Grosset Gaia 2005

Tasting Notes

They will be wondering whether Jeff Grosset has gone soft. They will want to know ‘is age catching up with the master of austerity?’ 'What's this with a cuddly cabernet?' the wine lovers of Adelaide, Amsterdam, Anaheim and Accrington will be wondering. The 2005 Grosset 'Gaia' is back to the usual blend of cabernet sauvignon (75%), cabernet franc (20%) and merlot (5%) and is a surprise packet. As always, it is sourced solely from Grosset’s stoney, desolate, wind-swept, high Gaia vineyard in the Clare Valley.

The wine itself is broodingly aromatic with dense, deep brambly, blackcurrant and dark plum flavours with a wonderful succulence in the mid-palate so it's much less austere than usual. There's weight, power and tremendous density and layer after layer of flavour - which at present is pretty tightly coiled. Yet there's a gentleness about the wine that is not typical of Gaia at this age, certainly some characteristic restraint yet there's an approachability from power of the fruit balanced by the ripe, powdery, fine-grained tannins. The texture is velvety, almost seductive and there is an elegance to the wine. It is simply delicious now yet with the capacity to age as well as any other vintage.

Reviews

James Halliday
Australian Wine Companion 2009
Lovely cabernet, expressive of a more red fruit personality, pure and quite generous; it would be easy to miss the structure of this wine, given the abundance of tightly focused fruit, but it is there and will see the wine age gracefully for a decade to come.  Rating: 95  To: 2018
 

Tyson Stelzer
Wine Business Monthly - Top 100 June 2008
This is a structured, varietal Cabernet, honed for the long-haul. It's packed with leafy, minty, green capsicum flavours which add an egde to its red berry fruit. Firm, fine, grippy tannins and well-balanced oak will benefit from a decade to soften and integrate.

Huon Hooke
The Sydney Morning Herald 'Good Living' March 25th 2008
94/100
A blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot from the Clare Valley, this is a superb wine, complex and concentrated, with a fleshy, smooth palate with sweet fruit and fine-grained tannins. Coffee-grounds, berry and green bean aromas.
Now to 15 or more years. 95/100