Hello Gentlefolk - It is the Sabbath - now...

[TORB]

please tell us you you p*sspots have been drinking over the last week.

Leasingham Classic Clare 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon - Nothing subtle about this wine, especially the tannins. A lovely wine with loads of drying, dusty smooth tannins that are integrating nicely but still dominant. Nose is a surprise, vanilla, liquorice and chocolate with lots of compost. Palate is intense, with liquorice, chocolate and blackcurrant. A good wine, it still needs time to tame down a little more and is rated as Highly Recommended with room for improvement. Try the next one in about a year.

Now its your turn please tell us all what you have been drinking.

[David Lole]

Good Moorning Ric, brethren and sundry others,

And what a mixed week it's been! &

Monday - AFD

Tuesday - The folks arrived home in the afternoon from a couple of weeks in Port Douglas, so an invite over for dinner was in order. First the '96 Leasingham Classic Clare Riesling did the trick with its oily/toasty lime-dominated nose and tight but long citrus/toasty/acid-laden palate. Excellent. Next, the '00 Penfolds Reserve Bin Chardonnay - about Excellent a sublime worked example packed full of winemaking tricks but manages to hold everything together (as long as you don't leave it sitting too long - it falls apaprt with more than an hour's breathing) ....and went ohso well with the smoked salmon-wrapped steamed banana prawn rolls filled with a mixture of sour cream, tabasco, chives, lemon and pepper, topped with capers and served on a bed of baby mesculin salad with red onion, avacado slithers doused in lemon and extra virgin avacado oil..... yummo! With my home-made Spag Bol came a Crabtree '99 Shiraz - solid wine with ample fruit and balanced French oak (I think?) but didn't give the table-lifting mechanisn a work out. Recommended. No hurry to drink this.

So far, so good.

Then...............

My wife's mother suffers a mild heart attack and I put Janet on a bus to Albury 8 AM the next morning after very little sleep.

So, Wednesday evening, the folks invite us over for a delightful, slow-cooked beef shank Osso Buco served with my corked '98 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling and Dad's corked 2001 Brindabella Hills Shiraz.

Thursday night I open a 1997 Rene Engel Clos-Vougoet:

Light ruby in appearance verging to pink/onion skin in the edges, this wine opened with a volatile, feral nose of wet animal fur, rotting compost and forest floor that (thankfully) blew off quickly to reveal much more attractive notes of game, sap, spicy morellos and plenty of malty/savoury oak. The medium-bodied palate displays slightly lean game/cherry/sappy fruit (alas, no great complexity yet) buttressed with surprising acidity and quite ripe, grippy tannins that grapple with the fruit almost interminably after swallowing. A mistake to open this tonight. Being my first Engel Grand Cru, I must remember to give wines such as this more time in the cellar (AJ castigated me on this once before). Unfortunately, curiosity got the better of me........ again. Highly Recommended with plenty in reserve for a higher rating down the track. Drink 2007-2015.

Postscript - I've left half the bottle and will report on how it's looking after consuming the remainder tomorrow night.

PPS - I shoulda drunk it there and then - Friday night it was undrinkable i.e. Cat's Piss. I'm now changing my name to Richard Cranium after making the "plenty in reserve for a higher rating" and drinking window comments.

Things are just getting worse..............

So I decide to grab a few "quaffers" from the cellar to see how they're travellin'.

Firstly, the Bowen Estate Shiraz 1999 opens with intense aromas of creme de cassis immediately the corked was pulled that rendered some premature excitement. Once in the glass, this degenerates to a volatile mix of dead-fruited prune, blackberry and mulberry with a green DMS component followed by an unbalanced palate more akin to a light dry vintage port. And to make things worse..... this finishes short with coarse, choking tannins and.....I wasn't fussed with the oak treatment whatsoever. What drove Doug Bowen away from his most successful formula of the middle eighties, I really don't know. Would not even rate as Acceptable. A major disappointment.

