We emerge, blinking, into the spring evening - after four dinners lost to COVID lockdowns - with a theme celebrating the home state of NSW. Interestingly, two of the contemporary ‘big names’ in NSW wine – Mount Pleasant and Clonakilla – made no appearance at all; not something I’d have expected. We hardly missed them though, with a grand selection of wine for seven primed Rotters!
- [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9442354]NV Vasse Felix Idée Fixe Premier Brut[/url] - Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River
{12%} [Gordon] Not sure I’ve ever drunk WA fizz, to be honest. Wonderful nose of sourdough and apples. The palate is certainly apple-crunchy too, ripe and fruit-driven, with little yeast character. Still medium/full in weight, but with fairly large and aggressive bubbles. Medium acidity, with a dry, crunchy, medium-length finish. Nothing wrong here that a few more years on lees wouldn’t have fixed! - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9442355]2015 Artemis Wines Riesling[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, South Coast, Southern Highlands
{screwcap, 11%} [Stephen] There is some development on the nose here; it has an apple-and-custard quality, like it’s imitating something from Rheinhessen. The light-bodied palate has hints of browning apples and even a little cinnamon too. But the texture is very soft, the acidity seemingly missing in action, which causes the finish – short/medium in length – to sag a bit. Seems more like a drink-on-release style. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9442358]1992 Tyrrell's Sémillon Vat 1[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
{12%} [Graeme] Cork-sealed semillon at thirty; roll the dice. Opened at dinner. Minimal ullage, and cork only damp about 30% up from the bottom. Medium gold, still clear and bright. Honey-on-toast nose – jackpot! Creamy-textured but very much alive palate. Sweet-tinged yellow fruit, toasty and smoky, no sign of botrytis. Lots of dimension to the flavours here. Medium weight, long, even, dry palate. A triumph. Final bottle of a 6-pack I bought last century – kept the highest level bottle til last, so I expected it to be decent. Well-kept/corked bottles will be fine for a while yet. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9442366]2009 McLeish Estate Sémillon[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
{screwcap} [Gordon] Good show history years ago, this wine. How does it look at twelve, though? Pretty damn good, actually. Only a little developed, the aromas here are grassy and hay-like. It’s a quintessential HV Semillon palate, with fresh straw flavours and just a little weight from bottle development. Light-/medium in body, it feels neither young nor old on the palate, a bit weighter than the aromas lead you to expect, and with good presence through the mid-palate. Has years ahead of it still. Rather more developed than the following Poole’s Rock bottling though. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9442370]2009 Poole's Rock Sémillon Hunter Valley[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
{screwcap} [Aaron] This is surprisingly muted for a dozen years of age. Faint straw/grass with a steely character on both nose and palate. Fairly lean character all round, but more austere than anything. Feels like it needs a lot of time. More acid than the preceding McLeish. I never associated Poole’s with something so ‘serious’ as this. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9442371]2011 Andrew Thomas Wines Sémillon Cellar Reserve Braemore[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
{screwcap, 11.5%} [Glenn] Standard Braemore Semillon re-released a few years ago after extended cellaring (priced to match, as I recall). This is bottle no. 1928. Developing nose of smoke and straw. Has a dirty, earthy sort of character I always associate with Braemore. The palate is softening out, but the medium/high acid still carries it easily. Surprisingly smoky for an unoaked wine. Medium body and good presence on the front and mid-palate. Will age further but I’m not certain about real development. Medium length finish. Good wine, not outstanding. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9442373]2006 Tyrrell's Shiraz 4 Acres[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
