Tasting notes - June 2014

[Luke W]

I think we swap these over too regularly.
2009 Shingleback D Block Reserve Shiraz 2009 - comes together after a few hours of decant time. Massive, dark fruit bomb but beautifully balanced with tight cigar box tannins, spicy anise nose and lingering aftertaste reminiscent of blackberries and good 389s. Just bought another half dozen after lingering on this one - missus likes it too which helps with the credit card abuse....
Rockferry Pinot Noir 2009 - cheap NZ pinot that doesn't compare with its 2012 younger brother. Dreadful, boring muck.
Normans Louis the Lip 2011- think Lou Richards would turn over in his grave if he had to drink this repast - crap with a capital P.
Cathcart Ridge Estate Reserve Shiraz 2004 - it seems to me the bargains of 6 or 7 years ago are no longer bargains. PUS....
Freestone Pinot Noir 2011 - another NZ cheapy but better result than the one above - actually quite palatable in a slightly forgetful way.
Geoff Merrill Reserve Chardonnay 2005 - a bit stinky to start with but came good after 15 minutes. Big, old style buttery chardy - out of fashion but better than most.
Maglieri Shiraz -comparison between the 06 and 08 which the former won hands down - better quality fruit, better tannins, richer palate generally.
Tyrrells Hunter Shiraz 2011- very pleasant wine that kicked above expectations given the price - disappeared very quickly.
Geoff Merrill Reserve Chardonnay 2006 - a bit more elegant than the one above, a bit tighter and will last longer.
Taltarni Cabernet Merlot 2001 - bought 6 of these 6 or 7 years ago. The others were all dreadful but this one was OK. Thought this would be worse given the others were pretty dead but its amazing how each wine varies.
2003 Mildara Coonawarra Cabernet - yummy, soft with a touch of VA. Classy but not the full Monty - maybe 8.5/10.
Rock Ferry Pinot Noir 2012 - quite pleasant, easy to drink. Some NZ winescribes would probably give it 200 points but I'd give it maybe 90.
Tahbilk Sparkling Shiraz 2008 - poor mans Rockford Black - lovely and good value at $22 bottle but not quite the same class as the Rockford.
2012 disgorged Rockford Black Sparkling- wish I had more than one of these left. unbloodybelievably good.....
2004 Seppelt St Ida Heathcote Shiraz - lovely wine smack bang in the middle of its drinking window. Has the acid backbone to last awhile and the fruit is balanced beautifully with the tannins.
2003 Pepper tree Shiraz - lovely aromatic, big fruit, acidic Shiraz with plenty of life in it.
2004 Clarence Hill McLaren Vale Shiraz - just starting to come into its drinking window -. Lovely balance and great red and black berry flavours.
2003 Capstone McLaren Vale 80 Year Old Vines Shiraz - doesn't get much better than this. Full of flavour, balance, texture, aroma of black fruits. Bottle disappeared in an hour and a half before my wife got a chance to try any!

[Sean]

deleted

[Phil H]

2003 Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz After trying the 2010 & 2012 decided to revisit the earliest vintage I have of this wine. What a difference - full bodied, charry oak prominent over-riding the blueberry fruit, fine dusty tanins. For a wine under $20, cellaring beautifully with quite few years left in it.

[Duncan Disorderly]

2009 Domaine Michel Magnien Fixin

This is a superb wine that blends the acid structure of Burgundy with lots of new world black and red fruit. It has length to burn and will cellar a treat too.

2005 Chateau Terre Vielle Pecharmant

Lovely nose of cloves and cinnamon with flavours of cassis and candied orange zest, a medium finish with dusty tannins.

2006 Donnhoff Oberhauser Brücke Spatlese

Honeyed peach, apricot, lime it's unctuous and divine. Have another four but won't be opening another one for several years.

[The fish]

2009 Domaine Michel Magnien Fixin .

Class in a glass. Better than the Cote des Nuits or on a par ?

