The Auswine Forum

Hi Good Peoples,

In some ways it's good to see the forum so dead recently, that means you all "have a life" and have been out and about enjoying yourselves.

So tell us all about it; what have you all been drinking????

Tasting Notes, vibes or lists welcome.

Hi Guys

A quick break from drinking to pen a few impressions drunk over the last couple of days

2000 Palliser Estate Pinot Noir. Probably in my opinion the best vintage of this label, great on release and still very tidy though its not the type of pinot that improves in the cellar. Smokey red cherry flavours, chunky structure and silky length. Very varietal (which palliser sometimes isnt). 17.25/20

2005 Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc. A very elegant vintage for this usually blockbuster wine, enjoyable summer drink. A better wine perhaps to their old style but was the old style their signature??? 16.75/20

2001 Neudorf Moutere Chardonnay. Absolutlely sensational, seduction and style in a glass, this vintage when released was a powerhouse of concentration, now this has mellowed, still showing plenty of the grapefruit and citrus skin flavours with mealy oak and a devine texture. All style, all class worth every cent. Ross if you are reading this its ready now - 2 years?/?? 18.25/20

2002 Dry River Gewurztraminer. After drinking this I realised this is the same vintage we had with Adair in New Zealand. Once again after I made the connection I realised it was showing similarly to when we had it with Adair, lovely wine but just a shade shy for a dry river, elegant, very varietal, off dry but doesnt display the full opulence we usually expect from this great label 17.25/20

2005 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc. Elegant wine but with a pile of depth. Gooseberry predominates on the palate. Again a great summer lunch wine, great with seafood and salad. CBSB may have lost a little mojo since the great 96/97 vintage, but this is tidy wine. 17/20

NV Nautalis Fizz - Nice wine I like this, always have not disimilar to the bolly

NV Bollinger. To be honest this is too close in style to a top kiwi fizz for me to really get out of it what I expect out of champagne. Very fine bead but the flavours are too bold, too in your face for me to get the wow factor id expect out of a reasonably expensive bottle of NV Champagne 17.5/20

2004 Pegasus Bay Riesling. Wow ive munched through this case!! Again this presented itself as an equisite example of med dry rielsing 29g/l. plenty going on through a spine of citris flavours giving a tangy edge through to more mellow honeyed characters building lovely weight. great balance and this is definately in my view one of the must have NZ rieslings 17.5/20

2004 Fromm La Strada Riesling. So different to any othe NZ label, 7%alc, easy to drink, green apples and a hint of honey, mouth watering, subtle and anyone loves it. Fantastic stuff 17.5/20 maybe a shade more

NV Lindauer Special Reserve. Very commercial, not the most trendy wine in the world for wine geeks but I actually really enjoy it. More verve than bolly, soft, salmon tinge, plenty of moose and at $10 a bottle on special its smart buying 16.75/20

2004 Villa Maria Reserve Riesling. Lovely delicate floral off dry riesling, shows noticable sweetness giving it a silky texture. very aromatic, focussed and noticeably classy wine. One for the riesling afficienado 17.25/20


Merry Xmas all

Craig
Read with interest you comments about the Pegasus Bay Riesling 2004 Have a a number tucked away having a sleep at present, i don't intended touching any for about 2-3yrs yet. From your comments they appear to be drinking ok at present. Do you think cellaring is going to enhance them?
Ive been drinking Pegasus Bay Riesling 2002 the last few months. ( been even giving some away as xmas presents, got to stop that ) The wine in the glass has a colour of light gold, med/dry, peach and nectarine aromas, citrus tropical flavours in the mouth, good spine of acid to balance the sweetness. No real honeyed flavours to the wine at present, good length.
I find it an excellent aperitif wine best drunk well chilled. When i first tasted the 2002 on release it was a lot sweeter and appears to be becoming drier with age, still has many years of life left yet. The wine was nz$23 on release, 11.5% and sealed with cork.

