Its Sunday good peoples.....

[TORB]

Time for your weekly drinking reports. TN's vibes or lists welcome. (My liver has been having a break and getting AFD's credits in the bank. )

[Craig(NZ)]

Back from 3 days tasting in the Hawkes Bay. Some good stuff including the new Te Mata Estate releases of Coleraine, Awatea and Elston.

A few good wines surfaced at Craggy Range, Unison, Clearview and Brookfileds too.

Who is going to the 25 year vertical of Coleraine next March?? Hawkes Bay event only. No other venues. Pencil it in kiwi readers!! Plan a summer long weekend!!

[davidg]

After finishing the remains of a rather mediocre wine, I asked my partner to pull out a quaffer from the little wine fridge we use to store things that have been pulled out of storage for consumption at some point in the near future...

A few minutes later a sheepish response comes back... err... I think I opened one that you had planned to open for that dinner party next week.

Yup. She was right...

Paringa Estate Reserve Pinot Noir 2003 (Mornington Peninsula)
Brilliant ruby red in colour, Gorgious rich cherry nose, soft, slightly velvety tannins with a delicate undercurrent of spice and a long long finish that made you go wow with each sip.

In a way I am glad we opened it when we did. Two less people to share the bottle with.

[Deano]

2006 Rockford Black Shiraz - absolutely fantastic, loved this sparkling.
2005 Noon Eclipse - very good on day 1, incredible on day 2, loved this blend.

[Jordan]

Besides trying the current Rockford's reds on Saturday I also popped into Charles Melton and tried:

2004 Charles Melton Shiraz: plummy with raspberry, blackberry and vanilla. Full bodied, ripe Barossa Shiraz. Good but I usually find CM Shiraz a little more savoury and better for it too.

2004 Charles Melton Nine Popes: spicy, meaty, red licorice and plums. A good wine with ripeness and balance. Should be better with time. Maybe a little expensive at $45 though.

Also, to finish a Barossa oriented weekend:

1999 Jacobs Creek Centenary Shiraz: i like his wine a lot and i think it reflects the best attributes of the 1999 Barossa vintage. Great combination of plummy, dark berried fruit, soft tannin and well-judged sweet oak.

[DJ]

1998 Richmond Grove Watervale Riesling
Almost all the CO2 from bottling still disolved in this first batch of modern screwcaps. nice secondary development firm acid will be interestng to see how it develops.

2002 Peter Lehmann Cab Sav
I wonder if this has gone in to a quiet phase - bit flat day one but had opened up day 2 for a rich balanced still fairly new

1999 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz
Good but how good? Does have the fabulous mouth weight or purity of fruit of the 96. Hard to tell whether quiet phase or won't get any better

2006 Rockford Alicante Bouche
A really good rose went well with BBQ chicken kebabs

1996 Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna
Well having tried the new line up thought I'd try an older one. Very pleasant drop. Not terribly complicated but balanced with decent length - if the 04 is like that in 8 years I'll be happy.

Penfolds new releases @ store tasting
Riesling - ok but balance questionable - not at that price
Chardonnay - another boring chardonnay - so much chardonnay arround this is not worth $30

05 Bin 138 - palate lacking in weight
04 Bin 28 - classic 28 - bought 6
04 Bin 128 - best one in years, considered buying but didn't grab me that much
04 Bin 407 - lacking length and balance put better half off getting more Cabernet in the cellar
04 Bin 389 - well made commercial wine but not a 389. Lacks the briary tar like tannins. If the 05 is like it I'd buy as a birth year wine for my daughter but not what I was expecting.

[Chuck]

Much as I dislike the house an aged Rosemount Show Reserve Cabernet is worth a look. From an auction it was in good condition. Fruit from Coonawarra the '97 model was a little disappointing but a reflection of a below average vintage. It took a few hours to show its true attributes with all those flavours of an aged wine I love slowly developing. But it never reach any great heights. Probably was better a few years ago. I'm looking forward to the '99 and '00 versions.

