Aussie wine nights.

[Con J]

I love the idea of looking at a vertical or a challenge.

Some might remember last year I put on a Wynn’s John Riddoch vs Black Label Cabernet dinner.
Not long after that I started planning another one very similar and started buying to fill in some gaps.

After reading a lot of negativity by some about Cullen I thought a Cullen vs Moss Wood challenge would be great, I have both in the cellar from 1995 to 2005 except the 1997’s. Throw in screw cap vs cork, as both made three vintages of each.

I also have nearly two dozen different wines from 1996, thought this would be interesting. Done this with the 1990 vintage about 10 years ago.

Graeme G has inspired me to start thinking about Mount Mary, Quintet is one of my favourite wines.

These are a few themes that I’m thinking of putting on in the next couple of years or so. I’d love to hear and get ideas what Aussie wine dinners you would like to organize, attend or have attended.

Cheers Con.

[JamieBahrain]

I presented My Mary very successfully to an international crowd a few years back. 80's onwards.

Moss Wood v Cullens would be a ripper in terms of interest.

[Scotty vino]

I presented My Mary very successfully to an international crowd a few years back. 80's onwards.

Moss Wood v Cullens would be a ripper in terms of interest.

You're a better man than me!!!

[I Love Shiraz]

I have not done a themed dinner as such (I leave it to my guests to bring what they like), but would love to do Margaret River vs Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon tasting.

Other tastings I would love to host or participate in are:
Barossa vs McLaren Vale Grenache
Barossa vs McLaren Vale Shiraz
Yarra Valley vs Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir

[Rossco]

I have been thinking for a while I would love to do a blind Australian Chardonnay taste off.

Not sure if I want to pitch each state against each other or
just have a sample of say 3 of the best examples from each state.
Tas, Vic, NSW, SA, WA ect

then throw one white burg in the mix just to mess with people

Trouble is 'the best' is ALWAYS subjective.


Could do the same with Riesling, and throw a GG in there as the random

[Con J]

I have not done a themed dinner as such (I leave it to my guests to bring what they like), but would love to do Margaret River vs Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon tasting.

Other tastings I would love to host or participate in are:
Barossa vs McLaren Vale Grenache
Barossa vs McLaren Vale Shiraz
Yarra Valley vs Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir

Coonawarra vs Margaret River Cabernet has been done a couple of times in the last few years, here in Melbourne and Sydney.
Good fun but hard to pick a winner, I think the 1976 Wynns Black Label took it out in the Melbourne tasting.

Cheers Con.

[Waiters Friend]

Verticals are great. I've presented quite a few over the past 5 years (most of which have been posted on here), including a couple of verticals of Howard Park rieslings and chardonnays, Peel Estate Shiraz, Pewsey Vale riesling, Tahbilk Marsanne and more. 14 vintages of Ashbrook Estate Cabernet Merlot last month, and I have just got home after co-hosting 13 vintages of Howard Park Abercrombie Cabernet. The next one will be 10 vintages of Ashbrook Estate Chardonnay in early November.

At the end of the day, sharing these wines with a dozen wine loving friends is much better than trying to drink them all myself.

[Ian S]

These days I'm less and less enthused by the concept of verticals (I quickly find them a little boring, but I do rather revel in the variety the wine world has to offer). I'm also conscious that after the 4th or 5th glass, and in good company, the nuances get somewhat obscured.

That said, I think the idea of matched pairs gives that very specific focus, and can be successful at helping to answer the simple question of 'which one do I prefer?' Where the wineries essentially had the same weather in the vintage, that also does help reduce the variables down a little. Cullen vs. Moss Wood therefore an interesting idea.

[brodie]

I love the idea of looking at a vertical or a challenge.


I also have nearly two dozen different wines from 1996, thought this would be interesting. Done this with the 1990 vintage about 10 years ago.

These are a few themes that I’m thinking of putting on in the next couple of years or so. I’d love to hear and get ideas what Aussie wine dinners you would like to organize, attend or have attended.

Cheers Con.

Hi Con, I find horizontals much more interesting than verticals. I am with Ian S here, drinking the same wine over multiple vintages gets a bit dull for me quite quickly.

I really enjoy being able to compare different makers and regions from the same year. 1996 would make a really good horizontal I agree. Others to consider;

1990 vs 1991 in Sth Aust OR 1994 vs 1996 Sth Aust

lots of options

cheers Brodie

BTW - I am doing a global 1990 retrospective tasting in 3 weeks time.

[felixp21]

I'd agree with horizontals as the most interesting tasting. As said, verticals are a little boring.

If it were me, I would pick a vintage and everybody brings a wine from said year.

I feel 1996 a little old, opening those wines needs a lot of care and attention to detail to get the most out of them, better done at home with time and all the necessary equipment at hand should the cork fail.

2010 would be a beauty, as would 2005.

2015 or 2018 Aussie Pinot horizontal also would be great

[Mahmoud Ali]

I would agree that horizontals can be more interesting than verticals. However my only caveat is if the vertical is widely spaced, not consecutive vintages which, indeed, can get boring. It has been a while since I've attended a vertical but those that I did were memorable beyond measure. A Chateau Musar vertical that included, from what I can remember, 1964, 1966, 1972, a 1977 or 1978, and one or two from the 80s. The 60s were glorious and prompted me to leave my 1977 and 1978s alone for a good number of years. A couple of Bordeaux verticals were also memorable (Batailley and L'Arrose) with the 1961 Chateau L'Arrose still standing out as the best wine I've ever had.

