I've been drinking very little for some time due to hospitalisation and associated dramas (long story) but I'm on the mend and have had the pleasure of consuming two very good to excellent bottles in the last week.
Buller's Reginald Langdon Buller's Museum Release Sparkling Shiraz was an absolute corker. Made from a blend of reserve base wines from 1966 (17%), 1996 (40%) and 2000 (43%), this still fresh and invigorating drop displayed the requisite fizz, colour and bouquet/palate complexity to deserve an excellent rating. So moorish was it, my wife and I demolished the bottle with consummate ease over the course of an evening meal last week. One point of interest was a relatively high alcohol content on the bottle that, surprisingly, didn't bother either of us one iota at any point of intake. I'm guessing, this may be a result of the final dosage being from some of Buller's old VP('s?).
A bottle of 1996 Ch. Du Tetre went down pretty well tonight although I detected just a whisper of dilution on the palate (possibly a product of the heavy rains that fell in the Margaux commune late in August before harvest). Colour was good, nose displaying plenty of cool fruited complexity with licks of tobacco and licorice and a medium bodied palate with good upfront earthy red and black fruit, melting tannins and a slightly clipped finish. About 86 points as a rough guide. Drink soonish.
Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
Cheers,
David
David
Re: Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
Some notes from a club committee meeting last week:
2011 Wolfberger Vin D'Alsace Pinot Gris, Alsace (screwcap): 13% alc. Light to medium straw with a touch of blush/grey. Smells like a new-world interpretation, full of baked apples, mixed spices, pear and almond; a sweet entry leads to a mid palate of apple pie and ground nutmeg, finishing dry and flinty. Not bad.
2009 Penfolds Bin 8 Cabernet Shiraz, Australia (cork): 14.5% alc. Medium to very dark crimson/black with legs on the glass. Black cherries and black liquorice, violets, charry oak and black pepper, a touch vegetal with breathing; the palate's very dry in comparison, sour cherries/cherry stones and white pepper with a dry, minerally finish. Interestingly there's no state of origin on the label, and no information about this vintage on the website; as to the wine, pretty ordinary stuff for Penfolds.
1992 Penfolds Kalimna Bin 28 Shiraz, South Australia (cork): 13.5% alc. Barossa Valley, Padthaway & McLaren Vale. Medium to dark brick/red. Very earthy and vegetal, stalky and sweet with strawberry, sous bois and old leather; the medium-weight palate's just as sweet and savoury, leafy and stocky, strawberry and cherry stones, finishing chalky with cherry cola. The last Rewards of Patience had it right when they indicated the drinking window closing 2012; for that matter, Halliday's drink by 2002 prediction was probably right too - this showed all the struggles of a wet vintage and was past its best.
2004 Moss Wood Amy's Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River (screwcap): 14% alc. Medium to dark red with legs on the glass. Strawberries, plum and white pepper on the nose at first, then musk, kirsch and cherry cola; the palate's medium-weight, chalky and long, but really lacks complexity and interest at the moment. Seems to be in a flat spot.
2010 Hand Crafted by Geoff Hardy Teroldego, Langhorne Creek (screwcap): 14.5% alc. Medium to dark red/purple with legs on the glass. Very spicy and sweet nose, full of nutmeg, strawberries, baked rhubarb and cloves, white pepper with breathing; the palate's just as disarmingly sweet, strawberry jam and cloves, finishing grippy but also slightly bitter and metallic. A weird one.
2000 Brown Bros Patricia Late Harvest Noble Riesling 375ml (cork): 9.5% alc. Light to medium tawny with a bright olive rim and long legs on the glass. Smells divine, full of fig, marmalade and butterscotch lifted by VA, some peppermint with breathing; the palate's also reminiscent of a riper vintage of De Bortoli Noble One, with racy acidity and good grip and a little dried sultana and date, finishing with excellent length. I notice it had a drink by 2006 suggestion on the label, but it's in great shape, a great balance of sweetness without being cloying.
Cheers,
Ian
2011 Wolfberger Vin D'Alsace Pinot Gris, Alsace (screwcap): 13% alc. Light to medium straw with a touch of blush/grey. Smells like a new-world interpretation, full of baked apples, mixed spices, pear and almond; a sweet entry leads to a mid palate of apple pie and ground nutmeg, finishing dry and flinty. Not bad.
2009 Penfolds Bin 8 Cabernet Shiraz, Australia (cork): 14.5% alc. Medium to very dark crimson/black with legs on the glass. Black cherries and black liquorice, violets, charry oak and black pepper, a touch vegetal with breathing; the palate's very dry in comparison, sour cherries/cherry stones and white pepper with a dry, minerally finish. Interestingly there's no state of origin on the label, and no information about this vintage on the website; as to the wine, pretty ordinary stuff for Penfolds.
