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

[Dragzworthy]

Cape Mentelle 2016 Zinfandel
I rarely drink zinfandel as I find the alcohol a bit overpowering. This is in good balance. Very dark fruited nose with a strong herbal nose. The palate is full of plums, licorice aniseed and then there's baking spices and some pepper. I can see why this is a popular wine in some circles. I purchased it at the cellar door after tasting and wondered why I had but now I recall why I enjoyed this wine. Screwcap, decanted for one hour, served with grilled eggplant with melted cheese, balsamic and a bit of honey glazed.

[Benchmark]

2018 Cantina Petrelli Primitivo

We decanted the Primitivo for about half an hour, it is young and from a hot climate, although I assume Puglia gets some maritime coolness due to its coastal aspect? More research required.

It is dark cherries and fresh green herbs on the nose. There is a nice minerality in the background that gives it some interest with a little floral note coming through after some time. On the palate, more cherries and some terrific acidity to tie it together. Perhaps a little too much as it is leaning on being unbalanced. Certainly not a fault. The finish is long. The acid is tempered by the ragù, making this a food wine.

A good wine without being great, made excellent due to the company, the food and the music.

[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HnXTZr3DFD ... authuser=0[/img]

[mjs]

2009 Frederic Magnien Clos de Beze Grand Cru

Very nice dark cherry, some substantial tannins, forest floor, length, dark fruits, structure, beautiful wine

[Sean]

deleted

[phillisc]

2008 Noon Eclipse. MV/LC. This is the first one I've had. Grenache/Shiraz plus some other bits and pieces... cabernet and graciano??
Lovely peppery cherry bit of earth and a touch of sweet fruit but not in a confected way. The Shiraz gives depth and balance really lovely wine
2014 Bondar Voilet Hour. MV. Nose of black fruits really dark colour, oak largely absorbed. Full bodied with plush profile but a ever so slight harsh twinge at the very end. Not sure if it's tannin profile or at 6 years the wine is in a bit of a phase and needs more time. Will look at it again tomorrow.
Cheers Craig

[Mike Hawkins]

Mike... understand the Grosset being a slow developer...02 Petaluma and Leonay the same.
Have a wry smile about 90 Mt Ed...had 2 dozen at $12 a bottle when my Dad dealt a fair bit with the Henschke's. It wasn't considered anything out of the ordinary 30 years ago (read no one was hyping it up then... like they do now). Drank the last bottle 20 years back...oh well.
Cheers Craig

I have 9 to go of the MEs. I remember being at CD underwhelmed by the HoG of the time (89?) and for my inchoate palate, the 90ME, along the 86 StHenri, was the best wine I’d ever had. So I went large.. There was a lot of ME in my Torana for the drive back to Sydney.

[Mike Hawkins]

Mike... understand the Grosset being a slow developer...02 Petaluma and Leonay the same.
Have a wry smile about 90 Mt Ed...had 2 dozen at $12 a bottle when my Dad dealt a fair bit with the Henschke's. It wasn't considered anything out of the ordinary 30 years ago (read no one was hyping it up then... like they do now). Drank the last bottle 20 years back...oh well.
Cheers Craig

I have 9 to go of the MEs. I remember being at CD underwhelmed by the HoG of the time (89?) and for my inchoate palate, the 90ME, along with the 86 StHenri, was the best wine I’d ever had. So I went large.. There was a lot of ME in my Torana for the drive back to Sydney.

[phillisc]

Carrying on with MV...
2014 Marius Symphony. My first Marius that I purchased...sorry but what a fu*king belter of a wine!!!
Inky black berries spice savoury tones, thick rich palate that went on and on with plush drying tannins. This is a baby... will be very long lived...so different to the Bondar which was despite improvement with a bit more air, completely smashed by this.
A bit of a wow moment here
Cheers Craig

[Ozzie W]

2016 Azienda Agricola Boffalora Valtellina Superiore Pietrisco
(13.5% ABV)
Day #1: Ripe and intense strawberry, red cherry, earth, tobacco, tar, oak (15 months in Slavonian oak), herbs. Balanced but rustic. Finishes with moderate chalky tannins and a very savoury, dry finish. High acid, but masked by the sweet fruit. A touch too much cedar oak on the finish for my liking. Better with food than on its own. A few hours later... The oak is much more overt, to the point where it dominates everything else. Yuk!
Day #2: The oak has subsided and the fruit is back! Lots of herbs and something I couldn't put my finger on yesterday -- ripe tomato. Not something I've ever encountered in my wine lexicon for Nebbiolo. Tart rhubarb finish. This wine is interesting, but I wouldn't buy it again. Still too much oak for me. Just goes to show that even with Slavonian Botti, they can still overdo it.

