It's that time of the week again...

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TORB
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It's that time of the week again...

Post by TORB »

Hi Good Peoples,

After a week of tasting some excellent wine and drinking far too much at to many dinners, I arrived home with bronchitis and really didn't feel like drinking anything last night. However I had promised Mark W that I would try a bottle of wine which he is going to list on his auction site for charity; frankly I was not expecting much but wound up drinking most of the bottle and enjoyed every mouthful of it.

Pennyfield 2002 Petite Verdot May 05

The wines lifted aroma was enough to cut through my clogged nose with sweetly perfumed fruit showing musk, spice and chocolate. Dusty tannins provide a solid backbone for this full-bodied wine with perfectly ripe, rich chocolate flavour, black fruits and subtle aniseed that finishes long and dry. Whilst it is approachable now, a couple of years in the cellar will do it the world of good; very juggable, the wine is rated as Recommended and the rating should increase as the wine matures. I would not hesitate to buy this wine.

I have no idea what it will be selling for but its bound to be reasonable and will be the first wine from Berry that will wind up in my cellar since I can remember; 2002 really must have been good there.

Now what have you guys been drinking?
Cheers
Ric
TORBWine

Lolly

Post by Lolly »

Only 3 this week but gooduns they was.

Grosset 2002 Polish Hill Riesling (Screwcap) - Looking tight as a drum but no Tyson's hole or such. Incredible minerality on the nose and palate. Bulk lime and terrific cutting acidity. Beautifully-honed wine. Long termer but drinking very, very well now.

Seppelt 1983 Single Vintage Para Liquer Tawny - light mahogany, quite bright gleam, with some khaki in the edge and thick, drizzling tears hanging to the side of the glass. Extremely complex, highly volatile, rich nose of acetone, rancio, mocha, dried fruit, marzipan, amaretto, dusty old oak; all driven by an underlying core of fine brandy spirit. Quite profound and compelling, similar, in many ways, to a fine Cognac. The palate tells a different story exhibitng a thick, sweet, almost cloying mouthfeel, seamlessly meshed to powerful drying astringency providing the necessary counterbalance to maintain freshness and composure. There's bucketloads of creamy, nutty, caramelised fruit, a wealth of rancio character, amazing length and holds great poise throughout the finish. Rated as Outstanding, this surely rates in Australia's top handful of this style and will last for many years in the bottle. Great value at just over $30 a bottle (on special at a local supermarket chain).

Seppelt 1990 Dorrien Cabernet - Getting down to my last few now and after my first TCA-affected bottle from this last case recently, pulled another in hope of better things.

Holding a dark, brooding deep ruby, a terrific fresh nose of concentrated dark plum, cedar, vanilla, chocolate, plenty of cinnamon/malty oak and a nice touch of spice box. The palate displays excellent weight, great mouthfeel and plenty of carry. Plums and chocolate to the fore underpinned by substantial malty/cedary oak, mouth-quenching acidity and ripe, very fine-grained tannins, this wine won't improve and should be enjoyed in all its glory over the next few years before the fruit falls away. Rated Excellent.

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bigkid
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Post by bigkid »

Hi all,

Wirra Wirra 2000 RSW Shiraz

8/5/05 Clear red/purple wine with a nose of red cherries and truffles - an earthiness with some charcoal. Soft smooth mouthfeel, tannin and acid a little up front but balanced with a solid fruity (red and dark berries) and sweet finish. Some vanilla. Very enjoyable, right to the end.

Taylors 2002 Shiraz

10-11/5/05 – Not a bad quaffer after decanting for an hour or two.

PennyÂ’s Hill 2002 McLaren Vale Shiraz

14/5/05 Rich red plum colour, smoky wood nose with chocolate that carried through to the palate. Lighter textured and lighter flavoured compared to some wines we have been tasting lately but with a lingering sweetness, particularly after two hours in the decanter when aniseed, plums and cherries presented. I like this wine.

