The Auswine Forum

Cloudy might just mean sediment. Bass Phillip is a fine example. The sediment in them thar pinots is very, very fine. Disturb the bottle, and hey presto. I find that if I drag a bottle from horizontal and pour, there's often a noticeable cloudiness. But if I stand upright for two days, then carefull...

2005 Reds and 2006 Whites just released, mail-order at $100 and $70 respectively. A bit steep no? Up from $82 and $43 ish. And a bit sus, right after JM died, after he managed to keep prices in check for so long? The younger generation being a bit greedy? Have been a regular for years, but am thinki...

No mucking about when Duck gets down to business WINE: James Halliday | September 15, 2007 WILD Duck Creek Estate took the long road -- a very long road -- to become what it is today. David and Diana Anderson bought a block of land in Victoria, 4km southwest of Heathcote, in 1972 but it was not unt...

Any forumites know of any decent restaurant and/or wine drinking spot in Tugun near the Gold Coast QLD? Just trying my luck ...

... OMG ... and we're not yet dealing with differences such as would have and will have, should have, if I were to have, for example, because it seems indeed that both grammar AND verb conjugation and meaning are no longer taught. The other "generic" one is: there is a few bottles in the c...

and i've got a more generic one:

its - possessive, as in belongs to it
it's - abbreviation of it is

2003 Thomas Kiss Shiraz . A Hunter wine purchased direct via mail order on release. Drank one about a year ago, and another this weekend. What a sensational wine. Looks like it's just going to get better and better. Cost about $50. Interestingly, a few weeks ago I drank a 2003 Lakes Folly red, and ...

Funny how tastes differ. Bass Phillip Pinot has consistently been one of my favourites. The dead-set opposite to what is described here. I find them bright, full-bodied, and by my definition, "deliciously feral" when compared to the more one-dimensional offerings I see and taste. I see tha...

Gavin Standard practice is now to present a "number" rendered on the screen as an image (so bots cannot read the number) along with the user registration details - so your server can match user-entered-number with what you flashed on the screen at registration time. Know what I'm talking a...

The 2002 Balmoral was not flogged off at $18.50 for no reason, and that reason was not the bottle shape. It may well have been "drinkable" and "OK", but what-I-expect-from-Balmoral Syrah it was not. So, I returned mine to the retailer, who gave me a credit against other purchases...

Yes, my initial thought was that any 2002 full-bodied red might by now be starting to develop some secondary characteristics - BUT the fruit, tannins and power should all still be there in spades. If anything, I'd say that this wine will look even worse in a few more years.

As said, I contacted Rosemount and advised the poor showing of the 2002 Balmoral Syrah. Here is part of what they had to say ... "I noted from your comments that you found the wine to be thin, short, one-dimensional, dull and uninteresting. This wine is currently at the stage where the primary ...

And focussing on quality not quantity is fine, until "permium" wines like the Balmoral 2002 come along!

Large scale irrigation growers will go. It's only a matter of when.

Oops. Must have drunk too much of it before I posted. I did manage to drink the better part of half a bottle. Must have been the "C" ... Clare ... McLaren .... Either way, it was verrrrry ordinary. Noted comments re possible retailer issues. Have contacted Rosemount and await a reply, but ...

Well, here goes... Opened up OK. Cork came out a little too easily, but seemed OK. Nose alright, palate simple but OK ... for a $10 wine, and for about ten minutes. Then it just fell apart. Simple, one-dimensional, ordinary in every respect. Short, dull, lifeless. Lacking fruit. Even seemed tanninle...

Jeez. Better try one of my dozen quick smart. If it's that bad, the rest are going back!

Penfolds Bin 407 1998 In very good nick. Lovely drink. Smooth, blackurranty, ever-so-slightly minty cabernet. Wild Duck Creek Alan's Cabernets 2000 . Also in very good nick. Very similar mouthfeel and classic cabernet characteristics to the Bin 407. Just a tad mintier, but not too minty. Loved them...

Just as well I only paid $18.50 Will most likely be a nice enough drink at that price, and will most likely get a little better with a couple more year's bottle age. Thanks for the heads-up RB. No need to get any more.

The Blue is 2000, which makes me a little coy, because it was not a good vintage. Tasted one, and while it was very "drinkable", it was a little thin and short. An Australian merlot-drinker's style. The Syrah is 2002, from McLaren Vale. Haven't had one yet, but I've heard nothing suggestin...

The 2002 is being offered for $18.50 in 6-packs at Dan Murphy's. A bit of a steal wouldn't you say? Bought a dozen today, on the off chance that there's no catch! Will approach them in 2 years or so.

I've had a number of 1996s over the past 2 years. Lots of bottle variation, from memory, but also very, very good when on song. Much, much nicer that the 1998, IMHO.

Spotted a couple in a local bottleshop for $100 each. Worth a punt?

All I can say is that I have had a hell of a run with top-flight whites in recent years. So much so that I've basically given up (buying more). Better to get top-end "cheapies" and drink them within a year or two. LEAS, Giaconda, Mount Mary (to a lesser extent), Cullen, Moss Wood, Petaluma...

Bin 389 1996 "over the hill"? I'm thinking Rockhampton and cellared under the stairs. It was either faulty or poorly cellared, but no way was it over the hill. Only qualifier is that some drinkers would regard anything 10+ years old as "odd", perhaps "over the hill", be...

Drank one of these on Saturday night. What a cracker. Do they come better than this? 11 years old and still bursting with everything great about a wine. I've had 1984 and 1975 Grange in the past few years. Both from "OK" vintages, but very good bottles. This Bin 389 was right up there. Bes...

I've had my share of corked wines, and with reds there's often a "tainted-ness" about the wine which is only obvious when tasted right there and then against another without that taint. I'd say 10% taint in the reds would not be far off, and I note that when one is tainted (out of say six)...

Opened relaxing at Cradle Mountain, Tas. Unable to decant as I normally would, so poured into empty wine bottle leaving sediment in original, and then poured directly from bottle into glass. Huge wine. Almost too huge to be consumed without food. Impenetrable inky colour, brimming with fruit and sti...

And JO reckons that the 2005 is even better. So much so that he wants the price upped!

A bunch of interesting comments about the wines. Having enjoyed, and cellared wine for some 15 years now, I commonly retrieve a lovingly and long-time-cellared bottle to find the result quite disappointing. I have however learned that there are a few wines, which year after year, do not disappoint, ...