Otherwise enjoying some great cleanskin including one from Gavin that disappeared in the cellar for a number of years. Thanks Gav. Must reorganise the mess of bottles and boxes. One day...

Chuck

[Sean]

deleted

[Gary W]

Just in the interest of balance for all the Penfolds bashers.....drinking the 138 now. Don't think it lacks weight.


Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2004

Aromas of berry, plum, licorice, peppercorn, meat, mint and spicy cedar vanilla oak. On the palate full bodied and very intense with flavours of berry, licorice, tobacco, mint and vanilla oak. The tannins are firm and grainy; authoritative, confident and sitting very comfortably within the wine. Tannins you can trust. Finishes dry and savoury with excellent length of flavour. A vintage that hoists the flag back to full mast for the archetypal Australian blend.
Rated : 95 Points
Tasted : Mar07
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : $45
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2014 - 2030


Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2004
Aromas of blackberry, raspberry, plum, chocolate, meat and light pencilly vanilla oak. Fairly charry on opening. On the palate rich and slightly cakey with blackberry, plum, chocolate and meaty spicy vanilla oak. No shortage of flavour. It feels soft and supple but the luxurious quality of the fruit masks plenty of ripe dry chewy tannins. Finishes with chocolate and plum flavours. An very good but perhaps not great Kalimna.
Rated : 92 Points
Tasted : Mar07
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : $27
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2007 - 2018+

Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Full red purple. Aromas of blackcurrant pastille, licorice, tobacco, dried herbs, mint and delicate spicy cedar vanilla oak. On the palate medium to full bodied with blackcurrant, tobacco, star anise, coffee and some gamey earthy flavours. Tight and compact with firm fine grained tannins and clean fresh acidity. Finishes dry and long with blackcurrant and tobacco flavours. A brilliant wine, one for the long haul, and one I am most certainly going to purchase for the cellar.
Rated : 94+ Points
Tasted : Mar07
Alcohol : 14%
Price : $35
Drink : 2010 - 2024

Penfolds Bin 311 Chardonnay 2006

Aromas of honeydew melon, lemon and almond meal with dusty cinnamon and vanilla flecked oak. It also shows some lavender like perfume and a little matchsticky barrel ferment complexity. On the palate fine and tight with flavours of lemon rind, grapefruit, melon, vanilla spice and attractive slightly dirty earthy flavours. Flinty and bone dry finishing with a mouthful of pebbles, citrus and ginger spice. Beautiful wine.
Rated : 93 Points
Tasted : Mar07
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : $40
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2007 - 2012

[Ian S]

Back from 3 days tasting in the Hawkes Bay. Some good stuff including the new Te Mata Estate releases of Coleraine, Awatea and Elston.

A few good wines surfaced at Craggy Range, Unison, Clearview and Brookfileds too.

Who is going to the 25 year vertical of Coleraine next March?? Hawkes Bay event only. No other venues. Pencil it in kiwi readers!! Plan a summer long weekend!!

Craig
Interested in your views on the three Te Mata's (Is it the 05 Elston, or onto the 06?). IIRC you were pretty impressed by the 05 Elston.
ta
Ian

This weekend, (spookily) opened a 1998 Te Mata Awatea, which I probably had too high expectations for. Tobacco is still strong on the nose, but had hoped for more tertiary aromas coming through. I figure I'll hold the remaining couple of bottles for ~ 2-4 years, but not sure quite whether this is in a transitional state or is as good as it gets. Harsh I suppose, as it's a good wine, but expectations tend to raise the bar.

[Ian S]

Interesting to see the differing views on the Pennies...

[Craig(NZ)]

Craig
Interested in your views on the three Te Mata's (Is it the 05 Elston, or onto the 06?). IIRC you were pretty impressed by the 05 Elston.
ta
Ian

This weekend, (spookily) opened a 1998 Te Mata Awatea, which I probably had too high expectations for. Tobacco is still strong on the nose, but had hoped for more tertiary aromas coming through. I figure I'll hold the remaining couple of bottles for ~ 2-4 years, but not sure quite whether this is in a transitional state or is as good as it gets. Harsh I suppose, as it's a good wine, but expectations tend to raise the bar.

