Sunday ...................

[TORB]

Hi Good Peoples,

Its time for your weekly drinking reports.

Tasting notes, lists, vibes, impressions, or whatever - are all welcome, so please let us know what you guys and girls have been drinking.

[seddo]

out of the few wines I had this week there were two standouts :

Laughing Jack Shiraz 04 - from another branch of the Kallaske family -nice prurple red colour - very closed/tight wine that opened up superbly the second night and the dominant feature was cherries with spice playing a supporting role - excellent wine.

Spinifex Esprit 06 - as they say very gluggable - not overly sweet - everything seemed to be in balance - another excellent wine.

cheers
Seddo

[Adair]

Another big week.

2008 Pewsey Vale Riesling - Great wine to introduce people to quality Riesling. Beautifully balanced and rich with fresh and ripe lime, lime leaf, bath salts, dried flowers and lemon on a nearly creamy palate with smooth acidity and a hint of super-fine talcy texture providing good length. Bargain! 92/100.

2008 Seppelt Drumborg Vineyard Riesling - A great wine for the Riesling expert. Minerals, bath salts and dried flowers with hints of lime leaf, so very reserved, with the most long, intricate and finely textured mouthfeel I have ever had in a Riesling. Any lover of the grape needs to try a bottle of this wine now, although it will undoubtedly age given its superb balance but it will both gain and lose something special with time. 96/100.

2007 Heemskerk "Coal River" Riesling - Understatement personified... very complex, even with some fennel tones. 93/100.

2007 Petaluma "Project Co." Chardonay - Ripe unwooded Chardonnay flavours of honeydew and rockmelon with cashew nuances. Rich, very reserved and creamy middle palate. Soft, defined and fine finish. 93/100.

2005 Best's "Bin No.1" Shiraz - Ripe, silky, generous yet so controlled and with the much in reserve. Bargain! 93/100.

2008 Miceli "Iolanda" Pinot Grigio - $20 and made the 2008 Paradigm Hill Pinot Gris and 2007 Herzog Pinot Gris look fat and unbalanced, which indeed they are. Quite racy but long and integrated. 90/100.

2007 Montrose "Stony Creek" Chardonnay and 2007 The Cups Estate Chardonnay - Both drinkable. 86/100.

2005 Domaine Pierre de La Grange Muscadet - As above. 86/100.

2006 Coates Cuvee Consonance Sparkling Shiraz - Rich, mouthfilling, sweet but balanced with a clean finish, but simple and lacking depth. Enjoyable though. 88/100.

2007 Perez Cruz Reserva Limited Edition Carmenere - Nose full of burnt tires but rich palate somehow opens the possibility of enjoyment from this well structured, expansive wine. 91/100 or you will hate it... I lean more to the hate!

2007 Pierre-Marie Chermette "Pierreux" - Brouilly (Gamay) - Mineral, yeast, iron on juicy red fruited palate. Lacking depth on the middle. Tannic grip on finish. I admire the attempt. 87/100.

2001 Austin's Reserve Pinot Noir - Complex, leathery, herbs. Strong tannic line. Interesting but lacks a little generosity and enjoyment. 87/100.

2004 Old Kent Road Pinot Noir- A nice Pinot Noir... if you like smoky bacon! 85/100.

2006 Masi "Bonacosta" Valpolicella - Simple but without holes. A good wine to take the back seat to food. 87/100.

2006 5 Maddens Lane "Old Riddell" Cabernet Sauvignon - This wine looks great after much breathing. Perfumed, silky and long. 92/100.

2008 Yering Station "ED" Extra Dry Pinot Rosé - Tried too hard to make this into a serious rosé and ended up spoiling the wine. Fruit is too rich and the oak too heavy handed. This wine is now disjointed. Shame. I even gave it 3 days to integrate. 86/100.

