Weekly drinking thread 11/2/2014

[phillisc]

Kick this one off...so over the 40 degree stuff here in Adelaide, another one today , thats 12 for the year so far...grapes must be copping a belting!

2000 Dalwhinnie Shiraz 14.5%(apologies in another thread reference to the 1997, wrong bottle opened!)
Can see why my early 90s to early 2000s love affair with all things Victorian took off.

For what was a crap year in many parts this was spank me down good.

Jet black in colour with no browning rim or crust on bottle, cork firm hard perfect with less than 1mm of stain...amazing
Opened with bottle stink, barnyard vegetable aroma, but was confident that this would blow off...and it did
Aromas of sweet but savoury earthy spice, lovely fruit not explosive but there
Palate was lush with a fraction of heat then settled down to a mourish spicy rich choclately...with the finest tannins...very balanced...would love one of these every week. See the 2010 is current getting raves and can see why.

2009 Seppelts salinger...pound for pound and yes admittedly purchased at mates rates, the best sparkler in Australia...obviously knew something at Great western all those years ago. Biscuts, nuts richness like Bolly and danced across the tongue...yummy

2006 76 Koonunga Hill. Served blind...picked as a Barossa something with the classic cab/shiraz mix...is it a Pennies...really sticks out, not a bad effort has years left in it.

Cheers Craig
ps...corked 2002 Pewsey Vale riesling...Yalumba happy to replace Yippee! the only 02 out of 50 cases of riesling under cork!
My horses arse palate spotted it a mile away this time..no fruit..infact nothing!

[maybs]

Nice to hear about the Dalwhinnie. One of my favourite shirazes, in fact one of my favourite reds getting around. I will be giving the '97 a try shortly and will let you know how it goes. I otherwise only have a few '09s in the cellar, I think I may order a mixed dozen of the current vintage and a few back vintages to stash away.

2007 Tyrrell's Vat 1 Semillion

Opened this last night because I wanted to see how it was travelling as a recent purchase before laying the other couple I bought down. It was very closed on the nose, opening up only marginally with some air allowing a hint of grassiness and some faint kero, with a citrus tang, but hinting at more to come later. Mouthfeel was fairly full given the closed aroma, lemon was a predominant flavour for me and a little mineral filling out the palate. Excellent length already. I am going to look forward to cracking the next bottle in another 4 or 5 years to see how it is unfolding.

[timmspe]

2010 Scarpantoni Block 3 Shiraz. McLaren Vale. Very dark black-purple. A beautifully perfumed nose with jammy blackberries and dark fruit, mocha, and, unless I'm imagining things, crayons. The oak has kept in check very nicely. The palate is super smooth with a great finish. Excellent value. I really enjoyed this one, and will be back for more.

[sjw_11]

Ok I am going to try and post some vague notes from stuff I drank in the last week back in Oz... Ill make some notes on wines from the two offlines in those relevant threads though.

All of these were drunk sociably, mostly with my folks so forigve any vagueness to the recollections!

Jim Barry Riesling 2013... Terrificly fresh, juicy lime flavours, very clean and refreshing. Attractively open and drinking well now, but I suspect would age OK mid-term.

Henschke Peggys Hill Riesling 2013... Lovely, quite rounded and approachable Riesling, mixing fresh lime with some floral elements. Drink now.

Meerea Park "Terracotta" Semillon 2006... Aged release, under S/C. Very fresh still, yellow/green in the glass. Classic Semillon nose and impeccable structure. A nice match for prawn curry, but really still infanticide, this would live for a very long time.

Hoddles Creek 1er Chardonnay 2012... Very fresh/clean, certainly to my mind in the modern style of Chardonnay. Vibrant citrus and stne fruit flavours, and good line and length plus acid balance on the finish. Will age nicely, or drinking great now if you prefer a fresher style.

Orlando St Hugo Cabernet 2000... Complete text book TCA

Mitchelton "Print Series" Shiraz 1998... The replacement for the St Hugo. Fully resolved and mature red, a little muddy now, a bit of red fruit and some secondary leather and earth characters. Drink up, just about holding.

Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2009... Interesting style, quite ripe/warm and with some stalky/green complexity. Overall, really quite enjoyable. Not quite sure about the VFM ratio but nice to try.

Ruinart Blanc de Blanc NV... Lovely fresh style, very crisp/citrus driven. Delicious.

Mumm NV... Relatively fresh bottle. A little bit of yeasty complexity. Great value for money.

Wynns "Red Stripe" Cab Shiraz Merlot 2006... Soft, cuddly medium bodied red with gentle red berry/plum characters and a smooth, integrated tannin profile. There is still a line of acid which will hold these I hope (as I have 4 more) but very pleasant drinking right now.