So, horizontal or vertical, it depends. Imagine a Mount Pleasant 'Maurice O'Shea' vertical with vintages from four or five different decades.

Cheers ....................... Mahmoud.

PS: I should point out that the 2005 O'Shea was a 15% alcoholic bomb and completely betrayed its Hunter heritage.

[JamieBahrain]

I am quite the opposite to many. I attend verticals and horizontals usually about once a week, themed across the length and breadth of the wine world. I feel you'd have to lack creative spark not to present an interesting themed vertical. If you feel it may be drab, offer a few wines. This is where I thought the Cullens and Moss Wood would be fascinating, 1 v 1, over a number of vintages. I've done this with with a number of famous wines and have seen it done to great effect by others.

Horizontals can be a little wayward and I've seen many lose their way. I'd suggest structure a theme and stick to it. Spanning grape varietals and regions once sounded great, though you may as well have a random offline and not stress too much about theme details.

I'm presenting a vertical tonight of Pio Cesare's Barolo Ornato. From it's first vintage of 1985 onwards. There should be a clear snapshot within the theme of a wine region's evolution through the Barolo Wars and oak, global warming and the snapshot of the emergence of an MGA that would seem underrated amongst it's notable neighbours. I've an experimental bottling of barbera-nebbiolo labelled Ornato de Tavola from 1982 and Pio Boffa told me this experiment saw the winery move away from 100% barrique ( still used partially ). I've put in their Il Bricco Barbaresco from 90 and 93 to break it up as well. Perhaps it doesn't appeal to the auswine crew but this oversold pretty quickly- it's a probably once off, impossible to repeat look at an MGA 's evolution for Piedmont nuts.

Good luck!

[A_Steady]

qaz on AFF recently posted this link to a mini Cullen v Moss Wood vertical that I found interesting (please delete if links are not allowed)
https://australianwinereviews.blogspot.com/2 ... tical.html

[Mahmoud Ali]

qaz on AFF recently posted this link to a mini Cullen v Moss Wood vertical that I found interesting (please delete if links are not allowed)
https://australianwinereviews.blogspot.com/2 ... tical.html

This understatement leapt off the screen: "This goes to show that top Margaret River Cabernets should be cellared for 10 years at least."

[mjs]

I have not done a themed dinner as such (I leave it to my guests to bring what they like), but would love to do Margaret River vs Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon tasting.

Other tastings I would love to host or participate in are:
Barossa vs McLaren Vale Grenache
Barossa vs McLaren Vale Shiraz
Yarra Valley vs Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir

Coonawarra vs Margaret River Cabernet has been done a couple of times in the last few years, here in Melbourne and Sydney.
Good fun but hard to pick a winner, I think the 1976 Wynns Black Label took it out in the Melbourne tasting.

Cheers Con.

Con,

Indeed it did, a memorable wine. That particular bottle was my WOTY.

I'm all for comparative tastings, I don't mind verticals with two wines or horizontals with several wines, both provide interesting outcomes.

A quick nod to older MR wines, had a 2007 Woodlands Margaret yesterday, drinking very nicely, but still a long life left.

cheers
Malcolm

[Ozzie W]

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/fbwS0wb8/4h1j7s.jpg[/img]

Awesome theme, Con! Plenty on here, including me, tend to criticise Cullen. What better way to settle it once and for all, than a big blind tasting of Cullen against Moss Wood.

[Benchmark]

I remember that '76.

[mychurch]

Fraser is due to release the 10th version of Sami-Odi little wine in Jan/Feb and a vertical of all 10 editions v the single vintage shiraz would interest me. A few other interesting tasting that would get me excited are
- a vertical of Mount Mary Triolet v Sorrenberg Sauv/Semillon
- a Yarra v Margret River Cabernet Horizontal. I know Coonawarra has its fans, but I think Yarra and MR are probably more my thing.
- a ten years on WineFront Style Horizontal Chardonnay Tasting
- Old Vine Barossa Semillon v Hunter Horizontal
- Heritage Grenache tasting ( vertical or Horizontal)

Cant help out on any of these apart from some recent Sami-Odi, but I'd be happy to pay.

[Con J]

Thanks All some great suggestions.

I’ve got very little white wine in my cellar, 7 bottles total, 4 white Burg and 3 German sweet so obviously whites are out.

For a Challenge I like the idea of a vintage comparison early 90’s maybe a bit too old and don’t have that many so maybe a South Aus 96 vs 98 looks good.

Horizontals are good fun, maybe start doing 20 year retrospective every year.
2005 and 2010 probably still too young for my tastes.

Interesting read on the Moss Wood vs Cullen mini vertical and Ozzie where the hell did you find that photo.

Cheers Con.

[Alex F]

I would be very keen on a 2010 retrospective.

[Ozzie W]

Interesting read on the Moss Wood vs Cullen mini vertical and Ozzie where the hell did you find that photo.

I used this meme generator and just put it my own words -- [url]https://imgflip.com/memegenerator/Change-My-Mind[/url]

[Michael McNally]

I would be very keen on a 2010 retrospective.

I would be happy to open a couple of bottles of 2010 (more than 40 wines to choose from) and chat via zoom?

Cheers

Michael

[Alex F]

I would be keen!