It's Sunday and I DON'T have to work......

[bacchaebabe]

A few wines over the last week or so.

98 Jacobs Creek reserve shiraz
This was the $12 cheapie. Just getting close to the end of the dozen I bought way back when. Still drinking very nicely on the night and proving to be a very good buy. A week later when I got around to finishing the last glass in the bottle, way over the hill and half way up the next one. Drink 'em in one night is the lesson. Credit

Had a lovely dinner at Aria during the week. Danny, unfortunately the passionfruit souffle wasn't on offer but everything else was rather noice. Took the matched wines options and depsite getting through 10 different glasses of wine (no wonder I felt drunk and was seedy the next day!) the real standout was the 04 Voyager Estate Chardonnay Pure class and very refined and elegant. Exactly how I like my chardys. Good fruit, not too buttery and absolutely delicious. I went out and bought some on the weekend on the strength of it. Distinction

98 Greenock Creek Cab Sav I'm still umming and ahing on whether to order any GC this year. On the basis of this bottle, I should be ordering up. Deep red, lovely cassis nose. Lots of purple fruits on the palate. Very fresh, clean and delish with great body. Distinction

04 Yalumba Y series Cab Sav If you ever want to contrast styles with a decent wine and a cheap wine, we certainly did this. My friend brought this along and after the GC it was pretty ordinary. Obviously young but way too sweet and jammy and course tannins. Interesting lesson for my friends as they weren't impressed. Pass

92 sticky I can see the bottle, I can't remember the name. It was a cheapie bought ages ago (obviously) put out by liquorland. Not James Busby but a similar one. Quite a burnt orange in colour and nearing the end of its useful life. Quite drinkable but lacking the zest of it's youth. Nice marmelade and toffee flavours but just lacking a bit of zing. I think I still have a couple of these so need to get on to them really. Nearly a credit.

05? Brown Bros Pinot Grigio Don't know the vintage but it would be current release. Glass of wine served with the Lets do Lunch deal at Otto. They are only doing this deal this month and the food was sublime. If anyone has the chance to get down to Otto (or any of the other restaurants doing the deal and there are heaps) get there and do it. The meal was a pumpkin gnocchi with burnt butter and sage but that description does it no justice at all. With a glass of wine or beer and a coffee, at Otto on a nice day, it's exceptional value. As to the wine, cheery little number with overt pear flavours. Good summer quaffing but I won't rush out and buy it. Happy enough to drink it though. Solid Pass.

[drunkenbum]

I looked at a lot of wines last week, but the standout was a 2000 Mouton Rothschild, awesome wine but slightly marred by a lot of Brett, though besides that, it was an incredibly good wine! God I hate acknowledging overpriced wines, but! still not worth $1200 AUD I believe.

[Shadrach]

An interesting Sunday lunch with the following wines:-
Peter Lehman 2001 Mentor
A little disappointing as it didn't have the depth of fruit flavours I expected considering its pedigree and age.
Orlando 1999 Jacaranda Ridge Cabernet
A wonderful wine with fine tannins coming together beautifully with minty Coonawarra cabernet
St Marys 1998 Cabernet
Rich plummy bouquet carrying through to the palate made this wine very drinkable which was a surpirise considering the last 3 bottles of this exact wine have all been corked.
Elderton 1998 Shiraz
Another rich plummy style with lots of chocolate and spice to carry the 14.5% alchohol
Wynns 1971 Cabernet Hermitage
This 25 year old wine arrived ullaged by more than an inch and I gave it no chance at all but amazingly it drank quite well after some initial oxidative characteristics blew off. Very brown but still showing some good fruit flavour.
Tilbrook 2004 Botrytis Pinot Gris
First botrytis pinot gris and very impressed. Lime marmalade and not at all cloying.

[Wayno]

Tarrington Pinot Noir 2004
Red/purple in colour. Nice, complex nose but full on palate in an immensely sweet, cloying way. Perhaps this could be construed as strawberries and cherries but ultimately far too sweet and intense to appreciate! Tried the next day but still much the same. What a disappointment. I can't help but wonder whether this was a faulty bottle in a way although it seems odd that it would be faulty to the point of over-sweet? If this is not the case then I'm coming back to my other couple of bottles in five years because right now, they're way out of whack. Not for me.

Dog Point Malborough Pinot 03
Textural, meaty pinot with overtones of salami and over similarly savoury characters. A little short but overall a good, confident wine but certainly not velvety.

Punt Road Pinot 2004
Lightweight in comparison. Gentle, smooth drinking but quite simple and almost bordering on a bit confected. Nice enough.

[Finney]

I have visited Eschalot at their new location, although a little over a week ago! Food was super as was the service. Rick, you are almost living there! Not that I blame you!

94 Mount Mary - In a absolute top condition and most enjoyable. Was super with the Duck!

When are we doing Eschalot together with RB? No one else seems interested!

Seppelts 04 Benno - Opened this some 4hrs before hand...Fruit a little closed but nice complexity on the nose, certainly leave the rest alone for a few years before trying another

Seppelts 04 Mt Ida - Higher alcohol level than the Benno but interestingly enough at this point not as complex as the Benno. Still a nice wine but will wait a few years before going for another.

