Weekday drinks for the new financial year

monghead · Post by **monghead** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 4:54 pm

Hi all,

It's the new $ year.

What are we all drinking?

Cheers,

Monghead.

Deano · Post by **Deano** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:06 pm

2006 St Hallett Blackwell Shiraz (Screwcap 375mL): Bought a dozen off a recent mail order...very nice, once it has opened up. 375mL's are a great way to keep the consumption in a respectable order during the week.

cuttlefish · Post by **cuttlefish** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:08 pm

I'm celebrating my very first "dry-July", so no booze for me...

ross67 · Post by **ross67** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:33 pm

cuttlefish wrote:I'm celebrating my very first "dry-July", so no booze for me...

Sorry to hear that Cuttlefish!!

It is prime red drinking season.

ross

roughred · Post by **roughred** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:46 pm

Not for me to question, but do we really need two weekly drinking threads?

dazza1968 · Post by **dazza1968** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:57 pm

Deano wrote:2006 St Hallett Blackwell Shiraz (Screwcap 375mL): Bought a dozen off a recent mail order...very nice, once it has opened up. 375mL's are a great way to keep the consumption in a respectable order during the week.

Hey deano Is it ok to ask what did you pay for them

regards dazza

dazza1968 · Post by **dazza1968** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:59 pm

cuttlefish wrote:I'm celebrating my very first "dry-July", so no booze for me...

good on you I will have a few samples on your behalf as i am sure in the future will do the same

Regards Dazza

dazza1968 · Post by **dazza1968** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:00 pm

roughred wrote:Not for me to question, but do we really need two weekly drinking threads?

Does it Matter
Regards Dazza

monghead · Post by **monghead** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:16 pm

cuttlefish wrote:I'm celebrating my very first "dry-July", so no booze for me...

Does this mean nothing for the whole month cuttlefish?

If so, Bravo...

I don't think I have that sort of resolve. :oops:

Let us know how it goes.

Cheers,

Monghead.

monghead · Post by **monghead** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:21 pm

roughred wrote:Not for me to question, but do we really need two weekly drinking threads?

You know what, until you mentioned this, I have mostly taken the Sunday thread as what we had been consuming over the weekend.

Thus I started this weekday one to see what others are drinking through the week. Also, it allows us to post as we go, I guess a little more real-time, rather than saving up all the TNs, lists, and impressions to the Sunday...

Anyways...

monghead · Post by **monghead** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:27 pm

2006 Jacob's Creek Steingarten Riesling

An abundance of citrus fruits- lemons, limes, even a hint of ruby grapefruits. Lovely zesty riesling with a minerally slate-like character. Starting to develop the slightest hint of kerosene, but by no means oily and viscous as yet, just clean, light and dry on the finish. For me, a drink now proposition...

cuttlefish · Post by **cuttlefish** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 11:15 pm

monghead wrote:
cuttlefish wrote:I'm celebrating my very first "dry-July", so no booze for me...

Does this mean nothing for the whole month cuttlefish?

If so, Bravo...

I don't think I have that sort of resolve.

Let us know how it goes.

Cheers,

Monghead.

My brain keeps telling me to grab a glass out of the cupboard at all the usual drinking times, or when I see a bottle on the bench or in the fridge.
So far I have resisted, and I hope that "need" to drink subsides.

I was at the Food and Wine Show in Sydney this weekend, and tasted a few wines, but spat everything, so that could be construed as cheating, but I really did spit everything.

Chocolate and cheese have been filling the gap, to a degree, but one of my reasons for the month off was to lose some weight , so I'll have to rein in my chocolate and cheese intake also for best results...

Oh look ! A lettuce leaf ! :roll:

monghead · Post by **monghead** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 6:58 am

cuttlefish wrote:
monghead wrote:
cuttlefish wrote:I'm celebrating my very first "dry-July", so no booze for me...

Does this mean nothing for the whole month cuttlefish?

If so, Bravo...

I don't think I have that sort of resolve.

Let us know how it goes.

Cheers,

Monghead.

My brain keeps telling me to grab a glass out of the cupboard at all the usual drinking times, or when I see a bottle on the bench or in the fridge.
So far I have resisted, and I hope that "need" to drink subsides.

I was at the Food and Wine Show in Sydney this weekend, and tasted a few wines, but spat everything, so that could be construed as cheating, but I really did spit everything.

Chocolate and cheese have been filling the gap, to a degree, but one of my reasons for the month off was to lose some weight , so I'll have to rein in my chocolate and cheese intake also for best results...

Oh look ! A lettuce leaf !

