The Auswine Forum

Bordeaux (red) 18% Burgundy (red) 17% Southern Rhone (red) 12% Burgundy (white) 11% Shiraz (aus) 11% Northern Rhone (red) 9% Cabernet and blends(aus) 9% white (aus) 5% Italian (red) 3% Champagne (french) 3% Port (portugal) 1% Other 2% .... numbers rounded out, so may not add up. .... total cases 355...

Thanks Danny. Not suprisingly, the best wines in your Giaconda range are the youngest. I have always found that- simply put, none of them age at all well. Perhaps the most over-rated winery in Australia? the Southern Hemisphere? the World?.... the Emperor's new clothes, as far as I am concerned. The...

1996 d'Arenberg The Custodian Grenache Dry port, and pretty uninteresting. Will keep a few years yet. 85pts 1999 Vasse Felix Shiraz Beautiful, complex cool-climate shiraz. Plenty of time in front of it. 94pts 1998 Charles Melton Shiraz Still black, but lacks structure required for the long haul. OK...

What was the aim of the Peppermint Patty when it was made? By this I mean was it a one off wine or just an outstanding Vintage of a regularly made wine? Do the Vines still exist and if so by Mildara? .a great question, and one that has been asked countless times. As far as I understand, the wine is...

Thanks for the notes, Bruce. Very interesting, I have seen many of those wines over the past few months, and a general comment would be that my wine is no-where near as advanced as yours. 98 Maxwell Lime Cave: no-where near its peak 98 Carles Melton Shiraz- at least a decade to go 96 Rockford Cab- f...

Dinner for six turned into a Bordeaux-fest, requiring me to descend into the cellar for three more "encores", all wines showed superbly except a 1994 La Mission, that was corked. 1986 Pichon Lalande Furiously tannic and closed at first, the bottom third of this was left in the decanter for...

Top quiz, good fun.
The answer was in the back of my mind, but wouldn't step up to the plate!

God, i'm dumb- I must have close to 100 bottles of the stuff, and still didn't twig!!

I'll open an 84 this week to celebrate.

1989 Brainaire Ducru At its peak. 90pts. 1981 Baileys Hermitage Fruit never overcame horrible new oak. No good. 70pts 1996 Baileys 1920 Block Shiraz Not as good as last bottle. No hurry. 86pts 1996 JJ Confuron Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Not corked, just horrible. Poor winemaking. 70pts 1996 Wirra Wi...

De Bortoli Melba?

Yalumba The Reserve...actually, crap- that has plenty of new oak

Beaucastel Hommage??

Pegau de Capo

Different % of varieties each year, or entirely different variety from year to year??

Jamie, The Turkey Flat is, IMO, still basically primary- reminds me of a young classic clare shiraz in that it seems to lack structure and feels flabby. I would expect this wine to "firm up" quite a deal over the next 5 years or so, and drink well for a decade after that. To be fair, the 9...

Can't agree with much of the above. All the 98's that I have tried are no-where near maturity, some going thru adolescence and not showing that well. These wines need at least the following time IMO- Rosemount Balmoral- 10+ years Leasingham Bin 61- 5+ Leasingham Classic Clare shiraz - 10+ Parker Fir...

When Grange was a $50 - $60 bottle of wine did it stand head and shoulders above the $30 - $40 bottles? FWIW, I don't remember any Australian wines being 30-40 when Grange was 50-60, apart from some special releases and rare muscats/tokays. Perhaps others may have better memories. I can't claim to ...

Saw your excellent note on your site, Torb. Must be me, but there is simply no way I would be able to finish a bottle... just too big for my tastes.

Thanks Dave,

I'll look into getting a table at Yellow Door and Mama's Kitchen. Is it advisable to book well in advance (i.e. now or soon for early August?)

Thanks for the notes Danny. IMO, the 1996 Giaconda Chardie has always been way out of balance, as are most of his wines, and your TN is very consistent with many of mine re that wine. The score Jeremy Oliver gave this wine has always been a total mystery to me. Even worse were his early scores for t...

Nice notes- thanks. The John Riddochs you had are both as good as we can produce. The 1990 is, IMO, the best of the lot, 1982 included. But it needs another 10 years to get to its plateau. The Wynns centenary is another beaut, again in need of at least another decade. Personally, I'd give the Howard...

2002 Magpie Estate "The Election" shiraz OK, I'll start this by saying that we are all different, and vive la difference . But for me, this is as close to undrinkable that a wonderful wine gets. If that sounds like a paradox, it is meant to. The room was filled with the smell of plums, an...

Prolly a great thing for Bordeaux for the next decade, then not so good after that. It would also explain burgundy's amazing run this millenium, but again, not so good for the long term. I'm still sceptical as to the "certainty" of man-made global warming. IMO, the jury is still very much ...

Two affordable reds that spring to mind 1. Chateau Tahbilk Reserve Cabernet Wonderful wine, although it needs a few years yet to reach its drinking plateau (2010+) Last seen in 2004, and rated 92+ 2. Baileys Hermitage The shiraz wines from this producer went thru an amazing streak from about 1974 to...

1996 Stonewell Shiraz, Peter Lehmann Oak, oak and more oak. What a terrible way to kill such wonderful fruit. If it was up to me, I wouldn't let any of my premium grapes see more than 50% new oak..... these guys need to spend time in the Rhone to get the idea of what a good shiraz should taste like...

While were at it... gotta LOVE Xavier Rudd... he is the Aussie Cat Stevens of this millnium. His latest album, Food in the Belly is also an absolute ripper, not a weak track to be seen. Saw him live a couple of weeks ago- sensational.... his promotion of indigenous culture and rights is to be greatl...

Yea Danny...they are fantastic. Mid-year tour only to Sydney , so us Melbournites miss out again!!!

For all you 40's-something out there who loved Led Zepplin, Cream, Jethro Tull and the like- here is the modern answer to your prayers. Just when I was convinced that the Artic Monkeys had produced the most impressive debut album I have seen, along comes Wolfmother with their absolute mother of a de...

Hi Jamie, I'm off to Hong Kong later in the year. I'll BYO, can you give me some good restaurant recommendations?? Not too exxy, but reasonable, preferrably with good views and a good bar for afterwards. Thanks IA, Aussie John AJ Post a thread closer to the date. I will have it worked out by then! ...

Hi Jamie,
I'm off to Hong Kong later in the year. I'll BYO, can you give me some good restaurant recommendations?? Not too exxy, but reasonable, preferrably with good views and a good bar for afterwards.

Thanks IA, Aussie John

Dave I too found the Run Rig too syrupy, to be honest it was hard to drink. No doubt RPJ will love it. I cannot see it aging at all. I have another five of the Munro, so I might crack another to get another assessment. Totally agree that the 98 Grange is almost a dry port... not a patch on the wonde...