I know from reading your past comments Craig on the forum you are a hard marker and 17.5 for a must have kiwi riesling i thought a bit light. I don't tend to rate wine by pts but if i were to do so i would give this at least 18pts and reassess it again in 12 mths either up or down.

Just on another topic, ive been impressed with the 04 reds that have been coming out of Hawks Bay, been drinking the cheaper early release wines but it bodes will for the top wine to be released soon.

Cheers
Geoffrey

1998 Galah Sparkling Red ( $37.50 ) : I reckon this is on the same level as Black Shiraz and Joseph'. Had a lovely anise thread amongst other things. Also had a Rockford Black Shiraz 2001 disgorge that had lost about 100 ml through a leaky cork - however despite this it still had bubbles and was a good drink - annoying though to lose such nice wine.

1993 Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet' ( cellar ) : Psychologically prepared for this wine by anticipating it to be over oaked and arranging a good lamb dish to accompany it. Yes certainly a lot of oak here but I enjoyed it anyway. I guess expecting a red wine from this region and era to not be a bit too oaky is like expecting a pair of pants from the 70's not to have flared bottoms. At least all that oak got them top marks in Winestate magazine in the mid 1990's.

1996 Petaluma Coonawarra ( cellar ) :I bought a case of this in 1998 from cellar door. It is now starting to come around I think. Much better balanced than the JR above. A pleasing drink I found. Still got 8 left.

2005 Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut ( $28 ) : this is my favourite Australian sweet wine. Had this for Christmas breakfast and in the clearness of morning it seemed rather more simple and straightforward than usual ( when it is normally had after a couple of shared bottles ). Enjoyable nontheless with home made cumquat marmalade on toast. Also I procured a couple of allegedly correctly cellared 1997 Cordon Cuts from Auction and they had not aged well at all - had gone brown basically - I reckon the charm of this wine is certainly in its youth.

My magnum of Tyrrells Vat 47 1999 we opened for the family on Xmas Day was corked , very nice fizz from Salinger Rose, La Cache 1999 & Gosset N/V though saved the day. Ho, ho, ho!

lantana

Geoff

The 2004 Peg Bay Riesling took a good year to get it act together, it was a bit harsh an ungiving on release but now they are drinking very well. 2-3 years wont do them any harm but I always buy a few so can afford to tear into them every summer. I still have some 02 as well, still a lovely wine.

My points. Well we always seem to argue about ratings etc etc and im not one for shows, parker points or any other arbitary mark. Wine is subjective, I more or less just do it for my own benefit, and so you can establish how i rate one wine against another (ranking them). Generally my points are along the following lines:

13 Shit
14 Ho Hum
15 Bronze
16 Silver
17 Gold Medal
18 Trophy
19 World Class

Basically anything above 17 I would consider buying for the cellar, anything above 16 id spend $15 on it for a friday night after work.

I did used to rate using the standard show system but found as many do here, it gives too narrow band at the top end to distinguish between many super wines.

2004 Hawkes Bay reds. Yes I agree, from what ive seen so far it looks a tidy vintage, some of the syrah is very good. If the Unison Selection is along the same vein as the 04 syrah I will be a very happy boy. Im also hoping Te Mata can put together a coleraine along the lines of the '00. Ive also heard very good things about 05 on waiheke - stonyridge may be worth a look.


C

In terms of Oz wines, I had a 1997 Black Queen from Peter Lehmann last week. It just arrived in BC, so I had to try it. Didn't take notes at the time, but wow, it was very rich, even for a sparkling shiraz! No overt sweetness, and had the brown sugar/meaty note that I like in my sparkling reds. Not quite a top example, but very nice indeed, and at $35 CDN, a nice value. I'll grab a couple more, if there's any left!

JDSJDS wrote:In terms of Oz wines, I had a 1997 Black Queen from Peter Lehmann last week. It just arrived in BC, so I had to try it. Didn't take notes at the time, but wow, it was very rich, even for a sparkling shiraz! No overt sweetness, and had the brown sugar/meaty note that I like in my sparkling reds. Not quite a top example, but very nice indeed, and at $35 CDN, a nice value. I'll grab a couple more, if there's any left!

