The Auswine Forum

Hi Good Peoples,

It is that time of the week again. Please let us know what you have been drinking. Lists, vibes or full blown tasting notes welcome.

Oh great. At last a thread that isnt spam or the ramblings of the insane with not enough other things to do

Popped a 99 Unison Selection on friday night, which showed both the class of the label and its development vintage from vintage. Super sexy and refined. A good 100 pointer, maybe more. It is a wine that shows a more european amount of complexity when compared to pretty much all Hawkes Bay reds. In my opinion the best 1999 Bordeaux (or nearly bordeaux) blend to come out of the Bay from 1999, which was on paper and average vintage at best, and a more syrah vintage.

The latest vintage though (the 04), shows a touch more weight and concentration. feel this label is really coming of age as the vines mature

Also a Shingle Peak 05 riesling which was the second nz 05 riesling which i have pulled out of the cellar in the last month which seems to have gone off the boil since release. Still good wine, just lost a bit of spark

Craig(NZ) wrote:Oh great. At last a thread that isnt spam or the ramblings of the insane with not enough other things to do

Err - I thought that describes 99.9% of the posts on this site

For us a shockingly poor 2003 Penfolds Bin 28 Shiraz It moved swiftly from sweet fruit through to a short salty/sour finish. Hopefully I'll get some further impressions from the PCE on Robin Garr's forum, with the only other note being more positive, but also suggesting issues with the acidity. Would be interested in anyones recent impressions of this wine to gauge whether it's a poor bottle. I've also stashed a half-bottle of the remnants, so will revisit tomorrow to see if there's any change.

tonight a half-bottle of 2003 Pascal Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée clement Not at all bad for a 2003 from europe. Oak was a bit noticeable, but then we did drink it too young.

Ian...the 2003 Penfolds Bin 28 is a very interesting wine. It freaked me out too as it borders on something very drinkable but the finish tastes like a bit of Kikkoman Soy Sauce. Not a good vintage at all but somehow in 3 years may pull itself together because as you say, the first sip is quite good. The 2000 is actually worse.
Attila

Some wines from the early 1990's provided by a generous host at Dinner last night in the leafy Adelaide suburbs. Going purely from memory :

1992 Lake Breeze Bernoota : has kept well indeed - too mentholly/eucalypt to be a truly great wine but not bad at all. Attractively soft.

1991 Stafford Ridge Geoff Weaver Lenswood Cabernet : bit of a dirty nose but nice claret style wine with good tannins.

1990 Wynns John Riddoch : 16 years young. Deep wine with good length.

1991 Wynns Centenary Cabernet-Shiraz : WOTN. Deep , fresh and clean. Must be about in it's window to start drinking but would defintely keep for a long time to come. Restored my faith a bit in Coonawarra after some recent doubts.

1993 Peter Lehmann Cabernet Sauvignon Barossa : nice and light and elegant - suffered from following the Wynns but I'd drink this happily anyday. One of those pleasant surprises after not expecting much due to the vintage.

1993 Mount Langhi Ghiran Shiraz : good cool climate Shiraz.

Moet 1993 Vintage
Bronze toned and with fine but slightly faded bead. Beautiful and lively nose of cultured yeasts and vegemite and caramel notes. Delicious and full palate, long, persistent and characterful with all the same flavour profiles discerned on the nose. Fair to say that it's drinking at a plateau, at least to my tastes. Two bottles, cellared separately for a time, both basically identical. Very good.

Vinea Marson 2006 Rose
Surprisingly under cork. Excellent, savoury Italianate Heathcote rose, the real deal. Very pleasant drinking with just a hint of refreshing bitterness.

Golding 'The Leap' Sauv Blanc 2006
An unusual blend of Malborough and Adelaide Hills sauvignon blanc fruit with the qualities of both discernable. Big, obvious nose of passionfruit and gooseberry and rich palate with subtle and complex characters. Perhaps a little flat on the end and mid palates, the opening the real appeal. Very nice.

Shaw and Smith M3 Chardonnay 2004
Fantastic, stone fruit nose, all rounded and cushioned, with slightly buttery, mouthfeeled palate, running through a minerally slightly acid finish with good length. Evocative of peaches and nuts. Multi-layered and delicious.

Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2003
Earthy, clouded nose with mushroomy undergrowth characters. Palate equally unclear and lacking focus but satisfying and grounded. Drinking well but not sure where it will head. Not as impressive as my last bottle.

Sangreal By Farr Pinot 2003
Quite faded red rim. Very funky and a bit feral. Overtones of nail polish and maybe even a bit bretty. Full of character but not as polished and predicatble as the CB.

Houghtons 2001 Frankland River Shiraz
Big, robust and inky. Heavy handed with a consistent core of fruit but with impressively over the top tannins. Will settle with time and I think too young perhaps currently.

Yalumba The Signature 1999 Cabernet Shiraz
Awkward, tannic as hell and very rigid. Seems to have lost a bit of fruit but still braced with tannic oak girdles that prevent any real enjoyment. Not as impressive as several other Signatures (some much older) I have tried and a bit of a disappointment to be honest.

Attila wrote:Ian...the 2003 Penfolds Bin 28 is a very interesting wine. It freaked me out too as it borders on something very drinkable but the finish tastes like a bit of Kikkoman Soy Sauce. Not a good vintage at all but somehow in 3 years may pull itself together because as you say, the first sip is quite good. The 2000 is actually worse.
Attila

Thanks Attila
I think that's a much more succinct description of the finish than I mustered (though I guess trying to describe soy sauce would end up with as confused a description as I've been coming up with )

Bit surprised when I looked up Jeremy Olivers views, as he rated the 2003 quite highly (higher than the 2002). Looked up Hallidays opinion in the bookshop today and he seemed to have no issue with it either. Bottle / Batch variation of course could be at play.

regards

Ian

Cape Mentelle Shiraz 2002 (14.5%, cork)
Opened this last night. Dark purple. Toasty oak, cinnamon, and plum nose. Plum with a savoury finish, but seems to drop off fairly suddenly. Plenty of tannins left, but they have eased back a bit since my last bottle a year, but I remember the finish was better then.

Dobogo Furmint Tokaj 2003 (13%, cork)

My first experience with a Hungarian wine. Drank is mid-week. This is a white wine vinified dry from Furmint grapes. Gold. Some stalky veges, raisins with some honey undertones for the nose. Some melon and pear flavours, slightly buttery in texture, but flabby with little acidity and fairly bland in the mouth. Ordinary. Would not recommend this wine to my friends. I wonder if this is an off bottle or just the style of wine from this grape that I don't get.

Wayno wrote:



[b]Golding 'The Leap' Sauv Blanc 2006
An unusual blend of Malborough and Adelaide Hills sauvignon blanc fruit with the qualities of both discernable. Big, obvious nose of passionfruit and gooseberry and rich palate with subtle and complex characters. Perhaps a little flat on the end and mid palates, the opening the real appeal. Very nice.
.

Tried this (group of) wines with the auswine panel.

Our opinions and notes matched yours, great nose, but definitely a short finish and lacking in the middle.

Great idea, that just didn't seem to work.

Did anyone make it to Noon CD this year? If so I would love to hear impressions.

Three Hills Shiraz 2000

Lots going on in the glass with this wine. Earthy, licorice, touch of mint with a a slightly underlying feral tone. Well balanced with beautifully integrated oak. Elegant but with power. Great mouth feel with very good length. Bottle 289 of 6400.

Thorn Clarke Shotfire Shiraz 2002

Damn shame this was not a magnum. The bottle finished far too quickly. Beautiful fruit with large chunks of chocolate on the nose. Lush, velvety mouth feel with a finish that went on and on. No wonder Parker raved about this wine a few years ago. I remember buying this on special for $17. If only I had bought much more. Sensational. WOTN, WOTM.

Oh come on...I hope everyone enjoyed my little history lesson to Serge...

Anyway, drank a 2002 Elderton Command Shiraz last night, enjoyed it a lot...plums, vanilla, balckberry...creamy rich and full, has a bit of sweetness and is plush and comfortable, like a big comfy lazy boy. I dont think it needs food as it drinks nicely alone. I like drinking it now...sometimes you need a relaxing wine like this.

