Weekly drinking thread: w/c 1st July

[sjw_11]

No one has kicked this off yet so I will...

Wynns Shiraz 2005... Cork. Own cellar. Still a deep plummy red colour, lovely approachable, enjoyable wine - soft, succulent, fruity with a nice bit of structure as well. A drinkers wine, but in good balance.

Lowenbrau and German Sausage accompanied by a Tuba Band.... awful, just awful.

[sejanus]

SC Pannell Grenache 2010, got very high scores in reviews but it wasn't for me. A bit flat flavour wise. Was still easy drinking though.

Yabby Lake Vineyard 2008 Pinor Noir, wow - just awesome. beautiful smell/colour and just incredible flavour.

[damonpeyo]

Marius Symposium 2010 - 50/50 Shiraz & Mourvedre blend, 1st of 4, love it, interesting drop, seems there's something different and New every time you take sip of it, drank over couple hours. Nice tannins, not too dry, long lasting palate. Looking forward to watch it develop over the years.

Bimbadgen Signature 2009 Semillon - it's ok, find it little bit too fruity for semillon for me.

Seppelt Moyston 2006 Cab Sav's - didn't like it much, little too over dry-harsh tannins aftertaste, it was OK quaffer the next day though.

[Phil H]

2006 Thorn-Clarke Shiraz. I am sure I have read a thread somewhere about being bored of Shiraz. Overall good, drinking well now. Dark fruits, liquorice, not being too sweet or jammy, however looking into my cellar I decide on not buying any more Shiraz for a while. However after attending the Sydney Good Food and Wine Show.....
2010 Mount Pleasant Maurice O'Shea - excellent however I broke my rule of buying wines above 14.5% alc, sitting at 15%. Med bodied, having everything in place to develop into a great wine & Kellermeister 2010 Wild Witch Shiraz - multi regional elegant and classy Shiraz. Okay from now on no more Shiraz for a while.....

[phillisc]

2011 Wynns Gables shiraz cab. Clearly the reflection of the vintage even after being open for 24 hours was a completely cruel and mean wine. Absolutely dead nose with the faintest hint of berry on the palate, which finished faster than a Usain Bolt sprint. In the theme of Monghead bad to very bad
2010 Pertaringa MV Undercover Shiraz, an impulse off the shelf buy to go with a lasagne and what a beauty. Deep brooding chocolatety with earthy tannins and spice, lovely mouth coating palate of fruits with strong lingering finish. Restores my thinking that MV reds often live in the shadows of other regions, leaving wines like this for the lucky punter...went and picked up a six pack...absolutely delicious and great price
2007 Cellar release McWilliams Elizabeth Semillon , watery white with a green tinge, lovely lemony pithy nose with an equally lemony flavour...a touch of sweetness...yumo...will have to think about finally chasing down some lovedales apart from my well known penchant for riesling, semillon is the only other white

Cheers Craig.

[griff]

2010 Wynns Black Label Cabernet
What's not to like? Magenta hue and a melange of spicy cassis with a lick of cedar. Medium weight rippling palate of blackcurrants and blood plums. Very Good with potential.

cheers

Carl

[TravisW]

SC Pannell Grenache 2010, got very high scores in reviews but it wasn't for me. A bit flat flavour wise. Was still easy drinking though.

Did you decant this Sejanus? If so, for how long?

Cheers, Travis.

[Matt]

The Willows 2009 Shiraz
The highlight of my recent Barossa venture. Lovely ruby red with some seriously sweet fruit balanced with noticable American oak. Not peppery, a little gamey. Tannins are very subtle and length is amazing (1 min +) for a $23 bottle. Releasing it with some bottle age has brought the wine together well - will continue to develop however its drinking very well now. Thumbs up and recommended.

[sejanus]

SC Pannell Grenache 2010, got very high scores in reviews but it wasn't for me. A bit flat flavour wise. Was still easy drinking though.

