The Auswine Forum

under 30 hl/ha; aged 9 months, 100% 228 liter French Oak Barrels - Alliers 82% “Tight Grain” 18%; 1st fill - 42%, 2nd fill - 17%, 3rd fill - 30%. 100% Malolactic, 5,380 cases produced. Good info. Now I can sleep at night not wondering! Just passing on whatever data points I can, geo

2005 Hamilton Russell Walker Bay Pinot Noir, 14.1% alc., $26.99: After taking such delight in the '05 Hamilton Russell Walker Bay Chardonnay , there was no way we weren’t going to give this ruby dark garnet Pinot Noir a try, and we thought it only appropriate to open one with Sally and Joel ...

2000 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf du Pape “La Crau,” 14% alc., $48.99: Dark garnet color, with sea air and smoky sweet plum, berry and cherry on the nose; on the palate, smoky leather accents the earthy beet root, plum and berry flavors, along with subtle hints of un...

I had the good fortune to watch a local first division rugby game at the family home of the Hamilton Russells about 2 or 3 years ago during my last visit there. I was introduced through a good friend who was the winebuyer for SA Woolworths at the time. We drank some excellent wines and had a very l...

Ian S wrote:George
Ta for the note and a winery I like - one of the first Pinot Noirs I took to and the Chardonnay is excellent as well.
regards
Ian

Thanks for the feedback Ian; I just knew there'd be some fans of this producer loitering hereabouts.

Best,

geo

Hamilton Russell Vineyards is the southern-most wine estate in Africa, and their wines reflect the remarkable terroir of their location. (Allow me to digress briefly and share an ironic anecdote about this wine: well over a year ago, the local distributor brought a bottle of the 2004 Hamilton Russe...

Hi george Did this by any chance have one of those synthetic neocork corks? I have had quite a few 2001 Erix Texier CdR Village Seguret VV which were bottled with neocork and the bottle variation is unbelievable - some oxidised, some sour and others very fruit fresh with some nice leather and spice...

1999 Eric Texier Côtes du Rhônes Villages Brézème Mise Tardive, $13.99, 12.5% alc.: Cousin Larry Meehan has stated more than once over the last year or so that this wine is not only coming around, it’s drinking very well. My better half agrees with him, qualifying that by saying ...

2005 Perrin & Fils Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau L’Andeol, 80% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 14% alc., $18.99: This ruby dark garnet colored Rasteau is very tight on the nose right now, offering only a glimpse of the flavors to follow; hard, tannic, earthy black plums and currants are acc...

During a recent wine dinner that we had the pleasure to attend, our friend Jim Friedman thought that it would be interesting to see how one of Jim and Rae Lee Lester’s fine Michigan Chardonnays (the only non-Euro wine in the bunch tasted on this occasion) matched up against the “real th...

Serge Birbrair wrote:I swear, this one hasn't come from the porn boards:

"On the finish, a mere whisper of the steely/petrolly/minerally finish I like in the Germans."

Sounds like a so-so German to me; I'd like a lot more of the steely/petrolly/minerally stuff personally. As usual, you fail to get it.

Drank two bottles of 03 Guigal 'standard' CDR the other night.. 1st one: Lovely lifted gamey aromas, the classic white pepper spectrum that (presumably,mostly) Rhone grenache delivers.Really lovely mid palate attack, well structured and more than able to cut through the richness of Pork Belly on As...

Wine Girl wrote:Not sure what offends me more - the title of the thread or the "jerk off" philosophy.

Consider the source, it's par for the course.

It's been a while since my last post on the subject, but lest you think that we've abandoned our beloved Red Wings and Red Rhônes , here are four wines from one of our favorite importers that have paired nicely with some big games over the last few weeks. (How 'bout that big come-from-behind win ...

The following three beautiful renditions of some of our very favorite wines were enjoyed the night after Christmas with Alan Kerr aka Canadian Zinfan and the enigmatic Madame Mystery . The two from Monte Bello Ridge were our first tastes of each since the great Ridgestock Sunday affair , while the '...

Since going on my bubbly binge during the recent MLB playoffs and World Series, I’ve continued to investigate the varieties of the sparkling wine experience, and hooking up with a Champagne geek like Brad Baker has been most enlightening; the man has displayed a wealth of knowledge, and Iââ‚...

Geo, there is no hope for me, I stepped into another landmine, second in 2 days: 2002 Ladera Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain, Napa, USA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15.6% alcohol, overextracted, slightly better than 2001 Pavie, but not by much....

This was enjoyed with (and courtesy of) our friends George and Mary Palmer , proprietors of the delightful Taste Artisan Cheese and Gourmet Shop in San Diego, California. 1995 Michel Ogier Côte Rôtie Cuvee Belle Helene Côte-Rozier Vieilles Vignes: Easily the best wine I’ve tasted in ...

There's hope for you yet, Serge; Pavie is a travesty.

2001 Selbach-Oster Bernkastler Badstube Riesling Spatlese Mosel – Saar – Ruwer, 8.5% alc: I lucked into five of these beauties during the summer for little more than a song and a dance; the retailer didn’t know what he had, the bottles had been hanging around and hanging around...

I definitely think that the one we drank benifited from the two or three years spent in the backstock room at the retail outlet in which I am gainfully employed.

G.H. Mumm Champagne Cordon Rouge Brut NV $35.99, 12%.: This bottle was quite likely two years old or more, from what the distributor rep who sold it to my predecessor tells me. I brought this one home to check out the condition of the wine, due to water damage to the labels that made it impossible ...

Stark-Condé is a fine South African producer headed up by owner-winemaker José Condé , and deserving of greater recognition; they have two labels, with the Condé line being made up of single vineyard bottlings sourced from their best vineyard blocks, while the lower priced Stark line (n...

2004 Perrin & Fils Côtes du Rhône Villages Vinsobres Les Cornuds, 50% Syrah, 50% Grenache, $18.99, 14% alc.: Dark garnet, fading to pink at the rim, with a generous nose of rich, ripe and earthy black plums and berries that follows through on the palate with plenty more earth and formidab...

2001 Val D’Orbieu ‘La Cuvée Mythique’ Vin de Pays d’Oc, 30% Syrah, 25% Grenache, 20% Century-old Carignan, 15% Mourvedre, 6% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, $15.99, 13.5% alc.: We loved the '97 version of this wine , and went through quite a few of them, and I only wish...

1997 Domaine Clavel Coteaux du Languedoc La Copa Santa, $14.97, 13% alc.: This has really developed and is maturing well since the last time we had it , and perhaps surprisingly (or not), we found one last bottle in the same Marshfield, Massachusetts Blanchard’s outlet where we bought the pr...

1997 Paolo Scavino Barolo Carobric, 14.5% alc.: During a recent wino gathering, our friend John McKewan casually mentioned that he wasn’t sure whether it was time to open this dark ruby colored Nebbiolo or not, but when he let slip that he had a full case in the cellar, I assured him that on...

2003 Pian di Nova Toscana IGT, 75% Syrah, 25% Sangiovese, $22.49, 13% alc.: Dark garnet color from rim to rim, with a big international style nose of ripe dark plums and berries with a good dose of oak and some dark chocolate to boot; flavors echo and expand with a note of old wood in the backgroun...

bacchaebabe wrote:Brilliant - thanks. Mmmm, that confit of veal looked rather nice.

It was quite tasty, actually.

Hey George, I've got a 95 Lytton Springs in the depths of the cellar somewhere. Any clues on how this is going and whether I should be looking at drinking it soon? Kris, last time we had this in late '04, it was delicious. I'd have no qualms about opening one now, provided you can find it!