December 2012 tasting notes incl Xmas/NY

[rens]

Yes, it is that time of the year again.
I'll be consuming the following over the festive season:
2003 Patrizi Barolo
2006 Cirillo Grenache 1850's Old Vine
2007 Amisfield Pinot Noir (probably for the my wife's birthday on 11 December-she loves this stuff)
2005 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Reserva
2006 Teusner Avatar
1991 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Centenary
1997 Tahbilk old vine shiraz
and hopefully a few aged specimens from my brother in laws cellar too.

I'd be happy for some input into the barolo and the rioja (am I drinking them too young?) as these are the one and only bottles.

I've managed to make my way through this little list except for the centenary which I will likely have in the next week or so.
The Barolo was a nice little wine that showed classic Barolo structure and style. totally loved it.
The Cirillo was an outstanding grenache that was seriously good. probably it's best showing with better to come in another 2 years or so
The Amisfield was disappointing. It has faded well past it's best and I regret not having drunk it 3 years ago.
the rioja was everything I wanted it to be strong muscular and nicely strutting its stuff.
The Avatar vas also disappointing. It took an age to pull itself together in the decanter and it did not show anywhere near as we'll as it did at the recent Brisbane off line. Perhaps a cork issue.
The Tahbilk was as good as always after I tossed the original bottle that was corked(which was credited back to my account by the winery). A great blend of fruit and secondary flavours. A hit at the 26 dollar current release price.
Merry Christmas to all.

[AndrewCowley]

Got through these on Xmas day -

2010 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir
1999 Petaluma Coonawarra Cabernet Merlot
2007 John Duval Shiraz
2005 Yalumba Signature Cabernet Shiraz

That is in addition to these (consumed over the past few days leading up to Xmas) -

2002 Wynns Cabernet Sauvignon
2004 Wynns Johnsons Block Shiraz Cabernet
2007 Woodlands Margaret Cabernet Merlot

The two Wynns wines really showed well the day after, the Johnsons Block especially. It was pretty special on night two. Glad i have more and I should have had one of these in my Xmas selection.

The Woodlands was a bit of a disappointment, seemed kind of dull and lifeless. Will save my remaining bottles for future years.

The Ata Rangi was fresh and young and a really good starter. Just the right lead in to the Petaluma which was showing well.

The Signature was really impressive, a very strong showing and good signs for the future.

The John Duval was perhaps a little outclassed. It was kind of boring. Maybe we were reaching our limits at this point however.

[Mike Hawkins]

2004 Pierre Gimmonet Paradoxe - disappointing. He should stick to BdB.

1988 Henschke Mt Edelstone - one of my 2 favourite labels. Alas, this was badly corked.

1986 Yalumba Signature - the best one yet from this case. Superb complexity and length, with a lovely mouthfeel.

Mike

[damonpeyo]

2007 Woodlands Margaret Cabernet Merlot

The Woodlands was a bit of a disappointment, seemed kind of dull and lifeless. Will save my remaining bottles for future years.

I agree Andrew, tasted first bottle couple months back out of a 6-pack, found it little bland, I wasn't that overwhelmed, in fact I was disappointed, felt like drinking something out of "premium cask wine" or something, lacked everything that you would usually expect out of Woodlands. Later found out this wine was harvested earlier than normal.

Don't think will be opening other one in hurry for least several years.

Drank lovely drop of Clayfield Wine's '09 Massif Shiraz from the Grampians ($30-ish), really easy young drinking Shiraz, somewhat the softness and the easy drinking texture of this young Shiraz reminded me little bit of the '09 Mount Langi Ghiran Cliff Edge if you know what I mean??

[Luke W]

Didn't go with the expected on Xmas Day. The weather just begged sparkling - here's a list of wines over the last few days.
Yalumba D 2004 and Sir James 2004 - both easy to drink around the pool
Cathcart Ridge Chasselas 2000 - starting to develop like a reasonably good old semillon
Rosemont Traditional 2001 - the JW Trophy winner still has plenty to offer.
Rockford RR Cabernet 2002 - something about these cabs that resonate with my palate
Some serious drinking yet to come..........

[Sean]

deleted

[sjw_11]

Merry Christmas all, have been down in Adelaide with the folks the last few days... some nice wines consumed

In the lead up to xmas:
Jim Barry Riesling 2012... Notwithstanding the debate last time I posted a note on this my view is unchanged - lovely drinking.

