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

[Dragzworthy]

I should add that tertiary qualities are very much my preference.

Are we still talking wine, sir?

[Cloth Ears]

Not a great wine by any stretch, but very pleasant and (IIRC) pretty cheap. I love bottles with the name of the Estate embossed on the bottle! We had it with a fairly spicy pasta sauce, so any tasting notes other than 'pleasant' would be a bit skewed...

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[Cloth Ears]

2006 Ten Minutes by Tractor Wallis Vineyard Pinot Noir - found this while doing some housekeeping in the cellar. Still quite fresh, with a bit of fruit and a soft nose. Had some tannins left but just didn't seem to have aged much at all. Normally I'd expect the loss of fruit to be replaced by some other aging characteristics - but not this time.
I've had better results with cheaper Australian Pinots.
Not to say it was bad, and it matched the panfried flathead with butter/caper/lime/parsley/Vietnamese mint sauce pretty much to a 'T'.

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[Sean]

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[I Love Shiraz]

2006 Ten Minutes by Tractor Wallis Vineyard Pinot Noir - found this while doing some housekeeping in the cellar. Still quite fresh, with a bit of fruit and a soft nose. Had some tannins left but just didn't seem to have aged much at all. Normally I'd expect the loss of fruit to be replaced by some other aging characteristics - but not this time.
I've had better results with cheaper Australian Pinots.
Not to say it was bad, and it matched the panfried flathead with butter/caper/lime/parsley/Vietnamese mint sauce pretty much to a 'T'.

IMG_20200823_200300.jpg

I am finding with screwcap wines the drinking window is far longer than cork wines. Having said that a 14 year old wine should be showing some aged characteristics.

[Cloth Ears]

2006 Ten Minutes by Tractor Wallis Vineyard Pinot Noir - found this while doing some housekeeping in the cellar. Still quite fresh, with a bit of fruit and a soft nose. Had some tannins left but just didn't seem to have aged much at all. Normally I'd expect the loss of fruit to be replaced by some other aging characteristics - but not this time.
I've had better results with cheaper Australian Pinots.
Not to say it was bad, and it matched the panfried flathead with butter/caper/lime/parsley/Vietnamese mint sauce pretty much to a 'T'.

IMG_20200823_200300.jpg

I am finding with screwcap wines the drinking window is far longer than cork wines. Having said that a 14 year old wine should be showing some aged characteristics.

I would agree. Just the aging in this case just seemed to be a loss of some flavour (or intensity of flavour). Mind you, I don't think we'd tasted since about 2011...

[sjw_11]

Bolgheri Grattamacco 1998
Everything I read on cellar tracker said this bottle should be rubbish (bitter and acidic, devoid of fruit) or just over the hill now. As such, I decided to open it to add to my slow cooked lamb shoulder stew. Contrary to the tasting notes, the wine was fantastic and had a lot of sweet juicy fruit (boysenberry/cassis) and some secondary leather and balsamic notes. By no means a complex wine but very pleasant. Just a shame that I tipped half the bottle into the stew before realising how good it was...on the flip side, however, that was quite a dish!

Sounds like a good result for 22 year-old wine. It seems that the cellar tracker crowd misunderstood the dumb phase. I very much like the label on this wine.

I am quite found of Grattamacco's wines, which can be almost aggressively tannic when young (at least for the Grattamacco and the L'Alberello, the Superiore wines)- so not surprised it has staying power. Their Rosso is a lovely drink and goodvalue in Europe. The price of the Superiore wines seems to have edged up over the last couple of years, so the value can be a little questionable.

[Mahmoud Ali]

I should add that tertiary qualities are very much my preference.

Are we still talking wine, sir?

2006 Ten Minutes by Tractor Wallis Vineyard Pinot Noir - found this while doing some housekeeping in the cellar. Still quite fresh, with a bit of fruit and a soft nose. Had some tannins left but just didn't seem to have aged much at all. Normally I'd expect the loss of fruit to be replaced by some other aging characteristics - but not this time.
I've had better results with cheaper Australian Pinots.
Not to say it was bad, and it matched the panfried flathead with butter/caper/lime/parsley/Vietnamese mint sauce pretty much to a 'T'.

IMG_20200823_200300.jpg

I am finding with screwcap wines the drinking window is far longer than cork wines. Having said that a 14 year old wine should be showing some aged characteristics.

Since I like tertiary qualities, and yes,I am talking wines, I am glad that but for a few exceptions from Australia, all my red wines are under cork. Many of my modest 15 to 20 year-old wines are just coming of age so I hate to think how long I would have to wait if they were under screw-cap, not to mention the bigger wines. As it is I despair of ever enjoying the 2004 St Henri which is under cork so I imagine it might be pointless to even think of waiting for the 2006 St Henri.

[Dragzworthy]

I should add that tertiary qualities are very much my preference.