Stop it you're making me thirsty! Might be time to start planning the next Canberra offline...

Cheers
Matt

[Phil H]

A few short notes/impressions of wines enjoyed last night with like minded friends:
Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve Very enjoyable, slight golden color, good way to start the evening.
Joseph Sparkling Red Excellent, this wine never disappoints, great complexity and density, with a creamy dark fruit finish.
2009 Tapanappa Pinot Noir Slightly disappointing - maybe a wine not to have after the Joseph. Not a great deal of complexity or length. It was enjoyable, however it was the lesser wine of the night.
2002 Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz Excellent wine, with everything you would expect from a top level Barossa Shiraz. Full Bodied, Oak, fine tannins, everything in balance This wine still has plenty of life left in it.
2008 Brunello di Montalcino. Very good, a wine that I would recommend to try on the other thread discussing Italian Wine. Medium bodied with fine grippy tanin,
2008 l'Ancienne Cure Selection, Percharmant A blend of Merlot, Cab Franc, Cab Sav. Very Good, I was surprised with the level of fine dusty tanin.
and earlier this week:
2011 Ross Hill Pinnace Pinot Noir. I have previously posted notes, however I am still greatly impressed with the wine. Looking at the wine you would think it was a Rose, however on tasting it is a full bodied Pinot. Perhaps it's alcohol level at 14.5% holds it up! but on the palate there is plenty of spice with morello cherries. Very Good

[Duncan Disorderly]

Duncan Disorderly wrote:
2009 Domaine Michel Magnien Fixin .


Class in a glass. Better than the Cote des Nuits or on a par ?

Stop it you're making me thirsty! Might be time to start planning the next Canberra offline...

Cheers
Matt

Hi Matt

From (an albeit clouded) memory the Cotes du Nuits tasted like it required a bit more time lying down, whereas the Fixin drinks well now, but will improve further with time. Fortunately I picked up over a dozen bottles so one will probably find its way to a Canberra offline. I'm thinking July sometime for the next one...

Cheers

Julian

[rooman]

2008 Brunello di Montalcino. Very good, a wine that I would recommend to try on the other thread discussing Italian Wine. Medium bodied with fine grippy tanin,

Phil

Would you like to give us a hint as to which Brunello di Montalcino you were drinking?

Mark

[qwertt]

2008 Brunello di Montalcino. Very good, a wine that I would recommend to try on the other thread discussing Italian Wine. Medium bodied with fine grippy tanin,

Phil

Would you like to give us a hint as to which Brunello di Montalcino you were drinking?

Mark

I thought they all came out of the one big barrel.

[Phil H]

Hi Mark, it was the "carpineta". I have attempted to attach a photo I took on the night, however i had problems croping the image to fit. Regards Phil

[catchnrelease]

Dinner at The Devonshire - no corkage on Tuesdays and fantastic food!!! Would recommend for sure.

Krug Grand Cuvée - Not sure how old this bottle was, at least 10-15yrs since the family recalls having in the early 2000's at least. No pop when opening which was not the most promising sign. Fortunately what was inside was pretty good. Decent bead, given it's age, with lovely developed notes of honey, yeast and toast. One glass that was nursed though the night did fall flat eventually and started to turn mediocre, but straight out of the bottle this was a nice example of developed champagne (and from a non-vintage at that).

1985 Penfolds Grange Hermitage - Decanted for ~1hr at the restaurant before being served. Dark crimson/ruby/purple with minimal bricking. This had gone through the last Penfolds recorking clinic with the staff there saying drink within 5 years. Have to say they were spot on. Gorgeous nose, was smelling it all night. Plenty of developed fruit aromas, smooth but powerful. On the palate it was very impressive at first. Again still plenty of fruit on the palate, with spices and matured savoury notes and fine grippy tannins keeping you interested - and a long finish. Acidity was gone, as you'd expect. Over the course of the next hour the finish fell away to medium-short in length, however the nose stood strong. 1985 wasn't the best vintage but this was showing well for what it was. Yep, this is Grange. Drink now if you have any in your cellar, very good right now but probably won't improve.