I was a bit disappointed in the last 98 awatea i had. the coleraine is streets ahead. Hoping it comes round as I have quite a few of them...they were gorgeous on release.

Tried 05 awatea, 05 coleraine, 06 elston along with piles of other wines. notes on my website but will post them here as well,

Yes I loved the 05 elston, the 06 is maybe not quite as good as that but still a great value top nz chardy with a proven track record. bought a couple

[SueNZ]

Back from 3 days tasting in the Hawkes Bay. Some good stuff including the new Te Mata Estate releases of Coleraine, Awatea and Elston.

A few good wines surfaced at Craggy Range, Unison, Clearview and Brookfileds too.

Who is going to the 25 year vertical of Coleraine next March?? Hawkes Bay event only. No other venues. Pencil it in kiwi readers!! Plan a summer long weekend!!

What's with the scoring Craig - some wines out of 105 and some out of 109? And what about decimal places? Have you done away with them?

[SueNZ]

Time for your weekly drinking reports. TN's vibes or lists welcome. (My liver has been having a break and getting AFD's credits in the bank. )

I had a gorgeous Penfolds Bin 389 Cab/Shiraz 1996 vintage on Friday night. Yum, yum, yum. Years of life ahead in this wine.
It put a couple 'older releases', i.e. Bin 128 1997 (not likely to improve) and Bin 389 1995 (very nice, but poured from a magnum), tasted at a Penfolds function last Thursday, a little to shame on cellaring performance.

[Craig(NZ)]

proof reading comes second to getting the content up sue. i typed it up in the car on the lap top on the way back up (no i wasnt driving as well). no doubt I will re write many shockingly constructed sentances, correct spelling, grammer etc over the next few days

should be out of 109 - fixed that now. will be many revisions over the next few days!

[Sean]

deleted

[Sean]

deleted

[Adair]

2004 Petaluma Croser: I have not been a fan of Croser for a number of years but this vintage is different. Maintains the elegance and control of the past but this vintage's body is exciting with excellent winemaking contributing superb complexity and mouthfeel. I need to buy another bottle to sample in a more controlled environment, rather than as my after match celebration! 17.7/20, 92/100.

2003 Dopff au Moulin Grand Cru Sporen Gewurztraminer - 13.5% - Alsace: The most sumptuous and flavoursome white wine that I have still been able to enjoy - as opposed to the numerous similar proportioned Gewurztraminer and Viognier than have not been balanced enough for a second sip. A product of the warm vintage, this wine somehow manages to remain controlled despite the massive sweet lychee, rose water and mango-like flavours. Very complex. Acid must be great; superbly integrated and unnoticeable. Alcohol is no issue although maybe contributing a little to the smooth, glycerine mouthfeel. Length is not special but good enough. Probably not going to get any better but it does not need to. 17.7/20, 92/100.

2000 Rockford Cabernet Sauvignon - 13%: Medium bodied. Complex and spicy. Drinking well. The 2000 Basket Press Shiraz and Cabernet are both impeccably balanced with elegance in abundance. 17.5/20, 91/100.

2001 Rockford Rifle Range Cabernet Sauvignon - 14%: The wonderful supple tannic mouthfeel that I prized so much in this wine has subsided and intense spicy, liquorice like flavours have come to the fore with typical ripe, Barossa characters. Enjoyable but didn't get me excited about the fact I have another 5 or 6 in half-bottles. 17/20, 90/100.

Thanks for the notes on the Penfolds, Sean and Gary.

Kind regards,
Adair

[Gary W]

The only cork samples were 04 128 and 04 389. The press release that came with them quotes - 'Bin 28 and 407 are under screwcap for the first time,' . I wonder what is going on. I'll buy 3 of the 407 and 3 of the 389. The 407 only looked great after being open for a day (screwcap). I think it is as good as the 1996 so if you like that style (I do) I'd recommend it.

I can understand see why people think the 311 is boring though..
GW

[roughred]

Went through the Pennies range on Saturday and must profess to being a little underwhelmed.

