Its the first Sunday of the year....

[TORB]

Hi Good Peoples,

Happy 2005, lets hope the year improves and mother nature is more kind to us than she has been in the last week or so.

Time for you weekly drinking reports and given that we have just had NY's eve, there should be some good ones amongst them. I will post mine later, or Brian can do them if he is up to it.

So tell us lal what you have been drinking, as usual, notes vibes or impressions welcome.

[Craig(NZ)]

Well just a couple of vineyards visited as its getting a bit familiar down here and we are watching to many dvds on my brothers home theartre.

Te Mata was a bit disapointing but Unison as usual was fantastic.

Over Xmas I drank 02 dry River Gewurtz which was fantastic, just really special wine, 05 Te Mata Coleraine`which is a good chunky Coleraine vintage, 97 Neudorf Mouteer Chardonnay, a massive powerful wine at its peak, drink up. 04 Pegasus Bay Riesling which will be a superstar but its too young,

anyway gotta go watch last samauri now cant see the keyboard, its dark in here

and finish my 04 Te Mat6a Woodthope chard

i hate laptop keyboards they make too many mistakes


bye 4 now


C.

[n4sir]

Happy new year everyone!

The following notes aren't from Christmas (where I couldn't be bothered) or New Years (where the only wines served up were those dreaded cheap Lindemans Bin Series C/S & Chardonnay).

1999 Pauletts Clare Valley Riesling: Dark straw/light gold colour. A slightly reserved nose that grows in complexity and intensity with time; bees wax and malo characters shot with spice, ginger, marzipan, toffee-apple, and a bare hint of kerosene in the distance. The palate is similarly complex and spicy starting with those ginger characters, lemon zest, glacied/preserved fruits, aspirin, toffee-apple, marmalade/Drambuie, and finishing long, soft and nutty. I would guess this could have been an advanced bottle (under cork) but my word it was good!

1995 Hardys Sir James Vintage Pinot Chardonnay: Light straw colour with a good mousse and very steady bead. Crisp nose with orange peel and stonefruit, hints of grass and ocean air. The palate is far more complex with biscuit/nut nuances accompanying the fresh green apple characters. After trying so many great French Champagnes and some top notch Aussie impostors it’s easy to say this lacks the creamy finesse of those wines, but you can see where it stands as a stepping stone.

2002 Coriole McLaren Vale Sangiovese: Dark red colour. Savoury/slightly porty and brambly nose with dark cherries, smoked meats and a hint of mint. The palate is predictably suited well to food, with a light to mid-weight structure of sweet cherry fruit finishing with liquorice. I wasn’t as impressed with this bottle six months on, although the hot weather may have had something to do with this.

2002 Kabminye Irma Adeline Shiraz Mataro Grenache Marsanne/Roussane/Ugni Blanc (Screwcap): Dark red/purple. Back in October when this had just been released under screwcap I thought the 15 months in 50% seasoned French oak and 14.5% alcohol were very obvious; owner Rick Glastonbury said it would settle down with some and he was spot on. The nose is now very perfumed and fresh, with ripe blackberry and spice, hints of florals, vanilla and some bacon. The palate is again swamped by rich blackberry/plum fruit, chocolate and pepper, finishing with spicy oak and black olive; another argument to consider extended cellaring and breathing for screwcap topped bottles.

Cheers,
Ian

[Anthony]

Hi everyone,
the last week has been great especially all the days off to recover and sleep. Highlights from the last week would be:

Henschke Abbotts Prayer 93: didn't know what to expect from this wine but was pleasantly surprised. Definetely in it's prime, it had a very good balance of primary and secondary fruit with still enough primary fruit to keep it interesting. If anyone has any of this, time to drink up.

Saltram Mamre Brook Cabernet Sauvignon 1996: still very youthful, vibrant in the glass with heaps of fruit and tannin. This wine will continue to develop for many years to come. If you see any at auction grab it.

Mitchelton Cabernet Sauvignon 1979: just holding on by a whisker. Would have been a hell of a lot better 10 years ago but just shows you the ageing capacity of Mitchelton (and also Tahbilk). I doubt Tahbilk could produce a wine like this now, while Mitchelton can produce a stunner every once in a while.

