The Auswine Forum

Thanks for posting a link to our video Mark G. It was all Red's doing (I am the 'Brown' in the RedtoBrown mix), but I concur with the content. We try to write a bit of satire / commentary on our website to mix it up, and Parker / Wineries that feed off his reviews are a pretty big target. Glad you e...

Provided there is no more torrential rain, I am hoping 2011 is not a write-off in the Hunter, though of all wine regions in Australia, the Hunter is the most likely to have even a once in 100 year vintage wiped out in 2-3 days of torrential summer rain/hail, so it is a lottery still. Unless the vint...

That is interesting tpang - With the prices being paid for wine in the Hong Kong/Chinese market, it is understandable it would be targetted. Maybe the title of 'Australia's most expensive wine' might generate enough sales in China alone. What I like about the Laird is that Torbreck haven't just twea...

Personally it appears the Laird is aiming squarly at the US/Robert Parker Market, and any prestige from this will then translate to the Asian markets, and generally maintain the cult wine halo on Torbreck's head. I cannot fault the ambition and guts of Powell in producing the wine, and as people hav...

Thanks for the TN Graeme,

I was given a bottle of the 1996 as a gift last year and based on your comments, will open it this year. As you note, for a wine $15 on release and still readily available, it is a real treasure. I hope some of the more recent vintages hold up as well.

Cheers

RB

It is a tricky one. If you get a sense for one of the critics tastes and preferences, this can help you on drinking window. Also, the winery, vintage, region, subsection of the region, the way the wine was made, the oak influence, style etc can all assist you in making a call. Reading blogs, reviews...

Great - thanks for all the replies! That will give me plenty of places to explore in July. I will report back on any standouts / suprises when I get back.

Cheers

Rod

The better half and I will be relaxing in the Hunter Valley in late July, and I am keen to head to some of the wineries (as you would expect). I intend to go to some of the regulars / more obvious wineries (Tyrrell's, Thomas, McWilliams, Brokenwood, Tullock etc), but would love to hear of any new/ex...

[quote="pstarr"][quote="Hindmarsh"]I am getting a bit tired of the anti-Barossa/SA Shiraz bandwagon. For every Mollydooker or Yellowtail, there is an old vine Shiraz that is delicious and without obvious new oak, dried prune, dead fruit etc. I get that people with cool climate/eu...

I am getting a bit tired of the anti-Barossa/SA Shiraz bandwagon. For every Mollydooker or Yellowtail, there is an old vine Shiraz that is delicious and without obvious new oak, dried prune, dead fruit etc. I get that people with cool climate/european/refined/delicate palates do not like this style....

Aside from the obvious advantages of the internet already discussed, I love Twitter as a forum to debate and learn more about wine. I think the whole 'new media' move towards blogs, facebook, twitter etc may be obsoletre within a year, but at the moment twitter is a useful information aggregation de...

Though saying 2007 Barossa Wines will age 30-40 years is a stretch, I would argue that a suprising number of the better Shiraz will last longer than the other warmer vintages (eg 2003), though you would have to pick the right winery. Still, with the Hunter being such a great, age-worthy vintage, 12 ...

4-5 quaffers not worth mentioning
2x 2005 Parker Estate Cabernet Sauvingon
1x 2008 Bests Bin 0 Shiraz
1x 2004 Pewseyvale Contours Riesling

Agree with many of the recommendations listed, though I have to add: Yelland and Papps Old Vine Grenache 2007 (yet to taste the 2008) to the list. They make a wine built to age yet great to drink now. Teusner are my go-to winery for Grenache blends other than the above, also any winery that pays att...

2008 Waterton Riesling - a taut, lemony Tamar Tasmanian. Will age for years
2006 Martinborough Estate Pinot Noir - dependable and delicious - on Saturday it was no different
2003 Domaine A Cabernet Sauvignon - another delicious Tasmanian wine - went very well with the rare lamb backstrap.

I loved the 2008 Cabernet, especially for the price. I really appreciate how much nice new oak Mike sensitively integrates into such affordable wines. The 2007 Shiraz was a little hot on the alcohol compared to the 2008 for me, but both of these were also good. As an affordable white wine with frien...

Awesome tasting note Jay, a mate gave me a cellared bottle of this last year - will open it this year and look for some more. Good call on the John Riddoch 1996.

Wonderful posts - felt like I was there. Also a very interesting window into the Hunter Valley in an era I have had very little exposure to. Great to see the Hunter somewhat resurgent.

Cheers

Rod

When my wife and I were in New York last year we went to the Rover Cafe in Brooklyn, just under the Brooklyn Bridge. It is a bit of a touristy, but the view is lovely, and to topic, it has a nice wine list. We had the degustation menu and I ended the lovely meal with a flight of madeira (of which th...

[quote="bacchaebabe"]Ordering from Morris and Seppelt is very straight forward. ithink straight off their web sites. Quick delivery too and you don't want to leave the barrel dry for too long. If you haven't already, I suggest you fill it with water while you wait for wine to arrive.[/quot...

There are quite a few places to go. My two regulars are Stanton and Kileen in Rutherglen (for more savoury Portugese-style Tawny) and Liebich Wine in the Barossa (traditional aussie tawny). Another place I have purchased bulk port from is from Kies Family Wines in the Barossa. I tend to alternate be...

Outstanding result from a tough vintage. Incredibly fresh fruit, not something I'm coming across very often with 2008 Barossan reds so far. Having said that it's an early drinker for me. One of the best things about it is the liveliness. Can't see the point in wasting that aspect. Trust Kym and the...

Interesting comments about Syrah, though an obvious bias and vested interest to reverse the retail trend towards buying fruit-forward, flavoursome (if highly alcoholic and not so dainty) warm climate Shiraz. The fashion trend is already changing, and his comments are just adding to it. I would argue...

Good wine writing is not something I can speak of from experience as I am middling/mediocre at it!!!!. However, I personally like reading reviews that do not go too far eg: using 6-10 descriptors and descriptors that 5% of the wine drinking population have ever or will ever encounter - quite frankly...

[quote="Polymer"]I don't know if I'd call ratings flawed...If you're expecting them to make wine objective then yes it is.... I personally look at scores as one person's opinion about a specific wine at that point in time. Based on what wine I've had before that was also reviewed by that p...

Sons of Eden are a great winery and Simon and the crew are nice people. They are trying and succeeding in making more elegant Barossa Reds, and their whites are not too shabby either!

I am also sitting on the fence. I hope to get more Cab Sav into my cellar as it is 60% shiraz. I think Shiraz is what Australia does best and it is our global signature wine, but the Cab Sav we make is very nice as well. Cannot complain about either!

Sorry - fence sitting reply from me - I personally would theoretically wait as long as possible to drink my Riesling (theoretical as my wine is young, but in the cellar long term), but drink the odd special, or short lived vintage while I wait. As with Semillon (which I am not a huge fan of when rea...