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

[Sean]

deleted

[Sean]

deleted

[JamieAdelaide]

I’ve done a number of complete PdB horizontals and I’ve never had such a bad run. Ouch! I assume at least 10% buggered by cork taint or other cork issues including Piedmont premox.

I was a committee member of the Knights of Alba and Hong Kong Wine Society. I just checked in to see if any opinions on failure rates of PdB and at a recent event 40 x 2015 opened and all OK.

Sounds like you’ve copped a combo of taint, premox and poor transport / storage.

All the wines were bought directly from Distributor on release and professionally stored ever since, so yes possibly transport issue,
but definitely cork and premox issues as well.
The ones presented were the 'good ones' and there were about 3 or 4 others that were cactus as well not in that list.

I do absolutely believe in Piedmont premox

Next year is planned a 2007 Cru vertical, so hopefully they have only limited those issues to the 2005 vintage.

2007 will be a fascinating horizontal and should put a few critics to the sword- depending which way the wines go. If you are running the event and right onto the history of PdB, try throw in a 2007 Marchesi di Gresy Martinenga Barbaresco. The lost Cru! I did it for an 08 horizontal and it WOTN- right up til serving magnums ofGiacosa Asili Riservas with dinner.It will take sone time to source, perhaps the importer will help you out through JeffreyChilcott at the winery.

Despite all the carry on about PdB riservas my last buy of them in the 2015 vintage was $50 a bottle in Hong Kong! Bargains. Incredible and I can’t believe the wine nirvana of Hong Kong has been ruined.

[Sean]

deleted

[VinoEd]

D’Arenberg Coppermine 2001. Well, this is in a good place. Red fruit and a hit of cherry on the nose, little bit of spice, hint of old library. The fruit is still present here but the tertiary characteristics starting to show - it’s very mellow, tannins still present but soft.

[Ian S]

All the wines were bought directly from Distributor on release and professionally stored ever since, so yes possibly transport issue,
but definitely cork and premox issues as well.
The ones presented were the 'good ones' and there were about 3 or 4 others that were cactus as well not in that list.

I do absolutely believe in Piedmont premox

Next year is planned a 2007 Cru vertical, so hopefully they have only limited those issues to the 2005 vintage.

By chance I only had (and still have) a single bottle of Barbaresco from 2005 (and that a gift from someone else). Not originally intentional, just that it fell between visits to the region. However it certainly does (at best) have a reputation for being *variable*, though some are much more critical of it, effectively writing the whole vintage off as 'not worth bothering with'. Who's right? Well I don't know, but no-one made a compelling case for me to backfill later!

2007, alongside 2006, 2008 and the early 2009s was typically on tasting when we did our 'road trip' around Piemonte in 2012, so I got to taste a good few. It surprised me (in a good way). I'd gone into that trip thinking I'd be buying 2006s for the cellar, with perhaps some 2008s if they appealed, but the 2007s were so often approachable but not baked or otherwise OTT as I feared they might be. They were wonderful options for restaurants without aged wine lists, but I also got the feeling they'd be good mid-term agers, potentially with much lower risk of closing down. Your tasting will make for interesting reading!

[JamieAdelaide]

Yep funny I thought I had more 2005’s. Just five bottles now. I have drunk a few and quite enjoyed them for what they were. I have 2005 Roagna Crichet Paje which needs decades and a Brovia Garblet Sue which will hold magnificently in an austere and classical style.

[VinoEd]

Have purchased a few different 6x of various Reschke releases for and vintages over the past few years for heavily discounted prices. This 2007 Bos has been very good value for money. It’s got plenty of fruit still (some bottle variation, but this one is decent) still packing some power, tannins present. Good Coonawarra drinking.

[mychurch]

There are a lot of wine bars in Melbourne, but none are up to the quality of the Archive Wine Bar in Geelong. 140 wines per glass , that can be ordered in full or half glass pours. Spent an afternoon with a friend, drank 11 wines and only had 2 and a half glasses in total.

Wine of the day was the 2006 IRL Reserve Semillon, Brokenwood. Lime cordial made with salt water was my initial description, but as it opened up it became incredibly complex and powerful. Superb, and under screw cap this has longer to go.

An 18 Dujac Chambolle-Musingny had the most complex nose of the day and was pretty classy, but was no better than the 2018 Odyssee Cabernet/Syrah blend from Pierre Graffeuille. Both have lovely balance but the lush olive and blackberry fruit of the Odyssee was a surprise.

Best red was a new one for me - the 2021 Agricola Flaxman Shiraz. Made by Callum Powell, son of the famous Dave, this is from the Eden Valley. Nose was stemmy and there was some sour cherry but at the core was wonderful coiled red fruit. Lovely intensity which gives the impression of size, but it’s only 13.4 %. ‘The new Sami-Odi’ was my friends description, but only in the sense that it’s a great wine from an up and coming winemaker. Must find some of the previous vintage which was only 11.7%.

[Sean]

deleted

[VinoEd]

There are a lot of wine bars in Melbourne, but none are up to the quality of the Archive Wine Bar in Geelong. 140 wines per glass , that can be ordered in full or half glass pours. Spent an afternoon with a friend, drank 11 wines and only had 2 and a half glasses in total.

Wine of the day was the 2006 IRL Reserve Semillon, Brokenwood. Lime cordial made with salt water was my initial description, but as it opened up it became incredibly complex and powerful. Superb, and under screw cap this has longer to go.

An 18 Dujac Chambolle-Musingny had the most complex nose of the day and was pretty classy, but was no better than the 2018 Odyssee Cabernet/Syrah blend from Pierre Graffeuille. Both have lovely balance but the lush olive and blackberry fruit of the Odyssee was a surprise.