1992 Penfolds Kalimna Bin 28 Shiraz, South Australia (cork): 13.5% alc. Barossa Valley, Padthaway & McLaren Vale. Medium to dark brick/red. Very earthy and vegetal, stalky and sweet with strawberry, sous bois and old leather; the medium-weight palate's just as sweet and savoury, leafy and stocky, strawberry and cherry stones, finishing chalky with cherry cola. The last Rewards of Patience had it right when they indicated the drinking window closing 2012; for that matter, Halliday's drink by 2002 prediction was probably right too - this showed all the struggles of a wet vintage and was past its best.
2004 Moss Wood Amy's Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River (screwcap): 14% alc. Medium to dark red with legs on the glass. Strawberries, plum and white pepper on the nose at first, then musk, kirsch and cherry cola; the palate's medium-weight, chalky and long, but really lacks complexity and interest at the moment. Seems to be in a flat spot.
2010 Hand Crafted by Geoff Hardy Teroldego, Langhorne Creek (screwcap): 14.5% alc. Medium to dark red/purple with legs on the glass. Very spicy and sweet nose, full of nutmeg, strawberries, baked rhubarb and cloves, white pepper with breathing; the palate's just as disarmingly sweet, strawberry jam and cloves, finishing grippy but also slightly bitter and metallic. A weird one.
2000 Brown Bros Patricia Late Harvest Noble Riesling 375ml (cork): 9.5% alc. Light to medium tawny with a bright olive rim and long legs on the glass. Smells divine, full of fig, marmalade and butterscotch lifted by VA, some peppermint with breathing; the palate's also reminiscent of a riper vintage of De Bortoli Noble One, with racy acidity and good grip and a little dried sultana and date, finishing with excellent length. I notice it had a drink by 2006 suggestion on the label, but it's in great shape, a great balance of sweetness without being cloying.
Cheers,
Ian
Last edited by n4sir on Fri Jul 13, 2018 9:25 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone.
Re: Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
Brief impressions from an instore last Saturday:
2012 Chalk Hill Vermentino, McLaren Vale (screwcap): An unusual wine but a good one, sweet lime, banana leaf and passionfruit, sitting somewhere between one of the better style Sauvignon Blancs and a local off-dry riesling. I asked about the RS in this wine, and apparently it's dry (maybe 1g RS).
2011 Voyager Estate Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, Margaret River (screwcap): The style of Sauvignon Blanc I really dislike, passionfruit, armpit sweat, asparagus and cat's piss. Pass.
2009 Voyager Estate Chardonnay, Margaret River (screwcap): An old-style chardonnay by today's standards, but a good one, heavily worked with toasty/vanillin oak, buttery/milky malo characters and sweet, lemony/peachy fruit, cinnamon toast and smoky/French vanilla on the finish. Very enjoyable now, but going by the 2008 vintage last month I'm not sure that it's really worth cellaring.
2012 Chalk Hill Sangiovese, McLaren Vale (screwcap): Sweet with musk and cherries, quite earthy with a little prickly heat on the finish; to be honest I was expecting it to be a lot hotter after reading it came in at a whopping 15.5% alc. Not bad, but it's nothing like Coriole's blueprint, and it's not a keeper.
2010 Chalk Hill The Procrastinator, McLaren Vale (screwcap): 65% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Earthier and darker than the Sangiovese, a touch green but not overly so, medium-weight with a solid finish with some liquorice. A sell-out on the day, an interesting wine, I'm not sure it was really worth the rave reviews though.
2011 Chalk Hill Sidetrack Shiraz Grenache, McLaren Vale (screwcap): I couldn't get past the brett on the nose and palate of this wine, it's very medicinal with cloves, bandaids and earth. No excuses, this is poorly made.
2011 Chalk Hill Barbera, McLaren Vale (screwcap): This wine also badly suffers from bret, even more so than the Sidetrack Shiraz Grenache, reeking of bandaids and cloves, finishing with a tangy, bitter, metallic taste that unfortunately lingers. According to their notes this wine is made using second and third use oak and 'minimal intervention'; as much as I love the use of older/more neutral oak in these sorts of wines, it should be as clean as possible to avoid disasters like this.
2011 Chalk Hill Shiraz, McLaren Vale (screwcap): The best of the Chalk Hill reds, a mercifully clean, solid, medium-weight shiraz with fine, soft tannins, good use of new vanillin oak that's obvious but not over the top, and a solid finish. A good result for a tough vintage.
2010 Voyager Estate Shiraz, Margaret River (screwcap): Greener than the Chalk Hill, with very chalky, grippy and slightly bitter green tea tannins on the finish. It has good length, but it really needs food right now or a few years to settle down.
2010 Voyager Estate Girt by Sea Cabernet Merlot (screwcap): Very green, full of menthol, capsicum and black olive matched to black jubes/tart fruit. Shorter than the Shiraz, it's tough work now but it also might sort itself out with some age.
2008 Voyager Estate Cabernet Merlot (screwcap): There's a good lick of expensive cedar oak on the nose and palate which helps offset some of the green characters, but it's still very leafy, herbal and green, even for Margaret River. It does have very good length and integration, easily the best of the three Voyage reds today but getting on the pricey side.
