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

[felixp21]

Couple of magnums with some excellent rib eye yesterday.

1978 Balgownie Cabernet Sauvignon
absolutely brilliant wine, drinking perfectly at 40 years of age. As good as any Bordeaux from that vintage, and I mean ANY. Balgownie stuff from the 70's are indeed Aussie treasures. 95pts

1998 Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf du Pape
another beauty, although it came across as a little simple after the above stunner. At it's peak, but certainly no hurry. 93pts

[michel]

Couple of magnums with some excellent rib eye yesterday.

1978 Balgownie Cabernet Sauvignon
absolutely brilliant wine, drinking perfectly at 40 years of age. As good as any Bordeaux from that vintage, and I mean ANY. Balgownie stuff from the 70's are indeed Aussie treasures. 95pts

1998 Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf du Pape
another beauty, although it came across as a little simple after the above stunner. At it's peak, but certainly no hurry. 93pts

78 was a freak great wine from Stuart Anderson
He has done much for Australian wine
Great effort!

[JamieBahrain]

Arnold Caprai Collepiano Sangrantino 2007- I brought a number of sangrantinos back from Umbria. Not a wine for those shy of powerful tannins. Perfumed cherry-raspberry and chocolate. Prune fruit textured in a positive sense. Monster strangling Darth Vader tannins.

[WineRick]

My daughters were born in 1980 and 1982 - I chose Balgownie Cabernet to cellar for them in later years ( I was working in Vic then).
At 30 years, a bottle of 1980 Cab was quite unreal, and last year I opened a magnum of both 1980 and 1982. Simply, the best Aussie reds I've had the pleasure to drink!

[michel]

My daughters were born in 1980 and 1982 - I chose Balgownie Cabernet to cellar for them in later years ( I was working in Vic then).
At 30 years, a bottle of 1980 Cab was quite unreal, and last year I opened a magnum of both 1980 and 1982. Simply, the best Aussie reds I've had the pleasure to drink!

Great to hear
Makes me wonder about the next generation of great Australian wine...

[Hacker]

Tonight, the remanents of a 2011 Pierro Chardonnay and a new bottle of Sorrenberg Chardonnay. The Pierro even though sitting in the fridge for 10 days or so was a clear winner. Love Pierro. My love affair with Margaret River continues unabated.

[rooman]

I've spent the last three weeks up in the Colorado ski fields staying at a friends apartment. Across the highway we discovered a fantastic local wine shop, Beaver Liquors. As they had an excellent pinot collection, we decided to work our way through their selection from Oregon. It has been my first decent exploration of Oregon pinots and I thoroughly enjoy the wines from this region.

I know the region doesn't like being compared to burgundy but the wines have a similar style, savoury dark cherry and are less fruit driven than say the wines from Central Otago or Mornington Peninsula. The big difference is the tannins are much more approachable young. One could happily drink the top end 2014s now.

Of the 6 or 7 we tried over this period, my favourites were Rex Hill and the granddaddy of them all, Eyrie Vineyard. The latter in particular is well worth tracking down and trying. We also tried an excellent pinot from Cal, Santa Cruz area called Ghostwriters.

ahh, Beaver Creek, nice resort.... but this year it's all about Europe, greatest ski season in history.
Beaver Liquors is pretty well prices too, they used to have a stack of reasonably priced Bordeaux.

Their Bordeaux selection was also excellent but I can get most of it in Sydney. Their range of US pinots on the other hand are generally not available down here hence the reason for working through their collection.

As for the Beaver Creek resort it is just stunning. Fantastic service and an awesome set up. It will be interesting to see what Vail Corporation does with Perisher in terms of upgrading its facilities. Frankly they couldn't be any worse.

[Matt@5453]

with the weather finally cooling down in Adelaide, it was time for red:

2014 Bondar Violet Hour Shiraz, McLaren Vale

Medium to full bodied. Excellent fruit weight with plums, milk chocolate and a touch of aniseed and nutmeg spice. The texture is silky smooth. Fine tannins and a long finish. Sadly my last bottle. Whilst still relatively young, its in a good spot right now. It has the structure to drink well over the next 7 years I suspect. I recommend a decant before consuming. A very good example of MV Shiraz.

[Chuck]

Tonight, the remanents of a 2011 Pierro Chardonnay and a new bottle of Sorrenberg Chardonnay. The Pierro even though sitting in the fridge for 10 days or so was a clear winner. Love Pierro. My love affair with Margaret River continues unabated.