Pol Roger 96: I love Champagne, and open a bottle at every oportunity. The sparkling is the best sub $100 sparkling around. Shites on Bolle NV, Moet, Veuve with only Gosset, Laurient Perrier Vintage and Roederer providing any real competition. Quite easty and starting to develop, this is brilliant.

Hoddles Creek Chardonnay 2003: a perfect wine for xmas day. Keeps getting better and better.

Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2002: I'm with Campbell on this one, a lovely Pinot with a solid back-bone which should see it improve in the medium term.

By the way,
I am now a convert on the Riedel O series Stemless glassware, perfect for nearly all wine and a great Gin & Tonic glass to start proceedings!!

cheers
anthony

[monghead]

Happy New Year to all,

Relatively quiet NYE I guess.

1996 Veuve Cliquot champagne
Lovely in the big, bold veuve way. More yeasty then their NV, which we all liked, and had excellent persistence of flavour. Still, preferred the 96 Pol Roger consumed at Christmas, due to it's finesse.

1996 Tyrrell's Vat 1 Semillon
Lovely deep yellow colour, with citrus and melon on the nose. Palate was creamy, and slightly buttery with melon fruit. However, seemed a little acidic, and dried out towards the end. Not sure if this one will develop the honeyed flavours before drying up some more. Dunno? Maybe not so good a bottle, as owner had confessed to procuring it last year and keeping it in the kitchen!

1996 Wynns John Riddoch
Enough said about this one recently I guess, but I concurr wholeheartedly.

1999 Houghton Gladstones Shiraz
WOW. Big, big wine. Heaps of pepper, spice, and dark, musty plums. Mouthfilling, palate smacking, teeth colouring stuff!!! Wondered if we needed the port after that..........

So we skipped the 1988 Stanton and Kileen VP and moved onto the paradis and richard...........hmmmm only just recovering...

Cheers guys, and happy holidays.

Monghead.

[TORB]

New years eve saw the two red bigots get together at BrianÂ’s in Canberra. We started with a Primo Joseph Sparkling Shiraz (the latest disgorgement) which was just great. Massive amounts of youthful fruit and a long complex finish. Not as sweet as previous versions and all the better for it. Now this wine is regarded as one of the best FRS wines around and this 2003 version was the best tasted to date, so it was pretty special.

The next three wine was served blind. Wine One was OK, mid-weight, the tannins were fully integrated but there was little in the way of complexity although it was well made and well balanced. It was a surprise to find out it was the 1987 Tahbilk 1860Â’s Vines Shiraz. If you had bought this at auction and paid big big you would have big disappointment.

Wine two had a massive nose with loads of sweet coconut oak and a touch of dill but there was more than enough fruit to offset the oak. (Gary W would have just loved it!) Still reasonably tight and gloriously youthful, it will hold for many years and there was not a hint of over-ripeness or heat to this massive wine. Excellent length and persistence, it was unveiled as a 1995 Magpie Estate The Malcolm. Unfortunately my only bottle of this wine, I would have loved to have tried another in a few years.

The third masked bottle was OK and when we played the options game I was surprised when it turned out to be a 1983, the colour looked like a 90. There was nothing wrong with the wine but unfortunately the tannins dominated the fruit a tad and it did not have the expected complexity of previously tasted bottles. It was a 1983 Penfold Grange and had come via a friend of BrianÂ’s that had bought it from a well regauraded source but where it cam from prior to that was anyoneÂ’s guess. It just proves the adage about great bottles and the importance of good conditions for long term storage.

On New Years day, we also had a 1998 BVE Black Pepper Sparkling Shiraz. Also another wine that GaryW would love with itÂ’s massive amount of oak. It has sufficient fruit to hold up and whilst it was very enjoyable and should hold for some years, I doubt it will improve.

There were other wines, but these were the highlights and the comments were sketchy as it was a time for enjoyment rather than analyzing the wine in detail and making notes.

[Attila]

No great wines this Holiday season.

