Its that time of week again - weekly reports due...

[TORB]

Hi Good Peoples,

My pick of the week was the Leasingham 1995 Classic Clare Sparkling Shiraz

My first bottle from a dozen. This wine seems a fair bit sweeter than many previous vintages and does not seem to have the fruit tannin backing to become a great wine with age. Even with the increased sweetness, it is far from simple or confected and it is very drinkable with lots of rich, ripe fruit banging way; plum, blackcurrant, chocolate, mocha and vanilla has excellent intensity.

As the wine warmed up, the oak tannins became very obvious and further reinforced that this wine will not be a long term keeper. Rated as Highly Recommended, it is still very enjoyable and slipped down effortlessly.

Now what have you guys all been drinking?

[Serge Birbrair]

The wine of the week was Keenan, 1996 Cabernet Savignion,
decantered for 1 1/2 hours.

Rich with sediments, unfiltered, great nose, taste and finish. I wished I had more than only remaining bottles left...

[smithy]

99 Jacaranda Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon

Colour deep intense crimson red with no signs of browning. Nose, chhocholate liqourice and fine cigars. Excellent integrated French oak on the nose and carrying through onto the palate. Black fruits, ripe tannins and lucious palate weight, hardly showing its 6 years. Coonawarra at its very best. 18.5 /20

Cheers

Smithy

[JuiceCowboy]

I'm still a newbie on this board. Is this Aussie wine tastings only?

JC

[andigold]

I've been a bit crook this week so the choice was limited to only a couple of contenders.
I split a box of Torbreck 2002 The Steading with a mate and pulled the top off a bottle to see where its at. Brilliant bright red with a big fruity sniff of brambley berries. Follows through on the palate with excellent concentrated fruit flavours, some spice and a terriffic muscular texture. Nice long finish of dark berries and spice. It was still a little dusty and some firmish tannins that grab pretty quickly makes me want to put this in a quiet, dark, cool place for 7 or 8 years. But <sigh> I know it just won't last that long. Good wine this and at $28.80 a bottle great value.
Cheers Andrew

[markg]

I'm still a newbie on this board. Is this Aussie wine tastings only?

JC

Nahh, anything wine related is ok as far as I am aware.

[Kieran]

I'm still a newbie on this board. Is this Aussie wine tastings only?

JC

No restriction on Aussie wine tastings only, but it looks strange if you supply lots of reviews for wines we'll never see here such as boutique Americans. Some posters (such as Mishy) post from North America but normally only post when they have something Australian to drink. Lots of Australians post about 96 Champagne and other top French wines.

Kieran

[Sean]

deleted

[Bob]

2001 Parker Coonawarra Terra Rossa Cabernet Sauvignon
Decanted for 2 hr. Very restrained nose, almost nothing at all. But very nice in the mouth; medium to full body, with sweet fruit and smooth, soft tannins. Just a touch of mint. Very Coonawarra tasting, just without the nose.

2002 Tyrrell`s Rufus Stone Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec
Decanted for 2 hr. A bit of nice spice, but much too light and fruity for my tastes. Reminded me a bit of Sangiovese. Glad I only got 2 bottles. I'll save the other one for a hot day in summer and maybe I'll like it more.

[Maximus]

Torbreck 2002 The Steading ... Brilliant bright red with a big fruity sniff of brambley berries. Follows through on the palate with excellent concentrated fruit flavours, some spice and a terriffic muscular texture. Nice long finish of dark berries and spice. It was still a little dusty and some firmish tannins that grab pretty quickly makes me want to put this in a quiet, dark, cool place for 7 or 8 years. But <sigh> I know it just won't last that long. Good wine this and at $28.80 a bottle great value.

Andrew,

I tried the same wine a week ago and whilst my drinking partner was very fond of the wine with similar remarks as yours, I found the Grenache component too strong with those brambly, almost sweet confectionery notes. This was my first Torbreck wine and if tasting blind, I would have swore there was some Cabernet Franc in there somewhere. Has your buying associate cracked the top off a bottle yet? I'd be very interested to see how the wine is performing in five years and whether that concentrated fruit component has integrated.

Anyone tried a '98 of late that may have displayed similar characteristics upon release?

Cheers,

[n4sir]

I’ve had a bit of a Cabernet Sauvignon binge last week, including the Blacktongues 2002 Barossa challenge, and the quality has been worth the indulgence. Next week I should finally be getting around to trying the 2002 Penfolds Bin series, so I can add my 2c worth to everyone else’s comments to date.


