Weekly reports now due....

[TORB]

Being a naughty person I didn't do my homework this week.

Or actually on second thought I did but the dog ate it!

It was a quiet week for me on the wine front, a wedding so that was an AFD, a hot day with a bottle of FRS and yesterday was Frog Bubbles as I had been to the Sydney fish market and bought lobster and sushi.

No excuses for you guys, what have you been drinking?

Cheers
Ric

[JamieBahrain]

St Hallet's Old Block Shiraz 1999 - Rich aromas of blackberry, mocha, plum & coconut oak ( pleasantly integrated ). Powerful mouthfeel but smooth. Full Barossa shiraz flavours with a long finish and stream of ripe tannin. The rich coconut oak noted in the aftertaste; in the most pleasant way.

I religiously purchased Old Block every year in the early 90's. I felt it fell out of favour with the 95-96 vintages. The 99 a good follow up to the 98. Old Block back in town for me.

Saltram No 1 Shiraz 1999-Prune, licorice & other dark fruits evolve from a relatively un-Barossa like nose. Sweet and spicey palate, which rides on a river of dark fruit. The wine finishes with a long acid finish, completed by a wall of fine tannin.

Nice wine but I prefer different qualities in my prefered Barossa blockbusters.

Kaesler 01 Cabernet Sauvignon - Delivers in all but it's thin palate weight. Average.

Turkey Flat 00 Grenache Noir - Not tried the wine for a year. Vegemite and earthy nose, rounded varietal flavours in a mid weight package. Good value.

Henschke Giles 01 Pinot Noir - Good value here. Classy pinot in the $30 range that delivers. Complex variatal nose with predominant dark cherry and a pleasant stalkiness. Dark pinot flavours on the palate, aswell as well integrated oak. The medium bodied wine finishes overstated with good tannin/acid and pleasant degree of stalkiness that carries palate flavours into the aftertaste.

Elderton Shiraz 02- Good risk free and affordable means of stocking up the cellar. A touch raw at the moment, needs a year.

Henschke Tilly's 01 - I enjoy Tillys with a few years in the cellar. 5 years usually brings mature honeyed and straw characteristics. This vintage will do the same-citrus flavours dominating in youth.

Rockford Cabernet Sauvignon 1998- Not Rated due food mismatch. Looked good in the decanter and the aromas would suggest beginning of a long and wonderful drinking window.

Henschke Pinot Gris 01 - Rich, oily wine which gives aromas of creme banana with minerally undertones ( Condrieu like )-some air and a better chill brings more peach flavours to the fore. A minerally finish follows the rich palate flavours. Hard to hide the 14.5%.


Between jobs and countries at the moment. Just 10 days here on the northern NSW coast. Frustratingly, as the cellar in Melbourne & Adelaide, couldn't make inroads into my own mature stock.

Big thanks to my father, for making available, his own recent cellar additions.

[ChrisH]

Had a corked 1995 Tintara Shiraz (the good one with the antique bottle), so Hardy's sent me a replacement - 2000.

Being a lesser vintage, I opened it rather than keeping it for a while as is my usual practise. It is really a drink soon wine in my view, which confirms the vintage rating. Quite good drinking - nice liquorice, dark cherry fruit with a fair input from charry oak, perhaps to cover the lack of fruit depth. Only medium weight, although the label said 14%.


regards
Chris

[Anthony]

Had an imported week this week:
Domain Bruno Clair Morey-Saint Denis 1997: ready to drink now and quite a big wine with big fruit and big tannins. I liked it, but it is definetly not a feminine Pinot.

Dr Loosen Dry Riesling 2001: an absolute pleasure to drink. From a great vintage, this wine highlights why German Riesling has made such a comeback in the last few years. Tight and great fruit is held together by some very good acidity.

Moet Chandon Vintage Rose 1996: this bottle was purchased by my girlfriend in champagne when we went last August. Never again are we bringing bottles back. Absolute pain in the b*m. Well what a great Rose. Always found Moet Rose quiet variable but this wine, coming out of one the best vintages in Champagne was amazing. Rose petal, biting acidity and some very good yeasty/bready flavors.

cheers
anthony

[Wizz]

Not too many this week.