Cheers,
Ian
2012 Chalk Hill Vermentino, McLaren Vale (screwcap): An unusual wine but a good one, sweet lime, banana leaf and passionfruit, sitting somewhere between one of the better style Sauvignon Blancs and a local off-dry riesling. I asked about the RS in this wine, and apparently it's dry (maybe 1g RS).
2011 Voyager Estate Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, Margaret River (screwcap): The style of Sauvignon Blanc I really dislike, passionfruit, armpit sweat, asparagus and cat's piss. Pass.
2009 Voyager Estate Chardonnay, Margaret River (screwcap): An old-style chardonnay by today's standards, but a good one, heavily worked with toasty/vanillin oak, buttery/milky malo characters and sweet, lemony/peachy fruit, cinnamon toast and smoky/French vanilla on the finish. Very enjoyable now, but going by the 2008 vintage last month I'm not sure that it's really worth cellaring.
2012 Chalk Hill Sangiovese, McLaren Vale (screwcap): Sweet with musk and cherries, quite earthy with a little prickly heat on the finish; to be honest I was expecting it to be a lot hotter after reading it came in at a whopping 15.5% alc. Not bad, but it's nothing like Coriole's blueprint, and it's not a keeper.
2010 Chalk Hill The Procrastinator, McLaren Vale (screwcap): 65% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Earthier and darker than the Sangiovese, a touch green but not overly so, medium-weight with a solid finish with some liquorice. A sell-out on the day, an interesting wine, I'm not sure it was really worth the rave reviews though.
2011 Chalk Hill Sidetrack Shiraz Grenache, McLaren Vale (screwcap): I couldn't get past the brett on the nose and palate of this wine, it's very medicinal with cloves, bandaids and earth. No excuses, this is poorly made.
2011 Chalk Hill Barbera, McLaren Vale (screwcap): This wine also badly suffers from bret, even more so than the Sidetrack Shiraz Grenache, reeking of bandaids and cloves, finishing with a tangy, bitter, metallic taste that unfortunately lingers. According to their notes this wine is made using second and third use oak and 'minimal intervention'; as much as I love the use of older/more neutral oak in these sorts of wines, it should be as clean as possible to avoid disasters like this.
2011 Chalk Hill Shiraz, McLaren Vale (screwcap): The best of the Chalk Hill reds, a mercifully clean, solid, medium-weight shiraz with fine, soft tannins, good use of new vanillin oak that's obvious but not over the top, and a solid finish. A good result for a tough vintage.
2010 Voyager Estate Shiraz, Margaret River (screwcap): Greener than the Chalk Hill, with very chalky, grippy and slightly bitter green tea tannins on the finish. It has good length, but it really needs food right now or a few years to settle down.
2010 Voyager Estate Girt by Sea Cabernet Merlot (screwcap): Very green, full of menthol, capsicum and black olive matched to black jubes/tart fruit. Shorter than the Shiraz, it's tough work now but it also might sort itself out with some age.
2008 Voyager Estate Cabernet Merlot (screwcap): There's a good lick of expensive cedar oak on the nose and palate which helps offset some of the green characters, but it's still very leafy, herbal and green, even for Margaret River. It does have very good length and integration, easily the best of the three Voyage reds today but getting on the pricey side.
Cheers,
Ian
Last edited by n4sir on Fri Jul 13, 2018 9:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone.
Re: Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
1996 Penfolds Bin 389. A good looking complex wine with plenty of diifferent primary fruit flavours. Nicely layered. In a good spot right now. A much vaunted vintage, it is good but for me it is a little too chunky and 4 square to warrant some of the greatest praise it has received. No hurry but certainly in the drinking window
2002 Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling. FINALLY this is drinking. It is in a super place at the moment, very complex with bottled lemons, stewed citrus, toast, touch of kero. Super balance. This is great riesling, one of the best experiences I have had with this dry style.
2006 Hatton Estate Tahi Cabernet Merlot. Dark and brooding with a sweet edge from the american oak influence. Modern and plush but more elegant than the blockbuster 2005. Really smart. Still primary but drinking fine
2002 Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling. FINALLY this is drinking. It is in a super place at the moment, very complex with bottled lemons, stewed citrus, toast, touch of kero. Super balance. This is great riesling, one of the best experiences I have had with this dry style.
2006 Hatton Estate Tahi Cabernet Merlot. Dark and brooding with a sweet edge from the american oak influence. Modern and plush but more elegant than the blockbuster 2005. Really smart. Still primary but drinking fine
Re: Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
dlo wrote:I've been drinking very little for some time due to hospitalisation and associated dramas (long story) but I'm on the mend and have had the pleasure of consuming two very good to excellent bottles in the last week.
Sorry to hear you haven't been well David, I am sure I am not the only one who has missed your more frequent notes! No one seems to have had any 70s VP for awhile!
