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

[Cloth Ears]

2016 Taylors Wines TWP Fiano, Clare. Honey suckle, flowers and a touch of lychee but still dry. Very good line of acidity and length. I don’t have a great experience with Fiano, but this is a decent wine, far more drinkable now compared to Grosset’s 2015 Fiano Semillon Blend. Recommended. Pikes. Taylors and Grosset doing some very good things with this variety.

Hi,

We picked up a couple of numbered bottles of Saltram 2012 Fiano as part of a selection box, and I'd never heard of it before. What should I expect from this grape variety (if it's good, that is)?

[Matt@5453]

2016 Taylors Wines TWP Fiano, Clare. Honey suckle, flowers and a touch of lychee but still dry. Very good line of acidity and length. I don’t have a great experience with Fiano, but this is a decent wine, far more drinkable now compared to Grosset’s 2015 Fiano Semillon Blend. Recommended. Pikes. Taylors and Grosset doing some very good things with this variety.

Hi,

We picked up a couple of numbered bottles of Saltram 2012 Fiano as part of a selection box, and I'd never heard of it before. What should I expect from this grape variety (if it's good, that is)?

I have not heard of this particular wine either. Fiano is 'different'. It really depends on what you like, I have a reasonably broad taste in wine hence do enjoy it, but more so with food rather than a stand alone beverage. The flavour spectrum of Fiano can be from stone fruits to melon, with citrus notes but should demonstrate crisp acidity. I would generally describe them as quite “textural” type of wines with good mouth feel and palate weight. Grosset’s blend with Semillon is quite acidic (compared to V2016 Pikes and V2016 Taylors) suggesting it could age, I’ve tucked a couple away to see how they will develop as it is largely unknown (even to the Grosset staff also).

Generally speaking, from what I have heard, the variety has the potential to improve with bottle age and develop a ‘nuttier’ profile and spicy characters. For what it is worth I had a 2011 Vermentino late last year, it was drinking really well, it had some toastiness/honeyed characteristics, not sure that this would translate to Fiano though.

I know some people are doing trials in wood, but have not commercially released them, or have been blended away.

Good luck.

[Sean]

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[phillisc]

Sean, thanks for your very encouraging note on the Metala, went pretty long on the 14.
I have lined up the 12, 10 and 08 vintages and one; not a lot of punters are into LC and two, many can't pick it and are very very surprised when it's revealed.
Have tried the 13 and 14 Wynns...not convinced about the 13 premiums yet...but time will inevitably win out.
Think the 13 is a lighter style, the 14 BL cab I thought was very good.

Cheers
Craig

[Cactus]

I really like Mataro. I tasted the 2010 Hewitson Old Garden last night with the Penfolds Cellar Reserve Mataro 2010. My wife actually made a third wine which was a blend of the 2. What fun!

The sameness was actually more than their differences. Perhaps no surprise as they are both Barossa Mataro 2010. I would say the Penfolds was more sweet and expressive on the nose. Penfolds also had a bit more oak and seemed a tad less blanced than the Hewitson. I preferred the Hewitson a bit more but line ball.

Both were superb wines. Length to die for. Savoury leather, bitter dark chocolate. Complex and meaty and evolved in the glass.

[Sean]

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[Chris H]

Don't buy a dozen of ANYTHING. Too many interesting wines from all over the world these days.

[Rocky]

Clonakilla SV 2011

Very disappointing. Mid colour and lots of white pepper but no fruit development and a pitiful finish. I guess this is what is expected from a poor vintage. I can't see any improvement for this wine. A shame.

[mychurch]

98 Katnook Cabernet.
One of the best value wines I have bought. Singing at my 40th 10 years ago and tonight its almost as good, but very differeant. Its fully mature now, rounded, complex. Lets of blackurrent and graphite. Touch of chocolate. Too interesting to quaff, but too moorish to let go of the glass.

[Rory]

Two last night.

In the terms of my young adult daughters:

2010 Paringa Estate Single Vineyard Chardonnay, yeah, na, sick. from me, rich layered yet, great acid balance. Power.
2010 Hoddles Creek Estate Pinot Noir, na, yeah, saweet! Well they got the sweet fruit bit correct (I assume that's what they meant) Lovely aromatics, lovely sweet rounded fruit with clean acidity.