Oatley Wines McLaren Vale Shiraz 2012... Exceptionally young, even after being open for 3-days. Very fresh, lifted, slightly alcoholic nose of bright red berries and classic McV fruit. Needs at least 3-yrs before you look at it.

Mt Horrocks Botrytis Riesling 1985... Very dark colour, I thought this would be stuffed but what a surprise. Well and truly alive with a rich, apricoty complexity and still a bit of cleansing acidity left on the back palate. Genuinely good.

Heggies Botrytis Riesling 1983... I had several of these about 8 yrs ago and they were stuffed. This one was amazingly drinkable, not as good as the Mount Horrocks but still impressive for the age.

Thorn Clarke Eden Valley Riesling 2013... Lovely and fresh, so drinkable in summer. Lemon/lime, some floral notes. Yum.

Henscke "Coralinga" Sav Blanc 2012... Nice wine, fresh, unobjectionable, a little bit of character.

[The fish]

Sami Odi Little Wine #3

Just cracked a #3…seriously this is a very, very good wine. My wife, who only drinks the really good stuff that I open, commented that this has been her favourite and the best red wine that she has tried since I opened a bottle of 96′ Grange for her mid-last year. She can’t describe it nor does she attempt to – she just knows that it’s bloody good

There's quality blackberries, some pepper and a few other herbs (perhaps cloves) on the palate. This wine although medium bodied has weight and power and along with a pretty neat tannic framework is probably one of the better reds that I’ve tried this year. What do I have to do to secure secure an allocation of the baby tui…?

Note: I grabbed a 3 pack from Gavin at a seriously ridonculous price. It arrived this morning and I couldn't keep my hands off it. If he's got any left I encourage you to grab some while you still can. Thanks Gav!

Cheers Matt

[Gavin Trott]

Sami Odi Little Wine #3

Just cracked a #3…seriously this is a very, very good wine. My wife, who only drinks the really good stuff that I open, commented that this has been her favourite and the best red wine that she has tried since I opened a bottle of 96′ Grange for her mid-last year. She can’t describe it nor does she attempt to – she just knows that it’s bloody good

There's quality blackberries, some pepper and a few other herbs (perhaps cloves) on the palate. This wine although medium bodied has weight and power and along with a pretty neat tannic framework is probably one of the better reds that I’ve tried this year. What do I have to do to secure secure an allocation of the baby tui…?

Note: I grabbed a 3 pack from Gavin at a seriously ridonculous price. It arrived this morning and I couldn't keep my hands off it. If he's got any left I encourage you to grab some while you still can. Thanks Gav!

Glad you enjoyed it, its a terrific wine.

(Little bits left .. someone cancelled their order).

.

[Scotty vino]

2010 Scarpantoni Block 3 Shiraz. McLaren Vale. Very dark black-purple. A beautifully perfumed nose with jammy blackberries and dark fruit, mocha, and, unless I'm imagining things, crayons. The oak has kept in check very nicely. The palate is super smooth with a great finish. Excellent value. I really enjoyed this one, and will be back for more.

Got an 08 lying down. Tried this at the CD and loved it. My drink window says this can hang in there 'til 2022.
Hmmm. Think it'll see the light of day before then.

[Andrew Jordan]

Sami Odi Little Wine #3

(Little bits left .. someone cancelled their order).

.

Idiot!

[phillisc]

2001 Virgin Hills Cab, merlot malbec, franc 13%
Probably appropriate for the day for those venturing into something "new" or those trying to "reconnect"

These wines although with a very chequered history are a fave of mine.
Opens with a slightly vegetable greenness, ah la some coonawarra cabs with the tinned peas or asparagus type aromas, but then sweet violets pushing through
Really nice on the palate, sweet fruits gentle tannins and well balanced. Wont go much longer but happy with the quality of this...sourced through an online retailer with a somewhat dubious business model...(Not you Gav)...at 1/3 the CD price.
Sad that its all gone by the wayside with Virgin Hills....the proprietors next priority is a Fleetwood Mac concert...not getting out the 2004 or 2005 (10 year old current release...sheesh!!)

Cheers Craig.

[Luke W]

Consecutive vintages of Maglieri Shiraz 2006/2007 over 2 nights bought for a song at 1st Choice about 5/6 years ago. Tried to palm them off a couple of years ago because I didn't find them that interesting at that stage. Glad I didn't have any takers because they have been incredible drinking. The 06 is in ur face fruit but great balance and so smooth, the 07 needs more time in the decanter but ends up tasting like a rich blackberry pie - just what I needed after a hard week.