[maybs]

Just as well there was no corkage Alex. Nothing worse than being charged $5 on your krug and grange

[catchnrelease]

I actually completely understand corkage and have no problem with it (as long as it's reasonable, I'd say $5 per bottle on your average restaurant is fair, maybe $10 for high end restaurants at the most). Given the establishment is losing so much money on drinks, a place where they usually make the best money, charging a bit to be able to bring wine in is completely fair if you ask me.

Having said that, not gonna complain about it being free either.

[maybs]

Yeah I completely agree with you. My local pizza place offers free BYO and it is a nice touch

But I don't usually take grange there

[catchnrelease]

Yeah I completely agree with you. My local pizza place offers free BYO and it is a nice touch

But I don't usually take grange there

I remember being told a story by a family friend (who knew a guy who knew Max Schubert) where one of Max's favourite things to do was run down to the local bakery, grab some pasties or pies and crack a bottle of Grange with them for lunch.

The Grange and Krug was for a special occasion, having said that they needed to be drunk so might as well open them now before they die. Both were definitely on their last legs.

[Luke W]

Most of the 1st dozen Granges (1975) that I bought($11.75) were consumed with pizza! Certainly improved the pizza....

[sjw_11]

I have always thought its quite fine even fun to go really simple (but high quality) pizza, or pasta, or anti pasto or something equally low key and a friggin OTT mega wine ... why not?

Smash those susasage sizzle snags and a bottle of Grange!! haha

[Mike Hawkins]

Most of the 1st dozen Granges (1975) that I bought($11.75) were consumed with pizza! Certainly improved the pizza....

A few of my Grange experiences have been with a meat pie.... The pies improved the Grange !

[Teisto]

Not really notes but bottles sampled. June has been a bit rough with travelling for work and then getting back to a family with gastro and getting it yourself at the end of the long weekend

2012 Coldstream Hills Chardonnay
2013 Lucy Margaux Monomeith Pinot Noir - Picked this up while travelling in Adelaide. A nice "pretty" pinot very fruit forward and drink now style. Very good though

[Willard]

Hi Everyone,

I'm Will - just joined up to your forum and looking forward to contributing as I have just been lurking for a while.

A select few for me recently from a BBQ with friends:

2000 Crawford River Reserve Riesling - The fruit weight, drive and intensity is really something. I haven't tried the standard from this vintage but this reserve is a step up from the others I have tried. My favourite Riesling producer in Australia.

2012 Hillcrest Village Pinot Noir - Took a while to open up, is still wound fairly tight at the moment. Nice fruit weight and tannin, good length. This was a taster for me out of a 6-pack, but I'd leave it for a year or two to try again depending on how many you have.

2003 Wynns Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon - This was drinking beautifully - starting to get developed flavours, still nice firm tannin, nice length. Such a good wine, still with plenty of time to go. Shame our friends' 3 year old knocked the bottle off the table when it was about half full!

2006 Yalumba Light Pass Shiraz - Nicely integrated, pure Barossa shiraz. Black fruits, dense and fairly rich but not too over the top, oak folded in nicely. It'll last a while depending on your taste in shiraz (and the cork), but it is drinking nicely now and the fruit vibrancy will probably start to recede more from here - for me, no real reason to wait.

Will

[Cloth Ears]

2012 Bundalong Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon (screwcap): 14% alc. Dark purple/red. Probably made a mistake and opened this fairly soon before dinner (the curse of working!) Nose was fairly muted although it did open up by the time I got to doing the dishes and the last mouthful. Blueberries, cherries, blackberries were the main feature, pretty much overpowering everything else. I'll pay more attention next time to other hints of flavour. My wife and I both came out with "Ooh, that's nice" on first sip. Very fruity on the berry side of things and fairly meaty mouthfeel. First for a long time was what seemed to be a good tannin balance without the usual astringency I associate. I'm predicting a long and fruitful future with this one. 92

[wineforlife]

Hi Everyone,

I'm Will - just joined up to your forum and looking forward to contributing as I have just been lurking for a while.