Last night, after picking up Janet from the bus station, I decided to crack the Seppelt Chalambar Victorian Shiraz 1998. For only $15 a bottle at release, I bought a case, tried a few and enjoyed (immensely) the opulence of berried fruit, balance of well-judged savoury French oak, as well as the fantastic QPR. Thankfully, this was far better than the Bowen Estate, although the opulence noted earlier has subsided somewhat. Still a vibrant deep ruby that holds all the way to the edge, the bouquet reveals spicy plum, licorice and blackberry with a savoury oak backing. The medium-bodied palate displays identical nuances found in the nose, nice mouthfeel, good balance and length with well-meshed fine-grained tannins on a finish that sees the fruit drop off and has a little too much wood for my liking. This, like so many local wines showed much better upon release and will not improve IMHO, although should hold for another 4-6 years. Rated as Recommended.

[Wizz]

Three of any note:

02 Battaley Syrah - see separate TN.
03 Castagna Allegro Rose - oh dear this is ordinary. 13.9% Alcohol makes this syrupy, and its hard to get past it and find character in the wine. No wonder Julian marked the price down this year, but even $22 is way too much. Hope the 04 gets back to the form of the 02.
91 Lindemans St George - this bottle was in cracking condition, and is classic Coonawarra - black berries, cedar, tobacco, mint. The fruit built intensity with time in the decanter. beautifully balanced, perfect drinking now.

Retaste of the Castagna Allegro 2 nights later: this is actually not so bad, but still let down by high alcohol: alcoholic watermelon juice. I imagine this is what you get if you do the jamie Oliver thing and load a watermelon up with Vodka over a couple of days.

Cheers

Andrew

[Chuck]

Hi all,

Not much of note except for a '98 Penfolds Bin 128. Now this is how I like my Shiraz; nothing clumsy or in your face. Lovely small berries, tight, and good oak treatment with tannins starting to loosen their grip. Needs another 2 - 5 years for the tannins to relax their grip. Let the 90's return. 14%

Chuck

[Anthony]

An interesting week.

Evans and Tate Redbrook Chard 01: good without being great and not worth $50 asking price.

E&T Redbrook Cab 01: really smart wine. Was actually quite suprised that this wine was still so vibrant and youthful. Has another 10 years at least in it and has not peaked yet.

cheers
anthony

[n4sir]

2002 Paracombe Sauvignon Blanc (Stelvin): Pale straw/green colour. Beautiful, delicate nose of floral lime blossom & grass on wet limestone, some spice, smoke, toast and capsicum. The creamy palate is equally classy, with up-front lime & lemon spritz fruit flavours, and a long, clean tingly finish with a touch of nutty complexity. Simply brilliant.

2002 Lindemans “Reserve” South Australian Cabernet Sauvignon: Dark red/purple colour. Sweet, chalky and slightly jammy nose featuring some mint, tea, and quite a lot of shovelled oak. The earthy cassis fruit appears on the palate, with powdery tannins prominent throughout the length, finishing slightly soapy and hot (14%) with some olive and green characters. Hardly a reserve quality wine, but for $8.99 it shouldn’t be either.

1997 Redman Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon: Some crusting on the bottle, so decanting is recommended. Dark crimson/brick colour. Very restrained, elegant nose of tobacco, cassis, cedar, vanilla and earth. There’s an attack of acid on the entry of the palate to match the blackcurrant and tobacco flavours, and fine green tannins throughout the medium body and moderate length, finishing sweet with lingering mulberry & strawberries. Drinking well with food now, and I feel maybe there’s a couple of years left in the tank.

2001 Oliverhill Brady Block Grenache: Dark crimson/brick colour. A very sweet and perfumed nose of dark chocolate, earth, musk and rose petals. The mid-weight palate is equally rich and sweet with porty/minty chocolate fruit, and big furry tannins. It hides its 16% alcohol very well, with it only really appearing in that tingly, Listerine aftertaste. That said I wouldn’t drink this in its own – best with spicy Mexican food to match that sweetness and alcohol.

