The Auswine Forum

So its time for your weekly consumption reports. Funny word "consumption" - it used to be a disease and now "consumption of red wine" is considered good for you.

In my case I had an unexpected surprise last night. I was half way through a six pack of 95 Balmoral which I thought was a good wine (but not as good as many other vintages) and was in its peak drinking window and wouldn't get any better. WRONG! The bottle I had last night was a beauty, all rich and powerful blackberry fruit, big but not being over the top in any way, the wine showed superb balance. Tannins were still a bit chewy but that did not detract from it at all. interesting enough this bottle threw almost no sediment. An Excellent wine.

Now what have you been drinking, lurkers please give us your impressions too.

Also tried a few 95's over the past week or so - Huntington Estate reds to see how they are going. Almost needless to say they are going well and will hold for years yet.

FB31 Cabernet, immediately appealing berries and spice, that lovely HE structure and balance. Probably the best of the three, Mudgee cabernet is a bit under-rated I think at times, as is Mudgee as a region, thankfully for canny buyers.

FB28 Shiraz, a bit of bottle stink took a while to breathe off but the lovely soft earthy HE shiraz thankfully emerged, lovely 'old-fashioned' style, not so much in-your-face-fruit, just a seamless integrated wine.

FB38 Cab/Merlot, last one of this, again took a while to open up, not quite as good as the straight cabernet, but showing merlot musk/violet aromas and flavours over the still sweet berry fruit.

One surprise last night that shows how robust red wine can be - a 1986 Stevens Shiraz (the old Cambrai McLarenvale winery) that had been cellared in a passive Canberra cellar having fairly wide temp fluctuations. The wine opened clean and fresh with a fair dollop of slightly varnishy oak, the fruit just making it through though, the wine drank well with the hearty french-style cassoulet. The sediment on decanting was fairly crystalline, indicating it had been cold a few times, but the wine has survived and on colour, nose and palate I would have picked it as a 90-92 vintage. It had an agglomerate cork too - still firm, no hint of taint and no leakage, wonders will never cease.

The other red opened overshadowed it a bit though, a 1997 Tatachilla Foundation shiraz, big rich sweet fruit, but not jammy or over-ripe, oak nicely judged, a seductive wine, close to peak drinking but with a few years ahead yet.

Andre Passat Crozes Hermitage 1985: had a feral and funky (very Pinot like nose) which lead into a pretty complex palate. From memory 85 was a pretty good year and after nearly 20 years this wine is holding up pretty well.

Masi Osar 1997: great wine, great year and what I really liked about this wine was that the fruit was not over-done. No cooked or stewed fruit, rather a big, rich and very powerful wine.

Zerbrina Marzianno 1995: a little bit disappointed in this. Not sure if it was bottle variation but this seemed quite dull and one dimensional. Will have to try another bottle.

cheers
anthony

sorry, forgot to log in.

Andre Passat Crozes Hermitage 1985: had a feral and funky (very Pinot like nose) which lead into a pretty complex palate. From memory 85 was a pretty good year and after nearly 20 years this wine is holding up pretty well.

Masi Osar 1997: great wine, great year and what I really liked about this wine was that the fruit was not over-done. No cooked or stewed fruit, rather a big, rich and very powerful wine.

Zerbrina Marzianno 1995: a little bit disappointed in this. Not sure if it was bottle variation but this seemed quite dull and one dimensional. Will have to try another bottle.

cheers
anthony

Hello good people,

A big week with some standouts and a few disappointments.

Kyeema 1992 Shiraz (Hilltops fruit) Lovely wine still in its prime, unfortunately marred by a low level TCA affectation.

St. Hallett 1996 Faith Shiraz - Raspberry confectionary, no discernible oak. Touch more substance on the palate - just add some licorice to the above. Agreeable.