A select few for me recently from a BBQ with friends:

2000 Crawford River Reserve Riesling - The fruit weight, drive and intensity is really something. I haven't tried the standard from this vintage but this reserve is a step up from the others I have tried. My favourite Riesling producer in Australia.

2012 Hillcrest Village Pinot Noir - Took a while to open up, is still wound fairly tight at the moment. Nice fruit weight and tannin, good length. This was a taster for me out of a 6-pack, but I'd leave it for a year or two to try again depending on how many you have.

2003 Wynns Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon - This was drinking beautifully - starting to get developed flavours, still nice firm tannin, nice length. Such a good wine, still with plenty of time to go. Shame our friends' 3 year old knocked the bottle off the table when it was about half full!

2006 Yalumba Light Pass Shiraz - Nicely integrated, pure Barossa shiraz. Black fruits, dense and fairly rich but not too over the top, oak folded in nicely. It'll last a while depending on your taste in shiraz (and the cork), but it is drinking nicely now and the fruit vibrancy will probably start to recede more from here - for me, no real reason to wait.

Will

Hi Will, Welcome aboard, I am a newbie too in Auswine forum. Wynns Black label seems to age so well and rarely disapoints. I have drunk few vintages but I think they were all consumed slightly too young. I'vs got quite a few 2010 stashed away. Won't be touching them for a while. 2006 Yalumba Light Pass shiraz, I never tried but I will look out for it in the future. Keep up the posting Will and I have enjoyed your tasting note. Cheers mate. Michael

[wineforlife]

Tonight cracked the Peter Lehmann Mentor 2010.
Since I have a dozen, I thought it would be good idea to try one.
Split Decanted it around 10 times. Having it with Irish stew tonight. What a combination. Thank you my beautiful wife!
Dark ruby colour, hint of purple at the rim. Nose I am getting some cigar, chocolate, brooding black fruits, eucalyptus, soil, mint.
On the mouth medium to full bodied, rich, mouth pluckering tannins, Minerals, Wild berries, sour plum, finishing dry and lingering on the mouth for sometime.
I am big fan of Mentor and I think this is same league as 2002 and 2004. Loving it and great future ahead of it. I will crack it every year to see where it is travelling. It was rather drinking well with force striping.

[catchnrelease]

2006 Abercorn Shiraz - Not very pooey at all on the nose, which I was expecting considering it's from Mudgee. Very smooth and developed while still retaining plenty of vibrant fruit. Good structure and definitely in its peak drinking window. Medium length finish, could have been longer. Overall a pleasant enough drink with Sunday lunch.

[griff]

Tonight cracked the Peter Lehmann Mentor 2010.
Since I have a dozen, I thought it would be good idea to try one.
Split Decanted it around 10 times. Having it with Irish stew tonight. What a combination. Thank you my beautiful wife!
Dark ruby colour, hint of purple at the rim. Nose I am getting some cigar, chocolate, brooding black fruits, eucalyptus, soil, mint.
On the mouth medium to full bodied, rich, mouth pluckering tannins, Minerals, Wild berries, sour plum, finishing dry and lingering on the mouth for sometime.
I am big fan of Mentor and I think this is same league as 2002 and 2004. Loving it and great future ahead of it. I will crack it every year to see where it is travelling. It was rather drinking well with force striping.

Had this on the weekend as well. Personally I found it difficult to enjoy but I certainly appreciated the potential. Embryonic, with everything perfectly in place. I would agree that it will match the 2002 and personally I think it will surpass the 2004. But very early days as yet. Good with potential plus plus.

cheers

Carl

p.s. Welcome Will! Love Crawford as well but with the premium to other rieslings I have so few in the cellar. Must rectify that.