2003 TOWER ESTATE Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc

On release it was a zippy crisp wine, now fuller bodied and toned down. Good and flavourful but loosing freshness. Still good though. I was surprised to see the low quality cork.

1988 SEPPELT Sparkling Shiraz

A cracker some time ago, now reserved, perhaps closed, or even bottle variation because it was only OK. I used to prefer it against the Peter Rumball but not now.

2001 BANNOCKBURN Chardonnay

Slightly diluted, lacking concentration. Decent effort but a really average vintage, I've drunk (much) better from this producer before. Plain unexciting although a 'correct' wine, still varietal with good oak.

2000 COLDSTREAM HILLS Reserve Merlot

I didn't want anymore disappointments so I opened this Merlot that was stunning on release but not anymore. A medium bodied, savoury wine that was OK but nothing more. I think in the future I drink Coldstream Hills wines when they taste great and won't bother with cellaring to expect more.

2004 HORSESHOE Vineyard Verdelho

Took this little Upper Hunter white to Bambolina Italian Food restaurant for the ladies. Fruity, fresh, pleasant, they loved it. For me, a little simple.

1999 PELORUS by Cloudy Bay

I really looked forward to this NZ sparkling that looked great 1 year ago. Now deep golden in colour with bronze hues it appeared old with tired fruit. Bad storage or it is passing it's peak? I bought it fresh from DJ's 3 weeks ago. Anyway, disappointing. I didn't open anything else after this and I'm looking forward to much better wines in 2005.

Cheers,
Attila

[Chuck]

Hi all,

Xmas/NY noteworthy wines were:

'01 Penley Estate Coonawarra Cabernet. Developing nicely with tannins more intergrated allowing fruit to show it's class. 13.5%

'98 Bin 389. Not a good example with some oxidation.

'99 Grosset's Gaia. Brought by a friend; not sure what the hype is all about. 13.5%

'02 Pepperjack Barossa Cabernet. Saltram's 2nd ranking Cabernet below the Mamre Brook. Wonderful fruit with adequate tannin etc to provide balance and should improve over next 5 years. A real teeth stainer in the older style. It just shows how Barossa cabernet can shine in cooler years. 14.5%

'02 Gramp's Shiraz. A label lost in the Orlando group this wine was ranked 4th in the recent 2004 Winestate best of. Another teeth stainer in the older style. Again great fruit balanced with strong fiesty tannins and balanced acid. A sensational bargain at <$20. Hard to find as plenty of '01 still on the shelf. Grab it when offered. 15%

Rumball NV Sparking . Corked.

'04 Redbank Sunday orning Pinot Gris. Sort of a mix between riesling and chardonday and very nice 14%.

Chuck

[Brucer]

Happy New Year!

Had a few wines over the break, but nothing too spectacular.

96 Chapel Hill Shiraz Reasonable wine, at its peak.

98 Maxwell Lime Cave Cabernet. Lovely wine, with everything in balance.

96 Grant Burge The Holy Trinity. Well made wine, drinking well.

96 Lindemans Bin 8850 Semillon. Great wine, still has a way to go.

97 Haselgrove H Reserve Shiraz. At its peak. Reasonable.

98 Elderton Shiraz. Fair bit of oak, but fruit is good. At its peak.

98 Johns Blend Shiraz. Wow, sure has a lot of wood. Too much for me.

00 Tatachilla Foundation. Good bit of wood, but the fruit is not overwhelmed. Nice wine, needs drinking in the next 2 years.

96 Turkey Flat Shiraz. Took a good while to open up, buty when it did, it was great. Everything in balance.

[JamieBahrain]

Happy New Year all!

Palliser Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2004-

Light straw-green. Fresh and explosive passionfruit and gooseberry, background tropical fruits and grass. As always, the palate has good weight with noted tropical fruit and grass nuances. The alchohol is down this vintage, giving a seamless and clean finish, with good flavour persistance.

There is decadence in this wine- the palate weight and fruit density- making it a preferrence to the more austere South Island expressions.

92pts

Cyril Henschke 1994-

A good bottle but expect better bottles out there. Notes on the Cyril thread.

