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

[phillisc]

Rockford Basket Press 2012
Its certainly a surprisingly lighter style of barossa shiraz. The tannins are soft and integrated. It seems like an early drinker. Its nice and long. Does this really need much more time in the cellar? Drinking well now

Echoing the parlance of a few here...went very long on this vintage...think it will surprise and will do 20 years easily.
Cheers
Craig

[Bobthebuilder]

2000 Wendouree Shiraz Malbec

I was a little worried it might be a little premature to open this but it is drinking very well right now and would imagine at its peak.
In the first half hour or so there is a distinct Coonawarra mintiness? which almost disappears completely after half an hour of air.

Mulberry, juicy ripe blood plums, rhubarb, cherry pipe tobacco, spicy bbq sauce, rare roast beef, cocoa, a little bit of leather. The fruit is still bright but the tannin has integrated beautifully and its still got a great backbone of acid that holds and enhances the aged characteristics of the wine. Nice long finish. One of the best bottles of Wendouree I've had.

[rooman]

Wines from Friday and Saturday evening. First up with curry at Jewel on the Bay, Tim Adam Riesling 2012, developing sunflower yellow, crisp refreshing fruit with green apples and lemons. Moderate complexity and fantastic value given it was purchase for around $20. Next up Luke Lambert Chardonnay 2017: first out of the six pack and frankly far too young. It does however have the bones to be an excellent wine in 4-5 years. Almost pale green in colour, it has superb acid and crisp fruit which will develop into something really enjoyable. Some of my fellow diners thought it was a young Riesling which wasn’t a bad call as the fruit was lemony citric in nature.

Saturday night dinner with friends, roast pork and a kale chick pea dish. First up 2007 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett developing sunflower yellow colour. The primary fruit is giving way to greater secondary complexity as the wine emerges for business. The crisp acid on the finish was a perfect foil for the fattiness of the roast pork. With cheese,
2002 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. Regarded as a weak vintage, Pichon has nevertheless created a bloody good wine. Brown bricking around the edge, mature nose, decent tannins to complement the cassis and Pauillac tones. With eeasonable length on the finish I was really pleasantly surprised. With continued improvements in cellar sorting, what would have been miserable wine in previous decades was most enjoyable. Definitely time to drink any 2002 now though.

[Rossco]

2017 Grosset Springvale Riesling

Much lighter in style than I thought. My immediate thoughts are really young vines. There is class here, but no power. Talc and wet slate, sugar free lime cordial with really, really light acid. There is a funk on the nose that is attractive. Missing that X factor you expect from the king of Riesling. Definitely not a ripe/fuller style, its slightly lacking in something ....lenght.....intensity.....weight.... Hmmmmm
Not sure this is a long term proposition....drink now and works well with pork dumplings. Its ok but not going to be a superstar.



2011 By Farr Sangreal Pinot
So light and translucent...think charlie's rose of Virginia type colour....but don't let that fool you. Slight bricking I think a victim of the vintage. Its a weird one... Refined power is the theme here. Its seems subtle, but has a drive and energy that I can't quite quantify. The length is magnificent, but not intense. Bay leaf, mushrooms and smells like a walk through the wet forests in olinda. Not sure it has the structure for much longer...drink now and for another 5 years.

[felixp21]

2009 Chateau Gloria, St Julien
another ridiculously good bargain from a vintage that was spectacular and probably unparalleled for the lesser Cru. I purchased 3 cases of this at release in Australia for $50/bottle. Been powering thru the first case over the last couple of months. Even brought a bottle up here, which I am now drinking!!! (very unusual to bring a French wine from Aus to SZ!!)
Still young, as expected, but displaying loads of sweet cassis, mineral, liquorice and black fruits. Great length, this can only further improve for another five years and plateau there for a decade. 91+pts (on a true, World scale) drink: 2020-2030.

[Ozzie W]

Brief notes from a few bottles shared with a group friends over the weekend.