Geez, giving up the juice AND losing weight. You sure pick the tough ones to tackle.

Hang in there cuttlefish. Only 24 days to go.

BTW, what was your highlight for the food and wine thingy on the weekend?

Monghead.

Deano · Post by **Deano** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 11:07 am

Dear Dazza, yes, sure, i mean't to write it in originally anyway. $130 plus $6 for postage in SA...i think it was $10 other states.

bacchaebabe · Post by **bacchaebabe** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 2:27 pm

Had a 05 Seppelt Jaluka Chardonnay after being sent to the cellar to fetch a "dry white for a risotto. Still had five bottles of this after trying one on purchase so thought it time to check in again.

Well, it's certainly improved a lot since release. Still a light yellow colour. Lovely butterscotch and lemon on the nose which follows through to the palate. Very well defined acidity and the texture and structure of this wine is something to marvel. Tasting very fresh and young with nutty spice highlights. This was delicious now and still has a very bright future. 94

Craig(NZ) · Post by **Craig(NZ)** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 3:14 pm

Chocolate and cheese have been filling the gap, to a degree, but one of my reasons for the month off was to lose some weight , so I'll have to rein in my chocolate and cheese intake also for best results...

Oh look ! A lettuce leaf !

My rule is no drinking during the week as a buliding block in the fitness regime im on. It is Tuesday and I only have broken that rule once this week. Oh well just one glass of 04 peg bay riesling left over from sunday!!

To help execute this rule I am buying absolutely no quaffers. They do not exist in my house. Drink quality only and in the weekend - no temptation to crack open a cheapie if their aint any in reach

Red Bigot · Post by **Red Bigot** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 3:19 pm

Craig(NZ) wrote:To help execute this rule I am buying absolutely no quaffers. They do not exist in my house. Drink quality only and in the weekend - no temptation to crack open a cheapie if their aint any in reach

A quaffer is just about anything in the cellar that has reached "ready to drink" status. I can't give up drinking during the week for lack of quaffers for about another 10 years. :lol:

malliemcg · Post by **malliemcg** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 3:53 pm

The start of the new year is an AFW for me and my wife. However it ends Friday night just in time for her birthday, we'll be making it special at the other end

monghead · Post by **monghead** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 11:19 pm

bacchaebabe wrote:Had a 05 Seppelt Jaluka Chardonnay after being sent to the cellar to fetch a "dry white for a risotto. Still had five bottles of this after trying one on purchase so thought it time to check in again.

Well, it's certainly improved a lot since release. Still a light yellow colour. Lovely butterscotch and lemon on the nose which follows through to the palate. Very well defined acidity and the texture and structure of this wine is something to marvel. Tasting very fresh and young with nutty spice highlights. This was delicious now and still has a very bright future. 94

Yeah, they are good aren't they? And like most of the seppelt stuff, so underrated. Enjoyed the '07 recently. Remembered getting more after the "try-out" bottle.

For me, an AFN tonight. No, no cheese or chocolate to substitute, just water...

Partagas · Post by **Partagas** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:02 am

Howard Park Chardonnay 2004 Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Had this for about 2 years in the cellar. Maybe refrigerated a bit too cold. Started to open up a little more with temp drop but the acid was too up front to really enjoy. Actually enjoyed a ton more when drinking with my home made bolognaise (not a usual match up I wouldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t think). Will be interesting tomorrow.

dlo · Post by **dlo** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:22 am

Just a lowly fourth growth St-Julien tonight - the 1986 Talbot. Nothing short of outstanding here, unfolding and revealing considerably more brilliance as it was left to breathe in the Riedel Vinum Bordeaux over the course of the evening. A cornucopia of cigar box, dried tobacco leaf, exquisitely ripe and juicy dark plums, Provencal herbs, an authoritative lick of the finest savoury/cedary French oak, underpinned by deep set curranty fruit, a suave leafiness, a suggestion of mossy forest floor and a bevy of other impossibly complex bits and pieces (creosote, road tar, blood, iron, pencil lead and cardamon to name but a few) combine seamlessly to create an awe-inspiring bouquet. In the mouth the wine displays layer upon layer of similarly-etched generous, svelte and rounded flavours backed with a phenomenal barrage of ripe but superb counterbalancing tannin - without losing an inch of focus or an iota of the superb delineation thereafter. Still holding an impeccable line and amazing length, this elegant and slick medium-bodied red will continue to drink well for at least another decade. 12.5% A/V and sealed with a very long, high quality cork. 94 points and pushing hard towards my exceptional rating of 95 and above. Sensational effort from the Cordier's here in 1986 but with a word of warning. This wine was a little diffuse and weak on the palate at first but improved dramatically over a five hour period to reach my final rating at around midnight this evening.

