Recent festive wines!!

[Shiraz_Freak]

1x2006 australis shiraz
Corked, have emailed the winery

1x2005 greenock creek roennfeldt road shiraz
Sublime, This is without a doubt one of the best wines i have ever drank, right up there with the 98 Grange i had and absolutley flogged everything i have had this year.

1x2006 torbreck runrig shiraz viogner magnum
Nice, not worth the money imo

2009 clonakilla shiraz viogner
Different but nice

2006 fox creek reserve shiraz
Great shiraz lovely big ripe fruit

2009 two hands lily's garden shiraz
Really good

2007 brokenwood graveyard shiraz
Didn't like this

1998 summerfield reserve shiraz
Really nice

2008 craiglee shiraz
Average, not what i expected

2007 darenberg dead arm shiraz
Disjointed

2006 jim barry armagh
Cracker, Not sure it's worth the price of admission

2008 savaterre chardonnay
My kind of Chardonnay big oak, big fruit very nice

2008 cullen kevin john chardonnay
Not as oak driven as the Savateere, but really good

1998 rockford basket press shiraz
Amazing wish i had more

2007 Leeuwin estate art series chardonnay
Fell over really quickly

[burgster]

Sounds like a relaxing light lunchtime tasting.

[ticklenow1]

2007 Disgorged Rockford Black Shiraz: We drink this wine every year at Christmas and other special occasions. To be honest, not being a huge lover of sparkling reds (the Missus just loves them!), I am not sure if time in the cellar does them any good. As good an example of the style that I have had though. My wife's favourite wine.

2003 Hugh Hamilton Shiraz Viogner: Has aged beautifully and is right in it's prime. A good example from the vintage.

2003 Seppelt Chalambar: Stunning wine which still has a good few years ahead of it but drinking very well now. Smooth as with typical cool climate fine tannins and a nice bit of spice.

2001 Cape Mentelle Cabernet: Still in it's infancy. Nice to drink but wish I had some for about 10 years time. Tannins were a little sharp but the fruit eventually came through and ended up a real good wine. Not as good as the '98 we had a couple of months back but will be better in 5 to 10 years time.

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas with their loved ones and here's to a great 2011.

Cheers
Ian

[monghead]

1x2006 australis shiraz
Corked, have emailed the winery

1x2005 greenock creek roennfeldt road shiraz
Sublime, This is without a doubt one of the best wines i have ever drank, right up there with the 98 Grange i had and absolutley flogged everything i have had this year.

1x2006 torbreck runrig shiraz viogner magnum
Nice, not worth the money imo

2009 clonakilla shiraz viogner
Different but nice

2006 fox creek reserve shiraz
Great shiraz lovely big ripe fruit

2009 two hands lily's garden shiraz
Really good

2007 brokenwood graveyard shiraz
Didn't like this

1998 summerfield reserve shiraz
Really nice

2008 craiglee shiraz
Average, not what i expected

2007 darenberg dead arm shiraz
Disjointed

2006 jim barry armagh
Cracker, Not sure it's worth the price of admission

2008 savaterre chardonnay
My kind of Chardonnay big oak, big fruit very nice

2008 cullen kevin john chardonnay
Not as oak driven as the Savateere, but really good

1998 rockford basket press shiraz
Amazing wish i had more

2007 Leeuwin estate art series chardonnay
Fell over really quickly

ROFLOL.....

a) I see you took all our advice and opened them all. (good on you...)
b) Out of the 15 wines you opened, 12 were shiraz/shiraz predominant. (could see where the name comes from...)
c) Of those which were not red, all were big, bold Aussie chardies. (if a shiraz had to be a white, it would be a chardie...)

Great (if not slightly eclectic) drinking BTW.

Cheers,

Monghead.

[monghead]

For me:

NV Veuve Cliquot- Good
2004 Domaine Vincent Bouzereau le Poruzot Mersault 1er cru- Solid Good
2010 Clos Clare Riesling- Very Good
2007 Joh Jos Prum Kabinett- Very Good
2009 Henry's Drive Morse Code Shiraz- Not Good
2007 Wirra Wirra Church Block Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Merlot- Just Good
2004 Domaine Champy Savigny les Beaune Aux Fourches- Just Good
2001 Majella Shiraz- Solid Good
2002 Carruades de Lafite- Sub Good
2004 Mamre Brook Cabernet Sauvignon- Very Good
1996 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou- Very Very Good