------------------------------------
Sam
Sam
Re: Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
Sangre de Toro (Garnacha and Cariñena) 2011... Still a relative bargain even here in Singapore albeit S$30 at the smkt versus cA$16 in Aus... To be honest the fact the little bull figurine is now posed lying on its back with its hooves behind its head is more exciting than the contents of the bottle, which is perfectly serviceable, medium bodied red with a supple/spicy core of bright red fruits.
Gremillet Cuvee Rose Champagne 2007... 100% Pinot Noir. This has a lovely salmon pink hue and very fine bead. The nose is attractively "pink" with scents of strawberries and it has a bit of lingering sweet fruit to the palate. Quite drinkable. I think the importers notes go a bit far though (my emphasis):
"A genuine rose with a pretty, deep pink, sun-drenched hue, bright, luminous and limpid with fine, colourful, lively bubbles. The nose is lusciously fruity, each bubble seems to be a different berry that explodes on the pallet like a musical note: first a cherry, then a raspberry and a redcurrant, then a strawberry, a blackcurrant and even a blueberry."
Gremillet Cuvee Rose Champagne 2007... 100% Pinot Noir. This has a lovely salmon pink hue and very fine bead. The nose is attractively "pink" with scents of strawberries and it has a bit of lingering sweet fruit to the palate. Quite drinkable. I think the importers notes go a bit far though (my emphasis):
"A genuine rose with a pretty, deep pink, sun-drenched hue, bright, luminous and limpid with fine, colourful, lively bubbles. The nose is lusciously fruity, each bubble seems to be a different berry that explodes on the pallet like a musical note: first a cherry, then a raspberry and a redcurrant, then a strawberry, a blackcurrant and even a blueberry."
------------------------------------
Sam
Sam
Re: Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
dlo wrote:Buller's Reginald Langdon Buller's Museum Release Sparkling Shiraz was an absolute corker. Made from a blend of reserve base wines from 1966 (17%), 1996 (40%) and 2000 (43%), this still fresh and invigorating drop displayed the requisite fizz, colour and bouquet/palate complexity to deserve an excellent rating. So moorish was it, my wife and I demolished the bottle with consummate ease over the course of an evening meal last week. One point of interest was a relatively high alcohol content on the bottle that, surprisingly, didn't bother either of us one iota at any point of intake. I'm guessing, this may be a result of the final dosage being from some of Buller's old VP('s?).
Snap. Had this Sunday with a slow roasted lamb number for my birthday. Gave this an excellent/outstanding rating. Loved the earthy red fruited character.
cheers
Carl
Bartenders are supposed to have people skills. Or was it people are supposed to have bartending skills?
Re: Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
2004 Woodlands Margaret probablly a bit better than the last bottle. Still a little dissappointing and perhaps left a little too long to drink these. Fruit no longeras generous as a couple of years ago. Pretty nose and really for the money quite good drinking.
2004 D'Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz not as monolithic as some, fairly one dimensional but good with big protein. A blokes wine
2004 D'Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz not as monolithic as some, fairly one dimensional but good with big protein. A blokes wine
-
Mike Hawkins
- Posts: 2747
- Joined: Fri Aug 29, 2003 9:39 am
Re: Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
2 ripsnorters this week.
1994 Howard Park Cabernet Merlot - this was the wine that originally got me interested in WA wines. This is still looking great after 19 years and drank well over 3 nights, suggesting it still has a long road in front of it. It really had a Bordeaux smell and taste to it (especially olives), albeit with much riper and softer tannins. Great length, lots of complexity and great drinking.
1996 Henriot Enchanteleurs - another one consumed over 3 nights. Wow did this change ! Night one - very floral and citrusy. Kinda smelled like a new release BdB. Night 2 - for the Aussie readers, this one reeked of 'Frosty Fruit' iceblocks (I assume these are still made?) and Night 3, the nose was akin to a Rutherglen muscat. This champagne really fattened up by the second night and has fantastic length, with just the right amount of noticeable tannin. This was one of the bottles I bought in France, and all have been much better than the ones I bought in the US. A good bottle of this label is truly an exceptional drinking experience.
Cheers
Mike
1994 Howard Park Cabernet Merlot - this was the wine that originally got me interested in WA wines. This is still looking great after 19 years and drank well over 3 nights, suggesting it still has a long road in front of it. It really had a Bordeaux smell and taste to it (especially olives), albeit with much riper and softer tannins. Great length, lots of complexity and great drinking.
1996 Henriot Enchanteleurs - another one consumed over 3 nights. Wow did this change ! Night one - very floral and citrusy. Kinda smelled like a new release BdB. Night 2 - for the Aussie readers, this one reeked of 'Frosty Fruit' iceblocks (I assume these are still made?) and Night 3, the nose was akin to a Rutherglen muscat. This champagne really fattened up by the second night and has fantastic length, with just the right amount of noticeable tannin. This was one of the bottles I bought in France, and all have been much better than the ones I bought in the US. A good bottle of this label is truly an exceptional drinking experience.
