Hello, hello; its that time of the week again....

[TORB]

Torb,

Was wondering if you have tried the 95 of this at all?

Mal

Mal,

I bought a dozen, its a good wine. It 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, blackcurrent, 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, but its worth buying. Rated as Highly Recommended.

[Mal]

Thanks Torb,

Am going to be in SA in a couple of weeks, and will be doing a day trip to Clare Valley, will drop in to the cellar door and give it a try.

Mal

[JamieBahrain]

I had a 98 St Henri which is starting to show stock-standard traits of the style- rich leather, red on blackfruits & earth. Comfortably a 92 point wine.

Also, a 97 Bin 707. Interesting wine, big with herbally notes intermingled with spicey, quality American Oak and a remarkably bourbon like after taste. 88 points.

[Mark S]

Killerby Cabernet 1999 - last had one of these 2 years back, when it showed fragrant, intense cabernet flavours - this time, bigger & richer, with lovely mouth-filling sweet fruit and long on the back palate, no discernible cab "hole". 2nd day, almost as good, but more the generic developed red wine than distinctively cabernet. Drink now, don't think it'll get any better.

Lindemans Hunter Semillon Bin 9255 1998 - a fine example of the breed - very youthful, clean, excellent line - 2 days on (kept under gas) somewhat more rounded, softer, barest hints of honey & toast. Many years in it.

Oddfellows Shiraz 2000 - an auction cheapie - ripe and ready. Not a great year (think it was the 1998 that got the praise) but the wine shows full-on shiraz typicity and lots of oomph, if a touch one-dimensional. 2nd day, more towards the savoury end of the spectrum, but still good. Not a long-lifer, ready now & maybe another 2 - 3 years.

De Bortoli 1985 late bottled vintage port - old-fashioned Aussie style - big in the mouth, some alcohol heat, sweet but not overly so, a bit of that "dead fruit" character ; I find that most older Aus VP's come up better 2, 3 or even 4 days down the track than on opening. This one's great with sharp hard cheeses.

[Max]

Please forgive the copying of my post in another forum, but I've got plenty of writing to get done tonight!!

Opened a few bits and pieces..

Leeuwin Estate Prelude Chardonnay 2004 - big, big style. Long, spicy oak finish. There's lots going on in here and while not particularly food-friendly, this wine is one I thoroughly enjoyed.

Devil's Lair Rose 2005 - capsicum, red berries. Fun drinking but not really my style of rose.

Tollana Viognier 2005 - spicy, musky; more apricot skin flavours rather than pure apricot. Some might find this a little too rich and oily.

Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz 2003 - a blend of black pepper and cinamon nose. Explosion of spiced blackcurrant fruit. Not subtle, but considerable bang for your buck.

Celestial Bay Sem Sav 2005 - very ripe style, musk lollies on nose. Ripe banana fruit on the palate; herbaceous, capsicum finish. Nice first release from this new Margaret River winery.

And because I love you all so much (and that not everyone here lives in the demographic that the Guardian Express is delivered to) here are the reviews that are going into the newspaper on Tuesday... apologies to all those who don't get into the see-through stuff!

Forester Estate Chardonnay 2004
Fresh, zesty aroma filled with scents of lemon and other citrus and tropical fruit. ThereÂ’s a touch of zippy citrus flavour on the palate, balanced by oak-derived flavours of spice and toffee. Elegant yet complex and multi-faceted, this chardonnay is a class act the whole way, right down to the message inscribed in the cork, hailing it as the closure of choice for good wine.
www.foresterestate.com.au $24 4 stars

Sandalford Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2005
The shift in temperature makes wine like this an extremely versatile choice over the warmer months. Whether youÂ’re after a drink to share with friends or something to bring along to Sunday lunch, the combination of lively acid with orange and citrus flavours, punctuated by a very pleasing, lingering finish, is hard to beat. Be the first to introduce this to your buddies.
www.sandalford.com $22.50 3 and a half stars

Seppelt Drumborg Riesling 2005
The nose on this beauty is loaded with floral and fruit notes of orange and cumquat. In contrast to other rieslings on the market, this wine isnÂ’t powered by turbo-charged acidity - instead, its grunt comes from gallons of Energizer Bunny lime and lemon flavour that simply last and last. Very, very serious riesling. My compliments to winemaker Emma Wood and the rest of her team.
www.seppelt.com.au $30 4 stars