This is one of our favourite red sparklers and although the 1997 is still a good wine, agree with you that this is not a top example of this label. The 1994 and 1996 releases were wonderful ... but don't get me wrong ... the 1997 is still very good and I would not complain if this was served up on a hot day . But for $35CD I would probably fork out the extra $5 and buy the Joseph sparkling.

However, looking forward to the 1998 release which should be a cracker!

Open a Lindemans 91 St. George Magnum on Chirstmas night. Jeremy Oliver give it 95 point and the drinking window is 2003-2011.

To me , it was a bit disappointed. It tasted ok but definitly not worth even 90 points. May be it will improve in the future but I doubt. Still got another bottle and wont touch it in next few years.

Basic reflections on post xmas wines at the rellies

Vietti Moscato D'Asti 2004
A ludicrous match for Lamb, but we really fancied something light and it was either that or a scary bottle of something from Dubouef. Sometimes wine / food matching is overplayed and we enjoyed the light, sweetness balanced by the fizz and a touch of acidity. Only 5.5% alc helped as well. As ever, the Moscato wasn't cloying and this version had a wonderfully smooth creamy texture. Really enjoyed it.

Ringbolt, MR Cab (/Merlot/Malbec?) 2003
In keeping with MR style and enjoyed it, even if it didn't move the earth.

Tim Adams The Fergus Grenache 2003
Not usually my style as this is what I see as typical Aussie Grenache, sweet fruited, syrupy but without the complexity I see in other wines.

and a slightly longer tasting note of our xmas day wine (in fact one of last years xmas presents from me to "the brains of the operation").

1994 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Bolgheri Rosso Superiore Ornellaia
Drunk on Xmas day with Guinea-Fowl. Not the perfect match, but far from a clash.

Purple core giving way to garnet, with still good density of colour. Surprisingly visible legs for a wine of only 13% alcohol.
A slightly austere nose of black fruits vying with tobacco aromas, but with richer aromas released by a swirl of the glass.
The texture is excellent and carries well across the palate. Blackcurrant and blackberry are present wth maybe plum and a hint of tobacco and earth. Still mainly in primary flavours, there's certainly a hint of secondary adding additional complexity. Tannins are still evident and slightly drying and together with the fresh acidity, shows there's still plenty left in this wine and is maybe still a little young. The finish has good length, but maybe the tannins are hiding a little more depth to the finish?
A light sediment was thrown.

Drink 2007-2011+, but it's certainly drinkable now. Whilst not cheap, it is classy, and is much more true to the line than a disappointing 1993 we tasted earlier this year.

Ian

jacques wrote:Open a Lindemans 91 St. George Magnum on Chirstmas night. Jeremy Oliver give it 95 point and the drinking window is 2003-2011.

To me , it was a bit disappointed. It tasted ok but definitly not worth even 90 points. May be it will improve in the future but I doubt. Still got another bottle and wont touch it in next few years.

Hi Jacques, we had one of these on the 21st, also from Magnum. I've had many 91 St Georges now, and this bottle was the freshest I've ever seen, quite primary, vibrant acid. They have been very variable, some have been close to past it while many were peak drinking.

The vagaries of cork, storage, etc!

Cheers

Andrew

PS Christmas season TN's to come early in the new year: my family arent wine drinkers, but I'm sharing a few bottles with some more knowledgeable folk sometime soon!

Christmas Day we drank a 1998 Hamilton Marion Vineyard Grenache Shiraz, 2001 Henschke Mt Edelstone and 1998 St Henri - no TNs but they were all excellent examples of the wines.

I'm working on the last two Blacktongues blind notes (sparkling whites & reds) to post in the next few days, along with my list of wines of the year to go under one of the previous posts.