Cheers
Mike
Re: Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
Opened a lovely bottle of (seemingly, very) old tawny port last night - St Hallett's Museum Release 14 Year Old Tawny. Only had a nip or two but what a terrificly smooth drop with delectable complexity encompassing nutty rancio, peel, christmas cake, caramel and dried fruits (mostly fig) over dusty old oak with enough astringency in the finish delivering a fine counterbalance.
Does anyone know anything about this wine?
Does anyone know anything about this wine?
Cheers,
David
David
Re: Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
Mike Hawkins wrote:2 ripsnorters this week.
1994 Howard Park Cabernet Merlot - this was the wine that originally got me interested in WA wines. This is still looking great after 19 years and drank well over 3 nights, suggesting it still has a long road in front of it. It really had a Bordeaux smell and taste to it (especially olives), albeit with much riper and softer tannins. Great length, lots of complexity and great drinking.
1996 Henriot Enchanteleurs - another one consumed over 3 nights. Wow did this change ! Night one - very floral and citrusy. Kinda smelled like a new release BdB. Night 2 - for the Aussie readers, this one reeked of 'Frosty Fruit' iceblocks (I assume these are still made?) and Night 3, the nose was akin to a Rutherglen muscat. This champagne really fattened up by the second night and has fantastic length, with just the right amount of noticeable tannin. This was one of the bottles I bought in France, and all have been much better than the ones I bought in the US. A good bottle of this label is truly an exceptional drinking experience.
Cheers
Mike
That just doesn't happen in my household these days, too many interested parties wanting to taste!
Imugene, cure for cancer.
Re: Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
2004 Kreglinger Vintage Brut (Tasmania) - very very good, crisp, clean, easy drinking, nice acidic balance. Very Enjoyable.
2004 Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Brut Premier Cru - interesting, good medium bodied type of champagne @ $50-60 range. It was like eating buttery wholemeal toast without too much familiar French champagne's yeasty notes. More of a champagne to go with cheeses, breakfast and meals, etc.
1999 Tahbilk Shiraz - Solid Good, could go further couple more years. Awesome with roast lamb. Well balanced and aromas, beautiful drop, happy with it.
2000 Tahbilk Shiraz - Pretty good, seems more mature, and lighter colour than the 1999, more dominated saddle/leather notes than 1999.
2013 Wilson Vineyard Polish Hill River Riesling - very "big" Riesling, chardy like type of body and colour, darker and more heavier than 2012 Vintage, wine for a long haul, can see it will go brilliant with Crispy Duck in a decade or so. For me, it seems to be a Riesling for a long cellaring to tame down a bit. Not a wine I would drink on its own on lazy sunny Sunday afternoon, bit heavy for that. More of "food matching" Riesling. Mixed reports/feelings on this one.
2013 Wilson Vineyard DJW Riesling - Lighter and crisper with citrus notes, refreshing young drop, tighter balanced acidic notes, I really enjoyed this, solid good. I liked it.
2013 Wilson Vineyard Watervale Riesling - I prefer this to other Wilson's Rieslings, softer, enjoyable now, nice softer bouquet notes, easy drinking, not too fruity, My favourite of all Wilson's 2013 vintage Rieslings, good drop to drink on lazy Sunday afternoon with mates.
2004 Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Brut Premier Cru - interesting, good medium bodied type of champagne @ $50-60 range. It was like eating buttery wholemeal toast without too much familiar French champagne's yeasty notes. More of a champagne to go with cheeses, breakfast and meals, etc.
1999 Tahbilk Shiraz - Solid Good, could go further couple more years. Awesome with roast lamb. Well balanced and aromas, beautiful drop, happy with it.
2000 Tahbilk Shiraz - Pretty good, seems more mature, and lighter colour than the 1999, more dominated saddle/leather notes than 1999.
2013 Wilson Vineyard Polish Hill River Riesling - very "big" Riesling, chardy like type of body and colour, darker and more heavier than 2012 Vintage, wine for a long haul, can see it will go brilliant with Crispy Duck in a decade or so. For me, it seems to be a Riesling for a long cellaring to tame down a bit. Not a wine I would drink on its own on lazy sunny Sunday afternoon, bit heavy for that. More of "food matching" Riesling. Mixed reports/feelings on this one.
2013 Wilson Vineyard DJW Riesling - Lighter and crisper with citrus notes, refreshing young drop, tighter balanced acidic notes, I really enjoyed this, solid good. I liked it.
2013 Wilson Vineyard Watervale Riesling - I prefer this to other Wilson's Rieslings, softer, enjoyable now, nice softer bouquet notes, easy drinking, not too fruity, My favourite of all Wilson's 2013 vintage Rieslings, good drop to drink on lazy Sunday afternoon with mates.
Re: Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
n4sir wrote:Brief impressions from an instore last Saturday:
2012 Chalk Hill Vermentino, McLaren Vale (screwcap): An unusual wine but a good one, sweet lime, banana leaf and passionfruit, sitting somewhere between one of the better style Sauvignon Blancs and a local off-dry riesling. I asked about the RS in this wine, and apparently it’s dry (maybe 1g RS).