Wild Orchid Wines Unwooded Chardonnay 2005
Come spring, wine like this comes into its own. Initially, itÂ’s the lovely mouth feel that makes this wine from Blackwood Valley so appealing, but give it a second and youÂ’ll taste entire orchards of fruit in your mouth. Peaches, apple, a blend of citrus - this is fruit salad in a glass. A couple of glasses of this could well meet your daily fruit intake requirements!
wildorchidwines.mysouthwest.com.au $16 4 stars

Happy drinking all!

cheers
Max

[Red Bigot]

Am forced to drink older Shiraz and current and old Cabernets and just hope the trend fades. From lean under ripe green wines of the ealy 80's to the current opposite trend I yearn for the wines somewhere in the middle.

Chuck, I thought it was th cabernets that were all lean and green in the early 80's? There were plenty of non-green shiraz around in that era.

If you can't find some current vintage good non-Parkerised shiraz around you aren't looking hard enough, there are plenty around, even from SA, but you may be safest looking at Victoria and Western Australia.

Maybe start a new thread to get suggestions from members? In fact I'll do it now...

[monghead]

Hi all,

1996 Leoville Las Casses
Not enough superlatives for this wine. Intense dark purple colour. Cassis and spicy berries on the nose. Mouth-filling flavours still dominated by youthful fruit. Sweet fine tannins, and a persistence verging on a minute. A wine we had no trouble finishing, as it got better and better as the night progressed.

1982 Wynns Cabernet Magnum
A real surprise. Perfect condition, fill still mid neck. Bricking round the edges, but still rich fragrant berry fruit on the nose, with earthy nuances. On the palate, an explosion of sweet currants and cedary oak. Good length, and medium-full bodied. None of the sourness that I had experienced in many an aged Australian cabernet more than 7-10 years.

1985 Wendouree Shiraz
Had on the same night as the wynns, expected this to be better, but as mentioned above, was really surprised by the wynns. The Wendouree was a little tired, and I think on its way downhill. Muted nose, with just tarry oak with coaxing. The palate was similar, with little spicy fruit, leather, and smoky oak.

1977 Graham Port
Lovely, lovely wine. Rich and satisfying. Full, and palate filling. Complex with layers of rancio, currants, raisins, tarry bitumen. Not usually a fan of the sweets, but this was just sensational!!!

Anyways, cheers

Monghead

[n4sir]

Thanks Torb,

Am going to be in SA in a couple of weeks, and will be doing a day trip to Clare Valley, will drop in to the cellar door and give it a try.

Mal

Try looking for this around some of the better local retailers to start with Mal.

Normally I wouldn't try to take away a sale from a CD, but I've seen it up to $15 cheaper here.

Cheers
Ian

[Mal]

Try looking for this around some of the better local retailers to start with Mal.

Normally I wouldn't try to take away a sale from a CD, but I've seen it up to $15 cheaper here.

Cheers
Ian

Thanks Ian, I'm well aware of the mark up at most CD's, I meant just to try it.

Cheers
Mal

[Steve]

Last week was a bit unusual. Here is a thread about muscat and the development of Morris muscat over time.

I figure I might as well post these here, though.

"Classic" style Rutherglen Tokay. Not sure if these names are complete or not.

Chambers Rutherglen Old Vine Muscadelle.

Amber with a green tinge. Slightly syrupy viscosity. On the nose: Orange zest, caramel, cream, rancio characters, volatility, coffee. Intense. In the mouth: Sweet, warm alcohol. Tea, orange, rancio characters, raisins, coffee, slightly nutty. Warm, long, sweet length. Medium bodied.

Morris Classic Tokay.

Slightly darker amber, with a green tinge. On the nose: Apple stew, tea, VA, raisins, orange, olives, caramel. Complex and intense. Mouth: Syrupy, warm apple and raisins with tea, caramel, and ginger. Some burnt rubber. Long, warm length.

Campbell's Liquid Gold.

Golden amber with a green and red tinge. Nose: Alcohol volatility, raisins and tea and fruitcake. Oranges, tea, chocolate. Intense alcohol but low intensity everything else. Mouth: Orange, apricot, lemon, tea, maple syrup, caramel, nuts. Well balanced alcohol. Long, warm, apricot length.

Stanton and Killeen Classic Rutherglen Tokay.

