Easter Weekend Drinks

[monghead]

I guess we should start this up...

For me, so far...

1996 Amberly First Selection Cabernet Sauvignon- Solid Good.
NV Nicholas Feuilatte- Good Good.
2006 Ten Minutes By Tractor Tempranillo- Good.

Cheers,

Monghead.

[dlo]

Last night over dinner .....

Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile Riesling V.T. 1989 - thoroughly brilliant. This remarkable wine retains a magical mix of gorgeously expressive and honeyed late-picked Alsace riesling fruit (peaches, apricots, oranges, redcurrants and limes), a unique "minerality", superb complex bottle development (toast and petrol) and still lives on with great aplomb! Although possessing a relatively fresh inner core, fantastic counterbalancing acidity, enormous length and astute authority, I suspect this stunner should now be drunk a little sooner than later. 95

Marc Sorrel Hermitage "Le Greal" 1991 - this wine continues to keep keeping on. My second bottle since a "not ready" sign showed up on the first bottle opened quite some years ago (circa late 90's). This robust Syrah has another decade of fine drinking ahead; excellent deep colour, nose of cured and roast meats and old polished leather over dark fruit, earth, cedar and oak spice, followed by a maturing palate revealing a degree of fine resolution and smoothness although with some residual fine-grained tannin and supple acidity. Excellent finish. 91

[jeremy]

2005 Castagna Un Segreto- Fresh Cherries & kirsch, dark fruit, loads of cool climate spice & some five spice, touch of smoke and cured meats/bacon fat, almonds, bitumen. Remarkable acid and tannin profile. Hints of sandalwood, cedar, orange peel and anise. Lithe and subtly muscled. Awesome, will get better with further oak integration.

2002 Clayfield Shiraz- Beginning to display lovely aged notes of old leather and truffle. Wild blakberries and farmyard notes. Coffee and lots of black pepper. Fruit and oak in perfect balance. Maybe a little acetone, but it all works. Delicious and with great drive & length.

[Wayno]

Wynns Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 - beautiful, medium bodied and in balance in all respects. Classic BL style, quite definitely Coonawarra but without the OTT mint, eucalypt etc. Plush.

Seppelt Cleanskin VP 2006 - a lot better than the 98, expressive and has improved with a couple of days opening- flyspray, berries, orange peel, creamy oak. A ripper with lots of room for improvement. I have found the 98 to be quite mute in comparison.

[rooman]

2002 Telmo Rodríguez Ribera del Duero M2 de Matallana Sadly the fruit in the wine is rapidly drying out and as such it is hard to recognise the Tempranillo.

2005 Moillard Gevrey-Chambertin Still pretty tannic with muted fruit. Hopefully something will emerge in a another couple of years.

1999 Capercaillie Sémillon Delicious semillon. Starting to develop a deep golden hue. Lush fruit with lemons and lanolin. Still a crisp finish.

2006 Tyrrell's Sémillon Reserve Stevens The acid is not too overpowering and the crisp lemon flavours have a degree of complexity that makes semillon very approachable now.

[griff]

2002 Taltarni Cephas Shiraz Cabernet
Stern nose of redcurrant, mint overlayed with a lot of oak. The palate is a little disjointed with the mint and redcurrants juxtaposed with a chocolate character. Had a somewhat soupy mouthfeel. Firm, tannic finish. Still too young perhaps. Good wine and a lot of work done on it but just failed to excite or interest any further.

2008 Bellarmine Riesling Auslese
For the sucrophile. Talcy fresh nose with some lemon blossom. Rich and tangy palate with a lingering finish. Too heavy on the sugar for me though.

2007 Luna Beberide Bierzo Mencia
Medium intensity vivid purple colour. Inky fresh nose. Mineral, graphite notes with dark fruit purely secondary. Tannins ripple but don't intrude. Good wine and pairs rather well with five spice lamb and General Tsao's chicken.

