The Auswine Forum

Be afraid..........be very afraid...............

Justification was easy............it was my 40th birthday

A good friend owns http://www.chateaudelabourlie.com and I was joined by 8 friends and SWMBO. We hired a superb chef for two weeks and did nothing but eat, drink and be merry......

Can't wait for 50........

JM[/url]

You're right Danny.... The Fonseca was a Langtons "adventure", but I have four more from another batch. We also had a couple of '63 Dow's, which is a very good Port. I've got another couple of the '67 d' Yquem, but that'll have to wait for the wife's 40th. The Krug is being replaced by Krug......my ...

Hi, Not posted for a while. Here are a few brief impressions from October. Most drunk in multiples. More detailed notes available. '67 d' Yquem : I dropped this on the floor, can you believe it? Bollocks The nose, however, was other-worldly. '83 d' Yquem : Wonderful! You can tell a good d' Yquem fro...

Be wary of Mouton in anything but the best years. Be generally careful about longevity of you're cellaring for a 21st. I agree with the UK bonded warehouse approach, Oz prices are always on the high to very high side. If I had to choose, I'd opt for Lascombes. It's a Margeaux with rapidly improving ...

'89 Ducru....OK'ish, still quite tannic. Not sure the friut will hold up until the tanins recede. Quite a muted palate. One of the average years. Not so highly recommended. '90 Beaucastel...slight cork taint. Very flat a muted with green vegetal notes. Yuk, sent back after it continued to degrade. '...

Chow,

My I rot in hell if this is a lie, but the first '83 d' Yquem I tasted literally brought tears to my eyes!

I kid you not.

Cheers,
John

Spent a long weekend at a friend's Chateau in the Dordogne and indulged in various goodies (somebody has to do it...) over a nice truffle themed lunch. 1990 Figeac : Very good fruit, excellent balance, wonderfully integrated tannins, mellow black fruits and violet. What can I say, more please. Fully...

FWIW, I've drunk the '45, '61, '67, '75, '76, '83 and '88-90 trio of d' Yquem at least once, an multiple times for the '83 and beyond. I've got more Sauternes/Barsac than is good for me, so I feel in a position to at least attempt a comparison. I can't think of a worse vintage of d' Yquem, period. I...

But Deano, a score doesn't make the wine taste any better......unless you're surname is Salmon.

Taste the wine, make an evaluation, then decide whether to buy not........simple.

John

True bottle shock is no myth....

Coming home to my wife finishing a bottle of 2000 Latour with my mother in law does the job nicely....

JM

I can truly say I've bought nothing from the chains, and I own a fair bit of wine.

That doesn't make the independent's saints though, the buggers are sending me broke.

Cheers,
JM

Was in Atlanta last week. Interesting stay, met Shekeil O'Neil (spelling) at the hotel.......very, very big lad. Also, it must be said, very gracious to the Americans in the party who showed great interest. Was offered some Napa cult Cab. Sipped at is suspicuously and was confronted with muted fruit...

Was in Atlanta last week. Interesting stay, met Shekeil O'Neil (spelling) at the hotel.......very, very big lad. Also, it must be said, very gracious to the Americans in the party who showed great interest. Was offered some Napa cult Cab. Sipped at is suspicuously and was confronted with muted fruit...

Anybody heard of that new boy running around, goes by the name of Schubert?

Had a half bottle of 2000 Chateau de Gironville yesterday with half a dozen escargot.....everything in halves. Plonk French from the Haut Medoc (per Cos, Montrose). Cabernet base. Retails at about £6/split.....yes, you guessed, £17/split in the restaurant. Still, surprisingly good wi...

Hi Ian, The tax thing is a bugger. I've been buying more in bond recently, mostly '01 Sauternes and '03 Bordeaux, in an attempt to avoid the duty and the VAT. I also buy a bit at auction and now have a shipper who, as a matter of course, pre-pays the Oz taxes so the shipment isn't held up by customs...

G'day Steve, Despite being back in London for two years, I actually spent the previous 15 years in Melbourne and most of my wine collection is A) Australian, and, B) still in Melbourne! I don't seem to have figured out where we're going to end up, so I've been shipping wine back to Oz with a view to...

Apologies, I forgot to log in.

Cheers,
John

The list is:

'90 Krug, '82 Cos, '90 Cos, '82 Ducru, '83 d' Yquem, '75 Rieussec and '63 Dow's.

Will report back,

JM

Lascombes has a well documented history of underachievement, with often thin tannic wines during the 80's and early 90's. A change of ownership and an injection of capital and investment has seen that change. Last bottle was a '95 which, FWIW, I found to be very good QPR. I remember surprisingly goo...

Steve,

Thanks for the smile on a cold Friday evening after a long week at work., LOL.

Tried a 1991 Chapoutier Hermitage Pavillion tonight. Quite funny, we're having a big client bash next week and I was asked to taste the wine "to make sure it was OK". Noblesse oblige!

Steer clear of the d' Arrenberg Botrytus Reisling. Got 96+ points from he who must be obeyed, but tasted like burnt organge marmalade sieved through a sock; not exactly subtle. My advice is to look at the secondary market for good vintages of Sauternes/Barsac at a comparable price, esp the 375's. JM

Fantastic! Really well done! You used to be able to do that with genuinely first rate Sauternes ten years ago, but, alas, the summer of opportunity soon passes into winter.......so grab them while you can. I've got a cellar full of odds and sods that are growing more curious by the day. Cheers, John...

Best: '99 Barossa generally, Oscar Semmler in particular...

Worst: '96 Glaetzer (not the Biship)....very tired, with little residual fruit...cellered from new...tasted side-by-side with the '98, which is still holding up well, if not as good as when issued.

JM

I couldn't help but think what fun it would be if I were able to long-on as the apparently earstwhile Mr. Salmon. You could think up all sorts of fantastic tales - exotic wines at equally exotic prices, wonderful reviews and the inside nod. Think of the traps you could set for TORB; LOL. Just a quie...

Haven't been posting much recently............so: 2001 Chatueu Tirecul la Graverie Cuvee Madame (Monbazillac)....not as good as the 1999, which is surprising given the vintage. Bit too sweet and monolithic, not as much botrytus as the '99. May need more time in the bottle and perhaps a little short ...

Gary, I have to agree with you. I got two dozen '98s at London prices and, much to my shame, haven't got around to sending them back to Melbourne for long-term storage. Naturally, I've been cracking into them, with 4 gone from a 6-pack already (the other 18 will make it back)......but two more to dr...

Bit dubious.............. An isolated website curiously located. Introduction posted and introducer questioned. Dead Arm scarsity offered by way of mitigation. Dead Arm freely available, however, from supermarkets! This author located said grog with one call....... BTW, if you're interested in good ...

1998 Grange: Best yet out of four.....incredible balance, everything there, one of the wines of the year. Good value from London. 1997 Seven Acre: Good, much what you'd expect. Better than the '96 or '97 IMHO. Starting to knit well, needs an hour in the decanter. 1976 Rabaud Promis: Very good, well ...