Weekly Drinking Reports - 5/11/12

[dlo]

Nobody's kicked off our regular drinking segment, so I'll do the honour this week. Please feel free to contribute with anything of interest as I feel this recurring post has become an integral part of our board's culture.

I've been so pleased with the pinot noirs' of Jean Grivot of late, I dropped by the cellar and pulled another mixed case just for the hell of it, including Grivot's 1996 Nuits-St-George 1er Cru "Aux Boudots". An outstanding wine, brimming with amazing freshness and incredibly good red cherry fruit, a remarkable smooth texture, very fine structure, an interminably long line combined with intensely perfumed and quite dazzling aromatics. I'd score it about 93 points and it should last for many years.

A bottle of Mountadam 2008 Eden Valley Chardonnay (pretty much) hit the mark over lunch with some tender cuts of cold meats and a variety of excellent salads yesterday during a gig we did in the very scenic, and incredibly lush foothills of the local ACT ranges. It does have the smallest enigmatic side to its persona, in that the 14.5% alcohol made itself known after half an hour sitting in the glass, but until then, everyone at the table was singing its praises. On the positive side, the colour remains pristine, the bouquet full of minerals, stone fruits, figs, nuts and quality oak - all nicely integrated; followed a tightly coiled palate offering up very similar traits to what I've just mentioned, decent mouthfeel, a pretty good finish with only the high alcohol spoiling things a fraction, right at the death. Initially, I thought this was heading towards a gold medal rating but with its faux pas, I'd settle on 90 points. Still a very good/excellent effort .... and a wine I picked up at auction for about ten bucks a bottle.

I was most impressed with a $10 cheapy, Dean De Bortoli's 2009 Vat 1 Durif, discovered on one of my jazz trips earlier in the year. I saw the 2010 on special for $9.99 a bottle at the local the other day and bought a bottle to try. It opened as a relatively underwhelming successor to its older sibling and I wrote it off as a "buy". About two thirds of the bottle remained and I took the remnants to our jazz band rehearsal some four days later to see how it was travelling. To my surprise, the wine was now far plumper with a whole lot more spicy blueberry fruit and much closer in style and quality to the 2009. Another wine possibly worth keeping for a year and then enjoy as your house quaffer? About 85 points, second time around. More like 75, when it was first opened.

Jamieson's Run 1998 Reserve Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 is a somewhat advanced, deeply flavoured red full of old dark chocolate, aged blackcurrant with bucketloads of savoury/cedary French oak with some earth & leather hovering around the edges. It drinks quite well now, but I wouldn't keep it any longer. 88 points

Some time ago, I bought several cases of the Jeanneret 2009 Big Fine Girl Riesling (what a terrible name!) for under ten bucks a bottle and always try and keep a few in the fridge as my house white. I've probably gone through over a dozen now and am pleased to say it has hardly budged since being purchased. This wine possesses a wealth of crunchly apple and lime fruit but also has the necessary reserves of counterbalancing acidity to provide focus and line. It's a most enjoyable wine, especially at the price. About 85 points.

Lastly, I recently picked up three bottles of Seppelt Great Western 1998 Reserve Shiraz from auction for a pretty measly sum. The more this wine is bagged for being "overoaked", the more "south" the price seems to go. So I tried a bottle over the weekend and, yes, the oak is "noticeable", but, without a doubt, is of very good quality .... but, more importantly, what about the gorgeous ripe black fruit in there with it? There is that question of "balance", yet I've never had a bottle that does not drink pretty darn well, especially after a good breathe. Just my two cents. Score, about 90 and I would suggest it will remain at this standard for many years to come.

And that's it from me for this week.

[Panda 9D]

Was lucky enough to share some bottles with James Vuletic (Providence) last night and it was a killer lineup. Excuse my crummy notes.. it's from memory and.. well I generally don't care about writing notes... thought I would give it a try though.

1978 Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva - Beautiful transparent ruby fading to amber. The nose was always changing but I remember some flowers, orange, red fruits, smoke and on and on. The palate was elegant but powerful and also changing almost sip by sip. To be honest, I can't really describe it. Beautiful bright acidity.. this wine has a lot of life in it yet.

1994 Chateau Gloria St. Julien - Drinking well now but could easily go another 10 years. Nose of cedar, tobacco, meat over a light background of purple fruit. The palate pretty much matched with the addition of plenty of tannin.

