The Auswine Forum

.... are now due. Its that time of the week again; tell us what you have been drinking. Lists vibes or TN's welcome. Post them here or in your own thread, the choice is yours.

I have had a very ordinary wine week as I was so busy on the TORBWine makeover, I didn't have much time to concentrate on the most important aspect of wine; "drinking the stuff."

But I did have two corked bottles in two nights and last nights effort was a suspect case of low level Brett.

Wine of the week for me was a 96 Mamre Brook Cabernet; it just keeps getting better and better but is probably just about at its peak as its starting to take on aged characteristics. (This was one of the bottles that was corked but I had another; I hate it when you lovingly store a wine for years and find the bloody thing is stuffed by the plug!)

Now what you you been drinking?

Not much on the wine radar for us this week either:

Glaymond Cleanskin - bargain for the price, but needs plenty of air!
1998 Peter Lehmann Cab - a house favourite and a great wine with a few years of age. Drinking very nicely right now. Will probably finish the rest of the case over the next 6-12 months.
2002 Wirra Wirra Angelus Cab - a 95 pointer from JH. Very nice, great varietal cabernet flavours but needs time. Will lose the rest for a while I think!
2000 Majella Cab - this wine didn't grab me as much as the last bottle we had 2 months earlier? Might try again after Christmas to see if it was an off night for my palate.

A real gamble of a wine:
La Volte (Vino da Tavola from Ornellaia) 1993
Very much mature, to be fair maybe a year or too past optimal, but certainly drinkable. Cost about £6 which was probably fair value. Oddly, there were tannins were still there in the background - I suspect this was a bit brutish in it's youth.

TORB wrote:Wine of the week for me was a 96 Mamre Brook Cabernet; it just keeps getting better and better but is probably just about at its peak as its starting to take on aged characteristics. (This was one of the bottles that was corked but I had another; I hate it when you lovingly store a wine for years and find the bloody thing is stuffed by the plug!)

Ric

Good to see that the 96 is still getting better. I must try another 02 again soon. (I still have almost 2 cases hidden in the shop where I work and will take the last 6 pack).

I had the opportunity to try the 03 again recently and believe that it's time in bottle has made a marked improvement in this wine. Perhaps I am sticking my head out in saying that it may be a sleeper but I think this may become a quite good wine. (Better than our initial thoughts). Only time will tell.

Graham

Richard Hamilton Gumprs Shiraz 02
Purple in colour, Nose plums, dark cherry, choc, blackberry, some oak. Nice acid balance, med weight fruit. Raspberry, plum, vanilla oak on the palate ample weight body with agreeable complexity. Reccomended **** worth another look around 2008

Mr Riggs The Gaffer 04
Purple colour, Raspberry, plums, blackberry, cocconut and vanilla oak, creamy fruity nose. Smooth tannins with fresh acidity. Powerfull fruit with reasonable balance of acid and tanin but the fruit dominates this one. Full bodied rich consistency with a long fruity finish. Note the word fruit used a lot here . My wife is pregnant at the moment and can't handle the tanins is most reds . The amount of fruit in this wine and its slightly sweet finish meant she could enjoy a small half glass for the first time in 6 months . Recommended ***

Thorn Clarke Shotfire Ridge Shiraz 04
Dark purple with purple edge. Choc, plums, herbs, vanilla, rich dark berrys and menthol. Dusty tanins with lively acid, balanced fruit. Choc mocha plums dark fruits herbs and spices. Full body with a rich consistency and long finish fairly diverse complexity. Recommended ***

Glen

Ric, it must be your turn to have the cork/brett problems, I haven't struck any since your visit a couple of weeks ago

A few reasonably good wines last week, you know you have too much wine when you are itching to try the new arrivals but you have too many older ones that need to be assessed for progress or drunk...

Woodstock "The Stocks" Shiraz 1994 - the fruit has triumphed over the oak (just), it's still oaky, but the rich sweet fruit has mellowed and come to the fore, soft tannins, silky marshmallow mouthfeel, right at it's peak.

