The Auswine Forum

At a recent gathering at one of my wine groups we had a few aged bottles of Peter Lehmann to celebrate his life and legacy. Unfortunately the very famous 1989 Stodart Trophy winner was corked (I so hate corks!). Yesterday I dropped into the Peter Lehmann cellar door with the offending bottle hoping ...

Rats.. that week is out for me chaps unless I can get a babysitter on a school night. Mark, My 18 year old daughter does a lot of baby sitting (more like crowd control) if you are in a fix. PM me if you are interested Chuck Hey Chuck, I wouldnt let any 18 year old young lady near Mark's two teenage...

Hi guys, I'm charged with putting together a line up of current release Bordeaux blends, predominantly Australian but happy to include other countries. I'm thinking stuff like Parker First Growth, Cabernet Merlots etc. I'd appreciate any suggestions you may have, price is fairly flexible, need to kn...

I've got no idea why as I reckon it's a great blend. Having scoured the country looking for entrants in a Blacktongues Shiraz Mataro tasting last year, I can tell you (and I stand to be corrected) only 12 wineries make such a blend in Australia. The ones I regularly consume (at varying price points)...

Why would the French be using such closures? Surely they don't have cork taint do they? They never had cork taint when I've had corked bottles of Bordeaux in the past!!! I still had a handful of corked 82, 83 and 86 second and third growths in my cellar until a recent clean out committed the content...

Thanks everyone for their comments and n4sir for pointing me to other associated threads. I think I'm settling on the Kitchener Peltier 430, probably two units will be needed so it's good to hear they don't use much electricity. Now just need to find the sharpest price and also decide where I'll loc...

Yeh yeh, I could spend days trawling the net finding out but why not come straight to where I'll get honest opinions. I'm looking for recommendations for a wine cabinets, 250 bottle plus size, dont need multi temp zones, fancy display, individual racks, just want to stack 20-50 doz. It may need more...

As I'm highly likely to be home alone (sob sob) that night, I'll be there. I'll bring something red I'd think.

Glen, how about rounding up Pie King, he needs an outing to the city and I'm sure Sue would like a PK free evening

A blend close to my heart, I just wish more were made as I feel the two grapes compliment each other very well. I did a Cab Shiraz/Shiraz Cab tasting earlier this year at Blacktongues, those that showed well there and subsequent private tastings are 2005 Soul Growers (Barossa $24) 2007 Flaxman The S...

I'd like to thank Moira (aka Sparky on this forum) for promptly resolving my problem. I can appreciate the chequered history many old bottles of Grange may have and I must say that the fact I was able to provide some solid proof of the provenance of my bottle certainly made what is, given the value ...

And the best red of the show: 2008 Wolf Blass Yellow Label Shiraz Viognier. Call me cynical but I wonder if this is actually bottled and labelled yet, not just the bottles that went to the show but the shed fulls that will lob onto retail shelves? Spose I'd better get off this thread and see if it ...

Thanks Sparky, I'll be in touch but here's the story so far. Saturday night the 1986 Grange with level still into the neck opens with a crumbly cork, the pieces go into the hosts bin. The wine is decanted and immediately poured by all at the table. It's clearly oxidised which is a huge disappontment...

At an excellent dinner party of ten last Saturday night with fabulous mature wines but we had an 86 Grange, excellently cellared since purchase at release, level still into neck, but the cork was soft and crumbly and the wine was oxidised. A 1986 Hill of Grace with the same provenance was great. I'v...

Was it the 06 Mosswood or 07 Mosswood Amy's that came out trumps? It was the 2006 Moss Wood not the Amy's. The tasting was of a uniformly high standard and typically it is hard to find a "Least Preferred" when the standard is so high. The surprise packets for me were the Yalumba Menzies a...

Hi guys, had a day in the Barossa showing Muscat Mike around and stumbled on a stunning VP bargain. High class, Gold Medal class IMO, very drinkable now (and we did joyously) but will age long term. It's a 1998 in half bottles, unlabelled, made by Australia's fortified master at Seppeltsfield. The p...

The hectic pace of wine events continues unabated, Saturday it was the Barossa Wine Show held at Yalumba. This is a regional show that has as an entry requirement that the wine must be sourced from the Barossa (and Eden) Valley. It's one of the highlights on my wine calendar, always worth the drive ...

David wrote:Hi all. Even 707 who was seen drinking whites at the Barossa Show Tasting.

You got photos David? I may have put a white or two in my mouth but I didn't swallow any! I left the swallowing for the fortified section, David and I lingered there for quie some time - thanks for being driver Chris.

My options group had a tasting last night at T-Chow where the food was excellent as usual and the wines matched. It was the turn of one of the group to provide all eight wines, which he presented in pairs. The wines turned out to be 86 & 96 Bin 28 Kalimna, 86 & 96 St.Henri, 83 & 93 Bin 7...

1982 to 1991 John Riddoch a few years back. A great line up only spoiled by a corked 1982. Thanks to Sue Hodder of Wynns who gave me a 1982 a couple of years after the event during a conversation we were having about cork taint. A great gesture that will allow me to do the same line up again in the ...

Thanks for the heads up on this event. The wines on show and the venue make this a must do on my calendar. Just need to back up after the Saturday in the Barossa. Oh bugger, just realised that on Tuesday 22nd I'm back in the Barossa with Muscat Mike. It really is a tough life but I'll just need to m...

Was a great night, thanks for orgynising Gavin.

Good notes Ian

Hey I'm not fussed about T-Chow when a high standard of wine is involved, I'd actually prefer The Sauce or Archies in Melbourne Steet. If there is sufficient support for a move I'm happy to negotiate either venue with Tapas for starters, choice of a couple of mains like beef fillet or chicken and al...

Include David and Pam too. However does it have to be Friday if PaulG finds it difficult? Maybe Thursday? Unfortunately I think both Steve & Mike already have other things planned/booked every other night. Thursday also happens to be the night of the Coonawarra roadshow. Oooh, havin a seniors m...

Ian, count me in for one thanks.

Mike, good to hear you're bringing another 86 John Riddch I'll bring something to match.

Do Sonoma and check out Virginia Madsen, well worth a look

Hi guys, I'm thinking of doing a Shiraz Mataro(Mourverdre) tasting and would appreciate suggestions for what should be in the line up. Any price range is ok. Thanks for your suggestions for previous tastings. We had the Shiraz Viognier (blind) tasting last week. I had trouble seperating five of the ...

Simple arithmetic really. The vineyard produces say 30 tonnes of Cabernet but you've had to wear all the costs of land ownership (rates tec), pruning, watering, spraying and maintaining the vines plus the cost of harvesting. You can easily go further south and buy 30 tonne of quality cabernet delive...

Offline at Russells is a winner IMO, unfortunately clashes with the Dutschke dinner.

Hi guys, I've got a new releases tasting of Cabernet/Shiraz blends in a few weeks and I''m looking for suggestions. The percentages don't need to be weighted in favour of either variety providing there is a healthy dose of the lesser volume variety, maybe 30% plus? Not price point specific either. O...

... and you could also check the suggestions when you brought up this same question six months ago Steve: m By the way, how was NE Victoria? Cheers, Ian Thanks Ian, that's what wwwwworking does for you - makes you forget what you've already done! Useful suggestions from both posts so thanks everyon...