The Auswine Forum

Steve Hoff of Heritage wines has refurbished a stone cottage which has a living room and bedroom with panaromic views of his vineyards right on your doorstep. Highly recommended for a slightly off the beaten track stay. Can't complain about the complimentary muscat to while the night away as well.

Try the VP from Stanton and Killeen. In my opinion one of the best in Australia. It contains many varieties which are indigenous to authentic ports like Touriga Nacional and for me that adds an extra layer of complexity to the wine. I think it may be available around the $30+ price point.

I recently had the 1999 and it was drinking very well. Still with a strong spine of ripe fruit with a touch of mint and earthy aromas coupled with a cedary nose and fine dusty tannins on the palate. I have always found that this is a gem of a wine, powerful when young but with the capacity to age ve...

Do try some of the McWilliams fortified wines as well including the show muscat and whatever they may have at cellar door.

Coincidentally I had a Cahors recently. A Chateau Cedre Le Prestige 2001. It was a staining purple colour akin to a full throttle Durif from Rutherglen. The reaction from everyone around the table was just "WOW" when it was poured into glasses. The nose was initially very closed but after a half hou...

Dinner was with a small select group of friends at home. The food was simply grilled prawns, mushrooms, cod fish and generous portions of wagyu beef to go round. Nothing flashy, just fresh and simply cooked and flavoured ingredients. It was initially not planned to be such a vinuous experience but t...

Dingo,

You are right, there seems to be a discrepancy in the hyperbole from Langtons. On the night it was definitely decade and not century.

What is not in doubt that Parker definitely rates the 1998 as the vintage of the century judging from his comments and his ratings.

Chow Chow, I do agree, for the price there are other venues and wines which can be consumed offering a greater range of styles and consistently high quality. Maybe an idea to do a comparative tasting of some benchmark 1999's vs 1998's or just a horizontal of 1999's in the near future. Nevertheless t...

These are my thoughts and tasting notes on the wine dinner titled "Vintage of the Decade" at the Kuala Lumpur Hilton on the 19th March 2005, Saturday with Andrew Caillard. The theme was a horizontal tasting of selected 1998 Australian wines, with an emphasis on Shiraz. First Course: Roast Summer Pea...

I have just completed the first part of the WSET course and I would highly recommend it. It is a course conducted under the umbrella organisation of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust based in London. The course comprises of 3 parts, the intermediate, advanced and the diploma, after which you can t...