The Auswine Forum

Surprised no one has started this yet. Anyhow, here we go... All welcome.

What have we all been enjoying this last week?

Cheers,

Monghead.

Charles Melton Barossa Shiraz 2000 - beautiful nose that didn't quite translate on the palate. Not to say it wasn't a good drink, just didn't have that generosity of fruit to go with the acid and tannin. Matched up well with gnocchi with duck confit ragu, and on the smiley scale would be: . These are definitely in their drinking window and won't be getting any better so drink up!

-- George Krashos

After giving up on this wine a few years ago the Wynns 2006 Cabernet was a real treat last night. So different to the previous green hard wines this had fully ripe fruit and was surprisingly approachable at such a tender age.

Charles Sturt University 2007 Chardonnay. Last bottle and really nice. Good style.

Cardinham 2003 Cabernet Merlot (Clare). Good honest quaffer that keeps surprising.

Brookland Valley 2001 Verse 1 Cabernet Merlot (cleanskin). Boxing well above its weight.

Chuck

Penfolds Bin 389 2004 - excellent.
Saltram Mamre Brook 06 Shiraz - good
Rockford Black Shiraz 05 disgorg - very good

Loads of others but struggling to remember them all.

2005 Puriri Hills Pope. Awesome wine, turned some heads last night. Lovely finely boned structure, sultry dark fruits/ sweet spice and a smidge of dried herb. Trucking well. I would say drink over the next 5 years, possibly longer, still ascending
1996 Henschke Cyril Cabernet Merlot. A bit disappointing this one, just a bit plain jane. Typical Henschke open knit aromatic black fruits. Nice solid, complex wine but just missing the x factor that the Puriri hills offered. No rush on this, a good 5 years left in it but doubt it will improve further. liked the 93+94 versions better
2004 Riverby Noble Riesling. While this isn't quite up with the very best sweet wines in the country, at $25 or less I don't know it has much competition. Very tasty. Drinking now

Tahbilk Cabernet Sauvignon 1995 was better after the day the remaining 2/3 bottle spent in the fridge. It didn't have the fruit that the 1991 showed a couple of weeks ago, perhaps a touch of va/brett - don't think it was tca as there was still some fruit there, just muted.

Cheers

daz

2006 Yering Station Yarra Valley Shiraz/Viognier
Very nice and developing well. Viognier has integrated a bit since the last bottle (12 months ago). Emminently gluggable. Excellent.

2008 Longhop Mt Lofty Ranges Shiraz
Good honest fruit and great length for a reasonably priced drop. Very Very Good.

2005 Wine by Brad 'Mantra' Margaret River Cabernet/Merlot.
Had some pleasant green capsicum notes and good brambly blackberry fruit. Some gumleaf/gravel Margaret River typicity, which is nice at the price. VVG.

2006 St Hallet 'Blackwell' Barossa Valley Shiraz.
Simple but nice. Quite a lot of vanilla oak, but within tolerance and a reminder of old fashioned BV shiraz. Very Good.

Lots of 1999 Seppeltsfield Cleanskin Vintage Port. Perfect for watching football.......

Cheers

Michael

2002 Henschke Mount Edlestone Wow this wine was awesome , Mind you it was given a 3 to 4hrs in the decanter,, Rich ribena ,Blackcurrents silky tannins ,I was completely in awe so yes loved it my WOTN

2002 Saltram no 1 a bit more agressive on the palate rich fruit with very good length

[b]2002 Jacobs creek Johanns Shi/cabWas one of the best value red out of all the reds we had and boy it punches well above its price point well put together with everything staring to integrate really well must say Wotn for value [/i][/b]

we had many other reds as it was a 2002 tasting with wine club

02 Henry's drive from pathaway
02 evans and tate limited release Chardy
02 geoff murrel limited release shiraz
02 Bin 389 and threw in a 01 to see difference
02 Taylors st andrews Merlot was brilliant with smoked chicken with a bourbon barbeque sauce
02 Cape mentelle Cab
Graylyn Cab from Margaret river
greenock creek 02 apricot block
paxton shiraz
Lake breeze Benoota
taltani shiraz from victoria

and a few others but lost my notes so all guess work on memory really

Regards Dazza

2002 Tahbilk Marsanne
I don't have much experience with this wine but it was a little too heavy and full bodied for my liking... lacked freshness.

