Right, what are we/you drinking now .. tonight

[ticklenow1]

2009 Burge Family Winemakers G3 GSM. Barossa Valley. This surprised me with the development under screwcap. Starting to show some nice aged characteristics while still having some fruit. Was a delight to drink. I'll drink my remaining bottles over the next couple of years. Very, very under rated winery and amongst my favourites. 4/5
2012 Massena Midnight Run GSM. Barossa Valley. Lovely aromatics but just lacked a bit on the palate. Only light to medium bodied. Good quaffer. 3/5
2005 Mount Mary Quintet. Yarra Valley. Just wonderful. Tannins were amazing. Light on it's feet, but still had power. Hard to explain. So much interest and kept changing in the glass. I have little experience with the Quintets, but this should get a bit better in years to come. I will have to start saving the pennies and start buying some of this. Worth every cent compared to many other overpriced so called cult wines. 4.5/5
2012 Ochota Barrels Green Room Grenache Shiraz. Adelaide Hills. Very light, bright colour. Only light bodied and almost Pinot like. Got better in the glass over the course of dinner. Enjoyable with Bruschetta. 3/5
2003 Greenock Creek Wines Alices Shiraz. Barossa Valley. 16.5% alcohol and it showed. Heavy, stewed and porty. Very hard work and backs my desicion to no longer buy these high alcohol monsters. Continually disappointed by GCW wines the last year or two. The Cab and Grenache still among my favourites though when the alcohol is toned down. Just don't seem to age well at all, despite what Phillip White says in his reviews. 2/5 (and that's being kind).

Cheers
Ian

[felixp21]

Thanks Ian,
I have had no luck with the 2005 Mount Mary. Of the case, I have consumed four so far and they have been universally ordinary. I wonder if my lot might be mildly heat affected?? Not sure, but blind I would certainly guess some sort of strange pinot. I will give it another run when I get back down there, and remember your notes as a point of reference!!

[ticklenow1]

Thanks Ian,
I have had no luck with the 2005 Mount Mary. Of the case, I have consumed four so far and they have been universally ordinary. I wonder if my lot might be mildly heat affected?? Not sure, but blind I would certainly guess some sort of strange pinot. I will give it another run when I get back down there, and remember your notes as a point of reference!!

I haven't had much Mount Mary (except the Chardonnay, which I really enjoy), so I may not be best qualified on them. But the bottle we had had been perfectly cellared and to my simple palate, was exceptional. Plenty of interest.

Cheers
Ian

[felixp21]

Ian, your notes certainly sound more what I would expect from a label that is almost always excellent in my experience. I think I might have got a dud case!!!

[Chuck]

Last night with slow cooked beef ribs in red wine we had a Balnaves 2007 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. The cork was stained for just the first 1-2mm. Decanted and let breath for around 3 hours the nose was muted cabernet mainly cassis and the palate was similar however the tannins were very dominant. Not sure they will soften before the fruit slides. Bad bottle? Not sure but it was under cork which throws up all sorts of problems. Will wait a couple of years before trying again. Fingers crossed it was just a bad bottle.

Carl

[Rory]

Two Pinots up for comparison last night.

2011 Paradigm Hill L'Ami Sage and 2010 Hoddles Creek Premier.

The 2011 Paradigm, typical of the vintage, was light, but had an alluring overall aroma of sweet fruit. A light, smooth integrated palate that is atypical of the brand, but still quite lovely to drink. Winemaker did well in such a tough vintage.
The Hoddles, by comparison, was more closed up on the nose, but a brooding deeper, darker palate, with good structure. I think this needs either a decant, or some time in the cellar yet.

[michel]

Last night with slow cooked beef ribs in red wine we had a Balnaves 2007 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. The cork was stained for just the first 1-2mm. Decanted and let breath for around 3 hours the nose was muted cabernet mainly cassis and the palate was similar however the tannins were very dominant. Not sure they will soften before the fruit slides. Bad bottle? Not sure but it was under cork which throws up all sorts of problems. Will wait a couple of years before trying again. Fingers crossed it was just a bad bottle.