2011 Voyager Estate Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, Margaret River (screwcap): The style of Sauvignon Blanc I really dislike, passionfruit, armpit sweat, asparagus and cat’s piss. Pass.
2009 Voyager Estate Chardonnay, Margaret River (screwcap): An old-style chardonnay by today's standards, but a good one, heavily worked with toasty/vanillin oak, buttery/milky malo characters and sweet, lemony/peachy fruit, cinnamon toast and smoky/French vanilla on the finish. Very enjoyable now, but going by the 2008 vintage last month I'm not sure that it's really worth cellaring.
2012 Chalk Hill Sangiovese, McLaren Vale (screwcap): Sweet with musk and cherries, quite earthy with a little prickly heat on the finish – to be honest I was expecting it to be a lot hotter after reading it came in at a whopping 15.5% alc. Not bad, but it’s nothing like Coriole’s blueprint, and it’s not a keeper.
2010 Chalk Hill The Procrastinator, McLaren Vale (screwcap): 65% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Earthier and darker than the Sangiovese, a touch green but not overly so, medium-weight with a solid finish with some liquorice. A sell-out on the day, an interesting wine, I’m not sure it was really worth the rave reviews though.
2011 Chalk Hill Sidetrack Shiraz Grenache, McLaren Vale (screwcap): I couldn’t get past the bret on the nose and palate of this wine, it’s very medicinal with cloves, bandaids and earth. No excuses, this is poorly made.
2011 Chalk Hill Barbera, McLaren Vale (screwcap): This wine also badly suffers from bret, even more so than the Sidetrack Shiraz Grenache, reeking of bandaids and cloves, finishing with a tangy, bitter, metallic taste that unfortunately lingers. According to their notes this wine is made using second and third use oak and “minimal intervention†– as much as I love the use of older/more neutral oak in these sorts of wines, it should be as clean as possible to avoid disasters like this.
2011 Chalk Hill Shiraz, McLaren Vale (screwcap): The best of the Chalk Hill reds, a mercifully clean, solid, medium-weight shiraz with fine, soft tannins, good use of new vanillin oak that’s obvious but not over the top, and a solid finish. A good result for a tough vintage.
2010 Voyager Estate Shiraz, Margaret River (screwcap): Greener than the Chalk Hill, with very chalky, grippy and slightly bitter green tea tannins on the finish. It has good length, but it really needs food right now or a few years to settle down.
2010 Voyager Estate Girt by Sea Cabernet Merlot (screwcap): Very green, full of menthol, capsicum and black olive matched to black jubes/tart fruit. Shorter than the Shiraz, it’s tough work now but it also might sort itself out with some age.
2008 Voyager Estate Cabernet Merlot (screwcap): There’s a good lick of expensive cedar oak on the nose and palate which helps offset some of the green characters, but it’s still very leafy, herbal and green, even for Margaret River. It does have very good length and integration, easily the best of the three Voyage reds today but getting on the pricey side.
Cheers,
Ian
From those notes, you didn't buy any of the wines tasted?
Re: Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
Opened a 2010 Rockford Cabernet tonight. Recognisably Barossan on the nose. Red fruit and dirt with musk sticks. A bright cherry palate. Moderate, fine tannins. Lingering finish. A little too bright for me at the moment but this is a young stripling with a strong upside. Very Good with potential.
cheers
Carl
cheers
Carl
Bartenders are supposed to have people skills. Or was it people are supposed to have bartending skills?
Re: Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
Recent Impressions
1991 Hollick Ravenswood Cabernet. An absolute beauty. At secondary prices, I wonder if the Ravenswood is the best value Coonawarra Cabernet going around in good vintages. Extremely Good.
2005 Grosset Chardonnay. Tried really hard to like this, but in the end the funkiness was distracting rather than value-adding. Good.
2003 Dom Perignon. Have tried this a few times now and I'm quite enjoying it as a drink-now proposition. Very Very Good.
2009 Eileen Hardy Chardonnay. Just wonderfully clean and pure. Extremely Good.
2011 Grosset Off-Dry Riesling. My first try of this Grosset and pleasantly surprised. Excellent middle ground white to serve to a large group of varying palates. Very Good.
2011 Valdicava Rosso di Montalcino. I can't get enough of this; probably my palate telling me to get back to Italy. I can't find any more in Australia, but if anyone sees any, please PM me. Extremely Good.
2004 Kay's Block 6 Shiraz. Had this in a vertical of 2002-2006, and this was the one that stood out. Having said that, drinking Block 6 under screwcap does make me ask how long I need to hold this type of wine now that it's not under cork. The whole bracket from 2002-2006 barely seemed to have budged. Very Very Good.
2004 Majella Cabernet. Had this in a vertical of 1999-2009, and interesting mainly for the fact that we had the 2004 in two separate bottles, one under cork, the other under screwcap. This was done blind, and the bottle under cork was almost universally preferred after 30 minutes in the decanter. Kept a glass of each in the decanter for the next four hours, and by the end of the night, the screwcap version had probably just moved ahead, as the cork version started to fall over and the screwcap started to open up. Again, made me ask whether wines are developing very much under screwcap. Both were enjoyable wines, but the screwcap just had young, rough edges for the first hour or two. Incidentally, the favorite wine of the night was the 1999 (also under cork).