1998 Château Péby Faugères St. Emilion - Strong black/purple fruit on the nose and palate. Smoke, licorice, chocolate, dusty drawer on the nose and the palate too. The fruit in this wine is just delicious.. sweet... yummers. Ready to drink but, as seems to be the theme of the night, will last a long time more.

2005 Providence Private Reserve - Elegant. Beautiful array of red and purple fruits, flowers, spicy cinnamon, cedar on the nose and closely matched on the palate. Kept improving and improving in the glass. The palate had a great, slightly sour acidity, that makes it hard to stop drinking. Kickass wine and, naturally, will continue to improve for some years yet.

We also had 2007 Two Hands Ares and Aerope which were great but as I sell them I'll spare you my impressions. They definitely held their own.

[ticklenow1]

A few over the last couple of weeks. No detailed notes, just recollections.

2004 Viking Shiraz Cabernet. Barossa Valley. 14.5%. I quite enjoyed this and was quite typical of the Barossa. Some black fruit and sweet oak dominate and the tannins were quite soft. Reasonably juicy wine if that makes sense and is holding well. 3.5/5

2005 Hugh Hamilton The Villain Cabernet. McLaren Vale. 15%. The alcohol in this one was quite noticeable at first so I only had the one glass on the first night. By night 2 it had somewhat blown off and turned into a more than enjoyable quaffer. Lots of dark fruits and liquorice and oak only a minor player. It did finish a bit bitter but I'm guessing that was the alcohol. 3/5

2006 Pirathon Shiraz. Barossa Valley. 15%. Unlike the above wine, the alcohol in this was not noticeable at all. Just a fruit bomb and a real crowd pleaser. So easy to drink and I'm glad I have a couple more. It won't get any better, but for the money I wouldn't expect it to. 3.5/5

2007 Gotham Old Vine Reserve Grenache. Barossa Valley. 16.5%. Wow, this was a surprise. According to the label it comes from a single vineyard in Light Pass that is approx 100 years old. Aged in 1 year old French oak for 24 months, this wine is everything I love about Barossa Grenache. Some fruit sweetness and toasty oak form a very well balanced wine that doesn't suffer at all from it's very high alcohol. I actually really rate the '07 Grenache vintage in the Barossa. I've had a few now that are excellent and seem to defy the so called poor vintage. 4/5

2007 Gotham Old Vine Reserve Mataro. Barossa Valley. 15.7%. Another Single Vineyard from the Light Pass region of the Barossa. Almost 100 year old vines and 100% new French oak for 24 months. Not as good as the Grenache but still an acceptable drink. Quite oak dominant and I'm hoping with a few more years bottle age, the fruit will start to get a look in. It's quite obvious that there is high quality fruit there, it's just that the equally high quality oak, is overpowering at the moment. 3/5

2007 Rockford Moppa Springs GSM. Barossa Valley. 14.5%. To me, this is more a drink now Moppa than the past few vintages. Red and black fruits dominate and the tannins are ever so soft. Oak is very much in the background. Really well balanced and giving plenty of enjoyment now. Another really good '07. 3.5/5

2007 d'Arenberg The Cenosilicaphobic Cat. Sagrantino Cinsault. McLaren Vale. 14.5%. I actually bought this after reading Gary Walsh's review in the Big Red Wine book. He stated it was like redskins in a bottle. He wasn't far wrong at all. Bright fruit is the main player with lots of cherry flavours. We enjoyed it and will drink our remaining bottles over the next year or so. 3/5

Cheers
Ian

[Mike Hawkins]

A few champers over a meal of seafood.

2006 A Margaine Special Club - one of the great bargains from the region. This is an absolutely superb chardonnay dominant champagne that needs a bit more time. The new release from the heralded 2008 vintage comes out next week.

2002 Vilmart Couer de Cuvee - the top of the range from this respected producer, and this wine didn't disappoint, albeit the oak poked out just a tad. Really needs more time.

1990 Dom Perignon - at the top of its game right now. Fantastic wine.

[Mahmoud Ali]

A '96 Pol Roger Brut that was very nice. It was far more advanced in colour than I expected based on the '90 I had a few years ago. It had a bright yellow gold sheen and had a broad mature palate. I guessed it for an '88 Champagne.

Also good was a '96 d'Arenberg 'The Custodian' Grenache. This was really fine, broad, mature and softly elegant. The tasters mostly thought Rhone and Rioja but not the new world. It rightly deserved to be the wine of the night over a '90 Pavie Macquin, St Emillion, Bordeaux that was savoury but only good. I'm not sure if the Macquin has passed it's plateau or if it needs more time.