[Sean]

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[Mike Hawkins]

Don't buy a dozen of ANYTHING. Too many interesting wines from all over the world these days.

Couldn't disagree more with this statement.... Give me multiple bottles of something that is to my tastes is near perfection that i will drink with joy over decades vs 'interesting' any day. This forum is full of lamentations of 'I wish I'd bought more of (name your wine)'. And in the event your tastes change down the track, unload it at auction....

[Scotty vino]

2014 Clonakilla Hill tops shiraz.

A tiny tiny hint of pencil shavings and graphite on the nose.
Definitely getting some plum, spice, dark cherry and a touch of oak.
The tannins are well intergrated and nicely structured.
Very firm on opening but backed off to a nice level after an hour of air.
Quite an inky/dark and brooding wine for it's level on the Clonakilla list.
pretty good VFM i'd say.

[Ian S]

Don't buy a dozen of ANYTHING. Too many interesting wines from all over the world these days.

Couldn't disagree more with this statement.... Give me multiple bottles of something that is to my tastes is near perfection that i will drink with joy over decades vs 'interesting' any day. This forum is full of lamentations of 'I wish I'd bought more of (name your wine)'. And in the event your tastes change down the track, unload it at auction....

Yes, there are many bottles I wish I'd bought a dozen or more of... plus a good few that I wished I'd never bought. Oh for the time machine to go back and make the right choices!

[dave vino]

Clonakilla SV 2011

Very disappointing. Mid colour and lots of white pepper but no fruit development and a pitiful finish. I guess this is what is expected from a poor vintage. I can't see any improvement for this wine. A shame.

I used to buy a mixed case of Clonakilla every year with 3 of the SV in it. After they released the 2011 SV at $85 - a wine that should have never been released as their flagship wine and blended into the O'Riada at best, I've never bought any since, I felt I'd been taking for a ride and they'd treated their customers with no respect to make a buck. I think I still have one more bottle of the 2011 left, may as well drink it while watching the footy.

[simon1980]

Clonakilla SV 2011

Very disappointing. Mid colour and lots of white pepper but no fruit development and a pitiful finish. I guess this is what is expected from a poor vintage. I can't see any improvement for this wine. A shame.

I used to buy a mixed case of Clonakilla every year with 3 of the SV in it. After they released the 2011 SV at $85 - a wine that should have never been released as their flagship wine and blended into the O'Riada at best, I've never bought any since, I felt I'd been taking for a ride and they'd treated their customers with no respect to make a buck. I think I still have one more bottle of the 2011 left, may as well drink it while watching the footy.

I sent mine to auction, and reinvested in twice the quantity of Marius. Good decision.

[Rocky]

Clonakilla SV 2011

Very disappointing. Mid colour and lots of white pepper but no fruit development and a pitiful finish. I guess this is what is expected from a poor vintage. I can't see any improvement for this wine. A shame.

I used to buy a mixed case of Clonakilla every year with 3 of the SV in it. After they released the 2011 SV at $85 - a wine that should have never been released as their flagship wine and blended into the O'Riada at best, I've never bought any since, I felt I'd been taking for a ride and they'd treated their customers with no respect to make a buck. I think I still have one more bottle of the 2011 left, may as well drink it while watching the footy.

I sent mine to auction, and reinvested in twice the quantity of Marius. Good decision.

Feels like a crime to turn a $85 bottle into a mid week quoffer but really that's all this deserves. Stunned to know that one notable Australian wine critic gave it 95 points.

[JamieBahrain]

Stunned to know that one notable Australian wine critic gave it 95 points.

Don't be.

[maybs]

2015 A Rodda Chardonnay

Very tight but showing lovely slate, melon and faint lemon zest on the nose. Palate is rich and powerful even at this young age with ripe, juicy melon, a bit of flint, some chalk and a lemon aftertaste. Mouthwatering acid which cleans up the ample superfine tannin. This is really good Chardonnay, tightly coiled but waiting to be unleashed to show it's real power in 5+ years. Delicious and very good value for mine, even at high 30's.