Lindeman's St George Shiraz Cabernet 1998-

A bit of this lying around Hong Kong for the bargain price of $40 ( 80% wine tax here ).

Some cork seepage, so a touch of heat abuse possible and explaining the muted fruit. This despite assurances of aircon storage.

Opaque dark purple, with garnet edges. Reticent on the nose, opened up a little with about 3hours in the decanter. Black fruits, almost delicate, with malty oak, shiraz spice and menthol. The palate builds in time, and the blackfruits become quite plush, there is oak quite evident on the back of the palate- not the char as advertised but very fine roasted coffee. Finishes firm and youthful.

I would leave this wine for 5 years and see what happens. 88pts with a more generous score likely in time.

Bannockburn Geelong Pinot Noir 1999-

Light, ruby-red. Dark varietal nose with similar on the palate. Temperature fragile; a touch cool at it's best-smooth but not silky, beautifully balanced. A touch warmer and the heat shows up with some stalkyness.

Happy to gamble a few years here, hoping the solid layer of dark variatal fruit brings some Bannockburn complexity.

90pts

[bacchaebabe]

Managed to get through quite a bit over the last two weeks or so. Notable ones as follows:

94 Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz How good is this stuff? Just seamless and the absolutely perfect partner to Christmas dinner. Need to buy much much more of this before it's all gone. No brett, just pure sweet fruit aged to perfection with years in front of it. Even my girlfriend's dad came over and picked up the bottle and had a good read to find out what it was. He's never done that before.

01 disgorgement Rockford Black Shiraz Another gorgeous wine. A friend brought this along as I was worried mine were all too young to drink. Based on this and compared to the Seppelt, I'd say they are probably more approachable that I had imagined. Another seamless wine with a depth and complexity that had all my non wine obsessed friends raving and saying they'd buy it (until they found out how much it actually cost and then still considering it anyway). Brilliant stuff.

51 Seppelt Para Port Well, I can say catagorically that this is not as good as the 100 year old but it's pretty amazing all the same. Huge depth of flavour with the full spectrum of complexity - caramel, toffee, raisins, honey, layer upon layer. I served this up to my friends without telling them what it was and they were all going on about it and making comments about it being the best port they'd every had, saying it was great stuff. Even people with very little wine tasting experience were picking this for the wine it was - a bloody classic. The big difference between this and the 100 year old is the viscosity - this one's just thick, not like treacle - and the 100 year old is sweeter and less alcoholic or hot to taste. The alcohol is still quite evident on this and it tastes like an old port not one that's reduced to essence. Still amazing stuff.

96 Taylors St Andrews Riesling A very nice drop just starting to show aged riesling characters. A bit of lime still on the nose but more obvious honey characteristics in the mouth. No kero. Could probably still go a bit longer but drinking very nicely all the same.

NV Krug Tried for the very first time on NYE and quite obvious what all the fuss is about. Lovely honey, bready depth and complexity. Great mouthfeel. Certainly the best NV champagne I've ever had.

[cranky]

Over the last week, including two bbq gatherings (inc NYE with a range of top seafood)

Gossett Grande reserve NV Very fine, ripe green apple nose, crisp apple danish palate, nice long finish, not as complex as expected, but still very enjoyable.

Moet & Chandon Nectar Imperial NV Bought some time ago for the wife, who's favourite non-red sparkling is Chandon Cuvee Riche (very sweet tooth). Very fine , brioche nose, citrus and toast on palate, with a quite sweet whack towards the end, through to finishing clean. She didn't like it much, I would have liked with a fresh fruit dessert.

Yalumba D Black 1996 Very nice, deep flavour, well balanced.

Howard Park Riesling 1997 A bit tired, not sure if it is past it or just going thru a bad patch. Still quite drinkable, just not great.

Tyrells Vat 47 Chardonnay 1997 Very nice, smooth and rich with nice development, probably won't get better from here.

Cape Mentelle Georgiana 2004 Crisp quaffable white blend, some complexity due to the range of varieties thrown into the mix.

Cullens SSB 1997 Fantastic. Complex, flavoursome, still with good clean acid finish. Want more!