Pewsey Vale 2012... Very good as well, not seeing too many bad rieslings from 2012... very fresh, a little floral with some mineral tones as well.

Skillogalee Cabernets 2001... Cork and unfortunately hence slightly corked. Its a blend of Cab (75%) with Cab Franc and Malbec... Love these blends from Clare (which Wendouree make most famous) with their blackcurrant/eucalypt/menthol type characters. I think this wine is about time to drink, but with the slight cork taint I could be off.

Cape Mentelle Shiraz 2006... Drinking very nicely, deep plummy fruit, plush, velvet tannins and good structure and length. Delicious. Now to 2016.

Xmas Day:
Lanson Gold Label 2002... An absolute bargain of a wine. Lanson can be a bit hit and miss but this is pretty good, with some creamy/leesy complexity but overall still very fresh/clean.

Lovedale Semillon 2000... Cork. Delightful 12-yr old Semillon, mid-yellow-gold, with a nose moving towards honey/toast and away from its primary characters but not in the least over the hill. Finishing pretty clean with just a hint of oil/lanolin from the time in bottle.

Torbreck "The Struie" Shiraz 2002... Cork. Mix of Barossa and Eden Valley but boy is it the Eden Valley that comes through the most. Lovely blackcurrant & plum fruit, so deep and juicy almost like ribena on steroids, just so enjoyable to drink. Will hold but why wait?

Two Hands "Confidential Bottling" The Conspiracy Theory Cane Cut Semillon 2004... Dont know exactly how or when Two Hands did these but dad found some at auction a while bakc and their quite good, nice degree of complexity to the honeyed Semillon fruit notes, perhaps a year or two past its prime.

After a sufficient pause and backyard cricket Grosset "Springvale" Riesling 2011... Very clear green/yellow, absolute perfect example of pristine and pure riesling fruit with a backbone of pure steely acidity. Quite uncompromising still (less drinkable now than the Jim Barry say or a subsequent Leasingham Bin 7) but a serious little wine. Give it some age to see its best.

Knappstein Clare Shiraz 2001... Cork. The last wine of the Xmas day and perhaps not seen perfectly for that but this was quite nice, all soft plummy, red-berry type fruit and gentle, slightly fuzzy tannins. Didnt hold up to the next day. Drink now.

Boxing Day:
Leasingham Bin 7 Riesling 2011... Apparently won a Trophy at Sydney and I can see why - one of the most drinkable Rieslings I have had this year, all lemon/lime pithy zesty fruit with good structure but so much refreshment. Not as sure on ageing potential, but hard to hold off it today anyway.

D'arenberg "Coppermine Road" Cabernet 2002... Cork. Lots of sediment in this one, typical quite ripe, warm fruited McLaren Vale Cabernet but still the balance on this was pretty good. Deep blackcurrant style fruit, quite firm, linear tannins and a warm, slightly alcoholic finish. Drinking very nicely, Id give it a go today but it will hold for several years.

[dan_smee]

Disappointing Xmas wine wise here:

Tyrrell's Vat 8 Dry Red 1987 - Cooked (probably over the hiull anyway, but had an interest factor)
Wynn's Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 - TCA

Ended up drinking a 2007 Helm Classic Dry Riesling and a 2010 Ravensworth Shiraz Viognier. Both were in good shape. Thanks corks!

[Brucer]

2004 Pierre Gimmonet Paradoxe - disappointing. He should stick to BdB.

1988 Henschke Mt Edelstone - one of my 2 favourite labels. Alas, this was badly corked.

1986 Yalumba Signature - the best one yet from this case. Superb complexity and length, with a lovely mouthfeel.

Mike

I had an extremely badly corked 1988 Mt Edelstone about 8 years ago. I sent it back, and they agreed, and replaced it with the same vintage.

[bob parsons]

My `06 Mesh Riesling was a bust. Nose so-so, but poor mid-palate and weird finish. Poor storage somewhere, on the other hand surely not closed down?