The desert wine was a N/V Samos 'Anthemis', Greece that I've had for quite a number of years. Though a non vintage it has a paper tape over the cork that implies it may have been bottled or released in 1996. A very fine sediment had formed in the bottle so I decanted it. It was a burnished copper/gold and was not as sweet and far more complex than a bottle I had a couple of years ago. It had an obvious muscat profile but the fact that it was from Greece eluded everyone.

Mahmoud.

[Michael McNally]

Wow, some quality wines in the weekly drinking thread. Top effort people!

Myself nothing outstanding. Did enjoy the much-mentioned 2009 Mt Langi Ghiran Cliff Edge Shiraz, though it didn't make me rush out and buy more (I am broke however - if I had a spare $130 I would love to tuck six away). Good fruit, great length. Very tasty. Will go well in the cellar and be great in 5 years.

Also had a 2010 RockBare McLaren Vale Shiraz. Black/purple kind of wine with full-throttle blackberry/plum fruit, noticeable but not detratcting extract, and some pleasant malty characters from the oak. Very good drinking in its style for around $20.

Pick of the last couple of weeks has to be the 2010 Borsao 'Tres Picos' Garnacha. For $25 an old world meets new world Grenache. Quality on all fronts, bouquet particularly. Just delicious. Am saving my weekly allowance to get some more. (Ticklenow - Ian you would rate this I reckon)

Cheers

Michael

[Red Smurf]

1000 posts Micheal, nice one

For me 2005 Robertson of Clare Max V Bordeaux blend, 14.5% Alc. This is a nice wine but needs a long decant, didnt come around for about 2 hrs. Some nice violets, blueberry and mulberry fruit and cedar. A little out wack right now, Alc. sticks out but nice grip on the finish sucking the tongue to the top of the mouth literally, I'll be keeping the rest for another 5 and try again.
2010 Rockford Rifle Range Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5% Alc. The misses thought this was very moreish, me...I was a little let down. I know its Barossa, big and powerful. Quality rich fruit, lots of vanilla, fine tannins. But not really my style these days. A Cabernet for the shiraz lover.

Cheers
Smurf

[ticklenow1]

Pick of the last couple of weeks has to be the 2010 Borsao 'Tres Picos' Garnacha. For $25 an old world meets new world Grenache. Quality on all fronts, bouquet particularly. Just delicious. Am saving my weekly allowance to get some more. (Ticklenow - Ian you would rate this I reckon)

Well done on the 1000 posts.

As it just so happens, I have a couple and on your recommendation, I'll might grab a couple more, cheers. Your the first person who I know who has had the wine. I'm always a little apprehensive in reading too much into tasting notes on CT unless I know the person or I've seen enough of their notes. Is it a drink now, or is it worth keeping a couple for a few years (will it get any better)?

Cheers
Ian

[tpang]

Had a couple to sully out my terrible Melbourne Cup performance.

Matchbox Wine Co Riesling 2011, Clare Valley
$30. Wild yeast fermented, a soft lifted aromatic profile with notes of white blossoms and sweet brewed lemon barley drink, hint of grassy spice. Clear pale yellow colour, a well-rounded mouthfeel which does pretty well to hide the high acidity. More lime than lemon flavours, with a streak of lime rind and dried tangerine. A nice layered feel to this wine, the extra dimension probably due to the 8 months maturing on lees. A wine to cellar for the mid-term. Had with Thai chilli’d pork mince with rice vermicelli salad. Drink now – 2015.

Mac Forbes Woori Yallock Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley
$50. Clear, medium+ crimson ruby colour. A open bouquet with layered elements of dark berry fruit, earth and spice all rolled then flipped out at you like carpets. Blackcurrant, strawberry essence, fennel, shitake mushroom and damp clay. Smooth velvet texture, high fruity acidity, 12.5% alc. A medium+ bodied wine, with very even toned fruit flavours. I feel the fruit is slightly more advanced than its age indicates, but the soft powdery tannins should permit this wine to last for quite some time yet. Clean precise blackcurrant flavours with touches of spice throughout. A perfect accompaniment for some raisin baked rice with roasted lambchops with yogurt dashed with nutmeg. Drink now – 2017.