Tim Adams The Fergus 1997 (magnum) Suprisingly good, not past it. Earthy, spicy, rich, quaffable, great with bbq meats.

Reserve du Leoville Barton 1996 Very good. Elegant, good cab flavour without a hole in the middle, good ripeness giving sweet fruit, but still a savoury character, fine tannins. Could go for a few years yet, but may start to lose fruit sweetness. Good value ($40ish) compared to similarly priced Coonawarras, though not as intense as most aussies. Looking forward to trying the big brother in a couple of years.

Evans & Tate Barrique 61 2000 Very nice, just developed enough, also very suitable with bbq meats inc. chicken.

Metala Black Label 1998 Intense nose, the type which gets people on the other side of the room saying "Wow, what's that?" - RB type of drop! Good palate, would have been better left alone for a couple more years.

Vintage Cellars Touriga LBVP 1982 Great value at the normal price ($20), incredible at half cost clearance. Sort of halfway between a tawny and a vintage port, well balanced, a little bit of complexity, a touch of sweetness, but still not cloying.


Cheers

[Colin]

On Monday 27th December it hell had frozen over in Mornington so out came one from the cellar to have for lunch.

Plantagenet 1995 Mount Barker Shiraz I drank another bottle of this about two years ago and was not overly impressed, after two years I am willing to change my mind. Spice and pepper with savoury flavours, not a lot of fruit but it was fantastic to match with steak and duck, very elegant.



Shadowfax 2002 Geelong Pinot Noir More savoury than most Pinot's I have tasted but some cherry fruits in there as well. A different style to what I normally drink in Pinot.

Colin

[FatBoy]

OK, have had the following over the last week or two ...

Bubbles
Moet Et Chandon Brut Imperial NV (France) - too yeasty, no good.
Domaine Chandon Cuvee Brut 1999 (Yarra Valley) - easily the pick of the sparklings, very dry, fine bubbles. Good drop.
Pelorus Sparkling NV (NZ) - too sweet.
Seppelt Original Sparkling Shiraz 2002 (Grampians) - too sweet, not my cup o' tea
Hardys Sir James el-cheapo NV (all the dregs Hardys could muster together from wherever) - cra*ppo, bubbles like coke.
Undercliff Sparkling Shiraz NV (Lower Hunter) - nice and dry, but was not left wanting more, get me some more of the Seppelt Show Reserve 1994 any day ...

Whites
Cape Mentelle Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2003 (Margaret River)reliable
Cape Mentelle Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2004 (Margaret River), as above. Only really ever been excited by a couple of SSB's (Cullen's creamy 2001 and the metallic revserve ones from Voyager Estate and Cape Mentelle)
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2004 (NZ) - magnifico, super fruity, no cat's p!ss. Cra*ps on Oz SB ... get on board.

Reds
Craiglee Shiraz 1990 (Sunbury) - over decanted (by me). Lost some fruit.
Craiglee Shiraz 1994 (Sunbury) - a bit course on the tannins, 1993 was better, but really, Craiglee should be drunk young.
Craiglee Shiraz 2002 (Sunbury) - very nice, licorice big time.
Penfolds Bin 389 1990 (Barossa) - what a disappointment, weird funkiness that blew off leaving a fairly uninspiring undeveloped wine. Maybe in another 10 years it will have developed something, I dunno.
Penfolds Bin 389 1996 (Barossa) - more like it, huge wine that will last an eternity.
Petaluma Coonawarra 1992 (Coonawarra) - a cracker, as good as anything this year, with years and years in front of it. 1992 was actually a good year in the Coonawarra it seems.
St Hallet Blackwell Shiraz 2002 (Barossa) - first bottle - not as good as I remember it, but still decent value at $24 ...
St Hallet Blackwell Shiraz 2002 (Barossa) - second bottle - possibly partially corked ?? Weird odour that disappeared but fruit was a bit flat.
Turkey Flat 2002 Shiraz (Barossa) - the best young wine I've ever had recently. Get some if there's any left. Massively concentrated, yet smooth as silk. All fruit.
Plantagenet 1999 Cabernet (Great Southern) - good, better than the 1998, nice and ripe. Easy drinking
Saltram Mamre Brook 2002 Cabernet (Barossa) - good value at $20, but not the bargain-of-the-year I was led to believe
Kingston Estate Echelon Shiraz 2001 (S.E. Australia) - bottle 1 - mildly corked, back to the bottle-o
Kingston Estate Echelon Shiraz 2001 (S.E. Australia) - bottle 2 - excellent value wine at $17. Super smooth, beautiful black fruit nose, followed by same on palate with a dose of pepper to boot. Great stuff, but only the first "good" one I've had in 4 bottles !!!

