halliday's latest warrabilla scores are:
parola's LR shiraz 05: 94
reserve durif 05: 94
parola's LR cab 05: 93
reserve shiraz 05: 92
reserve durif 04: 91
reserve cabernet 05: 89
in terms of north-east producers, I notice that Battely is also now ranked as a 5-star producer.
in terms of (slightly) unfashionable regions I notice that Tarrington (Henty region) was awarded these scores:
chardonnay 04: 96
pinot noir 04: 96
de ireys chardonnay 04: 94
artemisia pinot noir 04: 94
de ireys syrah 04: 94
which naturally waltzes it into 5-star ranking status ... not too many wineries will have five wines in their range, with a minimum score of 94.
that said, de bortoli yarra valley has 7 wines scored at 94 or above (which, of course, does not include noble one - this is the yarra valley wines only, including the equal-ranked top pinot, for its 2004 reserve ... it gets 97 points).
wirra wirra has no less than 10 wines with a score of 90 or above.
wolf blass has no less than 10 wines with a score of 92 or above
penfolds has no less than 11 wines with a score of 93 or above (and a massive 17 wines at 90 or above)
saltram has 10 wines at 91 or above (though the 2001 8th Maker "only" gets 91)
hardy's has 10 wines at 92 or above.
d'arenberg has 12 wines scored at 90 or above.
clonakilla has 4 wines at 94 or above, and no wine below 90.
cape mentelle has 10 wines at 90 or above.
by farr has 4 wines rated, all at 94 or higher
brokenwood has a staggering 10 wines at 90 or above, 7 of which are at 94 or higher.
mcwilliam's has 12 wines at 91 or higher.
torbreck has 5 wines at 93 or higher
tyrrell's has 8 wines at 90 or higher, 4 of which are at 95 or higher (including 2 97s).
Paringa estate has 4 wines rated at 96 points, *a whopping 8 wines rated 94 or higher*, and an overall 10 wines rated at 90 or higher. This is an enormous result for a smallish winery.
4 wines, all from south australia, share the Top Shiraz ranking: all at 97 points. These are Wolf Blass platinum 02, the willows bonesetter 02, trevor jones wild witch reserve 02, and wirra wirra chook block 02.
36 shiraz wines were awarded 96 points, plus another 3 shiraz-viogniers.
9 cabernets scored 96 points.
2 chardonnays scored 97 points (by farr 2004, and art series 02).
1 wine scored 98 points (seppelt 100 year old para)
might have to revise your thoughts on non-blind tasting Smithy ... looks like it works well for you
*** I should also point out that while, technically, I'm a professional competitor to James Halliday, I have enormous respect for him. I might not agree with many of his ratings, but as a wine consumer, I have as much fun flicking through his Companion as anyone ... it's a monumental piece of work, and I admire him greatly for it. As always, there is a load of fun to be had in reading the 07 edition, and I'll happily be buying a few copies for some friends. Technically it is released in the first week of August, but I suspect that copies are now rolling out. ***
Campbell.
Heard James Halliday's 07 Wine Companion was released for Wine Oz.
) because it has not been released yet and whilst they don't mind the trade getting their dirty mitts on it (cause it's seen as good publicity) - selling it in advance at the show to the public would get the book retailers pi$$ed off.
