Sunday drinking reports 19/8/12
Sunday drinking reports 19/8/12
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Last edited by Sean on Mon Mar 11, 2013 4:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
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George Krashos
- Posts: 474
- Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2003 7:26 pm
Re: Sunday drinking reports 19/8/12
That's an impressive liquid Sunday breakfast, Sean!
Off to fermentAsian for lunch today. Yummo. Might post later depending on condition.
-- George Krashos
Off to fermentAsian for lunch today. Yummo. Might post later depending on condition.
-- George Krashos
Re: Sunday drinking reports 19/8/12
Two young Cabernets. opened too soon yes but still real with a bit of food!
2009 Kidnapper Cliffs Cabernet Sauvignon. Has had some big write ups. This is a dark brooding monster of a wine with lots of compact ripe textured dark fruits. Full bodied and rich it is almost unlike any other wine NZ producers. It is an excellent wine. However I have to mark it down significantly as it is not an excellent Cabernet in my books. It lacks typicity and a varietal signature. To me too "generic red" and a wine of this price should scream its roots.
2008 Leconfield Cabernet Sauvignon. This is better. A generous beautifully ripe cabernet with lovely cabernet dry leaf notes, long and well structured. To me this is better than the Kidnappers. May look out for some of this. It is great classical Aussie Cab
2010 Craggy Range Te Kahu Merlot. This is extraordinarily good merlot. Ripe, understated, and well structured. Really fine structure to this wine. Impressed and a smart buy
2009 Kidnapper Cliffs Cabernet Sauvignon. Has had some big write ups. This is a dark brooding monster of a wine with lots of compact ripe textured dark fruits. Full bodied and rich it is almost unlike any other wine NZ producers. It is an excellent wine. However I have to mark it down significantly as it is not an excellent Cabernet in my books. It lacks typicity and a varietal signature. To me too "generic red" and a wine of this price should scream its roots.
2008 Leconfield Cabernet Sauvignon. This is better. A generous beautifully ripe cabernet with lovely cabernet dry leaf notes, long and well structured. To me this is better than the Kidnappers. May look out for some of this. It is great classical Aussie Cab
2010 Craggy Range Te Kahu Merlot. This is extraordinarily good merlot. Ripe, understated, and well structured. Really fine structure to this wine. Impressed and a smart buy
Re: Sunday drinking reports 19/8/12
Had a cracking evening last night...apologies in advance that my notes don't do justice to the wines!
Henri Chauvet blanc de noir NV
I have brought a few cases across for personal consumption, and was delighted with this. Vigorous tiny bubbles, fresh, apple on the nose. Rather dense palate, driven by Pinot. Ripe stone fruits, and good length. Good power from this. It was a pain importing it...but well worth it.
Veuve Cliquot Gold Label 1991
Not a great vintage by reputation, and I was pretty nervous on opening. However this fully mature champagne showed well. Golden, with a few lazy bubbles. Toasty, honey on the nose. Palate a little tired and flabby, but rich and complex. Nutty, with orange. Just lacking a little acidity to keep it fresh. Pleasure to drink, though.
Marius Symphony 2008
Promising nose of blackberry, with a hint of oak. Seamless fruit, supported by fine tannins shows just how much potential this has. Quite primary at the moment, but it just feels so well balanced. Refreshing, and I am glad I have a few more!
Roger Sabon Chateauneuf Reserve 2003
Promising nose, mixing bright raspberry and cherries. The palate may have suffered following the Marius...quite simple, light and easy drinking. Nice hints of leather and juicy fruit, but just lacked the power that I would have expected.
Penfolds RWT 1999
Wow, the nose on this suggested we'd hit this wine at its peak. Complex mix of cherry, leather and a nice hint of spice. Drinking beautifully, plums, cherry, mocha...quite dense, but well integrated tannins and decent acidity make this wine sing. I was lucky enough to buy a few for twenty five quid in the UK a few years ago..what a shame I won't be buying any more vintages at the silly prices charged for this label now.
De Bortoli Noble One 1995
Dark golden bronze colour suggesting this may be oxidized. Well, there were definite oxidative flavours, but it was pretty enjoyable. Rich, marmalade dominant, apricot jam, sweetness just overpowering the acidity. Amazing length.
After all that I was delighted when the baby woke at 5am...
