The Auswine Forum

Visited here prior to TarraWarra.. very peaceful on any other day apart from Day On The Green, when the ferrals come out at 4pm.. Rochford Macedon Ranges Blanc de Blanc 2010 A bit of an oddity, starting with a sparkling not made from Yarra fruit given the relative abundance of Chardonnay fruit in th...

Recently dropped into this winery. Never visited before, but always thought their wines were spot on. http://simplepalatesseriously.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/tarrawarra-uomsws-university-melbourne-student-wine-society-simple-palates-seriously.jpg?w=960&h=720 TarraWarra Roussanne Marsanne Viogn...

Is having Grenache blends cheating? Kalleske Clarry’s GSM 2012 Intense black ruby-purple colour, a fresh sweet bouquet of black plums, blackberries, mulberry jam, hints of black olives and espresso roast. A full-bodied wine as expected from the warm ripe vintage conditions of 2012. A fine sil...

I used to attend the trade sessions, which was good to avoid the crowds and have the time and space to taste and scribble notes. But then they became really picky about who attended (tagged to purchases or what you wrote?). For a region with premier pricing, would've thought they'd leave their doors...

How about off-dry German Rieslings? Vouvrey dry chenin blanc or Alsace Gewurzt might work too.

Unlikely. But I've heard quite a few stories of trashing their dads' cellars

12x Metala is saved for a bigger get-sloshed event later this month!

Hi all, I'm casually involved with the Melbourne Uni student wine soc. Just though I'd share with you the small line-up of wines put out at their Introduction to Tasting session. Most of the attendees were international exchange students, so selection of the wines swayed towards styles that generall...

Ahead of Rory's generous tasting session at B'Stilla in Melbourne this Saturday, thought I'd give my take on these wines. These wines were previously posted by Sydneysiders back in May. Will update this post if new stuff make an appearance on Saturday. m The Story Wines Westgate Blanc 2013, Grampian...

No luck with the Gooners Sam =( offspring on half those City goals. & no penalty!?! Couple of rosés today. Dominique Portet Fontaine Rosé 2013, Yarra Valley/Pyreness Merlot/Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon. Pale crimson-orange colour, bright youthful aromas of redcurrants, blackberries, hint of b...

Tried these on a drive around the Mornington Peninsula last month, and went back to pick up a couple for summer drinking. Straight or in mixers. 3x Crittenden Estate Los Hermanos Txakoli Petit Manseng 2012. $25 from winery. 3x Crittenden Estate Los Hermanos Homenaje Grenache Mataro Tempranillo 2012....

Had a couple of Bordeaux with some nice aged on them over dinner. Pichon Longueville Baron 1998, Pauillac Intense black ruby colour, with a garnet shade. A fresh robust nose after 3 hours of decanting, notes of earthy herb with slithers of blackberry. Smoky notes of dark berry fruit and mellow cigar...

Sanctus 2010, St Emilion (Actually this was from the previous week.. but who keeps track of time when drinking?!) A 70/30 blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, which completes malolactic fermentation in new French oak barrels then aged for 18 to 22 months without any racking. Given its youth, I poppe...

Without knowledge of the methodology and statistical testing, it's very hard to comment on the reported findings because of concerns of sampling bias. However, I'd say that isn't it because as an end consumer, shouldn't we be buying only undamaged bottles? I can't see reputable retailers putting dam...

I see that a certain group has it for $72? I tried this wine at the Game of Rhones event in Melbourne. Henschke Tappa Pass Shiraz 2010, Keyneton, Barossa & Eden Valleys, SA RRP$85. This wine was made from parcels from the Barossa and Eden Valleys. It has an alluring, heady nose of dark berry aro...

Nice write-up Ian.

I really like Damien's wines, but share your view that the 2011s show signs of the difficult vintage conditions. The 2012s are a leap back towards the norm.

News just this morning, CEO of Treasury Wine Estates David Dearie has quit the company. Previously, we had heard of the company's intention to pour wine down the drain, and a $160mil write-down of its US division. Certainly, what goes on at TWS will eventually trickle down and impact on grape grower...

A couple of sparkles: Taltarni Brut 2010 , Pyreness, VIC (multi-regional sparkling) Fruit sourced from multiple states, namely Victoria (65%), South Australia (24%) and Tasmania (11%). Composed of Chardonnay (53%), Pinot Noir (44%) and Pinot Meunier (3%). $20. Pale yellow colour, soft aromas of smok...

It's disgusting to read what's happened to Dave. Sure, he's running high on emotions right now, but can you blame him? This was a business he started and was working on leaving something for his sons. He thought he was offered help at a time when he was mentally stressed, and unfortunately the situa...

Sitting here watching the foregone election results being reported by the ABC. Surprised at how well Adam Bandt has polled in Melbourne. So I'm having the Running with Bulls Vermentino 2011. The last vintage to be released for the Vermentino. End of the line. It's a fresh tasty drink which I had ear...

From my vague memory, Jack Cowin helped Dave sort out the finances of the receivership, partly associated with his pricey divorce.
Subsequently, he managed to buy back his share of the company before doing business with Peter Knight.

Definitely. The 2012s have depth and complexity flavour wise, but also appear (to me) more elegant and approachable. A vintage to go long on. Just curious, are you buying purely based on hype? Why don't you try some first before buying? They're unlikely to increase in price or sell-out. Surely produ...

I tend to buy 1 or 2 bottles, even for wines that I really like. I don't have a proper cellar space, don't use off-site storage, so I'm limited to using whatever space remains in two 150+ btl wine fridges. The longest verticals I have are Torbreck Descendent since '98 and Noon's Cabernet since 2000....

You can find the Villa Maria or Te Awa syrah for <$30. Of course if you wanted to go to the other end of the price spectrum, get the Craggy Range Le Sol.

Just curious, did the OP eventually go with one of the pinots suggested here for the wedding? So many opinions about the quality of Pinot Noir from the 2011 vintage. I'm assuming it's pointed mainly at Victorian pinots since there is comparatively less coming out of NSW. The tasmanian crop was only ...

Here are the various SA wines I tried. Impressed with the quality of Brash Higgins, which I hadn't heard of prior to the day. Brad Hickey was very friendly, answering all the questions I had, and didn't get visually irritated on the few occasions I repeated a question from 5 mins ago. Quite disappoi...

Got caught up with work and also struggling to recognise my scribbles from that long day of "tasting" Rhone varietals. Finally got round to typing up the few Hunter Valley and Canberra district wineries I tried. I missed out on a few wineries like Thomas Kiss and Eden Rd Wines, it was all ...

Pressed to visit Geelong a couple of months back, not that there's anything wrong with Geelong, but since I was out that way, would've been a shame if I didn't visit at least one winery. I went by another place with a logo of bunny ears.. but didn't make much of what was on offer. Scotchman’s...

Another vote for Damien Tscharke. In addition to great wines, it's good effort to meet customers by running that interactive dinner.

My other votes go to Torbreck and Cullen.

Went along to the Game of Rhones event at Ormond Hall on the weekend.. good effort by many of the winemakers to present dressed up in medieval getups.. Some of the 'wrenches' around the place were pretty eye-catching I tell you... Here are my scribbles for the white wines. Not many whites on show, w...