hmmm wrote:hmmm first off, happy to be apart of this forum, looks like a great place here. im 22. Am quickly moving away from the uni lifestyle of fruity lexia for about a year now.
highlights of my vintec:
86 moet et chandon... of course as old as i am
92/94 hill of grace 97/01 rwt 92/01 wolf blass black label 99/04 st henri 02 x2 eileen hardy 02 x1 michaels bin 04A
plus others, several lindemans, nobel ones, petalumas, leonays, and some sparklings.
Welcome hmmm to the forum. I suspect your name may be wiped on the daily cleanup but please persevere. Interesting that you are collecting so young. Even more interesting that you have a wine fridge! Sounds like the bug bit hard What propelled you towards collecting wine?
cheers
Carl
Bartenders are supposed to have people skills. Or was it people are supposed to have bartending skills?
I suggest the 86 JR is ready for drinking now. Some friends (in the industry)and I shared one a week or two ago, and it won't get any better than right now.
id suggest based on a bottle i had last year with muscat mike that if stored well this wine is close to immortal
Follow me on Vivino for tasting notes Craig Thomson
Mmmm i think i just enjoy good wine, my dad has always been into drinking good wine and it has rubbed off onto me i guess.
i also figure that if i start now i'm definitely going to appreciate my investment in the future. i have bits of money here and there that i seem to spend elsewheres, sure i could be buying a car (even though i live 600m from work) or spending money on going out and partying, or even traveling (which i do anyway) but heck why not good wine .
i also take an interest in cooking great meals and so i have learnt that they go hand in hand.
the vintec? it was a steal at $600 for a brand new V40SG 'E' that a mate won as a prize and didnt want... no complaints here.
i also joined this forum because i dont know very much about good wine and am very keen to find out more. this is by far the best place i have found so far
I've only been collecting for the past 2 years, and so I have yet to acquire much. Here's a list of my favourites from my small but growing collection:
74 (birth year)/03/04 St Henri
84/92/97 Grange (not the best vintages, I agree)
05 Mt Mary Quintet
05 Glaetzer Amon Ra
04 Rockford Basket Press
05 Tim Adams Aberfeldy
05 Henschke Mt Edelstone
05 Wendouree Shiraz Mal, Shiraz Mat, Cab Mal
05 Grosett Picadilly
05 Lakes Folly Cabernets
04 Brokenwood Graveyard
05 D'arenberg Dead Arm
98 Dom
05 Kilikanoon Oracle
Wow - in reading that, there are a heck of a lot of 05's there.
Hopefully, I'll be able to add a few bottles of 06 Wendouree Shiraz to the list, if my mailing list order is successful!
An unbelievable array of collections here. Still can't get over Graham's post from Page 1 re: last 10 vintages of Rockford BP - I'd kill for that!
I've just really started a semi serious collection and so far it's been made up of some nice NZ/VIC pinots and a range of Barossa reds - Torbreck, Henschke, Rockford, Charlie Melton, etc.
That's all I got and I consider all of them as Gem, nothing else goes into my cellar. Yeah 95 Old Block 6 is great and mine is much more special then anybody's . It was given to me by the owner Colin Kay as our 10th wedding anniversary in 2005 when I was going through their 2005 vintage with them.
What, drinking only Australian wine for the rest of eternity! Why that would be like drinking Italian or French wine for the rest of.........never mind.
Mahmoud Ali wrote:What, drinking only Australian wine for the rest of eternity! Why that would be like drinking Italian or French wine for the rest of.........never mind.
Mahmoud.
Suits me fine - there's enough regional, even individual vineyard, variety in Aussie wines to satisfy me. I don't drink pinot. I'm happy enough with the cool-climate chards from the Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and more lately, Orange, occasionally Margaret River or Great Southern. Similarly red wines, except for pinot, particularly shiraz and cabernet that have a muliplicity of expressions here. As much as I like Barossa Valley shiraz, it's not the only example of the variety I drink and even then there are various styles from winery to winery.
Do wines from different countries of origin carry a particular cachet for you? Make your wine experience feel more complete? If so, I can't criticise that. Yet, your purile, perhaps even naive, comment seems to impugn only yourself.
Call me a luddite, even jingoistic if you wish but I feel no desire to travel overseas let alone drink wines from overseas. I have tried the occasional NZ sauv blanc though.