Carl

Maybe TCA from your observation

We had 3 Brunellos double blind with lunch
One just never came up & TCA reared it's head after 10 minutes
2008 Soldera was WOTD incredible perfume & length
2011 Costanti brunello corked
2010 Costanti Riserva excellent tight generous & young
2009 Mugnier Bonnes Mares was primeval young & Leroy like- some 2009 Burgundy is looking very good indeed

[winelover2017]

Hope everyone's having a wonderful weekend! Today is my fiance's mother's birthday and we'll be having a late dinner party in a few minutes! Our wine choices for tonight: 2010 Chateau Ste Michelle Dry Riesling, 2010 Paul Blanck Pinot Blanc d'Alsace, and 2009 Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris. Yay! This gonna be a great night!

[deejay81]

2006 Moët & Chandon Champagne Grand Vintage Brut

Clear, light golden with fine persistent beads.
Clean nose of lemons, marmalade, honey and some yeasty breadshop too.
Light to medium light bodied. Flavours similar to the nose with medium acitdty to back it up. Finish was medium.
Not overly complex but enjoyable.

[Chuck]

Last night with slow cooked beef ribs in red wine we had a Balnaves 2007 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. The cork was stained for just the first 1-2mm. Decanted and let breath for around 3 hours the nose was muted cabernet mainly cassis and the palate was similar however the tannins were very dominant. Not sure they will soften before the fruit slides. Bad bottle? Not sure but it was under cork which throws up all sorts of problems. Will wait a couple of years before trying again. Fingers crossed it was just a bad bottle.

Carl

Maybe TCA from your observation

Not TCA. No telltale aromas that I could smell and wife who has a finely tuned radar for TCA agreed. The fruit was there but very tightly wound up. The tannins were so aggressive making the wine unbalanced.

Perhaps another cork related problem that I'm not familiar with. Viva la stelvin.

Carl

[Matt@5453]

2016 Devils Corner Pinot Noir Tamar Valley

A light weight Pinot Noir, probably just enough colour to suggest its more than a rose. But that does not retract from the wine. Very feminine, restrained raspberry juice, a touch of tart and light weight spice. An "agreeable" wine. Could easy serve chilled.

2016 Jack Rabbit Vineyard Pinot Noir Bellarine Peninsula Geelong

Medium bodied with darker cherry type fruits. Crushed strawberry fruit with good use of fine grain french oak adds a spice and complexity to the wine. It has good acidity with a touch of dusty tannin on the finish. It feels slightly tightly wound at the moment, 2-3 years and I think this will be right in its drinking window. A very well structured, interesting and very good Pinot from the Bellarine Region.

2016 Taylors Pinot Noir Jaraman Adelaide Hills Yarra Valley South Australia

An elegant style of Pinot Noir. Medium/Medium Light body. The nose is very inviting. Lovely strawberry / red berry fruits on the palate. There is a lovely balanced french oak tone and spice. The finish the medium to long. A very good Pinot Noir.

2013 St Hugo Shiraz Barossa

Massive hit of vanilla oak on the nose. The palate was a bit disjointed and quite overt with ripe dark fruits, vanilla and bitter dark chocolate.
On Day 2 the wine had settled down, seemed more in balance than on Day 1 and was much more enjoyable. I quite liked the dark chocolate tones on the finish. Some ageing potential if you like this style of wine.

2007 Penny's Hill Pinot Grigio Red Dot McLaren Vale

Screw cap has done this wine justice, still very fresh, I would have never guessed it was 10 years old. The texture and colour reminds me of an Italian version maybe 2-3 years old; ripe nashi pears, softened acidity, but still clean and fresh. Drinking remarkably well.

2012 Penny's Hill Shiraz Footprint McLaren Vale

Full bodied with a lovely 'heady' nose. The aroma could be smelt a metre away from the decanter. D.ark fruits, vanilla, spice and chocolate. A good tannin structure with acidity still lingering. Overall a well balanced wine with excellent length. The bottle threw a heavy crust and decanting is a must. This should cellar well for another 7-10 years with confidence.

2016 Bondar Junto McLaren Vale Red Rhone Blend

Fragrant nose. Nice raspberry liquorice / confected notes. Very enjoyable "easy drinking" wine with a good length and finish.

2016 Knappstein The Insider Shiraz/Malbec Clare Valley Shiraz Blend, Syrah

Interesting wine. 100% whole bunch ferment. Lovely nose, 'bright' fragrant fruits with a touch of spice and white pepper. The palate has generous upfront fruit, dark cherries are prominent but there is a complex array of flavours, with the juiciness of the Malbec adding a 'roundness' and 'plumpness' to the wine. For me, what adds interest and complexity is the acid and tannin profile. The finish is medium to long, but there is a lingering dusty/drying tannin profile. On day two, the wine was showing a slightly more savoury note, but hardly budged. Not what I would consider a 'normal' blend of this type, but excellent none the less. I think this will unfurl nicely over 5-7 years.