Stickies
De Bortoli Noble One 1999 (Riverina) - cloying
De Bortoli Noble One 2001 (Riverina) - good, very developed though which was strange.
De Bortoli Noble One 2002 (Riverina) - better, good acid = crisp finish. Lime and honey.
Seppelt Sticky-something-or-other 1984 (Barossa) - good-ish. Old. They're all the same at this point.
Undercliff Azure Semillon 2002 (Lower Hunter) - bottle 1 - very badly corked, on its way back to the winery.
Undercliff Azure Semillon 2002 (Lower Hunter) - bottle 2 - excellent. The equal of a good noble one, not as cloying either. An Ice wine, love the style.

[Popov]

OK, have had the following over the last week or two ...

Bubbles
Domaine Chandon Cuvee Brut 1999 (Yarra Valley) - easily the pick of the sparklings, very dry, fine bubbles. Good drop.

Whites
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2004 (NZ) - magnifico, super fruity, no cat's p!ss. Cra*ps on Oz SB ... get on board.

Reds
Craiglee Shiraz 1990 (Sunbury) - over decanted (by me). Lost some fruit.

Fatboy,

I have had all of these over the past 2 months.
The 99 Chandon is a beauty along with the 2001 which I had last week.

I had the Cloudy Bay while on my honeymoon in NZ. Had it as well as the Chardonnay and both are excellent with this being the perfect match with the Snapper fillets I had with it.

I had the 90 Craiglee on the wedding night at the bridal table. All the bottles were in exceptional quality having being bought from Pat this year. All still had plenty of fruit and spice that you come to expect from Craiglee and were excellent.

Of late I have also had the following:
Reds
2001 Raydon Estate Tails South Cab Sav which was given to me as a gift and was very good indeed.
2001 Water Wheel Shiraz which was in surprisingly good nick.
2002 Cascabel Flerieu Shiraz which was very nice and better a couple of days later.
Whites
2004 Lawsons Dry Hills Sav Blanc which is very good also but not in the same class as the Cloudy Bay.

Cheers
Popov

[FatBoy]

Reds
Craiglee Shiraz 1990 (Sunbury) - over decanted (by me). Lost some fruit.

Fatboy,

I had the 90 Craiglee on the wedding night at the bridal table. All the bottles were in exceptional quality having being bought from Pat this year. All still had plenty of fruit and spice that you come to expect from Craiglee and were excellent.

Cheers
Popov

Pretty sure this was me being too eager with the decanter, although I wasn't particularly enamoured with the 1990 that Debbie brought along to a Melbourne offline a couple of months back either ... nor for that matter the 1990 at the cellar door release last year - although it was bloody freezing there so it was impossible to taste anything. 1994 Craiglee disappointed a tad though which comes with a big rep.

[Popov]

nor for that matter the 1990 at the cellar door release last year - although it was bloody freezing there so it was impossible to taste anything.

This is about the only problem when tasting at Craiglee. Food is good, get to pour your own glasses, just too bloody cold to taster properly (although the heater was much appreciated by the girls I was there with).

In regards to the 94 I don't have any of this but do have some from 96 onwards which I still have to have.

Cheers
Popov

[GraemeG]

Petaluma Coonawarra 1992 (Coonawarra) - a cracker, as good as anything this year, with years and years in front of it. 1992 was actually a good year in the Coonawarra it seems.

Don't think 92 was much chop in Coonawarra generally.