Felton Road Dry Riesling 2003: Water Pale. Pear and Lychee nose: it could be pinot gris at this point. The palate gives it away as riesling with its acid backbone, altohugh the fruit flavours are different for someone with a clare/edenvalley bias. This is pears, lime juice, and a grassy, herbal note as well. Despite being the driest of the Felton Road rieslings, there is just a lick of residual sugar in this, which imparts a musky tone and melds nicely with the acid. No idea how long to expect this to age, but a very nice drop indeed.

Lindemans St George 1991: This bottle leaking badly. Starts out as cigar box and a remnant of green leafy note. The fruit built over an hour in the decanter to a beautiful mix of forest berries. Tannins are quite fine, but the finish is still quite drying. If you like your reds this way, this is a beauty. Could keep for longer, but dont see it improving from here.

Also an instore tasting yesterday of the new Cape Mentelle Reds:

the 02 Shiraz has some feral notes but soe nice fruit underneath. its as tannic as a cats backside though, and you have to ask how long will this take to come together.
the 02 Zinfandel is a bit of a disappointment, a hessiany note on the nose and lacking concentration.
the 00 Cabernet is a beauty. Varietally correctnose, and juicy cassis palate. great length, and very nice indeed.

Also on show was the 92 DeBortoli Noble One. Burnt orange to look at now (some tasters thought there was residual red wine in the glass, the colour was so dark!), and very much a Noble One. Thick viscous mouthful of honey and orange peel. So viscous you'd expect this to cloy, but the acid cut at the end sorts this out. Good gear.
Cheers

Andrew

[TORB]

Also an instore tasting yesterday of the new Cape Mentelle Reds:

the 02 Shiraz has some feral notes but soe nice fruit underneath. its as tannic as a cats backside though, and you have to ask how long will this take to come together.

Andrew,

ROFLOL !!! How do you know how tannic a cats backside is?

Even as a purveyor of said felines, I have no idea about that claim.

[JamieBahrain]

Gday Anthony

What problems did you encounter repatriating wine from abroad?

We got in a 6 pack of 98 Vintage Moet ( 35 Aus a bottle! ) aswell as a 6 pack of various favourites from the 01 Cote Roties'. Two magnums of Ch' du Pape too.

And we also brought back all our corked Aussie wine from 13 months abroad.

All wines declared to Customs. The friendly gent waved us through-not before asking if the value exceeded $400.

Concur with your impressions of the Doc Loosen. Interesting to see how the extremely hot 03 vintage turns out.

[Wizz]

Also an instore tasting yesterday of the new Cape Mentelle Reds:

the 02 Shiraz has some feral notes but soe nice fruit underneath. its as tannic as a cats backside though, and you have to ask how long will this take to come together.

Andrew,

ROFLOL !!! How do you know how tannic a cats backside is?

Even as a purveyor of said felines, I have no idea about that claim.

Gee this thread could go anywhere from here....

A bit of mixed metaphor going on: "tight as a cats backside" all mixed up with the sensation of a very drying mouth tightening tannic finish. It just kind of rolled off the keyboard!

The problem now is I'll never look at my two moggies the same way again....

AB

[Anthony]

Gday Anthony

What problems did you encounter repatriating wine from abroad?

We got in a 6 pack of 98 Vintage Moet ( 35 Aus a bottle! ) aswell as a 6 pack of various favourites from the 01 Cote Roties'. Two magnums of Ch' du Pape too.

And we also brought back all our corked Aussie wine from 13 months abroad.

All wines declared to Customs. The friendly gent waved us through-not before asking if the value exceeded $400.

Concur with your impressions of the Doc Loosen. Interesting to see how the extremely hot 03 vintage turns out.

We brought back about half a dozen bottles of Burgundya and 6 bottles of Champagne (some of Moet's single vineyard Grand Cru's) and it wasn't customs that was the problem, it was carting the bloody things. Through in hand luggage, prints, jackets, etc and it is a lot of things to carry with you through transit lounges etc. Next time, I will still buy them there, but will drink them over there as well.

Agree with you re the prices of Champagne, great value!! Even the bars in Epanay and Reims, you could drink Champagne by the glass for around $5-6 euros compared to about $20a glass here.