2007 Kalleske JMK VP Shiraz
Strongly intense colour. Nose of coffee and clove icecream. Rich, filling yet silky palate of primary fruit along with spicy brandy snaps. Excellent wine and goes all too quick.

Also had some non-descript French bubbly from Jura? Not worth reporting on.

Hope people have had a lot of yummy chocolate or macaroons over this festive season!

cheers

Carl

[griff]

And tonight a savoury, slippery glass of Marques de Riscal Rioja Reserva 2004 A dusty woodchest of exotic spice. Leather and cherries finishing with firm powdery tannin. Excellent wine. A word of caution though as the previous bottle was so brett affected that I was thinking of the Coca-Cola bottle scene in Allegro Non Troppo.

cheers

Carl

[Red Smurf]

Rothvale reserve chardonay 2002 - toast, honey, still fruit and vanilla. Tasted like honey covered peach with a pleasent oak finish. VG
Penfolds Bin 28 1997 Had a huge crust when decanting, little bit of everything on the nose, little dusty earth, plum, blackberry, dark chocolate, leafy. Was again plumy and chocolate on the palate and finished still lively and long with gritty tannins. Excellent and could go a lot more.

Cheers,
Red Smurf

[Dave Dewhurst]

2008 Bellarmine Riesling Auslese
For the sucrophile. Talcy fresh nose with some lemon blossom. Rich and tangy palate with a lingering finish. Too heavy on the sugar for me though.

Interesting how people's palates vary on these Carl. I have found this wine perfect for me as the acidity is good, yet I struggle sometimes with German Kabinetts and Spaetleses of a similar age with sweetness and not enough acidity!

All three levels of Bellarmine riesling I have found a really great match with many soft and some blue cheeses!

Cheers

Dave

[Chuck]

And another bottle tonight and were we hugely impressed. Scarlett 2004 McLaren Vale Shiraz cleanskin. My sort of wine. Uncomplicated and really really good fruit. '04s are starting to show the fruit quality of the vintage. Yum yum. Enjoyed with a classic roast leg of lamb with all the trimmings.

Chuck

[griff]

2008 Bellarmine Riesling Auslese
For the sucrophile. Talcy fresh nose with some lemon blossom. Rich and tangy palate with a lingering finish. Too heavy on the sugar for me though.

Interesting how people's palates vary on these Carl. I have found this wine perfect for me as the acidity is good, yet I struggle sometimes with German Kabinetts and Spaetleses of a similar age with sweetness and not enough acidity!

All three levels of Bellarmine riesling I have found a really great match with many soft and some blue cheeses!

Cheers

Dave

You are in esteemed company as the better half likes it

cheers

Carl

[monghead]

A few more...

2008 Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc- Good.
2009 Knapstein Hand Picked Riesling- Very Very Good.
2004 Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz- Very Good.
2006 Vidal Fleury Muscat des Baumes de Venice- Solid Good.

Cheers,

Monghead.

[Sean O'Sullivan]

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[Sean O'Sullivan]

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[Peter Schlesinger]

Over lunch with friends:

Joseph Sparkling Red Degorged June 2009 - astonishingly good. The perfect example of this style. I thought the Ashton Hills was good but this was incredible. Lush, complex with not enough space to describe here. I'll be happy to have another as good as this bottle but don't expect to ever have a better. Worked well with a spinach ricotta open shortcrust tart with fresh tomato reduction base.
Seppelts St Peters 1998 Shiraz - lovely wine. Silky elegance, light fruit beautifully in balance with the softest of tannins and unobtrusive acid. I've had disappointing bottles of this vintage but this one restored my faith in the line. Accompanied marinated grilled lamb cutlets, crisped baked potato cubes and a ratatouille.
Chateau Doisy-Vedrines 2003 - some legitimate botrytis qualities in an easy drinking sticky. Wish I had more. A good match for the vanilla pannacotta and slow baked figs caramelised in raw sugar and Mount Gay rum.
Finished with Koko Black chocolates, coffee and Comte de Lamaestre 1979 Bas Armagnac, which has to be the best value Armagnac going around.