Did you decant this Sejanus? If so, for how long?

Cheers, Travis.

Yes about 2.5hrs

[Rossco]

This is actually 2 weeks worth of drinking/Notes, but meh.......

2005 Vasse Felix Shiraz - Aged quicker than I thought it would. Had some Browning in colour on the rim and fruit had gone to the back. Leather, cigar box and a surprising steely minerality on the palate.... wonderful oak, utterly delicious wine, but if anyone has any left, drink in the next couple of years. Im not sure how long it has left (maybe it was the father in laws cellar?)

2010 Katnook Estate - Amara Vineyard, Cab Sav: Bought from the cellar door in coonawarra august last year. It was way too young (I sort of regret opening it now) even with over an hour of Decanting for the father in law. Was a bit thin and lacking the earthy intensity if a true coonawarra cab sav. Maybe a bad bottle, maybe needed another 10 years....maybe I should have drank this before the 05 vasse shiraz

1999 Tahbilk Shiraz - Best wine i have had this year.... was just amazing. Again the fruit had become secondary to the wonderful earthy tones, leather & tobacco. Acid & Oak had integrated perfectly to just be an utterly delicious wine. Again some browing in the glass, but had just a beautiful forest floor bouquet.

2007 Buller Wines - Calliope Shiraz - Jesus this was a massive wine. Was a gift from my brother. 16% alcohol and felt like it. Grapes were left on the vine way too long. As a result was Big, Overripe fruit. Was almost port it was that sickly sweet. Im sure there is a market for it (somewhere), but it wasnt to my liking. Its was almost like they added port to it.

2011 Carpineto Chianti Classico - Was a recommendation from 2 people that know about wine......or supposedly know. This didnt impress me at all. Very thin, quite watery. At best its a pizza wine, but there are many better bottles around for $ 20ish. Some slight strawberry and violets on the nose, but thats about it. Apparently i have to cellar the remaining 3 that I have....... not sure its worth the effort/space, but will crack one again in a couple of years.

2012 Vinteloper ADELO - A blend of Touriga, Shiraz, Pinot Noir & Grenache... gee this is an interesting wine. The Touriga & Shiraz would make you think this is a full bodied wine, but the pinot & grenache really lightens it up. Subcontinent spice. Think cloves, cinnamon, cardamon ect. Some lavender in there, strawberries from the pinot, and blue berries. Tannis not harsh at all, and the acid makes me think this could last & improve over the next 5+ years. Very intriguing!

[TravisW]

SC Pannell Grenache 2010, got very high scores in reviews but it wasn't for me. A bit flat flavour wise. Was still easy drinking though.

Did you decant this Sejanus? If so, for how long?

Cheers, Travis.

Yes about 2.5hrs

Cheers for that sejanus. I've got a few bottles of this tucked away so I think I'll leave them for a few years yet. Thanks for the tasting note.

Travis.

[Duncan Disorderly]

Last night we had two bottles while watching another Geelong v Hawks blockbuster.

1998 Clos Saint-Andre Chateauneuf du Pape
My friend bought this at Costco for about $40 and while it didn't have the same depth of flavour as other, albeit younger, CdP that I have tried, it was still enjoyable. Something I noted about the wine was that the cork looked like it had been in the bottle for about two minutes, while the wine is relatively pale the bottom of the cork had only a light pink tinge to it and it was in excellent condition, for a 12+ year old bottle. The wine is leathery and brambly to start, but after about an hour in the decanter it started to show a bit more cherry like flavours which provided a bit more interest, didn't last much longer than that though.

1999 Rosemount Traditional
This Bordeaux blend is holding up very well, with little signs of bricking and plenty of primary fruit. It was good to go from the start with flavours of plums and blackberry, but while these were initially muted an hour later it had more structure and tasted like an older, better, wine.