Cheers,
Ian

Up in Queensland staying with the oldies over the holidays, so along with the 6 bottles of 2002 SOSS we have consumed (hey it's hot up here ), we also enjoyed the following during the week:

1996 Peter Lehmann Shiraz Black Queen

Haven't had this one for a while. More creamier and fuller bodied than the Seppelt Original Sparkling and quiet a bit sweeter as well. Lots more up front black fruit and some licorice in the background. Definitely a step up on the 1997 which is avaliable now at cellar door as reported by JDSJDS above. This is one of my wife's favourite sparklers and I must agree that it is quality stuff. Liked it a lot and I think we may end up drinking a fair bit more of this as summer continues. Drinking well now but definitely has a few more years yet in it.

2002 Pertaringa Shiraz Undercover

Deep purple/black in colour, the wine offers aromas of dark fruits on the nose. The palate is more of the same, dark fruits, plum and chocolate envelop the mouth. Great mouthfeel, with soft, silky tannins. Medium to long finish. Bargain for $20 upon release and a worthy entry in Halliday's Top 100 for 2004. Screwcap.

2001 Voyager Estate Cabernet-Merlot

From one of the best vintages in Margaret River for a while comes the 2001 Voyager Estate Cab Merlot. And this is one wine all Australian wine critics seem to agree on: JO - 97/100, JH - 93/97, CM - 95/100. Upon opening the bottle the nose exhibited strong aromas of capsicum, blue cheese, green, and very leafy but with some serious air time this eventually blew off to be replaced with black fruit, chocolate and cedary oak. Ruby red in colour, medium bodied, the wine is elegant but not powerful. Bitter dark chocolate and concentrated black fruit hit the palate straight away followed by a very long, drying finish of soft, silky tannins. The wine is well structured and well balanced and will only get better with sometime in the cellar. As Jeremy Oliver stated in his tasting note ... definitely a "regional classic" in the making". Will try another bottle in 2-3 years.

1998 Wolf Blass Shiraz Brown Label

Don't remember too much about this one except for the oak. Wood, Wood, Wood it cried. Unfortunately there wasn't much fruit to go with all the oak, and it had a very acidic finish. A bit worried about this wine if this bottle is representative of it as I think it is on the downhill decline. Will try another bottle soon.

Two wines consumed over two evenings-

1994 Cyril Henschke Cabernet Blend- powerful & with pristine varietal qualities from the dominant cabernet. The flavour profile was ribena like in the nicest way before building depth and intensity. Day 2. The remnants consumed from two 187ml bottles. Striking wine. Atypical Cyril balance and harmony. The intensity had increased with air, coupled with the structure, would suggest this wine has a lifespan far in excess of the winemaker's peak drinking of last year! An Australian cabernet for antiquity. 93pts


1997 Rockford Basket Press shiraz- Day 1 was a little awkward. It did improve and settle with air. Well balanced wine the fruit started to shine by evening's end. Day 2. Transformed into a shiraz of complexity and soul. Creamy blackberry, smoked meats, licorice and earth. Generous weight, lovely texture and delicious, complex fruit flavours. There is a good intense finish. I don't think I've had a better Barossa shiraz from vintage 97. 91pts

Andrew Jordan wrote:But for $35CD I would probably fork out the extra $5 and buy the Joseph sparkling.

I agree in principle, but we only get 3-4 sparkling shiraz here in BC, and only in very small quantities, so I don't have much of a choice. The Banrock Station and Jacob's Creek are always available however!

I did see a Yalumba D 1998 a few months ago, but it's already de-listed. The Lehmann and the Cockatoo Ridge are the only two sparkling reds of any quality available here, and only in private stores. The Lehmann is definitely the best of the limited bunch right now!

I thought that all of these would be great, but was left a little dissapointed overall.

1994 Wynns Michael Shiraz
Probably the pick of the bunch on the day.
Started off with a great nose full of blueberries and ripe fruit.
This was quite an enjoyable wine, but I felt it lacked finesse as it bombarded the palate with too much fruit. Definetely a few years left in this wine before it peaks.
It was a very heavy wine that almost put a few of us to sleep.