The cynic in me would say that Petaluma's vineyards aren't in Coonawarra anyway...

cheers,
Graeme

[FatBoy]

Petaluma Coonawarra 1992 (Coonawarra) - a cracker, as good as anything this year, with years and years in front of it. 1992 was actually a good year in the Coonawarra it seems.

Don't think 92 was much chop in Coonawarra generally.

The cynic in me would say that Petaluma's vineyards aren't in Coonawarra anyway...

cheers,
Graeme

So goes the reputation and hence my comment, but ...

John Riddoch 92 is excellent.
Petaluma's vineyards WERE in the Coonawarra back in the early 90's, weren't they ? Seriously the 1992 Petaluma is a fantastic drop.

[GraemeG]

Nothing of much interest of report - and a relapse of lurgy over New Year prevented me visiting the many Tasmanian wineries I was toying with...

However, I did sample a 1991 Piper's Brook Riesling (Pipers River). In a carton and passive (sub-floor) storage near Hobart, the bottle was in every way pristine, including ullage. In-laws had opened one previously and felt it was 'off'. This bottle was golden-yellow, with a lemony toasty nose. There's perhaps a tiny whiff of an oxidative note, but really it's a glorious older Australian riesling. Petrol characters are at a minimum, the wine is still fresh, but obviously aged. Rich, yet not sweet. Quite lovely. I was given the remaining 2 bottles to bring home, on the grounds that aged riesling is a acquired taste...

cheers,
Graeme

[David Lole]

Haven't been very well, but am improving every day, I think.

3 bottles opened this year thus far.

Lindemans Coonawarra Limestone Ridge Shiraz Cabernet 1991

Deep red veering to brick, brown then amber in the outer edge. Savoury slant to a coconut/mocha nose with secondary sweet earth, saddle leather and gorgeous red- and black- berried fruits bringing home the bacon. The palate excels with more of the riveting, vibrant sweet fruit and savoury, mocha oak, all housed within a medium frame lifted with bright acidity, a strong, penetrating tannin structure, terrific length and an overall sense of restrained power and harmony. A most enjoyable drinking experience. Excellent. Drink now-2008.

Montgomery's Hill 2002 Chardonnay (Albany, WA)

No note. The little I tried seemed very good - quite tight with some quality oak and plenty of barrel ferment characters. Left in the fridge for several days and Janet said the last drop was as good as the first.

Cullen Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 1994

Deep, brooding, dark red colour, solid core. Intense varietal nose of chocolate, sandalwood, lead pencil, graphite, currants, spice box, provencal herbs, savoury French oak and freshly-turned wet earth. Wow! Fantastic palate - powerful but refined and loaded with class - a tour de force of Australian red winemaking. Wrought with great precision, this wine reveals copious quantaties of savoury-, chocolate- and curranty-infused fruit housed within a most authoritative and extremely well-delineated structure. Blessed with powerful, but controlled, furry tannins, surprisingly good, bright acidity and a taut, but, no less, impressive, savoury finish of awesome duration. A wondrous thing that has another 10 years of evolution to savour. Bless you, Vanya Cullen!

Just for interest, I reproduce my tasting note of my first bottle of the case tasted 20th December, just before I started feeling like shit.

13.5% A/V, 85% Cabernet 10% Merlot 5% Cabernet Franc, 20 months in French Barriques.

Deep blood red with drizzling thick tears. Voluminous, brooding savoury-, herb- and almost meaty- nose holding bucketloads of spicy, cedary oak over dark chocolate, blackcurrants, wet earth, forest floor, briar with a sprinking of graphite and lead pencil thrown in for good measure. I'd pick this blind as a top class left-bank Bordeaux. About as full-on as I want from a Cabernet, especially a blend. Beautifully constructed palate that, thankfully, comes back a notch or two for size, extraction and sheer boldness. Thickly textured, this sumptuous wine glides effortlessly through the mouth and down the throat. Exhibits mostly blackcurrant and chocolate fruit brilliantly meshed to quality wood, good acid and fine-grained, slightly chalky tannin followed by an incredibly long, dry, savoury finish with a subtle twist of cassis right at the death. Outstanding now, may even be better in another decade.