[Mike Hawkins]

2004 Pierre Gimmonet Paradoxe - disappointing. He should stick to BdB.

1988 Henschke Mt Edelstone - one of my 2 favourite labels. Alas, this was badly corked.

1986 Yalumba Signature - the best one yet from this case. Superb complexity and length, with a lovely mouthfeel.

Mike

I had an extremely badly corked 1988 Mt Edelstone about 8 years ago. I sent it back, and they agreed, and replaced it with the same vintage.

Thanks. Kept the bottle but not the contents. Will email them and see what happens.

[PAULaS]

1989 Rockford shiraz;
possibly red WOTY for me & my drinking mate agreed.
marvelous wine, could drink this stuff every week.

1971 Penfolds Grange
great as usual, unfortunately my last bottle.
bigger then the Rockford 1989 drunk on same afternoon

1996 Salon
just like drinking an excellent montrachet.
had to resist to drink too quick as this changed in the glass over hours.
glad I've got plenty left.
marvelous champagne & champagne of the year for me.
I recommend every wine lover try this one at least once in their life.

Its going to be hard to beat the above wines over remaining 2012 unless we go high priced French stuff.

[ticklenow1]

First of all, Season's Greetings for all Forumites.

We had a couple of cheaper wines on Christmas Day and followed it up with a better selection on Boxing Day.

Christmas Day
NV Black Chook Sparkling Shiraz. South Australia. Just a cheap Sparkler that was not all bad. Quite a bit of sweetness but a nice start with our Bacon and Egg rolls for breakfast. 2.5/5

2004 Yalumba "D" Black Cuvee. Barossa Valley/Eden Valley. Consistent with my last tasting note and a big improvement on the above. 3.5/5

2007 Tintara Grenache. McLaren Vale. Our house quaffer and this bottle was also exceptional. Up there with the best McLaren Vale Grenache that I've had. I do have some good ones in the cellar and it will be interesting to put them up against this. 4/5

2005 Yering Station Shiraz Viogner. Yarra Valley. Once again, consistent with my last tasting note. Surprisingly good wine. The viogner is not prominent at all and a nice nose is followed by red and black fruits with just a hint of sweet oak. Very supple tannins and still showing good colour. Only medium bodied but I couldn't resist drinking this again after enjoying the last bottle so much. Should keep for a couple more years yet. I'd love to try the Reserve label. 4/5

Boxing Day
NV Turkey Flat Sparkling Shiraz. Barossa Valley. 14%. Blend No.7 Released November 2012. Upon first opening this wine, the nose is beautiful. Lots of sweet fruit and on the palate. When it first hits the palate it seems quite powerful and the black fruit seems to dominate with a nice deep hit of richness, but then something goes amiss. It seems to finish very short, bitter and even a bit harsh. The mid to back palate does not seem to be there at all. I'm not sure if some time in the bottle will fix this and fill the palate out, but at this point in time it's a bit disappointing. I bought this especially for this occasion, but I'll buy another couple and put them away for a few years as Turkey Flat is one of our favourite wineries. The way the wine first tasted leads me to believe it will fill out and become something to possibly rival the Rockford....maybe. 3/5

NV Rockford Black Shiraz. Sparkling Shiraz. Barossa Valley. 13.5%. Disgorged 2012. We thought we'd try the latest offering this time around. Such a step up from the previous wine. Full of sweet fruit, richness and just the right amount of fizz. Fills the whole palate perfectly and this disgorgement drinks as one of the best young as far as I'm concerned. Still the benchmark for the red sparklies as far as we are concerned. 4.5/5

2005 McLeish Estate Semillon. Hunter Valley. 11%. Starting to show some aged characters although I'm no expert on aged semillons. A nice golden colour and some honey and citrus on the palate. I'd imagine this still has plenty of life ahead of it. 3.5/5

2002 Galah Cabernet Malbec. Clare Valley. 13.5%. Absolutely stunning wine. I thought I read somewhere that this is made by Stephen George of Ashton Hills and uses grapes from Wendouree's younger vineyards. Still has great colour and on the nose it displays some mint and eucalyptus aromas along with black fruit and spice. On the palate it is medium bodied with fine chalky tannins. Black fruit, sweet oak and some mint dominate. Just a wonderful wine with years left in it. Dare I say, I think it will only get better as well. We decanted it for 3 hours and it kept getting better and better in the glass. My wine of the day. 4.5/5

