Oy you! Its Sunday ... yes you PLEASE

[TORB]

Hi Good Peoples,

The weekly what have you been drinking thread has been quiet lately. It would be great if we can get a bit more activity and interest back into the thread but we can only do that if you participate. TN's vibes or general thoughts are most welcome, especially from newbie posters (and we promise to be gentle too. )

Here is my contribution.

Tahbilk 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon

This just keeps getting better and better. A savoury bouquet of forest floor, mushroom, milk chocolate, coffee, cedar and menthol with obvious secondary aged characters staring to develop; all-in-all the complexity was amazing and a new scent was found almost every time the glass was swirled. Fine, chewy tannins have softened but are still noticeable and will ensure this wine will last more many years to come. Acid is still fresh and the fruit, although only medium is up to the task. Length is good and persistence is fantastic. Rated as Excellent, they donÂ’t get much better than this one.

[Paul T]

McWilliams Mt Pleasent O'shea shiraz 1996
Being a Newcastle boy..i thought i'd return to my hunter roots and drink something a bit different to what normally is found in my glass. Glad i did. This wine is simply delightful.

Still a vibrant red/ purple the bouquet is enticing..cherry fruit and earthy smokey notes swirl from the glass..very promising. The palate backs this up with a mix of ripe cherry fruit, earthy complexity and hints of spice..the finish is long and very soft. Both Nicole and I are very impressed. I'd rate it Excellent quality and 92 pts and also excellent value at the $25 it cost me a couple of years ago.

I actually think many of us overlook the Hunter when in fact it does produce many outstanding wines.I personally used to bag Hunter wines and i am certainly eating my words now. This wine has another 10 years in the tank at least..maybe longer. I'll be trying to find some more at auction.

Cheers

Paul[/b]

[TORB]

Paul,

Fascinating, but heck is it? Or is it so good you want to keep it a secret.

[Paul T]

oops..fixed now...its bloody early here and my head hurts

Cheers

Paul

[David Lole]

Greetings good peoples and TORB ,

This week saw several AFD's interspersed with some beauties.

Geantet-Pansiot 1999 Charmes-Chambertin - Drunk over two nights this just got better and better. Multi-faceted, the floral perfume on the second night was a joy to behold. Solid palate packed with creamy old vine red/black fruits. Needs several few years, of course, to be at its best. Surprisingly approachable now. Just lacks that little bit of wow factor. Excellent

Seppelt 1990 Dorrien Cabernet - Down to my last three now. This bottle was just a smidgin down in quality on all the previous from this second case. Slight dustiness on the nose and the fruit just a little muted. But I'm being very picky here. Otherwise, Excellent. Should you have any, drink soonish.

Yesterday afternoon/evening cracked another 2 Burgs, firstly with the '93 Lafarge Clos des Chenes - Mature red colour lightening to a rose' brown in the edge. Ripe plum, red cherry bouquet enhanced by wet earth, truffles, pinot sap with savoury oak hovering in the background. Some aged hung game characters followed later. Beautiful silky palate loaded with pristine plum, sap and cherry fruit, bright acidity and perfectly integrated fine tannins. Of medium weight, great length, this Excellent Burgundy oozes class and reinforces my opinion of Lafarge as one of the top producers in Volnay as well as the ageworthiness of this vintage. Approaching its peak drinking window, I'm sure this wine will drink well for many years to come.

Followed by another recent purchase - Frederic Esmonin's 1998 Estournelles-Saint-Jacques - a savoury, sappy pinot with a concentrated red fruit core and a fair swag of toasty oak thrown in for good measure. A deep, brooding style of Burgundy. Probably best drunk over the next 5 years. Highly Recommended

[Anonymous]

It has been a slow week due to my recovery from the flu. Wine tastes completely different once your buds go into rejection mode.

<b>1995 Seppelt Original Sparkling Shiraz</b>: I know its not summer yet, but the past few days in the Southern Highlands NSW have certainly felt like spring is in the air (although this weeks forecast puts us back into winter again ). I haven't drunk much sparkling shiraz, but his would have to be one of the best I have tried. I don't have any notes, as the remanents of the flu could give different impressions.