+1. If only I had discovered MR much earlier. Great cabs, cab merlots and other bordeaux style blends. Chardonnays are best in OZ IMO. SSBs not too shabby either. Not fussed with it's shiraz. I think it's a bit too cool for my palate.

Carl

[felixp21]

Couple of magnums with some excellent rib eye yesterday.

1978 Balgownie Cabernet Sauvignon
absolutely brilliant wine, drinking perfectly at 40 years of age. As good as any Bordeaux from that vintage, and I mean ANY. Balgownie stuff from the 70's are indeed Aussie treasures. 95pts

1998 Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf du Pape
another beauty, although it came across as a little simple after the above stunner. At it's peak, but certainly no hurry. 93pts

78 was a freak great wine from Stuart Anderson
He has done much for Australian wine
Great effort!

yea, thanks, Michel.....
didn't realise how good it was going to be, or I would have drunk it on a more auspicious occasion!!!
probably amongst the top five Aussie Cabs I have ever seen, thinking back on it now, 95 might have been a bit skinny
I had three of these, I reckon the previous two were drunk in the 90's without much fanfare and were just merely "good"

[Michael McNally]

with the weather finally cooling down in Adelaide, it was time for red:

2014 Bondar Violet Hour Shiraz, McLaren Vale

Medium to full bodied. Excellent fruit weight with plums, milk chocolate and a touch of aniseed and nutmeg spice. The texture is silky smooth. Fine tannins and a long finish. Sadly my last bottle. Whilst still relatively young, its in a good spot right now. It has the structure to drink well over the next 7 years I suspect. I recommend a decant before consuming. A very good example of MV Shiraz.

Top note Matt. All this rings true (however I cannot imagine my 5 remaining bottles lasting for seven years with me around...... ) Here is my CT note from September:
2/09/2016 Gorgeous complex nose. Apparent florals and blackberry. Immediate wash of juicy but not sweet or lightweight fruit. Gentle grip and savoury roundup by non-intrusive acid. The sum of these parts is an excellent medium-bodied MV Shiraz. Excellent.

Cheers

Michael

[Redback]

Many wines enjoyed over the Summer break but the following stand out:

2013 Marius Simpatico Shiraz

2012 Seppelt Shiraz Chalambar

2010 David Franz Shiraz Benjamins Promise

2015 Ruggabellus Quomodo

2015 Eperosa Synthesis Grenache Mataro

2011 Pewsey Valye The Contours Riesling

2012 Sami-Odi Baby Tui

2004 Penfolds Bin 389

2012 Giovanni Rosso Serralunga d’Alba

2012 Teusner Avatar

2014 Samuels Gorge Grenache

Lethbridge Pinot Noir

[Chuck]

Hand Crafted By Geoff Hardy 2012 Langhorne Creek Malbec. Fairly average wine. OK fruit but acid poking out. Not sure it will balance out over time. I wish aussie Malbecs could be as good as Argentinian stuff.

Cael

[Con J]

A few of us got together last week at Scopri for a great night of wine and food.

1998 Dom Perignon – P2. Yeasty, lemony fruit, nutty and soft acid. Drinking beautifully.
2008 Henri Boillot – Montrachet. Lemon curd, little peach and nectarine with a touch of vanilla in the background. Still very tight.
1999 Rousseau – Clos st Jacques. I thought this was on the border between red and black fruit, very ripe strawberries, plums and spice. Very good but I think it’s still needs time.
1996 De Vogue – Bonnes Mares. Most thought this was off but I thought it was just the vintage. Lacked a bit of fruit and lots of acid.
1996 De Vogue – Bonnes Mares. This was the back up for the previous wine. This was more aromatic and more fruit but very similar.
Not sure if I like the 1996 vintage
2001 Guiseppe Mascarello – Monprivato Ca D Morissio. This was darker and a bigger wine than the standard Monprivato, I prefer the standard.
1983 Chateau Laflure. lacked fruit, something not right.
1986 Chateau Margaux. Back up for the Laflure, corked.
1982 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion. Back up for the Margaux, drinkable but too much brett to be enjoyable.
2009 Chateau De Fargues. Pear, tropical fruit and honey. Very nice.

Cheers Con.

[michel]

A few of us got together last week at Scopri for a great night of wine and food.