1983 Seppelt Para Liqueur 21 year old Tawny Port: Glowing deep tawny colour with amazing flashes of rich cherry-red maple/honey colours, and an olive-green hue. The nose has predictable rich rancio, roasted nut characters with hints of toffee and chocolate. The weighty palate likewise shows those beautiful advanced rancio characters, some hints of VA, and a huge nutty finish to almost match the big 20.5% alcohol.

Cheers
Ian

[Martin Phillipson]

Hi All

A few recent experiences, some good, some not so good:

2002 Kaesler Stonehorse Shiraz

Don't get much Kaesler stuff out my way so thought I'd see if I liked it. The first glass was divine, one of the smoothest young shiraz I had ever tasted..perfect texture. Pleasant nose of sweet fruit and a nice long finish. Not a whole lot of complexity, but a delicious drop nonetheless. Apart half way through the second glass I really started to get tired of this. Palate fatigue crept in and the warmth of the 15% became noticeable.

So, initially a delicioud drop but this style is too much for me. For what's its worth I'm not sure about the cellaring prospects for this thing, but again it's not really my style.

2002 Mitolo The Jester (Screwcap)

Was exepcting this to go like the Kaelser, but I found this more enjoyable and not quite as tiring. Again, smooth as silk, lots of sweet fruit and a nice long finish..this wine had a lovely chocolately flavour to it. I just found this easier to drink. Again, not overly complex though. Another drink nowish proposition in my opinion.

1998 Peter Lehmann Reserve Riesling

Yummo. Nothing like a good Eden Valley Riesling with a bit of age on it. Lots of delicious lime fruit, good long finish and a fairly large serving of kero. I am a fan of kero in my Rieslings so I'll be hanging onto the remainder of these for a few years yet.



1996 Zema Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Another winner here. Always been a big fan of Zema and this did not disappoint. I didn't decant (and I should have done) as it was fairly closed at first..with some cedar/eucalypt notes and fairly tight. Over the course of the next hour or so it started to soften and open up. The last glass had lovely blackcurrant flavours along with that eucalpyt and was a treat. Rather reminiscent of claret.

A couple of 2000 Cru Bourgeois:

2000 Ch Malescasse (Haut Medoc)

Still too young..lots of cedar and woody flavours, maybe a hint of earth and some mint but not a whole lot in the fruit dept. Nice black colour and some decent tannin..but too young.

2000 Ch Beaumont

More fruity than the Malescasse, with some chocolatey notes and some blackcurrant fruit poking through. Still way too young though..will look at it again in 2 or 3 years.


And finally a cheapie

2002 McWilliams Hanwood Cabernet Sauvignon

Not bad at all for the price. Had some real varietal character and a bit of length on the finish and not overly sweet. Was brought to a BBQ by a friend and went really well with what was on offer. A pleasant surprise.


September is here and the leaves are falling..at least I can put the white wines away for the winter!

Cheers

Martin

[Alex]

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Michael Shiraz 1998
Dark opaque purple. The nose is ripe with aromas of plummy fruits pushing through followed by layers of spice, vanilla, and a touch of pepper. The palate starts of with rich concentrated black fruits, turning towards a plummy fruit, and layers of liqourice, spice, and creamy vanilla, mocha oak. Good mouthfeel, and full-bodied. Finishes with fine, dusty tannins and some leafy characters that is almost cabernet-like. This wine has a good acid backbone that will allow it to age. Decanting is necessary, not much crusting on the bottle, but throwing a lot of sediment.

Craiglee Shiraz 2002
Dark garnet in colour. The nose has aromas of dark-berried fruit, truckloads of pepper (not too sure, but smells like a mixture of peppers), tobacco, and a hint of spice. The flavours on the palate comes in waves. Initially, the palate starts with concentrated, juicy, sweet dark-berries and cherry fruit. Next, there is spice, predominantly aniseed, followed by a glorious peppery finish that goes on and on. Fine grip tannines. A well-balanced, complex wine that has a mouthfeel that only a medium-bodied and fruit-driven wine can deliver. An elegant and classy wine.