Garden Gully Sparkling Shiraz 1999 - last one, the sparklings turned out much better than the still shiraz, a leaner style with cooler-climate black cherry-sprectrum fruit, just enough sweetness, a nice drink. This winery is just on the Melbourne side of Gt Western, it changed hands a couple of years ago and is now the outlet for a number of small wineries in the area.

Waninga Skilly Hills Clare Cabernet 1996 - bought a 6-pack of this when it impressed after a wine-group member brought some back for tasting in about 1998, it's still going strong, with good varietal definition in the Clare style of berry fruit, some slight mintiness, not leafy or herbaceous, good structure and balance. I'm happy to still have a few left to drink over the next couple of years.

Hilstowe Mary's Hundred McLaren Vale Shiraz 1998 - another defunct winery, this must have impressed on release, it cost $36 5 years ago. It still impresses, rich warm McLarenVale Shiraz, with plums, dark chocolate, black olives, nicely mellowed to peak drinking about now.

Woody Nook Gallaghers Choice Cabernet 1997 this relatively unsung winery/wine seldom fails to please, great value and truly varietal cabernet, a little more leafy than usual from an average vintage, but still the classic berry fruit and mid-weight structure holding it all together.

Mt Surmon Reserve Nebbiolo 2003 - bought to broaden my horizons (and for possible future options bastardry) on the strength of a JO recommendation, we took this to dinner at Bella Vista in Belconnen after a fairly disappointing tasting of Australian wines using Italian or Spanish varietals, the best being the over-priced ($43) Penfolds Cellar Reserve Sangiovese 2003 and Stella Bella Tempranillo 2003 ($24). The Mt Surmon @ $20 CD was a more satisfying wine than either of those, it seemed medium-bodied untill the tannins built up with the second glass, savoury and complex, a great food wine, the relatively unfamiliar (to me) fruit flavours were fresh and interesting, very enticing, too easy to drink.

Hi all,

Good dinner at home with friends last night. Started with Grant Burge NV Pinot Chardonnay. Nice but a little dull. Maybe bottle variation.

1998 Gemtree (McLaren Vale) Shiraz. Brought by friends, a big shiraz style that would have been better with a rare steak than the delicate atlantic salmon with lemon, white wine, capers and EV olive oil.

1999 Petaluma Cabernet was just devine after 2 hours breathing but after 6 hours had change significantly with what appeared to be USA oak dominating the fruit. I'm sure only French oak used.

Brookland Valley '04 Margaret River Chardonnay. Too sweet for my palate.

Finished with Hennesy VSOP cognac and 1980 Yalumbsa Horsey VP.

Friday night had the last of a dozen cleanskin 2000 Haslegrove "H" Cabernet. Why is the last bottle always the best?

Earlier in week enjoyed the cleanskin Irvine Baroness multi vintage red blend. Great fruit and blend. Also Steppingstone '02 Cabernet. Good quaffer.

Leftover wines with dinner tonight.

Larger than normal volumes this week due to taking a short break.

Chuck

This week was pretty quiet:

04 Mr Riggs Shiraz Viognier: the pepper and honeysuckle stood out, but the fruit didn't. I think I prefer the Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz at around the same price.

03 Mr Riggs Tempranillo: Took ages to open up (six hours or so) but when it did, it was pretty good.

04 Thorn Clarke Shotfire Ridge Quartage: I've already posted tasting notes. I liked this one, but I'm not entirely sure what all the fuss is about.

Dad won two bottles of '92 Hill Of Grace playing golf yesterday, but I think he wants to wait until my mother returns from Europe to crack one open

Wynns Red Stripe 2002, very nice example with heraps of Coonawarra green menthol

Wynns Black Label Cab Sauv 1998, more Barossa than Coonawarra for me in style. Not a hint of green but nice warm climate style cab

Evans & Tate 1999 Shiraz, Very nice fruit with the spicey frog oak shining through. Worth best wine on the planet medal? Nah, don't think so.

Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz 1998, Bloody beautiful wine.

Rolf Binder Bulls Blood 2003. Wine of the week by a long way. Sensational depth of fruit and long length.

Jacobs Creek Reserve Shiraz 2002. Another great wine from 2002. Excellent value for the money.

