Tasting Notes - the week commencing May 4th 2014

[Luke W]

Died and went to heaven on Saturday to celebrate my 60th - put aside a couple of classics:
1996 Dom Perignon - ethereal, stunning - a wine unlike any other I've tried. It didn't matter what I ate off the platter, the wine blended with it and improved it. Hard to describe the flavours, as it had a little of many things - would recommend everyone drink a wine like this once in their lives.
2001 Grange -opened and decanted at 7am, found it's straps at about 9pm. Huge dark brooding monster but if you can wait long enough a wine of wonderful flavour, texture and balance arrives although it is a massive dark fruit bomb.
2002 Classic McLaren La Testa Shiraz - formerly a big RP type wine but now settled into a beautifully elegant balanced wine.
Nice to start the 7th decade in style.
Cheers
Luke

[Michael McNally]

Happy Birthday Luke!!

I am pleased you marked it in style.

Cheers

Michael

[Luke W]

Ta Mick

[ticklenow1]

Congrats Luke. Looks like you celebrated in style! Many happy returns.

Cheers
Ian

[rooman]

Great innings so far Luke. I had you pegged in your fourth decade.

Wines of interest:
Mount Langi Ghiran Shiraz 2000. after finding the last bottle a couple of years ago was still closed down, this bottle shows the wine has gracefully entered its drinking window. Minimal aromas on a cold winters night were compensated by the mocha and fruit cake savory fruit. Long finish with soft tannins giving a wonder full mouth feel.

Kilikanon Kifferman's Run Shiraz Grenache 2010 . I have been searching for ages for a cheapish mid week wine I can quaff at home. Most I have tried have frankly just been too sweet and fruit to get to the bottom of the bottle let alone buy again. This wine however has hit the spot. Talking to a friend of mine yesterday over coffee who used to be the wine rep for Kilikanoon, he thought it was a great call. Apparently the wine maker is a grenache freak who raids the better barrels of shiraz to round out his grenache. Like Goldilocks, not too sweet, not too fruity, not too short just right. Went back yesterday and picked up a case. Price $16

[rens]

Congratulation Luke.
I had a 1999 Dead Arm this week. Still in a very good place- balanced between primary fruit and cedar with nice rounded tannins and long finish. Not bad for a bottle I got from the lottery.

[Teisto]

Happy Birthday Luke!

A few in the last week for me

2006 Port Philip Estate Shiraz- Excellent drinking. Starting to hit its straps. Nice cool climate
2012 De Bortoli Villages Chardonnay - Not bad but not very characteristic of Chardy for me. Quite lean
2012 Corinna Wright Yarnbomb Shiraz- A very nice purple colour that started out a little rough but given a good breathe was quite slurpable. Not going to blow you away but good drinking. Would be interesting to see it in a few years
2009 Teusner Independent- So glad I bought a case of this. This is just getting better and better. The mataro gives it such an awesome spiciness. I really don't know how they produce this for the $17 a bottle I paid. My issue now is holding onto the other 6 I have left.

[The fish]

Jules Desjourney L'interdit 2008: wow....this is one of the best gamay's that I've had this year and possibly for a number of years. For my money as a youngish wine it even throws shade at Burgaud (I prefer Burgaud with some bottle time!). This would be a Fleurie if not for the rules associated with vineyard origin and blending in Beajolais.

The nose is quite floral, there's a sprinkling of herbage and perhaps a touch of tea. There's also raspberries and strawberries - a sign of sweetness perhaps? On entry it's exceptionally balanced - there's no evident holes and there's some nice fine grained tannins too. I'm getting darker fruits blackberries and some definite herbage.

The alcohol is under 13% which makes this a very refreshing drink. Will this last? I think so but I'd be really keen to try this again in a couple of years to see where it's at. Thankfully I have some left

Collector Marked Tree Shiraz 2011: Nice local shiraz. Very, very well made. Combo of dark and red fruits. Medium bodied and perhaps a touch dilute? Prefer something with a bit more concentration. Vanilla Oak in the background. Exceptional black pepper. Class. VFM too. I might get in trouble for saying this but there's been a real lift in the average quality of the wine coming out of the Canberra region in the last couple of years. Perhaps it just needs better marketing?

Cheers
Matt

[Michael R]

Happy b'day Luke

[sjw_11]

Happy birthday Luke!

I spent the weekend in Indonesia (Surabaya and Bali) so not much to report... though having said that I did try local Balinese sparkling wine from Hatten Wines ... actually very impressive, made method champenoise.

Yarra Yering Dry Red #2 2005... Pretty sure Dry Red #2 is a straight Shiraz? This is a second hand clearance sale buy. Very bright purple red colour still, youthful vibrant nose of bright cherry and plum, some ethanol/VA lift. Quite full bodied and dense on the palate (15% abv), with a long, sweet finish. Nice enough. Questionable VFM.

[camw]

Yarra Yering Dry Red #2 2005... Pretty sure Dry Red #2 is a straight Shiraz?