<b>2002 The Wine Society Orange Cabernet Merlot</b>: This delightful cabmer was made by Capercaille based in the Hunter Valley. A red-medium red with lots of fruit.

When the flu disappears completely I might be able to get some tasting notes down.

[Stewart]

Morning'

AHV's replacement cabernet based wine following Stephen Gorge's decision to graft estate cab sav vines over to pinot following the 1999 vintage. This wine is a blend of estate grown merlot as well as cab sav, petit verdot, malbec and some additional merlot being sourced from a warmer Adelaide Hills site.

The wine provides an interesting contrast to the 1999 Oblique, vintage and material source differentials notwithstanding. Much less plush and velverty and more about pronounced tannins and firm structure. Very classy cabernet traits on the nose with leaf and berry fruits. Quite classy and somewhat elegant. Palate is a fraction one dimensional; tanninc with ripe blackberry fruits but very much a structured, firm style.

Whilst not a noted vintage this wine could do with a least a few years to soften a little, although that said not a bad drop now.

[Chuck]

Hi all,

Had a Penny's Hill 2002 Shiraz last night. I really loved my first bottle of this some time ago but found last nights to be uninspiring and wondered why. IMO the problem is many of the '02 McLaren Vale and Barossa Shiraz simply taste the same. Lovely fruit but high alcohol and not much to really differentiate between them. I know I sound like a broken record. Will be investigating more '02 Cabernets (Pepperjack is a corker) and Cabernet/Shiraz blends to to provide a more balanced celler.

I look forward to your comments. Maybe its just me!!

Chuck

[Neville K]

Grosset 2004 Release
At the Prine Wine Store: Jeffrey Grosset in attendance. Usual Riedels: where else does this happen?

2004 Sauvignon Blanc
Zinging, refreshing and absolutely a point for this maligned variety. Good start.

2004 Watervale
Preternaturally developed. Usually the Watervale has a crisp, refreshing zestiness upon release that makes it a better early drinking proposition. This to my mind seemed to have sherbert blousiness.

2004 Polish Hill
Deep refined finesse, but it has a viscous richness not usually associated with PH. I doubt it will have the legs for the long haul. Drinks very well now with trademark steeliness, but not a patch on recent vintages.

2002 Gaia
A great Gaia. Magnificent balance and velvety long lean tannins. This is a very elegant soft amalgam of ripe, but certainly not overripe in any way, mulberry fruits and sweet cedar. A wine which lingers and will polarise tasters. Some will not get it. It whispers sweetly in a world full of brazen shouting.
-----------
From cellar
1997 Polish Hill
Very developed colour. Quite golden. No doubt a very good wine, but this bottle lacked firm backbone. Not top tier.

Jeffrey Grosset commented that the much lauded 1997 vintage was not classical in the terms of 2002, but freakish. He has noted a great deal of bottle variation and fortified his view that cork closure is the villain in the equation. Now with age this particular vintage is showing very mixed results.

His aim is to have whole bunch even ripeness rather than have berry variations.

1998 Watervale
Typical citrus lime. Very clean, refreshing and drinking, but will hold.

2003 Jasper Hills Georgia's Paddock
A wine I want to like but ultimately must pass upon. Very dry tannins, extracted and puckering. The fruit is too submerged which gives concern about balance. Very concentrated but the astringency is dominant. This wine has the savoury texture often found in young sangiovese which often yields surprising results when teamed with food. But factor in price and this wine does not stack up. Alas.

1994 Guigal Cote Rotie Brune et Blonde
A bit whiffy initially which blew off to large extent but hung over the wine. Drying out and this bottle had a nervousness about it. Not as good a bottle as a showing from Chris H at an offline earlier in the year. Will have another look tonight.

2003 Torbreck Woodcutters Red
Powerful primary fruit attacks like an opener's slashing cut shot off the first balll. This is a joyride and great fun for the price. It is almost a real wine, yet is classed in the necking rank.

2002 Torbreck Struie
Savoury. Deep powerful fruits dip and bubble acroos the palate. Deftly balanced and likeable, but poor value at near $50: A good $35 wine.[/

1996 Mt Langhi Ghiran Shiraz
Lean cool and light to mid-weight. Agreeable. Will not enjoy further cellaring: a reminder that 1996 was a very cool and difficult year in much of Victoria which was very different from Barossa, McLarenvale and Coonawarra. Fruit is beginning to dry out.
[b]

[Anthony]

Drunk some pretty good wines this week.

