauvignon
Blanc 2005
Fresh, crisp and nicely fruited. Tasty. Forgot to score this…
Coldstream Hills Chardonnay 2004
Next to no malolactic fermentation and 20% new oak used. Toasty,
full and nutty. Creamy and rich yet still fresh and forward with good
acidity. There’s some bready complexity. Very good/excellent 90/100
Coldstream Hills Reserve Chardonnay 2003
Lovely complex toasty, nutty nose. Fresh, full and intense.
Attractive rounded texture. Sophisticated and expressive with a
creamy, bready character. Very good/excellent 93/100
Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir 2005
Palish cherry red colour. Expressive with some herbiness and a
touch of undergrowth on the nose. The soft, herby expressive palate is
ripe and sweet but has some undergrowthy complexity. Very
good/excellent 90/100
Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir Reserve 2004
Sweet berry and cherry fruit nose with some herby, spicy notes.
The palate has nice complexity, some tannin, and sweet fruit that has
a degree of elegance. Quite full, spicy and structured. Very
convincing. Very good/excellent 92/100
Coldstream Hills Merlot 2003
Nice leafy edge to the ripe, well proportioned fruit. The palate
is fresh and midweight with good tannins and excellent balance. Very
good+ 89/100
Coldstream Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
Very firm with a distinctively green leafy edge to the blackfruits
nose. Assertive and fresh with some chalkiness. The palate has nice
concentration and an elegant savoury edge. Minerally with chalky, dry
tannins. I like this. Very good/excellent 91/100
Coldstream Hills Limited Release Shiraz 2004
Deep coloured. Bright dark fruits nose with lovely clarity and
some pepperiness. Quite floral, even. The palate is fresh and fruity
with lovely vibrancy. It’s not a big wine, but it is expressive.
Very good/excellent 90/100
Coldstream Hills Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1997
Expressive perfumed nose is fragrant, elegant, herby and
appealing. The palate is alive with lovely sweet fruit and nice
tannins. This has evolved really nicely. Very good/excellent 93/100
Wines tasted
03/06
Find
these wines with wine-searcher.com
Yarra series:
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