Cheers
daz
EDIT: At 54yo I don't expect to be around for eternity, nor long enough to try all of the Australian wines I'd wish to.
I didn't mean to upset you. My off-the-cuff comment was mostly in jest though I admit there was a subtle message there too. Let me explain.
In Canada our wine industry has taken quite a long time to develop (there is an interesting history behind it but I won't go into it) and as a result our wine stores have stocked wines from all over the world. We, like the English, are used to drinking wines from all over the world. I guess I shouldn't have assumed that all Australians, or the French or Italians, would understand what I meant.
In most Italian wine shops you would be hard pressed to find anything but Italian wines. I hear the same is true of France. I've also met French and Italian people who wouldn't hear of trying wines from anywhere else because either they don't feel there is a "need" to do so, or that they don't think that the New World can make good wines. In Australia I met countless people who think that Australia makes the best wine in the world and that Old World wines are not worth bothering about. I guess that sentiment just got under my skin a little bit and perhaps it showed. Sorry, no ill feelings.
I think things are changing and I see evidence of this in Australia. In my three visits there, beginning in 1995, I've noticed that the availability of foreign wines has increased. In addition, wineries have, in a manner of speaking, gone international by planting new varieties of grapes like nebbiolo, tempranillo, cortese, and sangrantino to name a few. There are many more bottlings of Sangiovese, a clear example of the Australian public’s appreciation of an Italianate style, and the use of Viognier in Shiraz, a tip of the hat to the Rhone style.
I think these are all healthy developments and I have enjoyed sampling them. Many a time in Australia my partner and I have reached for the Durif, Petit Verdot, and Sangiovese in order to experience something different. However, despite the availability of plenty of Cab/Merlot blends, there was nothing like the satisfaction of picking up a cheap Bordeaux from Dan Murphy ('03 Beau Rivage I think) or a Nero d'Avola and Insolia (Sicilian grape varieties) from Vintage Cellars.
Yes, there are regional variations across Australia and differences between wineries, but the same can be said of France, Italy, and Spain. It all comes down to personal choices. I didn’t mean to say you were wrong, only perhaps that to drink wines from one country is limiting. Len Evans made it a point during his career to introduce Australian winemakers to the finest examples of international wines. At the same time he introduced to the world Australia’s ability to produce fine wines. As Wolf Blass Yellow Label was to the Australia’s export drive so was Len Evans to Australia’s reputation among wine critics.
Now that I am back home in Canada I am reveling in the selection of wines from all over the world. I get to try Portuguese wines made from Periquita, or a blend made of Tinta Roriz, Touriga National, an old vine Grenache from Spain, an Argentinian Malbec, all yummy and very different.
However, tonight, what did I drink with my steak? A 1995 Lindemans Bin 9003 Hunter Shiraz. I found this wine 5 years ago in a supermarket wine shop, perhaps the only Hunter Valley wine in Edmonton. Naturally I had to have it. A regular bottling from Lindemans (the --03 numbers) from a weak vintage it is now quite faded. The nose was a delight but the finish a bit tart--the steak helped considerably.
I’ve seen two Hunter Valley wines in the market now, a 2005 Tyrrell’s Vat 9 and a 2005 Keith Tulloch Kester Shiraz. I think I’ll go for the Kester.
No problem Mahmoud. I wasn't so much upset at your comment as perplexed and disappointed by the tone of it. Most of the wines I drink are A$10-$20 and Ribbet Red holds no allure for me. The cost of gaining reasonable palate experience of overseas wines would be more than I could afford - I already have fair/good palate experience of Australian wines and am generally quite selective as to the price/quality ratio.
Had a Tahbilk Shiraz 1986 last year that came in a mixed case members' special for ~A$260 I think. It was still pretty lively with varietal fruit and fine tannin structure. In the same case was a bottle of Tahbilk Cabernet Sauvignon 1981 that showed some varietal fruit in a fully aged-context, had typical cabernet tannins that hadn't overwhelmed the fruit but made for a nice dry finish with good length. Both wines would most likely have been less than A$10 on release.
Cheers
daz
Edit: The aged marsanne in those cases (I got two) was delightful.
