TN: A Wine Bohemian's Rhasody

[Chow Chow]

Drank last week;

Rusden Black Guts 2000 - Amazing texture - lanolin, oily, bold and profound. Excellent depth, probrably the best 2000 I had fr Barossa.

Greenock Apricot Blk 2001 - Big and monolithic. Smooth, almost tanninless, it's there but don't feel it at all. Overipe with dried fruits characteristic. Lacking depth and complexity of a O'Vines Shiraz. Thought RP was too generous in his rating this time.

Best Family Thompson 1997 - Never been a fan of Bin 0 but after hearing so much hype on the Thompson I bought 2btls fr the demised SOLD.com yrs ago. Too elegant, high acid, lacked fruits, very spicy. My 1st tasting and I'm disapointed. Give me a Seppelt St.Peter anytime.


Dinner with Prof.Brian Lynn of Majella

Riesling 200? - Not to shabby.

Musician 2004 (55%Cab, 45%Shz) - This is a poor man Malleaa. RRP AU$17, a decent wine for the price. At this level, it's tough competition considering the O'Learys, Mamre Brook etc. The appeal of the Coonawarra appl. might pull this thru. Something for the diehard Majella followers.

Shiraz 94 - A lil' weary, drinking at it's peak.
Shiraz 01 - Good without being exciting.

Cabernet 97 - V.Good effort fr a lesser vintage.
Cabernet 01 - Lets faced it, the last excellent Majella Cab, I had was their 2000 vintage. Lately their wines seems lacking some ommph!

Malleaa 2000/01 - It's used to be the benchmark for a Shiraz/Cab Blend in AU but not anymore now. These days, for the dosh I go for Orlando Rsv. or the Kaesler WOMS. Prof. need to buck up and not rest on his laurels to return to the glory days of old.

Dinner with Geoff Hardy(Pertaringa & K1)

K1 Chardonnay 2003 - Fruits used for Yattarna previously. For the price, it's gem. Beautifully crafted.

K1 Merlot 2002 - Geoff has found the elusive holy grail to the AUS Merlot. Excellent purity of fruits, balance with everything in place. (the best K1 varietal)

K1 Cab 2002 - Excellent Cabernet typicity, good weight. Fr nose, palate to finish - Technically faultless .

K1 Shiraz 2002 - Taut and firm. Excellent.

Pertaringa Undercover 2002 - Not as good as the K1. For under $20, fully endowed. Drank his stellar "Over The Top" Shiraz 2002 previously and thought it's miles apart.

K1 Fronti 200? - A lil mean and lean. Slightly stalky. Simple.

Pertaringa Trokenberenauslese 1985(Chenin/ Riesling) - Geoff 2nd vintage. Amber in color. Still a pup. Treacle like flavours - toffee, dried apricots/ peaches. Fresh, youthful despite of the age.

Pertaringa Botrytis 1993(100% Sem.) - Another excellent dessert wine fr Geoff. Not quite as complex as the previous. Both wines has got good penetrating intensity without being too cloying.

Some unblended components fr 2004 vintage.

Geoff took 2 samples and asked, "What da ya think?" He told me this were booster for blending his 2004 K1 wines.

Sample 1 (K1 Amarone Cab 2004) Late harvest and were dried 3 wks on the sorting tables before pressing. Potent , turbo charge. Thick with vicosity that will lubricate a tractor engine..

Sample 2 (K1 Amorone Shiarz 2004) Same as the above but came with more spices. Kick ass juice, my only resevation, it was brought up fr neutral oak. With seasoning of some new timber, this is potentialy a Parker perfect wine. I requested Geoff to racked it into a new barrel and bottled it separately. He said, it's too late, already 1 yr old and too costly to produce. -sigh-

[BA]

Shiraz 01 - Good without being exciting.

Cabernet 97 - V.Good effort fr a lesser vintage.
Cabernet 01 - Lets faced it, the last excellent Majella Cab, I had was their 2000 vintage. Lately their wines seems lacking some ommph!

Malleaa 2000/01 - It's used to be the benchmark for a Shiraz/Cab Blend in AU but not anymore now. These days, for the dosh I go for Orlando Rsv. or the Kaesler WOMS. Prof. need to buck up and not rest on his laurels to return to the glory days of old.

Interesting, and I will agree with you to a point.