1998 Chapel Hill McLaren Vale/Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon: Dark to inky red/crimson with a bare flash of purple on the outer rim. An earthy, red berry nose with hints of chocolate, varnish and green, leafy characters; with breathing it develops some iodine, barnyard and chalk. The mid-weight palate is soft and sweet at entry with bright cherry fruit, then chalky and earthy mid-palate with some mocha/chocolate, tea and red berries, finishing long and impressive. The palate seems to be showing more influence from the 30% Coonawarra component at this stage, but I still found it young with gas left in the tank.


1995 Reynell Basket Press McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon: Heavy crusting so decanting is essential; glorious scents of cassis and licorice filled the room as I decanted the bottle through a breatheasy. Dark to inky red/purple colour – brilliant for a 1995 SA red. A sweet, dusty, perfumed nose at first of carnations and tea leaves, with hints of musk and cherries; with breathing it’s more complex and sweet, with licorice, sarsaparilla, saturated plum/cherry, and mocha/toffee. The palate opens with a biting salvo of tannin on entry, quickly matched by equally powerful and complex fruit; licorice, sweet cassis, black tea, dark chocolate and smoky bacon power through the mid-palate so no text-book hole is noticeable. The high pixel tannin structure ensures the wine is seamless, finishing long with malty/vanilla oak and cherry/mint. A brilliant, fresh, clean wine from what’s generally regarded as an inferior vintage, with a lot of cellaring potential left.


2001 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Harold Cabernet Sauvignon: Dark to (almost) inky red/purple colour. A tight and classic nose reflecting quality fruit and classy French oak; blackcurrant, black olive, some herbs, violets and a touch of soy sauce, with the oak changing between fresh cedar, tight spicy/lemon accents, and charred/fireplace toast. The palate opens with spicy oak and deeply set cassis/blackberry fruit that sweetens with air to become almost cherry-cola like. The structure is tight and rather ungiving at this stage, with black olive on the finish and dry tannins hanging off the end, making the wine appear a tad disjointed at this early stage. A few years should sort this out, but I’d still consider this a medium-term-cellaring prospect.


Cheers
Ian

[Gianna..]

An enjoyable week of wine was had this week.

At lunch at Tuto Buene - a great mid priced Italian restaurant in Southbank VIC, (superb risotto's.)

2001 Grant Burge - "Holy Trinity" GSM
Very perfumed nose, an easy drinking wine with hints of licorice, plums and spice. A good quaffer.

2002 Dead Arm Shiraz
After all the posts about this wine, I just had to finally try it. Priced at $90 in the restaurant, which considering $60 retail, I thought was a good start.
Decanted for 2 hrs, so drunk as our second bottle later during the lunch with a shared serve of roast duck and char grilled beef medallions.
Oak, Oak and more Oak was my lasting initial impression.
However, for my 2c worth, I do think that this wine will improve with a few more years. There is great fruit underneath, but the wine has just not integrated due to the overpowering oak influence. For the moment, I found this wine unbalanced, but I get the feeling it will sing in about 5 yrs. The nose, even after 2 hrs was un-yielding.

1998 St Hallett Old Block Shiraz
This was the night cap when we got home and WOW, how this wine has improved. I recall this wine to be heavily oaked 2 yrs ago, but now it is fully integrated and the fruit is just superb.
A beautiful nose of plums and strawberries and redcurrants.
A very silky, smooth wine that seemed perfectly balanced (especially given the Dead Arm earlier in the day). Soft tannins and concentrated red berry and chocolate taste with a lingering finish. I am so glad that I have 10 bottles of this wine left and will drink 2-3 bottles of it each year from now on. I won't wait any longer for this wine, I think it is fabulous drinking now.

Saturday had me enjoying another of Melbourne's great restaurants, this time it was Jacques Raymond and their 7 course degestation menu.
3 Chefs hats and it showed, need I say more !!! So, to make the night just that little more special,
1994 Jim Barry "The Armagh"
An incredibly complex wine that oozed class.
All the ripe berries were there to provide a powerful aroma on the nose, that also had licorice and mild spices.
Silky smooth to drink with layers of flavours accross the tongue that lasted for quite a while. Drinking great now and sure to hold this level for several years. An excellent expression of Australian shiraz that was not overpowering, but rather, elegant.