Mamre Brook Shiraz 2003. Leaner than the 2002 but still very nice stuff.

Bit of a mixed bag this week.

St Halletts Faith Shiraz 2003
Nice smooth rich wine for the price. Plenty of black fruit and a touch of chocolate. Good value everday quaffer IMO

Tyrrells VAT 9 Shiraz 2003

Have a case of this sitting in the cellar and hadn't tried any for about a year so thought i should check out the progress. At this point i should say that prior to opening this bottle i had tried this wine on 3 different occasions and always been impressed.

Opened it up, gave it a quick sniff put it into the decanter and left it alone for a couple of hours. Came back and poured myself a glass only to be met with a smell of what i can best describe as tarry burnt rubber/petrol..

Thought that a couple more hours in the decanter may help but.. no change. Ended up leaving for about 48 hours after which time some of the downright nasty characteristcs that this first showed had softened a little but still ended up chucking this one down the sink.. Hoping that this was a one off although i have heard similar reports from others so things may not be looking good for the rest of the case

Saddlers Creek Equus Shiraz 1995

Now we're talking. Started to brick quite a bit. Still showing plenty of fruit with other more developed characteristics. The tannins have softened and integrated well. A nice wine for the money (About $28 from what i remember) drinking at it's peak IMO although would probably hold for another year or two.

Andrew Jordan wrote:Not much on the wine radar for us this week either:

Glaymond Cleanskin - bargain for the price, but needs plenty of air!

Agree on the "plenty of air"

I opened one on Thursday, had half the bottle, and then had the second half on Saturday. Huge improvement.

Graham

Very quiet week - Saltram No 1 2001. Very nice wine - great balance plenty of time to go too.

deleted

At a dinner on Saturday (notes are impressions from memory):

1997 Louis Roederer Vintage Brut
Creamy, yeasty nose of great refinement. The palate is thick-textured, soft and smooth, with fine bead and tremendous persistence. Seemed quite low in acid – but always fresh. Quality stuff. On a cold night was wonderfully warming – and surely would cool in summer too.

2002 Pierro Chardonnay (Margaret River)
Here’s an intense nose if there ever was one. Nuts, melon and minerals, this is pure and clean. Terrific body in the mouth, wonderful palate coverage. Malo influences are minimal, oak is ever-so-subtle. Powerful without ever becoming coarse. Don’t know how these age – never personally tasted an old one. Great length – a first class wine all round. Under screwcap too – hooray.

2001 Tyrrells Vat 47 Chardonnay (Hunter)
A hard act to follow, the Pierro, and the nose here is immediately less intense. There are some warm tropical fruit/melon notes, the oak barely registers. Balance is pretty good here too, but the wine is less focused than the WA example. Length is also pretty good, acid is soft but persistent; there’s nothing coarse. Doubtless will pick up with time, but comes second tonight.

2001 Torbrek Descendent Shiraz (Barossa)
Perhaps embarrassingly, my first taste of a Torbrek wine! Black as pitch, the nose here is all rich ripe blackberry, mocha coffee, dark chocolate and kirsh notes. Quite open and vivid. The palate explodes initially with similar flavours, but I find that everything falls away from the mid-palate back, and the finish is short and warm. The 14.5% alcohol comes as no surprise. Still young, and although there might be some potential development here, I fear for the structure long term. Objectively not bad, I suppose, but really lets itself down after that initial aroma.

1996 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz (Barossa)
Mild-to-moderate TCA flattens the nose and kills the palate stone dead. Ah, the romance of cork…

1998 Grant Burge Meshach Shiraz (Barossa)
Still mostly dark red, but some bricking around the rim. The has all the hallmarks of gracefully aging Barossa shiraz – the warm fruit cake aromas, spice, some vanillan oak, a little milk chocolate. It’s all very velvety and rich on the palate to begin, but still has plenty of furry tannins of some persistency – yet overall the wine feels quite loose and decadent. A wine for the heart and not the head – but none-the-worse for that.