1994 Howard Park Cab Merlot
I've had quite a few of these over the years and it has been one of my favourite wines for a long time. This bottle was affected (only recently bought through a cellar sell-off). About 5 hours after it was opened it finally mellowed and the structure of the wine came through displaying a good depth of flavour and complexity. (but not quite right)


1999 Domaine Serene Evanstadd Reserve Pinot - Oregon
Again I think that this bottle was affected as it just did not display the complexity and finesse of previous bottles. Too savoury.

2001 Domaine A Fume Blanc
Good floral nose with a relatively sweet palate of apricots and honey. A good starter for the day.

Dom Perignon 96 and Oysters and Prawns, a heavenly festive match - see here:
http://forum.auswine.com.au/viewtopic.php?p=30715#30715

1990 Wynns Ovens Valley Shiraz[b] superb wine drinking well. light ruby colour, touch of bubble gum on palate. surprised how light this wine is, but very enjoyable.
[b]1998 Peter Lehmann Shiraz[b] full colour and full bodied, great drinking for the money. A little one dimensional.
2004 Cape Mentelle Zinfandel 16% alcohol makes this a difficult assignment, a wide array of spice and fruit but still overwhelmed by the spirity alcohol. i find these best consumed young so that the fruit copes with the alcohol.
1998 D'arenberg fortified shiraz and excellent match with the plumb pudding, good fruit weight and some complexity but noted some drying.
1998 Freycinet Riesling Muller Thurgeaunice fruit sweetness and clean complexity. has some development ahead.
2005 Turkey Flat Rose Fantastic summers day drink, godd with cold cuts. Not overly sweet and has some interest. Low alcohol 12%
2004Charles Melton Rose of Virginiacomparable with TF if not a little better slightly dry style and a little more complexity.
2005 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc good wine very refreshing, more top the tropical fruit and lime spectrum of SB. Best in a while in my book.
2005 Giesen Sauvignon Blandexcellent value for the money, good ripe herbal flavours.
Pol Roger NVGood crisp flavours lemon, refreshing.
1999 Fonterutoli ChiantiExcellent savoury drop, last of a dozen with a way to go. superb food wine without being too light. 12.5% alcohol but seemed much weighter on the palate. could drink this one as a staple.
Iron Pot late picked Semillion Intersting wine can't recal vintage, morte in the Bordeaux style of fig flavour profile and some palate bitterness that adds interest. In my book lacks the size to deal with much in the way of cheese , perhaps fruit was good with wild figs.

Wizz wrote:

jacques wrote:Open a Lindemans 91 St. George Magnum on Chirstmas night. Jeremy Oliver give it 95 point and the drinking window is 2003-2011.

To me , it was a bit disappointed. It tasted ok but definitly not worth even 90 points. May be it will improve in the future but I doubt. Still got another bottle and wont touch it in next few years.

Hi Jacques, we had one of these on the 21st, also from Magnum. I've had many 91 St Georges now, and this bottle was the freshest I've ever seen, quite primary, vibrant acid. They have been very variable, some have been close to past it while many were peak drinking.

The vagaries of cork, storage, etc!

Cheers

Andrew

!

Your description is pretty close to the one I had, I just wonder whether it is due to the magnum size which make it developed slower than normal bottle. And I would expected more compliexity and longer after taste from the wine but it is not the case.

jacques wrote:Open a Lindemans 91 St. George Magnum on Chirstmas night. Jeremy Oliver give it 95 point and the drinking window is 2003-2011.

To me , it was a bit disappointed. It tasted ok but definitly not worth even 90 points. May be it will improve in the future but I doubt. Still got another bottle and wont touch it in next few years.

Jacques, I have had this 3x over past 12 months - all heavily oaked and almost undrinkable. I sent the rest to auction.