[daz]

Rossco, "2007 Buller Wines - Calliope Shiraz - Jesus this was a massive wine. Was a gift from my brother. 16% alcohol and felt like it. Grapes were left on the vine way too long. As a result was Big, Overripe fruit. Was almost port it was that sickly sweet. Im sure there is a market for it (somewhere), but it wasnt to my liking. Its was almost like they added port to it."

Some years ago I had a case of the Calliope (2001 or 2002 I think) that I don't remember being as big as your description of the 2007. It was a fairly well-balanced wine but high alcohol 15-15.5% I think.

[daz]

Limestone Hills Padthaway Shiraz Cabernet 2010. From the Bryson Family, the producers of Morambro Creek, Jip Jip Rocks and Mt Monster labels, it's a 50/50 blend, fruit-forward wine with excellent depth of flavour to match its deep, dark colour. Oak is subtle, initial plum followed by blackberry with savoury coffee hints and ripe, soft tannins, good persistence on the finish. Not a stellar wine nor one for long-term cellaring, it was good value at $13.99 and I really enjoyed it. It's not listed on the Morambro Creek website so likely a wine club only label.

[Wayno]

Anderson Hill Chardonnay 2012? - Adelaide Hills, very nice - good balance
Partritti Saperavi 2011 - big monster of a wine, characteristically meaty and quite varietal but a bit much for me

[michel]

SC Pannell Grenache 2010, got very high scores in reviews but it wasn't for me. A bit flat flavour wise. Was still easy drinking though.

Yabby Lake Vineyard 2008 Pinor Noir, wow - just awesome. beautiful smell/colour and just incredible flavour.

I drank 6 of the Pannell & they reminded me of a 94 clarendon hills grenache- superb- dont worry they will come around

[mjs]

Few reds at Scopri last night with grb2001 and wives

2001 Bin389 - still too young
1998 Mildara Cabernet - beautifully prerfumed, lovely drink
1998 Wynns JR - blood red, power, great drink
1990 Penfolds Bin 90A - what can I say, still deep purple/red, developed beautifully in the glass, complexity (avatar is dead giveaway )

[ross67]

Just had our annual winter mountain escape with friends. Here's a list.....

Penfolds Bin 389 2004..... this was good and everything in place but for me lacked some wow factor.
William Hunt Barrel Reserve Mataro 2009....now this was a fantastic drop. First try at this. A wine you could drink all day.
Maquis Philips 'Integrity' 2001..... big and bold but with some restriant. 2nd bottle and enjoyable. Probably not worth the price.
Bremerton 'Old Adam' Shiraz 2010....wow too much. A massive brute that could not be tamed. Didn't finish bottle.
Koltz 'The Pagan' 2009.... this is superb drinking if you are into this style. Kotlz wines never disappoint.
Henry's Drive Reserve Shiraz 2002.....this was singing. Probably the best Henry's our group has tasted.
Coates Organically Grown Shiraz 2006.... showing some age and secondaries but still hanging in. Good
Cape Mentelle Shiraz 1990.....nice old red but a little tired. Fruit fading didn't finish bottle. The '94 last year was in much better shape.
Wynn's Centenary Cab/shiraz 1991. as above. We didn't really win with our 2 oldies this year unfortunately. Cork was in bad shape. Didn't finish bottle.
Teusner 'Avatar' 2012.....love love love and can't get enough of this. 1 bottle left.
Annies Lane 'Coppertrail' Shiraz 2005.....had this a few years back and was much better than this one.Not sure why. Tannins were way too prominent.

ross

[Mike Hawkins]

Few reds at Scopri last night with grb2001 and wives

2001 Bin389 - still too young
1998 Mildara Cabernet - beautifully prerfumed, lovely drink
1998 Wynns JR - blood red, power, great drink
1990 Penfolds Bin 90A - what can I say, still deep purple/red, developed beautifully in the glass, complexity (avatar is dead giveaway )

I was planning to open a 90a this weekend, but it is way too hot up here. Its too good a wine to drink in less than optimal conditions. One of my 5 favourite Aussie wines of all time...