1998 Dom Perignon – P2. Yeasty, lemony fruit, nutty and soft acid. Drinking beautifully.
2008 Henri Boillot – Montrachet. Lemon curd, little peach and nectarine with a touch of vanilla in the background. Still very tight.
1999 Rousseau – Clos st Jacques. I thought this was on the border between red and black fruit, very ripe strawberries, plums and spice. Very good but I think it’s still needs time.
1996 De Vogue – Bonnes Mares. Most thought this was off but I thought it was just the vintage. Lacked a bit of fruit and lots of acid.
1996 De Vogue – Bonnes Mares. This was the back up for the previous wine. This was more aromatic and more fruit but very similar.
Not sure if I like the 1996 vintage
2001 Guiseppe Mascarello – Monprivato Ca D Morissio. This was darker and a bigger wine than the standard Monprivato, I prefer the standard.
1983 Chateau Laflure. lacked fruit, something not right.
1986 Chateau Margaux. Back up for the Laflure, corked.
1982 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion. Back up for the Margaux, drinkable but too much brett to be enjoyable.
2009 Chateau De Fargues. Pear, tropical fruit and honey. Very nice.

Cheers Con.

1996 tend to have some prominent tannin issues
I have never perceived the acid jutting issue
Was it a fruit or flower day when you consumed these?

[Con J]

A few of us got together last week at Scopri for a great night of wine and food.

1998 Dom Perignon – P2. Yeasty, lemony fruit, nutty and soft acid. Drinking beautifully.
2008 Henri Boillot – Montrachet. Lemon curd, little peach and nectarine with a touch of vanilla in the background. Still very tight.
1999 Rousseau – Clos st Jacques. I thought this was on the border between red and black fruit, very ripe strawberries, plums and spice. Very good but I think it’s still needs time.
1996 De Vogue – Bonnes Mares. Most thought this was off but I thought it was just the vintage. Lacked a bit of fruit and lots of acid.
1996 De Vogue – Bonnes Mares. This was the back up for the previous wine. This was more aromatic and more fruit but very similar.
Not sure if I like the 1996 vintage
2001 Guiseppe Mascarello – Monprivato Ca D Morissio. This was darker and a bigger wine than the standard Monprivato, I prefer the standard.
1983 Chateau Laflure. lacked fruit, something not right.
1986 Chateau Margaux. Back up for the Laflure, corked.
1982 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion. Back up for the Margaux, drinkable but too much brett to be enjoyable.
2009 Chateau De Fargues. Pear, tropical fruit and honey. Very nice.

Cheers Con.

1996 tend to have some prominent tannin issues
I have never perceived the acid jutting issue
Was it a fruit or flower day when you consumed these?

I was fruited at the end of the night.

Cheers Con.

[Rossco]

2016 Seppelt Jaluka Chardonnay
There is something missing from the 2016 seppelt henty
Vintage. I had a thin and watery drumborg Riesling (as i have posted previously) and now this one.

I have been a fan of Jaluka for a long time. Unfortunately this 2016 doesnt work for me (others have loved it though). I understand its the style, but its been pushed too far. A but too thin, a bit too weak and acidic. I know its young, but its just lacking for me. Fruit is lacking, and there is no length whatsoever, the wine just drops off immediately. The nose has some promise of flint, raw nuts and grapefruit, but even that overpowered by the acidity. New/ younger vines used? Different winemaker? Not sure, but its not like i remember previous vintages.

Maybe it will get better with time?

[swirler]

Rossco,

Maybe the huge journey from the vineyard to the South Australian winery isn't exactly perfect for the grapes. I won't buy Seppelt's any more for a number of reasons including this.

[felixp21]

2011 Francois Carillon Puligny Montrachet
fairly mundane white Burg, I've seen many BB's from 2011 that are far better. Little Puligny character. 84pts

2015 Jean-Charles Fagot Bourgogne Blanc "Champs de l'Huillier"
lovely, full of interest, unmistakably Burgundy. White peach, river pebbles, nice tension. 89pts

2015 Henri Felettig Chambolle 1er CRU "Les Carrieres"
beautiful wine, very true to terroir. Lifted and full of vivacity,packed with raspberries and roses. Will be superb 94+pts

[tarija]

2015 Jean-Charles Fagot Bourgogne Blanc "Champs de l'Huillier"
lovely, full of interest, unmistakably Burgundy. White peach, river pebbles, nice tension. 89pts

Would be very hard growing in Australie with that name.