J.J. Confuron 1990 Chambolle-Musigny - Fantastic sappy pinot fruit follows a most gorgeous multi-faceted nose. Just got better and better as it breathed out. Outstanding wine, especially for what it is. (i.e. village level)

Retrospective Riesling Tasting

Pipers Brook 2001 - Corked

Wolf Blass 1999 Gold Label Eden/Clare - Deep colour for age. Strange green pineapple/herby (?) nose and palate. Rated - Acceptable. Picking this up on a lot of Oz Rieslings over recent times. Don't like this trait one bit. Anyone know what I'm referring to? Could someone educate me on this one?

Orlando 1999 Steingarten - Terrific. Classic Eden Valley - steely, limes and minerals, great acid integration - excellent cellaring potential.

Leo Buring 1994 Leonay Eden Valley - Agreeable but marred by some of that unusual character noted in the Wolfy above.

Leo Buring 1994 Leonay Watervale - Recommended with powerful toasty, lime fruit and just a touch of the same problem of its sibling.

Vieux Telegraphe 1995 Chateauneuf du Pape - Highly Recommended - just starting to hit its' straps.

Beychevelle 1986 St. Julien - Outstanding Bordeaux entering its' mature plateau. Complexity and elegance. Tannins now mellowed out.

Seppelt 1998 Original Sparkling Shiraz
So good was this, we cracked another after the first one disappeared so quickly.

Killikanoon 2003 Mort's Reserve Riesling - see tasting note this page.
Rymill 1999 Cabernet - ditto
Howard Park 1998 Cabernets - ditto
Giaconda 1997 Cabernets - ditto

Anthony

Was the Crozes made by the Volkswagen Company ?

P.S. I know you have difficulty with those funny Italian names, but it is actually Fattoria ZERBINA - and the 1995 is a good wine so that bottle was definitely a poor example (another strike out for cork seals ?)


regards
Chris

It is amazing what spellcheck misses. Just ask TORB

Will have to try another bottle of the Zerbina , for such a great wine didn't think they would make such a bad one.

cheers
anthony

Folks

Been out and about so catching up with a few notes from meory:

2002 Petaluma Riseling - Excellent. Best yet from Petaluma. I tend to bag the Chardonnay as having too short a life and think the riesling is the best of their wines. Drink well from Now to infinity.

1999 Orlando St Hugo - Another of my favourites. Good Cab characters, firm tannins, not too ripe and decent length. Very Good 2005-2010

2000 0rlando St hugo - Sad alternative. stupid restaurant ran out of 1999. Short and flat. Ok. Now-next week.

1997 Wendouree Shiarz Mataro - Corked. %$#@!. Would have tasted great if I were a silverfish! Great fruit lurking but couldn;t get past the taint.

plus - some other French stuff which is now lost in my memory banks somewhere - although all of it very good.

Cheers
David

David surprised that you liked the 99 St hugo over the 00?

Do you think you could have got a bad bottle?

1997 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling
Drinking well and on a plateau, but like a lot of the Clare 97's, in my view will not improve further.

1986 Leoville Barton
Starting to be approachable, but will open up further with time. Reflecting the year, a real claret style, will always have some austerity.

1985 Canon
Drinks beautifully, and consistent with previous bottles. A more feminine year and plumper right-bank style.

1992 Chambers Shiraz
A very good year for Rutherglen Shiraz. Bouquet of minty, plum pudding fruit with liquorice and chalk. Although quite alcoholic (14.8%) it did not taste at all hot on the palate. Moreish.


regards
Chris

1997 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling
Drinking well and on a plateau, but like a lot of the Clare 97's, in my view will not improve further.

1986 Leoville Barton
Starting to be approachable, but will open up further with time. Reflecting the year, a real claret style, will always have some austerity.

1985 Canon
Drinks beautifully, and consistent with previous bottles. A more feminine year and plumper right-bank style.

1992 Chambers Shiraz
A very good year for Rutherglen Shiraz. Bouquet of minty, plum pudding fruit with liquorice and chalk. Although quite alcoholic (14.8%) it did not taste at all hot on the palate. Moreish.


regards
Chris

Shocker of a week for me. Had a Flu all week so I drank TEA instead of wine. Port lost against C#@*&^%$*$$@.