2008 Capisce (Samuel's Gorge) Grenache Shiraz. This was one of my go-to quaffers last year, and was a perfect mid-week wine. This week, it's looking like it's starting its descent. Still quaffable, but less exciting. Good.
1999 Jim Barry McCrae Wood Shiraz. Bought from cellar door last month, but cork disintegrated and the small amount of fruit that was remaining fell away soon after. Just Good.
1991 Hollick Ravenswood Cabernet. An absolute beauty. At secondary prices, I wonder if the Ravenswood is the best value Coonawarra Cabernet going around in good vintages. Extremely Good.
2005 Grosset Chardonnay. Tried really hard to like this, but in the end the funkiness was distracting rather than value-adding. Good.
2003 Dom Perignon. Have tried this a few times now and I'm quite enjoying it as a drink-now proposition. Very Very Good.
2009 Eileen Hardy Chardonnay. Just wonderfully clean and pure. Extremely Good.
2011 Grosset Off-Dry Riesling. My first try of this Grosset and pleasantly surprised. Excellent middle ground white to serve to a large group of varying palates. Very Good.
2011 Valdicava Rosso di Montalcino. I can't get enough of this; probably my palate telling me to get back to Italy. I can't find any more in Australia, but if anyone sees any, please PM me. Extremely Good.
2004 Kay's Block 6 Shiraz. Had this in a vertical of 2002-2006, and this was the one that stood out. Having said that, drinking Block 6 under screwcap does make me ask how long I need to hold this type of wine now that it's not under cork. The whole bracket from 2002-2006 barely seemed to have budged. Very Very Good.
2004 Majella Cabernet. Had this in a vertical of 1999-2009, and interesting mainly for the fact that we had the 2004 in two separate bottles, one under cork, the other under screwcap. This was done blind, and the bottle under cork was almost universally preferred after 30 minutes in the decanter. Kept a glass of each in the decanter for the next four hours, and by the end of the night, the screwcap version had probably just moved ahead, as the cork version started to fall over and the screwcap started to open up. Again, made me ask whether wines are developing very much under screwcap. Both were enjoyable wines, but the screwcap just had young, rough edges for the first hour or two. Incidentally, the favorite wine of the night was the 1999 (also under cork).
2008 Capisce (Samuel's Gorge) Grenache Shiraz. This was one of my go-to quaffers last year, and was a perfect mid-week wine. This week, it's looking like it's starting its descent. Still quaffable, but less exciting. Good.
1999 Jim Barry McCrae Wood Shiraz. Bought from cellar door last month, but cork disintegrated and the small amount of fruit that was remaining fell away soon after. Just Good.
Re: Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
1996 Te Mata Coleraine.
"Wine maketh Glad the heart of man", the sticker that held together the royal red tissue paper announces. A pristine label underneath. I do miss the tissue wrap Te Mata dispensed with the vintage after this!
I only had one bottle of the 96 Coleraine, and had it in reserve for a vertical event as it isn't a common vintage especially now. But it seems just like most grand wine plans it just was never going to happen so might as well drink it in front of the rugby with a mate paired with Bangers and Mash.
1996 Te Mata Coleraine I always thought was slightly under rated which is surprising as it isn't exactly in the shade of surrounding vintages (except perhaps the much vaunted 98). 95 was very good but 92 and 93 were not made, 97 wasn't so flash and 99 was average, so was the 94.
The 96 however is in a super spot right now. This bottle has never had temperature controlled storage either. The cork crumbled into hundreds of pieces on removal but no harm once decanted. it is still a youthful purple and the bouquet was really deep and satisfying
On the palate, It is a lighter coleraine with not the huge amounts of concentration some of the recent vintages have shown. It is quite fruit driven too with blackberry, boysenberry type fruit. There is fantastic complexity too, though not the bordeaux graphite and iodine of the 07 Awatea I had last week. It is more "Hawkes Bay" than "Bordeaux". Nicely ripe and totally resolved tannins with a seamless palate that is rich and mouth filling. Stylewise I would put this in the same box as the 99, 02 and 05.
A delight to drink and went nicely sharing between me and only another two people
Just like the Wallabies, it was finished by half time.
"Wine maketh Glad the heart of man", the sticker that held together the royal red tissue paper announces. A pristine label underneath. I do miss the tissue wrap Te Mata dispensed with the vintage after this!
I only had one bottle of the 96 Coleraine, and had it in reserve for a vertical event as it isn't a common vintage especially now. But it seems just like most grand wine plans it just was never going to happen so might as well drink it in front of the rugby with a mate paired with Bangers and Mash.
1996 Te Mata Coleraine I always thought was slightly under rated which is surprising as it isn't exactly in the shade of surrounding vintages (except perhaps the much vaunted 98). 95 was very good but 92 and 93 were not made, 97 wasn't so flash and 99 was average, so was the 94.