Parting comment: Australian Riesling is amazing. The line, structural complexity and texture, and length on some Australian Rieslings is awe inspiring, especially considering their prices. Even the 2006 Hardy's Siegersdorf Riesling at less than $10, which I also had this week (90/100), offers a work class experience within any classical definition of great wine.

Adair

[Gavin Trott]

Parting comment: Australian Riesling is amazing. The line, structural complexity and texture, and length on some Australian Rieslings is awe inspiring, especially considering their prices. Even the 2006 Hardy's Siegersdorf Riesling at less than $10, which I also had this week (90/100), offers a work class experience within any classical definition of great wine.

Adair

Agreed

Other must tries are the

2008 Heggies Riesling, better, IMHO, than the Pewsey Vale for only a $ or so more per bottle

and, last night, the

2008 Clonakilla Riesling. Wow, what a wine, an essay in line and length, precision, and in that beautiful minerally/chalky finish. Best 2008 Riesling I have had (yet).

[Dave Dewhurst]

Chateau Beaumont, 2002, Initially a bit disjointed with spiky acidity sticking out on the finish. However, decanting and leaving for a hour or so sorted that out, the wine becoming soft and mellow with light blackcurrant fruit, a bit of leather and a smooth moderate length finish. Lovely light-to-medium bodied claret.

Carpineto Vino Nobile de Montepulciano, 2001, Deep purply black in the glass, all dusty dark chocolate and savoury black cherries on the palate with a long finish and moderately soft tanins and great acidity. Can still go much further I suspect. Just how I like my Italians!

Petaluma Riesling, 2002, just beginning to mature - light touches of honey and toast on a beautifully long and classic lemon and lime infused riesling. Just gorgeous.

Agree also with the previous Aussie riesling sentiments - it probably is the most prominent grape in my collection. Very versatile with food I find and quite distinctive from say Tassie, to Clare to Coonawarra to Great Southern to Eden. Just magnificent. Plenty of other little rippers outside these regions too.

Cheers

Dave

[Adair]

2008 Clonakilla Riesling. Wow, what a wine, an essay in line and length, precision, and in that beautiful minerally/chalky finish. Best 2008 Riesling I have had (yet).

Yep, the 2008 Seppelt Drumborg Riesling reminded me greatly of the 2008 Clonakilla in flavour and structure... but the minerally/chalky finish on the Drumborg was even finer. The Drumborg and Clonakilla are my number 1 and 2 so far of the great 2008 Riesling vintage.
Adair

[Adair]

Petaluma Riesling, 2002, just beginning to mature - light touches of honey and toast on a beautifully long and classic lemon and lime infused riesling. Just gorgeous.

Hi Dave,
Would you confirm if this was under cork or Stelvin. I had one from my case under Stelvin late last year from memory, and it was still an acid bomb.
Thanks,
Adair

[griff]

Petaluma Riesling, 2002, just beginning to mature - light touches of honey and toast on a beautifully long and classic lemon and lime infused riesling. Just gorgeous.

Hi Dave,
Would you confirm if this was under cork or Stelvin. I had one from my case under Stelvin late last year from memory, and it was still an acid bomb.
Thanks,
Adair

Was a magnum under cork. Excellent wine and thanks to Dave for bringing it along. I have put my brief tasting note up on the Perth offline thread.

cheers

Carl

[Dave Dewhurst]

Petaluma Riesling, 2002, just beginning to mature - light touches of honey and toast on a beautifully long and classic lemon and lime infused riesling. Just gorgeous.

Hi Dave,
Would you confirm if this was under cork or Stelvin. I had one from my case under Stelvin late last year from memory, and it was still an acid bomb.
Thanks,
Adair

Was a magnum under cork. Excellent wine and thanks to Dave for bringing it along. I have put my brief tasting note up on the Perth offline thread.

cheers

Carl

Wrong Dave I think! But yes, under cork.