[Phil H]

2004 Leasingham Bin 61 Shiraz I thought this wine would be past it's best and hence not expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised, dark fruits with a charry oak finish. Consumed over two nights, drinking best on the second night suggesting it still has life in it yet (however at its peak). Accompanied my lamb shanks well, thoroughly enjoyable for a sub $20 wine with 10 years of age.

[wineforlife]

Taylors Reserve Parcel Shiraz 2012, I think I picked this up at dans for $20. Popped and poured, very tight and closed. Left it open and came back after 24 hours.
( Ben Glaetzer advised me all of his Reds taste better after 24 hour aeration. I am a big fan for of his wines and was priviledged to meet the Man )
Aeration made a big difference and this was smiling alright. Dark Crimson colour, Taylor made trade mark Vanilla Oak, Coffee beans, chocolate, brooding black fruits. Medium to full bodied, lush black fruits with some bitter chocolate, dry chalky finish. It goes well with scotch fillet steak. This for me was more tannic than Mentor 2010. Good but not exciting enough for me to re buy. Abit young, even with the breathing.
I agree that most will find Peter Lehmann Mentor 2010 too tough right now, but try it with 24 hour Aeration and Split decanting it few times just before tucking it in, worked a treat for me. Tempted to grab more of Mentor 2010. Of course it will get better with some bottle age but very solid drinking even now.

[catchnrelease]

2012 Chateau Haut Mayne White Bordeaux Blend - Cost me about $20, pretty good for value for an import. Not too minerally with perfumed fruit nd florally noted coming through from the greater amount of Sav Blanc to Semillon. Decent length, nice acidity giving it good structure. Overall good.

[Mike Hawkins]

A few at dinners & lunches in the past few weeks...

2000 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses - one of the better Champagnes from this vintage. Needs time.

2004 Dom Perignon - this is getting better with time. Fantastic, and on a n upward spiral. Time to buy another dozen.

2013 Rimapere Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough) - meant to be one of the better NZ SBs. Not my cup of tea.

2010 Paringa Estate Chardonnay - excellent wine. One of the better Aussie chardonnays I've had in recent years.

2010 Puligny-Montrachet Jean Marc Boillot - decent enough. A bit tight but some air did it some favours.

2011 Patrick Javillier Meursault 'Les Clousots' - never heard of it before, but pretty good, and will be even better in a couple more years.

2010 Surveyor, Thompson Pinot, Central Otago. Ok, but nothing to write home about.

2012 Circe, Hillcrest Road Pinot, Mornington - ditto

2009 Mountford Estate Single Vineyard 'The Rise' Pinot, Marlborough - best of the pinots, but way too exxy.

2010 Te Whare Ra Syrah, Marlborough - not bad for a kiwi wine !

2010 2010 Fox Gordon Hannah's Swing Barossa Shiraz. Very shy and austere at first. Opened to become a superb wine. Think I'll buy some.

2007 Pegau CNdP - pretty good wine. Quite rich, but more-ish.

2008 Mascarello Montprivato Piedmont - only got half a glass, but it was really good. I imagine this will age nicely.

2011 Mullineux Schist Syrah Sth Africa - Matthew Jukes describes it as the best SA wine he's ever had. I wasn't enamoured - it seemed a touch confected to me.

[catchnrelease]

2013 Clonakilla Riesling - In a really good place right now if you like your riesling young and fresh. Generous nose. Focused palate with plenty of citrusy fruity goodness, great length and just the right amount of acidity to keep it together while still not being over the top. Dry now, but I suspect this will cellar well! Very good, one of the better rieslings I've had in a while.

2010 Yering Station Pinot Noir - Again good, enough acidity to keep it going for another few years but in its peak drinking window already for sure. More powerful than I expected it to be, a real step up from the delicious Little Yering label. Enjoyable.