PennyÂ’s Hill 2003 Specialised Shiraz Cabernet Merlot

13/5/05 Similar to the shiraz, this wine has a smoky nose. Although more emphasis on the fruit (raspberries) than on chocolate. Fuller textured with a long sweet finish.

PennyÂ’s Hill 2002 Malpas Road Merlot

13/5/05 Gee, it was a big night and I just canÂ’t remember

Elderton 2002 Barossa Shiraz

13/5/05 Plead wine induced alzheimers, big night, too many wines. Plummy and sweeter styled.

JamieBahrain
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Post by JamieBahrain »

Quiet week with a bottle of Seppelt Sparkling Shiraz 02 & Palliser Sauvignon Blanc 04.

Both wines are settling down after a bit of variation on release. The Seppelt developing some richness and so too the Palliser- the Palliser is definately better now than on release when overwhelmed by unripe like passionfruit and gooseberry notes.

GrahamB
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Post by GrahamB »

Heathvale Eden/Barossa Chardonnay 2002 ($15.50)

Schubert McLean Shiraz Cabernet 2002 ($16.99)

Gomersal Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2002 ($17.99)

These three wines (along with more small parcel wines) are being distributed in SE Qld by Ben Chapman (ex Thorne Clark) and Travis ? OÂ’Callaghan (Rockford)

Mostly red wine drinkers at the tasting but the serious ones thought the chardonnay was of good quality and probably worth a few dollars more.

The Schubert (cork closure) was the star of the three and all stock sold out on the night. It was my pick of the wines at the time we were tasting.

The Gomersal (screw closure) did not show as well at 5pm to 7pm as it did by 9.30pm. The next night it was much better as appears to be the case with screw capped wine. This may cause a problem in restaurants where wines are opened, poured and drunk quite quickly.


Platypus Lane Shiraz 2000 ($10.99) A real good quaffer at this price but I think it may be more expensive elsewhere.
Chardonnay: A drink you have when there is no RED wine, the beer hasn't arrived and the water may be polluted

GraemeG
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Post by GraemeG »

Another bottle from my generally disappointing stash of 1991 Tyrrells Vat 9 Shiraz (Hunter). I'm more convinced than ever that this bottle has had some exposure to great heat during it's life. It's an 'Aged Release' bottle that I purchased in '97, so there's a good 1-2-year window between Tyrrell's cellar and mine. This was very similar to the last 2 bottles - a dried-out, seriously bretty palate follows a metallic/medicinal nose. No tannin, short finish; drinkable but not interesting or satisfying at all. Like to try a bottle from another source one day just to compare. Dem's the breaks, I guess.

cheers,
Graeme

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Maximus
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Post by Maximus »

Had a couple midweek dinners that involved wine this last week. The Burgundy tasting is already written up (Thursday evening).

Tuesday evening was a relaxing social dinner with a couple, where we started off with an '03 Herzog Pinot Noir. I'm a huge fan of Hans and the wines he makes, having met him in August of last year and spending half a day at his winery. I sampled the Pinot straight from the tanks at the time and it was gorgeous. On Tuesday night, it was gorgeous again. More a fruit driven nose with very deft handling of oak and exceptionally well made; velvet texture, long finish and not overstaying its welcome in the mouth (which some 'heavier' pinots tend to do in my experience). We then ventured on to a Canterbury House Riesling which was very easy drinking and mellow with a moderately dry finish - great at $8. The chicken main was drunk with an '02 Rosemount Traditional Cab/Merlot/Petit Verdot, which I found pretty average - big fruit, big mouth presence and a shallow finish (but okay with the food). Finally we ended with a '99 Henschke Mt Edelstone which was divine. No hint of brett, plenty of liquorice, blackcurrant and a pleasant herbaceous note on the nose, with mint, mocha and a great deal of complexity already. The richness of the nose was luring and the smooth, supple texture hooked me. As a drink now wine, this is better than the '01 IMO.