I'm hearing good things about 03 in Germany byt you get the feeling it might be like Coonawarra, so called 'great years' every vintage.

cheers
anthony

[Guest]

Value wines this weekend

2001 Majella Riesling Still incredibly fresh under screwcap. Acid just beginning to soften. I've had many 1 yo rieslings that taste older than this. Could easily be mistaken for a Clare or Eden Valley. Will be interested to see this in 5-10 years.
I still feel that Coonawarra riesling is still amongst the most underrated and undervalued wine made in the country.

1999 Seppelts Chalambar Very nice. So enjoyable the end of the bottle came far too quickly. Very well balanced. Should last well if you can keep your hands off it as it's drinking too well now.

Further to the 00 Turkey Flat grenache. Recently, I had a 96 at a quality Italian (very Tuscan) restaurant and it was superb, esp with the savoury Italian entree. Everyone involved was so impressed, that I will now be cellaring these for 5-7+ years, with a few 99's that had come out of the cellar have now been put back. A very pleasant surprise.


BA

[Seamus]

Not a lot this weekend either.

Come to think of it, at least two bottles of Hardy's Hangover......

Need I say more?

Seamus

[Red Bigot]

An interesting week, highlights being 2 tastings of 2002 reds.

Monday: Pondalowie vs Pepperjack

Pondalowie is a new winery in the Bendigo region, with some reasonable reviews, so I thought I'd try them. I had a Munari 2002 Shiraz and a Pepper Jack 2002 Shiraz for comparison, but the Munari wasn't opened due to reduced numbers of tasters, here's the rankings:

Pepper Jack 2002 Barossa Shiraz $19 single bottle. Attractive earthy/tarry liquorice and hints of coffee, warm barossa shiraz fruit, plums, liquorice and chocolate, good tannins form the backbone, clean longish finish, will cellar 5-8 years, maybe more.

Pondalowie Shiraz/Viognier $29 This was fairly closed to start, opened up a bit over about 45 minutes to show a hint of the viognier lift in comparison to the standard shiraz, some spicy black cherry notes, still restrained, good balance and structure.

Pondalowie Cabernet Malbec $29 Easy to pick as the non-shiraz, lifted dark berry fruit on nose and palate, got better as it breathed up, fine dry finish from the malbec, nice wine.

Pondalowie Shiraz $24 More open initially than the S/V, nice ripe dark berries and plums, sweet middle palate, reasonably rich, soft tannins.

Pondalowie Shiraz/Cabernet Stelvin, $19. Light, bright, fragrant confectionary nose, follows through into the palate. An early drinking style, but perhaps needs a short rest as it's a bit awkward yet.

This is the dilemna for new boutique wineries, all the Pondalowie wines were sound and well made flavoursome wines, but at the end of the session the group vote was for the Pepper Jack and an order was placed for 4 cases, with a price of $15.95 secured. The Pondalowie reds were just seen to be overpriced in the current market.

Thursday, a bracket of 6 2002 Shiraz ranging in price from $8 to $46.50. This was an attempt to see how the quality / price curve was performing.

Torbreck The Struie Eden/Barossa Shiraz $46.50 As you would hope, a clear winner in the preferences, the Eden Valley fruit showing quite clearly in a layered, complex nose and palate with spices and pepper overtones on the warmer Barossa fruit, lovely mouthfeel and balance, oak well in control, classy wine.

Cimicky Trumps Barossa Shiraz $14.95 A bit of a surprise when unwrapped, had a lifted, fruity quality that I mistook for the d'Arenberg Shiraz/Viognier, very attractive wine, with good fruit sweetness, but not overripe, reasonable backbone, great value red.

Munari Lady's Pass Shiraz $35 Some in the group like this one a bit more than me, I ranked it behind the d'Arenberg, it's lean and spicy compared to the Barossa/Mclarenvales, with minerally notes and a slightly hard finish, medium-bodied.

d'Arenberg Laughing Magpie Shiraz/Viognier $22. A fair bit of cedary oak on the nose, nice medium-weight palate with hints of spice, dark fruits, red plums, perhaps a little short on the finish, fairly early drinker I think.

Two Hands Angels Share $22, stelvin. Started off Ok after a slight sulphury note quickly breathed off, nice bright mid-weight palate with a sharpish finish, quickly turned confected/concocted in the glass. The second time I've had this wine with similar results. I actually rated it last, but some of the group liked it a bit more than me.