dazza1968 · Post by **dazza1968** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:37 am

dlo wrote:Just a lowly fourth growth St-Julien tonight - the 1986 Talbot. Nothing short of outstanding here, unfolding and revealing considerably more brilliance as it was left to breathe in the Riedel Vinum Bordeaux over the course of the evening. A cornucopia of cigar box, dried tobacco leaf, exquisitely ripe and juicy dark plums, Provencal herbs, an authoritative lick of the finest savoury/cedary French oak, underpinned by deep set curranty fruit, a suave leafiness, a suggestion of mossy forest floor and a bevy of other impossibly complex bits and pieces (creosote, road tar, blood, iron, pencil lead and cardamon to name but a few) combine seamlessly to create an awe-inspiring bouquet. In the mouth the wine displays layer upon layer of similarly-etched generous, svelte and rounded flavours backed with a phenomenal barrage of ripe but superb counterbalancing tannin - without losing an inch of focus or an iota of the superb delineation thereafter. Still holding an impeccable line and amazing length, this elegant and slick medium-bodied red will continue to drink well for at least another decade. 12.5% A/V and sealed with a very long, high quality cork. 94 points and pushing hard towards my exceptional rating of 95 and above. Sensational effort from the Cordier's here in 1986 but with a word of warning. This wine was a little diffuse and weak on the palate at first but improved dramatically over a five hour period to reach my final rating at around midnight this evening.

awesome notes Thanks

Regards Dazza

monghead · Post by **monghead** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 7:18 am

dlo wrote:Just a lowly fourth growth St-Julien tonight - the 1986 Talbot. Nothing short of outstanding here, unfolding and revealing considerably more brilliance as it was left to breathe in the Riedel Vinum Bordeaux over the course of the evening. A cornucopia of cigar box, dried tobacco leaf, exquisitely ripe and juicy dark plums, Provencal herbs, an authoritative lick of the finest savoury/cedary French oak, underpinned by deep set curranty fruit, a suave leafiness, a suggestion of mossy forest floor and a bevy of other impossibly complex bits and pieces (creosote, road tar, blood, iron, pencil lead and cardamon to name but a few) combine seamlessly to create an awe-inspiring bouquet. In the mouth the wine displays layer upon layer of similarly-etched generous, svelte and rounded flavours backed with a phenomenal barrage of ripe but superb counterbalancing tannin - without losing an inch of focus or an iota of the superb delineation thereafter. Still holding an impeccable line and amazing length, this elegant and slick medium-bodied red will continue to drink well for at least another decade. 12.5% A/V and sealed with a very long, high quality cork. 94 points and pushing hard towards my exceptional rating of 95 and above. Sensational effort from the Cordier's here in 1986 but with a word of warning. This wine was a little diffuse and weak on the palate at first but improved dramatically over a five hour period to reach my final rating at around midnight this evening.

WOW.

Forget about the wine (just for a moment)...

This is stellar wine writing.

Well done mate.

Monghead.

Craig(NZ) · Post by **Craig(NZ)** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 9:24 am

A quaffer is just about anything in the cellar that has reached "ready to drink" status. I can't give up drinking during the week for lack of quaffers for about another 10 years.

Quaffer = grabbed from a specials pallet drop at supermarket
Quaffer = drunk just for the sake of drinking
Quaffer = Too stingy to open something good
Quaffer = Left behind by some guest who in reality proceeded to drink all the good stuff on offer that others brought
Quaffer = Thoughtful gift from work for putting in that extra effort

My mind image of a person that drinks every night involves a very sedentary type, a little chubby around the middle that has to stop to catch his/her breath at the top of a flight of stairs :lol:

Genralisations can be cruel but useful

via collins · Post by **via collins** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 3:26 pm

"Actually enjoyed a ton more when drinking with my home made bolognaise (not a usual match up I wouldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t think). Will be interesting tomorrow."

Snap. The wife made a fab lasagne last night, and had opened a bottle of Tahbilk 2008 Viognier as she "needed some wine". I grumped that there was no point having a viognier to drink with a lasagne, but proceeded to thoroughly surprise myself.

The wine is so bold and character-filled, it actually matched up rather nicely. The latest box from Tahbilk has been the best I've had to date I reckon - the 2008 riesling, and 2005 shiraz are both strong wines, and the 2008 marsanne won't show itself fora few years, but that's always a safe bet.

John #11 · Post by **John #11** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 12:04 pm

2005 Xanadu Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon
A pleasing offer from this excellent MR vintage, just a little too light to be called medium-bodied, but had all the nice Cab features, and was gone all too quickly.

