Hi Good Peoples,
It's that time of the week again; you know the drill, please let us all know what you have been drinking over the past week.
Be as detailed or as brief as you would like to be.
Weekly Drink-a-thon reports due
Friday night i attended the 99 Barossa Shiraz-athon at which i tasted a fantastic line up of Barossa 99 Shiraz. Unfortunately i wasnt very well prepared for taking notes and choose to sit back on this occassion and just simply enjoy the wines. Some of the standout wines from the 15 in total tasted included:
Torbreck The Factor
Chris Ringland
Penfolds Grange
Langmeil Freedom
Rockford Basket Press
Torbreck The Factor
Chris Ringland
Penfolds Grange
Langmeil Freedom
Rockford Basket Press
few wines
Hi All
Its been warming up here in Bris Vegas so more beer than wine has been consumed.
However a a couple of standouts are 93 Eileen Hardys very nice a good wine. 01 Mt Mary Pinot good, but that holy grail pinot is still eluding me.
99 Annies Lane Coppertrail. A couple of 02 389s at the Breaky Creek went down well with a rare steak. The wine is still very young but had a stack of fruit. Hope all had a good week or so.
Regards
Peterk
Its been warming up here in Bris Vegas so more beer than wine has been consumed.
However a a couple of standouts are 93 Eileen Hardys very nice a good wine. 01 Mt Mary Pinot good, but that holy grail pinot is still eluding me.
99 Annies Lane Coppertrail. A couple of 02 389s at the Breaky Creek went down well with a rare steak. The wine is still very young but had a stack of fruit. Hope all had a good week or so.
Regards
Peterk
My group of friends got together for an evening of food and wine on Saturday. It was actually an excuse to drink, the usual bi-monthly food, and wine gathering to celebrate each otherÂ’s birthdays.
We had decided on Chinese food this round at a Cantonese style restaurant. It was a little difficult initially to find wine to pair the food with – since the vast majority of our wine collections are reds.
Not going in depth to the menu, we started with Champagne –
Jacquesson The Perfection Rose N.V. – Initially looked upon with skepticism; as most of us had bad tactile experiences with Rose Champagnes. I had bought this at a clearance sale and had no tasting notes to fall back on. Our only experience with ‘acceptable’ Rose Champagnes was the Laurent Perrier Rose N.V. The surprise was that it was a very good Champagne with good depth and mid palate and the taste of rich, creamy fruit!
Castel C Blanc 2000 – This was an Israeli white which I had liked previously. But our bottle was off – we could not decide if it was heat damaged or corked – barely perceptible fruit and bitter aftertaste.
Dog Point SavBlanc 2004 – Oh well – everybody was happy again. Thank goodness for the screw cap. We had always liked the Dog Point but were aghast at paying more than $50/- for a bottle of white (in this part of the world). A very intense and lively wine. Good SavBlanc without overbearing grassiness. We liked it a lot more than the Cloudy Bay SavBlanc 2004 we had last week (about same price point).
Jasper Hill Georgia’s Paddock 1996 – Was debating whether to open it or not as JO gave the drinking window as 2008–2016. OK – we opened it. Not too fantastic as a member of our group (who’s not a wine ‘obsessed’ person) states that it tastes like ‘wine flavoured water’. I would say: drink up now. It will not get any better.
E&E Black Pepper Shiraz 1996 – Bought this five years back in Hobart. Expected a powerhouse wine due to its No.7 rating in the Spectator’s 1999 Annual Review, but it was a very balanced and attractive medium to full-bodied Shiraz - wonderful stuff which went really well with the sliced beef with thin rice noodles in pepper sauce.
Shrivington CabSav 2003 – this is the first Shirvington we have tried and if the 2003 is deemed lightweight; we shudder to think of what it would be like to drink the previous vintages. There is no mistaking this for a Shiraz. Very elemental CabSav which should be drunk on its own; it was very difficult to pair this wine. For what it is – we liked it a lot!
We then had the chocolate birthday cakes with the Burge Family Wilsford Old Sweet White. I guess it was the 10% Pedro Ximinez which paired it very well with the creamy chocolate cakes. The group liked it better than previous OZ Tawnies (which were the usual group faves).
We had decided on Chinese food this round at a Cantonese style restaurant. It was a little difficult initially to find wine to pair the food with – since the vast majority of our wine collections are reds.
Not going in depth to the menu, we started with Champagne –
Jacquesson The Perfection Rose N.V. – Initially looked upon with skepticism; as most of us had bad tactile experiences with Rose Champagnes. I had bought this at a clearance sale and had no tasting notes to fall back on. Our only experience with ‘acceptable’ Rose Champagnes was the Laurent Perrier Rose N.V. The surprise was that it was a very good Champagne with good depth and mid palate and the taste of rich, creamy fruit!
Castel C Blanc 2000 – This was an Israeli white which I had liked previously. But our bottle was off – we could not decide if it was heat damaged or corked – barely perceptible fruit and bitter aftertaste.
Dog Point SavBlanc 2004 – Oh well – everybody was happy again. Thank goodness for the screw cap. We had always liked the Dog Point but were aghast at paying more than $50/- for a bottle of white (in this part of the world). A very intense and lively wine. Good SavBlanc without overbearing grassiness. We liked it a lot more than the Cloudy Bay SavBlanc 2004 we had last week (about same price point).