[DaveL]

2001 Boland Kelder Pinotage

It comes festooned with evidence of its trophy winning success at the London International Wine Show. Pinotage is one of those weird varieties that seems really hard to find. I'd have to agree with the owner of La Vigna (my vinous sage) that this is a wine with the weight of a Cabernet Merlot and the savoury notes of a syrah. Not a shiraz mind, it's not full of fruit sweetness in the way that Australian shiraz can so often be.
I get plums and greenery and a hint of banana (I kid you not). In the mouth the wine really sings. It walks a finely balanced line between sweet and savoury, while not full of fruit it gives up the goods early on before flooding the mouth with true bitter cocoa and coffee notes. The finish is intriguing, at first taste the tannins were light - barely noticeable, over the next couple of hours they built up to "strong black tea" levels, only to taper away again over the rest of the night.
A truely interesting wine, so multifaceted, so full of flavour, so interesting. I am tired of drinking wine that presents nothing more than palatable alcohol, and this is lightyears away from that. There is every reason to return to the next glass, every sip is of interest.
The wine makes a mockery of the "white with fish" rule, it was a perfect match with Barramundi fillets marinated in garlic, lemon zest, chilli, and olive oil on a garlic potato mash.

[Daryl Douglas]

Three of any note:

02 Battaley Syrah - see separate TN.
03 Castagna Allegro Rose - oh dear this is ordinary. 13.9% Alcohol makes this syrupy, and its hard to get past it and find character in the wine. No wonder Julian marked the price down this year, but even $22 is way too much. Hope the 04 gets back to the form of the 02.
91 Lindemans St George - this bottle was in cracking condition, and is classic Coonawarra - black berries, cedar, tobacco, mint. The fruit built intensity with time in the decanter. beautifully balanced, perfect drinking now.

Cheers

Andrew

Hello Andrew

Thanks for the notes on the St George. Have a bottle that I'm planning to have in a few weeks' time for my five-O. Hope it's in as good condition as yours was.

Only wine of any note this week is Turkey Flat Shiraz 00. Dark brick red, savoury french oak, leather, alcohol and dark plums feature in the bouquet. The palate has nice plummy fruit though a bit confectioned, supported by integrated oak that has some cedar, vanilla and old leather on the mid palate with very fine tannins on the finish that's extended by some acid and alcohol that's a bit too hot at 14.5%. An agreeable wine that's probably a reflection of 2000 vintage in the Barossa - drink up now before the alcohol takes over. Better though than it was a year or so ago.

Value - ordinary @ $30-35/btl

daz

[Rory]

A few from Saturday nights dinner..

'03 Buring Eden Valley Riesling.
I loved it, slightly sweetmid palate, but intense fruit with crisp acidity and lenghy finish.

'00 Guigal Cite du Rhone.
Typical bretty smell that wasn't over done, added some complexity to it, lovely fruit, elegant wine, good fifnish. Liked it.

'00 Craiglee Shiraz.
The bees knees! Understated power on the fruit, beautifully handled wine. Years ahead of it!

'00 Barwang Cab/sauv.
An overdose of vanillan oak would make this wine very hard to pick as anything other than shiraz in a blind line up. Totally unvarietal, over the top. Didn't appreciate it.

'02 Yabby Lake Chardonnay.
Second time I've had it, still think it's very forward for it's youth, but a fine cool climate example none the less. Like it.

Rory

[Neville K]

2000 Tarrawarra Pinot Noir
Thin weedy disappointing and not going anywhere. A marque down at heal by this offering.

2000 Tarrawarra Chardonnay
Varietally correct with interest and complexity. Not bad.

1994 Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon
Over paid over sexed and over here. Good generic Margaret River cabernet but not a grand wine.

2002 Tamar Ridge Riesling
Pleasant enough with nice fruit defintion and nice length. Not earth shattering but not shabby.

[GrahamB]

A quiet birthday BBQ for No2 son. He picked the wines from my collection.

