Tastings-Aus' and a few who may threaten.

[JamieBahrain]

X-mas party last night and a solid, though slightly disappointing line up, from the local importers of Southcorp wines.

Sacred Hill Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2004- Good regionality on the nose. Fresh gooseberry, cut grass and green apple. Zesty mouthfeel but lacking weight. Clean, crisp acid completes. $22 Aus. 87pts

Sacred Hill Hawke's Bay Rifleman's Chardonnay 2002- Full bodied and rich in flavour and texture. Barrel ferment not overdone producing pleasing nutty-vanillan aromas, peach melon in the background. Rich palate weight of similar, seamless transition toward butterscotch finish. $ 41 Aus. 90 pts

Sacred Hill Otago Pinot Noir 2003- The fragrance is light. Cherry, strawberry and earth. Thin on the palate, thin on the frame accentuating a warm finish. $36 Aus. 84pts

Sacred Hill Broken Stone Hawke's Bay Merlot 2000- Good varietal and aromatic nose of ripe black plum, violets and cedar wood. Full bodied with an inky moutheel, dark fruits and ending with fine berries and cedary tannin. Good length and should fill out in time-but who knows with Kiwi merlot? $45 Aus 90pts.

Frescobaldi Nippozzano Chianti Rufina 2001- First bottle feral and overt brett, killing the sangiovese fruit. Second more like it- an elemental Chianti with spicey cherry, plum and strawberry nose. The fruit is light on amongst a big framework, spicey earth nuances with a big, powerful river of acid and coating tannin on the finish. Needs rich tomato based food to tame. $30 Aus 87pts.

Penfold's Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz- Clean Australian winemaking. Not souless but with predictabiliy. Dark fruits and malty oak nuanaces, clean
and bright shiraz fruit on the palate, with a youtful and long finish. $ 35 Aus 90pts. An honest ambassador.

Clos de los Siete 2002 ( 2 parts malbec, 1 parts syrah, caberent and merlot ) Mendoza Argentina. Decadent black, blueberry and choc fruit nose. Rich and over the top style. Blackfruits dominate a rich palate, plenty of malty new oak in evidence. Here come the Argentinians!
$ 30 Aus 91pts.

Ruper & Rothschild Classique 2001 Fredericksburg South Africa- Bordeaux blend. Quite complex with spicey blackfruits and just a hint olf Brett. Moderate intensity, fine fruit definition with old oak in the background and a good layer of tannins. A touch dirty in it's complexity. $ 20 Aus 88pts

A skyrocketing Australian dollar will not help our wine industry under siege from hints of very good QPR coming out of South America and South Africa.

Personally, I feel if more vineyards concentrated on upping the quality of their regular wine, as opposed to producing a flagship bottle, part of the foreign threat countered.

[markg]

Personally, I feel if more vineyards concentrated on upping the quality of their regular wine, as opposed to producing a flagship bottle, part of the foreign threat countered.

Yes, good point Jamie.