I thought the Tumbarumba Chardonnay was excellent, svelte and racy with appelaing minerality and great length. Similarly I found the 128 as reported, perfumed, medium weighted plummy fruits, appealing chewy tannins and beautifully balanced. The rest of the reds disappointed. Knocking the Bin 389 seems almost un-Australian but I found it well integrated up front, and increasingly dry and coarse toward the back - a bit jumbled. No doubt time will prove me wrong, but no joy for me at this stage.

Much better was the 2004 Lake Breeze Bernoota. This was plump and fleshy, but not bursting at the seems, a great core of rich fruit balanced with some savoury intrigue around the edges. An entertaining wine and great value.

LL

[SueNZ]

It's that time of the year again (March already) and I too tried the new Penfolds bins, telling myself to keep an open mind and just judge what's in the glass. I think I did that, though it's impossible really not to think about them in context of the history and past performance of each bin. .

We don't get the 311 in NZ. Liked the Bin 51 riesling, though.
389 was my favourite of the release.
They've cut back on new American oak on the Bin 28, I used to be able to high on the aromas - a big inhale - a big sigh of satisfaction. Can't do that now.
Big discounting going on here too.

[simm]

Te Kairanga Martinborough Pinot Noir 2004 – Light but clear red with clay tones. Dry sour cherry, rare roast lamb, and damp hay fields on the nose. Light to mid weight palate of dry herbal nature and dusty, almost sandy tannins. After a day it gains some delicate wild rose. 89/100 $22

Hungerford Hill Tumbarrumba Pinot Noir 2004 – Well that’s what you get for not making up your own mind and relying on a suggestion from someone else. It was hot, I had run out of time. I poured a glass looked at it through what seemd to be pretty dark for a Pinot and took a snort. Okay so maybe I should let it warm a bit then. Nup, it just wouldn’t move on from not being anything but halfway between a Pinot and something else, not even a shiraz. The nose has a vanilla essence about it. I’m having trouble getting it so I look to the back label and it reads grapes of outstanding quality, which is a shame. It’s clumsy and plummy and black cherried with stale spice and subtle oak. The back label also says nutty oak, well that’s certainly true. 30% 1yr old French oak could have been a good idea, but not today. 84/100 $23

Heartland Langhorne Creek Limestone Coast Cabernet 2005 – Everything I’ve tasted from big Ben comes out of an uncompromising mold and this Cabernet runs proudly with the Glaetzer pack but manages to remain a Cabernet. Dark and dense in the glass, it whoops it up with blackcurrant, boysenberry, gestetner ink, a claw of eucalypt, a throw of dry soil and something volatile lurking in the den. The richly textured palate of chocolate bullets, cassis and black mulberry is carried on a rising spirituous wave that washes with gum leaf just before the end. 88/100 I think it was about $24

Geoff Merrill Reserve Cabernet 2001 – Crimson and lustrous. There is McLaren Vale and Coonawarra fruit in 24 mths of American and French oak (respectively I would imagine) and in my opinion could have done with a little less but the rich fruit holds it well, making a heady mix of vanilla, milk chocolate, blueberry, black-currant, plum and cedar on a lush, velvet palate that has a good ripe tannin extension. It is, in it's style, not a bad drop.91/100 $32

And a bottle of Port Philip Estate Pinot Noir 2005 - Couldn't finish it. Hot, lacking real varietal nature and very disapointing. Not quite as powerful as the 04 (which I didn't like either) but with the same abv and roughness, and not a smidge on the 03 pinosity(which I still enjoy very much). 83/100

[griff]

May as well post my brief impression of the Penfolds release

51 Riesling: typical 2006 vintage. Reasonable but was dilute.

Cellar reserve Adelaide Hills SB 06: Fantastic nose but again a dilute palate (I feel most Adelaide hills SBs suffer this problem. Stick to making Reds )

311 chardonnay: Was impressed with this one. New world but complex with some smokey, struck match character. Good palate weight. Long finish

138: Was under screwcap but there was some bottle variation! First bottle was excellent with ripe dark flavours and you were thinking old vine material in this one. The second was slightly lighter on the palate and grenache dominant slightly jubey. Still good though

128 2004: Good wine, long finish. Not quite my style perhaps. I want to taste this again before I comment on it further.