Are we still talking wine, sir?

2006 Ten Minutes by Tractor Wallis Vineyard Pinot Noir - found this while doing some housekeeping in the cellar. Still quite fresh, with a bit of fruit and a soft nose. Had some tannins left but just didn't seem to have aged much at all. Normally I'd expect the loss of fruit to be replaced by some other aging characteristics - but not this time.
I've had better results with cheaper Australian Pinots.
Not to say it was bad, and it matched the panfried flathead with butter/caper/lime/parsley/Vietnamese mint sauce pretty much to a 'T'.

IMG_20200823_200300.jpg

I am finding with screwcap wines the drinking window is far longer than cork wines. Having said that a 14 year old wine should be showing some aged characteristics.

Since I like tertiary qualities, and yes,I am talking wines, I am glad that but for a few exceptions from Australia, all my red wines are under cork. Many of my modest 15 to 20 year-old wines are just coming of age so I hate to think how long I would have to wait if they were under screw-cap, not to mention the bigger wines. As it is I despair of ever enjoying the 2004 St Henri which is under cork so I imagine it might be pointless to even think of waiting for the 2006 St Henri.

I have so much under screwcap.... But I'm optimistic that they'll be in a great spot in 20 years. If not, two or three day decants pee consumption in 20 years time

[sjw_11]

I have so much under screwcap.... But I'm optimistic that they'll be in a great spot in 20 years. If not, two or three day decants pee consumption in 20 years time

Jeez, I really hope it doesn't come to that!!

[Dragzworthy]

Hahaha "pre" Vs "pee"

[Cloth Ears]

Since I like tertiary qualities, and yes,I am talking wines, I am glad that but for a few exceptions from Australia, all my red wines are under cork. Many of my modest 15 to 20 year-old wines are just coming of age so I hate to think how long I would have to wait if they were under screw-cap, not to mention the bigger wines. As it is I despair of ever enjoying the 2004 St Henri which is under cork so I imagine it might be pointless to even think of waiting for the 2006 St Henri.

So do I. This was the first time I felt a wine had lost (vibrancy, fruit) without getting any secondary or tertiary characteristics back in return. Of course, I could have just been over-hyping the original flavour in my memory.

[Sean]

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[Rory]

2015 Shaw & Smith M3 Chardonnay.
Looking great, balanced acid and flavours with good length and texture.
Typical of the producer. Will look best in over another 5 years.
2012 Paradigm Hill L'Ami Sage Pinot Noir.

Looking its age in colour, earth and mushroom aromas. The palate is heavily weighted with malty oak and deep flavours. Its a big Peninsula Pinot with some good acid and structure still there, I'm just not sure about the amount of Malt flavour.

[mychurch]

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Finally got around to ordering a few bottles of this. There is a young sparkler as well to try.

If you like old white wine, then you’ll love this. It’s the current vintage, costs $20 and is showing its age. That means tangerine and earthy notes in the mid palate, as well as some honey. Makes me think of an old Vouvray. Nose has some sea spray and a bit of funk initially. Finish is not long, but has a nice food friendly bitterness. A white wine for those who like a glass of sherry and want to contemplate life. Yum.

[JamieBahrain]

Had a superb Rockford's Vine Vale from 2009- classic and old fashioned though fresher than some vintages. Sparkling Shiraz 2008 a cracker too.

[Sean]

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[Sean]

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[mychurch]

A47DF40D-D61B-4FCB-B649-E7B4C02B1049.jpeg

The other Gouais. This time it’s young and has bubbles. Prefer the older version, but this is fun. Probably too rich to make a good sparkler. Some quince, low in alcohol, fairly big bubbles. Unique.

[Dragzworthy]

The Wombat was my pick when I tasted the range at the cellar door earlier this year. I thought the Sexton was a slight step up from the basic Chardonnay. The Tarraford was better, but it was a lighter wine. Botje the Applejack and the Wombat were biggger. The Applejeck had a musky nose and showed some oak. The Wombat might be for you - lots of smokey pinapple for me on the nose. Seemed to be a bigger version of the Sexton. The Ocarina had more chalk and lemon and is more in the Chablis style.

Just had the "village" (non single vineyard) 2019 and I thought the sexton was a massive step up on it though it was still a very pleasant wine (paired with roast chicken, a lovely combination for my palate). I found it less complex and the acidity was a touch out of balance but there's no denying the quality of the fruit and for an entry level wine, I think this beats Bourgogne or even negociant village quite frequently. Lots of stone fruit (nectarine) and I love that hint of butter, lemon and salinity. I don't remember the Yarra Valley doing Chardonnays this well...and I'm from Melbourne. Maybe I need a few more pointers!

[Mike Hawkins]

Had a superb Rockford's Vine Vale from 2009- classic and old fashioned though fresher than some vintages. Sparkling Shiraz 2008 a cracker too.