Argiano Brunello di Montalcino 1997: very good, can't wait for the 1999. This wine (and others like it) are the reason why so many people have fallen in love with Italian wine.

Rockford Eden valley Riesling 2001: probably ready to drink now. Lime, lemon, touches of apricot starting to develop.

Giaconda Shiraz 1998: from a bottle that had travelled to the US and back, still in great nick with years ahead of it. A great example of Australian (non- South aus) Shiraz.

Torres Riserva 1983: cabernet based, from my father's cellar. Still has a few years left in it. A bit of stink to start off that blew off to reveal a gorgeous bouquet and palate.

cheers
anthony

[Campbell]

Anth - that 1998 Giaconda ain't a bad effort from Myrtleford fruit, eh? I had one a couple of weeks ago and was impressed. Am trying to track down a bottle of the castagna syrah from 1998 as a comparison - because they're both off the same vineyard (planted along the Buffalo River I believe, just west of Myrtleford). It's an interesting little curio: two wines from the same vineyard, made by two winemakers in small batches. How much is terroir, and how much is the winemaker's hand?

The thing that surprises me is that no one has jumped in and bought the fruit from that same vineyard (it's sold, but to low end labels), in an attempt at the top end. I mean, it's a marketers dream: the vineyard that produced the Giaconda and Castagna 98 shiraz! Yeah?

Campbell.

[n4sir]

2003 Grant Burge Kraft Sauvignon Blanc (screwcap): Pale straw colour. An extremely complex nose that’s a touch riper than the 2002, with some passionfruit, tropical & banana mixed with herbaceous/grassy characters, and just a hint of sweat. The palate is pithy and creamy, sweeter and grassier than the nose, with hints of orange and liquorice with breathing. This is consistently a great sub $15 white wine, perfect with shellfish or pesto.

2003 Tim Adams Clare Valley Riesling (screwcap): Pale straw/green colour. A very spicy nose with an underlying scent of perfume at first; gorgeous tight lemon pith and nutty marzipan appear with breathing. The palate is likewise very spicy, with orange/apricot characters among the more predictable pithy lemon and slatey mineral water. I remember Tim describing the 2002 last year as being Alsace in style, so I wonder if he thinks this vintage could be almost Germanic in comparison?

1998 Petaluma Sharefarmers Coonawarra Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Cabernet Franc (cork): No crusting on the bottle. Dark red colour, with a hint of purple on the rim. The nose was a wonderful mixture of crushed red berries and supporting malty/cedar oak with a hint of chalk. The delicious palate at first featured sweet cassis fruit, with hints of jam, pepper and malt, touches of bitter chocolate, and tar/liquorice on the back palate. With extended breathing the wine features peppermint, even more chalk and jam, and tea/pencil notes. The wine is holding together quite well but I would drink soon.

1998 Wirra Wirra Church Block Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Merlot (cork): Medium amount of crusting; decanting is recommended. Dark crimson/brick colour. The first whiff was dominated by stinky oak, with some earthy plum under the surface, but was quickly replaced by aged chraracters of tomato, Worcestershire sauce, leather, mint, cedar and coffee. The mid weight palate showed the first signs of drying out, with bitter tannins and acid overriding the porty prune fruit, finishing dry. Drink now with food.

1996 Redman Coonawarra Shiraz (cork):. Very minor crusting on the bottle. Deep crimson colour with a hint of brick. Very reserved but perfumed and nose of sweet earth, coffee, leather and hints of herbs, strawberries, cinnamon and mixed spices. The sweetness flows to the complex mid-weight palate, with spicy raspberry fruit and touches of leather, finishing with lingering coffee and biscuity/doughy notes. The wine is far better balanced than the Church Block, with sweet fruit matching the fine tannin structure; great drinking now, and it could possibly hold for a little longer.