Simon
Henri Chauvet blanc de noir NV
I have brought a few cases across for personal consumption, and was delighted with this. Vigorous tiny bubbles, fresh, apple on the nose. Rather dense palate, driven by Pinot. Ripe stone fruits, and good length. Good power from this. It was a pain importing it...but well worth it.
Veuve Cliquot Gold Label 1991
Not a great vintage by reputation, and I was pretty nervous on opening. However this fully mature champagne showed well. Golden, with a few lazy bubbles. Toasty, honey on the nose. Palate a little tired and flabby, but rich and complex. Nutty, with orange. Just lacking a little acidity to keep it fresh. Pleasure to drink, though.
Marius Symphony 2008
Promising nose of blackberry, with a hint of oak. Seamless fruit, supported by fine tannins shows just how much potential this has. Quite primary at the moment, but it just feels so well balanced. Refreshing, and I am glad I have a few more!
Roger Sabon Chateauneuf Reserve 2003
Promising nose, mixing bright raspberry and cherries. The palate may have suffered following the Marius...quite simple, light and easy drinking. Nice hints of leather and juicy fruit, but just lacked the power that I would have expected.
Penfolds RWT 1999
Wow, the nose on this suggested we'd hit this wine at its peak. Complex mix of cherry, leather and a nice hint of spice. Drinking beautifully, plums, cherry, mocha...quite dense, but well integrated tannins and decent acidity make this wine sing. I was lucky enough to buy a few for twenty five quid in the UK a few years ago..what a shame I won't be buying any more vintages at the silly prices charged for this label now.
De Bortoli Noble One 1995
Dark golden bronze colour suggesting this may be oxidized. Well, there were definite oxidative flavours, but it was pretty enjoyable. Rich, marmalade dominant, apricot jam, sweetness just overpowering the acidity. Amazing length.
After all that I was delighted when the baby woke at 5am...
Simon
Re: Sunday drinking reports 19/8/12
simon1980 wrote:Had a cracking evening last night...apologies in advance that my notes don't do justice to the wines!
Penfolds RWT 1999
Wow, the nose on this suggested we'd hit this wine at its peak. Complex mix of cherry, leather and a nice hint of spice. Drinking beautifully, plums, cherry, mocha...quite dense, but well integrated tannins and decent acidity make this wine sing. I was lucky enough to buy a few for twenty five quid in the UK a few years ago..what a shame I won't be buying any more vintages at the silly prices charged for this label now.
Simon
Thanks as I still have a few of these - maybe same source as you as I would have paid about that. I'll adjust for taste and give it a couple of years - the Magill Estate 1999 I recently picked up a few of is really lovely right now ... more elegant than the RWT 99 but a lovely wine in its own right, damson plums and cherry in common though.
For me ... and it's a sweltering 28 degrees in London so no shiraz
Tim Adams Clare Valley Semillon 2010 - good wine, less aggressive acidity than the Hunter with a touch of honey and melon, plus the same twist of lime and salt I find in his excellent Clare Riesling. Lovely drink-now summer drinking although McWilliams Elizabeth 05 is probably better QPR ... and better in the cellar I feel.
“There are no standards of taste in wine. Each mans own taste is the standard, and a majority vote cannot decide for him or in any slightest degree affect the supremacy of his own standard". Mark Twain.
Re: Sunday drinking reports 19/8/12
A few from Saturday night...
Yarrabank 2008 Pinot Chardonnay... First thought: Very good. Fine bead, lovely citrus on the nose, and a balanced mouthfeel - complexity enough to give interest, but finishing clean and crisp to make you want another sip.
Rockford Cabernet 1999... Half bottle, cork. This is clearly stamped with its origins as a Barossa, warm, ripe Cabernet. Colour still dense garnet, some browning. Rich, ripe fruit compote, earth, chocolate and liquer plums comprise the swathe of flavours carried through both nose and palate. The tannins are in balance and in the background. Not over-ripe/porty, overall very pleasant. I personally would drink around now, although a larger bottle may hold up better.
Wendouree Cabernet Malbec 2001... Cork. Ill let you know in 10-yrs if this is any good. Dense cherry red, a teasing, closed aroma even after 2 decants across 2 days. Hints of violets and purple fruits (more by day 2), some lifted alcohol, but overall it remains brooding. The palate induces short-term mouth paralysis - wow, what a tannin structure. By the 2nd day there is a bit more of the etheral, juicy fruits & floral notes in the mouth, but the structure remains unforgiving. I think this will come around very nicely with more time (a lot more time).