Seppelts 99 St Peters - Last time I tried one of these I wasn't overly impressed compared to the 98's and 00's I have tried. I found this to certainly be an improvement in the hardness stakes on previous bottles and gave me some faith that I should let my other bottles sleep for a few years before trying again.

Classic Mclaren 01 La Testa Shiraz - I was lucky like RB to pick some of these up at Auction at a excellent price. These have excellent weight, fruit and balance. I really like these and will have trouble leaving what I have alone!

Marius 03 Shiraz - Have ordered a few of these from Gavin. I really like these. Although getting up there in the alcohol stakes, everything is kept in check, Alcohol, fruit and oak. Not sure how they will develop but I have enough to find out! Any other opinions?

Torbreck 03 Woodcutters - Did an audit over the last few weeks and finally got the wine and location under control. Found a few of these. Certainly a nice quaffer and most enjoyable now - I wouldn't be waiting!

Seppelt 02 Sparkling Shiraz - Enjoyed with Julie and a steak sandwich whilst sitting in the sun on Sunday. Great value for money.

Regards

Finney (Craig)

[Mark S]

Tarrington Pinot Noir 2004
Red/purple in colour. Nice, complex nose but full on palate in an immensely sweet, cloying way. Perhaps this could be construed as strawberries and cherries but ultimately far too sweet and intense to appreciate! Tried the next day but still much the same. What a disappointment. I can't help but wonder whether this was a faulty bottle in a way although it seems odd that it would be faulty to the point of over-sweet? If this is not the case then I'm coming back to my other couple of bottles in five years because right now, they're way out of whack. Not for me

Hi Wayno - most odd- I've tried this one and many other Tarringtons to date, and "immensely sweet" would be the last descriptor I'd ever use of any of their wines; the makers are fanatics, very traditional - I do agree that the wines aren't at their best in the first year or three, time really helps them develop into something special; God knows what the fault is, but your bottle has to be faulty!

And Wayno, mate, someone's got to tell you - you're not looking too good, buddy - ya gotta try and get more sleep, cut back on the decadent lifestyle, think about your future and your family! I looked like that once, but now people can see my eyes again, my hair's back and my teeth are fixed.

[Wayno]

Yeah, definitely something amiss with the bottle... Most unusual, I may contact them if I can work out an email to see what this is all about. The bottle was tried by a couple others and all agreed that it was way out of leftfield.

I'll work on sharpening myself up by the way.... Too much of the good stuff.

[Michael McNally]

Marius 03 Shiraz - Have ordered a few of these from Gavin. I really like these. Although getting up there in the alcohol stakes, everything is kept in check, Alcohol, fruit and oak. Not sure how they will develop but I have enough to find out! Any other opinions?

Finney

In my (extremely humble) opinion, the Marius is a great wine. Yes, the alcohol is there, and yes it is balanced by fruit and oak. It is also a big, long wine, but it is the complexity that wins me. I almost always get a different spice from amongst the mix on the nose, and there is something "black" on the palate that I can never exactly pin down. Sometimes I think it is charcoal, tar, roast coffee. Other times I think it is liquorice, aniseed, chicory.

This complexity means that the wine focuses my attention every time I take a sip (and the bottle is never half-full at the end of the evening ). I like a wine that makes you think about it while you drink it.

Michael

[Michael McNally]

PS. I think it will peak around 2008 and kick on for another 3-5 years after that.

[Gary W]

Tarrington Pinot Noir 2004
Red/purple in colour. Nice, complex nose but full on palate in an immensely sweet, cloying way. Perhaps this could be construed as strawberries and cherries but ultimately far too sweet and intense to appreciate! Tried the next day but still much the same. What a disappointment. I can't help but wonder whether this was a faulty bottle in a way although it seems odd that it would be faulty to the point of over-sweet? If this is not the case then I'm coming back to my other couple of bottles in five years because right now, they're way out of whack. Not for me.

I like the wine but I remember it like this too. Very sweet intense red fruit. Has anyone tried their $120 2004 Syrah ?
GW

[bacchaebabe]

An interesting Sunday lunch with the following wines:-
Wynns 1971 Cabernet Hermitage
This 25 year old wine arrived ullaged by more than an inch and I gave it no chance at all but amazingly it drank quite well after some initial oxidative characteristics blew off. Very brown but still showing some good fruit flavour.

Interesting this one. I got an old wooden box off my dad a while ago with the Wynns logo stamped on it and this wine and the 69 and maybe a couple of other 70's. Might have been one bottle of shiraz in there. I know there was four old bottles in it and I think it was this one that I drank, thinking the 71 might be the best year. My memory was that it was old but drinkable. Certainly the fruit had faded but it was far from vinegar. I'll have to drink the rest although they make a nice curio.