2000 Kay Bros Amery Merlot: Mid to heavy crusting already; decanting is essential. Excellent dark red colour tinged with purple. A very fragrant nose of coconut American oak and perfumed floral notes, with dusty/earthy musk and liquorice in the background, and finally some green/tea notes, but always ripe and tarry. The palate is less fragrant and drier, dominated by tarry/liquorice plum fruit and tannin, finishing with vegemite oak and eventually plum on the aftertaste. Great value for $120/dozen at the Cellar Door.

Cheers
Ian

[Pelican]

2002 Coriole Redstone Shiraz Cabernet : pleasant basic McLaren Vale licoricey red wine - brings back memories of my early wine drinking days at those Wine Festival thingies.

2002 La Corte Zinfandel , Puglia : had a glass of this at the Universal wine bar - did not seem quite right to my Mrs , so Pelicanette in her assertive way pointed this out and the bar tender skeptically opened another bottle and guess what - she was spot on , the first one was clearly corked on comparison. Must be some truth to females having a superior sense of smell and taste - or maybe it just reflects on my lack of assertion skills as we did "glance" at one another on first smelling the wine !

2002 Oomoo Shiraz : certainly not worthy of the Bradmanesque score given by the Fin Review recently. Just OK. I like the label though.

2000 Chapoutier " Deschants " Saint-Joseph ( $38 ) : lovely lovely lovely gentle Rhone Red. Excellent. Has a certain " calmness " that you just don't get in Australian wines - which is why it is worth buying these types of wines as well as our local ones which have their own wonderful charms as well. Also had a Chapoutier Limestone Coast red recently at the Organic Pizza place on Hutt St which was totally different to this wine but was also nicely made.

2000 Bannockburn Chardonnay ( $48 ) : lovely full Chardonnay. Excellent. Have to go now and attend to the Barossa Chook that is roasting in the oven as I write - to go with the last glass of this.

NB : Iron Chef is back on SBS next Saturday - the only " reality TV " I can stomach !

[Daryl Douglas]

Hi Good Peoples,

The weekly what have you been drinking thread has been quiet lately. It would be great if we can get a bit more activity and interest back into the thread but we can only do that if you participate. TN's vibes or general thoughts are most welcome, especially from newbie posters (and we promise to be gentle too. )

Here is my contribution.

Tahbilk 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon

This just keeps getting better and better. A savoury bouquet of forest floor, mushroom, milk chocolate, coffee, cedar and menthol with obvious secondary aged characters staring to develop; all-in-all the complexity was amazing and a new scent was found almost every time the glass was swirled. Fine, chewy tannins have softened but are still noticeable and will ensure this wine will last more many years to come. Acid is still fresh and the fruit, although only medium is up to the task. Length is good and persistence is fantastic. Rated as Excellent, they don’t get much better than this one.

[color=darkred]OI, YOU[/color] no need to scream


Hello, Ric.

Presumably the Tahbilk was the Reserve CS. Have you tried the Reserve 91 recently? From what I can gather, including your last TN, it's definitely a 20 year wine. Is there another Oz winery that still produces, and releases, aged wines that are meant to last so long - and do? Maybe Wendouree and Grange, but even they seem to be a bit controversial at times whilst the Tahbilk ship just keeps cruising along. BTW Alister's Dalfarras CS 91 is excellent value for $30/btl.

Only wine of any note this week was a Wirra Wirra Church Block Cab/Merl 02. Pretty much a drink now style but a very nice wine that went well with a pub rib fillet and mushroom sauce that was a bit ordinary. Drunk during a work team dinner so didn't get to take too much notice but it did have some compexity along with good, plummy, solid fruit. Needs another couple of years to settle down and integrate. Cedar oak and I seem to recall a touch of bitterness on the finish that wasn't at all nasty, just interesting. Bit rich at $32.50 though! Effing rip-off clip joints!! They don't even try to look after the wine either. Chose it over a Mount Pleasant Phillip shiraz that was about 50c cheaper - no idea of vintage.

Cheers all

daz

[Cellar Rat]

Anth - that 1998 Giaconda ain't a bad effort from Myrtleford fruit, eh? I had one a couple of weeks ago and was impressed. Am trying to track down a bottle of the castagna syrah from 1998 as a comparison - because they're both off the same vineyard (planted along the Buffalo River I believe, just west of Myrtleford). It's an interesting little curio: two wines from the same vineyard, made by two winemakers in small batches. How much is terroir, and how much is the winemaker's hand?