[mjs]

Been my favourite special label for some years now. Unfortunately not a wine you can afford to drink all the time!

Current favourites would be
Bin90A
82 JR
91 Wynns Centenary
90 Bin 707

Bit of a Coonawarra theme there. Wine nirvana would be an unlimited supply of these . Of course, there are many others worth a mention.

[Chuck]

Few reds at Scopri last night with grb2001 and wives

2001 Bin389 - still too young
1998 Mildara Cabernet - beautifully prerfumed, lovely drink
1998 Wynns JR - blood red, power, great drink
1990 Penfolds Bin 90A - what can I say, still deep purple/red, developed beautifully in the glass, complexity (avatar is dead giveaway )

I was planning to open a 90a this weekend, but it is way too hot up here. Its too good a wine to drink in less than optimal conditions. One of my 5 favourite Aussie wines of all time...

If you get a hankering for a big juicy red and a slab of dead cow in the warmer months just turn the a/c down to around 18C and chill the wine down a tad. Works a treat. You may even need the ugh boots and beanie

Carl

[Mike Hawkins]

They havent heard of AC in the UK....

[Chuck]

Good point.

[n4sir]

Some very brief impressions from a Majella tasting at an instore last week:

2012 Majella Riesling, Coonawarra (screwcap): Very good, juicy lime and mineral.

NV Majella Minuet, Coonawarra (crown seal): Sparkling Chardonnay and Riesling. Sweet with green apples, but not a heck of a lot of fizz, creaminess or length. It's the first time I have tried this wine, and I expected more from the flash looking bottle to be honest.

2012 Majella Melody Rose, Coonawarra (screwcap): A good rose style, sweet raspberries and jubes, not too sweet, not too dry.

2010 Majella Merlot, Coonawarra (screwcap): Good wine, medium weight with boysenberry & plum, subtle oak, very long and very dry.

2012 Majella Musician, Coonawarra (screwcap): The pick of the bunch today, jubey, juicy and fresh, lovely fruit with minimal oak, medium to full weight and long. Peter Lynn said this would go 5-7 years, I think it may last even longer. A real bargain.

2011 Majella Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra (screwcap): This is green for Majella, lots of green capsicum, chalk and menthol; it's medium-weight at most, but has decent length and thankfully no bitterness. A decent result for a vintage widely devastated by mould and rot, better than most, but still it's not a great Majella. No Shiraz and no Malleea for 2011; no surprise there.

2009 Majella Malleea Shiraz Cabernet, Coonawarra (screwcap): Lots of nice oak complexity, but surprisingly it's a little forward and like the 2011 Cabernet it has less weight than I was expecting, medium to full weight. That said it's still the best of the wines today, but on a QPR scale the 2012 Musician trumps it easily.

2007 Majella Sparkling Shiraz, Coonawarra (crown seal): This is really quite forward, with hints of leather, earth, black olive and roasted meats matching sweet but fading raspberry fruit. Nice complexity, but the fizz and creaminess is running out, it doesn't say much for the future; I wonder if this was old stock?

Cheers,
Ian

[Michael R]

Had 16 sit down for my wife's birthday at the Larder in Woolloomoolloo, Sydney last night.
Great spot, will definitely be bringing the Grape mates there soon as its byo and food was very good.
I provided the wine, and went with mostly 6packs of the following;
02 Gimmonet Special club champagne - liked it a lot, perhaps a shade sweeter than expected, some definite honey characters.
07 Schloss Lieser Kabinet Riesling - screwcap - I know Riesling is a hard sell to the masses but was amazed that no-one even gave this a go. seriously, I think I was the only person who even had a glass, and the restaurant handed me back 3 unopened bottles at the end of the night. Epic fail!
Fwiw the showed quite a bit of spritz, which I don't really go for, but otherwise was decent.
12 Giaconda Nantua Les Deux - screwcap -mostly Chardonnay with some Roussane. Where the Riesling failed, this was a total triumph. Even one person who rarely drinks white wine couldn't get enough. The wine itself was very smooth and approachable in its youth and got me very excited for the estate release next year. Miraculously the restaurant even had a bottle left unopened and gave it to me at nights end, happy days