[Quizmaster]

Cullen Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 1994

Deep, brooding, dark red colour, solid core. Intense varietal nose of chocolate, sandalwood, lead pencil, graphite, currants, spice box, provencal herbs, savoury French oak and freshly-turned wet earth. Wow! Fantastic palate - powerful but refined and loaded with class - a tour de force of Australian red winemaking. Wrought with great precision, this wine reveals copious quantaties of savoury-, chocolate- and curranty-infused fruit housed within a most authoritative and extremely well-delineated structure. Blessed with powerful, but controlled, furry tannins, surprisingly good, bright acidity and a taut, but, no less, impressive, savoury finish of awesome duration. A wondrous thing that has another 10 years of evolution to savour. Bless you, Vanya Cullen!

[/i]

Based on your note I'll have to try one David. I've had this a few times over the past few years and have been dissapointed each time. Unlike the reserve which I think is a sensational wine, the standard has thus far not 'done it' for me. You've got me keen, must crack one over the weekend. I can taste the chocolate flavours already

[Guest]

Cullen Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 1994

Deep, brooding, dark red colour, solid core. Intense varietal nose of chocolate, sandalwood, lead pencil, graphite, currants, spice box, provencal herbs, savoury French oak and freshly-turned wet earth. Wow! Fantastic palate - powerful but refined and loaded with class - a tour de force of Australian red winemaking. Wrought with great precision, this wine reveals copious quantaties of savoury-, chocolate- and curranty-infused fruit housed within a most authoritative and extremely well-delineated structure. Blessed with powerful, but controlled, furry tannins, surprisingly good, bright acidity and a taut, but, no less, impressive, savoury finish of awesome duration. A wondrous thing that has another 10 years of evolution to savour. Bless you, Vanya Cullen!

[/i]

Based on your note I'll have to try one David. I've had this a few times over the past few years and have been dissapointed each time. Unlike the reserve which I think is a sensational wine, the standard has thus far not 'done it' for me. You've got me keen, must crack one over the weekend. I can taste the chocolate flavours already

Errrr, I think he IS talking about the reserve ...

[Quizmaster]

very good point
I guess this just proves that posting when 2/3rds the way through a bottle can be hazardous

[Elvispga]

Better late than never.

I managed to go and get engaged just before New Years so we had to celebrate with a couple of nice wines.

1996 Dom Perignon. What is there to say that hasn't already been said. I have never tasted Champagne like this. Amazing! A very pale colour with extremely fine bubble, noticably smaller than anything I had seen before. Forgot to sniff it at first as I was soooo keen to taste it. Really amazing palate that seemed to change over the time of drinking, at one stage I got a hint of Apricots. Picked it up for $AUD185 Duty free at Sydney Airport in a nice foam lined box with a couple of Dom flutes inside. Saw it in Wine shops in the US for$US140 which is $AUD180 so a little pissed off. Only other down side was that I had to share it with the future Father Inlaw! Or this that Outlaw?

1998 Treffethen Halo Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Bottle #4709 of 4902(Is this a sepo marketing ploy, numbering the bottles??). 1998 was not the best year for Napa Cab but this was extremely enjoyable. Slightly brown colour mainly ruby red. Amazing length and balance. Wish there was another bottle. (The bigest and heaviest 750ml bottle I have ever seen).

Cheers
Elvino

[bacchaebabe]

Congrats Elvis on the engagement. Pretty good price on the Dom with the flutes. The duty free price of most wines seems to be higher than their RRP so you did well. Why is that anyway?

Official status re inlaws/outlaws is that they are outlaws until married then they become the inlaws. If you're talking future they have to be future inlaws as they are currently outlaws. God, am I bored or what?

[707]

Following on from several threads on this topic

I've found the 92 John Riddoch to rate from excellent down to ordinary. Not sure if there's bottle variation with this vintage more than other vintages.

Petaluma has two vineyards in Coonawarra I believe. The original vineyard (caled Evans?) is on the north east tip of the original cigar, very much Coonawarra. The dreaded Sharefarmers is way out to the north west and not in Coonawarra, not as I like know it anyway, it's within part of the hugely inflated new boundary.