The thing that surprises me is that no one has jumped in and bought the fruit from that same vineyard (it's sold, but to low end labels), in an attempt at the top end. I mean, it's a marketers dream: the vineyard that produced the Giaconda and Castagna 98 shiraz! Yeah?

Campbell.

Geez CM,

Get real ! Trainer wheels stuff ! I bought the former and sold it off just as quickly. Rate what's in the bottle and not the label.

[TORB]

Very good Daz, go to the top of the class, it was the Reserve. Tahbilk certainly is a unique style in Oz today. I still have 3 out of my six from 91 and there is certainly no hurry to drink them.

[Anthony]

Hi Campbell,
would be an interesting comparison. Didn't know good old' Myrt could produce such good wine!! Also shows you what a gun winemakers like Rick are capable of.
Why don't we go up there, buy the fruit and label the wine Castelgiaconda?

I'd love to know the history of that vineyard and why Rick chose it to produce a Shiraz.

cheers
anth

[GraemeG]

Not much drinking of interest this week. Last night opened my penultimate 1995 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon (Margaret River)
A mid red, this mixes warm cedary aromas with leafy herbaceous fruit. The palate is soft with minimal tannins, but the finish is short and uninteresting. Fruit flavours seem entirely muted. Quite honestly, having drunk a stash of these purchased from auction, I'm convinced they were heat damaged to some degree. Not obviously ruined, but I think showing well below their best.

cheers,
Graeme

[Adair]

2001 Leeuwin Estate Siblings Shiraz - Great complexity but lacking depth. 12 months might be of benefit but would not recommend.

2001 Penfolds Thomas Hyland Cabernet Sauvignon - I laughed when I read the "fine tannins" comment on the back label. The wine has very 407-like prominent chalky tannins but does not have the lush fruit to compensate, not that the 407 has either in that many years . Again, I could not recommend this wine.

1973 Redman Cabernet Sauvignon - from Magnum - Obvious developed, savoury flavours but nothing dominating, very complex and drinking smoothly and well. Seamless structure without any components falling out of the wine. Very enjoyable and much, much better than a 1982 Magnum opened a few months ago. Highly Recommended. Interestingly, I drank this with 3 "standard" wine drinkers (as opposed to wine nuts) and 2 of them found it as enjoyable as I. I thought it would not be primary fruit lush enough.

1999 Hanging Rock Pinot Noir - very ordinary. Bought at the CD during the week for $10. I would have got more enjoyment from burning the $10 note... seriously!

2003 Rock Petit Verdot - Stelvin - Very powerful wine, varietally correct. Huge fruit and tannin. Another wine bought at Hanging Rock during the week but I tried this one first. I will be most interested to try this wine in 5 years but I am masochistic enough to enjoy it now. Rated Highly Recommended, great value at $12 although it needs to be drunk with food and will not be to everyone's tastes.

Adair

[Neville K]

Also shows you what a gun winemakers like Rick are capable of.
Why don't we go up there, buy the fruit and label the wine Castelgiaconda?[quote][/quote]

That reminds me. Also tasted the 2001 Chestnut Hill Chardonnay made by Doug Neal from a small Pakenham vineyard. It was a revelation. Beautifully made. Lean long, linear and intense. All in balance. Out of the Rick school.

[markg]

Had a stack of new wines at Gavins place Friday night (tasting notes later when I get a chance to write them up) with a hangover on Saturday morning. Saturday night a 2003 Thorn Clarke sandpipers reisling (quite nice) and Sunday over a long lunch with the wife a 1999 Rockford basket press shiraz (excellent wine each time I open one) which I ended up drinking almost single handedly and without any hangover effects

[Pika]

2001 Orchard Road Orange Barbera - High alcohol but enough fruit weight to carry. Firm texture with a medium finish. The first Eather made wine which hasnt been either great value for money and / or a good wine. Still, it was well put together - 16.5/20

2003 Wellington Iced Riesling - Yet to try an Andrew Hood wine that has disappointed me... 17.9/20

That is all......