Roberts Estate Shiraz $8, SA Riverland fruit. Last, but not completely disgraced, quite fragrant, but simple, bright juicy fruit, pleasant quaffer and good value as such.

The highest priced wine showed it's class, but the runner-up seemed to be better than the 1/3 price ratio would indicate, there are still some bargains in the under$20 range.

Also tried two bottles of Mills Reef (NZ) Reserve Merlot 2002 that I picked up ot of curiosity and a cheap price. The first was quite volatile on opening, at a level that might be acceptable for a big extracted shiraz, not a mid-weight merlot. To see if it was all like that I opened a second bottle, to find a quite different and much more respectable nose. I suspect the first bottle was an example of the 'random oxidation' phenomenon.

The second bottle showed fairly subdued but nicely varietal musk and violets, moderately lean mid-weight palate, red berrys, mulberry and musk with a fine but very firm tannic backbone. The next night the fruit had opened up a bit, but I'm not sure it's enough for the tannins, will probably always be a lean wine. This wine is more about structure rather than the typical fruit-driven Oz merlots, reasonable value at the price paid ($16.95), not sure at normal rrp of $25+. About the only merlots I've bought much of are from Brookland Valley, these have a bit of backbone too and the 95 is still drinking quite well.

[Daryl Douglas]

Value wines this weekend

2001 Majella Riesling Still incredibly fresh under screwcap. Acid just beginning to soften. I've had many 1 yo rieslings that taste older than this. Could easily be mistaken for a Clare or Eden Valley. Will be interested to see this in 5-10 years.
I still feel that Coonawarra riesling is still amongst the most underrated and undervalued wine made in the country.

1999 Seppelts Chalambar Very nice. So enjoyable the end of the bottle came far too quickly. Very well balanced. Should last well if you can keep your hands off it as it's drinking too well now.

Further to the 00 Turkey Flat grenache. Recently, I had a 96 at a quality Italian (very Tuscan) restaurant and it was superb, esp with the savoury Italian entree. Everyone involved was so impressed, that I will now be cellaring these for 5-7+ years, with a few 99's that had come out of the cellar have now been put back. A very pleasant surprise.


BA

Hi BA

2001 TF greenash (TORBism ) was the 1st vintage of this this wine that I've tried. Ordered a 2nd case of 03 releases to get more mars/sem, grenache and shiraz. Wasn't as impressed by the Butcher's Block. The grenache was a pleasant surprise so intend to include a few btls in future orders. Good to hear it has some cellaring potential but TF does give a ten year drinking window for the 01.

Cheers

daz

[Muscat Mike]

"The problem now is I'll never look at my two moggies the same way again.... "

Nor they at you Andrew!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do you often have a furry tongue in the morning and blame it on the drink. ?????????????????????????
MM.

[Ed W]

on monday night had the first 3 reds with a 2-course au sang dish at La Parisien, here in Fragrant Harbour

Kaesler old vine shiraz 1998
Outstanding. Had 4 bottles of this vintage so far and all were consistently good. Sweet oak blackberry, cherry, big aroma. Mouthfeel is just right. Great silky texture: the wine just slips thru the mouth. A hint of savouriness to balance out the sweet ripe fruit

Dry River Arapoff syrah 2000
Purple/violet. One of the most interesting aroma. Initially floral, rose, later menthol dominanted, hint of smoke. medium weight. raspberry and gamey.

Haut Brion 1993
Deep purple. Very strong earthy nose with cedar and cigar box. the fruit was struggling to match the tannin. Medium weight. The usual long grippy finish.

then the rest of the week:

Te Mata Elston chardonnay 2001
straw yellow, quite developed colour. Nose of butterscotch with vanilla. Palate is also quite developed. Prominent apple, almond, and cashew. Heavy weight. Has lost its youthful freshness already. A good drink but a possibly heat-damaged bottle (bought from its HK retail agent).

Grosset Watervale reisling 2001
straw yellow, waves of granny smith and karosene on the nose. Multiple layers of minierally fruit. Starting to lose its citrusy/zesty edge and become more rounded. Very very long finish. bought this from the bin-end sale at the local shop...for A$29.