2001 Rockford Basket Press. Deep purple in the glass. The nose was closed on opening but opened up over several hours. Great clean mouthfeel and eventually “Wine of the Night”. Excellent


2001 JJ Hahn “Nineteen Fourteen” Shiraz. Great nose on opening and glorious right through the night. Savoury fruit with chocolaty tones. Excellent


1998 Chapel Hill “The Vicar”, A taste from a friend from his bottle. Coming together very well. Still got quite a few years left in this one. Excellent

[Pelican]

2000 Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon , Napa Valley ( A$22 ) : I found this to be a pretty decent Cabernet'. It's a pity USA wines are so poorly distributed in Australia and also in recent years they have been expensive due to ye olde exchange rates. I also recall some lovely wines from Bonny Doon ( especially the humorous Clos de Gilroy Grenache ) and Ridge over the years. In the shop I purchased this from a cocky shop assistant said that this was like drinking splinters and made some other disparaging comments about USA wines.....I know better but did not bother arguing - goes to show that perhaps for every ignorant olde world critic of Aussie wine ( as per TORB's excellently argued recent article ) there is an ignorant parochial Aussie equivalent when it comes to Napa Valley wines.

2003 Domaine Day "one serious rose " , Mt Crawford ( $16 ) : label did not state grape type(s) but a nice strawberry/custardy rose with a dryish finish. A pleasing wine with Antipasto while we watched the fully sick Iron Chef on TV !

2002 Cascabel Grenache et al , McLaren Vale ( $ 24 ) : This particular bottle was in Stelvin whereas earlier this year I had the same vintage under cork. This was ( going by my trusty wine diary notes ) much better - more fresh in a good way - lovely Grenache fruit with that extra Cascabel " finesse ". I must admit this was a favourite of mine in recent years that I had gone off of - kind of like you can get sick of a good pop song you've heard too many times - but the lovely freshness from the stelvin seal here made the difference for me here - and I suppose therefore that this wine is best had when young whereas until now I was not sure.

[Cellar Rat]

Ashton Hills Sparkling Red 1996: What a breath of fresh air in the red fizz market - actual personality ! Great stuff and rated excellent for both quality and value for $.

Nicholson River Merlot 2001: Excellent merlot and not boring at all ! Well worth a try and good value for $.

Domaine Thomas Sancerre 2002: Everytime I taste this, I can see more and more how simple NZ/OZ SB's really are. Excellent stuff. Can be drunk at 10 C for steely effect or 18 C for full body and anywhere in between.

[Cellar Rat]

03 Castagna Allegro Rose - oh dear this is ordinary. 13.9% Alcohol makes this syrupy, and its hard to get past it and find character in the wine. No wonder Julian marked the price down this year, but even $22 is way too much. Hope the 04 gets back to the form of the 02.

Retaste of the Castagna Allegro 2 nights later: this is actually not so bad, but still let down by high alcohol: alcoholic watermelon juice. I imagine this is what you get if you do the jamie Oliver thing and load a watermelon up with Vodka over a couple of days.

Cheers

Andrew

Wizz,

I bought a few vintages of this stuff and could only use it for cooking. I complained to the film director 'come winemaker a number of times about the heat, but he hasn't changed the style. Maybe I should have another look but based on your TN of the 03 nothing has changed from earlier vintages (also Beechworth 03 looks like a vintage to stay clear of).

[Deano]

2002 Kilikanoon Grenache .Bought a mixed red case last week after reading so much about the great reviews for this winery. Could not wait for any further cellaring and decided to crack open the 02 Grenache. I'm not great on TN's but i liked this wine. Deep red, something for the nose and packed a big punch on the palate. I'm tempted to move up the ladder now and taste the other 3 wine types in the box.

[JamieBahrain]

Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2001- 6 hour decant. My last bottle was unrevealing so I thought a good deal of airtime would help. It did!

Dark purple, violet red hues.

Clonakilla blessed with it's own fragrance ( I find Henschke Mt Edelstone similar with it's own unmistakable perfume ). Sweet cherry liqueur, pencil shavings, cinnamon, game, powerful white peper and spice, with a base of dark fruit. In time integration bringing more consistant fennel and game with an abundance of white pepper aromas.