2016 SRC Alberello. Decanted for 6 hours. Very tannic with fruit in the background. I love tannins, but this is not open for business just yet. Try again in a couple years.
2014 Mayford Tempranillo. I reckon Mayford is Australia's best Tempranillo. Lovely plush fruits, liquorice and approachable tannins.
2008 Valenciso Rioja Reserva. A modern styled Rioja with great structure. Dark cherry, plum & orange peel. Tangy acidity.
2002 Oliver's Taranga HJ Reserve Shiraz. This is a good place now. Black fruits, cassis, spices, forest floor, toasty caramel.
2004 Elderton Command Shiraz. Warm and intense plum fruits and sweet cassis, smoky herbs and spices. Oak and alcohol a little out of balance. A very big style of Shiraz which isn't my cup of tea any more.
2003 Kay Brother's Block 6 Amery Shiraz. Lush black cherry, tar, tobacco, oak. Finishes with a savoury element. My favourite of the 3 Shiraz.

[Ian S]

A lovely Grignolino tonight, posted on the Italian sub-forum

[Wayno]

Rockford Basket Press 2012
Its certainly a surprisingly lighter style of barossa shiraz. The tannins are soft and integrated. It seems like an early drinker. Its nice and long. Does this really need much more time in the cellar? Drinking well now

Echoing the parlance of a few here...went very long on this vintage...think it will surprise and will do 20 years easily.
Cheers
Craig

Hope so. I felt it pretty ‘in-the-groove’ over Xmas. If it improves from that then all the better.

[Con J]

1996 Leasingham – Classic Clare Shiraz.

Got together with a few non wine drinking friends for pizza on the weekend so took this along. Mature dark berries, chocolate and a touch of vanilla. The name says it all, a classic old fashion Aussie shiraz and far from being over the hill. The best part is I picked up three of these at auction a couple of weeks ago for $35 each.

Cheers Con.

[JamieBahrain]

Was $35 on release too. Always been a ripper wine! Nice!

[Mike Hawkins]

2009 Chateau Gloria, St Julien
another ridiculously good bargain from a vintage that was spectacular and probably unparalleled for the lesser Cru. I purchased 3 cases of this at release in Australia for $50/bottle. Been powering thru the first case over the last couple of months. Even brought a bottle up here, which I am now drinking!!! (very unusual to bring a French wine from Aus to SZ!!)
Still young, as expected, but displaying loads of sweet cassis, mineral, liquorice and black fruits. Great length, this can only further improve for another five years and plateau there for a decade. 91+pts (on a true, World scale) drink: 2020-2030.

I haven’t had Gloria for at least 10 years. I detest Brett characters and many vintages had tons of it. Your note sounds like the 09 is much cleaner

[felixp21]

Hi Mike,
probably gone thru half a dozen by now, no significant brett.... but I know what you mean, the 05 is riddled with it!!

[JamieBahrain]

I went through the 2007 Chapoutiers with my wine group at the Hong Kong Club.

Now 2007 was the greatest CNP vintage ever and the Northrn Rhone did struggle. I'm of the view the 2007 CNP vintage is a mess and the Northern Rhone struggled!

Enjoyed the two whites side by side- Le Meal and De L'Oree.

WOTN was the Le Pavillion Ermitage for me and runner up the Barba Rac CNP which may have been protected from the hot vintage being 100% grenache and little oak driving early restraint.

We had two x Chave white Hermitage 2004 too. One was oxidized though drinkable with baked apple like notes. The second perfect.

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[felixp21]

Hi Jamie,
Spot on mate, we had a pretty extensive 10 year retro of the 2007 CNDP's last year, and if I recall correctly, 10 of the 15 wines were a blithering mess. A couple, however, were fabulous. (Rayas in particular)
Probably Parker's worst call ever, the 07 CNDP's. Interestingly, I have seen on forums like Wine Berserkers and RPJ that many Septics absolutely love the stuff!!! Saw a couple of notes describing the magnificence of Beaucastel, which is a warm liquorice soup of a wine haha.
2010 CNDP is a million miles in front of 2007, and you would think the Wine Advocate would recognise how bad o7 is now, and down-grade it's vintage rating.