Amber golden with a green and red tinge. Nose: Low intensity raisin, tea, aldehyde, fruitcake. Some alcohol. Mouth: Warm apricot, raisin, tea, spices. Honey. Reasonably complex - bits of coffee and caramel and nuts in there, too. Long length.

Some sherry...

Seppelt DP116 Amontillado.

Light amber with a green tinge. Nose: Rubber, raisins, apples. Spices, caramel. Intense and reasonably complex. Mouth: Warm. Raisins, nuts, yeast, coffee, burnt robber, spices. Intense. Long warm, yeast and nut length. Reasonably complex. Completely dry.

Sanchez Romate Amontillado.

Slightly lighter amber than the DP116, with a slight green tinge. Nose: Aldohyde, sulphur, rubber, raisins, figs, apple, and spices. Mouth: Dry. Nuts, yeast, spice, rancio characters. Slight apple and burnt rubber. Long, very intense yeast-and-apple length. Lighter bodied than the DP116. Apparently this stuff is about 30 years old.

Seppelt Show Oloroso DP35.

Light amber with a slight green tinge (again!)Nose: Rubber, tar, alcohol, raisins, fruitcake, tea, spices. Volatile alcohol. Intense. Mouth: Sweet. Nuts, yeast. Warm. Tea, rancio, complex spices and raisins. Light to medium bodied. Slightly bitter, long length. Apparently 12 years old.

Sanchez Romate Oloroso Don Jose.

Slightly yellow/green, light amber broze.Nose: Rubber, plastic, raisins, tea, wood chavings. Intense. Mouth: VA, apples, tea, raisins. Long, nutty length. Lighter bodied. Slightly bitter. Minimum of 18 years old.

Seppelt Cream DP2000.

Deep, dark amber with a green tinge.Nose: Dates, figs, raisins, rubber. Tea, spices, reasonably complex. Not too intense. Some alcohol. Mouth: Sweet. Raisins, plums, figs, tea, nuts/yeast, fruitcake. Intense and well balanced. Rancio characters. Long, sweet, warm length. Pedro ximenes. No longer available, apparently.

Sanchez Romate Pedro Ximenes Cardinal Cisneros.

Deep black olive with a green tinge. Syrupy viscosity. Nose: Dates, figs, apple stew, fruitcake, tea, spices, nuts. Soy sauce. Alcohol. Intense. Mouth: Mouth coatingly syrupy. Sweet, stewed apple, sultana, spices. Slight nutty and soy characters. Salty, lemons. Dates. Rancio characters. Intense. Honey. Long, sweet, mouth coating, intense length. Full bodied. Minimum of 15 years old.

My notes for some more sherry and some more muscat and the development of tokay are a little incomplete and long, but if there's enough interest I can write them up.

[David]

Three wines stood out last night.

2000 Ashton Hills Pinot Noir had with pan fried Atlantic Salmon steaks skin on with a sauce of finely diced cucumber, honey, sesame oil, light soy, lemon grass and the barest hint of chilli. The wine was rich and mouthfilling. Not a wimpy pinot, with lovely hints of real pine forest floor and fungi. Lovely strawberry flavours and great structure. Adelaide Hills does lovely pinot.

1972 Hardys St Thomas Burgundy with Jindi Brie. In my youth this was one of the great labels. Great to see a 100% McLaren Vale Shiraz of this age looking really good. Lovely structure and real elegance. Would have liked to see more complexity but a lovely wine in its mature form. No new oak flavours just wonderful Shiraz spice and plum pudding.

Orlando R D O'Grady Memorial Port. (God I love living in the Barossa)
From the label, won Golds in 1976 at Adelaide as a 20 year old port. Made from Barossa grown Shiraz and Carignane. Incredible rancio and tight structure. Dry for a tawny and showing firm tannins and good acid lift. Of course would have been better when it was bottled in the mid 70's but a great way to end a dinner party.

[Jordan]

Two stand outs from the weekend - just impressions:

1996 Penfolds Bin 128 Shiraz - very nice wine, becoming fully integrated but with vibrant, prisitne fruit. When tasted blind i thought it was a lot younger the a 1996 and it probably has at least 5 years ahead of it.
Just shows how good value Penfolds wines can be from a good vintage.

2003 Greenock Creek Apricot Block Shiraz - Weighing in at 16.5% this was shiraz on steroids, everything about the wine was big: plumb, chocolate, berrues, oak and alcohol. Intersting wine to try, not sure how it will last in the long run. Probabaly a little unbalanced and spirit for me.