Usually has some Viognier and/or Marsanne in there.

[Stavros]

I spent the weekend in Indonesia (Surabaya and Bali) so not much to report... though having said that I did try local Balinese sparkling wine from Hatten Wines ... actually very impressive, made method champenoise.Really SJW ! ;o)

Have tried the other Hatten stuff and it's woeful.

The family and i are regulars to Bali and always suffer wine withdrawals whilst there.....Must try one next time.

Cheers S

[Scotty vino]

A night at the pub with the lads.
One cleansing schooner of Pale ale then off we go...

2011 Greenock Creek Alice's shiraz. Soft fruity nose. Lovely velvety/silky mouth feel. Beautifully smooth/fine tannins.

2011 Rockford RR cab. Dusty/funky nose. Leather/earthy tones. Nice mouth feel. decent finish. grippy-ish tannins.

2006 Rockford BP. Dusty/funky/leathery/tobacco/blackberry nose. I could smell this for ages. Perhaps more of a medium body than I would've expected. Fantastic mouth feel with so much happening yet really good balance. Liquorice/blackberry/vanilla flavours with subtle/soft tannins as it finishes off. real lip smacking stuff. ($89 bux for a choice of 04/05/06 over the bar. Not bad!)

2011 Greenock Creek Cornerstone Grenache. Very bright candy/berry nose. Fairly atypical confection/candy/strawberries and cream flavours. Fairly tight/puckering tannins.

finish off with a couple of glasses of Morris old premium rare liqueur muscat.
big fat Xmas cake in a glass.

[via collins]

Happy birthday Luke, and well done on your birthday treats! Hope my 60th can offer up something in that neighbourhood.
My pleasant surprise this weekend was a 2008 Sorrenberg gamay. I've had a few of these with variable results, but this last bottle was absolutely thrilling.

Edgy dark fruits and hints of mineral and forest floor in a medium bodied wine with a wonderful weight through back palate. Lovely fragrant nose too. Must have been having a sleep last time I cracked one, but this was top shelf.

[Luke W]

Thanks for the best wishes fellas - followed up with half a bottle of Glenlivet 12 year old and a Monte Christo no.4 last nite.

[ticklenow1]

A night at the pub with the lads.
One cleansing schooner of Pale ale then off we go...

2011 Greenock Creek Alice's shiraz. Soft fruity nose. Lovely velvety/silky mouth feel. Beautifully smooth/fine tannins.

2011 Rockford RR cab. Dusty/funky nose. Leather/earthy tones. Nice mouth feel. decent finish. grippy-ish tannins.

2006 Rockford BP. Dusty/funky/leathery/tobacco/blackberry nose. I could smell this for ages. Perhaps more of a medium body than I would've expected. Fantastic mouth feel with so much happening yet really good balance. Liquorice/blackberry/vanilla flavours with subtle/soft tannins as it finishes off. real lip smacking stuff. ($89 bux for a choice of 04/05/06 over the bar. Not bad!)

2011 Greenock Creek Cornerstone Grenache. Very bright candy/berry nose. Fairly atypical confection/candy/strawberries and cream flavours. Fairly tight/puckering tannins.

finish off with a couple of glasses of Morris old premium rare liqueur muscat.
big fat Xmas cake in a glass.

Now that's a great night! Cracking value for the Basket Press. Which bar?

Cheers
Ian

[Diddy]

That's cheaper than most retail prices!

[sjw_11]

I spent the weekend in Indonesia (Surabaya and Bali) so not much to report... though having said that I did try local Balinese sparkling wine from Hatten Wines ... actually very impressive, made method champenoise.Really SJW ! ;o)

Have tried the other Hatten stuff and it's woeful.

The family and i are regulars to Bali and always suffer wine withdrawals whilst there.....Must try one next time.

Cheers S

I was dubious too, but pleasantly surprised... at the least, clean and correctly made, in a very fresh and clean style. I would put it on a par with the average commercial grade bubbles in Aus (in the $12-18 bracket).

[Scotty vino]

A night at the pub with the lads.
One cleansing schooner of Pale ale then off we go...

2011 Greenock Creek Alice's shiraz. Soft fruity nose. Lovely velvety/silky mouth feel. Beautifully smooth/fine tannins.

2011 Rockford RR cab. Dusty/funky nose. Leather/earthy tones. Nice mouth feel. decent finish. grippy-ish tannins.

2006 Rockford BP. Dusty/funky/leathery/tobacco/blackberry nose. I could smell this for ages. Perhaps more of a medium body than I would've expected. Fantastic mouth feel with so much happening yet really good balance. Liquorice/blackberry/vanilla flavours with subtle/soft tannins as it finishes off. real lip smacking stuff. ($89 bux for a choice of 04/05/06 over the bar. Not bad!)

2011 Greenock Creek Cornerstone Grenache. Very bright candy/berry nose. Fairly atypical confection/candy/strawberries and cream flavours. Fairly tight/puckering tannins.

finish off with a couple of glasses of Morris old premium rare liqueur muscat.
big fat Xmas cake in a glass.