[Wayno]

I like the wine but I remember it like this too. Very sweet intense red fruit. Has anyone tried their $120 2004 Syrah ?
GW

Well my bottle was intense to the point of bitterly cloying and that just isn't right. CM's Winefront write up talks about it not being much in the way of obvious fruit and describes a whole bunch of things that I was WAY off detecting. Other write ups have been similar in their assessment. The wine I tasted was not by any means a 95 point special. It's been cellared well for about four months (since I bought it).

Not sure if there is such a fault, is there? - hardly oxidisation either.

I have sent an email to Tarrington to investigate further. Curious to hear what they have to say.

In the meantime, I might try and just get over it

[possum]

Just returned from visiting Canberra and a couple of notable drops to report;

Wolf Blass Black Label 1993.
Nice wine with all the bits in the right places for a cab sav/shiraz blend . Drinking well but lacks the intensity for a $90 wine when released. Well overpriced me thinks.

Normans Chais Clarendon Cab Sav 1996
A bit of a disappointment as I purchased a six pack on the recommendation of the Canberra Times wine writer of the time!. Lacked any real varietal characteristics, pleasant dry red. They were flogging off the 2003 Cab Sav for under $20s recently which is probably about its true value!

Turkey Flat Rose' 2005
Drunk on a hot Canbera night and well appreciated . Good length and intensity . A step up from most of the other Rose' I have tried recently. Highly recommended.

I noted a post about the 2004 Chalambar being drunk as the "house red'.
This is a seriously good Victorian shiraz($21 at Dans in the ACT) and needs atleast 10years in a cool cellar to show its best!. The Manager at First Choice told me that the 2004 was worth the extra $7 bucks over the 2003 which was displayed along side. A real bargain at $21 along with the Mamre Brook 2004 Cab Sav at $16.60. I have carted back my bag limit to Tassie of these two beauties.

Possum
Hobart

[n4sir]

2002 Grant Burge Miamba Barossa Shiraz: Dark to inky ruby red with a hint of purple. Gorgeous blackberry/blueberry/cherry fruit on the nose with some underlying chocolate and spicy oak. Likewise the mid-weight palate is all about the sweet blackberry/cherry fruit: while there’s a thin vein of black olive and fine tannins ensuring a very fine finish, it’s hard to ignore that incredible kick of sweet fruit mid-palate. While I’ve mentioned some over-achievers this year, this bargain from two years ago is still looking very smart.

Cheers,
Ian

I got to try this wine at Easter 2004 in the Barossa. My local rep had set up a visit for me and when I asked about tasting the 2002 Filsell & Miamba was advised they were not tasting these wines yet. No sooner said than someone came into the tasting room with a bottle of each for us to try.

The Miamba was one of the wines of the week we were in the Barossa.

I bought a case of the Miamba when released but was disappointed with the bottle variation in the carton. I did buy more and still found variation.

Still, the good ones were great.

Graham

Yeah there's still a fair bit of variation, and I think if you ask someone at Grant Burge they'll point directly at the corks.

The bottle variation of the 2002 Balthazar was pretty extreme and former sales rep' Mark Conroy agreed, saying the terrible variation in corks was to blame. I'd expect it's exactly the same case for the same vintage of their lower bracket wine.

Cheers,
Ian

[Broughy]

2001 Seppelt Chalambar This has developed nicely, nose exhibts dark stone fruits and iodine. Palate is nicely balanced with well integrated tannins, mouth filling. Excellent value for money and has some way to go yet.
2000 Cape Mentelle Cabernet Had this a couple of days ago opened poorly on the night, subdued nose but some red current. Palate was very thin and weedy. Think there may have been a slight oxidation issue with this, the cork looked to be in excellent condition however. Over all just didnt impress.
2000 Leasingham Bin 61 Shiraz Needed some time to come around in the glass, again I think there may have been a problem with this bottle. Palate was good blackberry richness. Following on from a number of other posts on this wine, would have to say drink up.

[pookie]

[quote="DJ"][b]1998 Peterson Cab Sauv[/b]
This was a rare Hunter Cab Sauv buy for me - often horrible young and just taste like an old Hunter Shiraz when old. This was interesting and tasting when young now Oh my God what boring boring wine. Nothing obviously wrong just no interest half bottle first night second night couldn't be bothered beyond a glass (and that's between 2). One more left hopefully it will be more interesting.
[/quote]

Obviously you got one that aged too quick or something because this drop MADE my wedding. Maybe you let it cook in a hot car. Did you think to contact the vineyard or just make slander?

[Red Bigot]

1998 Peterson Cab Sauv
This was a rare Hunter Cab Sauv buy for me - often horrible young and just taste like an old Hunter Shiraz when old. This was interesting and tasting when young now Oh my God what boring boring wine. Nothing obviously wrong just no interest half bottle first night second night couldn't be bothered beyond a glass (and that's between 2). One more left hopefully it will be more interesting.

Obviously you got one that aged too quick or something because this drop MADE my wedding. Maybe you let it cook in a hot car. Did you think to contact the vineyard or just make slander?

How long ago was your wedding, pookie? Surely there was something more exciting than a mid-priced wine happening at the wedding?

Slander? Contact the vineyard? What's wrong with someone just not liking a particular bottle of wine that's 8-9 yo?