128 2005: what? This is WAY too young to release. Lighter than the 04 and tasting quite raw. I can't work out why they released this one.

28: I think this is a good one. Integrated oak and plush. This is a wine to drink on a chesterfield. Only thing is that I don't remember the 1996 being this approachable on release. Slots into the 28 style with a bullet.

407: I liked this one. Smells like a coonawarra on the nose but on the palate it is a lot larger. Finishing slightly shorter than I would like but I suspect that this will change over time.

389: Well this is where I have to hide as although I like this wine, I found the alcohol sticking out of this one on the palate and finishing slightly hot. It is 3 years out from vintage and I would of thought it would have integrated by now but I hope I'm wrong as the fruit is great. Checked the back and it is 14.5%. Hmmmm.....

Thats all.

cheers

Carl

[GRB]

Haven't tried the whole range but grabbed this on Friday for a taste

Penfolds Bin 28 2004
Nice wine well balanced and reasonable value at the going rate.

Viking Odin's Honor Shiraz/Cab 2002
Tight as at the moment took a couple of hours in the decanter to start to reveal what it has to offer and that is pretty good. Nice depth of fruit and seem to have the goods to go quite a few more years. I will be leaving it sleep for a while.

Wirra Wirra Grenache 2003
Sweet fruit with some lovely spices keeping it in check pleasant drinking. Lucky here as the cork was leaking quite badly and I expected the worst.

Glen

[Croquet King]

I also tried the new penfolds on the weekend.
My pick were the 2004 128 and the 2004 28 and bought some of each. Wasn't a fan of the 389 and a departure from its normal style. As with other posters - why have they released the 2005 128. (is this the accountants speaking here).
They also had the 03 (I think) RWT and Magill for tasting. The Magill was a cracker.
Anyway along with the penfolds I tasted the 2003 John Riddoch, 2003 Michael, 1997 Michael, Devils Lair Cab mer 2002 and 2003, Seppelts St Peters 2004, Benno 2004 and the wine of the tasting the 2002 Saltram No 1. At about $45, I thought this was great value.

[bacchaebabe]

Yellowglen Bella NV Bought this as a starter for a big dinner with 11 friends. Bit of a mistake. A Rose bubbly style but very sweet. Reminded me a bit of Passion Pop but obviously not quite that sweet. Drinkable but no real refinement. One for your girly girls. Pass

96 Wynns Black Label Cab Sav Lovely stuff and really hitting its straps right now. Dark red colour and a real joy to drink. Distinction

98 Maxwell Reserve Shiraz Again a very nice wine. A bit of licorice and a bit foresty too. Opened up even more in the glass. Drinking well now. Credit.

NV Billicart Salmon I really like this champagne. Biscuit, honey and yeast. Very refined. Distinction.

NV Mumm Another lovely champagne but not quite the quality of the Billicart. A bit of a dryer style and to my tastes, not quite as refined. Credit.

Then over the Mardi Gras weekend and all the recoveries (why on earth do they call them recoveries???), a million beers, gallons of water and some dodgey spirits.

[n4sir]

I tried a selection from Winter Creek and Battle of Bosworth on Saturday.

The 2004 Winter Creek Shiraz and Grenache Shiraz are coming along very nicely, and have fleshed out really well in the last six months. The 2005 Vintage Port is a stunner too, just as good as the sample of the 2006 we tried at T-Chow last month.

I wasn't as impressed with the 2005 Battle of Bosworth Shiraz - it's labelled as 14.5% alc (compared to 15.0% for the Shiraz Viognier) but actually seemed porty and hotter. The 2005 Cabernet and Rose (also a straight Cabernet) were a pleasant surprise though.