Rockford (understandably) understate the drinking windows on their wines. Even the lesser labels shine at 10+ (with the possible exception of the Alicante). Good cellar conditions demand great patience!

[mychurch]

The Wombat was my pick when I tasted the range at the cellar door earlier this year. I thought the Sexton was a slight step up from the basic Chardonnay. The Tarraford was better, but it was a lighter wine. Botje the Applejack and the Wombat were biggger. The Applejeck had a musky nose and showed some oak. The Wombat might be for you - lots of smokey pinapple for me on the nose. Seemed to be a bigger version of the Sexton. The Ocarina had more chalk and lemon and is more in the Chablis style.

Just had the "village" (non single vineyard) 2019 and I thought the sexton was a massive step up on it though it was still a very pleasant wine (paired with roast chicken, a lovely combination for my palate). I found it less complex and the acidity was a touch out of balance but there's no denying the quality of the fruit and for an entry level wine, I think this beats Bourgogne or even negociant village quite frequently. Lots of stone fruit (nectarine) and I love that hint of butter, lemon and salinity. I don't remember the Yarra Valley doing Chardonnays this well...and I'm from Melbourne. Maybe I need a few more pointers!

I had the Basic cuvee and 2.5 * and the Tarraford at 3*. That was in Sept last year and a year in bottle will make a big difference. Tasting is of course very different to drinking, which is why I won’t give more than 3.5* for a tasting at a cellar door.

So many Chardonnays to choose from. Dappled is the same price is the basic Giant Steps and a level above in quality. There seem to be a lot of good makers, but the styles vary. I like the leaner style (Luke Lambert, Bobar), but that’s not for everyone.

[Rory]

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21 today!

Fruit is beginning to fade, but flavour and aroma are still unmistakable. The palate is not tired, it couldn't be as the acid is still very vibrant and keeping it all together.
Yes, a little short on the palate, but I've drank a lot worse 21 YO Chardonnays from Australia than this.
Semillon is King!

Matched with Greek lemon and rice chicken.

[Alex F]

IMG_0130[3014].jpg

Fruit is beginning to fade, but flavour and aroma are still unmistakable. The palate is not tired, it couldn't be as the acid is still very vibrant and keeping it all together.

Cork, or reflective of reality? This is a worry as i expect a vat 1 from an exceptional vintage to go for a while longer yet

[Sean]

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[Rory]

Rory wrote:
IMG_0130[3014].jpg


Fruit is beginning to fade, but flavour and aroma are still unmistakable. The palate is not tired, it couldn't be as the acid is still very vibrant and keeping it all together.

Alex said:
Cork, or reflective of reality? This is a worry as i expect a vat 1 from an exceptional vintage to go for a while longer yet

Cork was a little wet, so maybe that was it. But as I said, it didnt taste overly old, just short on finish.

[TiggerK]

Rory wrote:
IMG_0130[3014].jpg


Fruit is beginning to fade, but flavour and aroma are still unmistakable. The palate is not tired, it couldn't be as the acid is still very vibrant and keeping it all together.

Alex said:
Cork, or reflective of reality? This is a worry as i expect a vat 1 from an exceptional vintage to go for a while longer yet

Cork was a little wet, so maybe that was it. But as I said, it didnt taste overly old, just short on finish.

Vat 1 corks around this era are notoriously variable. If excess air ingress doesn't pox it, TCA will. But when you get a good one (98 or 99), still so young and delicious....

[rooman]

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Finally got around to ordering a few bottles of this. There is a young sparkler as well to try.

If you like old white wine, then you’ll love this. It’s the current vintage, costs $20 and is showing its age. That means tangerine and earthy notes in the mid palate, as well as some honey. Makes me think of an old Vouvray. Nose has some sea spray and a bit of funk initially. Finish is not long, but has a nice food friendly bitterness. A white wine for those who like a glass of sherry and want to contemplate life. Yum.

The Gouais grown at Chambers is a fascinating wine for two reasons. First of all it’s only grown now in two locations around the world, a couple of small plots in Switzerland and the other in Rutherglen. More importantly if you found the taste familiar and yet confusing that is because genetic testing has revealed it’s the parent of both Chardonnay and Riesling.

The Chambers version is fantastic value given the age at which they release it.

https://wineguy.co.nz/index.php/glossary-art ... lanc-grape

[Cloth Ears]

A47DF40D-D61B-4FCB-B649-E7B4C02B1049.jpeg

The other Gouais. This time it’s young and has bubbles. Prefer the older version, but this is fun. Probably too rich to make a good sparkler. Some quince, low in alcohol, fairly big bubbles. Unique.

I notice it's got a crown cap. I wonder if it will actually age well in the bottle, with the big bubbles becoming smaller and the flavour approaching the 12YO...

[Sean]

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