Help! I think my palate has lost the plot

Adair · Post by **Adair** » Mon Aug 25, 2003 2:43 pm

Hello All,

I have not written many tasting notes lately due to going through the past month without really liking any wine. This culminated in my purchase and subsequent tasting of the HUGELY acclaimed 2001 Rosemount Giants Creek Chardonnay (5 Stars - Top White blah, blah) on Saturday.

I love good Chardonnay, especially good Rosemount Chardonnay, but I found this wine simple, short and boring. I agree with the label that there was not much oak, but there was not much fruit either. I struggled to descibe anything except a cloying, lighly-glycerine mouthfeel. There was no good acidity giving length either. It was so boring I threw the remaining 7/8th of the bottle out and watched the Swans game (until the 2nd Quarter when I turned that off and went to bed).

Please, please, please anyone who has tasted this wine, please tell me if my palate has been totally screwed up or is this yet another case where what the wine critics find and what I find are totally different (or should I buy another bottle)?

Please help.

Thanks,
Adair

TORB · Post by **TORB** » Mon Aug 25, 2003 3:34 pm

Adair,

See what happens when you drink c-through.

Red Bigot · Post by **Red Bigot** » Mon Aug 25, 2003 6:52 pm

Adair,

A month without liking the wines you've tried? Have you had a virus recently?

What reds have you tried and not liked?

Adair · Post by **Adair** » Tue Aug 26, 2003 8:44 am

Hello Brian,

With help from David Lole, I think I have got to the bottom of the issue. I "have LOSER syndrome, thereby losing a (large) degree of your senses of smell and taste... LOSER stands for Loss Of Sensory Evaluation Regulators". This syndrome could be caused by viral infection, heavy congestion, blocked nose, sinusitis etc. Tick, tick, tick!

I will be going to a wine tasting evening tomorrow night to confirm my syndrome. Although this is against Dr. Lole's advice, I think the $15 for the evening will be much better value for money than the $45 I spent at the GP's place in getting a better diagnosis.

With regard to reds that I have not liked, they include the 2002 Rockbare Shiraz (very ordinary in my books) and a revisit of 2001 Kurtz Shiraz that seemed like a lunch wine when previously I found it an excellent roast dinner wine. This last wine really made me realise that I had an issue. However, I was still able to enjoy the red wines and analyse them (I don't think I will ever like the Rockbare) but the white wines (Sorry Brian - not your alley) are the real concern. Except for a 1996 Elizabeth, all have been disappointing.

I have been given some offline feedback that the 2001 Giants Creek is pretty crap, so at least on this wine I have been given some agreement. I would love to hear more, in agreement or against.

Brian, thanks for the concern.

David, thanks for the concern and the laugh.

Kind regards,
Adair

Red Bigot · Post by **Red Bigot** » Tue Aug 26, 2003 10:15 am

Adair,

Hope your palate recovers soon!

Re Rockbare, I'm with you on this one, my Monday tasting group rated it last after the Taylors 2002 Shiraz in a lineup of 6 reds in the $15-$25 range. I'll have to try another bottle, but based on the bottle we opened I can't see what all the fuss is about either. Top ranked red was the Thorn Clarke 02 Shotfire Shiraz, by a big margin, excellent value at $20.

jono · Post by **jono** » Tue Aug 26, 2003 10:53 am

RB,

What is your view on the future for the '02 shotfire ridge shiraz? i have a bottle here to try but could take a while to get around to it

JWR

Grant Dodd · Post by **Grant Dodd** » Tue Aug 26, 2003 8:50 pm

Adair,

I was very impressed by the Giants Creek,especially at the $15 price tag it has been selling for recently. I still think it is a good buy at $22. I'll do another tasting soon with more specific notes and post it here. Was the wine sound that you had? I know its a bit of a dumb question but I'm trying to sort out your quite polarised opinion of the wine to mine.

Cheers

TORB · Post by **TORB** » Tue Aug 26, 2003 10:27 pm

jono wrote:RB,

What is your view on the future for the '02 shotfire ridge shiraz? i have a bottle here to try but could take a while to get around to it

jono,

As RB has not answered, here is my TN.

Thorn Clarke Shotfire Ridge 2002 Barossa Valley Shiraz July 2003

When I visited the winery in May I was impressed with their setup and the wines tasted so it was with positive anticipation that I looked forward to trying the new releases the winery sent me. This Shiraz was only bottled in June so it was no surprise to find the bouquet brooding but it was also rich and did show dark chocolate, cherry, plum, spice and vanilla.

On the palate itÃƒâ€šÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a solid fruit driven very savoury wine with good intensity and fruit purity. The refreshing acid is youthful and the tannins which are relatively smooth are also dusty. ItÃƒâ€šÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s muscular in weight with savoury plum, rich chocolate and vanilla flavours which comes across in an unpretentious but honest fashion. ItÃƒâ€šÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a very enjoyable fruit driven wine and well made to boot. Rated as Recommended with **** for value you can do a lot worse then spending your money on this glass staining wine.

(I dont think its one for the long term but can be enjopyed now or over the next few years.)

Adair · Post by **Adair** » Wed Aug 27, 2003 8:42 am

Grant Dodd wrote:Adair,

I was very impressed by the Giants Creek,especially at the $15 price tag it has been selling for recently. I still think it is a good buy at $22. I'll do another tasting soon with more specific notes and post it here. Was the wine sound that you had? I know its a bit of a dumb question but I'm trying to sort out your quite polarised opinion of the wine to mine.

Hello Grant,

I will buy another bottle and tasting again over the weekend to see if my LOSER syndrome is the cause of my dislike. I really tend to love Rosmount Chardonnay - Orange, Roxborough, Reserve and usually Giants Creek - NOT the diamond crap though. Thanks for posting - you are actually the first positive taster on this wine so far. Any others out there?

Regards,
Adair

Grant Dodd · Post by **Grant Dodd** » Wed Aug 27, 2003 5:08 pm

Adair,

I actually tasted it blind about two months ago with the guy who decides on which wines get into Qantas First and Business Class(No name dropping!). I liked it,he thought it was a better wine than I did! It got recommended for Qantas International Business Class on the strength of that tasting. I've since given the good oil to a bunch of my friends on it,and intend to highlight it as great VFM in my column in next months Australian Golf Digest. I'm putting my proverbials on the line on this one,I'll still do another tasting though and post it here.

I actually go through periods where wine tastes like crap to me. I remember one week where I had a 97 Rockford BP and 98 Bannockburn Shiraz(two of my very favourite wines) that tasted like cleanskins. Next time though they were awesome........ who knows,the vaguaries of wine???

Cheers