Wednesday night was an Italian dinner at Tutto Bene, a lovely little byo with authentic Italian staff that's busy every night of the week. A small group of us attended with a masked bottle each, required to be Italian to suit the theme. Standout wines were the '02 Le Volte Cab/Merlot (from the stables of Ornellaia), an '01 Santa Christina Sangiovese/Merlot and the highlight was the '97 Giribaldi "Millenium" Nebbiolo from Piedmont of course. 1997 was a magnificent year in Italy (with wines commanding higher prices as a result) and this Nebbiolo for $25 was exceptional; incredibly concentrated, rich, but not in your face. Strong nose of prunes, tar, earth, liquorice and an assortment of complexities already starting to develop. The wine has a long life ahead of it.

Gave the tasting buds a rest on the weekend. 8)

Cheers,
Max
-----
Avant d’être bon, un vin doit être vrai

Mark S
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Post by Mark S »

Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz 1987 - magnificent example of the style - deep, rich, aged, complex, with clearcut varietal character.

Tatachilla McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 - this had won trophies and 97 point rating from Halliday - fine chalky tannins, an appealing savoury (smoked meat?) streak, ripe warm region cab fruit, very good mouthfeel 89/90 points by my reckoning, not sure whether it's just past its peak or hasn't quite got up there yet.

Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz 1994 - gorgeous bouquet - layers of dark berry, oak & floral notes - unfortunately didn't match up on the palate at all, thin, fading fruit, some sourness. Rare that there's such a discrepancy between nose and taste. Had several far better bottles of this in the past.

Ata Rangi Pinot 1996 - on opening not very impressive - thought it was drying out, lacking distinction of any kind, considerable VA - kept most of it, under gas, tried next day - yet another instance of near-miraculous transformation! A different wine altogether, richly fruited, oodles of pinosity, hints of forest floor decomposition, almost over-the-top. Better on its own, hard to match with food. Drink up, it's turning the corner.

McClay Road Shiraz 2003 (the decommissioned Giaconda shiraz) good but unready - prune, tannin, oak & dark berries - needing a year or two in the bottle. No hint (for me at least) of the bushfire smoke taint bedevilling some Vic & south NSW 2003's

bacchaebabe
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Post by bacchaebabe »

2000 Tempus Two Shiraz (with the pewter label) Big blackcurrenty and delicious. WOTN. Quite a surprise packet and each of these Tempus Twos I have had recently I have been very pleasantly surprised by. They are doing something right other than the smart packaging.
2002 Rockford Cab Sav Another lovely wine but just pipped at the post by the Tempus Two. Slightly more restrained and less fruity but still a mouthfull with great character.
1994 Noble One Quite orange with pronounced toffee flavours. Nearing the end of it's drinking window but still very good. Drink up.
2000 Miranda Golden Botrytis Much lighter than the Noble One. Unfortunately very slightly corked. Plenty of sweet fruit characters still there, marmelade, apricots. A little bit cloying and not helped by being corked.
1999 Richmond Grove Watervale Riesling One of the first bottles under screwcap thanks to the Vintage Cellars initiative. Lost it's primary fruit now but the secondary charactertistics haven't come on just yet. Quite muted on opening but opened up a little to show very slight honey. This needs more time to evolve.
Cheers,
Kris

There's a fine wine between pleasure and pain
(Stolen from the graffiti in the ladies loos at Pegasus Bay winery)

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n4sir
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Post by n4sir »

2003 Torbreck Woodcutter’s Barossa Shiraz (Screwcap): Dark, inky red with just a faint hint of purple hanging on the rim; there’s a fair amount of thick sludge already so decanting is recommended. A beautiful, perfumed nose of rhubarb, beetroot, blackberry, dusty/earthy chocolate and a bare hint of apricot; with breathing it’s even more complex and spicy with pepper, dried herbs and tobacco, fennel and nutmeg. The mid-weight palate has a spicy entry with rich blackberry/blueberry fruit, a peppery mid-palate, and a long sweet finish with hints of chocolate and black olive; with breathing like the nose it’s more complex with beetroot/rhubarb, celery, cinnamon/nutmeg and other warm spices. I had this over four nights last week and it was an absolute pleasure from the first pour to the last. This is a beautiful, fruit-driven style devoid of any oak presence, but wonderfully complex all the same – a “poor man’s St. Henri” perhaps?

