TN: AFWAC - The Annual Rockford Review 28/11/11
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:58 pm
Last week the Adelaide Fine Wine Appreciation Club (AFWAC) staged the last of their monthly meetings for the year, with the latest vintages of Rockford (and a couple of tasty museum wines). Next years meetings are scheduled to kick off the end of February with the planned catered picnic where all newcomers/non-members are very welcome – anyone interested in future AFWAC events can email the club at: afwac365@gmail.com
2011 Rockford White Frontignac (screwcap): Very bright, pale straw/green, almost colourless. This is drier and spicier than recent releases, lychee, brown lime and ginger on the bouquet, becoming rather sweaty/Sauvignon Blanc-like with breathing; the palate’s just as spicy and earthy with a slippery texture, a little Gewurztraminer-like with a grippy finish. A bit of an early drinker for the label, but still best suited to Thai curries.
2009 Rockford Eden Valley Riesling (cork): Pale straw. Pithy and grassy, quite lifted and more than a little like the semillon, with tangy, glossy magazine print characters; the palate’s very dry with a big hit of acid on entry, a pithy mid-palate, and grippy finish. Not particularly approachable or enjoyable right now – it’s either in a flat spot, or is a massive disappointment for what should have been a good vintage.
2000 Rockford Vine Vale Riesling (cork): Dark gold. Fully developed and spicy, honey, gingerbread and a whiff of sweet lanolin, becoming buttery with breathing; an entry of surprisingly sweet melon leads to a spicy-mid-palate, the finish pulling up short to reveal a slightly corky aftertaste (not TCA, but definitely an influence by the cork).
2007 Rockford Local Growers Semillon (cork): Medium yellow/green. Very closed, tight and pithy overall, releasing small whiffs of sweet lanolin, grass and glossy magazine print characters like the 2009 riesling; the palate’s just as tight and pithy, with a touch of almond and toasty characters on the finish. Like the 2009 riesling this seems to be in a bit of a hole.
2011 Rockford Alicante Bouchet (screwcap): Dark rose pink with a very noticeable spritz. Sweet nose with raspberry jellies and rose petals, but there’s also a noticeable black pepper character too; the palate’s soft, round and sweet to begin with, but has an extremely dry finish with more savoury/meaty characters with breathing. I like this one better than the last couple of vintages.
2009 Rockford Frugal Farmer - Grenache Mataro fermented on Alicante skins (screwcap): Medium red/purple. Very sweet but also savoury/peppery, sweet cherries and slightly medicinal/clove characters; a soft/slippery, very sweet entry leads to rather confected, peppery, light to medium weight palate with minty heat and a bitter finish. Different to the same time last year, but not an improvement.
2007 Rockford Moppa Springs Grenache Mataro Shiraz (cork): Medium-ish garnet. Dark and sweet, earthy and dusty, darker, less overtly sweet and more perfumed than the 2009 Frugal Farmer; likewise the palate’s darker and deeper although still only medium weight at most, raspberries and pepper with a minty/hot mid-palate and short finish. Mixed feelings about this one – a little disappointing, at least at this stage.
2004 Rockford Rod & Spur Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon (cork): 55% Shiraz, 45% Cabernet. Medium to very dark blood red. The nose is big and minty, full of blackberries and wintergreen, becoming more medicinal with breathing; a slippery entry leads to a powerful, meaty palate with black cherry/blackberry and choc-mint, finishing minty and dry. Much more youthful and fleshy than the 2008.
2008 Rockford Rod & Spur Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon (cork): 53% Shiraz, 47%, Cabernet. Medium to dark red. The nose is sweeter and more grapey than the 2004, raspberries, earth, red and black liquorice with a noticeable alcoholic burn; a spicy/peppery entry leads to a rather hot, porty mid palate with nutty chocolate, finishing sweet but rather lean with a minty rebound. An early drinker.