[Rossco]

Rossco,

Maybe the huge journey from the vineyard to the South Australian winery isn't exactly perfect for the grapes. I won't buy Seppelt's any more for a number of reasons including this.

Im sure that has an impact and could very well be the difference to what I remember, however others have loved this wine/vintage, so maybe its me. My preferences have definitely swung back to the 'middle ground' chardonnays though. Loving Small amount of Malo/MLF, small use of oak and high quality fruit (not overripe) at the moment, where this style seems more austere, early picked, acidic type chardonnay (yes and a very cold region).

We dont hear a lot about the Henty region, so I was more guessing if the vintage was a cold/slow/dry one or if it was indeed other factors at Seppelt.

[Matt@5453]

2016 O'Leary Walker Riesling, Polish Hill River

Consistent with other 2016 CV Rieslings, the colour is quite developed for its age. Limes, wet stone and with slight lemon pith on the finish. Medium type acidity. Enjoyable.

2015 Adelina Shiraz Mataro, Clare Valley

An elegant blend. It requires a bit of air time to show its best. Medium-Full bodied. I would describe it is as a savoury type of wine which displays dark fruits with a touch of blackberry, cranberry, deli meats, spice and a 'kiss' of well-balanced French oak. A well-structured and balanced wine with a long finish, with a fine tannin structure. Most enjoyable.

[felixp21]

Saturday night at Neighbourhood Wine Club in Nth Fitzroy.... my new favourite BYO spot in Melbourne. We were so lucky, all four wines showed absolutely perfectly, the three Burgundy Grand Crus a good lesson as to why wine lovers chase so hard in this region.

2006 Tattinger Comtes de Champagne gorgeous, one of the very best releases. 95pts

2002 Laurent Roumier Bonnes Mares stupendous, gave the Somm a taste and his eyes simply lit up 96pts

2006 Lucien Le Moine Clos Vougeot stunning wine, amazing, these guys are brilliant. Expensive, but brilliant. Needed a good decant. 96pts

2006 Pierre Amiot Clos St Denis open for business, the third fantastic GC in a row!! 96pts

it was a veritable vinous feast, I was actually VERY surprised all three Burgs showed so well. No doubt about it, many if not most of the 2006's are in a really good spot right now, and the vintage has turned out far, far better than initially feared.

[Hacker]

Felix/Nick, pleased to hear the 2006’s are drinking well. Have a few Chevillons, Fourriers and Cathiards still sleeping, probably will broach in a couple of years.

[JamieBahrain]

Bethany GR6 Reserve Shiraz 1998- quite a fascinating wine where the fruit intensity and quality has left a few impurities inconsequential and interesting - spiked acidity , lightly caramelised oak and cherry ripe fruit sweetness .

93prs

[felixp21]

Felix/Nick, pleased to hear the 2006’s are drinking well. Have a few Chevillons, Fourriers and Cathiards still sleeping, probably will broach in a couple of years.

hi Hacker,
the Fourriers are ready to go, all except the Griotte. Cathiard might need a little more time.

[JamieBahrain]

Two corked wines in a row - John Riddich 1996 and Craiglee Cab 1997.

A 2003 John Riddoch drank as expected for a hot vintage . Rich cassis , black olive and lumpy front palate fruit . 90pts

[Mahmoud Ali]

Two corked wines in a row - John Riddich 1996 and Craiglee Cab 1997.

Oh dear, that is sad, especially since they would likely have been very good, the Riddoch with years ahead.

[phillisc]

Lovely dinner at Vino, $12 BYO makes it all the more attractive.
Piper NV really refreshing
2017 Pewsey Vale Riesling...to be honest a drink now rizza, it is nice but lacks any depth finishing quite short...ordinary really
2015 Wynns Black Label...for a wine entering its third year so balanced...medium weight lovely black olive, seamless palate with lingering drying tannins. This wine appears destined for a 20 year window...fantastic
1998 Wynns Black Label, cork stained a couple of mm...glorious nose of berry cassis cigar...magnificent on the palate, so mellow but still has years in it, a great bottle.

Cheers craig

[Scotty vino]

2016 Wines By KT Melva Riesling.

halfway thru a case of this.
floral notes galore. A Nice off dry style which is a change up from the standard atypical CV rizz I'd usually gulp.
Think the heat in Adelaide has zombied me a bit and I really didnt analyse it as much as i usually would.

Curious to see how this one ages. Might try to step the next few out a bit.