Raymond W wrote:[

Dobogo Furmint Tokaj 2003 (13%, cork)

My first experience with a Hungarian wine. Drank is mid-week. This is a white wine vinified dry from Furmint grapes. Gold. Some stalky veges, raisins with some honey undertones for the nose. Some melon and pear flavours, slightly buttery in texture, but flabby with little acidity and fairly bland in the mouth. Ordinary. Would not recommend this wine to my friends. I wonder if this is an off bottle or just the style of wine from this grape that I don't get.

Since winemaker János Árvay won a wine challenge with his Tokaji in Japan, the market opened up. I reckon that's how the Dobogó ended up there. I believe that the wine was flabby and ordinary because unfortunately while these wines taste SENSATIONAL in barrel or steel, when they come across the bottling line, something happens.
I had the same experience with my last two Tokaji Dry wines. I stick to Somló but that is so rare that you'll not find them even in Japan.

Cheers,
Attila

Saltrams No 1 1994 - noice

regards
Richard

Oh no not another one of those boring what have you been drinking threads

Hang on isn't that what wine forums are about.

Warrabilla Shiraz Durif 2002
Must have been one of Smithy's screw cap experiments. Opened a little stinky but a good decant fixed that up. Nice drink in the typical Warrabilla mold. Has plenty of years ahead of it.

Killikanoon Killermans Run 2005
Along with the 04 this is a great QPR wine. Lashing of lovely fruit with a dab of oak in the mix. Nicely balanced need to grab a few for future use .

Marsh Estate Adams Shiraz 1998
Back when I bought more Hunter wines Marsh was at the top of the list. This wine showed why. Nose of pencil shavings cigar box and leather, with the fruit still lurking about. The palate was just a stunning the fruit is still singing along with everything in balance for a lovely complex wine with great length. They were below par last time I visited about a year ago so I hope they pick their game up again.

Brown Bros Patircia Shiraz 2002
A much talked about wine and I can see why. Got a couple of hours in the decanter while a couple of cleansing ales were imbibed. But even as it was pour into the decanter the fruit, chocolate and coffee oak leaped out of the bottle. Lovely balance on the palate but I think this needs to spend a few years in deep slumber at this point in time. The coffee oak seems to dominate a bit much. There is some nice fruit lurking beneath but I think a few years will give it a chance to shine through.

SOSS 2002
With birthday lunch today in the sun with the family, Garlic and Chili prawns and muscles life doesn't get any better

Glen

GRB wrote:Brown Bros Patircia Shiraz 2002
A much talked about wine and I can see why. Got a couple of hours in the decanter while a couple of cleansing ales were imbibed. But even as it was pour into the decanter the fruit, chocolate and coffee oak leaped out of the bottle. Lovely balance on the palate but I think this needs to spend a few years in deep slumber at this point in time. The coffee oak seems to dominate a bit much. There is some nice fruit lurking beneath but I think a few years will give it a chance to shine through.

Glen I love the 2002, I think it will be even better in about 5 years time.

Coincidentally I'm sipping the 2003 Patricia Shiraz as I type, It's a NWS sample that luckily had a "check" bottle as well so I was able to pour both halves into one to get a full bottle and it's been in the fridge for about 4 days. It doesn't seem to be quite as big and oaky as the 2002 but has good balance even after the rough treatment and has a lovely savoury streak, it went well with a simple Thai chicken, Chilli and Basil stir fry, looks like it could be worth buying when released.

Had some nice wines with friends last night.

1996 Leasingham CC Sparkling Shiraz
1998 Elderton Command Shiraz
1998 Mitchelton Print Shiraz
1998 Rockford Moppa Springs GSM
2005 Loosen Dr L Riesling
2003 Mt Langi Billi Billi Shiraz
2004 Noon Eclipse
2004 Mills Reef Reserve Merlot Malbec

The '96 LCCSS was a treat, as were all wines really. Many also showed better than previous bottles, namely the Eclipse and Print. The GSM was suffering from some oxidised characters that seem to pop up regularly in bottles here and there. The Command was tasty. A colleague is underwelmed with Command as it ages, but this bottle bucked that trend and I'll be looking forward to a '94 before long.

