Right, what are we/you drinking now .. tonight

[mse]

Wendouree Shiraz Mataro 13'

Colour - Garnet with tinge of purple, medium bodied

Nose - Black fruits and Redcurrant, Mint , Eucalyptus, hint of Licorice and Black Tea

Palate - Slightly grainy but approachable Tannin, fruit is more Savoury than Sweet, with a hint of Blood Orange and Blueberry on the finish after 20 seconds

A joyful experience as an eye-opener for new Wendouree (first time cracking a bottle), it was a surreal experience in terms of sight (colour), smell (aroma), but not as much in terms of taste (very good but not great on the flavour spectrum)

I am satisfied for around $47 (including freight/bottle). Fingers crossed it will evolve and improve on taste.

[maybs]

Did you get to try the 2014 De Iulius Steven shiraz? Got a nice review but would like to see other opinions. Pick of the Allens? I'm after Hunter reds so any feedback or tastings by others is appreciated!

No, they don't let you taste the single vineyard stuff, even after buttering up the cellar door staff. We tried their limited release wines which I am not sure are usually on tasting. The limited release Shiraz was nice but not for $70. We went to Thomas Allen and I thought both the Shiraz Cabernet and Shiraz there were way ahead of it in quality, and both were cheaper. I bought some of each.

Mount Pleasant has some good reds too but some of them are pretty exxy. Quite a lot of the range is in the $60-$125 bracket. I think you get 15% off if you join their club (which would make the $75 wines not too bad, I really liked a couple of them) but you have to commit to two 6 packs a year.

[maybs]

Yesterday afternoon with late lunch

2010 Tyrrell's Vat 47

It is becoming a favorite for me. Was reasonable value on the wine list and just couldn't say no. In wonderful balance with nice oak and a bit of creamy/butteriness but the fruit drive and acid keep all that as a secondary flavour. Went well with the first 3 degustation courses.

2013 Chatto Pinot Noir

The guy at Mount Pleasant was talking to me about Jim Chatto's private vineyard in tassie (Jim Chatto is head winemaker for the McWilliams group). Apparently this stuff is ultra hard to come by but the restaurant owner here at Botanica is personal friends with Jim so got an allocation of 2 dozen for the restaurant. Since we were about to consume duck and the rest of the Pinot lost wasn't that inspiring decided to give it a go, despite vintage misgivings.

Interesting, savoury, complex nose. Mouth feel was a little thin and there was a hint of greenness which may have been the wet vintage or may have been some stalk ones and whole bunch. It wasn't unpleasant. Fairly rich Flavour profile with cherries towards the sour spectrum but restrained by an overall earthy richness. My wife picked up some chocolate notes. Medium tannins.

I'd be prepared to say that with a few years in bottle this will be a pretty decent wine from a challenging vintage.

Last night with cheese and antipasti

2011 Thomas Allen Alisdair Shiraz

Good medium bodied Hunter Shiraz. No notes.

[Mike Hawkins]

2012 Henschke Mt Edelstone - decided to open another one before committing to another 6 pack. This is a superb wine...easily one of the best young Aussie shiraz I've ever had. It's not a wine for those who like the 'full throttle" / extracted / super-ripe styles. Rather, it's a perfect combination of elegance and power. I'll go out on a limb and say it will be legendary in 30 years (that said, a couple of others were less than enamoured with it).

[alexc92]

2010 Penfolds Cellar Reserve Mataro Brimming with new oak. Once you get past all the oak there's some pretty nice dark fruit in there. Pleasant enough but needs quite a bit more time to settle down.
2014 Luke Lambert Chardonnay Thought i'd try this after really enjoying the 2013 edition. Lots of stone fruit, nice and lean. Not too much oak present but should improve over the next couple of years.
2007 Bass Phillip Reserve PN Smells like top burgundy(not that ive tried much!! ) Cherries and earth. Great mouthfeel, silky, rides across the palate. Incredible length. Starting to develop nicely, still plently of drying and grippy acid. Is it worth the price tag? Probably not...but still really very nice

[gpk]

A few over the weekend

Ja Ja 2004 Shiraz; Black fruits, Tabaco and hints of hickory. Nice fruit structure with savory and pepper. Drinking superbly and in its prime. Sadly I only have one left and drank the others way to early.