Matchbox Wine Co Malbec 2012, Clare Valley
$30. Intense inky purple ruby colour. Lifted aromas of violets, blueberry syrup and fresh pepper. A weighty wine texture-wise, like a whole ream of silk. Dry, full-bodied wine of high acidity and soft fruity tannins. A tasty wine, plenty of dark berry fruit, black cherry, blueberry, blackcurrant liquor, slightly savoury. Hint of dark chocolate on the finish. This would be great with a pork belly stew with rich sticky sauces. Drink now – 2015.

[sjw_11]

Hugh Hamilton "Jekyll & Hyde" Shiraz Viognier 2010... Deep purple/red, intense, fragrant, and layered nose of crushed red berries, dark plum, and none of the canned apricots of lesser ShV examples. Carries the alcohol well, in a lush, plush palate with firm, but not astringent tannin. Extremely fine wine, will cellar well. Now to 2025.

Rockford Cab Sav 2000... From a half bottle. Mid-red, showing some development, but still a very fruit driven wine with some blackcurrant, plum, red style fruit, and a moderately long, dry finish. Pleasant but not profound.

Arras 2001 Blanc de Blanc... Tremendous Aussie bubbles. Very light coloured pale yellow, extremely fresh and crisp with just a bit of more complex yeasty/toasty character starting to come through. I think this could be interesting to put in the cellar for a couple of years, but its an extremely good aperitif now.

St Hallets "Western Front" Shiraz 2010... An Uncle Dan's special, this has genuine interest to it, with a vibrant nose of typical Barossa plummy shiraz and a fairly lush, juicy palate. Great value.

Also smashing a number of cheap-mid-level semmy/savy's as the Sydney weather turns muggy (Houghton White Classic 2012 goes like water as the weather warms up!)

[Michael McNally]

Well done on the 1000 posts.

As it just so happens, I have a couple and on your recommendation, I'll might grab a couple more, cheers. Your the first person who I know who has had the wine. I'm always a little apprehensive in reading too much into tasting notes on CT unless I know the person or I've seen enough of their notes. Is it a drink now, or is it worth keeping a couple for a few years (will it get any better)?

Cheers
Ian

Hadn't noticed the 1000 posts, so thanks!

Definitely will develop for at least 5 years - after 3 hours in the decanter it was still getting better and better and better.....and gone.

Cheers

Michael

[via collins]

Shaw and Smith 2008 M3 chardonnay

Funky nose, lovely straw yellow colour.

A rush of fruit at first taste, nothing too sweet, but very bright - pineapple, nectarine, plenty of others - anchored with a fair belt of acid. Body is firm with just a hint of creaminess, very nice weight. A nice nougat element at the close. Very very good stuff indeed.

[Rossco]

2010 Vinteloper Odeon Riesling - Wow....what a wine... one of the longest length whites I have ever experienced....and in a different way too. When I first swallowed the wine, the length seemed to disappear quickly....but then BAM it came back like a freight train and just kept building on itself over & over. I have never experienced anything like this before, and it made wonder; if I was at a tasting and spat it, would i get the same experience? Probably not. This is one of those rare wines you cannot appreciate in full unless you actually drink it.

Wonderfully textural & mouth filling. Slight lemon/lime, but more grapefruit. Great acidity and you can tell this will last for AGES...10+ years easily. Talc came up on the palate once the wine was out in the open for a while and a hint of sweaty armpit quickly blew off. Pity this has sold out and I only have one more left.
Would by 2 doz if I could & drink one every year for 24 years!


N/V Primo Estate Joseph Sparkling (disgorged 07)- This is what jebus drinks. Nectar of the gods. Amazing nose. Couldnt stop smelling this wine all night....to the point my companions had finished their glass and were wanting more before i had even finished my first mouth full. It was so deep, so powerful & rich that words cannot describe its allure. VERY fine bead, full of spice, leather, tar & age. On the bottle it says it has material in it dating back to 1960's and I believe it. The aged character this wine has was simply inspiring. Quite porty nose, but not sweet at all & not too dry. Everything was in perfect balance and i want more more more more more.... only 30 doz made a year.....dont like my chances.


2007 Domain Day - One Serious Merlot - My dislike of any Australian Merlot not out of coonawarra continues. Fairly light and edgy. Didn't impress me too much, almost to the point I was asking myself if they had watered it down. The worst part was I should have liked it. It wasnt overripe or jammy and the fruit was definately at the forefront, but for me it was too weak & light.