[dave vino]

As promised...

2011 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier
The colour when pouring isn’t the usual vibrant purple, more subdued. Very spicy almost green pepper on the nose, deli meats, rhubarb, green stalk, more peppery notes, chinese five spice and nutmeg and a touch of cherry.

The acid is way out of balance, and overpowers what little fruit there is, it tastes watered down almost medium bodied. Had this been a Chinon I’d be a little more impressed. There is also a lick of heat on the back palate that carries through along with the acid. It drops off the back palate quite suddenly with no carry. There is some residual structure trying to break through and hold it up.

This is even worse than the last bottle I had. Thinking back this would be a great study in the vagaries of the vintage, putting say a 2009 which I loved, against this. I’d have been disappointed had someone unveiled this as a Hilltops Shiraz, let alone the SV. The worse part is I’m going to force myself to drink it as I can’t bear to tip a screwcapped wine worth $85 down the sink.

EDIT: OK I lied, I couldn’t drink it, I opened up a 2007 O’Riada Shiraz, which has its own story, being a really bad year of frost a lot of the fruit was sourced from elsewhere.

Tomorrow I’m cooking a nice steak with a red wine sauce reduction….2011 SV Jus

2007 Clonakilla O’Riada Shiraz
Plum and white pepper on the nose, acid still quite prominent and a touch out of balance. Nice tannins holding it all together after 9 years. The screwcap is stained a dark purple with no ingress into the lip area. Nice length, still a bit tart for my tastes. Much better than the 2011 SV in any case. Definitely a food wine, medium bodied with a nod to the old world without the funk.

[Rocky]

Dave.
Your notes are spot on and confirms my views of the 2011 SV are correct. I have another 5 bottles - anyone with any cooking ideas?

[deejay81]

2011 McWilliam's Mount Pleasant Wines Shiraz Rosehill

Bright vibrant red, almost pinot clarity (but a little darker). Strawberries, red cherries and cigar black pepper and dirt jumped out upon opening.
Decanted for an hour and still had the same nose after.

Taste is similar to the nose with the addition of some fine silky tannins, with everything very well integrated. Good acidity as well that I've found in most Hunter reds from this vintage.

Drank another glass to finish off the bottle after vacuum sealing it overnight, some fruits had fallen off, however still very nice and very drinkable.

Typically good, Medium bodied, Hunter Shiraz. 90pts

[Bytown Rick]

98 Katnook Cabernet.
One of the best value wines I have bought. Singing at my 40th 10 years ago and tonight its almost as good, but very differeant. Its fully mature now, rounded, complex. Lets of blackurrent and graphite. Touch of chocolate. Too interesting to quaff, but too moorish to let go of the glass.

Nice. Still have 2 in the cellar. Will need to pop one soon.

[phillisc]

Don't buy a dozen of ANYTHING. Too many interesting wines from all over the world these days.

Couldn't disagree more with this statement.... Give me multiple bottles of something that is to my tastes is near perfection that i will drink with joy over decades vs 'interesting' any day. This forum is full of lamentations of 'I wish I'd bought more of (name your wine)'. And in the event your tastes change down the track, unload it at auction....

Mike, really agree with the proposition here...although I have not sent anything to auction for decades, and only to make big profits ( those opportunities long gone now).

I always get 6/12/more of nearly everything that I purchase. Largely because I like certain styles. Also I am now trying to drink more bottles over the journey, not having dozens of unopened cases that are 10-20 years old. I can't do that with 1-2 bottle purchases.

Cheers
Craig

[Cloth Ears]

Dave.
Your notes are spot on and confirms my views of the 2011 SV are correct. I have another 5 bottles - anyone with any cooking ideas?

Hmmm. If I can't drink it I generally won't cook with it either. Except poaching pears - they're very forgiving unless you have vinegar.

[Cloth Ears]

2016 Taylors Wines TWP Fiano, Clare. Honey suckle, flowers and a touch of lychee but still dry. Very good line of acidity and length. I don’t have a great experience with Fiano, but this is a decent wine, far more drinkable now compared to Grosset’s 2015 Fiano Semillon Blend. Recommended. Pikes. Taylors and Grosset doing some very good things with this variety.

