The Auswine Forum

Oh lordy. Please buy something more interesting than frakking Grange! So over-contrived.

Thanks Michael, that's very kind indeed. That wine list changes .. da da duuum.. tomorrow. Hence why we had no La Curio (which is AMAZING, by the way). Perhaps I'll try to organise a bottle for our dinner... let me see what I can do. That list was a product mostly of the Sommelier who served you - P...

Ouchies. I had some monkey (clearly a newbie) turn the dessert wine fridge down so low that it froze a bottle closest to the chiller components, also forcing the cork up (including some liquid out)! Mega-fail. The wine is never the same again for sure. Probably was still moderately ok to drink on th...

A Chateau Pichon-Lalande teaser by a very neat writer (no, not me.. haha)

http://www.thewinedoctor.com/bordeaux/p ... ande.shtml

I am just awaiting the final menu from Chef Pugh for this dinner, but will have it by tomorrow. I will be opening some great wines from my own cellar.... 2005 Pichon-Lalande 2001 Voyager Cab Merlot a sexy 2004 Rhone (I'm keeping the producer secret) and a Krug Grande Cuvee... possibly vintage, maybe...

Nice. Almost as good as Albarino with seared scallops (almost)! haha

Hi Jason, yes it would be fine to drink unless it's corked or tainted in another way (possibly through poor storage). Should be fine. Probably is worth something since it was a commemorative pack. Even crappy wine presented in a commemorative pack is worth more than it normally would have been - sen...

A pleasant drop with enormous flavours and a thorough finish. Probably one of the better vintages I've tasted so far.
Competes with Krug's top-end range very strongly.

A huge wine, had a taste after a great client offered me some at the restaurant tonight. Beautiful colour, sound cork, no 'bottle surgery' from Penfolds (wine clinic top-ups), great nose, enormous aromaticity, didn't require decanting to open up (merely to remove the tiny bit of sediment) and the le...

So Friday the 25th Feb is looking good for most. Spread the word, the more the merrier. Plus, I have some awesome wines to show from my home cellar. I'll organise a menu with Chef David Pugh this week and post here to entice! Actually, it'd be really cool if he'd keep some black truffles for us... h...

what cruelty. i have nights that week. it's even my favourite restaurant in brisbane!! you've motivated me to make a booking though. can we ask for you and your advice when we come? tim Hi Tim, oh no! Nights are horrible... that is, unless you're a Sommelier, hehe! Definitely, feel free to call on ...

xsorxpire wrote:You guys should be having off-line's each week to drink those unlabled bottles...

Fear thee not, our restaurant was completely unscathed. Can't say the same for countless others. Sadly.

Hi all Who is keen for a Brisbane offline at Restaurant Two in the week of the 21st of Feb? Express your interest and outline your preferred night. Any night, not Sunday (as the restaurant is closed). Menu will likely be a five course mini-degustation with some matching wines, and we will of course ...

Agreed, AWRI is great. Also this site: m I sure hope you're charging through the teeth - the online wine market is an horrendous topic to have to search decent, usable information for. Try emailing the General Managers of some major retailers. They can often be a great assistance, as they have onlin...

Hi all Hope you fared okay despite having copped a thrashing with the water in your respective cellars. Daz is right - even if the wine went under, it should be fine. As I outlined in a previous post - I think it was called "Wet Wine" - you just dry them off, and get as much water out from...

Includes a before and after shot of Jellyfish Restaurant, Eagle St Pier. Complete devastation.

Dear all Sorry to push a link to my own blog here, but it's relevant if you're interested in knowing which restaurants were affected in the CBD. There are others on the list that were affected, but that was by other circumstances, other than the actual flood waters from the river. Don't read the who...

Thanks for the suggestions, the one about the capsule seals is a beauty. Current temp in the cellar is 24 deg, humidity 89%, hopefully it will be back to normal soon. I've had heaps of mates offer to come over and sample some of the wine that went under to make sure it's ok.What are friends for? Ch...

Muscat Mike wrote:Sometimes I decant a bottle at home into another bottle, informing the participants that this was done. Thus they have absolutely no idea what sort of bottle it came from. Decanting into a Stelvin bottle is best as it is the easiest to carry.
Mike.

Neat idea, I like!

Should be fine provided the water wasn't too toxic. Cork isn't that absorbent, not that rapidly at least. A few years ago, our Champagne guru in Brisbane - Bernadette O'Shea - had tasted Champagne that had sat at the bottom of some ocean for decades (a sunken ship) and the wine was fine... outstandi...

1996 Pol Roger Winston Churchill... it was ok... but not great... so we cracked some NV Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose.... mmmmm. Happy new year y'all.

My pleasure... I love VP!

Jancis Robinson taught me (in London) and had much to say on this. There are some notes in her '95 edition book, though I can't remember what it's called. If it's served in a decanter, it's easy - everything can be done ahead of time. If you want a 100% perfect blind tasting, your guests aren't allo...

Mike Hawkins wrote:Its probably the weakest RR IMO. Not a slight on the winery - it was a tough year.

Mike

Agreed. As in my note, I felt it was probably a seasonal problem.
As my dad always said, you can't extract something that isn't there to begin with!

A bit boring to be honest - not their greatest feat. A little on the watery side, it seemed to have a very limited range of phenolics and other aromatic 'fun bits'... maybe the product of a dodgy season with water towards picking, I don't know. Not a wine that will improve overly with time, though e...

Let me just say that Constellation was chasing money from us long BEFORE invoices became due, so we knew something was awry many months ago. That's seriously poor business management and a disgraceful way to handle key accounts. To make matters worse, they had horrible people in the accounts departm...

Opened this just before with family, absolutely divine. Don't know the ABV - not on label - presume this was before labelling laws came in... exciting. Lovely wine, great cork that held up well. Round, rich and luscious with chocolate, mocha, plum, currant and black fruit notes overtoned by Merlot-l...

A great loss for Constellation, but a great win for we industry wine buyers... I hated working with Constellation before, but this at least gives their brands a fresh start... I quite like the Leasingham sparkling shiraz, so not all is lost, surely!

Ian, I enjoyed a bottle of '99 Pol Roger Brut last night with my folks... beautiful indeed. Better than the 96 Churchill too, in my opinion (though different beasts). Great value.