Medium bodied and supple, the palate is very vibrant with spice and pepper, but good back palate fennel/licorice fruit flavours. The palate is coated with fine tannin and of good length. The viognier lift and finish very much in the background-unlike so many!

Will push my remaining to the back of the wine fridge. An enthusiastic 94 point wine.

Bouchard Pere & Fil's L'enfant Jesus 1999 Burgundy- New world pinot so very disappointing to me. I have ventured down the burgundian road before, burnt and disappointed. So much so, that when in France recently, completely ignored Burgundy, whistling through the region on the way to the Rhone from Alsace.

The nose offers plenty; rich black cherry fruit, spice and musk. Silky smooth palate, a touch young and unrevealing, but rich and of good depth, fine tannins complete a wine of good length. Well melded and there is plenty of structure in evidence, suggesting a little too ealry to consume and would leave a while.

Serious money for a generous 91 pointer.

Wynn's riesling 00 with coral Trout from Malaysia a treat. A touch of development and clean finish makes a good food wine. Coldstream Hill's Briarston 99 had all but palate weight and density. Pleasant and well crafted wine from a tough vintage?

[Guest]

Taylors Jaraman Cab Sav (Stelvin) 2000
(clare, coonawarra) lots of tannins!!!, hint of choc and mint but the very long tannins leave the mouth dry and chewing.
[/i]

[Wizz]

Wizz,

I bought a few vintages of this stuff and could only use it for cooking. I complained to the film director 'come winemaker a number of times about the heat, but he hasn't changed the style. Maybe I should have another look but based on your TN of the 03 nothing has changed from earlier vintages (also Beechworth 03 looks like a vintage to stay clear of).

I quite liked the 02, but the 13.9% Alcohol in the 03 is just way too much, and I'm with you, this might go into a sauce of some sort. Turkey Flat and Melton will be the Roses of choice this year!

AB

[PaulV]

A couple of pinots:

2000 De Bortoli Pinot Noir [Yarra Valley] Nice medium bodied oz red - good length and balance. But showed absolutely no pinot character on nose or palate - quite leathery. Tell from a very warm year. No point keeping any longer. Very good as an oz red - poor for a pinot

1998 Windstead Pinot Noir [Tasmania] This is more like it - liqueur red cherry, some plums but also some confectionary cough lolly on the nose - very primary. excellent colour. Nice medium bodied palate with good depth of pinot fruit and excellentlong finish. No secondary characters as yet but has the structure to last and get better for at least 3-5 years. Excellent
1997 Jadot Nuits St Georges 1cru "Aux Boudots" [Burgundy] light meduim red with quite a bit of browning. Lovely tilled earth, minerals and top notes of black cherries on the nose - developed more complexity with a couple of hours. Medium bodied ready to drink with the tannins and acid pretty well resolved - lacked slightly the complexity of the nose. Still , nice drinking - another '97 ready to go. Very Good to Excellent

Cheers
paul

[scottv]

2002 Trentham Estate Shiraz Viognier - simple but acceptable. OK value for $13. Had with pizza on Friday night.
2001 Gloucester Ridge Cabernet - this wine is much better with food. Went very well with warm lamb salad that I made Sunday night with grilled eggplant and zucchini, tomato, garlic crutons and a balsamic vinegar sauce.

Scott

Daz, did you get to go to the Wine festival at the Mansfield on Sunday? I had father's day obligations and couldn't go.

[BenK]

2000 Lakes Folly Cabernet - is this in a slump? No sign of TCA but tasted slightly dumbed down. No decanting but let breathe for 3 hours before serving. Atypical.

2001 Rockford Local Growers Semillion, hot mouth feel (High %) and somewhat out of balance. Reasonably good length. Nice enough wine but I prefer Hunter Sem's.

2001 Warrabilla Reserve Durif - a beast of a wine that will improve with more time.

2002 Mad Fish Chardonnay - short but good mouthfeel, not a bad quaffer.

NV Stephen John Blanc de Blanc. This never ceases to amaze me coming from where it does and for the price. Very good.