2003 Barossa Old Vine Company Shiraz. Barossa Valley. 14.5%. Another wonderful wine and a triumph for the vintage. 100 year old vines combined with plenty of new oak (both French and American) deliver a typically Barossan wine. Sweet fruit is the main act here and the oak has balanced it out nicely. Alcohol isn't an issue and the tannins are silky smooth. This wine is in a great place right now, but should hold for a fair more years yet. The most popular wine of the day amongst the group. 4.5/5

2006 Eden Hall Cabernet. Eden Valley. 14.5%. Quality drop from the Eden Valley. Needed a bit of time to open up but once it did, it more than justified it's price. Lots of black fruits, sweet oak and somewhat chewy tannins. This will need a few more years in the cellar to deliver what promises to be an exceptional wine. Got better and better over a couple of hours. 3.5/5

2007 Rockford Moppa Springs. GSM. Barossa Valley. Our other house quaffer and was a bit beaten up by the last 2 wines but we were quite in the holiday spirit by this stage, after several beers on the golf course and the above wines. Still a decent wine in it's own right though. 3/5

Cheers
Ian

[AndrewCowley]

2005 Yering Station Shiraz Viogner. Yarra Valley. Once again, consistent with my last tasting note. Surprisingly good wine. The viogner is not prominent at all and a nice nose is followed by red and black fruits with just a hint of sweet oak. Very supple tannins and still showing good colour. Only medium bodied but I couldn't resist drinking this again after enjoying the last bottle so much. Should keep for a couple more years yet. I'd love to try the Reserve label. 4/5

The Reserve isn't worth the extra money. Its good but not 2x as good. The standard Yering Station Shiraz Viogner is a fantastic buy.

[RedVelvet]

A belated Merry Christmas to all. Wines over Christmas in short:


Annual gathering with friends who enjoy a wine or two :
2005 E&E Sparkling Shiraz - Lovely Sparkler, big and rich with plenty of chocolate and dark blackberry fruit

1991Cape Mentelle Cabernet (magnum) - Lovely black currant nose which followed to the palate some what however I could not help but think this seemed scalped as the palate was short not showing much at all.

1991 Pipers Brook Pinot Noir - Lovely wine in a great spot, red fruits, cola and savoury spice.

1994 Penfolds St Henri - Beautiful wine with great balance lovely cherry fruit showing some wonderful secondary characters, rich, ripe and long.

1994 Cape Mentelle Shiraz (magnum) - Stunning wine, this was quite big and spicey with lovely sweet dark cherry fruit that just went on and on. It delivered much more than expected for me.

2008 Chris Ringland Reservation Shiraz - As one would expect fairly big Barossa fruit, plush but well balanced with blackberry and dark chocolate characters.

1997 Pipers Brook Summit Chardonnay (magnum) - At first a little prickly with spicy oak seeming to lead onto the palate, after an hour or so it really opened up and the fruit started to flow, lovely melon and peach that mixed mingled with the oak in support, rich and buttery with a touch of vanilla this is drinking well if given time to open up.

1983 LVS Hattenheimer Nussbrunnen Spatlese - Lovely wine showing typical rich German Riesling goodness.

1983 LVS Hattenheimer Mannberg Spatlese - As above.

1976 Prum J Erben Auslese Riesling - A little disappointing, sweet caramel and not much else, i thought it was a little oxidised however my palate and state of mind at this point was not the best.

Christmas Day:
1969 Schloss Eltz Rauenthaler Baiken Spatlese Riesling: A very big wine with ample orange citrus, clementine, a touch of Kero and some spice with good acidity keeping it fresh and finishing dry. A surprising wine that was lovely with the Christmas fare.

2004 Red Nectar Stonewell Shiraz: Big rich Barossa fruit that really needed a juicy medium rare steak, the last thing you need after a massive Christmas meal of turkey, roast pork, Ham and duck with all the stuffings and trimmings that go along with it.

[ticklenow1]

2005 Yering Station Shiraz Viogner. Yarra Valley. Once again, consistent with my last tasting note. Surprisingly good wine. The viogner is not prominent at all and a nice nose is followed by red and black fruits with just a hint of sweet oak. Very supple tannins and still showing good colour. Only medium bodied but I couldn't resist drinking this again after enjoying the last bottle so much. Should keep for a couple more years yet. I'd love to try the Reserve label. 4/5

The Reserve isn't worth the extra money. Its good but not 2x as good. The standard Yering Station Shiraz Viogner is a fantastic buy.