I bought a few cases up to Cairns for Xmas and I'm slowly going through them all. This is the list of drinking so far:

1996 Rosemount Orange Cabernet Sauvignon - Great nose and a long finish
1998 Normans Chais Clarendon Adelaide Hills Mclarenvale Cabernet Sauvignon - Needs more time, but drinking very well
1998 Blass Single Vineyard Barossa Shiraz - Drank it a bit warm initially, but once cooled the flavours came racing out.
1994 Tulloch Hector Hunter Shiraz - This was an unexpected highlight. Needs to be drunk now though.
1976 Lakes Folly Light Dry Red - Wow.. its still alive and kicking. First of a batch, so l'll have to wait and see if the other bottles can match this one. If so, what a surpise.

These were the highlights as we have drunk lots of whites as well. The 2005 rieslings, including Pikes, Leo Buring Mt Barker and Eden Valley, were superb.

Coopers Sparkling Ale
Rogers
Home Brew
Andrew Garrett Duck on the Swamp Sparkling Shiraz, bought for $5 a bottle when the label changed around 1998. Drinking very nicely.
Voyager 2001 Cab Merlot, sensational
Tollana 1998 222, likewise
Batista 2000 Shiraz, lovely peppery cold climate wine
Pikes 1997 Reisling, corked
Dalfaras (Tahbilk) 2002 Verdelho, nice fruity quaffer

Penfolds Grange 1976 What can be said of a wine like this 30 years old, marvelous complex nose of cedar, tobacco, varnish. Outstanding complexity on the palate, still some fruit and a lovely combination of ages characters. Xmas is so much fun.

Wild Duck Creek Springflat Shiraz 2001 Nice wine genuinely good shiraz but just didn't seem to do it for me. At the price I would expect more.

Julian Shiraz 1996 Fantastic stuff, I had not heard of this before and I think they are part of history now.

Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz 1996 Serious tasty stuff drinking very well now and probably has quite a few more years to go.

Penfolds Bin 389 1992 Nice but showing its age, this bottle has done several house moves with us so cellaring has not always been ideal.

Wirra Wirra The Anthem Sparkling Shiraz Current disgorge 2004 I think. Nice wine, probably needs a couple of years to gain some complexity. At the price it is probably worth having a couple put away to find out.

Seppelts Orginal Sparkling Shiraz 2002 Corked but replaced by BWS without
question .

Leashingham Bin 61 Shiraz 1995 Lovely aged shiraz, a bargain at auction at the moment.

Chapel Hill Cabernet Savignon 1996 Nice wine but I expected a little more, may not have been a great bottle. I have one more and will try it again soon.

Peter Lehmann Eden Valley Reisling 1996 Very nice aged characters drinking well now.

Glen

Loads of wines over the Christmas period.

Had these 3 at Brass Razoo (Chef's selection night) in Willoughby (as recommended on Red Bigots web site). A fantastic restaurant with great food and service. Good stems and handling of the wine as well.

Laurent Perrier 1996 Beautiful and very balanced.

Rockford Black Shiraz disg 2003 As always a delight and too easy to drink

Rockford Basket Press 2001 Somewhat disappointing. Seemed to lack the depth of flavour that I'd had in a previous bottle which was very good.

Others

Port Phillip Estate Pinot Noir 2001 I was slightly worried about this bottle but I need not have. A truly great drink and a wonderful example of Aussie Pinot.

Seppelt Original Sparkling Shiraz (SOSS) 1998 Starting to develop some secondary characteristics. Nicely balanced and drinking well. Wish I had more than a few bottles left.

SOSS 2002 Very nice and it has to be the best QPR in Australia.

Coaldstream Hill's Pinot Noir 1999 Magnum Beautiful and great on Christmas Day

Leasingham Bin 61 Shiraz 1998 Magnum Great drink, also consumed on Christmas. Great intensity of fruit flavour.

Seppelt Show Tokay DP 57 Delicious.

Lanson Gold Label Brut 1996 I prefered the Laurent Perrier however this was also wondeful and I think it will be better with a few more years in the Cellar.

Crosser 2003 Crisp and very refreshing. ok

Seppelt Salinger Perhaps a bad bottle, seemed over done.

Chandon Brut NV Nice

Taltarni Brut Tache 2003 Rose style? Not my thing

Yarra Burn Pinot Chardonnay 2001 Light and refreshing. Beautiful with Oysters.