Now that's a great night! Cracking value for the Basket Press. Which bar?

Cheers
Ian

Exeter Hotel Rundle street, Adelaide.
Not excluded was a 2010 Tim Smith Shiraz but that was bought while my back was turned
but i did sample it and it was pretty good.

Decent wine list there for reasonable prices. They were carrying Wendouree shiraz for quite some time for 59 a bottle which would usually get a run first up with an Apricot Block on Alice's. If you're really serious there's late 90's early 00's Chris Ringland three rivers Shiraz and Roennfeldt rd cabs and shiraz on another list.

Seriously for 70 bux I got a feed, the aforementioned wines and a cab ride home.

[Michael McNally]

Thanks for the best wishes fellas - followed up with half a bottle of Glenlivet 12 year old and a Monte Christo no.4 last nite.

Only half a bottle, Luke?

You are getting old!

Cheers

Michael

[Luke W]

Thanks for the best wishes fellas - followed up with half a bottle of Glenlivet 12 year old and a Monte Christo no.4 last nite.

Only half a bottle, Luke?

You are getting old!

Cheers

Michael

and I even shared that!
Tonite a 2009 Tahbilk Coueslant Sparkling Shiraz - all over the shop, not sure that time will help - not in the same league as the 2008 Sparkling Shiraz.

[catchnrelease]

2012 Hoddles Creek Estate Pinot Noir - Very fruity, perfumed and a bit savoury. More weight behind it than I expected. Good enough length and structure, 2010 was better but this is still very nice. Annoyed I only bought one bottle given it's only $20.

2012 Mount Eyre 'Three Ponds' Verdelho - Serious nose, but much lighter on the palate. Clean, crisp with nice acidity and decent length. Very easy to drink on its own, overall very pleasant.

[Andrew Jordan]

14 year wedding anniversary celebrations this week so opened up a few nice bottles:

2000 Paul Bara Champagne Grand Cru Comtesse Marie de France - took this bottle and the 1975 Grange to dinner at Fix St. James. This took some time to open up and has plenty of life in it to last many a year to come. Fine bead, nice acidity. Beautiful example of Bouzy Pinot Noir, powerful but complex with a very long finish. Went well with Sizzling Tiger Prawns.

1975 Penfolds Grange - Now if this was served blind I would not have guessed this was 39 years old. Even after a 2 hour decant this was still opening up and the aromas out of the glass filled the room. Thick and concentrated there was no mistake this was Grange. Lots going on in this wine leather, spice, dark fruit ... it was ever changing in the glass as we consumed it. Went very well with the Chateaubriand. Apparently Max Schubert's last vintage of Grange and a credit to him. 90% Shiraz, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Well cellared bottles will still last for sometime but I do not see this getting any better.

2000 Craiglee Shiraz - this is in a beautiful spot currently - very focused - but still has room for improvement. James Halliday sums it up nicely .... "Seriously under priced, seriously good".

2000 Grant Burge Shiraz Filsell Old Vine - has plateaued and is probably on it's last legs. Solid effort for the vintage but in the shadow of the Craiglee.

1996 Peter Lehmann Shiraz Black Queen - my wife's favourite sparkling shiraz. This is now getting some beautiful secondary charactistics coming through with some meatiness and game. Still has plenty of life in in but will not get any better. Lovely.

2004 Woodlands Cabernet Sauvignon Rachael Reserve - 1st bottle from the 6 pack and probably opened to early. Although 10 years old this is still a baby and deserves plenty of patience. Very left bank Bordeaux like, elegant and a fantastic long finish. This will be a beauty in 5 years!

[daver6]

2005 De Bortoli Hunter Valley Shiraz
On opening, the nose was quite closed. 30 minutes in the decanter and this really opened up. Plenty of earthiness, saddle leather, cassis, blackberry, mint, phenol.

Medium palette, medium plus acid. well integrated medium tannins. Red berries, graphite, liquorice and mint with a medium finish.

Probably at its peak. Wish I had a couple more bottles. Excellent QPR.

[Mark Perth]

Andrew

Was the Woodlands Rachel a cork? I think Woodlands moved to screw cap in 2005.

Mark

[Duncan Disorderly]

1998 Lake Breeze Winemakers Selection Shiraz

Drank well on opening. But after an hour spent in the glass, following an unforeseen (and ultimately unsuccessful) trip to Kmart for an adaptor to get the TV working at our new digs, it had filled out and was superb. Blackcurrant and plums, very fine tannin and good length.

[Andrew Jordan]

Andrew

Was the Woodlands Rachel a cork? I think Woodlands moved to screw cap in 2005.

Mark

Mark,

You are indeed correct! Not sure when they moved to screwcap as my 2005 through 2009's went direct to storage so haven't even seen them yet. But the 2010, which is in my possession, is definitely under screw cap!