Cheers
Ian
Forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone.

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KMP
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Post by KMP »

GrahamB wrote:Heathvale Eden/Barossa Chardonnay 2002 ($15.50)

Schubert McLean Shiraz Cabernet 2002 ($16.99)

Gomersal Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2002 ($17.99)

These three wines (along with more small parcel wines) are being distributed in SE Qld by Ben Chapman (ex Thorne Clark) and Travis ? OÂ’Callaghan (Rockford)

Mostly red wine drinkers at the tasting but the serious ones thought the chardonnay was of good quality and probably worth a few dollars more.


Tempting little drop that 2002 Heathvale Chardy isn't it? The 2003 is not quite the same quality IMHO. Heathvale is excellent value for the price.

Mike

GrahamB
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Post by GrahamB »

KMP wrote:
GrahamB wrote:Heathvale Eden/Barossa Chardonnay 2002 ($15.50)

Schubert McLean Shiraz Cabernet 2002 ($16.99)

Gomersal Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2002 ($17.99)

These three wines (along with more small parcel wines) are being distributed in SE Qld by Ben Chapman (ex Thorne Clark) and Travis ? OÂ’Callaghan (Rockford)

Mostly red wine drinkers at the tasting but the serious ones thought the chardonnay was of good quality and probably worth a few dollars more.



Tempting little drop that 2002 Heathvale Chardy isn't it? The 2003 is not quite the same quality IMHO. Heathvale is excellent value for the price.

Mike


Mike

Seems that most of the Heathvale wine goes your way.

Graham
Chardonnay: A drink you have when there is no RED wine, the beer hasn't arrived and the water may be polluted

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KMP
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Post by KMP »

GrahamB wrote:
KMP wrote:
GrahamB wrote:Heathvale Eden/Barossa Chardonnay 2002 ($15.50)

Schubert McLean Shiraz Cabernet 2002 ($16.99)

Gomersal Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2002 ($17.99)

These three wines (along with more small parcel wines) are being distributed in SE Qld by Ben Chapman (ex Thorne Clark) and Travis ? OÂ’Callaghan (Rockford)

Mostly red wine drinkers at the tasting but the serious ones thought the chardonnay was of good quality and probably worth a few dollars more.



Tempting little drop that 2002 Heathvale Chardy isn't it? The 2003 is not quite the same quality IMHO. Heathvale is excellent value for the price.

Mike


Mike

Seems that most of the Heathvale wine goes your way.

Graham


Graham

We tasted the wines at the vineyard last year. I was able to get some of the 2002 Shiraz when I got back to the USA but the Chardonnay seems to be unavailable (the free version of Wine Searcher does not turn up any sources). At least you can go straight to the source and order from there.

Mike

PaulSheldon
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Post by PaulSheldon »

1999 Houghton Crofters Cabernet Merlot
Still fresh as a daisy, deep red/purple in colour. Nose was mainly plum and black cherry with a touch of spicy earth and some nice oak. Palate was equally as good with more of the same, nice mouthfeel, long smooth finish with fine tannins. I was surprised at how youthful this still was given the fact that they recommend about 5 years cellaring tops. I would say this bottle had a good 3-4 years to go, still very fruit forward and really needs more time to develop.

2002 Paul Conti Cabernet Sauvignon
A Swan Valley cabernet and while not my usual fair (I love big MR and Coonawarra cabs) it was very pleasant drinking. Colour was a medium red with a nose almost like a pinot, quite earthy with plum and strawberry. Palate was only light-weight but had a reasonable length and soft tannin to finish. No idea of price though so I don't know if it was good value (it was a present) but a pleasant change from the norm.

1999 Wynns Coonawarra Shiraz
I've had a few of these in the past and they have always cellared well for a wine of their price. This one didn't seem to though. Colour was ok, deep red with slight browning, but the nose and the palate seemed a touch washed out. Could have been a bad bottle but...