Did buy a terrine mould. Looking for Recipes I dug out some Australian Gourmet Magazines from the 1982 to 1985 era. Back then I was underage and drank Birrell non-alcoholic beer at the local Golf Club. The wine ads and articles in the magazines back then show that the fashion was for "Fume Blanc" and "Rhine Riesling" ! Although I must say the wine writer back then - one Paddy Kendler - was not bad eg. was arguing that Australians stop calling their wines Champagne and Burgundy etc when the ads kept that sort of nonsense up. The best joke I noticed was an ad for 1984 Pewsey Vale that boasted how they had replaced the screwcap with a cork for amateur wine lovers !

Today the Flu had finally abated so had a :

Billecart-Salmon Brut : Nice buttery but elegant Champagne. I prefer the full on Bollinger style but this was good for its type.

1997 Temple Breur Cornucopia Grenache - Highly Recommended. I chose this as a red wine to go with Indian food, and it carried it off well.

A 2001 Margaret River Cleanskin Cab Sav from our local liquor store (well, one of many) was way too young. Probably Recommended (or better) in 5-10 years. For now, the tannins are too harsh and the whole thing is a little closed up.

2003 Minot Sauv Blanc was brought independently by two different house guests this week. To me it just tasted like a white wine...probably Agreeable if you like that sort of thing.

1994 Penfolds Bin 128 was lovely, yet again. Rated as Excellent, it's probably close to its optimum drinking age now. I hope we still have some left...the $27/bottle earlier this year was money well spent.

2002 Kangarilla Road Fleurieu Zinfandel (or Primitivo) is a little better than Agreeable as a food wine, but I fear it has little aging potential.

2002 Shane Warne Cab Merlot Petit Verdot was acceptable, and maybe in time will be agreeable. I don't feel ripped off at $9, but I'm not rushing back for more.

Eep...I seem to have accidentally added to this thread as a guest...anyway, the scrawlings on the Cornucopia Grenache and friends were mine.

Kieran

1996 Saxonvale Show Reserve Hunter Shiraz

A dark purple colour which was quite closed initially. Drying tannins and a medium body for this shiraz. I found that it did not open up after a couples of hours in the glass and this wine did not impress me at all.

It was a very plain wine and I'm glad I only have the one bottle.

Devils Lair Fifth Leg '00
Margaret River
13.7%alc.
This wine is not very good from the get-go. The colour is of medium intensity, the nose shows a poor performance with some VA evident. The palate isn't so bad though, it gives some nice chocolate, nice juicy ripe currant fruit, spice of nutmeg, and charred oak.
The acid seems to taker over, and the tannins are overwhelming.
I've had several vintages from this winery over the past 6 years and have been excited by them all, but this is not one I would buy again - 26$C
Cheers,
Mishy

Had a cold this week so I bailed out of a couple of trade tastings but when the Schnoz recovered I had:

2002 Tim Knappstein hand picked Riesling
Pale straw with green tints...freshly squeezed limes and grapefruit on the nose, nice supple mouthfeel with citrus fruit (limes) and sherbet on the palate and a lovely zippy finish. I snapped up the last 6 bottles of the 2002 at my local bottlo and it's a bargain at $13.

Cheers

Dave

1998 E&C Section 353 Shiraz After the comments about this one becoming out of balance, I decided I needed to open one of my remaining bottles and sample.

Still dark purple with a hint of reddening. Very nice aromatics of plums, bread pudding, dark chocolate and blackberries. Really a good sniff. Excellent, complex flavors similar to the nose, with an added licorice end note on the long finish. Over three days this actually deepened and picked up in intensity.

I guess some wines just ring the right bells on me more than others, but I've always found this wine to be remarkably consistent and delicious. I wish I had more. Rated as Excellent, and it is a good value too.