Bremerton Old Adam Shiraz 2006. Big and Bold, lots of black fruit, chocolate and plums, long soft mouth feel and while a pleasure to enjoy now, still has a long life ahead.

Wendouree Cabernet Malbec 2004. Huge contract to the above. Hard for me to describe, blackberry fruits with underlying capsicum and asparagus cabernet aroma’s. still very fresh, mouth puckering tannins. Years ahead and I guess I will open my next one in 10 years.

cheers Gerry

[Redav]

I picked up a 2006 Tyrrell's Vat 1 Semillon for a nice dinner for my wife's birthday which we opened on the weekend. It's the oldest white we've had to date and a world away from the young 2013 we had at some point. It was incredibly smooth and buttery on the palette. A bit of a game changer for us really.

[swirler]

Exactly. I'd consider 2006 quite young for a decent semillon.

[Matt@5453]

Wendouree Shiraz Mataro 13'

Colour - Garnet with tinge of purple, medium bodied

Nose - Black fruits and Redcurrant, Mint , Eucalyptus, hint of Licorice and Black Tea

Palate - Slightly grainy but approachable Tannin, fruit is more Savoury than Sweet, with a hint of Blood Orange and Blueberry on the finish after 20 seconds

A joyful experience as an eye-opener for new Wendouree (first time cracking a bottle), it was a surreal experience in terms of sight (colour), smell (aroma), but not as much in terms of taste (very good but not great on the flavour spectrum)

I am satisfied for around $47 (including freight/bottle). Fingers crossed it will evolve and improve on taste.

Good Stuff. First year buyer too. I was thinking of cracking one soon. I've only ever had an '85 Shiraz once, but not a 'youthful' one. Was thinking of cracking a Shi/Mat with the Mrs to justify my purchases; did you decant, if so how long? Sounds like I should hold off (?)

Cheers , matt

[mse]

Wendouree Shiraz Mataro 13'

Colour - Garnet with tinge of purple, medium bodied

Nose - Black fruits and Redcurrant, Mint , Eucalyptus, hint of Licorice and Black Tea

Palate - Slightly grainy but approachable Tannin, fruit is more Savoury than Sweet, with a hint of Blood Orange and Blueberry on the finish after 20 seconds

A joyful experience as an eye-opener for new Wendouree (first time cracking a bottle), it was a surreal experience in terms of sight (colour), smell (aroma), but not as much in terms of taste (very good but not great on the flavour spectrum)

I am satisfied for around $47 (including freight/bottle). Fingers crossed it will evolve and improve on taste.

Good Stuff. First year buyer too. I was thinking of cracking one soon. I've only ever had an '85 Shiraz once, but not a 'youthful' one. Was thinking of cracking a Shi/Mat with the Mrs to justify my purchases; did you decant, if so how long? Sounds like I should hold off (?)

Cheers , matt

Hello Matt,

I decanted for roughly 3 hours, on the first day I consumed half of the bottle, then next day I let the rest breathe for 3.5 hours. It's a sleeper but so approachable now, just subtle oak without too much fiddling, the savoury fruit characters speak for themselves. Would be interesting to observe how it ages under screwcap, probably have to wait until kingdom come for the Wendourees to reach their peak drinking period.
It just does not have that in your face power like the Jim Barry The Armagh (I only had the 98' and 99', recent vintages were too expensive for me) and Kilikanoon (I only had the Covenant and Testament, though they are entry to mid tier wines, they are very fruity nonetheless).

[griff]

Snap! Had the 13 Wendouree Shz/Mataro last week with the missus as well. People may say that this has returned to the 'old-style' but I agree that it was very approachable and it wasn't that extracted IMHO.

[deejay81]

2010 Foggo Red Dodge Shiraz
Huge amounts of chocolate, black plums, black berries, some turkish delight, vanilla. Medium plus acid, medium tannins (its there but quite soft) Oak is very well integrated and is not harsh at all. - Says it spends 4 years in American oak, 4 years is quite a bit of time, but it doesn't seem like this is new oak or very little new oak. Alcohol is on the high side @ 15.5% but its not too noticeable.

