The Auswine Forum

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Yering Station Pinot Noir 2006: Garnet red/ruby. Lively berries with undertones of oak, brown spice and prosciutto (for me). Present but fine tannins. Went down nicely with a Mediterranean tasting plate.

1999 Castelgiocondo (Marchesi de' Frescobaldi) Brunello di Montalcino charming wine. Just seems to be entering its mature phase. Lovely cherries, leather and tar on the nose. I was amased at how robust the tannins were given the age. I had expected them to have completely softened by now which is fine as I have a few more left in the cellar. The wine clearly has years to go yet. Lovely finish and excellent depth with savoury red cherry fruit.

David Clare Vosne Romanne 2008 quite an approachable VR given its youth. Floral cherry and stawberry nose, red cherry fruit, soft tannins, reasonable length. Not overally complex but a pleasant wine to start the meal.

Been comprehensively preoccupied with my music of late, hence very little drinking and virtually no posting, but this is what I can remember for the purposes of posterity.

Tyrrell's Vat 1 Semillon 1992 - About 10% A/V and probably all the better for it. A rogue bottle from the depths of my very cool cellar, with a perfect fill level and a cork only minimally soaked. Preserved lemons, lemon butter, nuts, honey and lanolin on nose and palate - all perfectly meshed and stunningly attractive. Unravels with precision and grace in the mouth but loaded with perfect acid couterbalance to suggest this gem is far from finished. Exceptional wine from somewhat an unheralded year. 95

Peter Lehmann Reserve Eden Valley Riesling 2002 - Utterly brilliant but, unfortunately, my last bottle (only managed to get hold of a few of these recently and must get some more). Ultra-fine classic and still relatively elemental lime/kaffir leaf/orange blossom characters with a mountain of subtle chalky acidity to burn for future nourishment. Astonishing balance and length with a mind-blowing finish. The best Riesling I've ever tried from this maker (imho - better than the 1993).

Ch Lagrange (St Julien) 1996 - This outstanding Bordeaux looked fresh and vibrant and certainly appreciated a decent breathe before consumption. Attractive black- and red- currants on both nose and palate with some plumminess from the merlot fleshing out the middle. Also appealing sweet earth and leafiness for added complexity. Subtle and balanced tannins and acidity provide for a smooth and satisfying claret with excellent depth and length. Approaching drinkabiltity but can be held with confidence in a good cellar for another 10-20 years, if required. 91+

St. Huberts Cabernet Sauvignon 1992 and 1994 - Like two peas in a pod except for a touch of added leafiness, greenness and black olive characters in the 1992 (a wetter/cooler year perhaps?). Both revealed superb varietal blackcurrant fruit with just the right amount of cedary/savoury French wood and punched way above their perceived status in the marketplace pecking order. Low nineties for both.

Ch. Coutet 1997 - Developed deep gold colour but very much fresher on the nose and in the mouth than the colour suggests. Not a great Coutet but certainly moorish and of an excellent standard from start to finish. 89. Drink soonish.

Stanton & Killeen Jack's Block Vintage Port 1991 - Been sitting on quite a few of these for many, many years. This first bottle impressed greatly with a myriad of typically lush licorice shiraz fruit and sweet earth flavour. Beautifully made with many years of superior drinking ahead. 93 and drank well for many days after opening.

Comte Armand Pommard Clos de Epeneaux 1er Cru 1993 - Quite a closed and untamed beast in its earlier years, this cracker of a burgundy has now entered its prime drinking window. Slightly cloudy but holding a strong deep ruby/red core. Wonderful aromatics and flavours of dark ripe plums and red cherries with deep spice and chocolate in support underneath. Later with breathing - mellow tobacco leaf, pinot sap and some gamy notes emerged. Mid-weight tannins add just the right touch in the mouth. Nice lick of acidity, too. Profoundly good length with a silky, smooth finish. Lacks some of the pure class of the best from Vosne-Romanee and Chambolle-Musigny but quite outstanding for what it is. 93. Should drink well for at least a decade. 13% A/V

Seppelt Para Single Vintage Liqueur Tawny Port 1983 - cloudy orange brown with flashes of khaki - amazing legs on the side of the glass. Reeks of "para" from start to finish. Has settled nicely in the bottle these days. Previously, it was necessary to decant this and leave it for at least 24 hours, such was the OTT volatility! Full of rancio, nuts, old oak, leather, old spices, old tea chests, ancient fruit ... I think you know the drill .... a lovely "old" wine that will only get more concentrated and better in time, especially the stuff in barrel at Seppeltsfield. N/R but up there with the best of them.

