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

[Ian S]

I've been impressed enough with older Altare I've cellared Arborina and Cannubi. Having been stereotyped and fallen out of fashion, quite well priced especially from underrated vintages- 2008 and 2006 ( underhyped a better word)

Yes 2008 arguably counts as under the radar, 2006 was well-touted as a cellaring vintage, though no hype of the likes of 2000 (ignorantly hyped IMO) and 2010 more recently

[deejay81]

1998 Sassicaia

Didn't really take notes, but as you can see, from the pic, bottle had all sorts of mould growing on it (damn wine fridge). No mould on the cork though so that was good.
[img]http://i64.tinypic.com/oruoh3.jpg[/img]
Decanted out lots of sediment and then back into the bottle.

All I remember was this was so beautifully fragrant throughout the whole night, colour was still purple but having some dark crimson red in there. Tannins still present but so smooth. Blueberries, blackberries, dark plums, some menthol. This was yum, and I'd say in the start of a long, prime drinking window. 94pts

[Wayno]

Mawsons Cabernet Far Eastern Party 2012 - this is a real cheapie but is actually really delicious - peppery, punchy Cabernet that delivers well above its weight.

[JamieBahrain]

Hi Deejay,

I've been returning 90's Barolo with corks looking like that accusing purveyors of selling me poorly stored wine.

You have stored this in a wine fridge?

[Con J]

Hi Con,
what was the Arlaud CdlR like?

This might be my first wine from this producer.

It was late in the evening so if I remember correctly it was perfumed red fruit with strawberries and spice, I think I picked Vosne Romanee.
I like this style of wine and will get better with time.

Cheers Con.

[Con J]

Christmas function last night.

2002 Krug. Acid, minerals, green apples, lovely.
1996 Krug. Advanced and slightly corked, acid and lacked fruit.
2013 Jean Charton – Chevalier Montrachet “Clos Des Chevaliers”. Tropical fruit, white flowers with a creamy vanilla finish.
2010 Blain Gagnard – Batard Montrachet. Liked it better the Chevalier.
2007 Armand Rousseau – Clos de la Roche. Very pretty from the start.
2001 Armand Rousseau – Clos de la Roche. Bottle stink at first and needed time to open up.
1982 Chateau Haut Brion – Smoky bacon brett, a shame.
2007 Bruno Giacosa – Le Rocche del Lalletto Riserva Barolo. This was absolutely fabulous.
1994 Henschke – Hill of Grace. Very good.
1998 Chateau Rayas – CdP Reserve. Burgundy in disguise, loved it.
1989 Hugel – Tokay Pinot Gris VT. Fresh and vibrant, good acid with time ahead.
2002 Dr Loosen – Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Eiswein. More advanced than the Hugel, good not great.
1970 Dows – Vintage Port. Great way to finish.

Cheers Con.

[JamieBahrain]

2007 Bruno Giacosa – Le Rocche del Lalletto Riserva Barolo. This was absolutely fabulous.

My wine geek highlights drinking this with the great man himself at 9am at cellar door in Neive. The rest of the 2007's amazing too and I went long on all.

1994 HofG? Timeless I thought, heaps to go. Still have six- I was just going to leave them for special occasions with family.

[deejay81]

Hi Deejay,

I've been returning 90's Barolo with corks looking like that accusing purveyors of selling me poorly stored wine.

You have stored this in a wine fridge?

Hi Jaime,

Yes, although the wine belonged to Dad before it belonged to me.
He had it in a wine fridge since purchase and I've had it in my wine fridge since i took it off him about 4 years ago... not sure about the cork, but the mould was from his fridge... but got worse in mine... Fill level was bottom of neck, not that I've had a huge amount of experience with Sassicaia's but it didn't show any advanced signs of aging...

[michel]

Christmas function last night.

1998 Chateau Rayas – CdP Reserve. Burgundy in disguise, loved it.


Cheers Con.

Nice one Con
I have had two oldies over the last two years and I am flummoxed how seriously great they are

[TiggerK]

Seriously nice drinking Con! Hmm, a touch of smoky bacon brett sounds good, albeit more friendly in Nth Rhone, I assume it just overpowered everything else.