Saltram No.1 1998
Again bought from the bin-end sale locally for A$65. Never tried this wine before. Ink purple. nose has some sweet oak. Full body, sweet with gripping tannin. Blackcurrant, mocha, and spicy. Previous reviews on this forum have been very favourable but i beg to differ...it falls into the category of wines which are so sweet that you don't know what to do with it (in terms of food-match). Saved 180ml in a piccolo bottle and will see how it devlops. At this stage the Kaesler old vine looks far more balanced. but again thats just me.

ed

[GraemeG]

Very cursory TVs only - with Thai take-away on Saturday night:

2002 Taylors Chardonnay (Clare)
Once upon a time this label would have been buttery as all get-out, but now it's quite soft-fruited, slightly dusty, and with a modicom of interest in its stone-fruit aromas and flavours. Not overly sweet either. Quite acceptable.

2001 Pipers Brook Gewurztraminer (Tamar Valley)
This is a class act. Lots of musk, marzipan and rosewater on the nose. The palate is fullish in flavour, nicely balanced across the tongue (good to see some weight in the middle), and finishes beautifully dry, with no real oiliness either. I see the back label said 'drink til 2008', and I think that mioght actually be OK.

We also had some kind of 2002 Lindemans Reserve Chardonnay which looked for all the world like the last packaging presentation of the Padthaway wine, but resolutely refused to spell out a region other then the dreaded 'South-Eastern Australia'. I didn't look all that closely to see whether this was more ex-UK-labelled stock being sold off locally, or whether this is an on-going wine now. Any one know? At any rate, it's OK - some soft whiff of grapefruit, a little acid, with a splash of soft oak adding up to a passable wine.

And last night, and other bottle of
1999 Tyrrells Vat 63 Chardonnay Semillon (Hunter)
Although mid-straw with still a flash of green, this wine is starting to show some development. Under the melon/grapefruit/stone fruit nose, there's a little nuttiness emerging. The chardonnay flavours (60%) show initially, but the semillon acid is still there holding it together nicely. It's a lovely full mouth of wine that'll hold for a while yet, and shows all the signs of being made form top ingredients. Very good wine, and I think it donkey-licks vast oceans of sub-$30 white wines (yet Tyrrells sell it for under $20). Top stuff.

cheers,
Graeme

[Guest]

Saltram No.1 1998
Again bought from the bin-end sale locally for A$65. Never tried this wine before. Ink purple. nose has some sweet oak. Full body, sweet with gripping tannin. Blackcurrant, mocha, and spicy. Previous reviews on this forum have been very favourable but i beg to differ...it falls into the category of wines which are so sweet that you don't know what to do with it (in terms of food-match). Saved 180ml in a piccolo bottle and will see how it devlops. At this stage the Kaesler old vine looks far more balanced. but again thats just me.

ed

Hey Ed, could this have been due to defect with regards to time and conditions in store? I only ask because I didn't find it so about a year ago, and I am a Cab drinker. Wondering whether or not this is the way the wine is heading.

Here are mine for Friday 5th March 04

E+C Section 353 Cabernet 1997 (Decanted for 2 Hrs)
Colour: Slightly dull red to maroon with surface shades of shellac.
Nose: Powerful blackberries and (as the label reads) rhubarb with hints of dark but not burnt toast. The bouquet seemed to come and go in intensity.
Palate: Intense blackberry, blueberry on the back of the throat, and a fleshy mouthfeel with green olive edges. Sour cherries on a persistent finish of warming alcohol, and there are tough tannins which take a wee bit of pleasure out of the rich flavour profile.

After 3 hrs tannins lost their harshness but the sour cherries were still a little overwhelming. 5 more yrs to see if this will mellow or become more angular.

Madfish Cab Merlot 2001 (given 20 mins)
Colour: Ruby with youthful violet surface hue.
Nose: Slightly caramel with cassis and redcurrant.
Palate: Medium bodied and watery after the Section 353. Blackcurrant accompanied by slight floral notes, but all in all pretty simple. Lacking any real tannin structure so you can glug it right now, and there is a suspicious taste of distant Pine.

For $14 it is beginning to get to the edge of its QPR but indicates that the prices of WA wine are definitely making leaps and bounds. There wasnÂ’t enough texture for me and I donÂ’t think there will be much further development over time. Have since read the label and found there is an addition of Cabernet Franc in there as well.