2013 Pepperjack Shiraz Porterhouse Graded Langhorne Creek

An elegant nose of chocolate, dark fruits, hints of vanilla and spices. The palate is medium to full bodied and well structured with dark fruits, mocha, dark chocolate and spice on the finish. A combination of 15 months maturation in American and French oak gives it a richness but it so well balanced. The finish is long and persistent with a savoury edge to it - well played, it far exceeded my expectations. This has the ability to develop further over 5-10 years.

[deejay81]

2015 Pewsey Vale Riesling

Clear, very pale yellow, almost water-like.
Nose is clean with lemon and lime juice, no petrol/gasoline, a bit of sea spray. Became gradually muted over a couple of hours.
Light bodied, medium plus acid, more lemon, lime and citrus peel, salty rocks, slate and very mineral driven. Finish was medium plus.
Still very fresh and young, the acidity hit felt dialled down one notch compared to when tasted before but not in a bad way. Very refreshing and will easily hold for 5-10 years. 88pts

[JamieBahrain]

Started the night with a Bindi Quartz Chardonnay 2007 with sausage sized Java Sea prawns. This wasn't a patch on the 2008 Quartz chardonnay which had tension and beautiful minerally acidity. The 2007 had evolved butterscotch notes, unctuous texture, sligtly oxidative and warm and barely 89pts.

Turkey Flat Shiraz 2004- Actively cellared so aromatics beautiful and fresh, dominated by rich blackberry, bitumen and a Christmas pudding like brandied note- a little black pepper too. The palate is fresh leather textured and overall has a pleasant old vine like softness, loaded on the front palate with ripe and sweet shiraz fruit, the wine completes with a disjointed structure - notably a spiky acidification and alcohol warmth.

90pts

Splitting headache so back to Italian wine tonight

[Ozzie W]

1972 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon



Ullage above base of the neck. Capsule in perfect condition with no seepage. Cork in good condition with wine only seeping through 3/4 of the cork. Cork came out easily in one piece with an ah-so and still quite pliable. Filtered and decanted. Not much sediment for a 45 year old bottle.

1972 was a crap vintage but this was still a fairly good bottle. The fruit remains although it's noticeably fading - dark fruits and cassis. Some chocolatey creaminess too. Tannins pretty much fully integrated. A wisp of acidity on the finish and also an unexpected concoction which tastes like strawberry blended with pear.

[Chuck]

Punters Corner 2005 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. Slightly more unwound than last bottle the black fruits were to the fore. Everything in balance and it will hold and improve slightly for at least another 3-5 years at least. A nice surprise after years of patience.

Carl

[Rossco]

1972 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon



Ullage above base of the neck. Capsule in perfect condition with no seepage. Cork in good condition with wine only seeping through 3/4 of the cork. Cork came out easily in one piece with an ah-so and still quite pliable. Filtered and decanted. Not much sediment for a 45 year old bottle.

1972 was a crap vintage but this was still a fairly good bottle. The fruit remains although it's noticeably fading - dark fruits and cassis. Some chocolatey creaminess too. Tannins pretty much fully integrated. A wisp of acidity on the finish and also an unexpected concoction which tastes like strawberry blended with pear.

Birth year wine.... does that mean it was your birthday Oz?

[Ozzie W]

1972 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon



Ullage above base of the neck. Capsule in perfect condition with no seepage. Cork in good condition with wine only seeping through 3/4 of the cork. Cork came out easily in one piece with an ah-so and still quite pliable. Filtered and decanted. Not much sediment for a 45 year old bottle.

1972 was a crap vintage but this was still a fairly good bottle. The fruit remains although it's noticeably fading - dark fruits and cassis. Some chocolatey creaminess too. Tannins pretty much fully integrated. A wisp of acidity on the finish and also an unexpected concoction which tastes like strawberry blended with pear.

Birth year wine.... does that mean it was your birthday Oz?

It was indeed. Nice to have bottles like these to celebrate with.