Cheers,

Monghead

[Mike Hawkins]

2003 Lindemans Pyrus - ok but a little bit funky
2006 Tenuta San Guido Guildaberto - fragrant nose, lacks some length. Will be pretty good in a few years
2008 Brokenwood Semillon - too young, but nice lemony palate
2006 Penfolds Bin 389 - excellent on day 2. Will be outstanding in 10+ years
2002 Veuve Cliquot Brut x2 - one of the better vintages for VC. Will be excellent in 2016.
2001 Lindemans Limestone Ridge - the household quaffer. A good honest toiler.
1990 Wynns Cabernet Sauvignon - in a great spot now. Complex and not likely to fall over any time soon.
2004 Jose Dhont BdB Champagne - superb. Love this house. Pity it's so hard to find. Has 10+ years in front of it.
1996 Rockford Basket Press - really starting to hit the sweet spot. Fantastic.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Monghead wrote:

b) Out of the 15 wines you opened, 12 were shiraz/shiraz predominant. (could see where the name comes from...)
c) Of those which were not red, all were big, bold Aussie chardies. (if a shiraz had to be a white, it would be a chardie...)

Great (if not slightly eclectic) drinking BTW.

Cheers,

Monghead.



I noticed that too................Mahmoud.

[Roscoe]

2007 Disgorged Rockford Black Shiraz: We drink this wine every year at Christmas and other special occasions. To be honest, not being a huge lover of sparkling reds (the Missus just loves them!), I am not sure if time in the cellar does them any good. As good an example of the style that I have had though. My wife's favourite wine.

Robert always says it is made to drink on release, as most (if not all) NV wines are.

I had a 1988 Bin 707 on Christmas Eve that was drinking very well. Still had some primary fruit characters, but had lots of complexity and length. It was paired with a 1992 Mt Edelstone- also drinking well.
Happy New Year to all!

[Shiraz_Freak]

1x2006 australis shiraz
Corked, have emailed the winery

1x2005 greenock creek roennfeldt road shiraz
Sublime, This is without a doubt one of the best wines i have ever drank, right up there with the 98 Grange i had and absolutley flogged everything i have had this year.

1x2006 torbreck runrig shiraz viogner magnum
Nice, not worth the money imo

2009 clonakilla shiraz viogner
Different but nice

2006 fox creek reserve shiraz
Great shiraz lovely big ripe fruit

2009 two hands lily's garden shiraz
Really good

2007 brokenwood graveyard shiraz
Didn't like this

1998 summerfield reserve shiraz
Really nice

2008 craiglee shiraz
Average, not what i expected

2007 darenberg dead arm shiraz
Disjointed

2006 jim barry armagh
Cracker, Not sure it's worth the price of admission

2008 savaterre chardonnay
My kind of Chardonnay big oak, big fruit very nice

2008 cullen kevin john chardonnay
Not as oak driven as the Savateere, but really good

1998 rockford basket press shiraz
Amazing wish i had more

2007 Leeuwin estate art series chardonnay
Fell over really quickly

ROFLOL.....

a) I see you took all our advice and opened them all. (good on you...)
b) Out of the 15 wines you opened, 12 were shiraz/shiraz predominant. (could see where the name comes from...)
c) Of those which were not red, all were big, bold Aussie chardies. (if a shiraz had to be a white, it would be a chardie...)

Great (if not slightly eclectic) drinking BTW.

Cheers,

Monghead.

Ummmmm, yeah got a bit Merry What better time to open them.

Can still taste the Greenock Creek, wish i could drink it everyday of the week, even in summer, it's that bloody good!!

Anyone know when Clarendon Hills will be open, i sent an email and phoned, no answer, but haven't heard from them, have the wine corked and in the fridge, but fear it will be worthless to them by the time i hear anything from them.

Another question, are all Greenock Creek wines in the same mould as the Roennfeldt??

[Gavin Trott]

2007 Leeuwin estate art series chardonnay
Fell over really quickly

The wine fell over quickly

or

given the amount of wine consumed

you fell over really quickly?



.

[Shiraz_Freak]

2007 Leeuwin estate art series chardonnay
Fell over really quickly

The wine fell over quickly

or

given the amount of wine consumed

you fell over really quickly?



No, not quite Gavin

Had 2 bottles of the LEAS 07 both the same, palate started nice, a little bit bitter and totally fell over, over a couple of hours. Both drank about a month apart.