Houghton Crofters Cabernet Merlot 2000 (straight from the bottle)
Colour not noted due to evenings social fun.
Nose: Lush aromaÂ’s of dark berries and multiple spices taking turns to surface. Hmm, good start.
Palate: Rich and silky maouthfeel with ripe sweet blackberries, mulberries, milk chocolate, and cloves over traces of cinnamon. Good length, gentle and supple tannins.

This will be great for 5 yrs but doesnÂ’t need it; a lovely drop. Was bought by a guest so canÂ’t give it a QPR but very much recommended. I will be looking into my stash of 99Â’s on the strength of this one!

Saltram Barossa Cabernet Merlot 2002 (brought over by friend).

Only have an impression of this after having put away nearly two bottle on my own. But I do remember it was a pleasant surprise with medium to full body, good texture with warm Barossa fruit that wasnÂ’t as varietal as the Crofters but still very pleasant. Gentle tannins and a short time in oak, I suspect. Medium length. No QPR but would have to be worth around the $15 mark and beats the Madfish any time for preference IMO. Drink now.

Have good week all,

[simm]

Sorry that was me

[Sean]

deleted

[DJ]

98 Charles Melton Grenache - nice enough but some how didn't have the structure 15%

94 Leasingham Bin 56 Cab Malbec - 94 seems to be a weak vintage for these guys (Jimmy Watson not withstanding) Recommended but tanin not bablced with fruit.

92 Eileen Hardy SHiraz - fruit fading a little I'm inclinded to say drink up

2000 disgorge Rockford Balck Shiraz - I pulled this out because the cork seemed to be weeping a bit - no loss of fizz, in fact lost it for a fairly loud bang - I always enjoy these - but Seppelt original better value than this bottle but the cork was weeping

[Mike Hawkins]

1991 Wynns Michael Shiraz. Beautifully perfumed wine, instantly recognisable as Coonawarra shiraz. No longer overtly oaky, this full bodied wine revealed a palate loaded with intense cherry and raspberry fruit, great length. Classy stuff, that.

1993 Wynns Michael Shiraz. A super wine, just lacking the polish of its older brother. Far oakier on the nose, the palate was a little more powerful than its forbearer, with tastes of cherry, plum, mint and noticeable oak. Good finish and will be better in a year or so.


1994 Henschke Abbots Prayer Merlot Cabernet. This wine was a revelation, as it is not a label I am normally enamoured with. Delightful lifted, perfumed nose, with medium bodied palate with traces of clove, spice and mulberry. Classy finish, with oak nicely integrated.

1990 Yalumba The Reserve Cabernet Shiraz. Nose of mint, tobacco and charry oak, giving way to a medium to full bodied palate with traces of blackcurrant, mint and savouriness. If anything, the palate was a touch dry, perhaps due to tannin treatment (floury). Good finish, but a tad disappointing for a wine I expected big things from.

1988 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz. This had a restrained, yet complex nose of earth, leather and meat. The palate, being medium to full bodied, had the trademark Rockford oak and tannin treatment. Palate had hints of earth and spice, and the finish was lovely. A joy to drink, though the wine is possibly just beginning to dry out, with the likelihood that its best days will shortly be behind it.

1996 Gianni Paoletti Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This was clearly an enigmatic drop. In fact, I can’t remember a wine like it. Massive up front cabernet nose, and plenty of initial fruit power on the palate, yet no substance and length (Where did the mid and back palate go ?).

1998 Grant Burge Shadrach Cabernet. Another enigmatic wine, this time because it did not have characteristics one would normally associate with cabernet (not necessarily a bad thing). Medium bodied, with a linear structure. Not the big fleshy monster one would expect from the vintage. A pleasant wine.

2000 Turkey Flat Shiraz. While not having the desired airing (only 2 minutes instead of two hours !), there was trademark chocolate and plum notes and a palate to match. Good length and decent oak integration. This will be a beauty in a few years time, especially considering the vintage.

1996 Orlando Centenary Hill Shiraz. I love this wine !! While there's a fair whack of oak, it also has traces of chocolate and toffe on the nose. Palate has beautiful mouthfeel, sweet fruit and a trace of butterscotch. Great length, great wine.