Old Rayas is awesome, how I wish Aussie Grenache could try more towards this style...... I'm sure terroir is a big factor, but I suspect the winemaking is equally so.

[michel]

Seriously nice drinking Con! Hmm, a touch of smoky bacon brett sounds good, albeit more friendly in Nth Rhone, I assume it just overpowered everything else.

Old Rayas is awesome, how I wish Aussie Grenache could try more towards this style...... I'm sure terroir is a big factor, but I suspect the winemaking is equally so.

Often a conversation I have had
How come we can’t do great grenache?
I have a secret soft spot for grenache but I want mote than a fruit bomb
Some CNDP can be most excellent
Many are big sloppy monsters.
Another post perhaps?

[shauno]

Popped a bottle of Piper NV at 6:00pm AEDT

#marriageequality

[Hunter]

I blame the aggression of our hot summer days.
Creates a real sweet and confectionery style to the varietal. Drinking tonight;
Gentle folk 2017 blossoms. I love this style. Adelaide hills merlot with a little chards
The aroma is fantastic value. Fresh with lots of character. worth making arrangments with gareth for some barrel samples

[felixp21]

Seriously nice drinking Con! Hmm, a touch of smoky bacon brett sounds good, albeit more friendly in Nth Rhone, I assume it just overpowered everything else.

Old Rayas is awesome, how I wish Aussie Grenache could try more towards this style...... I'm sure terroir is a big factor, but I suspect the winemaking is equally so.

Often a conversation I have had
How come we can’t do great grenache?
I have a secret soft spot for grenache but I want mote than a fruit bomb
Some CNDP can be most excellent
Many are big sloppy monsters.
Another post perhaps?

yes, an all-too-common problem. However, I reckon the Head Ancestor Vine Grenache is a very good wine, not pretending to be a CNDP, but pretty restrained, complex and long. Well worth a try if you have not yet.
I think trying to replicate something like Rayas is impossible in Australia, you only have to walk the vineyards of CNDP to see how there is absolutely nothing in Australia that comes close to it's rocks and soil combination. (same goes for Burgundy)

[Ian S]

Hi Deejay,

I've been returning 90's Barolo with corks looking like that accusing purveyors of selling me poorly stored wine.

You have stored this in a wine fridge?

Hi Jaime,

Yes, although the wine belonged to Dad before it belonged to me.
He had it in a wine fridge since purchase and I've had it in my wine fridge since i took it off him about 4 years ago... not sure about the cork, but the mould was from his fridge... but got worse in mine... Fill level was bottom of neck, not that I've had a huge amount of experience with Sassicaia's but it didn't show any advanced signs of aging...

Hi Jamie
I'd put that level of cork soaking down to variability in corks rather than poor storage. One of the reasons Bdx classed growths often chose very long corks AFAIK. As Deejay alludes to, evidence of serious heat damage more likely to come through in the taste (or more obvious visual hints such as a protruding cork with/without weeping). I've seen corks with barely a mm creep of wine up them, to others well past halfway, from similar cellaring.
Regards
Ian

[michel]

Seriously nice drinking Con! Hmm, a touch of smoky bacon brett sounds good, albeit more friendly in Nth Rhone, I assume it just overpowered everything else.

Old Rayas is awesome, how I wish Aussie Grenache could try more towards this style...... I'm sure terroir is a big factor, but I suspect the winemaking is equally so.

Often a conversation I have had
How come we can’t do great grenache?
I have a secret soft spot for grenache but I want mote than a fruit bomb
Some CNDP can be most excellent
Many are big sloppy monsters.
Another post perhaps?

yes, an all-too-common problem. However, I reckon the Head Ancestor Vine Grenache is a very good wine, not pretending to be a CNDP, but pretty restrained, complex and long. Well worth a try if you have not yet.
I think trying to replicate something like Rayas is impossible in Australia, you only have to walk the vineyards of CNDP to see how there is absolutely nothing in Australia that comes close to it's rocks and soil combination. (same goes for Burgundy)

Actually a savoury delightful wine
We need more of this style

[Sigmamupi]

2007 Bruno Giacosa – Le Rocche del Lalletto Riserva Barolo. This was absolutely fabulous.

My wine geek highlights drinking this with the great man himself at 9am at cellar door in Neive. The rest of the 2007's amazing too and I went long on all.