2006 Jane Moss Pinot Noir (Moss Brothers)
A tidy, well cherried, but dry-red style Pinot from MR, the last vintage (the vines have since been replaced). Good with food.

2007 Voyager Chenin Blanc
Very fruity, an explosion of fruit salad in the mouth, but a nice dry finish that some CB examples lack. Great length too. A well kept secret.

All of these had while visiting MR over the last weekend.
Hope to post some thoughts about the cellar doors we visited (later).

Cheers
John

griff · Post by **griff** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 1:50 pm

John #11 wrote:2005 Xanadu Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon
A pleasing offer from this excellent MR vintage, just a little too light to be called medium-bodied, but had all the nice Cab features, and was gone all too quickly.

2006 Jane Moss Pinot Noir (Moss Brothers)
A tidy, well cherried, but dry-red style Pinot from MR, the last vintage (the vines have since been replaced). Good with food.

2007 Voyager Chenin Blanc
Very fruity, an explosion of fruit salad in the mouth, but a nice dry finish that some CB examples lack. Great length too. A well kept secret.

All of these had while visiting MR over the last weekend.
Hope to post some thoughts about the cellar doors we visited (later).

Cheers
John

Look forward to your notes. The 2007 Voyager Chenin Blanc was a cracker when we had it in May. Strong taste of red apples.

cheers

Carl

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 2:45 pm

to accommodate the health conscious fiancÃƒÂ© I tried the temple bruer 2007 cab merlot (organic and PF)
colour (inky purple) and initial nose showed promise Ã¢â‚¬â€œ thought I would be in for a real treat.
black olives and berries with subtle tannins. the nose at first was v pleasant however, like the aftertaste and overall length it all depreciated very very quickly. glad I tried, however wont be rushing to hunt this down again. better value around $20.

John11 thx for the Voyager CB 2007 tip.

cuttlefish · Post by **cuttlefish** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 3:27 pm

monghead wrote:
cuttlefish wrote:
monghead wrote:
cuttlefish wrote:I'm celebrating my very first "dry-July", so no booze for me...

Does this mean nothing for the whole month cuttlefish?

If so, Bravo...

I don't think I have that sort of resolve.

Let us know how it goes.

Cheers,

Monghead.

My brain keeps telling me to grab a glass out of the cupboard at all the usual drinking times, or when I see a bottle on the bench or in the fridge.
So far I have resisted, and I hope that "need" to drink subsides.

I was at the Food and Wine Show in Sydney this weekend, and tasted a few wines, but spat everything, so that could be construed as cheating, but I really did spit everything.

Chocolate and cheese have been filling the gap, to a degree, but one of my reasons for the month off was to lose some weight , so I'll have to rein in my chocolate and cheese intake also for best results...

Oh look ! A lettuce leaf !

Geez, giving up the juice AND losing weight. You sure pick the tough ones to tackle.

Hang in there cuttlefish. Only 24 days to go.

BTW, what was your highlight for the food and wine thingy on the weekend?

Monghead.

G'day Monghead,

There were some very impressive wines at the show. We went right through and tried as many of the Hunter 07 red wines as we could. Standouts were the 07 Shiraz wines made by Andrew Thomas, and the 07 Meerea Park reds (Terracotta and Hell Hole Shiraz). Mount View Estate had their 2007 Pinot Noir on tasting, and that's a lovely wine. David Hooks Barbera is a nice drop, too.
We looked at a couple of the Peter Lehmann wines (Black Queen, and Stonewall 2004), and they were both very good.
The Majella Sparkling Shiraz was great, and the 2007 (?) Pierro Chardonnays from Margaret River both looked the goods. Their "Fireblock" Chardonnay is bright and crisp, and the estate is creamy, worked, and powerful.
Disappointingly, there was very, very little Tasmanian wines or Mornington wines being exhibited, and not even much NZ stuff (entry level Villa Maria was all I saw).

bacchaebabe · Post by **bacchaebabe** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 3:53 pm

98 Maxwell Lime Cave Cabernet 14% Deep dark purple with tinges of red on the edges. Rich black fruits, blood and a little bit of capsicum on the nose. Palate a little bit disappointing after the great nose. Grainy tannins on the back palate. just a little bit weedy and green too. After some time in the glass this filled out a bit and got a bit more meaty. A lot of sediment in this bottle. 91.

And last night at the moives, 07 Brown Brothers Shiraz Very simple style. A bit sweet but easy enough to drink without too much thought. A bit of a warmer on a cold night but not thought provoking in any way. I thought it would be better. 85.