Jasper Hill Georgia’s Paddock 1996 – Was debating whether to open it or not as JO gave the drinking window as 2008–2016. OK – we opened it. Not too fantastic as a member of our group (who’s not a wine ‘obsessed’ person) states that it tastes like ‘wine flavoured water’. I would say: drink up now. It will not get any better.
E&E Black Pepper Shiraz 1996 – Bought this five years back in Hobart. Expected a powerhouse wine due to its No.7 rating in the Spectator’s 1999 Annual Review, but it was a very balanced and attractive medium to full-bodied Shiraz - wonderful stuff which went really well with the sliced beef with thin rice noodles in pepper sauce.
Shrivington CabSav 2003 – this is the first Shirvington we have tried and if the 2003 is deemed lightweight; we shudder to think of what it would be like to drink the previous vintages. There is no mistaking this for a Shiraz. Very elemental CabSav which should be drunk on its own; it was very difficult to pair this wine. For what it is – we liked it a lot!
We then had the chocolate birthday cakes with the Burge Family Wilsford Old Sweet White. I guess it was the 10% Pedro Ximinez which paired it very well with the creamy chocolate cakes. The group liked it better than previous OZ Tawnies (which were the usual group faves).
Lots of quaffer's this week and with the weather starting to warm up time also to have a few Rieslings. 2002 Hunters Riesling Marlborough Not as good as other years if anything on the way down hill, the same cant be said for 2002 Selaks Riesling Marlborough Regional flavours of lemon and limes and with a lovely touch of sweetness at the end, good value at nz$13 on release.
2003 Jim Barry 'The Cover Drive' Cab/Sav,Clare/Coonawarra, i enjoyed this had a bit of varietal flavour, good use of french oak in balance with the dark fruits and not to sweet for me, friend gave it to me, guess it cost under nz$20
Chap at wine shop told me to try this reckoned it was one of his better value quaffers in the shop 2003 Preece Shiraz fruit from Gouldurn Valley and Strathbogie Ranges, not really me some candy floss notes on it, not offensive and had worse for nz$11.
Don't drink many wines from Hunter Valley but was told i would enjoy this for its bottle aged flavours 1999 Sussex Ridge Cab/Merlot Label from the Hope Estate, Lovely earthy and vanilla nose, plummy, sweaty saddle flavours in the mouth, finishes a touch short. I enjoyed it, goes down very easily. The fella who brings it into NZ reckons he goes over to the Hunter and with the winemaker blends it for the Kiwi market, the Italian restaurant up the road sells 6 cases a week as its house red. nz$12
2004 Ngatarawa 'Silks' Syrah Fruit from Hawkes Bay. Good gear this, pepper spice dark ripe fruit, not to sweet or though i think there could be some American oak in use, good body and length of finish. This is very much in a european style. Good value for nz$19 and one of the better NZ Syrahs at this price. 2003 Domaine D'Andezon Cotes-du- Rhone New world wine making from the south of France, 100% Syrah old vines. Big and rich, lots of dark fruits and chocolate some mint. Not the style i look for from here in fact the Ngatarawa above was more CDR in style and anything i can buy this type of wine from across the ditch in aussie for a couple of $$$ cheaper. nz$26
2003 Jim Barry 'The Cover Drive' Cab/Sav,Clare/Coonawarra, i enjoyed this had a bit of varietal flavour, good use of french oak in balance with the dark fruits and not to sweet for me, friend gave it to me, guess it cost under nz$20
Chap at wine shop told me to try this reckoned it was one of his better value quaffers in the shop 2003 Preece Shiraz fruit from Gouldurn Valley and Strathbogie Ranges, not really me some candy floss notes on it, not offensive and had worse for nz$11.
Don't drink many wines from Hunter Valley but was told i would enjoy this for its bottle aged flavours 1999 Sussex Ridge Cab/Merlot Label from the Hope Estate, Lovely earthy and vanilla nose, plummy, sweaty saddle flavours in the mouth, finishes a touch short. I enjoyed it, goes down very easily. The fella who brings it into NZ reckons he goes over to the Hunter and with the winemaker blends it for the Kiwi market, the Italian restaurant up the road sells 6 cases a week as its house red. nz$12
2004 Ngatarawa 'Silks' Syrah Fruit from Hawkes Bay. Good gear this, pepper spice dark ripe fruit, not to sweet or though i think there could be some American oak in use, good body and length of finish. This is very much in a european style. Good value for nz$19 and one of the better NZ Syrahs at this price. 2003 Domaine D'Andezon Cotes-du- Rhone New world wine making from the south of France, 100% Syrah old vines. Big and rich, lots of dark fruits and chocolate some mint. Not the style i look for from here in fact the Ngatarawa above was more CDR in style and anything i can buy this type of wine from across the ditch in aussie for a couple of $$$ cheaper. nz$26
Hi all,
Fairly quiet week.
Mitchelton 2004 Preece Merlot.
Best Merlot at Adelaide wine show. Quite nice and varietal and at $10.00 a steal. Amazing deal on this and a few other good wines at $10.00 by a local pub. Buy 2 dozen mixed or straight and get a flight from Adelaide to Sydney or Melbourne. That's $240 of good wine at discount prices plus a flight valued around $150.00+. Something's got to give if the small players are going to survive. Cruised thru the local 1st Estate outlet and noticed many good wines still offering 2000 vintage. There must be a lot of wine in storage. Also the 2005 harvest was up about 20%+ on 2004. My concern is winemakers might start cutting corners to reduce costs. Quality might suffer.