2000 Penfolds Reserve Bin Aged Release Eden Valley Riesling Greenish-gold. Nose subdued and took a little time in the glass to open up. Waxy lime blossom and wet slate, very Edeny but with the volume turned down a few notches. Some toastiness developed on the palate, but still citrus and talc dominating with rather astringent, tongue-grabbing acid to finish. Good length and complexity, but overall a little subdued and lacking a real hero in the profile with the acid out of balance and overpowering everything to a degree.
Went well with the salmon fillets that I hot-smoked on the barby though. Smoker boxes are great!

2008 Escarpment Te Rehua Pinot Noir- Dark cherries and plums. Nice brambly undertones. Vibrant and silky. Very Very Good.

1998 Marsh Estate Sémillon High Hill Served with Salmon, this was an unexpectedly good semillon. The colour has developed into a deep golden yellow. The palate has taken on crisp lemon tones with a bone dry schtist minerality on the finish and an interesting depth of flavour wrapped around a refreshing underlying acidic structure. At 12 years it is just humming along and will go for years yet. Reminds me why I cellar wine.

2002 Tarrawarra Pinot - some lovely mature pinot flavours of earth and truffles with a little bit of red berry fruit still.

2002 Mt Pleasant Elizabeth - stunningly good maturing semillon - everything in balance

1996 Wendouree Cab Malbec - see notes in Wendouree blog - possibly WOTY so far

Bad run this past week, fed up with crap wines from langtons auctions, giving them up generally now. I suppose we have to keep in mind as to why they're up for auction in the first place..... So many seem to have been heat affected, loaded with brett, corked and so on.... Maybe just a bad run for me, they're not all bad for sure.

Teusner Joshua 2004 - scalped (probably heat affected). - Not Good
Thorn-Clarke Sandpiper Shiraz 2004 - badly corked (TCA) - Not Good
Hamilton Old Vine Grenache Shiraz 1998 - Either badly past it or heat affected. - Not Good.
Mike Press Cab Sav 2005 - first bottle a bit bretty, but not bad, second bottle better and developed overnight nicely. Sub Good / Good
Skillogallee Shiraz 2001 - Nothing special, but a decent drink with some nice aged character. Good.
Peregrine Pinot Noir 2007 - took some time to blossom, then was very tasty. Prob better with a bit more cellar time. Good Good
Ridge Geyserville 2005 (71% Zin/Carignane/Petite Sirah) - needed time to breathe, then showed very nicely. Not too heavy or overripe, just nice balance and good fruit weight. Will keep. Very Good (at last!).

Cheers
TiggerK

2007 CJ Pask Declaration Syrah- decanted for 2 hrs before drinking. Probably a bit young, but showing what I believe really good cellaring potential as it was much more open 2nd night.
2006 Rockford Rifle Range Cab Sauv- What a great soft velvety wine. Pitty it was my last bottle of this vintage. One of my top 5 bottles of wine for the year. Only beaten by a 2005 Spinifex SV, 2004 Henschke Keyneton Estate Euphonium, 2008 Ant Moore Central Otago Pinot Noir.

Chad

Benevelli Piero “Bricco Ravera” Barbera d’Alba 2006 - had a veal ragu simmering away for 4 hours callian out for something Italian. This fitted the bill perfectly. In the decanter for 3 hours or so, with blueberry, earthy tobacco, vanilla and grilled nuts notes wafting out. Plums, dark berries, cherries and savoury spice on the palate with savoury tannin and acid making the wine perfect for the rich veal ragu. Very good wine, and well priced in the import market.

