open for drinks..... seven eleven december

[monghead]

The silly season is nearing (or it may well have arrived for some)...

Even if it is crap, let us know...

Cheers,

Monghead.

[orpheus]

Craggy Range Block 14 Syrah 2007.

Excellent wine. Lovely, floral nose. Palate hard to describe - complex but in harmony so that no one particular quality stands out, with fine-grained tannins from start to finish, and restrained, dark berry and cherry fruit.

[monghead]

Only one so far

2009 Grant Burge Moscato- A little heavy for what I like in a moscato. A little too sickly sweet too. Sub Good.

[Rawshack]

Cumulus Rolling Shiraz 2007

Chewy black fruit, med to full body, leathery and tannic, opened up nicely after an hour or so in the decanter

Delicious and drinkable

[jeremy]

2008 D'Arenberg Money Spider Roussanne- complex wine with gunpowder green tea, apples, peaches, nectarines, honeysuckle, grapefruit and spice. I ended up liking it a lot.

[Rawshack]

2008 D'Arenberg Money Spider Roussanne- complex wine with gunpowder green tea, apples, peaches, nectarines, honeysuckle, grapefruit and spice. I ended up liking it a lot.

I've had a couple previous vintages of the Money Spider and remembered liking them a lot. Must give the 08 a try

[bacchaebabe]

Only one so far

2009 Grant Burge Moscato- A little heavy for what I like in a moscato. A little too sickly sweet too. Sub Good.

Didn't go with the clean balcony then? Oh well, it's cheep and cheery enough for us but I can see what you mean when you say it's a little heavy.

[Michael McNally]

1991 Redman Coonawarra "Claret" (Shiraz)

This was quite watery looking and a bit stinky intially, so I feared it was oxidised (there was a bit of seepage around the cork under the capsule) After the bottle had aired for an hour the stink dissipated and a nose of aged leather and black plum appeared. Palate really builds through some dusty plum and red cherry fruit. Fully resolved tannins support a good flow. Quite a bit of complexity and x-factor. Got better while it lasted (between four of us), Clean, long finish. I will check the other two bottles under the capsule and hopefully one of them will be sound to see if oxidisation was a factor. Very, Very Good.

[monghead]

Only one so far

2009 Grant Burge Moscato- A little heavy for what I like in a moscato. A little too sickly sweet too. Sub Good.

Didn't go with the clean balcony then? Oh well, it's cheep and cheery enough for us but I can see what you mean when you say it's a little heavy.

Tell you what Kris, the clean balcony was joy enough in itself!!!

With the moscato, yeah, we enjoyed the Wirra Wigley much more.

[monghead]

Our bad run this week continues...

2004 Gralyn Chardonnay- Horrendous! Thick, oaky, cloying. 1/2 of bottle down the sink! Undrinkably Bad.
2004 Mount Pleasant Maurice O'Shea Shiraz- Porty, stewed, crushed ants galore. Almost Undrinkably Bad.

Went onto the ever reliable Coopers Reds....

Oh well.....

Monghead.

[monghead]

There is a rumour that bolli and a rockford BP will be offerred up tonight at a catch up with a mate.

Starting to get excited...

Monghead.

[Rawshack]

There is a rumour that bolli and a rockford BP will be offerred up tonight at a catch up with a mate.

Starting to get excited...

Monghead.

I love Bollinger... However, I have to make do with the Hanging Rock NV (a self confessed immitation)

Let us know how you get on

[Wayno]

Steingarten 02 - singing, much better than the last which had me thinking this was getting past it. Still developed but more acid and liveliness than before. Excellent wine but drink over next year or so I think.

[monghead]

Had a good night...

1996 Bollinger Grande Anne- The last bottle I had of this, I was disappointed. Last night, this showed very well. Big and muscular, yeasty, bread and butter characteristics. Fine bubbles tickled the tastebuds, and there was a sophisticated finesse to the palate. Very Very Good.

1996 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz- Wow. Simply outstanding juice this. Expressive yet delicate. Powerful yet refined. Rich plum sauce, hints of tar and crushed ants. Christmas cake with brandy cream. Starting to express secondary leathery/cigar notes. Soft, fine tannins, and a great persistence. Out of Control Good.

Cheers,

monghead.

[Wayno]

Probably a bit special for a lazy Friday night but what the heck
Epis Chardonnay 2004
Very, very good. Snappy, citric with lovely peachy notes - fresh and will go on for quite some time yet.

[Michael McNally]

Finishing the remainder of the 2008 Wynns Coonawarra Shiraz I opened last night. While I fear a little heavy on the extract last night, tonight it is pretty good. Excellent if you consider the sub-$10 price tag.

[TiggerK]

Bit of an evening... BTW I hate corks, and always will be annoyed at the risk we always have to take after spending our hard earned dollars.

Henri Billiot 'Cuvee Julie' NV Grand Cru Champagne - not as fresh as the last bottle at the champers tasting evening... bit reductive, cork taint on the nose, eventually blew off a bit and not too bad a bubbly, but the taint was still hanging around too much for my liking.
Bannockburn Chardonnay 2006 - again not the freshest bottle of this I've had (and had a fair few in recent months), the alcohol was sticking out a bit and the balance was a bit wonky but still quite drinkable. (Wife didn't agree after these 2 wines and wanted something 'fresh' so I gave her the cheap old favourite).....>
Dopff Cremant D'Alsace NV Sparkling - clean simple fresh fuller style sparkling. Great value and tons of bottles later, almost no variation to be seen, unlike most expensive champers I've bought.....
Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2008 - I went on to this after a few hours in the decanter.... crikey, complex interesting, impressive nose.. tar, anise, five spice and licquorice and probably a ton more smells that others would enjoy describing. Taste is much the same and I've now seen the true meaning of 'thrillingly silky tannin' as Mr Halliday described it. So THAT's what they mean.... Impressive. Probably still a little bit closed for now, so will put the rest away for a few years and see what it's' like then. Patience is a virtue.

Cheers
TiggerK

[griff]

Finishing the remainder of the 2008 Wynns Coonawarra Shiraz I opened last night. While I fear a little heavy on the extract last night, tonight it is pretty good. Excellent if you consider the sub-$10 price tag.

Bargain red of the year I reckon Speaking of which....

cheers

Carl

[Davo]

The monthly wine options lunch today and the bloke presenting the wines opened some crackers:-

Cullen Reserve Cab Merlot 1988, drying out but still singing, much better than most of the younger Cullens I have had over the past couple of years.

Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 1990, only 2 years younger than the Cullen but looked, smelled and tasted 10 years younger. Stunning. Still drinking well after an hour in the glass.

Penfold St Henri Shiraz 1989, Still a pup with bright fruit showing initially. Dried out over the hour it was in the glass.

Followed by an old bottle of Penfolds Tawny kindly brought along by one of the group, sadly I could only have a sip of this nectar as I had to return to the coalface for the afternoon.

[Mike Hawkins]

Had a good night...

1996 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz- Wow. Simply outstanding juice this. Expressive yet delicate. Powerful yet refined. Rich plum sauce, hints of tar and crushed ants. Christmas cake with brandy cream. Starting to express secondary leathery/cigar notes. Soft, fine tannins, and a great persistence. Out of Control Good.

Cheers,

monghead.

Good to hear. I just brought back a case of BPs from Oz - 91, 96 and 98 vintages. Might pull the cork on one of the 96s this week. The 96 has always shone each time I've tried it.