Steppingstone 2002 Coonawarra Cabernet.
Always a good quaffer. Still selling this vintage around town so '03, '04 and '05 must be piling up in very large sheds. I hope they are temperature controlled.
Lake Breeze 2002 Bernoota Shiraz/cab.
Good well made wine.
Orlando 2002 JC Reserve Shiraz.
A little on the sweet side (15%) but still a good drop.
Chuck
Fairly quiet week.
Mitchelton 2004 Preece Merlot.
Best Merlot at Adelaide wine show. Quite nice and varietal and at $10.00 a steal. Amazing deal on this and a few other good wines at $10.00 by a local pub. Buy 2 dozen mixed or straight and get a flight from Adelaide to Sydney or Melbourne. That's $240 of good wine at discount prices plus a flight valued around $150.00+. Something's got to give if the small players are going to survive. Cruised thru the local 1st Estate outlet and noticed many good wines still offering 2000 vintage. There must be a lot of wine in storage. Also the 2005 harvest was up about 20%+ on 2004. My concern is winemakers might start cutting corners to reduce costs. Quality might suffer.
Steppingstone 2002 Coonawarra Cabernet.
Always a good quaffer. Still selling this vintage around town so '03, '04 and '05 must be piling up in very large sheds. I hope they are temperature controlled.
Lake Breeze 2002 Bernoota Shiraz/cab.
Good well made wine.
Orlando 2002 JC Reserve Shiraz.
A little on the sweet side (15%) but still a good drop.
Chuck
Your worst game of golf is better than your best day at work
Chapel Hill The Vicar 01
This wine reminds me exactly of Majella The Malleea 2001 that I drank recently. Delightfull nose of berrys and dark cherry. Like the Malleea the nose is so beutifull you think you are in for something special. There are nice flavours on the palate of sweet cherries and milk chocolate but just not enough structure for what I expect out of a Cabernet Shiraz blend. The tannins are just too lean for a Cabernet Shiraz, particually for Coonawarra Cabernet and McLaren Vale Shiraz I would have expected more richness. The oak is pretty good. Would be a good buy at low $20 mark but simply not $40. May hold for another 5-8 years but I cannot see improvement here.
Rated as reccomended with ** for value and no improvement.
I rated the Malleea 2001 as Reccomended with * for value and perhaps minimal improvement.
I rated the Kaesler WOMS 2002 Cab/Shiraz as Excellent with *** for value and deffinate improvement ahead. This is my style Cab/Shiraz...infact my style of wine.
This wine reminds me exactly of Majella The Malleea 2001 that I drank recently. Delightfull nose of berrys and dark cherry. Like the Malleea the nose is so beutifull you think you are in for something special. There are nice flavours on the palate of sweet cherries and milk chocolate but just not enough structure for what I expect out of a Cabernet Shiraz blend. The tannins are just too lean for a Cabernet Shiraz, particually for Coonawarra Cabernet and McLaren Vale Shiraz I would have expected more richness. The oak is pretty good. Would be a good buy at low $20 mark but simply not $40. May hold for another 5-8 years but I cannot see improvement here.
Rated as reccomended with ** for value and no improvement.
I rated the Malleea 2001 as Reccomended with * for value and perhaps minimal improvement.
I rated the Kaesler WOMS 2002 Cab/Shiraz as Excellent with *** for value and deffinate improvement ahead. This is my style Cab/Shiraz...infact my style of wine.
Crozes Hermitage 1996, absolute ripper of a nose but absolutely zip on the palate from the teeth back. The most unusual glass of water I have ever had
Faustino Grand Riserva 1981, simply stunning wine with years ahead of it still, if this wasn't my last one.
Killikanoon Siblings 1999, possibly past it's best but still tons of sweet fruit from the grenache component.
Warabilla Cab Sauv 2003, A fruit bomb of a warm climate cabernet, very similar in flavour profile to a super tuscan Justin brought to our offline (sorry but I can't recall the name)
Warabilla Shiraz 2003, a huge wine but very gluggable.
Warabilla Reserve Durif 2003, Hmmmm, simply stunning durif. Love it.
Torbreck Juveniles 2001, Lovely savoury mataro features strongly on the palate and nose. Drink now.
Royal Takaji 5 Putonys 1995, Sweet apricot/nectarine at the start with a quite dry finish. As it opened up it became more mead like.
McWilliams Liquour Muscat, sensational coffee flavour with huge intesity and very long finish. Went exceedingly well with the Tiramasu
Faustino Grand Riserva 1981, simply stunning wine with years ahead of it still, if this wasn't my last one.
Killikanoon Siblings 1999, possibly past it's best but still tons of sweet fruit from the grenache component.
Warabilla Cab Sauv 2003, A fruit bomb of a warm climate cabernet, very similar in flavour profile to a super tuscan Justin brought to our offline (sorry but I can't recall the name)
Warabilla Shiraz 2003, a huge wine but very gluggable.
Warabilla Reserve Durif 2003, Hmmmm, simply stunning durif. Love it.
Torbreck Juveniles 2001, Lovely savoury mataro features strongly on the palate and nose. Drink now.
Royal Takaji 5 Putonys 1995, Sweet apricot/nectarine at the start with a quite dry finish. As it opened up it became more mead like.