Cheers

1994 Cranswick 'Autumn Gold' Botrytis Semillon 375ml

VA!!!!

Off the planet! This wine was always HUGE, however over time the VA has become so dominant it is hard to enjoy the richness and extreme apricot flavours of its youth. Still Ok but definately out of balance.

1996 Royal Tokaji Blue Label 5 Puttonyos

Very Intense. Deep dark orange gold colour. The acidity of this wine really sings. Very sweet, concentrated fruit flavours and nicely balanced. Not what I hoped for but still really good.

Seppelts Chalambar 2001
Big plum and blackberry nose with a hint of spice and perhaps a touch of leather. Tannins beginning to round out. Quite a bit of life in her yet.

A few of note:

Lanson Gold Label Champagne 1996:

As much as I expected. Very intense focussed character, with persistent and the finest bubbles I have experienced so far (which is to say not much). Lovely aromas coming from this wine, you could smell lovely toast/custard notes intermingled with citrus. Extremely well balanced all accross the palate, I did find this too acidic, it also had a very long after taste. Excellent+. Must buy again if it drops below 70$. It went very well with panfried salmon.

Drayton's Vineyard Reserve Shiraz 1997:

Not a good year what did I really expect. Very old, aged hunter flavours, both on nose and palate. Someone complained that all the fruit was gone, I can't disagree, although I found disturbing was the tannin balance. Too tannic. Pass

De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Semillon 1994:

Much has been said about this wine. Initially I was underwhelmed, opened with VA, oxidative notes, but from the beginning it always had immense immense length. Very complex palate and nose with quince, honey, dried fruits, not overly sweet to my tastes anyway, finishing with a very powerful savoury counterpoint of apricot kernels. Excellent+. Pity about the price this fetches at auction now.

E. Guigal Crozes-Hermitage 2003 - quite good, especially midweek as 12.5%

3 bottles of Grant Burge 1998 Shadrach - one very good, one less so, and one corked. Perfect example of bottle variation under cork

Rockford Black Shiraz (2003 disg): very nice and no leaking cork

Rockford Black Shiraz (2005 disg): needs another 6 months to a year to intergrate.

Jacobs Creek Centenary Hill Shiraz 1999: excellent Barossa Shiraz. Mate asked me "Why would you by Jacobs Creek?", "try this" I replied. Label-marketing change still confusing to some less aware wine drinkers.

St Huberts Yarra Valley Cab Sav: ok, not overly exciting to me but nothing bad about it either

Mesh Riesling 2005: excellent. Wonderful balance of fruit and crisp acidity

PHI Pinot Noir 2005: very good but needs time in the cellar to develop or a good decant to drink now.

Maximus wrote:Had some nice wines with friends last night.

1998 Rockford Moppa Springs GSM


The '96 LCCSS was a treat, as were all wines really. Many also showed better than previous bottles, namely the Eclipse and Print. The GSM was suffering from some oxidised characters that seem to pop up regularly in bottles here and there. The Command was tasty. A colleague is underwelmed with Command as it ages, but this bottle bucked that trend and I'll be looking forward to a '94 before long.

Cheers

We had a 2000 Moppa Saturday night and I was less than impressed with it. Tasted bitey and not very flavoursome...

Longhop Grenache 2005
Black olives and berries, intense flavours and silky smooth tannins. Im not big on grenache generally but this was pretty good.

Flynns Viognier 05 with Oysters.
Flynns Tempranillo (?)
Flynns Sangiovese (04) with Duck Risotto
Cardenall Cisneros Pedro Ximenez.

Alex F wrote:A few of note:

Lanson Gold Label Champagne 1996:

As much as I expected. Very intense focussed character, with persistent and the finest bubbles I have experienced so far (which is to say not much). Lovely aromas coming from this wine, you could smell lovely toast/custard notes intermingled with citrus. Extremely well balanced all accross the palate, I did find this too acidic, it also had a very long after taste. Excellent+. Must buy again if it drops below 70$. It went very well with panfried salmon.

