Stonyridge produced the first vintage of Larose in 1985 (from memory). The current vintage retails for $220 from the vineyard according to the collector who generously opened ten vintages for a group of 21 people recently. Prices vary considerably thanks to a tiered scheme that allows loyal customers to buy at prices well below retail. It may in fact be better to buy Larose at auction. It’s my guess that the high value, longevity and scarcity of Larose encourages buyers to salt their precious bottles away rather than drink them, resulting in a buyer’s market for old vintages. The Australian wine auction Langton’s lists the following prices for the last sale of Larose (in NZ$): 2004 $118, 2003 $72, 2002 170, 2001 $103, 2000 $94, 1999 $104, 1998 $99.

I was pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of the wines which appeared to have been stored well. Even more surprising was the absense of poor wines. Not even the occasionally stellar bottle could make up for the poor wines which were sometimes evident in the previous decade. My opinion before the tasting was that Larose had an inflated reputation. Now I’m not so sure.

Here are brief tasting notes with scores that should not be related to my normal scoring system (they are not recorded in my tasting note database) but serve only as a ranking mechanism for the ten vintages.

2007 94 points. Lovely dense and fiercely astringent wine with dark fruits and exctic spice flavours. Although the tannins were undoubtedly firm they are also fine and ripe. Richly textured with plenty of oak evident although it is adequately balanced by fruit intensity. Elegant, powerful red – packed with the energy of a coiled spring.

2006 84 points. Much softer and accessible. Obviously more evolved. Still with moderately firm tannins and flavours suggesting chocolate, green and black olive, green capsicum and red berry/raspberry. Interesting wine but a little too green for my taste (it was more popular by far than the 2006 vintage – I was the only dissenting voter).

2005 95 points. My favourite wine on the night possibly because it was remarkably Bordeaux-like – and a classy Bordeaux at that. Coffee, berry, floral and cedarwood flavours. Not a blockbuster but supremely elegant wine with a lovely chewy texture and lengthy, drying finish.

2004 85 points. Mellow, developing wine with forest floor characters on top of cedar, berry and spice plus some green notes. Fine, assertive tannins needed to be enveloped by more fruit to adequately smother them.

2003 93 points. A departure in style from the later vintages with smooth, rich and mellow flavours – almost a ”fruit bomb”. Lots of primary fruit flavours including dark and red berries, plum, floral and licorice. Very New World in style – almost luscious.

2002 90 points. Dense wine with plum/prune, blackcurrant and beef tea flavours. Similar to 2003 in style but lacking the latter wine’s length of flavour and power. Lovely silken mouth feel.

2001 82 points. Soft, light and leafy red that I found a bit too simple. Pretty good red but well below the average Larose standard.

2000 94 points. Lovely wine with a mellow texture showing the benefit of a ripe vintage and the moderating effect of bottle age. Cedary, blackcurrant flavours with aromatic floral notes. Elegance on a grand scale. Has flesh, weight and complexity.

1999 94 points. Richly textured wine with dense sweet fruit and integrated flavours. Quite complex red in perfect drinking form now – it’s hard to see how it could improve.

1998 90 points. I’ve improved my rating compared to the score recorded when I tasted this wine quite a number of years ago. Supple red in a cedary Bordeaux-like style. Finely structured but not greatly complex. A lovely drink now although it lacks the X-factor of superior vintages.