Cheers Andrew. I think I'll start buying this from now on. Just a really nice, great VFM wine.

Cheers
Ian

[Peter NZ]

A few of my recent wines.

Christmas Day

2007 Quartz Reef sparkling. Classy stuff – noticeably drier than most other domestic sparklings.

2007 Quartz Reef Bendigo Estate (magnum). In a good place with excellent balance / structure. No hurry.

2002 Alpha Domus Aviator (magnum). A little simple, but good. Still on the primary side, but not convinced it’ll ever be a great wine.

2002 Te Mata Elston chardonnay. Oxidised. I have however recently had an excellent one of these, so think the issue for the older wines is cork quality rather than inherent ageability. It’ll be very interesting to see how the more recent vintages under diam develop.

2006 Te Mata Elston chardonnay. Excelllent classic Elston, with just the right amount of bottle age for my taste.

2006 Clearview Reserve chardonnay. A little bigger than the Elston (but not the supercharged style of the 90s) & also drinking very nicely.

2004 Rolly Gassman Pinot Gris Reserve (Alsace). Disappointing …

Other recent wines:

2000 Te Mata Awatea. Very good classic Awatea, and plenty of development left in this.

2005 Destiny Bay Aeolus. $78 on a local restaurant list, which was a result (this is the Mystae, which I think goes for a little over $100 ex winery). A lush wine, with good structure & fine tannins. Very good.

2005 Craggy Range Sophia. Also in a good place. Certainly no hurry, but good drinking now. Fruit still somewhat primary, good tannins & sufficient acid.

1998 Jos Christoffel Jr Urziger Wurtzgarten Auslese. A good aged (seems older than its 14 years) Auslese, in a place where it’d be a good match with a wide range of food.

2008 Fromm Spatlese. Good wine. Probably missing a little complexity, but nonetheless a pretty good Mosel lookalike.

Cheers
Peter

[n4sir]

It was sad to see Leabrook Estate close their doors a final time, with the winemaking equipment and stock going under the hammer the last couple of months. With quite a few wines coming up cheap at auction, it was a good opportunity to look over a few of them again over the festive season.

2007 Leabrook Estate Merlot, Adelaide Hills (screwcap): 14.0% alc. Fairly clear, light to medium red. Ripe red cherries and kirsch, some smoked meats, chocolate and red liquorice on the nose; the palate’s just as fruit-sweet, full of berries, medium-weight with a solid, smoky/minty finish. A solid wine to drink now.



2011 Leabrook Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills (screwcap): 12.5% alc. Very pale straw colour. It’s taken a while to get around to trying this, but there’s still freshness in the nose, predominantly pear, passionfruit and lime with mineral water and slate, although there’s just a touch of struck match in the background, maybe just a little turpentine (tiny compared to others from the vintage), fresh basil with breathing. The palate opens with a salvo of passionfruit, before slightly creamy/green banana and basil characters kick in and persist to the finish which is a touch dry, but pretty good for the vintage.



2008 Leabrook Estate Reserve Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills (screwcap): 13.0% alc. Bright, medium yellow-gold. Fully worked, lots of buttery malo and creamy/toasty oak matching lemony/peach fruit; the palate’s medium weight with bright acidity cutting through the fruit and oak, the finish solid. Right at if not a little past its peak; not as good as the 2005 vintage, but very nice drinking all the same.



2008 Leabrook Estate Semillon, Adelaide Hills (screwcap): 13.0% alc. Bright straw. Tangy, lemony fruit and sweet blossoms are matched by barrel-ferment & toasty oak characters on the nose; the palate’s sweeter and rounder, more than a little like a chardonnay with apple and cashew characters, and piercing acidity mid-palate that continues through to the lip-puckering finish. Great now with creamy pasta sauces or seafood, but should hold and develop at least few more years.



Cheers,
Ian

[Ddavew]

Only 1 bottle this xmas,

2000 Rosemount mountain blue shiraz cab. good cork.still dark in the middle, bright red on the edges, was pour into a glass to decant for 2 hours, lovely red fruit not as dry as i first tasted in 02-03, heavenly sweet finishes at the end, this could of last for another few years.