[felixp21]

2015 Bordeaux Horizontal
(copied from my post on another site.)


Interesting horizontal of the 2015's yesterday, in HK during Vinexpo, meaning many of the winemakers, TD's and CEO's were pouring. Lots of fascinating opinions on 2015, and 2016, and the state of Bordeaux "post-Parker".
Tough time to taste any Bordeaux vintage, aged 2.5 years. Massimo's comments that there was a certain "sameness" about the wines rang true, although it was in the aromatics where the cream rose to the top.
The wines that really shone on the night were, in fact, the Bordeaux Blanc, which I guess was quite a surprise!! Pape Clement, Domaine de Chevalier, SHL and Larrivet Haut Brion were all absolute shining stars, but in truth there hardly seemed to be Bordeaux Blanc that wasn't worth the purchase!!
For the reds, I came away with the impression 2015 was similar, if not quite up to, the level of the outstanding 2009 vintage. Big, bruising, packed and stacked wines that were, in general quite accessible. (more than one rep felt the wines had shown better the previous day... I guess our tasting wasn't a fruit day )
For all the talk of Bordeaux "Post-Parker", I didn't really think the style had change overtly, a view many of the public and Bordelaise present seemed to share. This might be more apparent in the 2016 vintage, but not here.
The wines that most impressed were:
Pape Clement Blanc
Domaine de Chevalier Blanc
SHL Blanc
Larrivet Haut Brion Blanc
Malescot St Exupery
Cos d'Estournel
Haut Bailly
Le Bon Pasteur
Valandraud (hate the new label)
Clinet
Clos Fourtet

And great value:
Beauregard
La Cabanne
Cantemerle
Prieure-Lichine
Branaire Ducru

Thought the Carmes Haut Brion was beautifully made, full of polish, but just a little non-descript (of course, these wines will all develop their own personalities and reflect their own terroir as time goes by). I wouldn't rush to grab a case personally, but I have plenty of faith in the experts who rate this wine.
The Canon was very good, I have seen it four times now, but I maintain it is not at the level of either the 05 or 09 (but then again, what would I know!!). Very rich and polished, will be interesting to see how this develops. As I mentioned, HK is the "points" capital of the World, and it came as no surprise to see the staggering price attached to the said wine.

All-in-all, an entertaining evening that further gelled my thoughts on the vintage. It's a beauty, it won't take decades to be accessible, and it offers great wines from both banks and colours. Something for everyone here.

[Hunter]

VCC ?

[felixp21]

Hi Hunter,
there were only 90 Chatose (onya Rusty) there, no firsts, only a couple of seconds (no PLL, no VCC, no Eglise Clinet, amongst many other top estates)
As is usually the case, many/most of the big boys don't present their wines at Vinexpo, which is fair enough. However, the 90 Chatose were from all communes, and gave a good feel for the vintage post-bottling)

[Sean]

deleted

[Hunter]

Hi Hunter,
there were only 90 Chatose (onya Rusty) there, no firsts, only a couple of seconds (no PLL, no VCC, no Eglise Clinet, amongst many other top estates)
As is usually the case, many/most of the big boys don't present their wines at Vinexpo, which is fair enough. However, the 90 Chatose were from all communes, and gave a good feel for the vintage post-bottling)

That's unfortunate. Looks like a good day out tho.
Thanks for the notes

[Matt@5453]

2017 Grosset Semillon Sauvignon Blanc
Excellent blend – fresh fruits, lively acidity, balance and poise. The Semillon balances the 'tropical' nature of the sauvvy fruit nicely. A lovely white wine.

2013 Kilikanoon Attunga Mataro
Medium to full bodied, savoury fruit, with a touch of spice. Well balanced oak and supple tannins. Excellent length and finish - smooth as silk. Excellent wine.

2012 Carpineto Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano Riserva
Medium bodied, tar, leather, cedar, drying tannins. Very good

[Chuck]

A couple of noteworthy wines of late:

Hay Shed Hill 2007 Block 2 Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon.

Not your typical MR cab although may be in another 10 years. Full bodied. Blackcurrant and other black fruits with some big oak that needs more time to integrate.

The Lane 2016 Block 5 Adelaide Hills Shiraz.

Some black fruit coupled with pepper and spice and all things nice. Great colour. Modest oak. Lovely mouthfeel. More full bodied than the usual AH shiraz. Quite drinkable now and should develop further with some sleep time. Great value.

Tonight we are celebrating our birthdays at Chianti taking along a Mosswood 2005 cab plus another bottle yet to be determined. Can't wait!!

Carl

The Mosswood was sensational on the nose but this did not translate to the palate. Nice but a little underwhelming given our expectations. Seemed a little scalped. Medium bodied. Not much complexity. Under SC.