Not sure if I've posted on this thread already, but the absolute treasures in the cellar are:
A minivertical of Bouchard Baby Jesus from 02 to 06
05 Bouchard Chambertin
All my JJ Prum Auslese Goldkapsels
06 JJ Prum Bernkasteler Badstube Beerenauslese
07 AJ Adam Spatlese, Auslese and Beerenauslese
Wizz wrote:Not sure if I've posted on this thread already, but the absolute treasures in the cellar are:
A minivertical of Bouchard Baby Jesus from 02 to 06 05 Bouchard Chambertin All my JJ Prum Auslese Goldkapsels 06 JJ Prum Bernkasteler Badstube Beerenauslese 07 AJ Adam Spatlese, Auslese and Beerenauslese
Wizz wrote:Not sure if I've posted on this thread already, but the absolute treasures in the cellar are:
A minivertical of Bouchard Baby Jesus from 02 to 06 05 Bouchard Chambertin All my JJ Prum Auslese Goldkapsels 06 JJ Prum Bernkasteler Badstube Beerenauslese 07 AJ Adam Spatlese, Auslese and Beerenauslese
Not a very aussie centric palate I'm afraid.
cheers
AB
Pfffft....... now why isn't the Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Auslese on that list???
Have you got around to trying any of the AJ Adam yet, huh, huh?
I love Andreas. I want to marry him. (but not really)
Max ----- Avant d’être bon, un vin doit être vrai
dlo wrote:Excellent eclectic list there Rooman - hope you can keep your hands off the younger stuff!
Thanks. There's enough other odds and sods from last decade that I can resist this decade's stuff at least until next decade. I have been aware for some time however I don't have a list and after reading the other lists realised I could just cut and paste most of the stuff I have over and then cut into an Excel spreadsheet. Now all I need to do is work out where it is in the various cellars. Really looking forward to the French 05 flooding in.
Mark
PS A few of the Productorri are the same as the one you sent down to the dinner in Melbourne at Oyster a couple of years ago. I read somewhere recently they will go for years.
dlo wrote:Excellent eclectic list there Rooman - hope you can keep your hands off the younger stuff!
Thanks. There's enough other odds and sods from last decade that I can resist this decade's stuff at least until next decade. I have been aware for some time however I don't have a list and after reading the other lists realised I could just cut and paste most of the stuff I have over and then cut into an Excel spreadsheet. Now all I need to do is work out where it is in the various cellars. Really looking forward to the French 05 flooding in.
Mark
PS A few of the Productorri are the same as the one you sent down to the dinner in Melbourne at Oyster a couple of years ago. I read somewhere recently they will go for years.
I only went for the Asili, Paje, Pora, Rio Sordo and Montestefano and all from 1997. I was a bit worried about the firmness of tannin in the '96's.
Interesting that you mention Tahbilk. The first Australian wine I cellared was Chateau Tahbilk and Chateau Taltarni (as they were then called). Back in the '80s when I first started collecting wine most Australian wines on offer here were Cabernets, the Shiraz revolution hadn't yet started. So my Tahbilks and Taltarnis are Cabernets, both 1982s.
I bought a number of '82 Tahbilks as they were discontinued and on sale for about C$9. The Tahbilk label suggested cellaring for 6 to 8 years though I felt that judging by the purple/red colour and the mouth puckering tannins that it would last more than ten years. Well, ten years on the wine was hard and tannic, the bottle crusted up the sides to the shoulders. The fruit was gone and all that was left was a tannic wall. Every year I tried another bottle and the result was the same. I figured that I had erred.
In 2004 I tried another bottle (with a backup wine at the ready) but, lo and behold, the fruit was back and the wine was rich and complex with much more moderate tannins. It was lovely. The wine had been dormant for all this time. Now I have 2 bottles of the '82 Tahbilk left and I plan on serving it blind to people who continue to think that Australian wine, particularly the Shiraz, don't age. As mentioned in another post I have friends who think that the current crop of Australian wines don’t age, that the ’98s are already on the downward slope. Perhaps its true for some of the fruit bomb, high alcohol wines. Time will tell.
I presume by your Ribbet Red reference you are referring to French wines and not the Dan Murphy wine that I used to see when I was there in 2006/7. Well, like you I like to keep my wine purchases in the budget realm and I realize it is difficult in Australia to find good French wines in the budget category. But let me tell you that a 1997 Moss Wood tasted in 2001 was a Bordeaux look alike right from the bouquet. If the more reasonably priced French wines were available in Australia you too might like them. Just a thought.
.
let alone be able to afford to buy.
cos I'm so awash with riches I'm forgetful...