1991 Tahbilk Cabernet Cork was cactus (completely stained right to the top) & moldy. Level was below shoulder so didnt have much hope for this wine. Still had some fine tannin structure & acidity left. Fruit has well and truly taken a back seat to the earthiness and leather. Oak was still there but again due to the condition of the bottle I couldnt help but remember the other 91's I have had were so much better. Oh well.

[Peter NZ]

1978 Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva - Beautiful transparent ruby fading to amber. The nose was always changing but I remember some flowers, orange, red fruits, smoke and on and on. The palate was elegant but powerful and also changing almost sip by sip. To be honest, I can't really describe it. Beautiful bright acidity.. this wine has a lot of life in it yet.

Was fortunate enough to visit the winery (Lopez de Heredia) in September. One of the great wine tourism experiences -- Neil Martin pretty well sums it up with the opening sentence from his recent reviews: "I have adored, indeed occasionally worshiped, the wines of Lopez de Heredia for many years, so I am not ashamed to admit that visiting both their vineyard and their winery was a pilgrimage." Everything at the winery done pretty well the same as 100 years ago, including their own on-site coopers. Picked up a bottle of the current release of the Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva Blanco -- the 1991 -- & drank bottles of the '96 Tondonia Reserva Blanco & the '01 Reserva (again, both were the current releases). Both exceptionally good.

Cheers
Peter

[Panda 9D]

Their wines are among the best bargains int he wine world IMO. The wines are at the level of the first growths, top Burgundies and so on. Buy as many as you can because this is a wine we'll be telling annoying stories about to younger wine drinkers (think of those "I used to buy Grange for 10 bucks and when I lived in London my pub had 47 Cheval Blanc for 20 quid"). One of the few Rioja producers left that hasn't entered the pursuit of Advocate/Spectator points.

Was fortunate enough to visit the winery (Lopez de Heredia) in September. One of the great wine tourism experiences -- Neil Martin pretty well sums it up with the opening sentence from his recent reviews: "I have adored, indeed occasionally worshiped, the wines of Lopez de Heredia for many years, so I am not ashamed to admit that visiting both their vineyard and their winery was a pilgrimage." Everything at the winery done pretty well the same as 100 years ago, including their own on-site coopers. Picked up a bottle of the current release of the Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva Blanco -- the 1991 -- & drank bottles of the '96 Tondonia Reserva Blanco & the '01 Reserva (again, both were the current releases). Both exceptionally good.

Cheers
Peter

[rens]

2005 Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot: Blended of 79% Cabernet, 15% Merlot, 5% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot and spending 24 months in French Oak, 50% new and 50% two years old, the 2005 is a nice little wine. A nice deep red with a purple hue the nose of this Bordeaux just scream WA cabernet with blackberry, black olive, smoked game and hints of soy. The medium weight palate is still primary and reflects the nose with the additions of cedar/vanilla oak and some chocolate, dried herbs and tobacco. The tannins are finely grained and the finish is long and lingering. A class act.

[catador77]

2007 Malleolus de Valderramiro. Aged 18 months in French oak barrels: 100% Tinto fino (Tempranillo). Cherry color. Clean and bright. Intense aromatic complexity. Highly concentrated notes of ripe fruit, sweet, licorice and herbs. On the palate, hints of toasted. Big load of ripe fruit. Intense and volume. Creamy tannins well integrated. Aftertaste with sensations of cocoa and berries. Long and continuous.

[griff]

2007 Malleolus de Valderramiro. Aged 18 months in French oak barrels: 100% Tinto fino (Tempranillo). Cherry color. Clean and bright. Intense aromatic complexity. Highly concentrated notes of ripe fruit, sweet, licorice and herbs. On the palate, hints of toasted. Big load of ripe fruit. Intense and volume. Creamy tannins well integrated. Aftertaste with sensations of cocoa and berries. Long and continuous.

Welcome!

[daz]

Perhaps a reflection of the vintage but the bargain basement Hardys Nottage Hill 2010 has ticked lots of boxes for me, surprisingly and ridiculously good for ~$7, black fruits, black olives, licorice, integrated charry oak, ripe tannins drying on a reasonable length finish. Bloody outrageous!

[Scotty vino]

cleansed the palette with a coopers celebration ale then;

Wendouree 03 Shiraz.
So much alcohol on the nose of this one. Looks older in the glass than it's age.
viscous legs.
elegant. 3.5/5

Majella 09 cab sav
Black/blood in the glass. vigorous dark berry aromas.
long finish.
4/5

Tasting notes from a week ago! slightly hazy but both were very good drops.