Similar profile the second night. Very enjoyable drink and will last 5-10 more years at least.

Quite enjoyable.

[rens]

2010 Marius Symposium. What everyone says about this wine is correct. A great little drop and showing so well at the moment. Nice balance with a long finish. I need to take it slow otherwise this will be gone way too soon.

[Hacker]

Wife is away at a girls golf weekend, so, a treat was in store for me. Fourrier 2004 CSJ. Medium to full bodied, amazing concentration for a pinot. Complex, savoury, half way between secondary and tertiary in development. Seems like Fourrier nailed the difficult 2004 vintage. So happy with this.

[Michael R]

Wife is away at a girls golf weekend, so, a treat was in store for me. Fourrier 2004 CSJ. Medium to full bodied, amazing concentration for a pinot. Complex, savoury, half way between secondary and tertiary in development. Seems like Fourrier nailed the difficult 2004 vintage. So happy with this.

Welcome back mate, looking forward to hearing about the trip. Good to see the Fourrier avoiding the 04 issues.
Fwiw, I had a Rousseau CdlR from 04 that was really great, but Rousseau definitely didn't nail the vintage.

[tonym]

2010 Giaconda shiraz, (Warner vineyard) While still very young its full of black fruits and exceptional balance with soft powdery tannins at the finish.

[cuttlefish]

2008 Robert Stein Semillon
Drinking well. Very fresh and citrusy.

[gpk]

Wooing Tree Pinot Noir 2007: lots of cherry and violet aroma’s, nice length but kind of a bit bitter on the finish, if that is the right way to say it. Enjoyable, but after the Ata Rangi a couple of weeks back I have been spoilt and it was simply outclassed. Last wine for me for a while, it is back to work and afd’s for the next 5 weeks.

[rens]

Last wine for me for a while, it is back to work and afd’s for the next 5 weeks.

Sorry to hear that Gerry. I'll have a few on your behalf whilst you are away.

[maybs]

2000 Vasse Felix Shiraz

Decanted to remove sediment. Elegant restrained nose, a little minty. Palate is all herbaceous, cedars slightly meaty goodness. Mellow mouth feel, mostly resolved tannins. Still just a hint of grip. Really nice actually. Even the missus, who usually prefers a bit more primary fruit, commented how nice it was.

[Phil H]

2003 Penfolds Bin 407 I was not expecting much, being from a lesser vintage, and never being a fan of this wine. However I was pleasantly suprised. Full bodied, certainly showing its age, lots of "penfolds" oak (in a good way), some grippy tannins still present with supporting acid. Drinking at its peak, drink up.

[Mike Hawkins]

2004 Pierre Moncuit BdB - best bottle from this case so far. Showing some excellent secondary characters... particularly honey and toast. Really enjoyable.

2006 Marc Hebrart Special Club - pinot notes were to the fore. Probably opened a tad prematurely.

MV Clouet 1911 - much better than the last 2 bottles. Showed youthfulness. Lots of strawberry characters.

1991 Penfolds Bin 389 - another bottle that was the best from its case so far. Cabernet dominant characters, particularly black currant. No need to drink up - on this showing it has a long way to go.

[Mivvy]

First Sunday of the NFL season in the US, so a BBQ with a few beers and couple of bottles.

2005 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese sweet tropical fruit, good length and acidic cut through the finish. Bottle finished very quickly.

2012 Ramey Chardonnay Russian River Valley some flint on the nose, medium bodied, stone fruit, can taste the oak in this but the fruit stands up to it well and there is enough minerality to keep it from being flabby.

1973 Marcarini Barolo Brunate opened this at lunchtime but didn't start drinking until early evening. Had a lot of VA early on which mostly blew off by the time we drank it but was a bit distracting to be honest. Pretty simple at this stage of its life, probably 5-10 years past its best. Very smooth, earthy flavours, still has a long lingering finish that kept me going back for more.

[Andrew Jordan]

2006 Marc Hebrart Special Club - pinot notes were to the fore. Probably opened a tad prematurely.

Was going to open one of these next year ... but now I am thinking I may hold off a couple of years.

