TN: '99 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling.

[Rory]

Colour: Love to watch ageing white wines change colour in the glass, and this was no exception. Went from pale yellow to light gold slowly.
Nose: Ample richness and full fruit with customary "kero" starting to show. Quite unctious.
Palate: The fruit weight of the nose is evident on the palate, it is a very classy riesling, with mouthfilling lime and citrus with some honey thrown in for good measure. There is some acid still evident, but obviously nowhere near the searing amount it had on release. The only dissapointing thing I felt was it seemed a little short in length. The palate was over too quickly.

Otherwise, it is a very good, but not great, Grosset.


Rory

[David Lole]

Thanks Rory, I think the '99 Grosset Rieslings (and most other Rieslings from Clare, for that matter) are pretty well ready to go now, too. The shortness on the palate is a bit of a worry. Now I have to go fetch one from the cellar and compare, which, by the sound of things is a sensible thing to do.

[GraemeG]

It was someone's note here that prompted me to look at my 99 Grosset PHs as well. They appeared to me (2 drunk, one to go) to be pretty much as described - the acid has certainly faded on this one. I've not tasted my stash of Leo Buring Special Release 99 Clare wines (you remember, the one's Southcorp cleared out 2 years ago at $15) and wonder how they're standing up. Older Leonays seem to hang on forever - I've still got some 92s awaiting an auspicious occasion, and 3 years ago I had an 88 that was just stunning.

I begin to wonder if, despite Clare getting all the publicity, Eden doesn't in fact produce the better, longer-lived wines. Steingarten is the great under-rated riesling I reckon, but perhaps it's time to start collecting more of Henschke's Julius and less of Grosset's PH...?

cheers,
Graeme

[David Lole]

It was someone's note here that prompted me to look at my 99 Grosset PHs as well. They appeared to me (2 drunk, one to go) to be pretty much as described - the acid has certainly faded on this one. I've not tasted my stash of Leo Buring Special Release 99 Clare wines (you remember, the one's Southcorp cleared out 2 years ago at $15) and wonder how they're standing up. Older Leonays seem to hang on forever - I've still got some 92s awaiting an auspicious occasion, and 3 years ago I had an 88 that was just stunning.

I begin to wonder if, despite Clare getting all the publicity, Eden doesn't in fact produce the better, longer-lived wines. Steingarten is the great under-rated riesling I reckon, but perhaps it's time to start collecting more of Henschke's Julius and less of Grosset's PH...?

cheers,
Graeme

Graeme,

I've tried the '99 Special Release (Highly Recommended) on several occasions and regard it as pretty well right to go. Quite toasty on the nose, fresh and well-balanced palate. It reflects the forward nature of the vintage. On the other hand, both the '98 and '00 Eden Special Release's (both Excellent to Outstanding) are less evolved and should last longer. I wouldn't be too worried about the Eden/Clare quality/longevity quandry. I can cite instances where the reverse scenario holds true. IMHO, there's more high calibre Riesling coming out of Clare than Eden presently and if they drink much earlier/ don't last quite as long (as JO predicts), so be it.

[Michael]

Gents,

I must say I found Grossets PH in 1999-2001 to be a remarkably bland and uninteresting trio.

[David Lole]

Gents,

I must say I found Grossets PH in 1999-2001 to be a remarkably bland and uninteresting trio.

Can agree on the current status of the 2001. Reductive characters on the nose are worth noting, too. Latest bottle started to show a bit more interest and less reduction, but, otherwise been disappointing. May just be coming out of "Tyson's" hole.