2000 Wynns Coonawarra Shiraz
Same problem as above. Nothing obviously wrong with the wine just a bit washed out and bland. Could be cellaring I guess but these were cellared by me from new as was the Crofters which was perfect.
Paul

mphatic
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Post by mphatic »

Mark S wrote:
Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz 1994 - - unfortunately didn't match up on the palate at all, thin, fading fruit, some sourness. Rare that there's such a discrepancy between nose and taste.


Mark,

I found the same thing with the 93's and 94's that I finished off in the last year or so. A beautiful fruit-intense nose with fading fruit on the palate. Mine were perhaps a little less advanced than your bottle and I enjoyed them, however I am also glad that they are now gone.

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markg
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Re: It's that time of the week again...

Post by markg »

TORB wrote:I have no idea what it will be selling for but its bound to be reasonable and will be the first wine from Berry that will wind up in my cellar since I can remember; 2002 really must have been good there.


Thank you for the review Ric, I will be listing it on the website for the June auction and all money raised from the sales of the wine will go to the Women and Childrens Hospital foundation. There will be No commissions or fees for this wine and I just need to confirm the opening price with the foundation.

COMMUNITY SPIRIT
Image Image
Barmera Grape Growers Tim and Clara Dawe, parents of five-year-old Brandon who recently had cardio surgery, approached the WCH with a novel fundraising opportunity.

They donated enough grapes to make 1000 bottles of Petit Verdot wine and gained additional support from their local wine making colleagues.

Pennyfield Wines in Berri agreed to make and bottle the 2002 Petit Verdot. FletchersÂ’ Freighters Berri SA has also come on board by providing transport of the wine to the Hospital for distribution. Troy Smith from ASA Cork has supplied the corks and seals. Scott Springett, from Clear Image Labels, supplied the labels and Travis Norman, from Cospak, supplied the bottles at half price. By purchasing this Wine, you will be supporting children like Brandon.
Cheers
-Mark Wickman

WICKMAN'S FINE WINE AUCTIONS
FREE membership, LOWEST auction commissions in Australia.
Now accepting wine for our next auction.
http://www.wickman.net.au

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Kieran
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Post by Kieran »

Ralph Fowler Shiraz Viognier 02? Don't remember vividly. Was certainly OK.
Schild Shiraz 02 Very good.
Trevor Jones Cab 02 Wrongskin: Powerful fruit. Good.
Hewitson Miss Harry 03: Excellent choice of the list at Jasmine. Sweet berry and plum fruit, no clash with Indian food. Oak minimal or non-existant.
Trevor Jones Virgin Chardonnay 03 Wife loved it. I found it OK, but thought it could use a little secondhand oak.
Hardys Siegersdorf Riesling 04 Wife liked it. I found it quite drinkable.
Kalleske Clarry's Red 04 Sweet fruit, a bit simple.
Taittenger Non-Vintage Bready nose, apples on the palate. Good.
BVE Black Pepper Shiraz 94 Very good.
Tyrrell's Vat 47 Chardonnay 85 Oxidised.
Hewitson Shiraz Mourvedre 00 My WOTW. Powerful dark fruits, very dry finish, exceptional length. Tannins firm and drying but not dominant. Room for improvement. Excellent.
Charles Melton Nine Popes 96 Very good.
Grant Burge Shadrach 98: Very Oaky nose. Sweet cassis fruit on the palate. Good.
Hungerford Hill Chardonnay 01: Seemed OK
Brock's View Shiraz 03: Excellent cool climate shiraz from a small maker in Carrickalinga; restrained sweet fruit. Only $27 on the wine list at Normanville Pub. This maker could be a real find.
Pikes Riesling 04: I just had a sip...seemed nice.
Annies Lane Shiraz 02: OK, unexciting
Salena Chardonnay 03: Corked
"In the wine of life, some of us are destined to be cork sniffers." - Dilbert

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