Cape Mentelle Semillon Savignon Blanc 2005 Citrus and lime. Somewhat acidic but nice.

Villa Maria PB Savignon Blanc 2005 Passionfruit and Pear. Very smooth. I loved this.

Clos Pierre Pinot Noir 2005 Not a bad pinot. Think it would be great with food.

St Hallett Blackwell Shiraz 1998 A great Barossa Shiraz. Chocolate and Plums.

Phew.....now for New Years eve

Cheers
Elvis

Xmas Eve:

Rockford Black Shiraz NV (2003 Disgorge): great start to the night
LEAS Chardonnay 2002: perfect expression of WA chard
Penfolds Grange 1986: seamless, superb – years ahead of it
Henschke H.O.G 1988: in shadow of 1986 Grange, good wine, drinking now
De Bortoli Noble One 2002: very nice marmalade, apricot notes

Xmas Lunch:

Leo Buring Eden Valley Riesling 2005: crisp, lime acidity
Shaw and Smith Sav Blanc 2005: did not drink
Lanson Black Label NV: great value
Henschke Cyril Henschke Cab Sav 1997: average wine from avg vintage, not worth the $
Petaluma Shiraz 2001: very good, thought it was St. Peters before seeing label
Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 1996: excellent shiraz, years ahead of it
Peter Lehmann Stonewall 1999: Great expression of fruit, choc-coffee flavours. Loooking forward to it in 5 years time

Xmas Night – all nice wines with no disappointments besides a corked 1996 Bin 389 and impressions were not trustworthy by this stage of the day

Peter Lehmann Eight Songs Shiraz 1998
Hardys Eileen Hardy Shiraz 1996
Hardys Eileen Hardy Shiraz 1999
Grant Burge Shadrach 1996
Grant Burge Holy Trinity GSM 1999
Penfolds Kalimna Bin 28 1996

Boxing Day

Heinekens – perfect match with air con and cricket on TV
Charles Melton Nine Popes 2000: not bad, drinking now, last glass in decanter showed even better after 10 hours of air during Chelsea v Fulham.

De Bortoli Yarra Valley Pinot 1997 - good provenance - ample, deep, forest-floor pinosity on the nose - sadly the palate, while rich & funky, is a bit tired, broad & flat - clear indication that this wine should have been drunk 2 or 3 years back.

Fox Creek Reserve Merlot 2000 - an auction cheapie - not expecting much, pleasantly surprised - good depth, plenty of cassis, earth, furry tannins, rather like a cabernet, not over the top in any way. Held up wonderfully in the glass over an entire day.

Marchesi de Frescobaldi & Robert Mondavi Lucente IGT 1998 - one of the products of Mondavi's venture into Italy & partnership with Frescobaldi - for me, disappointing - strong on the savoury, tannin/acid characters, weak on fruit; medium bodied, may have been better younger; just don't think Italian wines suit my palate, others might like this much more.

Pennyfield Basket Pressed Petit Verdot 2002 - a very good wine made specially for a charity (sourced from Mark Wickman's auctions) - firmly in the big ripe McLaren/Barossa mould, plenty of tannic backbone, powerful fruit profile, years to go yet.

Grosset Semillon Sauv Blanc 2002 - screwcap, fresh, zingy, great light food/summer drink - another year or 3 would bestow more complexity; prefer the Grosset rieslings however.

Orlando St Helga riesling 2005 - the entire metal stelvin gizmo came off, first time this has ever happened to me. The wine itself was so spritzig, that it was close to a sparkling white - did not seem oxidized, but the unexpected bubbles thing put me off - did not enjoy.

Seppelt GR113 Rare Muscat - 500 ml - high expectations, not living up to them at first - muted nose, thought it a bit stripped on the palate, suspected TCA; kept growing over next 3 days - the last glass, day 3, was everything you'd hope for, just beautiful, stunning depth & lushness, loads of spicy rancio. Always thought a fortified like this was the same day 1 as day 10, clearly not!