2015 AR.PE.PE. Valtellina Superiore - Sassella Stella Retica
(13% ABV)
I've tasted Ar.Pe.Pe. wines a few times before, but they were all Riserva's. This one is not. So delicate and light on its feet. As with every Ar.Pe.Pe. wine I've opened before, it needs a good few hours in the decanter to open up. Pretty red fruits (sweet cherry, sour strawberry), alpine herbs, candied orange peel, fennel. Such a wonderful clarity of fruit. Elegant and minerally. Long finish with bitter orange and tart cherry. Tannins are dusty, super fine and already integrated. Perhaps the least tannic Nebbiolo I've ever tasted with under 10 years of age. It'll cellar another decade for sure, buy why bother. It's just so approachable right now and a joy to drink.

2017 Teusner The Dog Strangler
(100% Mataro. 14.5% ABV)
Full bodied, rich and refined. Sweet core of ripe black fruits and spicy oak, liquorice, tar, earth, iron. Chewy tannins balance out the sweet fruit. Smooth finish. Hard to fault but not my style of wine. What an awful name for a wine.

[Sean]

deleted

[I Love Shiraz]

And...

E11BE50E-E47D-43E7-888F-06BC6489F462.jpeg

Tahbilk Cabernet Sauvignon 17 - Got some of the old, traditional winemaking. Also partly smaller French oak barrels these days. (Not such a big fan of that perhaps.) Needs air time or decanting. These Tahbilk reds are always better with a bit of age on them anyway. Deeply coloured and warm. Black fruits, mint and cedar. Just never really got going in the glass. Loads of dry, powdery tannins however. If this is typical, don’t bother opening one yet. Hang onto it for 4 or 5 years.

This is a good wine. You are spot on Sean, the estate Tahbilk Cab Sav and Shiraz are better with some age on them. They age very well.

[Benchmark]

2017 Teusner The Dog Strangler

There is a dark back story here no one wants to talk about.

[JamieBahrain]

Still too much oak for me. Just goes to show that even with Slavonian Botti, they can still overdo it.

It's always been a complex argument. Glad its catching on. I've lost count of how many traditionally made B&B's that have been stigmatised as oak-ridden. In one incident a decade ago, the most traditionally made Barbaresco labelled as oaky by an MW I was with. To be fair, the sommelier at Piaza Duomo in Alba, had noted to me that this producer was small and sorting out his big botti influnce.

Basic factors I've noted include a small producer who have invested in a new big botti and can't even out the influence due smaller production. Scraping. Varying quality of barrel makers and oak sourcing. Oak neutrality. Varietal character and development miscalled as oak influence.

[Ozzie W]

2017 Teusner The Dog Strangler

There is a dark back story here no one wants to talk about.

The name comes from the French "Estrangle-Chien" which is actually one of the many, many names for Mataro. Here's the full list:

Alcallata, Alcayata, Alicante, Arach Sap, Baltazar, Balthazar, Balzac, Balzac noir, Balzar, Benada, Benadu, Beneda, Beni Carlo, Berardi, Bod, Bon Avis, Buona Vise, Casca, Catalan, Cayata, Caymilari Sarda, Charnet, Churret, Clairett noire, Damas noir, Drug, English Colossal, Espagnen, Espar, Esparte, Estrangle-Chien, Etrangle-Chien, Flouron, Flouroux, Garrut, Gayata tinta, Karis, Maneschaou, Marseillais, Mataró, Mataro, Maurostel, Monastre, Monastrell, Monastrell Menudo, Monastrell Verdadero, Morastell, Morrastel, Morvegue, Mourvede, Mourvedon, Mourvegue, Mourves, Mourveze, Murvedr, Murviedro, Negre Trinciera, Negria, Negron, Neyron, Piemonaise, Pinot Fleri, Plant de Ledenon, Plant de Saint Gilles, Reina, Ros, Rossola negra, Rossola nera, Spar, Tinta, Tintilla, Tinto, Tire Droit, Torrentes, Trinchiera, Verema, Veremeta, Vereneta

[Benchmark]

Thank goodness. I was worried for all the small dogs about the place.