1993 JJ McWilliams Riverine Botrytis Semillon. I’m told this was the forerunner to the Limited Release sticky McWilliams now has in its lineup. Irrespective of this, this was a classy wine, well constructed, and what one would expect from an aged sticky. Not cloying, lovely marmaladic palate, decent length.

1993 De Bortoli Noble One. Deep brown colour, this wine was clearly at the end of the line, as fruit had dried out. Perhaps a bad bottle, as others consumed recently were not that far gone. Easily surpassed by the JJ McWilliams.

[GrahamB]

This has been a big week.

Yalumba The Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon 1996

A nice crimson colour, with aromas of mint (and maybe tobacco) that I expect from a Coonawarra cabernet. The palate is almost full bodied with nice soft tannin. Nice forest fruit flavours and some mint. This is a seriously good drinking red with no noticeable degradation that says it will not last another 5 years. A very good, balanced and tightly structured Cabernet. Current vintage seem to be selling around the mid $30 which is good value. Excellent value for money


Skillogalee Cabernets 1999

Extremely closed initially but opened up beautifully after 1½ hours. Very different to the Coonawarra cabernets I have been drinking recently. Soft, complex and a lot leaner and more refined wine all round. Very good $30


Forest Hill Shiraz 1999

Cooler climate style shiraz from the Great Southern region of WA. An inexpensive and enjoyable wine. Value at around $16


Craggy Range “Le Sol” 2001

This is the fattest bottle I have seen for some time, has a punt that I almost canÂ’t touch bottom in and does not fit easily into the Kitchener Cabinet. This would not be the only reason I will not have another. The price of a NZ Shiraz @ $90 puts it into the serious class.

We opened this one to try while there is still some available to purchase. A deep crimson colour with a good fruit nose. More in the style of Victorian shiraz and reminded me of a young Bannockburn shiraz. It opened up nicely after about an hour. A powerful, savoury, and earthy experience that stayed that way right through the bottle with little change. Very young and I would try this again in 5 to 8 years. V Good wine.


Wirra Wirra RSW 2000

This is a huge wine. Lovely bright colour with a nose of spice and sweetness. A full bodied complex wine with great structure and fine tannins.

Cellar for five more years and enjoy. Excellent

[Ed W]

Hey Ed, could this have been due to defect with regards to time and conditions in store? I only ask because I didn't find it so about a year ago, and I am a Cab drinker. Wondering whether or not this is the way the wine is heading.

hi simm....not too sure. but of coz i couldnt be if i havent tried a good bottle before . all i could go by was that the capsule was spinning and the cork wasnt pushed out. I must say the ullage seemed unusually big. there was a good 1 inch of it. i checked my 99 no.1 and its the same. the 98 cork itself was fine without any wine stein on its side. its a small 45mm one. Can someone tell me if the ullage is normal for saltram no.1?

and jamie, whats the ullage like with your bottle of 99?

ed

[TORB]

94 Leasingham Bin 56 Cab Malbec - 94 seems to be a weak vintage for these guys (Jimmy Watson not withstanding) Recommended but tanin not bablced with fruit.

DJ,

That statement about a weak vintage is a bit of a long bow you are drawing. The Classic Clare Shiraz won them the JWT in 94 so the Bin 56 is not even the same grape variety let alone price point.

[simm]

Hi all,
Just tried a bottle of Wine Society Margaret River Cabernet 2002 (I think this is the correct vintage)
Well... the colour started off ok but the nose had quite a strong element of reconstituted orange juice which lifted a little over time , making it possible to make the next step. What a foul tasting wine! The reconstituted orange juice flavour dominated so much I couldn't get anywhere past it and had to dump the rest of the first glass and bottle into the sink, like oranges in a street bin for two weeks. Around the $10 mark (bought out of interest) don't go near it! Well, I suppose you could just to make sure it isn't a bad bottle, but don't say I sent you there

jeers,

[Aussie Johns]

Plenty to drink on our long weekend. Got to try the wines of Steve Edmunds, two tasted blind in a flight of six shiraz wines.
The wines of note were:

1996 Rockford BP Shiraz
Up there with the 1991 as the best of the line so far. Soft tannins, but still a pup. Magnificent purity of supreme quality fruit.
...........................95pts, drink 2006-2016