The last Majella cab was the 2000, but I have given the Coonawarra in general a vintage bypass for 01 & 02. I look forward to the 03 as the vintage has impressed me so far and others have written it up. I believe we cannot judge a winery for mediocrity during bad vintages. The 02 cabernet won lots of medals and shows very well amongst other 02's, but I did not buy it as it was still a step down from 96,98,99,00. Majella still performed well against their peers in the area, so need to be given another chance during a good vintage.

I agree, the Mallea is under pressure at the price and I will be very selective on a vintage basis. Perhaps non-production during bad years may help. Don't write off the Prof yet.


cheers
BA

[Joe]

Drank last week;

Geoff took 2 samples and asked, "What da ya think?" He told me this were booster for blending his 2004 K1 wines.

Sample 1 (K1 Amarone Cab 2004) Late harvest and were dried 3 wks on the sorting tables before pressing. Potent , turbo charge. Thick with vicosity that will lubricate a tractor engine..

Sample 2 (K1 Amorone Shiarz 2004) Same as the above but came with more spices. Kick ass juice, my only resevation, it was brought up fr neutral oak. With seasoning of some new timber, this is potentialy a Parker perfect wine. I requested Geoff to racked it into a new barrel and bottled it separately. He said, it's too late, already 1 yr old and too costly to produce. -sigh-

This is the reason why I distrust JWT.

[Guest]

So what is the Bohemian's Rhapsody then?

[MartinE]

Interesting, and I will agree with you to a point.
The last Majella cab was the 2000, but I have given the Coonawarra in general a vintage bypass for 01 & 02. I look forward to the 03 as the vintage has impressed me so far and others have written it up. I believe we cannot judge a winery for mediocrity during bad vintages. The 02 cabernet won lots of medals and shows very well amongst other 02's, but I did not buy it as it was still a step down from 96,98,99,00. Majella still performed well against their peers in the area, so need to be given another chance during a good vintage.
I agree, the Mallea is under pressure at the price and I will be very selective on a vintage basis. Perhaps non-production during bad years may help. Don't write off the Prof yet.
cheers
BA

Hmmm...While I agree the 02 vintage wasn't Majella's best and I was underwhelmed enough by the 01 Mallea not to buy it, I think writing off the 01 vintage in Coonawarra is a bit of a generalisation...

From 01, I (and quite a few others according to my notes) would suggest that Balnaves, Bowen, Brands, Majella, Orlando St Hugo, Petaluma and Wynns BL cabernets are all pretty smart wines and they are all in my cellar.

OTOH, the Majella is the only 02 Coonawarra Cab I've bought thus far and it was a borderline "loyalty" purchase.

cheers,

MartinE

[BA]

Martin,

I decided to skip most of 01 at the Coonawarra roadshow a couple of years ago, when my 6 best wines of the tasting were 1x98, 1x99, 4x00. The 01's were just outclassed. That I had too many 98,99,00 already made the decision easier. I noticed the same thing last year when I preferred 01 to 02. The 03 barrel samples last year were exciting. I'm hoping the 03's which will appear this year will give a better indication. The roashow hits Brisbane in late August - If you make it, I'll try and catch up and compare notes.


cheers
BA

[MartinE]

Martin,

I decided to skip most of 01 at the Coonawarra roadshow a couple of years ago, when my 6 best wines of the tasting were 1x98, 1x99, 4x00. The 01's were just outclassed. That I had too many 98,99,00 already made the decision easier. I noticed the same thing last year when I preferred 01 to 02. The 03 barrel samples last year were exciting. I'm hoping the 03's which will appear this year will give a better indication. The roashow hits Brisbane in late August - If you make it, I'll try and catch up and compare notes.


cheers
BA

Hi BA,
Don't you think you've given your own answer?...Is it a surprise that 4-5 yo Cabernet outclasses 2 yo Cabernet at the same tasting??
I agree the 02s were weak but I'm happy with the 01s.
Cheers,
M.

[BA]

Hi Martin,

It was no surpise to me that the 4-5yo showed better than 2yo as they were the super premiums released with more age. They should show well. It was the 3yo showing much better than 2yo which was more significant. The 03's I've seen have showed well, though younger. We'll know more when they are all released and we can try them all.
I will agree that the 01's are good wines and worth getting, but the 3 preceeding years were better. My favourite 01's were merlots. The Zema in particular, and diGiorgio were great. Wynns BL cab is now under $20 and is great value at that point.

cheers
BA

[Guest]

So what is the Bohemian's Rhapsody then?