[Michael McNally]

Tonight is the remains of a 2014 Boireann Granite Belt Shiraz opened last night. Medium-bodied only and had some Hunter characters on opening last night. Savoury and moreish. The seond half tonight has a touch of an acid twang on the finish, but good wine for the price (mid-twenties).

And the beginnings of a 2013 Capital Wines 'The Frontbencher' Canberra District Shiraz. Much fuller-bodied, blackberry pastille fruit. Better length and quite effortless across the palate. Dangerously easy to drink with an interesting palate. Also excellent QPR.

Trying to vary the regions I sample from!

Cheers

Michael

[Chuck]

Tonight with flounder and buerre Blanc sauce we enjoyed a Clairault 2009 Margaret river Chardonnay. A thoroughly modern Chardonnay displaying early aged characteristics while retaining primary fresh flavours. Nice oak treatment too. All together a very nice drop matching the food perfectly. It was a fight for the last drops. Always a telling sign.

Carl

[felixp]

past week back in Melbourne, host of excellent to amazing wines, although nothing quite matched the 89 Haut Brion enjoyed back home in Shenzhen on father's day.

Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet "Pucelles" 1992 yea, good but not great 92pts

Henri Boillot Corton Charlemagne 2007 this will be a GREAT wine, but for now, still a decade too young. Hold on to this. 95*+++

Penfold's Yattarna chardonnay 1996 DOA, down the sink. NR

Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2001 Still youthful, almighty wine. Put the Leflaive to shame. 94

Claude Cazals Grand Cru NV sorry, not much more info, but absolutely fabulous. Had a gold label, anyone know?? 93

Domaine de Charbonniere CNDP 2007 not a bad wine, well made, but lacks excitement. Hold another three at least. 90

Les Courtilles CNDP 2009 this has evolved into a great wine!!! really loved this, packed and stacked, full of interest 93

Chateau l'Eglise Clinet 2003 just superb, young but screamingly good!!! Could use another 5 years or so, but wonderful 97

Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze 2005 yep, infanticide, but maybe the greatest Burgundy this millennium. Just "wow" 99

Chateau Leoville Las Cases 1986 best LLC ever for me, a giant that still needs another decade. 98

Chateau La Conseillante 1989 I know this wine well, but this was a poor example. Not corked, but flat and tired 88

Chateau Suduiraut 2006 excellent, racy and full of interest. Love this vintage much more than the lauded 2001. 91

Penfolds Grange Hermitage 1986 dare I say it, still too young?? Amazing 97

Auguste Clape Cornas 2010 what a shame, total waste, incredibly shut down, but I guess that was to be expected. Leave another decade NR

Rippon Riesling 2010 just loved this, but the bottle emptied almost instantaneously 95

Tatiarra Trademark Shiraz 2003 zzzzz, as boring as question time in Parliament. Well made, totally unexciting. 87

Bosquet des Papes CNDP 2010 like the Clape, this was closed tight as a drum. But good density, think this will be excellent in another 7-10. NR

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 1996 incredible wine, would kill most 96 Bordeaux, though it is a different beast. Bravo!!! 96

Henschke Mt Edelstone 1998 yeehaa!!! Ride 'em cowboy, this is Brett city, welcome to the rodeo. Awful. 82

Clarendon Hills Blewitt Springs Grenach 2004 beautiful wine, better than any 04 CNDP I have had. Another bravo!! 93

Cristal 2007 another waste, far too young. Leave another 10 91+++

Alexandro Fernandez Ribero del Duero "Janus" 1994 simple, quaffable wine. Laughable price, why did I ever buy these??? 87

[deejay81]

Damn, where was my invite??

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 1996 incredible wine, would kill most 96 Bordeaux, though it is a different beast. Bravo!!! 96

Glad to hear the 96 707 is travelling well
How long do you think this can be held?

[Mike Hawkins]

As I've said before, as good as it is, it's not even Pennies best cabernet from the vintage....

[deejay81]

As I've said before, as good as it is, it's not even Pennies best cabernet from the vintage....

Block42?

I'll find a special time in the future to open that one as well