Onto the reds:
05 Kilikanoon Oracle Shiraz cork -this wine is definitely on the decline. Still showing plenty of goodness though. This won worlds best Shiraz at the London fair few years ago, not sure what the recommended window was, but these had been professionally stored since release and I strongly encourage to drink now. They were double decanted and opened probably a couple of hours before serving.
08 Collector Reserve Shiraz - screwcap - while everyone enjoyed the Oracle, most seem to prefer this. Hint of VA, but quite fresh and nice tannic grip, certainly enjoyable now and with a few more years of upside.

No red bottles survived the night
If you're in Sydney, and looking for a solid byo in a central location, check out the Larder. Stemware is average though.

Cheers
Michael

[Mike Hawkins]

Nice one Michael. Ive never noticed any sweetness on the 02 Gimonnet SC, though I've tended to open the SC Collection over the past year. Maybe its time to revisit one.

Thanks

Mike

[Michael R]

Very interested to hear if you do Mike. I hope I wasn't misleading, it wasn't a sweet wine by any means, but certainly showed some honey character. I drank from one specific bottle, but others noted similar from other bottles.

Was a very enjoyable wine, thanks for the tip, I'll certainly buy more if it's still available at what was a great price locally.

[Gavin Trott]

Big night with some wine loving friends, we enjoyed

The Champagnes:
Billiecart-Salmon Grand Cru Brut Blance de Blancs, Mareuil-Surray, France 12% alc
Bollinger Special Cuvee, France, 12% alc
Vve Fournay & Fils Premier Cru Grande Reserve, France, 12% alc
Louis Roederer Brut Premier, Reims France, 12% alc
2002 Pol Roger Vintage Extra cuvee de reserve, Epernay France, 12.5% alc
Henri Chauvet Cuvee Noire Brut de Noir Premier Cru, France 12.5% alc


The Whites:
2006 Tyrrell’s Wines Vat 1 Hunter Semillon, (12 gold medals, 7 trophies) actually more bling on the bottle than Idi Amin used to waer!
2007 Domaine William Fevre, Chablis Grand Crui Les Preuses, Chablis France


The Reds:
2000 Tasmanian Reserve Pinot Noir Providence “Miguet”
2005 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo, Monforte D’Alba Italy
2001 Thomas Hardy Eileen Hardy Shiraz
1991 Penfolds St Henri Shiraz, (Shiraz with come cabernet sauvignon (like grange), multi district blend
2002 Kay Brothers Amery Vineyards Block 6 Shiraz, McLaren Vale
2002 Castagna Genesis Syrah, Beechworth Vic
1999 Orlando Jacaranda Ridge Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon
2002 Jasper Hill Georgia’s Paddock Heathcote Shiraz
1993 Orlando St Hugo Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon (Corked)
1996 Mitchelton Print Series Shiraz
2007 Coriole Mary Kathleen Reserve Cabernet Saugivnon Merlot

Quiet night!
.

[Michael R]

Great effort Gavin!
Hopefully there were more than a few mates involved

Any call outs on the 02 Pol Roger?

[Mike Hawkins]

Very interested to hear if you do Mike. I hope I wasn't misleading, it wasn't a sweet wine by any means, but certainly showed some honey character. I drank from one specific bottle, but others noted similar from other bottles.

Was a very enjoyable wine, thanks for the tip, I'll certainly buy more if it's still available at what was a great price locally.

Thanks Michael. I agree - it is one of the best value Champagnes in Australia. Its not much more than the price in France, and in good vintages it is a superb wine.