94 points: James Halliday
91+ points: Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)
The 2009 vintage produced outstanding quality, particularly in Malbec and Petit Verdot and the resultant wine has great perfume and structure.
Maturation in French oak barrels has added some complexity to the soft round palate which finishes with a lovely sweet fruit richness.
Enjoy with your favourite meat dishes.
James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion: "A 70/14/8/4/4% blend of cabernet sauvignon, malbec, petit verdot, merlot and cabernet franc. The colour is bright crimson and, despite 18 months in French oak, is foremost a combination of red and black berry fruits; the tannins are firm, but fundamentally in balance, and will see the wine safely sail through the next 15+ years." Drink through 2025. 94 points.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RP's Wine Advocate: "A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Malbec, 8% Petit Verdot, 4% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc, the 2009 Frank Potts has a deep garnet-purple color and aromas of creme de cassis, mulberries, blackberry preserves, cigar boxes, Indian spices, pencil lead, earth and pepper. Medium-full bodied and with plenty of mouth-filling fruit, it has enlivening / balanced acid, medium-firm finely grained tannins and a long finish. Approachable now, it will reward cellaring, drinking to 2020+."
In 1836 at the age of 21, Frank Potts, the innovative founder of Bleasdale, arrived with the first governor of South Australia in HMS Buffalo. Becoming a boat builder, where he discovered the enduring qualities of red gum, he later established a winery and vineyard at Langhorne Creek using the timber to build unique irrigation and winemaking systems. Five generations on, his legacy is still a source of wonder to visitors from around the world.
While many South Australian family wineries died with their entrepreneurial founders, Bleasdale, established in 1850, still survives proudly today.
Through the challenges of the 1930s and 1940s when Britain's Imperial Preference for Australian wine was removed; the 1950s when Australian tastes swung from fortifieds to table wine; and through the 1980s and 1990s when consumers demanded Chardonnay and Cabernet not Verdelho and Shiraz, the Potts family has changed, innovated and persisted.
Other than Yalumba it is the longest running family owned winery in Australia, a proud heritage of commitment and dedication to an industry and a region.