[Mahmoud Ali]

2017 Teusner The Dog Strangler

There is a dark back story here no one wants to talk about.

Oh dear, not something like Henschke, where Grandma shot Grandpa with a shotgun? Fortunately there wasn't a wine named after the incident.

[phillisc]

2017 Teusner The Dog Strangler

There is a dark back story here no one wants to talk about.

Oh dear, not something like Henschke, where Grandma shot Grandpa with a shotgun? Fortunately there wasn't a wine named after the incident.

Mahmoud, after 50 years think they are trying to keep that one quiet.
Never mind, today plenty of shooting by those who have the $800 bottles at those who don't

Thought the dog may have been in reference to black, in reference to mental health and those who are not coping.

Cheers craig

[phillisc]

Continuing the MV ride
Mollydooker 2018 The Boxer...nice wine great for $20 bold, fruit driven with a bit of oak, plush mouthfeel will develop well...loved it!
Mollydooker 2018 Blue Eyed Boy, like a Mack Truck, full on fruits, blue/black/plums/spice oak, yes its there, but not IMHO over extracted, overdone or stewed. Very generous palate with some heat to settle (ABV 15.5%+), and strong tannins...a very long term proposition here, again right in the slot for me, I like 'em big!
Wolf Blass 2016 Grey Label Shiraz, lovely wine, sits between the above two, very fine perfume well balanced and integrated already, and a lingering palate finishing will chalky tannins...will fill out and be glorious in a decade.

Cheers Craig

[JamieBahrain]

There is a dark back story here no one wants to talk about.

Oh dear, not something like Henschke, where Grandma shot Grandpa with a shotgun? Fortunately there wasn't a wine named after the incident.

Mahmoud, after 50 years think they are trying to keep that one quiet.
Never mind, today plenty of shooting by those who have the $800 bottles at those who don't

Thought the dog may have been in reference to black, in reference to mental health and those who are not coping.

Cheers craig

Craig I'm surprised you seem to have loaded up with Riddoch and not Cyril?

For my tastes, with suitable age, the Cyril Henschke cabernet is our best and most interesting cabernet blend. I've even had the 78 a number of times drinking beautifully beyond 30 years- though this straight cabernet. 80's were good too. I was too young to have bought them direct and relied on auction buys. It always amazed me the pricing being so cheap for such quality and nuanced Aussie cab. Brilliant tribute by Stephen Henschke to his father.

[Rossco]

2012 Umamu Cabernet Sauvignon (Margaret River)
Havent heard of this producer before, but this offering was drinking exceptionally well. Typical MR leafiness, capsicum, blackcurrants and
cedar. Some slight olive & coffee in there too. Really nice balance between fruit/tannin & Acid. For the $24 i paid, was very good. Wouldn't pay RRP.


2017 Rosenvale Vineyards Vine Vale Road Grenache (Barossa)
Again another producer I havent heard of, but again this was a really good offering. Bright red strawberry fruit, red cherries and liquorice
some slight cola. Really nice balance, nice spice of white pepper and acid spine really livens it all up. Nice work this one!

[phillisc]

Oh dear, not something like Henschke, where Grandma shot Grandpa with a shotgun? Fortunately there wasn't a wine named after the incident.

Mahmoud, after 50 years think they are trying to keep that one quiet.
Never mind, today plenty of shooting by those who have the $800 bottles at those who don't

Thought the dog may have been in reference to black, in reference to mental health and those who are not coping.

Cheers craig

Craig I'm surprised you seem to have loaded up with Riddoch and not Cyril?

For my tastes, with suitable age, the Cyril Henschke cabernet is our best and most interesting cabernet blend. I've even had the 78 a number of times drinking beautifully beyond 30 years- though this straight cabernet. 80's were good too. I was too young to have bought them direct and relied on auction buys. It always amazed me the pricing being so cheap for such quality and nuanced Aussie cab. Brilliant tribute by Stephen Henschke to his father.