[JamieBahrain]

Domaine Le Courolu Vacqueyras 00 - Typical rusticity of the appellation; lies between Gigondas and Beaumes de Venise. Slightly feral, with spice and raw grenache on the nose. Medium bodied and supple, soft fruit flavours with a hint of tannin but mostly acid completing. Peat bog and mineral aftertaste. Like so many wines of the Rhone, transformed with with food. Parker gave the wine 91pts and must have been eating spaghetti bolognaise with the wine too!

Katnook Merlot 01- Firm believer if you are a straight merlot lover look beyond our shores. This is a pleasant wine, divided down the middle in youth; good use of french oak on one side, sweet plummy merlot fruit on the other. With time and some integration, should be a good expression. Better served by their cabernet IMHO.

Nepenthe Pinot Noir 98- Well made and varietal. Nothing dominates, refined and balanced with a buzz of interest on the palate and a clean finish. Great pinot and what the Burgundians would probably call souless.

Some South African cabernet-Neil Ellis 00- with dinner. Very food friendly style. Watch out Australia!

[Kieran]

Slow week - I don't drink much when I'm home alone

St Hallett Gamekeepers 02 - Agreeable quaffer. Won't be rushing back for more.
Waikerie VP 1971 - Tired. Tasted like an old, thin tawny. Still acceptable.

Kieran

[ChrisH]

Some new releases tasted last week :

The “+” sign in some scores means will score higher in time.

2001 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay
Very pale lemon. Nose shows refinement – pear, white peach, light honey and understated oak. Some austerity on the palate – ever so slightly corked, but the powerful peach-pear fruit shows excellent French oak integration and should cellar well (18+)


2002 Quartz Reef Pinot Noir
Medium depth crimson-ruby. Still tight on the nose – earth, red cherry fruit and some attractive forest floor complexity. Palate flavours mirror the nose - slightly fruit-thin on the mid-palate at this stage, but this should fill out with 6-12 months in bottle (17.5+)


1994 Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz
Medium red in colour. Showing the benefit of crown seal already, the wine is very fresh compared to previous releases with none of the mushroom/leather characters of previous versions. Complex nose of liquorice, rhubarb and raspberry fruit. Excellent palate showing lots of effervescence, and very ripe mulberry-raspberry-cherry fruit. Drinks well already but will cellar (18.5)


2000 McWilliams Mt Pleasant Maurice OÂ’Shea Shiraz
Red-ruby. Nice earthy blackberry-raspberry fruit and oak. An acid-tannin spine overlays the fruit on the palate, auguring well for cellaring potential (17.5)


2000 Chateau Citran
Ruby-crimson. Cassis-plum fruit, tobacco and earth to smell – obviously Bordeaux. Medium weight only, with a tannic palate maybe lacking a touch in fruit power to offset the tobacco and cedary flavours. I would have expected more fruit from a 2000 (17.5)


2002 Turkey Flat Shiraz
Deep ruby-black. Vanillan oak and concentrated blackberry spectrum fruit to smell and taste. A lovely wine but in the end lacks the complexity of say, a Rockford to enable it to point higher. (17.5)


2002 Bullers Calliope Shiraz
Opaque ruby-black. Varnishy oak, coconut oak and fruit tending towards the prune spectrum on the nose. Almost Amarone in style to taste – very ripe and sweet – a caricature of a wine. Interesting to taste and not bad to drink, but not sure about the rave reviews, based on this bottle (16)



regards
Chris

[George Krashos]

Grandma's 80th birthday last night at my uncle's pub. Dear old thing doesn't drink red, but is keen on the Rockford Fronty!

Penfolds Grange 1980: I've never had Grange this old - previous best effort was a 1987. Didn't have the Grange 'power' that is so lauded by wine fans but had a good tannic backbone. Fruit had softened with a more savoury, leathery taste and it was enjoyable but not in any way, 'night-defining'. If anything I thought that this was drink-now proposition although I would think it should hold. I think that the label prompted most of the ensuing oohs and aaahs quite frankly.

Hardy Eileen Hardy Shiraz 1994: This was the WOTN. Good fruit sweetness backed by a non-aggressive tannin/acid balance that made this a more volumptuous drink than the Grange. Good drink.

Peter Lehmann Mentor Cab Malbec 1994: Certainly at the outer edge of it's drinking window as the deep colour did not match the palate weight. A touch astringent (or was that the Malbec?) and not much in the way of length. Did better with food. Drink up.