Cheers

Dave

[PaulG]

This week the lady and I opened up a bottle of 2005 Sterhies Merlot which we picked up in January on our trip to Stellenbosch.
A robust purple/red colour, the wine was a good looker. A hint eucalyptus and mint accompanied rich red fruit on the nose, although there was also a very slight metalic aroma which dissipated with time. The taste started with a beautiful cherry and plumb favour, lasting well, before transforming to a mint aftertaste. Great length. Not quite as good as the 2004 of the same wine, which had less mint and more fruit, but still a beautiful drop. Unfortunately not available in Australia as yet (I've got the wine maker to promise he'll let me know if they ever distribute over here) but if you can get your hands on some, do! - 93/100

[griff]

Petaluma Riesling, 2002, just beginning to mature - light touches of honey and toast on a beautifully long and classic lemon and lime infused riesling. Just gorgeous.

Hi Dave,
Would you confirm if this was under cork or Stelvin. I had one from my case under Stelvin late last year from memory, and it was still an acid bomb.
Thanks,
Adair

Was a magnum under cork. Excellent wine and thanks to Dave for bringing it along. I have put my brief tasting note up on the Perth offline thread.

cheers

Carl

Wrong Dave I think! But yes, under cork.

Cheers

Dave

Eeek! I mixed you up with Rick Morcomm by mistake Was a nice wine though. Count that as two under cork showing some development now

cheers

Carl

[Bick]

A couple of nice wines over the weekend:

Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 07: Med straw colour with a nice aroma of melon, pineapple and subtle grapefruit, with hints of butterscotch and banana. Palate quite rich and flavoursome, showing ripe apple and tangerine. Decent body, good balance and length, with acids providing support without sharpness, though not as intense as it could be. Top quaility sauv but not quite the very best perhaps. Rating:

Pirathon Shiraz 05: I took one to a friend's party, and it went down very well. It must be the best part of a year since I last had some 05 Pirathon; drinking beautifully now, with chocolate, ripe dark berry and a soft, rich body. I didn't take notes at the time, but this is up there with Rockford 02 as best shiraz of the year so far for me. Super stuff: non-winos who tried some all looked up after a taste and said something along the lines of "Wow, that's nice". Rating:

[Roscoe]

Warburn Estate Stephendale Barossa Shiraz 2006
This may go down as my bargain red of the year. A little tight the first night, but opened up beautifully on the second night to produce an authentic Barossa shiraz experience at a incredible price (around $9-10). Everyday quaffing is rarely this good. You could easily pay quite a bit more and get quite a bit less.
Orlando St Hugo 1998
I was happy with this after a bit of air. Good integration of primary and secondary Coonawarra cab characters with the oak. In its window and very good to excellent.

[Wayno]

Pirathon Shiraz 05: I took one to a friend's party, and it went down very well. It must be the best part of a year since I last had some 05 Pirathon; drinking beautifully now, with chocolate, ripe dark berry and a soft, rich body. I didn't take notes at the time, but this is up there with Rockford 02 as best shiraz of the year so far for me. Super stuff: non-winos who tried some all looked up after a taste and said something along the lines of "Wow, that's nice". Rating:

Agreed, Bick. I think this wine is drinking very well now too. An over-performer for it's price bracket for sure.

[Loztralia]

These were all consumed socially with no written notes being taken so apologies in advance for necessary vagueness.

2004 Cloudy Bay Pelorus
Didn't have the super dry style of equivalent price point champagne, which initially caused me to be slightly disappointed. I decided eventually that it was subtle rather than bland, but it's not one I'd go out of my way for again.

2002 Tyrell's Vat 1 Semillon
Pretty much exactly what you would expect - still super crisp and acidic with the usual lemony, citrus flavours. Quite interesting to try a good, age-worthy Hunter Semillion of this sort of age as it is just starting to develop toastiness at the very end. Lovely stuff, if you like that sort of thing.

2006 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier
Quiet on the nose though possibly as we hadn't had time to decant. The first suprise was that it was grippier than I expected, though that soon dissolved into the expected beautifully light yet complex flavours. Just a touch of apricot on the finish presumably being the viognier announcing itself.