Had my 2002 mountain blue last year but dry and less red fruits at the end. probably not the time to drink yet?that was my last bottle anyway.

[Sean]

deleted

[phillisc]

Hi all, Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
A bit of a quiet one really, desperately trying to finish off some studies of all things and hope that the 80+ hour weeks start to taper off.
2012 professionally and personally was a shocker, so hope that from today on things improve a bit.

Been rather quiet on the wine front, more beer and G&T drinking weather here in SA with a run of 40 degree days coming from Perth...great.

One good bottle over the break...2002 Wirra Wirra RSW shiraz. This along with one of five other yearly MV must haves (posted on recent MV thread) is an absolutely stunning wine. First of 12 at 10 years of age and with a few punters on boxing day thought it would go well with the glazed ham. A beautiful match.
Perfect cork, vibrant purple colour, no evidence of browning, nose of berries, chocolate, mocca, and assorted spices, very full on the palate, all the primary fruit was there, not dominated by oak but present, but wave after wave of complex tannins which went on and on. Completely mouth coating, a touch of sweetness, rich and so balanced. an easy 10+ years to go. So glad I have these and looking at the docket inside the first box, $25:99c... frankly a bargain at the time and think the talented Ben Riggs was responsible for this one. Have a case of the 02 Angelus, so will look at one of these.

Had a Pol NV and a Petaluma 2012 Riesling with the seafood, both very tasty.

Whilst I am here, about to look at the first out of the box of a 1994 Wynns Michael. Poor old Michael was rather maligned during the early to mid 90s, so being cautious with expectations about this one, but it's the first boys birth year, so the first of about 3 dozen different 94s that I have collected for him. Don't know if he likes wine, but he will get a fairly good master class over this year to make his mind up.
Has anyone tried this wine of late...would appreciate comments?

Thanks to all who have contributed to the forum in 2012...sorry for all my rants particularly about multinationals, these will slow as my purchases from them are doing the same...but cheers Gavin...great to know that you allow me to have a rave and a rant.

All the best for this year and if anyone knows where I can pick up some cheap strong shelving here in Adelaide I would be much obliged...the cellar is a mess, need to be Houdini, to get into some tight spaces, but often makes a nice surprise as I often forget what I have brought over the years...found an unopened case of 90 Koonunga Hill .

Regards
Craig.

[Mike Hawkins]

Craig, I wouldn't say the Michael was maligned in the early 90s as the 90 and 91 vintages sold out in a matter of days. It lost its lustre late 90s imo. Both the aforementioned vintages are drinking well still, albeit come across a bit oaky..

Cheers

Mike

[phillisc]

Hi Mike,

thanks for the note, yes the 90 and 91 are crackers, but 92 and 93 a bit green from what I can remember and as you said the later vintages in the 90s were wood rather than fruit driven. The wine was maligned in terms of its silly price at the time...gee everything old is new again..and that John Riddoch gets most of the attention. After the heat passes here in SA this week, I will have a look at it.

Cheers Craig.

[jafa]

Belated seasons greetings to forumites. Best wishes for the new year; may you imbibe some good'uns.

Xmas, for me, had a french theme.
Warm, wet and hummid, so lots of rose;
2011Saint-Roch Cotes du Roussillon 13% (Syrah Grenache) Nice pink colour, delicate strawberry, dry, balanced.
2011 Dom Lage "Parfum de Vignes" Cotes du Rouissllon 13% Syrah, Genache Carignan. Light red, bold flavoured wine that didn't say rose,
rather more a light red wine. Not a repeat buy.
2011 Alain Jaume & Fils "Reserve Grand Veneur" Cotes du Rhone 13%. Pink, delicate, dry, balanced, perfect for the BBQ.
And a bit more serious;
Xmas dinner; 2002 Dom Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru "Combe Aux Moines" 13.5% Med pinot red, aroma exploded out of
the bottle on opening, decanted 40mins before service. Powerful nose, mostly red spectrum fruit strawberry, cherry and some
black fruit dark cherry later and an earthyness. The power on the palate was intense, acidic freshness. Declined a little over the
2 hours of consumption. Next bottle will be pop and pour.
Boxing day; 2001 Ch. Gigault "Cuvee Viva" Premieres Cotes du Blaye 13%. 60 minutes in decanter before service; dark red/black
primary claret nose and coconut! On palate similar with the coconut dominating which put me off, so a couple glasses later back into
the bottle and a vac-u-vin closure wacked in. Returned to it 2 days later. Now thats better, the coconut flavour (real or imagined)
has gone, pleasant dry claret red. So, be a few years before another bottle is cracked.