That'll do for now.

Thanks DLo. Have you had the 1990 Coutet recently? I've got a lot in storage in Australia and was planning to get friends / rellies to bring some over to me.

Mike Hawkins wrote:Thanks DLo. Have you had the 1990 Coutet recently? I've got a lot in storage in Australia and was planning to get friends / rellies to bring some over to me.

I would be interested to hear how they do. This and Château Rieussec were the only wines I picked up from the 2011 en primeur campaign, 6 of each.

Mike Hawkins wrote:Thanks DLo. Have you had the 1990 Coutet recently? I've got a lot in storage in Australia and was planning to get friends / rellies to bring some over to me.

Don't have any, Mike, but I did try one some time ago. It wasn't particularly special IIRC but I reckon you should be well into drinking these given the hot year etc.

Thanks David

Rochford Yarra Valley Shiraz 2001: with lunch at the winery. Dark red. Quite clingy. Savoury, spicy, peppery nose with stewed plum and a bit of berry. Tasting brought about the same flavours, but with definite blackberry and not so much stewed plum. Long lingering after taste. Very difficult to believe it was 11 years old. Went nicely with the duck and the Healesville venison.

The query is that Rochfords only bought the Yarra Valley site in 2002 (or 2003, not sure). I'll have to investigate further, especially as to whether there's any more.

Also tasted in the bottle-o, 2006 YV Pinot - very nice for a pinot, still a couple of years left to go; 2007 YV Riesling - tops, lovely floral nose and beautiful fruity and balanced acidity to drink; 2000 Macedon Pinot - probably a couple of years past it, brownish tinge and that 'tawny' taste that doesn't go well with non-fortifieds; 2010 YV Pinot - a bit young after the 2006, but will probably develop nicely. Bought some of the 2006 Pinot and 2007 Riesling. As one of our party said (of the 2006) "I think I'm not a Pinot person, but I like this."

Haven't posted much for the last few weeks as was in Europe on holidays but a few brief comments on recent drinkies:

Hugh Hamilton "Black Ops" Shiraz Saperavi 2010... Absolutely young, rich and unctous. Sexy mix of dark berries, graphite, reduced cherry essence, and vanilla. The Saperavi seems to add a little brooding tannin and a deeper purple tint. Interesting vino.

Saltram Metala Shiraz Cabernet 1982 and 2001... Tasted separately on two adjacent nights. The 2001 was from my cellar since purchase, perfect cork and level. I think just on the tipping point before they scaled this down a notch on the cheapness scales. All Langhorne Creek fruit of course. Mid-red colour, balanced but fruit driven nose with gobs of sweet red fruit on a palate that was just medium bodied. Drinking well. The 1982 was bought by a friend at auction. Cork crumbled its way out but the colour was good. This was actually an amazing wine and totally unexpected. The palate was not dried out and revealed layers of etheral flavour with an amazing sweetness of fruit that recalled the same character I noted in the 2001.

Coriole Fiano 2010... Got three of these at auction for $5 each. Still clear yellow/green coloured, the nose slightly savoury as befits the grape variety. The palate quite clean and refreshing, not too grippy/phenolic as a couple of their earlier experiments with this were. Enjoyable if you go for a more textural white.

Hungerford Hill "Tumburumba" Chardonnay 2008... Yellow/green colour. Still undeveloped nose of melon/citrus and French oak. Made pretty much in the modern clean/under stated style, but still with a pleasant degree of Chardonnay richness. Balanced palate. Hung in OK over a couple of days so I think will gain complexity over 2-3 years from now.

Sam,

I'm interested in what you guzzled in Europe (and what you brought back.)

I bet many Aussie wine drinkers wished they got to Europe more often, for wine and more.

Jacob's Creek 07 St Hugo Cab/Sav:
Had this over a couple of nights. Better on 2nd night. 14.5%
Medium bodied /nice oak balance with the tannins. Quite elegant actually. 92pts

ross

Yes I really like the '07 St. Hugo Ross, have tried it a few times now. I like it better than the '03 Jacaranda Ridge actually.

Mum brought a lovely wine for dinner on Wednesday, a 1998 Penfolds Koonunga Hill shiraz cab. Was just a delicious aged red, with plenty of life, character and depth to the flavour. I was surprised! Now it's got me looking at a bottle of the 2010 at home and wondering how it would look in 2024 ...

John