[Ian S]

HB2U
HB2U
HBDOz
HB2U

[Matt@5453]

2014 Hubert Lignier Nuits St. Georges Les Poisets Pinot Noir

The nose has a lovely perfumed / heady attribute. It has very good palate weight with darker berry fruits with an earthiness about it, and a textural element giving it a very good depth of flavour. There is a slight tartness on the finish, for me this does not detract, but adds interest. Overall an enjoyable wine. 92pts


2015 By Farr Pinot Noir "Farrside" Geelong

I thought this was outstanding. Fragrant and enticing nose showing a lovely spice and sweet berry aromas (think raspberry and strawberry). The palate is simply gorgeous and complex. The balance between fruit weight, oak maturation / tannin structure and acidity is spot on. I just love the spice and acidity structure, and length of the finish. I'd love to see this in 3-4 years time. 95pts

2015 Giant Steps Chardonnay Tarraford Vineyard Yarra Valley

Overall the experience was slightly underwhelming; subtle fruit flavours with plenty of grainy french oak poking out. Hints of stonefruit and a nuttiness, but was slightly lacking the balance between fruit, oak and acidity. Okay, but not overly exciting. 90pts

[Rory]

2009 Hardy Eileen Hardy Chardonnay.

I know '09 was a warmer year, but I was a tad disappointing in the rate of development this bottle had shown. Fruit from Tassie.
Obvious yellow tinges, developed rich aromas.
The palate was certainly powerfull, and complex, but it had lost too much of any edgy acid to hold that up to the end of the palate.
Had seen it's best me thinks.

[Rossco]

It was indeed. Nice to have bottles like these to celebrate with.

Happy birthday oz!!

[winetastic]

Today was a great reminder that Australia does indeed produce world class wines. It tends to happen when the winemaker/grower works toward finesse rather than flashy power.

Houghton Gladstones Cabernet 2013
All the fruit weight and gravelly texture you would expect from Margaret River Cabernet, however presented in a slightly more elegant, balanced and fresh manner. Of course it has the blackcurrant fruit and dusty earth, however the acid balance is just so - it shows ripeness without feeling heavy, and comes in at 13.5% - that'll do Houghton. A real delight, probably the finest Cabernet I have ever tasted and an absolutely perfect pairing with beef wellington. My brothers quote over lunch: "this is fucking incredible".

Mac Forbes Woori Yallock Pinot Noir 2010
Pinot and I have a strange relationship, it typically has all the things I am looking for in a red wine, acid driven, freshness, complexity and a lighter body, however I find myself never really enjoying Pinot as much as Nerello Mascelese or Nebbiolo - until today.

What a wine, it smells all brambly, sappy, spiced and fruity, yet it's so lithe on the palate and has a wonderful broad minerality which one typically finds only in old world wines. The licks of silky trannin are just so, the hints of spice and herbal complexity are welcome, yet its the fact that you just want to smash another glass that sets this Pinot apart from its peers.

[Chuck]

Tonight with pork chop and hoisin sauce, rice broccolini a Wynns 2007 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. Full bodied. No signs of its age it was a good expression of Coonawarra but lacked sweet fruits. Our son thought it was a good wine. Tannins still aggressive and will go another 10 years but I don't think the fruit will get any better.

Carl

[Ian S]

A whole bunch of Portuguese wines with friends last night. No TNs but some thoughts:

Mateus Rose. A little in-joke, but none of us had tasted this for many years. Sweet for sure, possibly some oak powder / other winemaking jiggery-pokery, not a great wine at all, but palateable enough to finish what was in the glass. Concensus this was a much better wine than in days of yore, though the clear glass bottle disappointed those who eyed up an old-school candle holder.

1966 Porta Dos Cavaleiros, definitely fading but still alive interesting. Was worried it might fade quickly on opening, but if anything might have improved a little.

2005 Quinta da Fata Dao Touriga Nacional. Wonderful. Still relatively robust yet complex and a lovely striking mintiness to counterbalance some earthy/chocolate, yet fruit also holding its own.

1990 Viuva Colares Reserva Tinto. Very unusual, as befits an 11% alc wine from grapes grown in sandy vineyard and on own roots. Showing quite a bit of age, yet still with noticeable tannins, and a palate that is really quite different in feel to modern 14+% alc wines. I liked it, but it's more of a challenge than most wines.

2016 Soalheiro Primeiras Vinhas Vinho Verse. Arrived on the morning of the tasting, possibly the first time ever that I've opened a wine on the same day it was delivered. Really enjoyed this and stacks of potential. Price is good.

1997 Quinta da Eira Velha Port. Always enjoyed this, and if anything more interesting/enjoyable now than before. Notable for how it gently moved from (moderately) sweet to quite savoury through the length of the palate.