McWilliams Liquour Muscat, sensational coffee flavour with huge intesity and very long finish. Went exceedingly well with the Tiramasu
After a sixty hour stretch with only three hours sleep prior to last night, my impressions could be a little tainted. Final exams, packing, moving house and catching flights back to Oz take their toll.
Had a bottle of Mumm Champagne yesterday afternoon. My first taste of this frog bubbles. Had been saved to share with me, given as a gift for Mother's Day earlier in the year. It's an unoffensive style of wine, slight yeasty nose with a strong, fine bead. Enjoyable on the palate albeit the finish ends with a small dose of sour grapefruit. Okay, but not on my buying sheet.
With dinner there were three reds opened. A 2003 Eppalock Ridge Cab Merlot, which had a lovely varietal nose, decent palate weight and grainy tannins that will knead out in time. The 2000 La Signora from Casa Freschi, able to be obtained on the secondary market for ridiculous prices considering the quality of this wine. The nose is very old world; you could be easily mistaken to pick it as Italian. Structure is impeccable and the finish is long. I'd be happy to drink this every day of the week as house quaffer. Still has a few years left, but it did deteriorate slightly after being open for a few hours. Third wine was the 2004 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier. Nose was nice enough, with the floral lift provided by the viognier and I detected a vegetal character along with some alcohol. To me, the palate was empty, there was nothing on the front or back and nothing satisfying on the middle. Finish ended in a disjointed fashion, with more alcohol. I was really unimpressed with this wine, unable to have a second glass. I realise that it's only just been bottled, and in contrast dad thought it was super stuff, so maybe I was all done for and overtired by that stage. Certainly didn't leave a complimentary impression on me though. Would be interested to hear other people's thoughts on this vintage wine.
Cheers,
Had a bottle of Mumm Champagne yesterday afternoon. My first taste of this frog bubbles. Had been saved to share with me, given as a gift for Mother's Day earlier in the year. It's an unoffensive style of wine, slight yeasty nose with a strong, fine bead. Enjoyable on the palate albeit the finish ends with a small dose of sour grapefruit. Okay, but not on my buying sheet.
With dinner there were three reds opened. A 2003 Eppalock Ridge Cab Merlot, which had a lovely varietal nose, decent palate weight and grainy tannins that will knead out in time. The 2000 La Signora from Casa Freschi, able to be obtained on the secondary market for ridiculous prices considering the quality of this wine. The nose is very old world; you could be easily mistaken to pick it as Italian. Structure is impeccable and the finish is long. I'd be happy to drink this every day of the week as house quaffer. Still has a few years left, but it did deteriorate slightly after being open for a few hours. Third wine was the 2004 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier. Nose was nice enough, with the floral lift provided by the viognier and I detected a vegetal character along with some alcohol. To me, the palate was empty, there was nothing on the front or back and nothing satisfying on the middle. Finish ended in a disjointed fashion, with more alcohol. I was really unimpressed with this wine, unable to have a second glass. I realise that it's only just been bottled, and in contrast dad thought it was super stuff, so maybe I was all done for and overtired by that stage. Certainly didn't leave a complimentary impression on me though. Would be interested to hear other people's thoughts on this vintage wine.
Cheers,
Max
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Avant d’être bon, un vin doit être vrai
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Avant d’être bon, un vin doit être vrai
Max I opened a Screwcap bottle not long after receiving my order and was not very impressed. It was my first Clonakilla experience so I cannot compare to previous vintages but I found alcohol and a bitterness that I wasnt happy with. It became marginally better with time so like you I thought it could be a combination of bottle/travel shock?
Vincent Girardin 2000 Savigny Les Beaune Les Lavieres 1er Cru
Lovely unforced wine from a so-so vintage in the Cote de Beaune. Red berry fruit with modest oak. Not a world beater but everything in its place in a faintly new world style. Wouldn't keep much longer though.
Giacomo Bourgogno 1990 Barolo Riserva
This just shows that Italy make truly unique wines. This had a nose of violets, orange and Thyme. The palate was seriously long with powerful tannins that need very strong food to be contained eg. Venison. My words aren't doing this justice, amazing vino.
Oyster Bay Sauv Blanc
Not a fan of most Sauv Blanc and this one aint going to change my mind. Predictable gooseberry and passionfruit, pass. Also, I struggle with hangovers with a lot of NZ wines even after only half a bottle, is extra sulphur used??
Duboeuf Beaujolais Villages 2004
No world beater here but nice with salmon. Straight down the line Beaujolais. Need to get back to some cru's shortly.
Lovely unforced wine from a so-so vintage in the Cote de Beaune. Red berry fruit with modest oak. Not a world beater but everything in its place in a faintly new world style. Wouldn't keep much longer though.
Giacomo Bourgogno 1990 Barolo Riserva
This just shows that Italy make truly unique wines. This had a nose of violets, orange and Thyme. The palate was seriously long with powerful tannins that need very strong food to be contained eg. Venison. My words aren't doing this justice, amazing vino.
Oyster Bay Sauv Blanc
Not a fan of most Sauv Blanc and this one aint going to change my mind. Predictable gooseberry and passionfruit, pass. Also, I struggle with hangovers with a lot of NZ wines even after only half a bottle, is extra sulphur used??