It was always going to be step down from Jacques and The Armagh, but I attended a nice bbq today and the wines were quite impressive.

2001 Mitolo GAM Shiraz
After the 98 Old Block and the 94 Armagh, this was just never going to thrill me, but I must say, it was a seriously good shiraz. Color was a bright purple and an earthy, leathery, dark plum nose. (reminded me of the bannockburn shiraz's). It was still a tight wine whose flavours may have been overpowered by our over zealous chef, that burnt our chops.
It was a sweeter styled shiraz, full bodied with toasted oak and plums.
I have the 01, 02 and 03 GAM and this seems to be the lesser of the three.

1998 Jacaranda Ridge
Decanted for 3 hrs.
Color was a deep dark red/black
The nose was blackcurrants, spice and violets and white pepper.
This is a well structured wine, with a good balance between oak, fruit and tannins.
The taste was raspberries and currants, cedar, leather and chocolate.
I have a dozen of these and will not open one for a least 2-3 yrs.

Alas, the weekend has come to an end and an AFD might be a good idea.

[andigold]

[quote="Maximus]
I tried the same wine a week ago .... and I found the Grenache component too strong with those brambly, almost sweet confectionery notes..... Has your buying associate cracked the top off a bottle yet? I'd be very interested to see how the wine is performing in five years and whether that concentrated fruit component has integrated.
[/quote]

Hi Max
It is a little out of balance at the moment with both the fruit at the front and the tannin at the finish being too prominent. In a few years when the fruit settles and the tannins soften this will IMO be a superb example of GSM. I guess that was the reason for my sigh, by the time it's ready I'll have drunk all mine
Cheers Andrew

[PaulV]

2004 Crawford Riesling Now this is a wow wine. Lovely minerally, limey nose. A nervy palate chock full of slate and limes - lovely acid cut and length to burn. Buy up big!

1995 Dalwhinnie Shiraz dark plums and leather nose and a still quite dark blood red colour. Palate is way out of balance with spiky acid and sour fruit flavours. Shortish finish. 2nd bottle and consistent notes. Disappointing

1990 Wynns black label Coonwarra Cabernet - very nice and for my palate ready to go. A mix of dark fruits, leather, touch of capsicum and mint on the nose. A mid weight palate that's all about balance. Actually trying to be a coonawarra rather than a puffed/pumped- up warm climate oz red. Excellent and for me to drink the remainder over the next 5 years.

Cheers

Paul

[Guest]

1998 Jacaranda Ridge
Decanted for 3 hrs.
Color was a deep dark red/black
The nose was blackcurrants, spice and violets and white pepper.
This is a well structured wine, with a good balance between oak, fruit and tannins.
The taste was raspberries and currants, cedar, leather and chocolate.
I have a dozen of these and will not open one for a least 2-3 yrs.

A super drop.Watch it sing in 5 years +.

[markg]

I opened a bottle of 2001 Dutschke Oscar Semmler earlier in the week , but on initial tasting it was just too overpowering and port-like for the meal I had planned so I put a seal in it and stuck it in the fridge.

Pulled it out again last night and let it get to room temperature and it was singing !! The portiness had been replaced by complexity and subtle flavours... Gorgeous layers of mocha, plums, hints of aniseed and some toffee, layers of different flavoured fruits and an excellent finish, wow... if this is any indication of the life they have in front of them then I will be happily waiting for the rest of mine to mature.

[Guest]

Bowen Estate Shiraz 2002. Dark black in colour with dark red ink edges around the glass. Alcohol,Cinnamon and Angelina Plum on the nose. Down the Palate I would pick it as McLarenvale all day long if I tasted blind. Cherry, Oak and very fine tannins but not alot of fruit although the elegance of this wine goes along way to making up for that. See you in 4-8 years. 94 points

[Adair]

Bowen Estate Shiraz 2002. Dark black in colour with dark red ink edges around the glass. Alcohol,Cinnamon and Angelina Plum on the nose. Down the Palate I would pick it as McLarenvale all day long if I tasted blind. Cherry, Oak and very fine tannins but not alot of fruit although the elegance of this wine goes along way to making up for that. See you in 4-8 years. 94 points

I tried this wine at the Coonawarra Roadshow and agree with your notes. Great elegance with power. One for the cellar.

Adair

[Bobsi]

I tried it again after 24 hours and it was neither Vinegary or Port like just more developed. A great wine to cellar.