Wickhams Road Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2009 - really good for $15. Good balance of oak, acid and fruit weight. Only very minor complaint was the 'tropical' fruit notes stuck out a bit and made things seem a little sweet. But a great value chardonnay.

Coldstream Hills Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2008 - decent drink but a bit boring really, slightly oaky too.

deleted

2008 Somerbury Estates Jones Rd Pinot Noir - Lovely fuller bodied Pinot, consumed over 2 nights and opened up dramatically.

2007 Agricola San Felice Chianti Classico – had on Sunday at Ormeggio at the Spit. The bride commented on how it reminded her of being back in Rada in Tuscany and I have to agree, she was not happy it was her time to drive. Savory texture with almost lip smacking front finish, well structured tannins, one of those bottles that you never want to end. Over the 3 hours it was consumed, opened up with a much longer finish.

2005 Tyrrell's Stevens Sémillon – I really am not sure how this was opened however it was in the upstairs rack and the bride obviously wanted some sem. Great acid and lime characteristics, really what you would expect it to be at 5 years old and many more to go.

2009 Scorpo Pinot Gris - very floral on the nose, even some gut grass like aromas. Good acid and a long, dry finish, I was expecting a little more but that is the way it goes some days.

2008 Primo Estate Il Briccon – Sangiovesse and Shiraz blend, great pizza wine and that is exactly what it was with on Friday night. Good savory characteristics and great with cheesy food. Finished it off watching James Bond (ok and European Vacation) after the rugby on Saturday night, finished nicely.

2007 Jean Foillard ‘Cote du Py’ Morgon- Very Very Good
1996 Domaine de la Pousse d’Or ‘Clos Tavannes’- Very Very Good
2007 Craggy Range ‘Sophia’ Hawkes Bay- Very Good
2007 Thomas ‘Kiss’ Hunter Valley- Very Very Good, almost Extremely Good

Yes, it was a very good night...

1991 Penfolds St Henri - drunk over two days. On day 1 it was a bit shy on the nose, but palate was excellent. Refined and long. Day 2, the nose exploded - leather, chocolate, plum. If anything the front palate sweetened up, while the finish was very long and savoury. This was a magnificent wine and still has a long future in front of it. My advice - a few hours in a decanter before drinking.

Mike

TiggerK wrote:Teusner Joshua 2004 - scalped (probably heat affected). - Not Good (edit.. probably not heat as the other bottle was wonderful, low level TCA perhaps? as the cork looked perfect)
Ridge Geyserville 2005 (71% Zin/Carignane/Petite Sirah) - needed time to breathe, then showed very nicely. Not too heavy or overripe, just nice balance and good fruit weight. Will keep. Very Good (at last!).

Teusner Joshua 2004 - Now that's more like it, like many wines, didn't show itself until it had breathed and warmed up a bit (brr, chilly in the backup underhouse cellar at the moment), then revealed lovely sweet fruit, vibrant and juicy. Will finish the rest tonight. Very Good.

And the Ridge Geyserville 2005 on the second day was just magnificent, again sweet fruit, tons of blackcurrant and a bit of raspberry, minimal oak and a real pleasure to drink, pity it's $50.

Cheers
TiggerK

Michael McNally wrote:
2006 St Hallet 'Blackwell' Barossa Valley Shiraz.
Simple but nice. Quite a lot of vanilla oak, but within tolerance and a reminder of old fashioned BV shiraz. Very Good.

Lots of 1999 Seppeltsfield Cleanskin Vintage Port. Perfect for watching football.......

Cheers

Michael

I agree with you on the subject of the St Hallet. I think the focused, quiet concentration of the fruit means that the oak is not an issue. I bought about 36 half bottles from the winery, who were selling them off cheaply, and, sad to say, have drunk nearly all of them.

The 99 Seppelt is not bad. However, the 98 and 06 are both better, as discussed in another thread.