When we were at Clonakilla earlier this year we were told the Shiraz Viognier drinks best in 1-2 or 7+ years, so I guess the 2006 might be ready to hibernate now.

2002 Houghton Jack Mann Cabernet
One of the most pleasing coloured wines going. Given about four hours decanting, it was big on the nose and not let down an iota in the mouth. Waves of berries but in perfect balance - long and powerful, somehow made my mouth feel twice as big but still full of flavour.

[Partagas]

2002 Houghton Jack Mann Cabernet
One of the most pleasing coloured wines going. Given about four hours decanting, it was big on the nose and not let down an iota in the mouth. Waves of berries but in perfect balance - long and powerful, somehow made my mouth feel twice as big but still full of flavour.

It is very classy wine indeed. It has all the hallmarks of a power house but still has this incredible underlying finesse and very very long finish. Some of the best stuff I’ve tasted this year.

Sam

[Loztralia]

2002 Houghton Jack Mann Cabernet
One of the most pleasing coloured wines going. Given about four hours decanting, it was big on the nose and not let down an iota in the mouth. Waves of berries but in perfect balance - long and powerful, somehow made my mouth feel twice as big but still full of flavour.

It is very classy wine indeed. It has all the hallmarks of a power house but still has this incredible underlying finesse and very very long finish. Some of the best stuff I’ve tasted this year.

Sam

I've got a bottle each of the 1999 and 2000 at home - only tried the 2000 at the cellar door two years ago so can't clearly recall either. Tasting notes suggest the 2000 might be a worthy sacrificial lamb - good but not worth hanging onto for a decade plus. Do you have any views on those vintages? if they're even in the same league as that 2002 I'll be a happy man.

[Partagas]

Yes I have tried the 2000 and have a couple left as well. It was not supposed to be a fantastic vintage but it is still delicious. I opened it up when a mate moved in around the corner a year or so ago and I remember it did surprise both of us. It still had a lot of life left but was drinking maybe too well to be a huge runner.

I think the 02 has now dropped a component (Petite Verdot, Malbec or something) that historically had always been in it. So the 02 has more power. I would pick the 02 over 2000 for my tastes but by no means making the 2000 a dud. Still a nice drop.

Sam

[n4sir]

Petaluma Riesling, 2002, just beginning to mature - light touches of honey and toast on a beautifully long and classic lemon and lime infused riesling. Just gorgeous.

Hi Dave,
Would you confirm if this was under cork or Stelvin. I had one from my case under Stelvin late last year from memory, and it was still an acid bomb.
Thanks,
Adair

Was a magnum under cork. Excellent wine and thanks to Dave for bringing it along. I have put my brief tasting note up on the Perth offline thread.

cheers

Carl

None of the 2002 vintage was bottled under magnum according to Petaluma when I enquired years ago (wasn't enough fruit apparently) - the magnum in the Perth offline notes is 2001.

Cheers,
Ian

[Loztralia]

Yes I have tried the 2000 and have a couple left as well. It was not supposed to be a fantastic vintage but it is still delicious. I opened it up when a mate moved in around the corner a year or so ago and I remember it did surprise both of us. It still had a lot of life left but was drinking maybe too well to be a huge runner.

I think the 02 has now dropped a component (Petite Verdot, Malbec or something) that historically had always been in it. So the 02 has more power. I would pick the 02 over 2000 for my tastes but by no means making the 2000 a dud. Still a nice drop.

Sam

I certainly noticed on Saturday that the 2002 wasn't billed as the same busy blend as the ones I have at home. Though I think it's a fairly fluid blend with a wide range of proportions year-by-year.