[Marino]

Orlando St Hugo 96

Decanted for 1 hour, slight hint of browning at the edges. Nose was more restrained than the bottle I had last winter, this was classic Coonawarra; I love the balance of power and elegance on the palate. The bottle disappeared all to quickly; as it was my last bottle , have to wait a while before tasting the 2000.

[Hacker]

I opened a bottle of 2001 Dutschke Oscar Semmler earlier in the week........

I tried a screwcap 2002 St Jakobi recently and it was so fruit laden and smooth I just had to source some more out. Brenda and Wayne Dutschke still have some of the '02 in screwcap available, so I was in luck.

Beautiful wine.

cheers,

David M.

[Chow Chow]

Cloudy Bay S/B 2001 - Most S/B are best 1yr after released. More sedate showing grassy, gooseberry characteristic but the zesty exuberence has diminished.

Hutton Vale Gre/Mataro 2002 - Perfumed lifted aromas. plusher & richer than their 2001. Quite a mouthful for a mid-weight wine, it has good persistency of flavours and a decent finish. Very stylish, not the usual jammy/sweet Grenache blend fr OZ. Reminded me of a highend CdPape.

Houghton Gladstones Cabernet 2001 - V.tannic and angular. Improved tremendously with extended aeration. Long life ahead and way too young to pass judgement.

Houghton Gladstones Shiraz 2000 - The bt. is more decorated than Idi Amin.(medals) Nothing like their outstanding 1999 vintage, big but lacking in stuffings and found the acciditty stuck out like a sore thumb.

I understand Larry Cherubino has left Houghton after the 1999 vintage.

[JohnP]

At very pleasant dinner on Friday night:

1990 Pol Roger PR Millenium - delightful, probably WOTN - 95.
2002 Heathvale Chardonnay - very very nice for Eden Valley - 93.
1989 Tyrrells Vat 1 Sem - great aged HV Sem - always a good drink - 92.
1990 Roxburgh Chardonnay - yellow and aged, but interesting none the less - 80.
1973 Henschke Hill of Grace - lovely aged HOG from a reasonable year - 92.
1993 Keyneton Estate - not up to the mark - 85.
1991 Keyneton Estate - only marginally better than the '93 - 86.
1994 Mt Edelstone - disappointing, I expected better - 86.
1971 Leo Buring Cab/Shz - lasting amazingly well, but getting very tired - 84.
1984 Tulloch Private Bin Dry Red - still quite drinkable, but well past its best - 80.
1966 Kaiser Stuhl Claret - well past its best - but still alive - just - 80.
1994 Penfolds 389 - still many years left - drinking well now - but will be much better in 5-8 - 91.
1981 Penfolds Grange - beaten up by just about every other shiraz / blend on the the table - 85
1993 Mt Mary Pinot Noir - a delight, at its peak - 91.
1998 Holm Oak Pinot Noir - nice drop, still a few years left - 85.
2002 Lark Hill Pinot Noir - no finesse too blunt and going no where - 82.

[Kieran]

Houghton Gladstones Cabernet 2001 - V.tannic and angular. Improved tremendously with extended aeration. Long life ahead and way too young to pass judgement.

Houghton Gladstones Shiraz 2000 - The bt. is more decorated than Idi Amin.(medals) Nothing like their outstanding 1999 vintage, big but lacking in stuffings and found the acciditty stuck out like a sore thumb.

I understand Larry Cherubino has left Houghton after the 1999 vintage.

I thought he left in 2003 or something, which would mean that he was responsible for these two. He certainly made a few wines from 02 before he decided it was too easy.

Kieran

[KMP]

2001 Turkey Flat Shiraz - not quite up to the 2002 but still an excellent Barossa shiraz. Great aromas of blueberry/blackberry and excellent structure. Disappeared very quickly between three of us.

2002 Heathvale Shiraz - one of the "finds" of our December '04 tour of the Barossa, this bottle had been sitting in the cellar since August when it came with a bunch of other 2002 Shiraz! Definitely not the same wine we tasted at the vineyard. Wonderful aromas but way more acidity than I remembered, and not the same depth to the structure. Travel or storage problem? Hope the 6-pack I just bought from the same retailer does not have the same problems.