2002 Kay's Shiraz - a ripper, next one in 1 years time. Can't wait to crack (sorry, turn) the Hillside and the Block 6's.

[DJ]

1997 D'Arenberg Footbolt Shiraz drinking very well Highly recommended +

1995 Leasingham Bin 61 Shiraz Starting to thinking carefully about wines pre 1996 to make sure i don't lose many. No problem here dispite the question marks hanging over 1995. rich and smooth - perhaps the malo and oak beating the fruit a bit

2002 Richmond Grove Watervale Riesling must of been ok I demolished the bottle

1996 Leasingham Bin 56 not as good as last weeks bottle confirming instinct to drink up.

David

[IanP]

Christmas in July (in September) on Saturday night.

Giaconda Chardonnay 1999
My first Giaconda Chardonnay, and enjoyed it - buttery nose with very clean finish.

Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon 1998
Lovely blackberry fruits. Still feels young - next (and last) bottle will lay dormant for a while

[Jakob]

I think I'm going to fail this subject ...it's been a while since I handed some homework in, but here're a few recent scribblings.

Some old

1983 Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste - Vibrant medium ruby red; no browning. A nose of cherry, pinot-like strawberry, dumb raspberry, mineral, leather and cigar box notes, some VA. Small amount of glass cling. Classic aged Pauillac from a less famous vintage. Medium body; dry red fruits, the bouquet notes are carried by very fine tannis and good freshing acid on a clean, crisp finish of only moderate length. Not terribly complex, at it's peak or maybe past; probably better than just 'good', in fact an excellent accompaniment for truss tomato, basil, oregano and shaved salami on poppy seed wafer crackers.

1983 Chateau Lascombes - Deep vibrant ruby red with purple tinges, excellent colour! Some glass cling. At fist quite closed, dark fruits, floral notes (rose petal) true to Margaux, blueberry, dark grape skins, cassis, some char notes, subdued sweet oak still evident; opens up beautifully with further depth and complexity. More of the same on a medium to long palate of more substantial weight than the GPL; a bigger wine in all respects, but perfectly balanced. At least 5 years left; very good, perfect with lamb roast and sweet potato.

Some not so old (just impressions)

1998 Hollick Wilgha Shiraz - Deep glowing garnet red, almost but not competely clear, purple tinges at the core. Good glass cling. Lovely cool climate notes of sweet red fruits, cedar, peppery dark berry notes with a hint of oak in the background. The nose is reflected on a complex, generous, soft palate, fresh acid, very fine smooth tannins and medium-long finish. Excellent balance. Will improve as it comes together over the next 5 or so years. Very good indeed.

1998 Tim Adams Shiraz - Medium to deep purple red core with a ruby edge. Some VA, dark spicy red fruits, quite ripe. Not overly complex, though lovely drinking now. Quite astringent, though the fruit is there; acid and tannic backbone suggest this will improve over the next 3 or so years. This is better than good, but should be even better, still, yet, etc

1998 Tollana Bin TR16 Shiraz - Bottled Eden Valley. Medium black purple red...if that makes any sense. Dark, ripe red fruits, spice, coffee and regional peaty, char characters on the nose and palate alike. Medium bodied, very fine chalky tannins and good length. Good.

1998 Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiaraz - Typical Bin 28. Very deep garnet red, slightly dumb nose with some green characters over red berry, spice, chocolate and oak. Again, more on the palate, good acid and length. Good but not great Bin 28. Will keep for 10 years, but probably not develop into anything too special. The 1999 is walking all over this at the moment.

1998 Wynns Shiraz - Could be a less exciting little brother to the Wilgha, very similar profile but turned down a notch. Drink now or pray that the fruit comes out from under the acid and tannic structure.

Infanticidal tendencies (only very brief impressions, there're notes on these in abundance anyhow)

2002 Marius Shiraz - Black, clean but complex, big and smooth, medium length and clearly too soon to drink. Excellent potential.

2002 Possums Shiraz - Like a more tightly knit, reserved version of Haselgrove, very clearly McLaren Vale. Evident oak. This will be very good in time.