2002 Sandalford Shiraz (Margaret River)
Mid red, I mistook this for something older from South Australia. Not austere by any means, this is open and friendly, the ripe red berry aromas jostling with minimal oak. The palate is fairly tannic, balance is OK. Fair, but perhaps a bit young to fully appreciate.

Sunday afternoon, after a chamber-music concert…
nv Berri 5 litre Claret (best before July 06)
I’ve tasted plenty of bottles worse than this (none of them claret, though). Mid red, the nose instantly offers that thin, macerated note that tells you very high yield grapes have been worked very hard. On the palate, harsh notes of added acid, coarse red fruit of indeterminate origin and marginal ripeness, no finish to speak of, a suggestion of a bag of oak chips dunked in the tank, perhaps? Or maybe it’s just the roughness squeezed from the skins. Drinkable. In an emergency.

At home, Sunday night;
1996 Orlando Steingarten Riesling (Eden Valley)
The second of my five bottles purchased (at retail) in May 98. The first started leaking in 2002 and was (unsurprisingly) somewhat oxidized when opened immediately. This bottle’s cork showed a nasty structural fracture it’s whole length, along which a tiny ribbon of wine had just managed to escape to the outside world. Hard to pick – Steingarten seemed even to be bottled with a pretty big headspace, and the ullage wouldn’t have caused anyone alarm. There’s some kerosene on the nose, and a hint of lemon toastiness, but it’s still overlaid with that dull oxidative note. I’m largely blaming the cork – I suppose the remaining three bottles will tell me something useful about 9-year-old Steingarten.

I see the march of the Brand Manager continues at Orlando. Steingarten was once a single vineyard wine. By the mid nineties it had become an Eden Valley-sourced blend of Orlando’s best riesling, incorporating Steingarten vineyard fruit where possible. The 2002 release (not withstanding its reputed excellence) is now labeled ‘Jacob’s Creek’, branded 'Steingarten' as a "tribute" and the region is Barossa. Which I gather can completely enclose the ‘Eden Valley’ but still… you can’t help but feel that Orlando are not going to ever be great supporters of the ‘distinguished site / terroir’ concept in this country…

cheers,
Graeme

2003 Dead arm disapointed with this compared to other years very sharp but mellowed after time but still a allright bottle

Andrew Jordan wrote:Not much on the wine radar for us this week either:

2000 Majella Cab - this wine didn't grab me as much as the last bottle we had 2 months earlier? Might try again after Christmas to see if it was an off night for my palate.

I know what you mean about the 2000 Majella Cab AJ. This has been fantastic last year. In the last 3-4 months I have tried them again and they seem muted, probably time to put them back in the cellar for another 2 years of development.

A few goodÂ’ns lately despite two corked bottles in a row, the first time for some months. Ironically one was a 96 Mamre Brook cab, the other a 96 Centenary Hills. Neither company has responded to my 'corked' emails yet

Memorable the week just past:

1994 Mount Mary Pinot Probably amongst the best PinotÂ’s IÂ’ve ever had, superb. 19.0

2000 Tarrington Pinot Great aromas, typical of the variety, good on the front palate but a little sharp and green on the back. 17.0

2001 Bannockburn Pinot Another great wine, not as good as the Mount Mary but excellent nonetheless. 18.0

2003? Stoniers Reserve Pinot – the current release anyway. Don’t bother, very ordinary. 15.0

1998 DÂ’Arenburg Dead Arm Shiraz Very nice wine, lots of time ahead, but really enjoyable now. 17.5

2001 Mount Edelstone Drunk way too young, but very classy. Probably not good value at about $80 as the final bottle of the night at a restaurant! 17.5

2004 Hoddles Creek Chardonnay At the price, sensational value for money, and the wineÂ’s good. 17.5

2003 Liebich Leverret Shiraz Purchased from Gavin at sub $20. Love this wine, great Barossa Shiraz. 18.0

2002 Penfolds Bin 28 The Liebich is a better wine. The Bin 28 is ok, and will be better with time, itÂ’s just a bit one dimensional and boring at the moment. 17.0

1992 Rockford Basket Press In a word ‘awesome’. Savory, spicy, fresh, supple, this wine was a treat. Faultless, and in the prime of its life. 19.0

I know what you mean about the 2000 Majella Cab AJ. This has been fantastic last year. In the last 3-4 months I have tried them again and they seem muted, probably time to put them back in the cellar for another 2 years of development.