Duboeuf Beaujolais Villages 2004
No world beater here but nice with salmon. Straight down the line Beaujolais. Need to get back to some cru's shortly.
1982 Coldstream Hills Reserve Chardonnay (magnum): This was showing very well considering its age. Probably past its best, but it was not disappointing.
2000 Jasper Hill Georgia's Paddock Shiraz: I know it's very young, but I've never had a young Heathcote Shiraz I didn't like. True to form this was a big wine both on the nose and the palate. This wine obviously has years of drinking ahead of it, but if you like a big wine don't hesitate cracking one of these. It went particularly well with the Kangaroo in chocolate/chilli sauce. That meal was an experience in itself (at a local French restaurant in the Dandenong Ranges) and we'll be returning. I digress, but the wine and meal were very complimentary.
2000 Jasper Hill Georgia's Paddock Shiraz: I know it's very young, but I've never had a young Heathcote Shiraz I didn't like. True to form this was a big wine both on the nose and the palate. This wine obviously has years of drinking ahead of it, but if you like a big wine don't hesitate cracking one of these. It went particularly well with the Kangaroo in chocolate/chilli sauce. That meal was an experience in itself (at a local French restaurant in the Dandenong Ranges) and we'll be returning. I digress, but the wine and meal were very complimentary.
Ciao,
michaelw
You know it makes sense!
michaelw
You know it makes sense!
2002 Grant Burge Miamba Barossa Shiraz: Glass-hugging inky red/purple with a glowing purple hue. Dark, simmering blackberries with a hint of blueberry dictate the nose, with hints of confectionery, cinnamon/toast, and some coconut way off in the background. The honest, clean, fruit driven palate opens with concentrated blackberry fruit, thick and sweet like syrup, with interwoven black tea/olive tannins and hints of spice and toast on the long finish. At around $12 on release this was one of those fantastic little gems to announce the superb 2002 vintage, and it’s good to see in the good part of two years little has changed. Far superior to the 2003 this could cellar for some time if I can keep my hands off!
Cheers
Ian
Cheers
Ian
Forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone.
TORB wrote:Hi Macau Fan,
Welcome and thanks for a terrific first post.
The last 96 Jaspers I had a couple of years ago was seriously good, so I am not sure about your bottle.
Agree with your comments and the E&E, its a lovely wine.
The rest of Rick Burges new range of sweet wines are pretty good too.
But is he the Real Macau?
Kieran
"In the wine of life, some of us are destined to be cork sniffers." - Dilbert
Pretty boring week, again. Just the usual quaffers, with a few exceptions: 97 Mitchell McNicol Shiraz and 02 Knappstein Muscat, as detailed in this thread.
Tonight involved left over Thai from last night's beer and Thai fuelled adventures... the pefect parter to a 2005 Primo Joseph Pinot Grigio. A nose of peaches, lime, sherbert, flowers, and nectarines... all carrything through to the palate, but there's it's joined by a big whack of acid. Dry, long acidic length, not overly complex, but quite pleasant.
Tonight involved left over Thai from last night's beer and Thai fuelled adventures... the pefect parter to a 2005 Primo Joseph Pinot Grigio. A nose of peaches, lime, sherbert, flowers, and nectarines... all carrything through to the palate, but there's it's joined by a big whack of acid. Dry, long acidic length, not overly complex, but quite pleasant.
Well it was a demanding week at work with a few nights extending past midnight.
At around 9PM one night I was off getting Thai for the team, and I decided to swing by a rather feral looking bottle-o in the western suburbs of Sydney, in the vain hope of finding something drinkable.
And there, next to the Queen Adelaide Merlots and assorted cleanskins were three (count-em: three) bottles of Wirra Wirra RSW 2002.
We drank them in the office that night - but due to total lack of appropriate paraphenalia, this lovely wine was consumed out of plastic glasses after decanting into a porcelain vase. It was still fabulous.
Other good'uns this week included a 98 Wynns Cab Sav (drinking very well), a Brands 97 Cab Merlot (nothing special) and an 03 Dashwood PN.
This is the second time I have found something extremely decent in a grubby bottle-o (the previous was a 97 St Henri in a small country town in Victoria) so I now make a practice of entering every bottle shop.
At around 9PM one night I was off getting Thai for the team, and I decided to swing by a rather feral looking bottle-o in the western suburbs of Sydney, in the vain hope of finding something drinkable.
And there, next to the Queen Adelaide Merlots and assorted cleanskins were three (count-em: three) bottles of Wirra Wirra RSW 2002.
We drank them in the office that night - but due to total lack of appropriate paraphenalia, this lovely wine was consumed out of plastic glasses after decanting into a porcelain vase. It was still fabulous.
Other good'uns this week included a 98 Wynns Cab Sav (drinking very well), a Brands 97 Cab Merlot (nothing special) and an 03 Dashwood PN.
This is the second time I have found something extremely decent in a grubby bottle-o (the previous was a 97 St Henri in a small country town in Victoria) so I now make a practice of entering every bottle shop.
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JamieBahrain
- Posts: 3754
- Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2003 7:40 am
- Location: Fragrant Harbour.
Only one night of wine this week- the rest of the time was Singha beer in Thailand. Consumed a bottle of 02 Seppelt Sparkling shiraz and a Rockford's Black shiraz from not this release, but the one prior.
