The Auswine Forum

6x Crociani Vino Nobile di Montepulciano riserva 2020 (a super under-the-radar producer that we've visited)
6 x Vallone (now branded by the specific winery estate - Tenuta Serranova) Salice Salentino 'Vereto' riserva 2021 (typically a negro amaro led regional blend).

Probably inspired by this thread, I opened a half bottle of the 2018 Torbreck 'The Struie' yesterday. No notes taken, but my thoughts were: 15% alc showed, not in any 'burn', but more in a syrupy profile, which kind of worked with more savoury leather and the necessarily quite firm acidity. For me, ...

For me, yes I suspect it's utterly ridiculous, but I've not tasted it, so although every indicator points to it being ridiculous, who knows... In 1990 I tasted Penfolds Grange. It cost £25 a bottle at the time and I was shocked that I felt the price justifiable, and if I would have had storage optio...

Sounds good. I recall trying some, a while back, and finding the style somewhat austere (not necessarily a bad thing, but they felt like they needed age more than most in the region). This definitely sounds like age helped a lot, and I doubt there's any rush needed to drink up.

To an extent it's a style thing as well. Grange established an impression of how a top Aussie wine should be sculpted (at least to get the best prices). Plenty sought to replicate that, perhaps even out-do it in intensity. Wines like Torbreck's Runrig and Jim Barry's Armagh, amongst others, battled ...

Probably the easiest way to do similar is by price. It used to be Runrig was their 'Grange', whilst cuvee Juveniles was their cheapest 'bistro style' offering. Descendent did something akin to Bin389's 'Grange hand-me-down barrels' by being marketed as based on cuttings from Runrig vines, and the St...

That's certainly echoed in wider society at the moment Jamie, and in wine we can see it that much clearer, because we have decent self-developed insight. Read widely is an option, but there is a danger as you say, where groupthink results in regurgitation of opinions, presented as accepted fact thro...

Indeed a lovely broad cross-section of the Rhone

LOL at the lederhosen - a superb effort from that attendee! I find myself still very much attached to old school (sweet) german riesling, especially at Kabinett level. It delivers something unique, a wonderful summer wine, but refreshing all year round. Would I pursue dry german rieslings if I had a...

Thanks for these notes. I still have 5 bottles of the 2004, pretty much the last time I bought Pennies wines. IIRC it was sold off at just over £20 a bottle, in the last throes of (UK supermarket) Sainsbury's attempt at 'fine wine', so 7 bottles went in the shopping basket :lol: . I drank one about ...

Peter Gago will presumably be sent around the globe to promote it. It was something of a surprise at the time when John Duval resigned from the role, but given he said “They expected me to come up with small volumes of super expensive shiraz, but I wanted to build a base for the business and make wi...

I think you understand the concept perfectly.

I'm not sure there is another Aussie forum. Winestar was popular in the day, but that fizzled out and died. I'm trying to remember the earlier forum, back around 2000-2005. Very old school software with little formatting. Probably worth looking at newer platforms like Reddit and Discord, though the ...

Thanks Sean. Yes, definitely a big step up, at perhaps the cost of a little freshness / lightness, but the upside significant. That bottle could IMO have matched up to any other grand, and maybe 1 or 2 rares. The earlier ones were probably a fraction disappointing for 'grand' level, but the price wa...

Seppelt DP63 Grand Muscat. Bought in 2008. This the last of 4. The previous three were enjoyable for sure, but I felt the intensity dropped away mid-palate, at least compared to the better Rutherglen Muscats. Still super for the price. I ended up burying this bottle, but more out of 'yeah, whatever...

There being no coincidence in 'product' being a synonym for multiplication

Wow - If there was one grape I would have never guessed with that tasting note, it would have been D'Arenberg's Mencia. At odds with all my experiences of the grape in Spain and Portugal (as Jaen there). One wonders what style they're aiming for, and if indeed they're using the wrong grape to chase ...

Smaller, more frequent pours and a not too cold ice-bucket (or one of those chiller sleeves) for the bottle seems a super strategy for avoiding the wine getting too warm in the glass, especially when drinking outside. I've seen stuff like stone 'ice-cubes', but I doubt anyone is rushing to put them ...

Lighter chilled reds (or chiarettos / rosés) can be lovely. It's a style more common in Europe, and they can be super with food in warmer weather. Bardolino immediately jumps to mind, as does Lambrusco. Low tannicity helps, as does good acidity to enhance the freshness (the latter perhaps more of a ...

A mixed lot on the way. Lots are 'new to me' but a few old favourites / staples mixed in (they're the ones in blue), and most modestly priced. Soalheiro Primeiras Vinhas (vinho verde) 2022 Luis Pato Vinhas Velhas branco 2022 Luis Pato Vinhas Velhas tinto 2022 2x La Biancara Rosso Masieri IGT Veneto ...

I think it would have been in a mixed auction lot, something I used to enjoy bidding on - more effort, but the prices often made up for that. I agree on the Rubicon, the wine I've had the most of from Meerlust.

Good to see such a wide range of regions covered, and good whites can be found pretty much all over the country. Good also to see a Timorasso in the mix. I'd had mixed results with Boveri: a fancier bottle very good indeed, but a more modest one suffered from a synthetic cork. I don't know if 'Picco...

A wine I'd been meaning to 'drink up', ever since buying it in 2008 :lol: Eventually you just think "open the bl**dy thing". 1982 Meerlust Cabernet Sauvignon - South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch (15/01/2025) Some gunk at the top of the cork, but it came out in one piece and fine wi...

Montepulciano is possibly the easiest location, as (rarely for Italy) there are a lot of drop-in tasting rooms in the centre, but you can also make appointments (typically at the out of town ones). In Lucca, Enoteca Vanni is superb. The small shopfront isn't particularly exciting, but the interest r...

Whatever your son thinks, that's a super line-up

Peak is such a hard term to define, even for ourselves (as your observation attests), but also definitely varies between tasters (perfectly illustrated by Cellartracker TNs). I still put drinking windows into CT for wines I have, but I treat them as indicative at best, and am happy to drink most win...

2012 Marisa Cuomo Ravello (Rosso) riserva.
Very well made, and pretty decent value (albeit not the easiest to find). Perhaps in this instance and little too well-made, as blind I doubt I'd pick is as Italy, let alone Campania. Despite that, very enjoyable.

I do like Isole e Olena. Probably difficult to find, but I love their syrah ('eremo' Collezione de Marchi), which I find both representative of the grape, whilst also very much Italianate in style. Beyond that, there are a lot of wines in their range, and I've not yet found one that wasn't at least ...

Excellent news - and hopefully signifies an uptick in his health

So you think JR is a 20 year proposition? Because that’s a looong time ! With ease. Perhaps more important would be whether you *need* to wait 20+ years. With the BL I would say definitely not, even though it's clear it can last well beyond two decades. With JR I'm wary of the greater stylistic cha...