Mark,

I hope you are right, and that this is just a "phase" it is going through. I have another 10 bottles of this in the cellar!

Thanks for the heads up though. I might put the other bottle away for a year before I try it again.

Late post but better late than never

2001 Peter Lehmann Mentor Cabernet Blend 2001: baked/stewed plums and berries with sweet vanilla underlying the fruit, touch of VA on the nose. Generally faily ordinary wine reflecting a hot vintage, my non-wine loving mates thought it was great, i disagreed.

Orlando St Helga Riesling 2004: My WOTN (from a limited line-up). Brilliant nose showing apple/pear and lime. Great minerality with citrus flavours lying over a long lime acidity. Very tight and focused wine. Awesome value at $20.

Ben Riggs The Gaffer 2004: Slightly jammy plum flavours, spicy shiraz with mild oak. Big slurpable wine that was really enjoyabe once we got back from the pub at 1am. Perfect wine to lead on to more late night shennaingans (anyone played Kings beore?). Great value

No great wines, but a new truckload will be arriving when my old man returns fom his VIC wine trip on Thursday. Promises of Castagna, Jasper Hill and Mornington Pinot.

Not much time for drinking this week

Water Wheel Shiraz 2002 This was not as good as I remembered when I first tried it last year. Had a large taste of alcohol and vanilla and was quite thin. Possibly tainted?

Deakin Estate Cabernet Sauvigon 2004 Got served this at a function I went to. Sweet fruit with no tannins to speak of and no length. Like drinking red wine cordial.

Hypnotoad wrote:Not much time for drinking this week

Geeeeessss Craig,

I wonder why? For those that don't know, Craig was the technical brains behind my sites redesign, and he has done a great job over the last few weeks.

1998 D'Arenberg D'arrys Original
A nice mellow wine although a previous bottle had more blueberry fruit and greater length. Possibly a dubious bottle?

1998 Briar Ridge Stockhausen Hermitage
Nice Hunter red although not overplaying its origins. Good black fruit and nice acidity. Could drink more of this although this was a one off purchase

1999 Bannockburn Pinot Noir
Am a big fan of Gary Farr's pinot and am moving my limited purchases to By Farr now. This is very good new world Pinot, matching the best I have tasted from NZ. That said, you do need to like that "Twigginess" as Campbell puts it (a great description that I had been searching for). Ready to drink now but now real hurry (within 2-3 years easily OK).

TORB wrote:

Hypnotoad wrote:Not much time for drinking this week

Geeeeessss Craig,

I wonder why? For those that don't know, Craig was the technical brains behind my sites redesign, and he has done a great job over the last few weeks.

You're not kidding! It almost looks professional now nice work Craig.

I'd love to take credit for the design but that was all Ric and Brian

Last Friday night was the second of my own run fortnightly themed wine tasting nights for a group of friends which vary from beginners to experienced. Everyone who attends brings a bottle that fits the theme. I do have notes from the first night which i will post in the near future. The theme this fortnight as selected by one of my friends: Margaret River Shiraz 2001. The wines are in order of taste.


2001 Rosily Estate Shiraz Margaret River

Ruby red, quite floral with cherries on the nose, the palate showed cherries, raspberries and very light oak with mild tannin structure, medium bodied, balanced and voted by all as a very easy to drink style.

2001 Jane Brook Shiraz Swan Valley

Dark purple in colour, spicy earthy nose with brair notes, the palate was rather slim with only mild fruit ending quite spicy with white pepper notes, seemed a little watery in texture and slightly acidic.

2001 Vasse Felix Shiraz Margaret River

Dark Garnet with purple hues, cherries, blackberries and mild mocha with some vanilla oak, the palate was smooth and lush with blackberry, dash of milk chocolate, prune, vanilla oak, cinnamon and a touch of spice and currants. dusty tannins and over all balanced feel with a medium to long finish. Very nice wine.