Both have settled down considerably, the Seppelt's a must at the price for the cellar. The Rockford's was all class: vanilla-cola nose, sweet Barossa shiraz on the palate with some developed nuances of earth and leather poking through.
Both have settled down considerably, the Seppelt's a must at the price for the cellar. The Rockford's was all class: vanilla-cola nose, sweet Barossa shiraz on the palate with some developed nuances of earth and leather poking through.
A slow week recovering from a nasty head cold, but the highlight was the GASC 2005 Awards dinner in Melbourne on Friday night, see my post in the Food and Wine Forum:
http://forum.auswine.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=4172
http://forum.auswine.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=4172
Cheers
Brian
Life's too short to drink white wine and red wine is better for you too! :-)
Brian
Life's too short to drink white wine and red wine is better for you too! :-)
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Andrew Jordan
- Posts: 763
- Joined: Wed May 05, 2004 11:53 am
- Location: Sydney
With the warmer weather upon us, more Sparklers and dare I say it, c-thru wines for us this week.
2004 Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc - didn't get to taste this but the wife reported that it was very nice and wanted to make sure we have a few more bottles in the cellar for summer!
2002 Seppelt Shiraz Original Sparkling - consumed 3 bottles of this over the course of the week. As many have stated here already, well priced sparkler that is even better with a few years of bottle aged on it, if you can keep your hands off it in the mean time.
2002 Orlando Shiraz Gramps - don't remember this wine having this much oak since the last bottle? Ok.
2004 Scarpantoni Shiraz Block 3 - major disappointment. Did not impress at all. Disjointed, all over the place, with a bitter finish. Avoid.
2004 Groom Shiraz - Wine of the week. Decantered for 2 hours prior to tasting. Colour was a very deep purple. Had a wonderful nose ... lots of fruit and spice. Palate was full-bodied with sweet, ripe black fruit flavours with a touch of vanilla and licorice on the finish. However, definitely not a porty/jammy wine, but well balanced and very classy. Reminded me a bit of the 2004 Kalleske which we tasted last week - but with only 13.5% alcohol content, which surprised me at first, not due to any hot finish, but from the style, it appeared to be another one of those monster alcoholic wines. Long, enjoyable finish. Better than the 2002 IMHO. Might need to track down a few more bottles. A VERY nice wine.
2004 Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc - didn't get to taste this but the wife reported that it was very nice and wanted to make sure we have a few more bottles in the cellar for summer!
2002 Seppelt Shiraz Original Sparkling - consumed 3 bottles of this over the course of the week. As many have stated here already, well priced sparkler that is even better with a few years of bottle aged on it, if you can keep your hands off it in the mean time.
2002 Orlando Shiraz Gramps - don't remember this wine having this much oak since the last bottle? Ok.
2004 Scarpantoni Shiraz Block 3 - major disappointment. Did not impress at all. Disjointed, all over the place, with a bitter finish. Avoid.
2004 Groom Shiraz - Wine of the week. Decantered for 2 hours prior to tasting. Colour was a very deep purple. Had a wonderful nose ... lots of fruit and spice. Palate was full-bodied with sweet, ripe black fruit flavours with a touch of vanilla and licorice on the finish. However, definitely not a porty/jammy wine, but well balanced and very classy. Reminded me a bit of the 2004 Kalleske which we tasted last week - but with only 13.5% alcohol content, which surprised me at first, not due to any hot finish, but from the style, it appeared to be another one of those monster alcoholic wines. Long, enjoyable finish. Better than the 2002 IMHO. Might need to track down a few more bottles. A VERY nice wine.
Cheers
AJ
Cabernet is ... and will always be ... KING!
AJ
Cabernet is ... and will always be ... KING!
macau fan wrote:E&E Black Pepper Shiraz 1996 – Bought this five years back in Hobart. Expected a powerhouse wine due to its No.7 rating in the Spectator’s 1999 Annual Review, but it was a very balanced and attractive medium to full-bodied Shiraz - wonderful stuff which went really well with the sliced beef with thin rice noodles in pepper sauce.
I heartily agree with you on your notes with this wine, an excellent wine, fantastic with food, aging very, very nicely at the moment.
Cheers
-Mark Wickman
WICKMAN'S FINE WINE AUCTIONS
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-Mark Wickman
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My self and my wife were taken out to dinner Friday night by a happy customer (thank you again Jim and Jill).
Went to the Grange at the Hilton and I had the 8 course degaustation menu - Fantastic food... thanks for the recommendation RooView, much appreciated
A warning though, don't go there if you are in a hurry, we arrived at 7pm and the last course was served around 12:30am, mind you the time flew and we were still drinking at 2am.
1995 deVenoge Brut Blanc de Blac Champagne
Nice bubbles, fine bead. Nose of biscuit and some grapefruit. A fresh, crisp palate, yeasty with a touch of honey on the finish.
1992 TYRRELL'S Vat 1 Semillon
Lovely nose, good texture and body but starting to dry out a little on the finish
1994 TYRRELL'S Vat 1 Semillon
Lighter body and nose than the 1992.
1990 TYRRELL'S Vat 1 Semillon
Nice texture and flavor's with subtle flavor's of thyme and lemon.
1988 Lindemans Bin 7255 Semillon
Surprising condition actually, I wasn't expecting much but it had a pleasant nose with some pear coming through. The palate was light bodied with asparagus and cedar on the finish.