[Loztralia]

Just had time to stop at a couple of Canberra wineries on the way to seeing the Tigers continue their devastating "all attack, all the time" start to the season.

Clonakilla sold out of the 2008 Shiraz Viognier last week apparently, which means I've still not managed to sample it - I'm taking the word of the pros that it'll be better after time and as a result not iopening any of mine yet. Anyway the other lines were a more than adequate substitute. I think their Semillon-Sauvignon is a surprise treat - a white I'd be happy to drink a lot of. I'm not a big Viognier fan but Clonakilla's is pleasantly dry and sharp. All the reds are good and don't need me to repeat that fact, but I will mention the 2008 Syrah which is a very stately wine indeed - quite savoury but all class. Picked up just the one for budgetary reasons and alas it's another I'll have to wait to drink.

Like the Raiders' performance yesterday it was a tale of two halves with an impressive start petering out somewhat. Didn't think too much of Brindabella Hills to be honest - the Riesling was quite nice though we don't drink much of it at our place. I quote liked the Rose as a compromise for my non-meat eating, non-white drinking wife. The reds were a bit ho hum for my money though it has to be said not bad value.

[rooman]

Over lunch with friends:

Seppelts St Peters 1998 Shiraz - lovely wine. Silky elegance, light fruit beautifully in balance with the softest of tannins and unobtrusive acid. I've had disappointing bottles of this vintage but this one restored my faith in the line. Accompanied marinated grilled lamb cutlets, crisped baked potato cubes and a ratatouille.

Peter

I am glad you enjoyed it. I have broken open a six pack and am throughly enjoying them at present. One of the best Aussie shiraz I have had for a while bar the Graveyard and Clonakilla 01.

Mark

[Craig(NZ)]

08 Te Mata Awatea - Excellent
07 Wild Rock Angels Dust Syrah - Excellent
08 Martinborough Vineyards Te Tera Pinot Noir - Excellent
08 Stonyridge Larose - Outstanding
08 Stonyridge Pilgrim - Exceptional
08 Stonyridge Luna Negra - Very Good
07 Stonyridge Chardonnay - Very Good
09 Stonyridge Airfield - Good
09 Stonyridge Larose Barrel Sample - Excellent (unfinished so grain of salt)
09 Stonyridge Pilgrim Barrel Sample - Excellent (unfinished so grain of salt)
08 Mudbrick Syrah - Outstanding
08 Mudbrick Cabernet Merlot - Average
08 Mudbrick Reserve Merlot - Good
08 Mudbrick Reserve Riesling - Good
09 Mudbrick Viognier - Blah
08 Mudbrick Reserve Chardonnay - Blah
07 Passage Rock Reserve Syrah - Good
08 Passage Rock Reserve Syrah - Excellent
08 Passage Rock Reserve Cabernet Merlot - Good
09 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc - Outstanding

Auckland vintage comment. Vintage is underway for early reds early as the days remain warm and weather placid. 2010 on waiheke looks like it will be very good to excellent. Waiheke Island is confident 2010 will compete with the excellent 2008 and 2009. Mudbrick was saying quantities are small however as a result of poor berry set early in proceedings. Stonyridge is pretty excited. The Malbec is in and more picking was planned today. Clevedon looks like it will be excellent-exceptional. Malbec is also in. Puriri Hills rates 2010 "if possible..better still than 2005, 2008 and 2009" describing the fruit as "so perfect it looks artificial". So here is hoping. All we need is reasonably kind weather to hold for later ripening varieties. Even a little rain now will do little harm as berry condition is excellent and the hard clay soils will run off like concrete. Auckland has had the driest start to the year since records began. No doubt north of Auckland will consider 2010 as a great vintage under sustained drought conditions.