I was very surprised.

To my tastes it was an inferior wine to both the Cullen and Savaterre.

.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Roscoe wrote:

I had a 1988 Bin 707 on Christmas Eve that was drinking very well. Still had some primary fruit characters, but had lots of complexity and length. It was paired with a 1992 Mt Edelstone- also drinking well.
Happy New Year to all!



Much appreciate the comment on the '88 Bin 707. It is a wine that I have and had been wondering how it might be doing. Given that it contains Penfold's best Cabernet of the year (minus the tiny bits that go into the Grange) I should not have been surprised that it appear to be on the upward side.

Thanks....................Mahmoud.

[AndrewCowley]

2008 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir: First pinot noir I've had for many a moon. Took me a while to adjust. It was good. But on the 3rd night, when there was a glass and a bit left, it was really singing. Needs a long decant.

2005 Peter Lehmann Eight Songs Shiraz: As per my other post, great upfront and then totally lacking in the follow through. Couldn't make sense of that.

2003 Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot: A nice start my Christmas lunch. Very grippy and tannic. Powerful. Nice blackberry fruit almost hidden underneath. Still needs 3+ years I reckon.

1996 Orlando Jacaranda Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon: Good, but perhaps not as good as the other bottle of this that I've had. A touch spirity and sharp.

2004 Penfolds Bin 389 Shiraz Cabernet: Seemed to be very shiraz dominant. Pretty good. Should have decanted it for longer. Nowhere near as primary as the Voyager Estate.

2004 Saltram Mamre Brook Shiraz: Had this on boxing day. A big & simple Barossa shiraz. Masses of blackberry. Was perfect for the boxing day lunch that I attended. No decant even. Just open and drink.

Left over from the wine I set aside for Christmas I have a 2005 Yering Station Reserve Shiraz Viognier. Can't wait to try that. New Years perhaps.

[xsorxpire]

2003 The Poplars Coonawarra Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Red fruits, vanilla, hint of liquorice. Dry finish, soft tannins. Though lovely to drink i could have left it a couple more years to drop the red fruit a little more. Had a lovely lingering aftertaste.

[Bick]

Over the xmas period I had a few whites that are probably among the best of each variety made in NZ. I picked an example each of a chardonnay, a sauvignon blanc and a riesling. I also opened up a young iconic red from the cellar just to have an experimental look-see. Turns out it was (unsurpringly) way too young to drink yet:

Astrolabe 'Discovery' Sauvignon Blanc 2010 - very, very good - decent palate weight and length.
Kumeu River 'Coddington' Chardonnay 2008 - nice, concentrated stonefruit. Dense and luxurious.
Pegasus Bay 'Aria' Late Harvest Riesling 2008 - good, yet I'm not sure I prefer it over the standard PB riesling, which is a perenial favourite.

and ... Stonyridge Larose 2008 - waaaaay too youmg. This was an experimental opening to check out the vintage, and I was also encouraged to think it might actually be drinking ok, as the recently tasted South Auckland Puriri Hills Pope 08 is drinking so well. However, this is quite a different beast. I expect in 15 years this will be superb. Great perfume of rich fruit, chocolate and cigarbox wafts out of the bottle as soon as you pop the cork, but the tannins are sooo big, the struture just needs to settle down. Drink Puriri Hills now, and Larose next decade.

[Craig(NZ)]

and ... Stonyridge Larose 2008 - waaaaay too youmg. This was an experimental opening to check out the vintage, and I was also encouraged to think it might actually be drinking ok, as the recently tasted South Auckland Puriri Hills Pope 08 is drinking so well. However, this is quite a different beast. I expect in 15 years this will be superb. Great perfume of rich fruit, chocolate and cigarbox wafts out of the bottle as soon as you pop the cork, but the tannins are sooo big, the struture just needs to settle down. Drink Puriri Hills now, and Larose next decade

Different window for Cab predominant wines?? Always seems a wine you need to be patient with. "Luckily" I buy so little of it that pulling a bottle out early to satify curiousity never happens. As for the PH "drink now"...need to be able to "buy now" first

As for me last night 2005 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir. After a few "ok" Ata Rangi's this one really stood up. REAL pinot noir with all the characters that it should have...complex, piles of red cherry/ plum and hints of cream and star anise. Very fragrant, detailed and layered. Yum.