1994 HofG? Timeless I thought, heaps to go. Still have six- I was just going to leave them for special occasions with family.

Con/Jamie - I assume this is the red label Riserva? Is it anywhere near ready or more time required please? I bought 3 bottles each of the 2004 and 2007 vintages of this wine, mercifully a few years ago before the price popped, and haven't touched them.

Cheers

Tony

[JamieBahrain]

Hi Jamie
I'd put that level of cork soaking down to variability in corks rather than poor storage. One of the reasons Bdx classed growths often chose very long corks AFAIK. As Deejay alludes to, evidence of serious heat damage more likely to come through in the taste (or more obvious visual hints such as a protruding cork with/without weeping). I've seen corks with barely a mm creep of wine up them, to others well past halfway, from similar cellaring.
Regards
Ian

From my own empirical experience of cellaring all types of wine from release, a cork like that will always raise suspicion. The only time I've seen a cork like that from wines I've cellared since release, was some Henschke's transferred from climate control, into a Kitchener in a shed on the Gold Coast.

Yes, cork does fail, but for the most part, in my opinion, heavily sodden corks reflect inconsistent temperature and humidity. I've heard the arguments, hey look these are winery-cellar releases so it must be corks. Having been to many great wineries their cellars are often appalling. Also, noted in Hong Kong with old world palates and a region with probelmatic environment and transport issues, heat buggered wines are passed off as a tertiary complexity.

The last lot of Barolo I sent back the corks looked like Deejays above but all the way to the end. The winery said they would not expect their corks to be in that condition from a good cellar - three from six, so yep, perhaps the odd one but not a 50% failure rate.

Industry con. Wine storage and transport is shit for the most part.

Now Deejays note sounded very Sass like and yummy so I'm not saying his wine not fine.

[Bobthebuilder]

Given the bottom soak only and the science of heat and cold on expansion and contraction, a cork like that says to me the wine was stored at a very cool temperature at some point in time which caused the cork to be pulled downwards. Also because there is no mushrooming of the top of the cork which I assume comes from the cork moving and settling upwards. Stability is clearly the key to well stored wine but I often wonder if a wine is damaged just as easily if not more from being stored to Cooly, because a glass bottle top will most most likely open up ever so slightly from top to bottom of neck. Just a thought.

[JamieBahrain]

I agree Bob. In my travels, the great winey cellars can be freezing in winter.

[JamieBahrain]

2005 Yarra Yering Dry Red N°1- This wine still needs more time. Yes, crafted and Bordeaux like but the eucalyptus/mint/ menthol echoing cool climate Australia.

[Dang]

I have been drinking my stash of '01 Yarra Yering Dry Red No1 for the past 4-5 years on special occasions. Now I only 3 left! At each time, the wine was decanted for 10 (ten) hours before it fully opened up for a pleasurable drink. I recalled that at 5 hrs the wine was still bitter with little fruit. My friends were treated to the wine over a dinner (usually a roasted duck, spiced up with shiraz and stewed cherries) and all enjoyed that Bordeaux mix. With us two at home only, the wine was not finished on the first night and it kept its flavour the next night. I am not sure about the '05, but give it a try.

[JamieBahrain]

WoW ! I'll try that next time.

[felixp21]

Christmas function last night.

2002 Krug. Acid, minerals, green apples, lovely.
1996 Krug. Advanced and slightly corked, acid and lacked fruit.
2013 Jean Charton – Chevalier Montrachet “Clos Des Chevaliers”. Tropical fruit, white flowers with a creamy vanilla finish.
2010 Blain Gagnard – Batard Montrachet. Liked it better the Chevalier.
2007 Armand Rousseau – Clos de la Roche. Very pretty from the start.
2001 Armand Rousseau – Clos de la Roche. Bottle stink at first and needed time to open up.
1982 Chateau Haut Brion – Smoky bacon brett, a shame.
2007 Bruno Giacosa – Le Rocche del Lalletto Riserva Barolo. This was absolutely fabulous.
1994 Henschke – Hill of Grace. Very good.
1998 Chateau Rayas – CdP Reserve. Burgundy in disguise, loved it.
1989 Hugel – Tokay Pinot Gris VT. Fresh and vibrant, good acid with time ahead.
2002 Dr Loosen – Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Eiswein. More advanced than the Hugel, good not great.
1970 Dows – Vintage Port. Great way to finish.