2009 Rockford Rifle Range Cabernet Sauvignon (cork): Medium to almost dark crimson with legs on the glass. Sweet nose of cassis and vanillin/banana oak, some wood polish, cedar, parsley and dried herbs with breathing; the palate’s spicy, medium to full weight with sweet, jubey fruit and very fine, gravelly tannins and a lick of black olive, some black fruit on the rebound. One of the better 2009 Cabernets I’ve tried this year.
2009 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz (cork): Dark to inky red/purple. Very young and grapey, full of black cherries and red liquorice, peppery and meaty, chocolate/cocoa nuances; the palate’s just as sweet and young with touches of herbs/stalks and pepper, very grippy with a long, chalky finish, not a big BP but well balanced.
2003 Rockford SVS Hoffmann Shiraz (cork): Medium to very dark crimson/garnet. Showing it’s age from the first whiff, oily and earthy with mocha chocolate, cedar, raspberries and dried herbs, some black liquorice with breathing; likewise the palate’s already at its peak, ripe raspberries, chocolate and herbs with oily/petroleum characters underneath, finishing dry.
NV Rockford Sparkling Black Shiraz – disgorged from August 2011 (cork): If I’m not mistaken this is a subtle change compared to previous recent releases with the addition of the word 'from' to the time of disgorgement. Medium to almost dark crimson with a good mousse and fine bead. Quite peppery, herbal and slightly green, the fruit in the raspberry spectrum with red and black liquorice, the mid-palate rather lean and the finish dry and ever so slightly metallic. A bit of a departure from the previous couple of releases – while I get the feeling it may be better with food, I’m not a fan.
2004 Rockford Cordon Cut Semillon 375ml (cork): Light to medium amber. Very sweet and very grassy, predominantly bluegum honey and lawn cuttings, a little quince paste with breathing; the palate’s full of the same honey sweetness, a touch of date and grass, finishing dry. It’s a tad cloying and grassy for my liking – I prefer botrytis semillon & cordon cut riesling to this.
1987 Rockford Botrytis Cinerea Rhine Riesling (cork): Dark amber/gold. Fully developed, with teacake, nutmeg and biscuity spices, then wildflowers and banana cake; the palate’s lighter and brighter than the 2004 cordon cut semillon, with a crisp, mineraly finish.
Cheers,
Ian
2011 Rockford White Frontignac (screwcap): Very bright, pale straw/green, almost colourless. This is drier and spicier than recent releases, lychee, brown lime and ginger on the bouquet, becoming rather sweaty/Sauvignon Blanc-like with breathing; the palate’s just as spicy and earthy with a slippery texture, a little Gewurztraminer-like with a grippy finish. A bit of an early drinker for the label, but still best suited to Thai curries.
2009 Rockford Eden Valley Riesling (cork): Pale straw. Pithy and grassy, quite lifted and more than a little like the semillon, with tangy, glossy magazine print characters; the palate’s very dry with a big hit of acid on entry, a pithy mid-palate, and grippy finish. Not particularly approachable or enjoyable right now – it’s either in a flat spot, or is a massive disappointment for what should have been a good vintage.
2000 Rockford Vine Vale Riesling (cork): Dark gold. Fully developed and spicy, honey, gingerbread and a whiff of sweet lanolin, becoming buttery with breathing; an entry of surprisingly sweet melon leads to a spicy-mid-palate, the finish pulling up short to reveal a slightly corky aftertaste (not TCA, but definitely an influence by the cork).
2007 Rockford Local Growers Semillon (cork): Medium yellow/green. Very closed, tight and pithy overall, releasing small whiffs of sweet lanolin, grass and glossy magazine print characters like the 2009 riesling; the palate’s just as tight and pithy, with a touch of almond and toasty characters on the finish. Like the 2009 riesling this seems to be in a bit of a hole.
2011 Rockford Alicante Bouchet (screwcap): Dark rose pink with a very noticeable spritz. Sweet nose with raspberry jellies and rose petals, but there’s also a noticeable black pepper character too; the palate’s soft, round and sweet to begin with, but has an extremely dry finish with more savoury/meaty characters with breathing. I like this one better than the last couple of vintages.