2002 Cullen Chardonnay
Hmmmm... One of my favorite chardonnays - I actually find this and the LEAS chardy quite well balanced and don't notice the oak as much. Jill couldn't drink it because there was some oak on the palate and she cannot tolerate any at all whilst Jim didn't like it as much because there wasn't the quantity of oak he likes, preferring more oaky chardonnays like Yatarrna - I thought it was interesting and just highlighted peoples different tastes.
To me the wine saw superbly balanced, with the fruit and oak merging to give lovely spicy flavor wrapped around a fruit core, with a luxurious texture making everything in harmony... But thats just me
1992 E&E Sparkling Shiraz
This is another of my favorite's and an underrated vintage. Superb mature flavors with heaps of fruit and tannins and acid enough to keep it for another two or more years.
1986 Penfolds Koonunga Hill
What an excellent wine. This one is superb, almost 20 years old and still going strong.
1990 Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz
Another excellent wine, full of rich barossa chocolate and with heaps of time to evolve still
1991 Grant Burge Meshach Shiraz
Superb wine, full bodied, flavorsome and savory palate with years left in it.
Went to the Grange at the Hilton and I had the 8 course degaustation menu - Fantastic food... thanks for the recommendation RooView, much appreciated
A warning though, don't go there if you are in a hurry, we arrived at 7pm and the last course was served around 12:30am, mind you the time flew and we were still drinking at 2am.
1995 deVenoge Brut Blanc de Blac Champagne
Nice bubbles, fine bead. Nose of biscuit and some grapefruit. A fresh, crisp palate, yeasty with a touch of honey on the finish.
1992 TYRRELL'S Vat 1 Semillon
Lovely nose, good texture and body but starting to dry out a little on the finish
1994 TYRRELL'S Vat 1 Semillon
Lighter body and nose than the 1992.
1990 TYRRELL'S Vat 1 Semillon
Nice texture and flavor's with subtle flavor's of thyme and lemon.
1988 Lindemans Bin 7255 Semillon
Surprising condition actually, I wasn't expecting much but it had a pleasant nose with some pear coming through. The palate was light bodied with asparagus and cedar on the finish.
2002 Cullen Chardonnay
Hmmmm... One of my favorite chardonnays - I actually find this and the LEAS chardy quite well balanced and don't notice the oak as much. Jill couldn't drink it because there was some oak on the palate and she cannot tolerate any at all whilst Jim didn't like it as much because there wasn't the quantity of oak he likes, preferring more oaky chardonnays like Yatarrna - I thought it was interesting and just highlighted peoples different tastes.
To me the wine saw superbly balanced, with the fruit and oak merging to give lovely spicy flavor wrapped around a fruit core, with a luxurious texture making everything in harmony... But thats just me
1992 E&E Sparkling Shiraz
This is another of my favorite's and an underrated vintage. Superb mature flavors with heaps of fruit and tannins and acid enough to keep it for another two or more years.
1986 Penfolds Koonunga Hill
What an excellent wine. This one is superb, almost 20 years old and still going strong.
1990 Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz
Another excellent wine, full of rich barossa chocolate and with heaps of time to evolve still
1991 Grant Burge Meshach Shiraz
Superb wine, full bodied, flavorsome and savory palate with years left in it.
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
Twitter: @WickWine
YouTube: WickWineAuction
-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
Twitter: @WickWine
YouTube: WickWineAuction
1991 Grant Burge Meshach Agree with mark wonderful wine with good fruit sweetness and a long life left. Very drinkable, colour light with bricking.
1996 Penfolds Bin 389 Decanted for two hours prior, volatile nose, alcohol and acid to the front and slightly prune flavoured palate. Big coconut tannins. The wine seemed to be disjointed at present, hoping this rectifys itself.
1996 Penfolds Bin 28 opened this as a comparison of the Pefolds vintage, it too seemed disjointed but not to the same extent. Disappointing at this stage.
2001 Voyager Estate Cab Merlot Stelvin. Gorgeous wine, lovely depth of berry flavours well balanced acids tannins and fruit. Very drinkable now but love to see the end result.
1996 Pol Roger Good wine showing its pedigree a little mustiness aroused some suspicion but non the less a good wine.
Hardy's Arias Tasted with one of the grape growers, (can't recall the vintage) not out of its depth in the above company, a much crisper wine but not quite the refinement, still excellent given the price comparison
1996 Penfolds Bin 389 Decanted for two hours prior, volatile nose, alcohol and acid to the front and slightly prune flavoured palate. Big coconut tannins. The wine seemed to be disjointed at present, hoping this rectifys itself.
1996 Penfolds Bin 28 opened this as a comparison of the Pefolds vintage, it too seemed disjointed but not to the same extent. Disappointing at this stage.
2001 Voyager Estate Cab Merlot Stelvin. Gorgeous wine, lovely depth of berry flavours well balanced acids tannins and fruit. Very drinkable now but love to see the end result.
1996 Pol Roger Good wine showing its pedigree a little mustiness aroused some suspicion but non the less a good wine.
Hardy's Arias Tasted with one of the grape growers, (can't recall the vintage) not out of its depth in the above company, a much crisper wine but not quite the refinement, still excellent given the price comparison
A lot of quaffing stuff as I'm in the process of building up a cellar in NZ which started out to be balanced but now seems to be going about 90% Oz ...