{screwcap, 12.4%} [Graeme] Swiftly double-decanted three hours earlier, and although there was virtually no sediment I think the little bit of oxygen helped. Vibrant, slightly developing nose of smoke, cherry, roses. A bit like a Barolo with an Oz accent (but less tannic). The palate remains tartly fresh, if smoky, with earth and cherry fruit. Medium chalky tannins, medium/high acidity and medium weight complete the statistics. It’s finely etched right the way along the tongue, with a medium/long, dry finish. Plenty more time here for this beguiling sort of Hunter shiraz. Just a single 2700l cask used to mature this, so there are a scant 300 dozen of this anciently-sourced wine (1879 vines) to go round, which is why the member price is pushing three figures these days. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9442390]2009 Lake's Folly Cabernets[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
{cork, 13%} [DavidM] Cabernet, shiraz, petit verdot and merlot blended 67/15/10/8. Might have been a bit of an in-between vintage for Hunter reds generally, but this really hits the mark. Purely curranty nose; essence of cassis. There’s a spicy touch too. Medium/full weight palate, with malt and dark fruits, finely gritty medium tannins, brightly savoury acid and not too much oak. Quite intense too. Very clean and modern by the old 20th century Lakes Folly standards. Long finish, even palate. Really good, and will cellar another decade easily. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9442392]2011 Tyrrell's Shiraz Vat 9[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
{screwcap, 12.9%} [Aaron] Dark earth, peat, malt, blackberry. A little developed, with bright primary character having given way to some earthiness. There is a core of sweet black fruit on the palate, which is fresher and lighter than I expected from the bouquet. It’s medium weight, with medium chalky tannins, and coats the tongue evenly, but the acidity seemed quite reticent, which just took the edge off the wine somehow. Medium length finish. Maybe a decant would have helped. It was a fine Hunter vintage; I wouldn’t hesitate to keep this, but maybe some air will help. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9442393]2012 St. Maur Cabernet Sauvignon Lot 41[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, South Coast, Southern Highlands
{screwcap, 13.5%} [Stephen] Currant aromas, but also leafy and quite green, maybe befitting its cool-climate origin. Medium weight, with low dusty tannins, there is a touch of cranberry sweetness to the black fruit here. Some smoke too, but it’s not too oaky. Slightly patchy palate sitting on the front of the tongue, with a short/medium length dry finish. Ready to drink I think; maybe was better younger before the tannins softened out so much. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9442397]2015 Bonics Estate Shiraz[/url] - Australia, New South Wales
{screwcap, 13%} [DavidH] According to the label, this hails from Jerilderie. When David said it cost $720, it seemed obvious to me that he’d mistakenly quoted the case price. But, no. With a startling mix of hubris, naivety, ambition and effrontery, the winery does indeed offer this at $720 a bottle. They’ve apparently been around since the 70s (unknown to me) and have invented their own harvester (not just hand-picking, then?), according to their very earnest and quaintly-worded website. But the proof is in the bottle, as ever. Slightly developing nose of ripe, black fruits, liquorice. Smells dense, it that’s possible. The palate is striking for its lack of acidity; medium/high powdery tannins and roasted red grapes can’t really make up for that structural flaw, as I see it. Medium/full weight, but the finish is far too short for any wine with a three-figure price tag. As a wine, it’s OK, nothing too special; I just can’t get over the jaw-dropping price, nor stop it affecting my judgement somehow! A nice enough wine if someone gives it too you – but not one you’d buy yourself! - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9442399]2009 De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Sémillon[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Big Rivers, Riverina
{375ml, screwcap, 10.5%} [DavidM] Deep gold. Fully developed nose of candied apricot, heavy botrytis aroma, smoke, earth. Copper and brass. Decadently rich but not over-the-top. Medium/dry palate, with apricot, caramel, butterscotch. Still some acidity; with a longish finish. Nicely evolved; not so complex as Sauternes, but pretty good for the money. Ready to drink now. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9442402]2016 Centennial Sauvignon Blanc Finale Late Autumn[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, South Coast, Southern Highlands
{375ml, screwcap, 10.1%} [DavidM] A little burnished on the nose, with sweetly honey-like aromas. Fairly simple translucent palate, medium dry, no real botrytis here, more of a late-pick style. Gentle acid, light/medium