Cheers Con.

great drinking, Con!!!
IMO, the Chevalier from Chartron is a better wine than BG's Batard (I own and have tasted both) but drinking a Chevalier at 4 years of age is like drinking a top Bordeaux at 4 years of age. Try it again in another 5-7 years and you will be amazed. Interestingly, I think Chartron's Chevalier is better than his Montrachet (hmmm, maybe, so does he... he always draws a skull and x-bones on his Chevalier barrel and seems to take most pride in showing it)
Chartron hit it out of the park in 2014, 15 and the little 16 he produced. His renovated winery is a beauty, and the quality has improved incredibly over the past 3 vintages.

[felixp21]

2007 Bruno Giacosa – Le Rocche del Lalletto Riserva Barolo. This was absolutely fabulous.

My wine geek highlights drinking this with the great man himself at 9am at cellar door in Neive. The rest of the 2007's amazing too and I went long on all.

1994 HofG? Timeless I thought, heaps to go. Still have six- I was just going to leave them for special occasions with family.

Con/Jamie - I assume this is the red label Riserva? Is it anywhere near ready or more time required please? I bought 3 bottles each of the 2004 and 2007 vintages of this wine, mercifully a few years ago before the price popped, and haven't touched them.

Cheers

Tony

nah, this wine has that pink and green label. The Lalletto was only made in 2007, and it was made just outside Beijing.
I think you are confusing it with the Falletto, which isn't quite up to the Lalletto standards.

[Chuck]

Leconfield 2005 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. Very nice indeed with everything in balance. Generous black fruits and good oak. Medium to full bodied. Thanks to the stelvin this should see another 10 years.

Leconfield 2010 Coonawarra Merlot. A more extractive style I prefer. Not your usual light to medium bodied wine. Good depth of black fruit. Plenty of gas left in the tank.

[michel]

2015 henschke johanns garden
Gentle less extractive perfumed critter
The table loved it

2006 Mumm champagne lovely mouthfeel
Pretty good value

[JamieBahrain]

Tony

I had the 2007 Asili Riserva a few months ago and it was magnificent but will be better in 5 years with a long maturation plateau.

Falletto Riserva is a bit like Monfortino. It will outlive us all and I suggest keep an eye on beserkers forum or cellartracker to catch a long window- in about 10 years but !

Haven't had the 2004 from memory. Had magnums of 90's vintages I didn't feel ready three years back.

[Sigmamupi]

Tony

I had the 2007 Asili Riserva a few months ago and it was magnificent but will be better in 5 years with a long maturation plateau.

Falletto Riserva is a bit like Monfortino. It will outlive us all and I suggest keep an eye on beserkers forum or cellartracker to catch a long window- in about 10 years but !

Haven't had the 2004 from memory. Had magnums of 90's vintages I didn't feel ready three years back.

Jamie - thanks. I will have to keep my hands off them for some time yet. I bought them at different times on sale at Ponti and unfortunately I didn't buy any of the 2007 Barbaresco Asili Riserva which was also on promo at 18% discount. I am not sure if I would want to pay the prices that any of the Bruno Giacosa current releases are demanding.

[Chuck]

Last night I found a long lost bottle of Di Gorgio 2002 Lucindale Chardonnay. From the Limestone Coast area. Don't know where it came from and thought it would likely be well passed it's best. How wrong I was. In a testament to the power of stelvin to seal wines it had evolved into a delightful deep golden coloured wine with lovely aged characteristics. No bad flavours at all. Plenty of honeyed flavours which suited the satay king prawns. Could keep for another couple of years but I wouldn't wait.

Carl