[felixp21]

2009 Chateau Lafleur Petrus
obviously still young, but this is an absolutely fantastic wine. Long and lush, ripe tannins and a steely spine keeping everything in check. The length is ridiculous. LFP has always been an expensive Pomerol, but when they get it right, like this, it is well worth it. Cheaper than Grange, and something I would much rather drink. 97+ points 2024-2050

2003 Chateau Latour
the one characteristic that sets this wine apart from the vast majority of 2003 Bordeaux is it's incredible freshness, whilst losing none of the lush, ripe fruit that is the trade mark of this vintage (along with an absence of vibrancy in most cases). Latour usually needs three decades to shine, but this is drinking superbly right now. It will evolve, but will it get any better? no, IMO. 98 points now-2050+

2000 Lynch Bages
opened as an after thought, and as everyone knows, that never ever ends well!! Such is the case here, and pretty simple and one-dimensional wine, it will improve but never get to great heights. Blobs of blackberry, earth, cassis and tobacco, subtle hint of dark chocolate. I'm more in the Napa here. 91+ points 2025-2040

[Teisto]

Last night a2007 Paradigm Hill L'ami Sage Starting to really hit its straps and heading into that next phase of its life. Good length, good fruit.

A few from a couple weeks back with people over

2007 Mountain X Shiraz Pinot - Gary Walsh and Campbell Mattinson made these and I thought this was very good. Took ages to open up
2006 Possums Willunga Shiraz - Good, not bad but a little uninteresting
2005 Branson Coach House Greenock Shiraz - Just starting to get into its window. Big, bold Barossa - no rush
1999 Wirra Wirra RSW - Incredibly good
1996 Eileen Hardy Shiraz - A gift for my 30th from some time back. A lot lighter compared to the RSW but still very good.
1996 Orlando Jacaranda Ridge - Very very good and still going strong
2006 Brown Brothers Patricia Noble Riesling - Good. Nice golden honey colour acid fading.

And a couple of randoms

2003 Petersons Back Block - Very very good. Still time left in it
2009 Teusner Avatar - Another good wine with a good balance of fruit and tannin

[michel]

2013 Rousseau Gevrey village tight clean
2013 Mugnier chambolle village elegant perfume with good length
2014 Rousseau Gevrey more depth than 13 and denser midpalate
2014 Vogue chambolle Village I really like this - length perfume with the touch of crazy idiosyncratic earthiness of Vogue - I have bottle #1 to open soon

[Ozzie W]

Mac Forbes Woori Yallock Pinot Noir 2010
Pinot and I have a strange relationship, it typically has all the things I am looking for in a red wine, acid driven, freshness, complexity and a lighter body, however I find myself never really enjoying Pinot as much as Nerello Mascelese or Nebbiolo - until today.

What a wine, it smells all brambly, sappy, spiced and fruity, yet it's so lithe on the palate and has a wonderful broad minerality which one typically finds only in old world wines. The licks of silky trannin are just so, the hints of spice and herbal complexity are welcome, yet its the fact that you just want to smash another glass that sets this Pinot apart from its peers.

Your TN sounds like a red Burgundy. I find a lot of similarities between red Burgs and Nerello/Nebbiolo.

[conformistpete]

A couple over the weekend.

2012 Fletcher Pyrenees nebbiolo.
Colour is starting to brick at the edges. Roses, spices and tar, oh my! ... love this nose. This is in a good spot with the savoury characters outshining the fruit on the palate. Fine tannins and good length. This bottle disappeared fast.

2011 Jamsheed Beechworth syrah
Still very primary red fruit and blue fruit on the nose. None of the olive I have come to expect from the other vintages I've had. Medium acidity keeps this fresh on the palate. Start to get some floral notes with a bit of air. Silky tannins play a wonderful supporting role Doesn't look it's going anywhere so keep or drink with enjoyment.

[Matt@5453]

a mate loves cabernet, a few impressions from last night:

2014 Geoff Hardy K1 Cabernet Sauvignon. Fine tannins and excellent length. Very good

2015 Ruddenklau Cabernet Sauvignon. young, bright fruit. Good tannin structure. Should cellar well for up to 10 years

2012 Jeanneret Wines Cabernet Sauvignon. This was opened late in the night and probably unnecessary, but typical Jeannernet, a big bold wine. Time has softened it out. My head was pounding this morning....