Hi,

We picked up a couple of numbered bottles of Saltram 2012 Fiano as part of a selection box, and I'd never heard of it before. What should I expect from this grape variety (if it's good, that is)?

I have not heard of this particular wine either. Fiano is 'different'. It really depends on what you like, I have a reasonably broad taste in wine hence do enjoy it, but more so with food rather than a stand alone beverage. The flavour spectrum of Fiano can be from stone fruits to melon, with citrus notes but should demonstrate crisp acidity. I would generally describe them as quite “textural” type of wines with good mouth feel and palate weight. Grosset’s blend with Semillon is quite acidic (compared to V2016 Pikes and V2016 Taylors) suggesting it could age, I’ve tucked a couple away to see how they will develop as it is largely unknown (even to the Grosset staff also).

Generally speaking, from what I have heard, the variety has the potential to improve with bottle age and develop a ‘nuttier’ profile and spicy characters. For what it is worth I had a 2011 Vermentino late last year, it was drinking really well, it had some toastiness/honeyed characteristics, not sure that this would translate to Fiano though.

I know some people are doing trials in wood, but have not commercially released them, or have been blended away.

Good luck.

Thank you.

So it's sort of like Viognier, which has a different flavour profile but is also capable of many different profiles itself? And damn, I thought we had two bottles - either we drank one (or we drank one) and forgot to take any notes.

[mjs]

Some very to f%#*ing enjoyable reds around end of July/start of August (which means only one thing - a year older )

Saturday night at Paris Go in Melb, some miscellaneous Arras fizz and older Orlando riesling followed by
05 Balnaves The Tally
96 Wynns JR
90 Bin 389
90 Bin 90A
All of the reads were great, Tally was very enjoyable, cassis, tight, beautiful structure, JR has matured into a beautiful wine, 389 was darker chocolate, 90A outstanding

Macleay Street Bistro in Sydney last night
06 Wynns Shiraz (white label)
06 Wolf Blass Black Label Cabernet Shiraz Malbec
98 Wynns Black Label
What a pleasant surprise the Wynns shiraz was. A $10-12 wine that was absolutely enjoyable drinking now, Wolfie could use some more time, 98 BL was very good

Thai food with Singha beer at Home Thai tonight

[mychurch]

2007 Margan White Label Semillon
Thought this would still be too young, but its in one of these long bottles that are hard to store in the fridges, so time to go...Pale, pure and primary. Lovely balance, lemon, hint of marzipan. Very fresh. Lovely purity. Maybe starting to develop, but the screw cap has kept it young and this will last a long time yet. Shame they had to spoil it by choosing a non standard bottle. Yum

2012 Das Kreuz, Rings Pfaltz
My first German Cabernet Blend and its a bit a mess. Its smooth and rounded, which good balance, but the fruit is overwhelmed but a wall of vanilla, with a hint of coconut. After a lot of shaking and some time in the glass, I do detect some earthy tones, but this needs a lot of time for the oak to integrate better. Reminds me a lot of a late 90´s Muntada, but I´m not sure if there is enough fruit to handle the wood. Interesting to see what might develop, but at 43 Euro a bottle, I´m happy to stick to other areas.

[michel]

Earthy spice complexity- Home Vineyard has more length & goes the distance- very enjoyable.

[deejay81]

2013 Mike Press Shiraz
Dark purple in colour, very black fruit forward nose with cola, plums and some nutmeg spices.
Palate similar but fruit is dominating, probably too much. Not much structure but drinkable. Had over two nights but no improvement.
I would try to drink this within the next 5 years before it declines. 87pts

2008 Gomersal GSM
Deep purple , impenetrable. Oaky, with some pepper and earth. Red fruits are there but secondary.
Taste revealed resolved tannins and acid, well integrated with fruit. I think this is in a perfect drinking window right now. But can still hold for some years to come. The high alcohol content (16.5%?) does not show and if someone told me this was 14%, I'd still believe them. 91pts