2001 Palandri Shiraz Margaret River

Magenta in colour an almost earthy purple tinge, very strong pure blackberry on the nose, the palate showed mild blackberry on the mid palate but all else was lost as the alcohol shot to the forefront of the wine leaving a burning sensation an the back palate. Disappointing.

2001 Leuwin Estate Art Series Shiraz

Dark purple in colour, very closed on the nose even after 2 hours decanting only light oak evident. The palate was medium bodied with raspberry, slight spice and dominant oak however this wine seemed to go in three different directions that just didnt come together. Either in a flat phase or simply disappointing.

Unfortunately the Juniper Estate hadnt arrived on time for this tasting and the Leuwin Estate Siblings Shiraz was accidently left at home by one of the attendee's. These two will be scrutinised side by side in the near future.

Just to make sure we were being fare in our judging we also opened:

1999 Penfolds St Henri

Deep crimson, choco berry aromas, smooth and integrated palate of ripe berries and choco fruit cake, mulberries, nicely balanced and fine grainy tannins. Now thats SA Shiraz

Here's some wines I've had lately.

2000 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Four Winds - USA, Oregon, Yamhill County (10/21/2005)
I tasted this wine at the winery just a few weeks after bottling in 2002. The fruit seems to be on the decline a bit now, but the slight earthy and barnyardy notes are still there (a positive for me). The acidity made the wine a little disjointed, but there was some nice rich Oregon pinot fruit too - deep cherries and rasberries. A nice Pinot, but not as good as I remembered (B+).

2002 Château de Varennes Savennières - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières (10/8/2005)
Very light gold in color, with a wonderful nose of musty, nutty fruit. Medium to full bodied palate, with elegant, textured fennel, almond, pear, lime, nectarine and banana flavors. Very nice young Savenierres with great balance and considerable power; should develop even more complexity over the next 5 years or so. (A-)

2002 Waldulm Spätburgunder Kabinett - Germany, Baden (10/18/2005)
I was expecting the worst from this German Pinot, especially when I saw the 11% alcohol note on the bottle - I dreaded a severe, lean wine. The color was very light, but that could mean anything in a Pinot. The nose was a blend of barnyard, forest floor and cherry - hey, a great nose! My first tentative sip reveled a medium bodied wine with more cherry and other red berry fruit, more barnyard, and mushroom. The best part was the lovely silky texture. This would have been a great ringer in a village Burgundy tasting! A very tasty surprise. (B+)

2003 Ben Marco Malbec (Argentinia)
Deep purple in color, with a strong perfumed bluberry nose with a touch of mint. The palate is very concentrated and rich - slightly sweet even - and less structured than I would have thought for a 2003 malbec. The palate is like stuffing two almost full handfuls of blueberries, then filling it up with some raspberries and earth, and then shoving it in your mouth. It doesn't cheat you on the amount of flavour, but it's too one dimensional for my tastes (B/B+).

Peter Lehmann 'The Futures' Shiraz 2002 - Australia, South Australia, Barossa Valley (10/10/2005)
Nice wine, with medium to full bodied flavours of plums and fruitcake and well integrated oak. Not OTT in terms of oak or alcohol, quite smooth with a nice texture. An easy to drink fruit bomb. Ready to go now but will last a while too (A-).

Rosemount GSM 2000
I had the 1999 a while back, which was an enjoyable though hardly exciting wine. I'm finishing off my Rosemounts, so the last 2000 bottle of the GSM took a hit last week as well.

Didn't take notes, but I enjoyed this vintage more than the 1999. More fruit - a mixture of red and black fruits - and a nice dollop of earthy flavors were on display. Slightly less sweetness on the palate too (I find I'm really getting sensitive to the sweet note found in many - though not all, I know - Oz wines, especially from the Barrossa and McLaren Vale). Can't imagine this would get any better. Right on the B+/A- (89-90) line for me. Not overly complex, but well made and tasty.

Had the following Peter Lehmann wines last night:

1996 Eight Songs
This was the eighth bottle. At its peak and everyone enjoyed it very much.

1996 Stonewell
Did not have time to decant and bottle emptied within an hour. Good and I will leave the other bottles in the cellar for another year or two.