The Auswine Forum

Andrew Buller 1858 Old Vine Sparkling Shiraz NV - Bottle fermented method and liquored with rare Muscat. Good froth, but can’t see any bead because of the impenetrable purple colour. Lots of rich Shiraz character rather than sweet. Mulberry, blackberry and spice. Fresh and inviting in the glass wit...

We love our fortified's and try as many as well can. A recent trip to Rutherglen a couple of weekends ago was a bit eye opener however. Some not producing a VP anymore at all.... While others producing what can only described as very poor examples, from what we deduced were most likely excess grape...

On the subject of ports - and I love Morris VP's also - finished last night, 1969 Taylors Late Bottled Vintage Port (bottled 1974) .... in a word glorious! Thoroughly mature but not tired, aromatic, racy and showing classic aged Touriga characters with integrated spirit. We love our fortified's and...

On the subject of ports - and I love Morris VP's also - finished last night,

1969 Taylors Late Bottled Vintage Port (bottled 1974) .... in a word glorious!

Thoroughly mature but not tired, aromatic, racy and showing classic aged Touriga characters with integrated spirit.

Grand Final Lunch:
1996 Yalumba Signature Cab/Shiraz - enjoyed with lamb loin chops marinated overnight in a rosemary/mint/honey/red wine marinade, and cooked over a charcoal grill.
The 28 year old red was a classic Aussie 'claret', drinking superbly.

The crazy new paradigm of white under stelvin. I’ve been super impressed. We are now seeing 20 year examples of all the varietals. One factor I’m starting to notice is loads of primary fruit versus a loss of strututal energy. It seems a little lopsided. Look, the result is ways better than cork, it...

6 x 2023 Seppelt 'Drumborg' Traminer - delicate, fragrant and gently persuasive! Probably needs another 6 - 12 months.

6 x 2023 Leo Buring EV Riesling - one of our house whites. Can't get over the price.

6 x 2021 Yalumba Signature
Heard it was good, tasted at the vineyard recently. A fantastic red - stylish, long-flavoured and beautifully balanced.

As reds age, some will yield a crystalline (bi-tartrate) deposit if they haven't been cold stabilized, but all will produce a fine, inky, pigment sediment. Colour is basically anthocyanins (a form of tannin) that with age form long-chain molecules that eventually drop out of solution, especially in ...

Last weekend, a long time mate from Beechworth visited my wife and I in Adelaide (via Kununurra - but that's a story for another day!) so felt it a good opportunity to open some decent bottles. Previously, he's been most generous when visiting direct from Beechworth, but this time any wine would hav...

1980 St Leonards Shiraz, Wahgunyah, NE Vic. A birth-year wine shared with our daughter last night - wasn't expecting much but cork was surprisingly good, about 25% saturation but came out in one piece. Colour, as expected, showed some browning at edge but bright. Decanted just before entree and kept...

Jamie, Direct from cellar door, e.g. Wendouree, Mount Mary, Wild Duck Creek, as only source, or indeed best price Cellar door wine clubs, a few that offer 10-20% off E-tailer arm/club of larger players such as Treasury, Accolade, either through website or phone prices from wine brokers. Small bottl...

2021 Soul Growers 'Hampel' Shiraz. Tried it at a recent tasting at the Lion Hotel, and purchased a bottle for a 'Big Reds' tasting on Sunday. Simply stunning. From a great vintage, it was one of the most complete, balanced yet full-throttle reds I've had in a long time. Palate just went on and on.

I forgot to add that a subscription to 'Decanter' would be very beneficial, as they have many articles on Bordeaux regions, and Jane Anson seem to know her stuff with her many tasting notes on various vintages. Also, there is a wealth of stuff on the web. When I started with Bordeaux, I relied on De...

Would certainly like to get into Bordeaux...but don't really know where to begin. Cheers Craig It's certainly not too late. Couple of steps to begin will give you a great leg-up; 1) Get to know Bordeaux vintages ( repeat their ratings in your sleep!). I cross reference Berry Bros & Rudd vintage...

6 x 2023 Ch. Pichon Lalande.
Force of habit I guess - I hope to be around when it's drinkable!

Went to the same 'shop' but not as cheap as hoped!
Heard the 2019 John Riddoch was great so I bought 3 - ouch!

Visiting the Margaret River soon, for the first time, and looking for recommendations for your top 5 wineries.
Thanks in advance,
WineRick.

A good source of information and explanation of Brett in red wines. (Not checking residual sugars after red ferments can be problematical!)

Brettanomyces - WineMakerMag.com

12 x 2023 Leo Buring EV Riesling. Couldn't resist at $15 per bottle!

phillisc wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2024 1:02 pm A few 2019 Yalumba Signature...fell off the back of a truck
Cheers Craig

Bloody good red - a complete Aussie red. I bought a few at release and look forward seeing them in a few years. So glad they're under cork, for them to properly evolve.

He's had hygiene issues in the past. Can't remember which year it was, but he didn't release any wines because of the issues he had within the winery. It was 2016 and it wasn’t a hygiene problem. It was the first year Brett moved into his new winery and none of his ferments took except for one. Wit...

Lake Breeze! That's a name I had forgotten about. First tried their wines back in the mid 90s. Fantastic value for money. Why don't we hear any chatter about Langhorne Creek? We need some young and trendy winemaker to put it back on the map. Is it's good enough for Wolfe then it's good enough for m...

phillisc wrote: ↑Fri May 03, 2024 4:25 am Yes Bremerton river floods the vineyards most years.
When speaking of LC...don't forget the mighty Metala...put LC on the map!
Cheers Craig

Yes, and I reckon the proportion of LC fruit in Wolfies first three Jimmy W's would have been quite significant.

Agree with all above comments, and they are certainly flying under the radar since ownership changes 10 - 15 years ago. And you certainly don't fluke a Jimmy W. win with a GSM! Also, always good value on wine lists. There must be something in the water in LC because the other great VFM label is Lake...

There are a number of good Beechworth Nebbiolos, a lot of them being made by Rick Kinzbrunner. His own Giaconda Neb is pretty handy and I believe Beechworth will become a prominent region for the variety.

Yes, it would have been Jim's Boomerang - lovely big radial sound but too far away to make out shape of the plane. He often brings it to the Barossa Air Show - nice bloke.

Unless my ears let me down, did I hear a Merlin V12-engined plane fly over Adelaide this Anzac morning? Was in our dog park and couldn't quite make out the plane - Supermarine perhaps! To bring wine into it, and make it a legit post, I'm just about to open a 2004 Bowen Cabernet (my wife's favourite ...

Can people recommend some good places to stay, in June, in Margaret River and Fremantle. And eateries in both too. Thanks in advance.

And don't get me started on the 'dollar-a-litre-milk' scandal!