The 96 however is in a super spot right now. This bottle has never had temperature controlled storage either. The cork crumbled into hundreds of pieces on removal but no harm once decanted. it is still a youthful purple and the bouquet was really deep and satisfying
On the palate, It is a lighter coleraine with not the huge amounts of concentration some of the recent vintages have shown. It is quite fruit driven too with blackberry, boysenberry type fruit. There is fantastic complexity too, though not the bordeaux graphite and iodine of the 07 Awatea I had last week. It is more "Hawkes Bay" than "Bordeaux". Nicely ripe and totally resolved tannins with a seamless palate that is rich and mouth filling. Stylewise I would put this in the same box as the 99, 02 and 05.
A delight to drink and went nicely sharing between me and only another two people
Just like the Wallabies, it was finished by half time.
Re: Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
daz wrote:n4sir wrote:Brief impressions from an instore last Saturday:
2012 Chalk Hill Vermentino, McLaren Vale (screwcap): An unusual wine but a good one, sweet lime, banana leaf and passionfruit, sitting somewhere between one of the better style Sauvignon Blancs and a local off-dry riesling. I asked about the RS in this wine, and apparently it’s dry (maybe 1g RS).
2011 Voyager Estate Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, Margaret River (screwcap): The style of Sauvignon Blanc I really dislike, passionfruit, armpit sweat, asparagus and cat’s piss. Pass.
2009 Voyager Estate Chardonnay, Margaret River (screwcap): An old-style chardonnay by today's standards, but a good one, heavily worked with toasty/vanillin oak, buttery/milky malo characters and sweet, lemony/peachy fruit, cinnamon toast and smoky/French vanilla on the finish. Very enjoyable now, but going by the 2008 vintage last month I'm not sure that it's really worth cellaring.
2012 Chalk Hill Sangiovese, McLaren Vale (screwcap): Sweet with musk and cherries, quite earthy with a little prickly heat on the finish – to be honest I was expecting it to be a lot hotter after reading it came in at a whopping 15.5% alc. Not bad, but it’s nothing like Coriole’s blueprint, and it’s not a keeper.
2010 Chalk Hill The Procrastinator, McLaren Vale (screwcap): 65% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Earthier and darker than the Sangiovese, a touch green but not overly so, medium-weight with a solid finish with some liquorice. A sell-out on the day, an interesting wine, I’m not sure it was really worth the rave reviews though.
2011 Chalk Hill Sidetrack Shiraz Grenache, McLaren Vale (screwcap): I couldn’t get past the bret on the nose and palate of this wine, it’s very medicinal with cloves, bandaids and earth. No excuses, this is poorly made.
2011 Chalk Hill Barbera, McLaren Vale (screwcap): This wine also badly suffers from bret, even more so than the Sidetrack Shiraz Grenache, reeking of bandaids and cloves, finishing with a tangy, bitter, metallic taste that unfortunately lingers. According to their notes this wine is made using second and third use oak and “minimal intervention†– as much as I love the use of older/more neutral oak in these sorts of wines, it should be as clean as possible to avoid disasters like this.
2011 Chalk Hill Shiraz, McLaren Vale (screwcap): The best of the Chalk Hill reds, a mercifully clean, solid, medium-weight shiraz with fine, soft tannins, good use of new vanillin oak that’s obvious but not over the top, and a solid finish. A good result for a tough vintage.
2010 Voyager Estate Shiraz, Margaret River (screwcap): Greener than the Chalk Hill, with very chalky, grippy and slightly bitter green tea tannins on the finish. It has good length, but it really needs food right now or a few years to settle down.
2010 Voyager Estate Girt by Sea Cabernet Merlot (screwcap): Very green, full of menthol, capsicum and black olive matched to black jubes/tart fruit. Shorter than the Shiraz, it’s tough work now but it also might sort itself out with some age.
2008 Voyager Estate Cabernet Merlot (screwcap): There’s a good lick of expensive cedar oak on the nose and palate which helps offset some of the green characters, but it’s still very leafy, herbal and green, even for Margaret River. It does have very good length and integration, easily the best of the three Voyage reds today but getting on the pricey side.
Cheers,
Ian
From those notes, you didn't buy any of the wines tasted?
No I didn't.
Forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone.
Re: Weekly Drinking Thread @ 19/8/2013
Nantua Les Deux 2010 Chardonnay A second level wine from Giaconda, at a much more affordable price and availability. Golden yellow in colour, showing much promise, and from the colour more like a 2006 vintage. Full bodied, with a touch of oiliness. A white wine for red wine drinkers. Good, however I was expecting more. It did not have a lot of complexity. Although not stated on the label, I believe it has a touch of Rousanne. It reminds me of one of my favourite value for money whites "Terra Felix Marsanne Rousanne" which I can not obtain any more. Terra Felix was a third of the price, hence if this wine was half the price it would be worth trying, however at around $50, there are plenty of other choices.