Cheers,
Ian

[Davo]

Besides trying the current Rockford's reds on Saturday I also popped into Charles Melton and tried:

2004 Charles Melton Shiraz: plummy with raspberry, blackberry and vanilla. Full bodied, ripe Barossa Shiraz. Good but I usually find CM Shiraz a little more savoury and better for it too.

2004 Charles Melton Nine Popes: spicy, meaty, red licorice and plums. A good wine with ripeness and balance. Should be better with time. Maybe a little expensive at $45 though.

Also, to finish a Barossa oriented weekend:

1999 Jacobs Creek Centenary Shiraz: i like his wine a lot and i think it reflects the best attributes of the 1999 Barossa vintage. Great combination of plummy, dark berried fruit, soft tannin and well-judged sweet oak.

Missed you by a day. We were at Rockfords Friday arvo, Melton on Saturday arvo.

I found the Nine Popes to be way too sweet for me, with the grenache lolly water poking its head up too high above some very nice spicy mataro lurking below. Unfortunately too far below. Definitely much better value GSMs around the Valley.

[Davo]

Just in the interest of balance for all the Penfolds bashers.....drinking the 138 now. Don't think it lacks weight.


Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2004

Aromas of berry, plum, licorice, peppercorn, meat, mint and spicy cedar vanilla oak. On the palate full bodied and very intense with flavours of berry, licorice, tobacco, mint and vanilla oak. The tannins are firm and grainy; authoritative, confident and sitting very comfortably within the wine. Tannins you can trust. Finishes dry and savoury with excellent length of flavour. A vintage that hoists the flag back to full mast for the archetypal Australian blend.
Rated : 95 Points
Tasted : Mar07
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : $45
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2014 - 2030


Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2004
Aromas of blackberry, raspberry, plum, chocolate, meat and light pencilly vanilla oak. Fairly charry on opening. On the palate rich and slightly cakey with blackberry, plum, chocolate and meaty spicy vanilla oak. No shortage of flavour. It feels soft and supple but the luxurious quality of the fruit masks plenty of ripe dry chewy tannins. Finishes with chocolate and plum flavours. An very good but perhaps not great Kalimna.
Rated : 92 Points
Tasted : Mar07
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : $27
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2007 - 2018+

Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Full red purple. Aromas of blackcurrant pastille, licorice, tobacco, dried herbs, mint and delicate spicy cedar vanilla oak. On the palate medium to full bodied with blackcurrant, tobacco, star anise, coffee and some gamey earthy flavours. Tight and compact with firm fine grained tannins and clean fresh acidity. Finishes dry and long with blackcurrant and tobacco flavours. A brilliant wine, one for the long haul, and one I am most certainly going to purchase for the cellar.
Rated : 94+ Points
Tasted : Mar07
Alcohol : 14%
Price : $35
Drink : 2010 - 2024

Penfolds Bin 311 Chardonnay 2006

Aromas of honeydew melon, lemon and almond meal with dusty cinnamon and vanilla flecked oak. It also shows some lavender like perfume and a little matchsticky barrel ferment complexity. On the palate fine and tight with flavours of lemon rind, grapefruit, melon, vanilla spice and attractive slightly dirty earthy flavours. Flinty and bone dry finishing with a mouthful of pebbles, citrus and ginger spice. Beautiful wine.
Rated : 93 Points
Tasted : Mar07
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : $40
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2007 - 2012

Now I am beginning to worry about my palate.

I tasted a s%&^load of GSMs over the weekend and the Bin 138 was right up there. The only prob was CD price of $26.90.

And I also agree with your thoughts on the 407, which was my pick of the Bins. A bloody lovely cab and probably available around the traps at a lot better than the $32.50 CD price.

[Red Bigot]

Now I am beginning to worry about my palate.

I tasted a s%&^load of GSMs over the weekend and the Bin 138 was right up there. The only prob was CD price of $26.90.

And I also agree with your thoughts on the 407, which was my pick of the Bins. A bloody lovely cab and probably available around the traps at a lot better than the $32.50 CD price.

Now I'm beginning to worry about your palate!

(I haven't tasted the new Pennies though.)