It was available down to $59.99 recently, still plenty around at $66.99.

Parents arrived on Friday, and now just two weeks before the wedding ... blimey! Oh well at least we had a food tasting at the Quay restaurant and it was top draw, even down to the Riedel glasses (although they won't be available on the day ... alot of merry Brits does't work well with expensive wine glasses).

Anyway had the following with the folks

Faustino I, 1996 Gran Reserve
10GBP from Heathrow airport when I was back some 6 months ago. Loveley drop, cherry red colour, medium bodied, mellow, smooth and nice gentle finish

Lindemans Hunter Shiraz 1998 Bin 9603
Decented for 1 hour, which worked wonders, the last bottle I had of this was thin and just didn;t do anything for me. However this one was much better, more body, slight spice and good smooth tanins, enjoyable.

2004 Majella The Musician
Always gets good reviews, but not sure about this one, perhaps just a one off.

2004 Binbadgen Shiraz
Much more enjoyable, lighter red, with some spice and good after leaving for an hour.

All the other UK friends are over this week, so alot of drinking will be had ... oh dear!

1999 Willespie Cab Sauv - strong french oak flavours on the nose and palette - good fruit underneath but too oaky for my liking - good length and colour 86pts

2002 Skillogalee Riesling - not much fruit left in this bottle (Screwcap) looking tired - slight kero flavours and still quite acidic - 84pts

davidg wrote:Seppelts Chalambar 2001
Big plum and blackberry nose with a hint of spice and perhaps a touch of leather. Tannins beginning to round out. Quite a bit of life in her yet.

David,

Good note. Thanks. Similar characters to my bottle but... "a hint of spice"... my bottle had heaps of spice and all other things nice - pepper, leather, earth and a heap of Penfolds-like formic acid - crushed ants. Seriously great complexity. As complex as I have found a 5 year old wine. The fruits, plums and blackberrry as you mention, did not have the focus and control to sum to a truly great wine, but nonetheless the wine, to me, had greatness. No issues for my $25. I wish the 2004 Chalambar was in the same league, but alas it is not. In fact, the 2004 Chalambar is not in the same league as the 2004 Seppelt Victorian Shiraz! What has happened to the 2004 Chalambar since it was bottled?

Adair

Can't remember everything I've had lately but from what I can...

96 Penfolds Old Vine This is a blend and not made anymore, methinks. Unfortunately, a bit tired. Fruit quite muted and while pleasant enough, just felt a bit over the hill. Pass

04 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Bit too confected or something. Fine as a quaffer but not really enough interest to make me buy it. Pass.

04 Peter Lehmann Shiraz A bit similar to the Koonunga Hill really. Licorice nose and a bit more fruit but I found it a bit sweet and a bit simple. I usually am very fond of the Lehmann range but this just didn't quite have enough to interest me. Pass.

06 Wither Hills Savignon Blanc Already a third of the way through a case of this bought about two weeks ago. Loving it really. Don't think it's quite as good as the 04 which I enjoyed immensely but still plenty of zing, with fresh gooseberry and passionfruit. Good summer drinking as always. Distinction.

06 O'Leary Walker Polish Hill Another noice one. Good lime flavour. Very crisp and fresh. Be great with seafood and can see it improving in the cellar. Distinction.

Attila wrote

Since winemaker János Árvay won a wine challenge with his Tokaji in Japan, the market opened up. I reckon that's how the Dobogó ended up there. I believe that the wine was flabby and ordinary because unfortunately while these wines taste SENSATIONAL in barrel or steel, when they come across the bottling line, something happens.
I had the same experience with my last two Tokaji Dry wines. I stick to Somló but that is so rare that you'll not find them even in Japan.

Thanks for the info, Attila. Didn't know that Dobogo had won some wine comp in Japan. I still have another bottle of the Dobogo Tokaji Furmint 2003, so I will give that a go sometime in the next few weeks. However, your comments don't leave me with much hope for my second bottle. Still, it is good to know that it is not a varietal problem for my palate, but something to do with the winemaking / bottling.

I like trying new wines from other countries as a form of vinous travelling.