Carl

[Rocky]

A couple of noteworthy wines of late:

Hay Shed Hill 2007 Block 2 Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon.

Not your typical MR cab although may be in another 10 years. Full bodied. Blackcurrant and other black fruits with some big oak that needs more time to integrate.

The Lane 2016 Block 5 Adelaide Hills Shiraz.

Some black fruit coupled with pepper and spice and all things nice. Great colour. Modest oak. Lovely mouthfeel. More full bodied than the usual AH shiraz. Quite drinkable now and should develop further with some sleep time. Great value.

Tonight we are celebrating our birthdays at Chianti taking along a Mosswood 2005 cab plus another bottle yet to be determined. Can't wait!!

Carl

The Mosswood was sensational on the nose but this did not translate to the palate. Nice but a little underwhelming given our expectations. Seemed a little scalped. Medium bodied. Not much complexity. Under SC.

Carl

Hey Chuck
I have had a few early 2000s MW under SC recently I picked up from auction. As with yours, I experienced a great nose but underwhelming palate - scalped as you put it. I put it down to poor storage. I no longer buy aged wine from auction. Far too many misses than hits.

Regards

[Con J]

Last week went to the Flower Drum for dinner and looked at the 2015 Rousseau’s and a couple of extras.


Started with NV Billecart Salmon Rose and canapes while waiting to be seated.



1st Bracket served with stuffed garfish with vegetables and shitake mushroom sauce.

2015 Gevrey Chambertin.
2015 Clos du Chateau.
2015 Lavaux St Jacques 1er.
2015 Les Cazetiers 1er.

The Gevrey Chambertin was the one I liked most on the nose, les Cazetiers was wine of the bracket. I thought the Clos du Chateau was a little under fruited which was similar to the 2013 I had last year.



2nd Bracket served with crayfish, king prawn, scallop and pearl meat wok tossed with ginger and spring onion.

2015 Charmes Chambertin.
2015 Mazy Chambertin.
2015 Clos de la Roche.
2015 Clos des Rouchottes.

Clos des Rouchottes was best of the bracket. Clos de la Roche was clearly different from the other three and I thought was a little funky.



3rd Bracket served with Cantonese style roast duck with a sour plum sauce.

2015 Clos St Jacques 1er.
2015 Close de Beze.
2015 Chambertin.

The Clos de Beze was a closed and not very giving. The room was split between the Clos St Jaques and Chambertin, I went for the Clos St Jacques at this point.



4th Bracket served with roast crackling pork belly, apple fritter with hoi sin sauce and fried rice.

2005 Clos St Jacques 1er.
2005 Chambertin.

Wow I just kept smelling these for the rest of the night. Mature and complex on the nose but a bit young on the palate with plenty of tannins and fruit to match. I wouldn’t open one of these for at least another five years, ten will probably be better.



I believe this was the fourth vintage of the Clos du Chateau and a lot of work has been done to the property to bring it up to scratch as the vines were very run down. Their not even sure what clones they have. The property is owned by Chines and Rousseau only make the wine.

I was scared away from the 2015 vintage with every one saying this was a very ripe and big vintage. These wines didn’t show like that at all.

All I can say is that I was very lucky and privileged to attend one of these dinners.

[felixp21]

Hi Con, thanks for the notes.
The Rousseau 2005's are simply stunning... his 05 Beze remains the best young Burgundy I have seen.

Not surprised about the Clos de la Roche, I have said this before here and elsewhere, his plot isn't that great, and the wine is absolutely not in the top tier of Clos de la Roche. (like several of the Rousseau wines, the prices are elevated on the reputation of his incredibly great top wines, and therefore represent pretty average value for money.)

Had an extensive look at his 15's not long ago up here, pretty similar notes, although I must say I was really impressed by the Mazis. The Beze seemed to be showing better than yours, maybe it was a fruit day for us

[Rory]

2008 Yabby Lake Block 6 Chardonnay.

For a 10 year old, this shows just how good that vintage was for Chardonnay on the Peninsula. At the time of release, I kind of blew it away as a under ripe, extreme high acid "fashionable wine".
It has just taken time to find it's feet, which I'm sure 95% of the market didn't give it.