'03 Suduiraut
'04 Dry River Lovat Botrytis Bunch Selection Gewurztraminer
'00 Te Mata Coleraine
'02 Mills Reef Elspeth Syrah

The 2 stickies were both quite sublime; the 2 reds less so -- the '00 Coleraine has to me always been somewhat unbalanced, as was the Mills Reef, both with overly prominent acidity ...

Cheers
Peter

Bits and pieces but it is good to have a record.

There was a 2002 Lafon Macon Clos du Four? but I thought it was scalped.

1998 Leasingham Classic Clare Sparkling Shiraz
Sweet american oak and cherry fruit. A sparkling cherry ripe that has been wiped on a suede jacket. Leathery but not problematic. Very Good.

2000 Domaine de Chevalier
Tobacco on the nose with cedar. Vary savoury. The palate was quite new world as it was slightly round and non-linear in terms of mouthfeel. Fine tannin on the finish. Some leather so brett there but only if you went looking I thought. Personal opinion was too round on the palate for me (I think because I have liked 93, 94 and 95 bordeaux and they were cooler years?) Very Good.

Merlots blind:

#1 Slightly pale hue. Magenta. Some stalky/green notes on the nose but not unpleasant. There was not a hair out of place on the palate but I found it soulless or manufactured. There was little to excite me here

#2 Dense dark red. Smelled very primary, fruity brambles and strong minties. The palate was slightly disjointed with acid running a line from start to finish but the fruit was very round and finished short. Gobs of fruit Rebecca liked this and called it cordial and thought no acid whatsoever.

#3 Medium dense dark red towards purple. Cacao and plums on the nose. Long palate of plums mainly with milk chocolate enmeshed with supportive tannins throughout. Lovely length and excellent wine. After finding unblinding it is far more integrated than the last time I had it. Excellent

#1 was the 2007 Stella Bella Merlot (the fancy one)

#2 was the 2008 Pepper Tree 14 Shores Reserve Merlot

#3 was the 2008 Blue Poles Reserve Merlot

1985 Chateau Rayas Pignan CDP
Pale red with clear rim. High toned and floral grenache fruit. Red currants and musk. Long, with some tannins still on the finish. Still had time on its side to develop further! Outstanding wine.

2004 Kalleske Shiraz
Starting to emerge from its hole. Still a little mute on the nose but a lovely Barossan shiraz. Unforced power. Long and fruity with some tar in there as well. Some tertiary meaty and leather notes complementing the fruit. Very Good but still needs a few more years.

1927 Keo Commandaria St John from Cyprus. Had a sip now and tastes like honey, coffee and caramel. On the night plenty of VA. Not hot but with no alcohol % or std drinks on the bottle I can't tell you what it was. Very good.

I think that is it? Oh a Seppelt Show reserve muscat that was outstanding as usual.

A couple of 2008 Yarra Pinot Noirs over the weekend

2008 Gembrook Hill Pinot Noir - incredibly light colour and beautiful to drink. Impeccably structured Pinot.

2008 Coldtsream Hills Pinot Noir - has some lovely flavour of cherry and plum, but at this stage stalky and bitter notes are too dominant. Also a tiny bit of heat on the finish. Needs another year or two to better integrate.

Chad wrote:2007 CJ Pask Declaration Syrah- decanted for 2 hrs before drinking. Probably a bit young, but showing what I believe really good cellaring potential as it was much more open 2nd night.
2006 Rockford Rifle Range Cab Sauv- What a great soft velvety wine. Pitty it was my last bottle of this vintage. One of my top 5 bottles of wine for the year. Only beaten by a 2005 Spinifex SV, 2004 Henschke Keyneton Estate Euphonium, 2008 Ant Moore Central Otago Pinot Noir.

Chad

The 2006 ROckies cab is a really good wine - preferred it (at this stage anyway) to the BP - I grabbed some extra of this - looking forward to seeing it down the track a bit!