Anyway, just a big (and surprised)
for -
Penfolds Cellar Reserve Grenache 2002
Two bottles at Liquor King in Ponsonby at $30 (nz!) a bottle. Suspected a mis-price, as elsewhere it's $50-55, and snaffled them before they could blink. Back home at the batcave -
Day 1, tight, dark and with excellent length. Enjoyed it but obviously needing time.
Day 2 (drinking as I type) it has opened up gloriously. The length is still there but aroma of cherry, rasberry and hint of licorice or aniseed at the end. Sweet (maybe slightly over-sweet?) fruit but balanced with enough tannin and savoury factors to keep the interest level high on the tongue.
Wish I could get more at the low price. Will keep the other one 2-3 years and try again.
Anyway, just a big (and surprised)
for -
Penfolds Cellar Reserve Grenache 2002
Two bottles at Liquor King in Ponsonby at $30 (nz!) a bottle. Suspected a mis-price, as elsewhere it's $50-55, and snaffled them before they could blink. Back home at the batcave -
Day 1, tight, dark and with excellent length. Enjoyed it but obviously needing time.
Day 2 (drinking as I type) it has opened up gloriously. The length is still there but aroma of cherry, rasberry and hint of licorice or aniseed at the end. Sweet (maybe slightly over-sweet?) fruit but balanced with enough tannin and savoury factors to keep the interest level high on the tongue.
Wish I could get more at the low price. Will keep the other one 2-3 years and try again.
“There are no standards of taste in wine. Each mans own taste is the standard, and a majority vote cannot decide for him or in any slightest degree affect the supremacy of his own standard". Mark Twain.
Mostly quaffers and a couple of dud corks this week 
Had a birthday dinner at a friends place on saturday and took
Warrabilla Reserve Shiraz 2004 didn't take notes but it was very nice, didn't get enough time to breath properly but showed some pretty goods signs dark purple to black and a long layered finish from what I recall. Everyone commented on it at dinner but there wasn't much competion. Will probably have to order a couple more off Smithy before he sells out just to make sure
Glen
Had a birthday dinner at a friends place on saturday and took
Warrabilla Reserve Shiraz 2004 didn't take notes but it was very nice, didn't get enough time to breath properly but showed some pretty goods signs dark purple to black and a long layered finish from what I recall. Everyone commented on it at dinner but there wasn't much competion. Will probably have to order a couple more off Smithy before he sells out just to make sure
Glen
Winner of the inaugural RB cork-count competition
Runner up RB-NTDIR competition
Runner up TORB TN competition
Leave of absence second RB c-c competition
Runner up RB-NTDIR competition
Runner up TORB TN competition
Leave of absence second RB c-c competition
Now't to report, except that (poorly cellared)
1985 Yalumba Galway Hermitage is well into the 'past it' territory - surprised? - volatility taking over the shop, but is relatively drinkable compared to
1970 Morris of Rutherglen Durif which was positively toxic. One sniff is enough. You wanna kill the bird flu virus? Drop it in this...
cheers,
Graeme
1985 Yalumba Galway Hermitage is well into the 'past it' territory - surprised? - volatility taking over the shop, but is relatively drinkable compared to
1970 Morris of Rutherglen Durif which was positively toxic. One sniff is enough. You wanna kill the bird flu virus? Drop it in this...
cheers,
Graeme
Tonight involved an enormous piece of fillet steak and (shared, unfortunately) bottle of 2004 Hentley Farm Barossa Valley Shiraz. It's 14.5% ABV, sealed under a screw cap, and retailed for $35.
Dark, dark, inky purple, almost black. Can't see any floaties, because it's hard to see anything in the wine apart from the incredibly dark colour. The nose is intense and aromatic. Plum, cassis, spices, currants. Some purfume - is there viognier in there? I think that's reserved for "The Beauty" and this one is a straight shiraz. There's also chocolate and vanilla, aniseed, and mint. So... the nose is reasonably complex. Next comes the fun part! In the mouth it's intense, full bodied, and mouth filling. Cassis, plum, currants, liquorice, and vanilla/chocolate oak dominate, and there's a massive whack of gripping tannins that somehow find a way to be as inoffensive as possible while still getting in the way of some of the fruit. There's some typical shiraz spiciness and what I'm convinced is a very slight hint of viognier in there. It's not at all sweet, the alcohol is well balanced, the fruit is quite apparent, there's good complexity, the alcohol isn't offensive, and nor are the tannins... but come back in about ten years and it should be a cracker.
Dark, dark, inky purple, almost black. Can't see any floaties, because it's hard to see anything in the wine apart from the incredibly dark colour. The nose is intense and aromatic. Plum, cassis, spices, currants. Some purfume - is there viognier in there? I think that's reserved for "The Beauty" and this one is a straight shiraz. There's also chocolate and vanilla, aniseed, and mint. So... the nose is reasonably complex. Next comes the fun part! In the mouth it's intense, full bodied, and mouth filling. Cassis, plum, currants, liquorice, and vanilla/chocolate oak dominate, and there's a massive whack of gripping tannins that somehow find a way to be as inoffensive as possible while still getting in the way of some of the fruit. There's some typical shiraz spiciness and what I'm convinced is a very slight hint of viognier in there. It's not at all sweet, the alcohol is well balanced, the fruit is quite apparent, there's good complexity, the alcohol isn't offensive, and nor are the tannins... but come back in about ten years and it should be a cracker.