A Fredie Mecury song

[MartinE]

Hi Martin,

It was no surpise to me that the 4-5yo showed better than 2yo as they were the super premiums released with more age. They should show well. It was the 3yo showing much better than 2yo which was more significant. The 03's I've seen have showed well, though younger. We'll know more when they are all released and we can try them all.
I will agree that the 01's are good wines and worth getting, but the 3 preceeding years were better. My favourite 01's were merlots. The Zema in particular, and diGiorgio were great. Wynns BL cab is now under $20 and is great value at that point.

cheers
BA

Aaaah...You like merlot...That explains it

As per Sideways:

"Anyone suggests f****** merlot and I'm f****** out of there !!"

Cheers,
M.

[BA]

Aaaah...You like merlot...That explains it

As per Sideways:

"Anyone suggests f****** merlot and I'm f****** out of there !!"

Cheers,
M.

Just for that ... one of the 20 bottles of merlot in my cellar will have your name attached and be allocated just to haunt you

I was surprised to find 20 in the database. I wasn't surprised to find 65% of them were 01 coonawarras.

Sorry about our numpty guest. He'll learn one day.


Merlot, Merlot, Merlot. You can run, but you can't hide

[Guest]

01 Malleea was a lovely wine when I drank it last time which was about late last year.Am I on my own here?

01 Cabernet was good 02 not bad but not great.

[BA]

01 Malleea was a lovely wine when I drank it last time which was about late last year.Am I on my own here?

01 Cabernet was good 02 not bad but not great.

The 01 Mallea was disappointing when I first tried it but has really improved with almost a year in the bottle. Much better now - you are not alone in liking it. Spot on with both those cabernet ratings.

cheers
BA

[TORB]

I tried the 01 Malleea at plonk Oz last November and was not particularly impressed. However the 02 Cab for the price was good, not as good as 01 but still worth buying.

[MartinE]

I tried the 01 Malleea at plonk Oz last November and was particularly impressed. However the 02 Cab for the price was good, not as good as 01 but still worth buying.

Ric/BA,

I was not impressed with the Mallea on release, a little more so at WOz but still not a buy in my view...The 02 Cab I agree with Ric, a tad behind 01 but still good buying.

M.

[MartinE]

Aaaah...You like merlot...That explains it

As per Sideways:

"Anyone suggests f****** merlot and I'm f****** out of there !!"

Cheers,
M.

How ignorant Wonder have you ever tried Petrus

Duh...I was quoting a film, dumbo

This is a classis example of a jerk who can't pick a joke and rattles off insults behind the shield of anonymity.

Yes I have tasted Petrus, have you?
Along with that last August I visited five Grand Crus in St Emilion/Pomerol and once again enjoyed their wonderful Merlots, but BA and I were talking about Coonawarra and last time I looked Petrus didn't have a vineyard there.

M.

[Guest]

So what is the Bohemian's Rhapsody then?

A Fredie Mecury song

I'm assuming Martin had it on his stereo at the time or something. Bears no relation to the tasting notes. Or Fredie Mecury, whoever he is.

[Wizz]

Aaaah...You like merlot...That explains it

As per Sideways:

"Anyone suggests f****** merlot and I'm f****** out of there !!"

Cheers,
M.

How ignorant Wonder have you ever tried Petrus

Duh...I was quoting a film, dumbo

This is a classis example of a jerk who can't pick a joke and rattles off insults behind the shield of anonymity.

Yes I have tasted Petrus, have you?
Along with that last August I visited five Grand Crus in St Emilion/Pomerol and once again enjoyed their wonderful Merlots, but BA and I were talking about Coonawarra and last time I looked Petrus didn't have a vineyard there.

M.

You go girl!

AB

[TORB]

Opps, re the 01 Malleea, I left out one little word; It should have read "not" particularly impressed.

[Guest]

Its no spring chicken and is and will keep improving

[Bobby]

Majella has more than double its production in recent vintages hence the quality suffered.

[TORB]

Majella has more than double its production in recent vintages hence the quality suffered.

Bobby,

Where do you get your information from?

FWIW, - facts they have 150 acres under vine and crop at about 3 ton per acre which gives them 450 tons of fruit. Their total yield would produce almost 27,000 cases. According to Halliday, their production (prior to the Musician) was 12,000 cases.

As you can see, untill the Musician came along, much of the fruit was sold off to other wineries.

The 01 Malleea was not as good as other vintages - for what ever reason but the rest of their 01's were fine. 02 was a bastard of a vintage in Coonawarra and most 02 Cabernets were not as good as their 01 predecessors.

To slam a winery based on one wine that was not as good as expected and one vintage which was a very difficult one is not a reasonable, or indeed fair summation.