1998 Seppelt St. Peters Shiraz Dark dense purple/black color. Some notes of brush/evergreen in what is otherwise a powerful nose of mixed black fruits and licorice. Cassis, licorice, earth and hints of blackberry make up the palate, with a decent, somewhat earthy finish.
Rated as Recommended, it seems to have a long life ahead of it.

A few from the weekend

Penfolds Kalimna Bin 28 2000:

First night, yeuch! Closed not much fruit and joyless. Almost poured it away. Second night much improved, lots of chocolate (maybe carob) and plummy fruit hanging around and a long aftertaste. Not bad at all

Clare Essentials Carlsfield Riesling 1997

I opened this with trepidation given the many failiing grades dished out to 97 Clare Rieslings on here. Not this one

Beautiful golden colour in the glass, on the nose a whiff of kero but mostly honeyed fruit and perhaps a slightly cheesy whiff. In the mouth, great body and heaps of acidity and lots and lots of tropical fruit with the dominant flavour being grapefuit juice. The acidity had that lovely mouthwatering capability. This wine was a treat, and the last 30% tasted just as good the second day. A delight!


Finally, I love discovering a bargain. My local Stalinist liquor store just released a whole load of 1994 Rioja (CUNE Imperial Reserva) for about $18 a bottle. What a joy to drink. First day lots of smooth smooth fruit and a long finish, was great with dinner. Second day had taken on much more meaty and gamy aromas and the finish had lengthened considerably. A lovely mature (maturing??) Rioja at a bargain price. Went back and bought lots more.

Cheers

MP

I think it was David who tried the 98 Seppelt Sparkling Shiraz.

The 99 has been released and would appreciate some thoughts and notes in the future.

A classic style not averse to a few years in the cellar. I cringe every year hoping the beancounters haven't "distorted" the brand like many others in the Southcorp range.

I found the 98 juicy and ripe on release, steered clear, but found it settled after a year into a bit above expected- in terms of quality.

My weeks drinking the Salitage range. Some of their recent releases very good.

1994 Lindemans' St George - a pleasant wine, just lacked excitement

1994 Leasingham Classic Clare Sparkling Shiraz - enjoyable as ever

2000 Petaluma Coonawarra - 2nd time in a week. At least it was one of my mate's bottles

2000 Miranda Golden Botrytis - this has to be one of the bargains of the decade at $12.

1996 Jim Barry Macrae Wood Cab Malbec - soft, juicy wine pretty much at its peak

A few...

2001 Steinhaus Riesling, Hiedler, Kamptal, Austria

I absolutely loved the 2000 of this single vineyard wine. The 2001 is a slightly different beast; a bright medium greenish yellow, nice clean bouquet of grapefruit zest and lime juice. The palate has plenty of ripe fruit, but a discernible level of residual sugar, not unpleasant, and well balanced by acidity. A very good wine, but I think I prefer the dry slightly creamy 2000.

2001 Dolcetto, Pra di Po, Piedmonte, Italy

A modern style Dolcetto, low cropped and picked at full phenolic ripeness, at 13.5% quite high alcohol, some barrel ageing evident. Plenty of lush verging on rich ripe dark plum fruit moving to chocolate on the middle palate. Finishes with soft tannins.

2000 Torcolato, Maculan, Breganze, Italy

One of Italy's greatest sweet wines and a personal favourite. The 2000 vintage seems to be an early developer. This is a take no prisoners stickie - 14.0% alcohol matched by a rich, unctuous palate - this is a wine to be drunk slowly with good company and some fine blue cheese - excellent fruit intensity and good acidity. Very good indeed, but 1-2 glasses is enough.

Also, on the beer front, a couple of pints of Bristol IPA while watching the Man U v Arsenal "footbrawl". Damned fine beer with that fabulous dry hoppy finish.

All in all a good few days, Port Power knocked out of the finals and Roo Dog picked up the Brownlow!! What more could a man want!!

Cheers
Phil