2001 Henry's Drive Cabernet Sauvignon - Interesting wine! Will post some detailed tasting notes later. Initially I was impressed, then I wasn't, then I was, finally I was not. Not a typical Aussie Cab. Looking at the reviews Parker raves about it and gives it 92, Halliday says nothing and has 84!

Mike

[JohnP]

2002 Heathvale Shiraz - one of the "finds" of our December '04 tour of the Barossa, this bottle had been sitting in the cellar since August when it came with a bunch of other 2002 Shiraz! Definitely not the same wine we tasted at the vineyard. Wonderful aromas but way more acidity than I remembered, and not the same depth to the structure. Travel or storage problem? Hope the 6-pack I just bought from the same retailer does not have the same problems.

Ditto.
Had one last night and while the nose and front palate were excellent the mid palate and finish were different enough to be obvious. Have the remaining half bottle sitting at home to see if 24 hrs does anything to it. Do you remember if Trevor opened the wine when we arrived, or had it been opened prior - which might explain some of the difference.

[KMP]

2002 Heathvale Shiraz - one of the "finds" of our December '04 tour of the Barossa, this bottle had been sitting in the cellar since August when it came with a bunch of other 2002 Shiraz! Definitely not the same wine we tasted at the vineyard. Wonderful aromas but way more acidity than I remembered, and not the same depth to the structure. Travel or storage problem? Hope the 6-pack I just bought from the same retailer does not have the same problems.

Ditto.
Had one last night and while the nose and front palate were excellent the mid palate and finish were different enough to be obvious. Have the remaining half bottle sitting at home to see if 24 hrs does anything to it. Do you remember if Trevor opened the wine when we arrived, or had it been opened prior - which might explain some of the difference.

All the wines were opened while we were there.

The bottle we opened, the acidity on the mid-palate and finish were so pronounced in the taste I had after pulling the cork that I actually broke a rule and poured it into a decanter to get some air into it to see if that would help fill it out a bit. It helped so I whacked it back into the bottle and took it to the restaurant and it did improve over about an hour, but still not like I remember. I'll probably pull another bottle in a few weeks.

Glad to see that the Chardonnay is holding up!

Mike

[KMP]

Hutton Vale Gre/Mataro 2002 - Perfumed lifted aromas. plusher & richer than their 2001. Quite a mouthful for a mid-weight wine, it has good persistency of flavours and a decent finish. Very stylish, not the usual jammy/sweet Grenache blend fr OZ. Reminded me of a highend CdPape.

Agree. We tasted both in at the vineyard in December '04. The 2002 Grenache/Mataro was again cherry red, but with aromas of spices and lychees. Softer and suppler that the 2001, it was clearly the more elegant wine. Very well balanced with an excellent finish. My notes end simply with “great wine”. (2, 2, 4.2, 10.2 =18.4/20, 14.5% alcohol).

Hope the '02 makes it over here,
Mike

[Chow Chow]

Hutton Vale Gre/Mataro 2002 - Perfumed lifted aromas. plusher & richer than their 2001. Quite a mouthful for a mid-weight wine, it has good persistency of flavours and a decent finish. Very stylish, not the usual jammy/sweet Grenache blend fr OZ. Reminded me of a highend CdPape.

Agree. We tasted both in at the vineyard in December '04. The 2002 Grenache/Mataro was again cherry red, but with aromas of spices and lychees. Softer and suppler that the 2001, it was clearly the more elegant wine. Very well balanced with an excellent finish. My notes end simply with “great wine”. (2, 2, 4.2, 10.2 =18.4/20, 14.5% alcohol).

Hope the '02 makes it over here,
Mike

Hi Mike,
When u were @ Hutton Vale, did u try their Shiraz '99?

[Gavin Trott]

Hutton Vale Gre/Mataro 2002 - Perfumed lifted aromas. plusher & richer than their 2001. Quite a mouthful for a mid-weight wine, it has good persistency of flavours and a decent finish. Very stylish, not the usual jammy/sweet Grenache blend fr OZ. Reminded me of a highend CdPape.

Agree. We tasted both in at the vineyard in December '04. The 2002 Grenache/Mataro was again cherry red, but with aromas of spices and lychees. Softer and suppler that the 2001, it was clearly the more elegant wine. Very well balanced with an excellent finish. My notes end simply with “great wine”. (2, 2, 4.2, 10.2 =18.4/20, 14.5% alcohol).

Hope the '02 makes it over here,
Mike

Mike

Your favourite Australian e-tailer sells it.