Jamie had plenty of 80s CH's and yes good wines...but for straight Cab JR has its nose in front and indeed some vintages of BL. Seppelts Dorien another beauty, if we are suggesting how good Cab should be made in the Barossa.
For me however, Yarra Valley make the best Cab blends... MM, YY and Yeringberg for starters. Good vintages of Sally's Paddock from the Pyrenees also rate highly....and don't get me started on my former fave Virgin Hills, vintages from the 90s were fabulous...but sadly now just a watermark.
Cheers Craig

[Wines101]

Tonight it’s a 2016 Elio Grasso Gavarini Chiniera

[Sean]

deleted

[Dragzworthy]

Turkey Flat Shiraz 2017
I haven't had a Barossa Shiraz in quite some time. There's an earthiness on the nose of these wines that I have trouble describing but it reminds me of wet earth, clay terracotta or something. I'm not enamoured by the smell. The wine is pungent with this earthiness and has lots of dark fruit, nutmeg and black olives. The palate is plummy, there's a flash of heaty alcohol and the finish is reasonably long with a spicy note finish. All in all its a well made wine but it's just not my style.

[wiggum]

2008 Wendouree Cab Malbec - struggling to find a review for this but I am finding this a little porty and on the overripe spectrum. 2008 was a hot year I recall. Most unlike wendouree from my experience.its only early on so will see

[mychurch]

EAB2E87D-5417-4782-8D05-14617A7DE732.jpeg

Chenin can age. This is still young in colour and has plenty of sweetness. The acidity keeps everything in check though, and it’s still on an upward slope in terms of aging potential. Plenty of honey and the finish is full of wet earth. Layered, barely sugar, voluptuous. Will be better tomorrow after it breathes in the fridge, but it’s just too good now to keep.

[Dragzworthy]

EAB2E87D-5417-4782-8D05-14617A7DE732.jpeg

Chenin can age. This is still young in colour and has plenty of sweetness. The acidity keeps everything in check though, and it’s still on an upward slope in terms of aging potential. Plenty of honey and the finish is full of wet earth. Layered, barely sugar, voluptuous. Will be better tomorrow after it breathes in the fridge, but it’s just too good now to keep.

Sounds great

[Sean]

deleted

[Chuck]

Haven't posted TNs lately. We went out for our birthdays last night (they are 1 day apart). We were so excited to be dining out for the first time in months at one of our favourite Italian restaurants, Parisi's on King William Rd Hyde Park in Adelaide. 10 of us dining as per rules so there was a lack of the atmosphere of a typical Italian restaurant. Interestingly the cops drove past, stopping to check the number of diners. We certainly were living dangerously.

Unfortunately their winter special of slow cooked lamb shanks wasn't on the menu. Had a glass of Deviation Road 2017 Adelaide Hills Lofita Brut to start. Lovely bead and super dry as we like it. Then with entre (antipasto mix) a glass of an Italian Pinot Grigio that was a good match. I do like Italian Grigios. Took an Annie's Lane 2012 Coppertrail Clare Valley Shiraz given to me some years ago by a nephew who manages a BWS in Sydney. Sensational black and purple fruit but thought the US oak was a little heavy handed. I don't think the oak will come into balance. Still a wonderful wine to have with a rare ribeye on the bone and lamb stack to die for. Lamb stacked with roasted capsicum and eggplant and red wine jus. We swapped dishes half way. Then to our surprise on the drinks list they had a Debortoli 2016 Noble 1. $9 by the glass or $30 for a half bottle. Easy decision to have with dessert of chocolate moose and we took the remains of the De Bortoli on our slow waddle home to finish while watching an episode of Band of Brothers (a must see TV series) until wife's official birthday at midnight. Her's has a zero on the end so extra special.

Overall a really nice way to celebrate with some memorable wines and great food. I think I can get used to this dining out stuff.

[Mahmoud Ali]

6B901D69-9A70-4D94-9F37-F662A94D9738.jpeg

Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir 19 - A warm vintage, but they have got the best of it with this pinot. Some whole bunch and 8 months in new and older French oak. Much lighter than usual. Dark cherry, raspberry, spice, a bit stalky with herbs and earth. Gets better in the glass. Really like the freshness and soft, subtle tannins.

Great stuff Sean. Based on my experience with a 2001, i suggest you buy a few bottles and forget abouth them for 20 years. You will be in for a treat if you like aged pinot.

Cheers .............................. Mahmoud.