Highbank Cabernet 1993: Better than the Lehmann, this had more stuffing to it, no hint of greenness, with soft tannins and nice acid balance. A good drink but again I don't think it will get any better.

Digger's Bluff Cabernet Shiraz 1998: A new label that will be coming out of the Barossa soonish as I understand it, but only very small quantities - 80 cases produced I'm told. This was all about old-fashioned winemaking. Clearly no added tannin, it had more acid on the palate and begged for food. The cabernet component was quite noticeable in terms of mouthfeel. Not showing much of the upfront fruit that is a hallmark of Barossa 98s, this was restrained drink that got better with some air and developed palate weight and length. For those who like less 'in your face' wines.

-- George Krashos

[TORB]

Peter Lehmann Mentor Cab Malbec 1994: Certainly at the outer edge of it's drinking window as the deep colour did not match the palate weight. A touch astringent (or was that the Malbec?) and not much in the way of length. Did better with food. Drink up.

George,

Sounds like a crook bottle to me. I have the next one slated to try in 2006.

[Greg]

Some recent drinking:

Voyager Shiraz 2002
1st night: Deep purple colour, nice flavours, some complexity and a sweet lick of fruit in the finish, some oak, solid tannin but smooth - will last a while I think, well balanced. 2nd night: Similar but better, very nice drinking.

Tintara Shiraz 1996
Decent sweet fruit flavour, but feels a bit disjointed - hot alcohol taste noticable, nice drinking, but not that special, a bit disappointing – As TORB mentioned recently, hasn’t aged as well as expected. Will try a 98 shortly.

Alkoomi Shiraz/Viognier 2002
1st night: some fruit there, but overshadowed by acid, not balanced. 2nd night: Way better, acid has settled, some lovely spicy berry flavours, very smooth with some complexity, nice drinking in a lighter-medium bodied style

DÂ’Arrenburg Footbolt Shiraz 2002
As others have mentioned recently, Very tasty, great value.

Bleasdale Malbec 2001
A little different, as you'd expect I guess, but some nice fruit & integrated vanillan oak flavours, moderate weight, very enjoyable.

Peter Lehman Shiraz 2002
1st night - a little closed & heavy, ok. 2nd night, opened up some, more smooth, plenty of mocha/coffee flavours, not as milkshaky as some Barossa, solid wine for the price, could probably do with a few years in the cellar.

Vasse Felix Cab/Sav 2001
Nice, but not quite as powerful or complex as hoped for. Held up well for the 2nd night, but didnÂ’t do that much for me.

Vasse Felix Cab/Merlot 2001
A bit closed to start with, but opened up to be very tasty, distinct cab flavours + merlot softness, elegant (French Oak?), reasonable length finish, very nice.

Kangarilla Road Shiraz 2002
Not sure about this wine, think maybe I was having an off day for taste & smell – couldn’t really pick much, seemed ok, those I drank it with enjoyed it.

Leasingham Bastion 2002
A bit leafy & green to start with, got better with a bit of time, but don't think its up to previous vintages, Ok.

Leasingham Bin 61 Shiraz 1998
Decanted this in the morning before drinking, still on the young side, but very enjoyable, lots of flavour, medium-full bodied, glad IÂ’ve got plenty more of these.

Rosemount GSM 2001
Strong raspberry at first, sweetish, but some good body and fruit behind to back up. Interesting to try something different, while nice, probably not my style of wine.

Cheers,
Greg

[Rob]

Bannockburn Geelon Pinot Noir 2000
Light purple with a tint of red when first opened. As the wine get more air time, it turned into deep red over the next 3 hours. It was a beautiful nose of spice and forest, you can smell the wood just like the morning walk in a forest, refreshing. The palate is medium in weight with plum and earthyness. The use of oak is very clever, it is sweet and very sliky. The finish is good and with a savory taste at the back palate. A truly enjoyable wine indeed.

[michel]

Bannockburn Geelon Pinot Noir 2000
.

It has been good from day one- lovely silky new world pinot. I wonder how long to leave it for?!
Have you tried the other pinot ?Range not the Serre.

michel