Pinot Noir seems to benefit more than any wine I feel from good storage. This bottle has been at 12oC since release. I seem to store all my good Pinots in my wine fridge these days and it is paying dividends

[milky]

Spent Christmas in warm & humid Malaysia with the in-laws... spoilt with wonderful food, and I only had to contribute 2 bottles!

Heidsieck & Co. Monopole Blue Top Champagne Brut NV
- moussy, dry & very alluring... very nice!
Jacob's Creek Chardonnay 2009
- the only white we could find in the house ...varietal, reasonably good drinking...
Chateau Loudenne 2006 (Medoc, Cru Bourgeois Superieur)
- never tried Bordeaux wines before... nice, easy drinking...
Trevor Jones Dry Grown Shiraz 2006 (Barossa Valley)
- 1 hr decant, still very tight, firm tannins, tonnes of fruit... my FIL's current fav red, so I'd better import more for him!

Sacred Hill Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (Marlborough)
- refreshing, clean, well perfumed... anyone in NZ know much of this wine, 1st time I heard of it...
Montes Classic Series Sauvignon Blanc 2006
- an slightly-aged SB quaffer? It was ok, not to my liking...
Koonowla The Ringmaster Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 (Clare Valley)
- not a familiar name to me... but a good expression of Clare Valley cab sav, good fruit, soft tannins, easy to drink...

To drink wines in Malaysia is such a luxury, even the quaffers would cost in excess of RM50, which to the average Malaysian earning in RM, this is a significant expense. Which is why, there's a huge amount of quaffers being sold in Malaysia (& Singapore), brands from Aust & NZ that we probably would not have heard of... "Connor Sur" (wine from SE Aust) anyone??

Of course, there's also plenty of good quality wines from France, Aust, NZ, Spain, Italy, USA, South Africa etc..

Happy New Year to all!
Cheers!

[Mike Hawkins]

Shiraz Freak - they tend to be in the same mould, but in some years I prefer the Creek Block to the RR.

Mike

[Michael R]

Christmas feels like months ago already, the memorable wines were….

2006 Moss Wood Cab Sav
1996 Henschke Mount Edelstone
2007 Rippon Pinot Noir
2008 Collector Reserve shiraz
2005 Penfolds 389...my favourite 389, having tasted quite a few
2006 Dowie Doole Reserve Shiraz
2009 Sorrenberg Chardonnay
2009 Felton Road Block 2 Chardonnay
2003 Pewsey Vale Contours Riesling

Plenty of NV Champagne (Bolly, Laurent Perrier, Pol Roger, Moet).

Cheers
Michael

[AndrewCowley]

moving into the post New Year's weekend (need a new thread!)

2004 Balnaves Cabernet Sauvignon: Deeply impressive. Stunning actually. Still a bit young but an amazingly 'perfect' cabernet. Nice grippy tannins. The fruit as a bit hidden underneath but give it a few years and it will be there too. Needs at least 3 years longer and I could guess it would last at least another 10-15 years. Wish I had some. A lot better than the 2004 Petaluma (of which I have half a case) that I recently tried. Wish I could swap!

[Wayno]

A few over the Christmas break...

98 Dom Perignon - very good, terrific length
99 Henschke Hill of Grace - I found this a bit dried out and leathery - I wonder if this was an off-bottle?
06 LEAS Chardonnay - superb - benchmark with so much understated class
02 Rockford Basket Press - rich, porty, solid wine but I am glad I sold my bottles of this - just not my style anymore
05 Petaluma Coonawarra - excellent - slightly herbal but not to distraction - good example of a Cabernet Merlot and will last
01 Petaluma Coonawarra - washed out on night 1 but lifted on night 2 - not as good as the 05 but still quite impressive
01 Cullen Chardonnay - took time to lose a bitter edge but eventually gave way to a fresh lemon-pith quality. Very good.
97 Josmeyer Les Pierrets Riesling - fresh as a daisy and vey strong, lovely wine
04 disgorg Rockford Black Shiraz - very good, lifted strawberry notes, satisfying
02 Ashton Hills Sparkling Shiraz - a touch heavy, with tarry, burnt sugar-esque characters. OK. Ultra-concentrated
03 Kooyong Pinot - good
01 Grosset Pinot Noir - surprisingly pretty good, in reasonable shape - I have not shined to his Pinots consistently, so this was a pleasant variation
05 Voyager Estate Chardonnay - stunning, in full bloom and balance - would contend with the LEAS in a fair fight

Loads of others but they escape me, for now...