New Year, only one bottle so far. 2010 Villa Maria Keltern Hawkes Bay Chardonnay.13.5% Screw capped but seemed oxidised to me.
Finished off, but not greatly enjoyed.

cheers jafa

[Luke W]

Just enjoying a 2002 Toolangi Reserve Chardonnay straight out of the cellar at 15 degrees. Stunning Kinzbrunner magic - best chardy ever with no refridgeration. Lychee, peach, pear and balance to excite circ de solais....Now I see what it's all about (smacks head 3 times) !

[Craig(NZ)]

NY Wines

02 Unison Syrah. Awesome wine this is just so so good at the moment. Unison from the day. Soft, rich, complex and convincing

05 Pagodes Le Cos. In a really good spot. I thought it may be too young but a look on cellar tracker notes encouraged me to open it. Soft warm tannins, ripe and genrous. Impressive. Shows how the classified growths are such a step up on the cheaper 05 wines I have tried over the last few years

03 Wendouree Shiraz. A rarity in NZ. Very good, not as blockbuster as I expected. Well crafted, compact but not closed. Another very enjoyable Shiraz experience to go next to the 04 Rockford BP we had last week

08 [??? jeez I have to check the maker and get back] Primitivo. The 750ml bottle full weighed in at 2kg compared to 1.3kg for the bdx. One heavy beast. A stunning wine. Restrained but rich, smooth gushing dark black fruits and fruit sweetness, no doubt a good whack of residual sugar as common in this style. Lovely

NV Seppelt DP43? Muscat. Something not right with this bottle. Was very cloudy and short

NV Cloudy Bay Pelorus. To bring in new year. Cork popped loudly and shot a long way. What else do you need?

[dave vino]

Xmas break so far...if you want any further info on any of them let me know (lazy I know, but hey I'm on holidays )

2009 Turkey Flat Rose
2010 Scarborough Pinot Rose
2011 Bests Bin 1 Shiraz
2007 Rockford Moppa GSM
2008 Rockford Rifle Range Cabernet
1999 Tim Adams Aberfeldy
2005 Schubert Estate Gooseyard Block
2010 Lakes Folly Chardonnay
2000 Bannockburn SRH Chardonnay
2010 Rockford Basket Press
2009 OP&OH Mt Pleasant
1999 Turkey Flat Shiraz
1998 Rockford Semillon
2011 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine "Clos des Briords"
2005 Wendouree Shiraz Malbec
2000 Houghton Jack Mann Cab Sav
1993 Lindemans Pyrus
1996 Clarendon Hills Old Vine Grenache
NV Moet & Chandon
NV Grant Burge Sparkling White
2010 Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz
1999 Mitchelton The Print Shiraz

[jimbob47]

XMAS drinks

Xmas Day

2002 Moet & Chandon - Lovely start to the day with this delicate Champagne.

2002 Murray Street Vinyards Benno Shiraz Mataro

This was recommended by Andrew Seppelt, the winemaker as a good drinking wine now. It was the pick of the day, wonderfully smooth with typical Mataro on the nose but definitely Shiraz as you drink. De-cantered for two hours prior to drinking and it was incredible.

2002 Coriole Lloyd Reserve Shiraz

This was a nicely drinking wine, typical McLaren Vale notes but not as good as the previous wine.. little bit of a let down.

2009 St.Hallett Old Block Shiraz

Still a bit young but drinking wonderfully now. Very big bold fruits and a lovely Barossa example of Shiraz.

Other wines opened

2005 Pikes Shiraz
2005 Sevenhill Cab Sav
2007 Sevenhill Gewurztraminer - One of the most interesting whites I have ever tasted
2005 MSV Barossa GSMC blend

[sjw_11]

XMAS drinks

De-cantered for two hours prior to drinking and it was incredible.

"De-cantered" - is that where your horse runs backwards? I think thats what happend to my Melbourne Cup tip....

[jimbob47]

my apologies, Mr.Pedant.