Anyway thanks for the answer, it was almost exactly what I was looking for - reassuring me the 2000 is a good drop but also recommending I get it drunk soon enough

[Rawshack]

Murchison Unoaked Chardonnay 2008 - Tropical fruit and all that stuff, bright acidity and it's nicely put together. Not too much in the way of lees contact or malo. A chardonnay for Sauvignon Bland drinkers. Buy the ticket, take the ride

Murchison Shiraz 2006 - Typical central Victorian Shiraz, if you know what typical Central Victorian Shiraz tastes like. The oak is there and the tannins are big but soft. A bit like a castrated Andrew Symonds. It's pretty good. I recently had a 2003(?) which had started to come together rather nicely, so maybe a couple more years might just be the magic wand this needs.

[griff]

Petaluma Riesling, 2002, just beginning to mature - light touches of honey and toast on a beautifully long and classic lemon and lime infused riesling. Just gorgeous.

Hi Dave,
Would you confirm if this was under cork or Stelvin. I had one from my case under Stelvin late last year from memory, and it was still an acid bomb.
Thanks,
Adair

Was a magnum under cork. Excellent wine and thanks to Dave for bringing it along. I have put my brief tasting note up on the Perth offline thread.

cheers

Carl

None of the 2002 vintage was bottled under magnum according to Petaluma when I enquired years ago (wasn't enough fruit apparently) - the magnum in the Perth offline notes is 2001.

Cheers,
Ian

Yes, my head wasn't screwed on that well that morning!

cheers

Carl

[kwattro]

2006 Rockburn Pinot:black cherry with soft tanin and mocha after taste. I didn't know pinot noir can taste as rich as this - i could have been mistaken for thinking it was a cab. sav. wonderful drop!

[Mike Hawkins]

2004 Penfolds Bin 28 shiraz (x2) - both bottles the same and for mine, the best Bin 28 since the 1996. Just what I hope for in a lower-end Pennies shiraz.

2001 Voyager Estate Cabernet - brett spoiled this.

1996 Penfolds St Henri - a little young still. Will be good.

2001 Howard Park Cabernet - IIRC, Winefront rated this highly. A good wine (better on day 2), but fell some way short of expectations.

1998 Dom Perignon - I see no point in cellaring this. Pleasant champers right now.

[Julio G]

2006 Picardy Chardonnay
Intense if not a little disjointed at this stage. Oak poking out just a little but great spectrum of flavours from cashew, melon and citrus. If the oak integrates it could be something special. A different wine to the 2005 which showed superbly from the beginning.

2003 Cullen Mangan
Drinking superbly right now. Great spice and depth provided by the Petit Verdot, lovely fruit and texture from the Malbec all in a velvet Merlot glove - Merlot is the unsung hero at Cullen. Pure fruit with some lovely earthy flavours working their way in.

[bacchaebabe]

I've had the outlaws from England visiting for the last two weeks so copious amounts of moscato have been drunk as they "don't like dry wine". They are now moscato obsessives and I expect the exports to Sandwich in Kent to increase quite substantially over the next year.

I bought two dozen mixed moscatos to get us through the fortnight and the two that stood out most brightly were the Evans and Tate pink moscato with a crown seal and the Grant Burge moscato in the new bottle. Both current vintages. Both delicate and sweet but not overly so with a little more interest and depth. Recommend both for summer quaffing.

Also of more note, 97 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz. I was expecting this to be similar to the 00's I've had a few of lately. This was my first from the six pack. Maybe just not quite as much bright fruit as the 00 which had lovely juicy plum characters. This one's a bit more savoury and the extra three years make a difference in taming the fruit. Deep purple red with no bricking. Good medium body with spice, anise, a waft of chocolate and a blueberry finish. Drinking quite well now. It also opened up in the glass over the evening. It was decanted but drunk immediately. I would think an hour or two's breathing would have been a good thing. If you have some, I'd be looking at drinking these over the next two years or so. Not a bad effort from not the best year.

[Mike Hawkins]

Kris - I agree the RBPS is a good one for the 97 vintage. A much better wine for my tastes than the 2000.

[Roscoe]

Kris - I agree the RBPS is a good one for the 97 vintage. A much better wine for my tastes than the 2000.

Ditto. But I don't mind the 2000.