1998 MadFish Premium Red Tasting Notes

The 1998 MadFish Red is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz made from fruit selected from vineyards in the Great Southern and Pemberton regions of Western Australia. The fruit was picked at full ripeness with sweet and fleshy mid palate flavours in the grapes. The different batches of fruit were fermented separately in small static tanks with twice daily pump overs to aid colour and flavour extraction from the skins without excessive up take of harsh tannins. The still separate batches were matured in 100% French oak barriques for 12 months prior to blending. Blending was done solely on the flavour marriage of the different batches to arrive at the desired wine style, that is soft, full flavoured and lingering without excessive oakiness or tannin impact.

We believe that the 1998 MadFish Red is the best so far produced. It is richly coloured with youthful hues. The nose is particularly inviting with ripe plummy fruits and lovely violet floral tones. These primary characters are complemented by chocolate cake aromas against a subtle background of good oak. The palate is rich, full and generous. Fleshy fruit flavours fill the mouth with the structure provided by the oak being subtle and in the background. The finish is persistent with soft powdery tannins.

The wine is generously flavoured now but will gain more complex characters over the next 5 or so years.