[Bobthebuilder]

2008 Yabby Lake Block 6 Chardonnay.

For a 10 year old, this shows just how good that vintage was for Chardonnay on the Peninsula. At the time of release, I kind of blew it away as a under ripe, extreme high acid "fashionable wine".
It has just taken time to find it's feet, which I'm sure 95% of the market didn't give it.

great
I guess I cant drink those 13's and 15's for quite some years!
That said, I kinda bought them with that in mind

[deejay81]

2017 Andrew Thomas Wines Sémillon The O.C

Clear pale lemon with green edges.
Nose was clean with freshly cut grass, lemon, lime, jasmine, and a bit of menthol.
Medium plus acid, Grassy with unripe lemons, some mint. Very fresh and hard going on its own as it's so very young. Dying for some age and has the potential to age a number of years. Finish was medium in length. Kind of simple right now, but can definitely see it getting better with at least 5 years more in the bottle. 88pts

[Chuck]

Not quite on topic but with winter coming on I do like the odd stout or 3 ever so slightly chilled. One ice cube is enough. I do like the heavier style (not Guinness) and my go to has been Coopers Extra Stout. Recently tried a Southwark Old Stout on the recommendation of a guy who knows his stout and I was pleasantly surprised. Probably the best I have ever tried. Really full bodied, great mouthfeel and flavour. At 7.2% it's not for the faint hearted in a 375ml bottle. Great value at around $60 per slab. Just got to watch the waist line. Someone once said you can live on stout and tomatoes.

Carl

[pc79]

At dinner last night with a couple of others

2017 Thousand Candles Sauvignon Blanc
Funk, Quite vegetal, lemonade, snow pea, grassy felons, some tropical fruits, peach and passion, apple juice with light salinity. Lemon candles. Rolls in and zips up with a lovely line of acidity. 90

2010 Dog Point Chardonnay - woulda called this Beechworth for sure. White peach, smoke, bright lemon sweets. Sulphide, Toffee apple, Some lovely almond meal and gentle marzipan. Fruit flows through. A grand symphony of Chardonnay goodness. 94

2013 Hamilton Russell Chardonnay (Sth Africa) - lean lemon/grapefruit, yellow flowers and smoke. Some light salinity on the nose and some interesting brioche, almond, gentle spicy oak bits, a tiny splash of funk, beautifully balanced wine 92

2015 Holyman Chardonnay - light, White flowers, talc. Grapefruit and sweet lemon on crushed quartz. tiptoeing across the palate assured, confident. Light caramel popcorn, white flowers with a flurry of lemon pith and lovely acid flow. Wow. French burg? No. Tasmania. Benchmark. Bloody awesome. 95

2017 Hoddles Creek PSB Pinot noir - red cherry sour cherry, autumnal, strawberry, cinnamon stick. light weight, quite ethereal, stern, assured, wonderful weight, beautifully structured. Some red flowers, and lithe savouriness. Dancing to the beat of its own drum. Whew! Xo long finish. Wonderful 94

2014 The Surrey Pinot Meunier - cloudy crimson. Pinot noir for shiz- but wrong. red & black cherry. Really cuts along the noir line. Adds rubber and strawberry leaf,cloudy and viscous. Got a thick line of strawberry and cherry fruit. Great finish. Excellent 93

2015 Olek Bondonio Barbaresco - Black cherry licorice tar and red flowers. Light funk, cola and chook poop with black jubes. Silty tannin, mud. Scaley, rude tannin. Flows on. Balance superb. Loving. A Baby. Will be something in time. 94

[sjw_11]

Not quite on topic but with winter coming on I do like the odd stout or 3 ever so slightly chilled. One ice cube is enough. I do like the heavier style (not Guinness) and my go to has been Coopers Extra Stout. Recently tried a Southwark Old Stout on the recommendation of a guy who knows his stout and I was pleasantly surprised. Probably the best I have ever tried. Really full bodied, great mouthfeel and flavour. At 7.2% it's not for the faint hearted in a 375ml bottle. Great value at around $60 per slab. Just got to watch the waist line. Someone once said you can live on stout and tomatoes.

Carl

Coopers Extra and Southwark Old were always my top 2 favourites in Oz. Much heavier in style than the typical English stout, but terrific on a cold winter night.