Jacobs Creek Reserve Shiraz 2009...S/cap. Opened to make a red wine sauce after the last JC Reserve I had (a Cab) was just awful - making me assume this was fit for little else. However, having made the sauce and realising I still had 3/4 of a bottle of this I did try some and in fact its genuinely very good - with a clear regional character of Barossa Shiraz, perhaps just pulling up a little short in the finish. Pretty good QPR though as a mid-week slurper/red wine sauce maker.
Yarrabank 2008 Pinot Chardonnay... First thought: Very good. Fine bead, lovely citrus on the nose, and a balanced mouthfeel - complexity enough to give interest, but finishing clean and crisp to make you want another sip.
Rockford Cabernet 1999... Half bottle, cork. This is clearly stamped with its origins as a Barossa, warm, ripe Cabernet. Colour still dense garnet, some browning. Rich, ripe fruit compote, earth, chocolate and liquer plums comprise the swathe of flavours carried through both nose and palate. The tannins are in balance and in the background. Not over-ripe/porty, overall very pleasant. I personally would drink around now, although a larger bottle may hold up better.
Wendouree Cabernet Malbec 2001... Cork. Ill let you know in 10-yrs if this is any good. Dense cherry red, a teasing, closed aroma even after 2 decants across 2 days. Hints of violets and purple fruits (more by day 2), some lifted alcohol, but overall it remains brooding. The palate induces short-term mouth paralysis - wow, what a tannin structure. By the 2nd day there is a bit more of the etheral, juicy fruits & floral notes in the mouth, but the structure remains unforgiving. I think this will come around very nicely with more time (a lot more time).
Jacobs Creek Reserve Shiraz 2009...S/cap. Opened to make a red wine sauce after the last JC Reserve I had (a Cab) was just awful - making me assume this was fit for little else. However, having made the sauce and realising I still had 3/4 of a bottle of this I did try some and in fact its genuinely very good - with a clear regional character of Barossa Shiraz, perhaps just pulling up a little short in the finish. Pretty good QPR though as a mid-week slurper/red wine sauce maker.
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Sam
Sam
Re: Sunday drinking reports 19/8/12
1999 Esk Valley Reserve (Merlot,Malbec,Cab Sauvignon) Hawkes Bay. Dark Red/black, showing some bottle development and still
some tannic grip. Cooler vintage savory notes that are refered to as "classic claret" nowdays. Went well with the lump of beef that had spent
about 5 hours in the slowcooker. Will hold for a couple of years but may then start to dryout. Good.
some tannic grip. Cooler vintage savory notes that are refered to as "classic claret" nowdays. Went well with the lump of beef that had spent
about 5 hours in the slowcooker. Will hold for a couple of years but may then start to dryout. Good.
Re: Sunday drinking reports 19/8/12
Blind tasting night for our group:
Yalumba Octavius 2004 for $70+ this needed to be good. It was very good but just did not hit the great mark.
Not overly oaky really despite its reputation. Very ripe juicy and beautifully balanced. Subtle tannins. 94
Penfolds Bin 389 2008 This was WOTN. Best 389 ive tasted . Excellent wine. Shiraz dominant. Rich and concentrated. Overshadowed the Octavius. 95+
Two hands Brave faces 2010 & 2011 The 2010 had a muted nose but wonderful palate that you could sip on all night. The 2011 had a glorious nose of floral and violets but was somewhat let down in the mouth. Probably typical of the wettish inferior vintage.
Peter Lehmann Patchwork Shiraz 2009 Don't bother.
Ross
Yalumba Octavius 2004 for $70+ this needed to be good. It was very good but just did not hit the great mark.
Not overly oaky really despite its reputation. Very ripe juicy and beautifully balanced. Subtle tannins. 94
Penfolds Bin 389 2008 This was WOTN. Best 389 ive tasted . Excellent wine. Shiraz dominant. Rich and concentrated. Overshadowed the Octavius. 95+
Two hands Brave faces 2010 & 2011 The 2010 had a muted nose but wonderful palate that you could sip on all night. The 2011 had a glorious nose of floral and violets but was somewhat let down in the mouth. Probably typical of the wettish inferior vintage.
Peter Lehmann Patchwork Shiraz 2009 Don't bother.
Ross