2009 Rockford Frugal Farmer - Grenache Mataro fermented on Alicante skins (screwcap): Medium red/purple. Very sweet but also savoury/peppery, sweet cherries and slightly medicinal/clove characters; a soft/slippery, very sweet entry leads to rather confected, peppery, light to medium weight palate with minty heat and a bitter finish. Different to the same time last year, but not an improvement.
2007 Rockford Moppa Springs Grenache Mataro Shiraz (cork): Medium-ish garnet. Dark and sweet, earthy and dusty, darker, less overtly sweet and more perfumed than the 2009 Frugal Farmer; likewise the palate’s darker and deeper although still only medium weight at most, raspberries and pepper with a minty/hot mid-palate and short finish. Mixed feelings about this one – a little disappointing, at least at this stage.
2004 Rockford Rod & Spur Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon (cork): 55% Shiraz, 45% Cabernet. Medium to very dark blood red. The nose is big and minty, full of blackberries and wintergreen, becoming more medicinal with breathing; a slippery entry leads to a powerful, meaty palate with black cherry/blackberry and choc-mint, finishing minty and dry. Much more youthful and fleshy than the 2008.
2008 Rockford Rod & Spur Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon (cork): 53% Shiraz, 47%, Cabernet. Medium to dark red. The nose is sweeter and more grapey than the 2004, raspberries, earth, red and black liquorice with a noticeable alcoholic burn; a spicy/peppery entry leads to a rather hot, porty mid palate with nutty chocolate, finishing sweet but rather lean with a minty rebound. An early drinker.
2009 Rockford Rifle Range Cabernet Sauvignon (cork): Medium to almost dark crimson with legs on the glass. Sweet nose of cassis and vanillin/banana oak, some wood polish, cedar, parsley and dried herbs with breathing; the palate’s spicy, medium to full weight with sweet, jubey fruit and very fine, gravelly tannins and a lick of black olive, some black fruit on the rebound. One of the better 2009 Cabernets I’ve tried this year.
2009 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz (cork): Dark to inky red/purple. Very young and grapey, full of black cherries and red liquorice, peppery and meaty, chocolate/cocoa nuances; the palate’s just as sweet and young with touches of herbs/stalks and pepper, very grippy with a long, chalky finish, not a big BP but well balanced.
2003 Rockford SVS Hoffmann Shiraz (cork): Medium to very dark crimson/garnet. Showing it’s age from the first whiff, oily and earthy with mocha chocolate, cedar, raspberries and dried herbs, some black liquorice with breathing; likewise the palate’s already at its peak, ripe raspberries, chocolate and herbs with oily/petroleum characters underneath, finishing dry.
NV Rockford Sparkling Black Shiraz – disgorged from August 2011 (cork): If I’m not mistaken this is a subtle change compared to previous recent releases with the addition of the word 'from' to the time of disgorgement. Medium to almost dark crimson with a good mousse and fine bead. Quite peppery, herbal and slightly green, the fruit in the raspberry spectrum with red and black liquorice, the mid-palate rather lean and the finish dry and ever so slightly metallic. A bit of a departure from the previous couple of releases – while I get the feeling it may be better with food, I’m not a fan.
2004 Rockford Cordon Cut Semillon 375ml (cork): Light to medium amber. Very sweet and very grassy, predominantly bluegum honey and lawn cuttings, a little quince paste with breathing; the palate’s full of the same honey sweetness, a touch of date and grass, finishing dry. It’s a tad cloying and grassy for my liking – I prefer botrytis semillon & cordon cut riesling to this.
1987 Rockford Botrytis Cinerea Rhine Riesling (cork): Dark amber/gold. Fully developed, with teacake, nutmeg and biscuity spices, then wildflowers and banana cake; the palate’s lighter and brighter than the 2004 cordon cut semillon, with a crisp, mineraly finish.
Cheers,
Ian