2002 Kilikanoon Oracle - Not ready to drink, big black smack in the mouth. With hours of breathing opens up and settles a little. Very good length. Don't bother for a few years, hopefully this won't turn out to have been overdone.

2002 Grant Burge Filsell Shiraz - Mmm...I own up, I have somewhat of a penchant for mature Meshach. A little dumb on the nose Tuesday evening, but already showing good depth of flavour on the palate. A half bottle left on the counter (16-18 degrees during the daily cycle) until the following Monday (do the math kids!) had blossomed into an absolutely sublime example of Barossa Shiraz. Complex, deep, great mouthfeel, buttery tannins, great length. Wow...to the max. This will be something truly special in time.

2002 Dutschke St. Jakobi Shiraz - Easily as good as the (excellent, especially considering the vintage) 2000. Caramel, vanillin oak notes, sweet ripe fruits, not in the least hot, very good depth and length. Just great and will improve for over the next 5-8+ years. Excellent.

2002 Buller and Sons Calliope Shiraz - This is bound to put a smile on your face. It'd be un-Australian not to like it Hoo-uuge, concentrated, deep black-pruple, very long and surprisingly it is very drinkable already with a good hour's breathing time. It's balanced! ...who'd have thought? This will last a while; the 1996, as people keep saying, is coming on song beautifully and I do think this will a pinch better. Excellent.

2002 Turkey Flat Shiraz - Not at all over the top but it is a big wine. Similar flavour profile to the Filsell and Blackwell; more restrained, shows excellent tightly-knit structure. Enough notes around to decide. I'm letting mine sleep for a few years, I think it needs and deserves it. Very good.

2002 Journey's End The Beginning Shiraz - Halliday smokes crack, or had a barrel sample, or an off day, or this is in bottle-shock hell. It looks good, smells Victorian (not in a bad way! ...think Paul Osicka of same vintage), spicy and somewhat complex, but just does not have the depth or length to warrant that (in)famous acclaim. Somewhat hot and short, though to be fair - good and will probably improve as it settles down...I hope

2002 St. Hallett Blackwell Shiraz - Complex, good depth and length. Evident oak but very good fruit. Great smooth mouthfeel and very fine tannins on the finish.

Happy Drinking!

Jakob

[Adair]

Also opened tonight with the: 1998 Marchesi Di Barolo Cannubi Barolo; 1990 Lindemans Bin 8003 Hunter River Burgundy; and 1990 Lindemans Bin 8025 Hunter River Steven Hermitage;

1985 Lindemens Pyrus: Despite a bit of DMS, a beautifully smooth sweet-developed red berry, cherry wine. Very delicious. Drink now, NOT past. Rated Highly Recommended.

2002 Brian Barry Jud's Hill Riesling: Great intensity - lime and florals. Prominent petroleum character. Long. Rated Highly Recommended. Great drink now. It could develop with interest. 2002 is a great Clare Riesling vintage!

Adair

[Guest]

1985 Lindemens Pyrus: Despite a bit of DMS, a beautifully smooth sweet-developed red berry, cherry wine. Very delicious. Drink now, NOT past. Rated Highly Recommended.

A bit of DMS...you are a master of understatement.
GW

[simm]

1997 Houghton Pemberton Chardonnay Pinot Noir
Getting a dark wet straw yellow with fine, slow beading after a good rich mousse. Big yeast bouquet with elements of citrus. White peaches up front yield to melons and a lightly buttery girth, after which sao biscuits come in to help lemon make a clean exit. Drink it now, and although it is a bit plump in the tummy region for me it's thin ankles give it a good value rating for $25 89/100

2002 Seppelt Victorian Shiraz You all know what it is like. I'm holding the remainder for a year or two (yeah, sure) to let the tannins settle and integrate a wee bit.

cheers,

[Guest]

Craiglee shiraz 1999

Brick red colour, nose not very enticing, few red fruit notes with strong hint of germoline. On the palate, little fruit, some pepperiness, very short. thin and weedy, very disappointing in view of recent reviews of craiglee wines. Not corked but ? bad bottle