2000 Turkey Flat Shiraz
For a supposed "off" vintage, this has a lot to offer. I always find this wine has a lot of licquorice flavour, rather like a wine from the McLaren Vale. Doesn't detract from the wine, though. Excellent.
...........................92pts, drink 2005-2010+

2001 McLaren Vale Associates "Squid Ink"
Black as the ace of Spades, palate too young to yield much at this stage, fierce tannins in a wine that seems very closed. Difficult to judge, but I am guessing it will blossom in another five years.
..........................90pts(?), drink 2006-2009+

2000 Edmunds St John Syrah "Wylie-Fernaughty" (?) vineyard.
Picked by me as a Rhone, maybe a cheapish Cornas. Dark purple, inpenetrable, thick wine. Nose of white pepper, palate pretty monolithic, on the savoury spectrum, with some dark fruits. Not a bad wine.
...........................88pts, drink 2004-2010

1999 Mt Langi Ghiran Shiraz
Picked by me as one of the two E-St.J. wines (I knew I was going to get two out of the six) Obviously cool climate, rather thinner than I would have expected from a Langi, and not very complex. Not sure if this was a representative bottle.
............................87pts, drink now-2006

2000 Edmund St. John Syrah
I assume this to be the basic wine. Yuk!! I picked this immediately as being dross, and therefore quite probably from ol' Steve. Nose and palate of band-aids and betadine. Thin, weedy and no length. Horrible stuff. Again, to be fair, no-one was sure if this was a representative bottle.
..........................65pts, drink now, if you have to.

So, the blind tasting was indeed very educational. The better of the two Edmunds St John wasn't bad at all, I wouldn't buy it, but at $50, not outrageously priced. The other wine was rubbish, getting the severe gong from all present.

Other highlights for the weekend included:

2000 Bindi Chardie
89pts,......drink now-2007
1999 Sorrenberg Chardie
90pts,.....drink now-2008
1991 Great Western Shiraz
94pts,.....drink 2008-2015
1991 Limestone Ridge
88pts,....drink now-2008+
1999 d'Angerville Volnay "Clos de Ducs"
97pts,....drink 2009-2020+
1995 d'Angerville Volnay "Champans"
92pts,....drink 2005-2015
1996 Pichon Baron
91pts,....drink 2016-2026
1994 Kay's Block 6 Shiraz
93pts,....drink now-2014
2001 ?????????? Sauternes
First taste of the much-vaunted 2001 vintage. If you have purchased, my only comment is that you need to leave alone for a decade- the tannins are fierce at the moment.

[ChrisH]

AJ

1995 d'Angerville Volnay "Champans"
92pts,....drink 2005-2015

I have some sitting in the cellar, but don't want to commit vinicide - needs a bit more time I take it ?


regards
Chris

[Adam]

2001 ?????????? Sauternes
First taste of the much-vaunted 2001 vintage. If you have purchased, my only comment is that you need to leave alone for a decade- the tannins are fierce at the moment.

Have had a few sauternes in my day but havent experienced a tannic sauternes (in the classic sense of the word)...could you shed some light on this??

Thanks, Adam

[Aussie Johns]

Chris,
A lot of the 95 Premier Crus are just starting to come out of their shells, but I haven't seen one that doesn't need at least a year more. Champans is traditionally an early drinker, and in the context of Burgundy 95, is one of the few PC's that are close to ready.
Even a lot of the 95 Village wines could use a little more time, tannin is the hallmark of what is otherwise an excellent vintage.
Over the past 3-4 months, I have had the great pleasure of seeing many PC's and GC's from the 99 vintage. IMHO, this may be the greatest vintage in Burgundy for many a decade. The Clos des Ducs is an absolute stunner, and not that expensive. Some of the traditionalists say 99 is too "new-worldish" to be a great vintage, but these wines will, for my palate at least, offer amazing drinking for at least the next two decades.
If you love Burgundy, get your hands on as much of the 99 that you can. Despite the huge reviews of the 2002 vintage, I think 99 is a far better, and more even, year.

[ChrisH]

Thanks AJ. I have a couple of dozen assorted Burgundies from 99 sitting in the cellar - it sounds akin to 2000 Bordeaux - just about everyone had good fruit to work with.

regards
Chris