Best red was a new one for me - the 2021 Agricola Flaxman Shiraz. Made by Callum Powell, son of the famous Dave, this is from the Eden Valley. Nose was stemmy and there was some sour cherry but at the core was wonderful coiled red fruit. Lovely intensity which gives the impression of size, but it’s only 13.4 %. ‘The new Sami-Odi’ was my friends description, but only in the sense that it’s a great wine from an up and coming winemaker. Must find some of the previous vintage which was only 11.7%.

Great to hear re Agricola. I went long on them and got a 6 of each - yet to arrive (reminds me I need to chase Callum up) but looking forward to it. The 2021 Barossa wines seem a safe bet.

Also need to make it to Geelong it seems.

Cheers Ed

[Sean]

deleted

[Sean]

deleted

[Alex F]

Best red was a new one for me - the 2021 Agricola Flaxman Shiraz. Made by Callum Powell, son of the famous Dave, this is from the Eden Valley. Nose was stemmy and there was some sour cherry but at the core was wonderful coiled red fruit. Lovely intensity which gives the impression of size, but it’s only 13.4 %. ‘The new Sami-Odi’ was my friends description, but only in the sense that it’s a great wine from an up and coming winemaker. Must find some of the previous vintage which was only 11.7%.

This is a great great wine. Very lithe and expressive.

[VinoEd]

2022 Adelina Polish Hill River Riesling - very enjoyable. Dry, acidic, citrus, plenty of flavour, minerals… good stuff.

[I Love Shiraz]

BCD7E9D5-3954-4AE1-BCCD-AA8C8013790B.jpeg
Blue Pyrenees Estate Shiraz 18 - This comes up nice with a year or two on it. Deep red-purple colour. Lush aromas of berries and herbs. Got 18 months in American and French oak. You taste the oak a little, but the fruit really shines. Blackberry, blue fruits, spice, mocha oak and powdery tannins.

I am a big fan of this wine. It is outstanding value for money every vintage.

[VinoEd]

One of my favourite wines, Art Series Cabernet - this 2001 in a really good place.

[phillisc]

2020 Wild Duck Creek Yellow Hammerhill Shiraz/Cabernet/Malbec 80/12/8
Big brute of a wine, lovely bright expression of Shiraz with the Cabernet coming through and the savory tones of the Malbec. Hint of sweetness, full bodied with firm tannins. At $20 a bargain. Might go 20 years.
Cheers Craig

[Matt@5453]

2020 Wild Duck Creek Yellow Hammerhill Shiraz/Cabernet/Malbec 80/12/8
Big brute of a wine, lovely bright expression of Shiraz with the Cabernet coming through and the savory tones of the Malbec. Hint of sweetness, full bodied with firm tannins. At $20 a bargain. Might go 20 years.
Cheers Craig

Over the weekend I had a bottle of this also, really enjoyable. Also cracked a 2020 WDC Col Mountain Vineyard GSM. This was even better, a riper (in a WDC way) GSM style, but better for it, plenty of palate weight and lovely spice tones through it.

[Con J]

I’ll be opening this tonight, fingers crossed.

Cheers Con.

[Michael McNally]

How did it go Con?

Cheers

Michael

[Ian S]

Had a light-hearted tasting with friends at the weekend, alongside cooking some Ethiopian food (including injeera bread which is a bit of a faff, but I do like it, and even more so as I managed to find some teff flour). The theme was blindtasting from hell, intentionally impossible. Sorry for no proper TNs, as I didn't take notes (and was cooking at the same time).

Opened up with one that gave them a sniff of a chance, not least as I'd brought a similar wine to a meal we had with the same friends 2-3 years ago. Quinta so Montalto Baga reserva (sparkling) was a decent starter, but difficult to guess. Loire and Italy featured alongside other guesses, until someone mentioned Portugal (a favourite location for the group) and that brought them quickly to Bairrada. Perhaps the best clue was a touch of tannic grip.

Next up, a wine that slightly disappointed me, as I'd tasted it on release and thought it had the potential to age, but 3-4 years on the depth of fruit doesn't appear to be there, but the acidity was just as bright and refreshing as I remember. It might still surprise, but I'd now lean towards DYA. The wine was 2018 Valley Farm Pinot Gris, from about a 45 minute drive away from us (Halesworth, Suffolk). Very watery pale in colour, just slightly off-dry, an early guess was Bacchus, going through plenty of other cold climate grapes, but actually taking a while to say 'England'. On reflection, the nose did give tell-take pear drops, but probably too restrained to lead the guessers there.

The group is normally much more interested in red wines than white, so I asked if they were ok with another white. Good that they said yes, as the next one was a clear favourite. They went straight to Germany, not riesling but riesling-like, then hopped around that area with Furmint a fine (but incorrect suggestion), until someone said Alto Adige (Italy). No-one guessed the grape, and frankly there weren't any clues (unlike an earlier bottle of this I had). It is simply a world apart from what we used to drink (shudder!) in Liebfraumilch and Piesporter (and for one of our number - NZ). The wine was 2014 Tiefenbrunner Feldmarschall do Zenner Muller-Thurgau.

So onto the reds (or so they thought) This was positively evil, as it poured with a colour similar to Charles Melton's Rose of Virginia, perhaps slightly darker. So the guesses were all sensibly of lighter reds. Returning to Portugal took quite a while, and unsurprisingly no-one cottoned on that the lead grape was white (Fernao Pires at 80%, whilst Trincadeira was at just 20%). Made in a historical manner, starting fermentation with the white, then topping up with the red to complete fermentation (with enough space for it as the white barrels weren't full). The ex-Portugal resident loved this - very much to his tastes. The wine a 2020 Quinta do Montalto Encostas d'Aire Medieval de Ourém Rosé

The finishing wine was also a star, but it's one we've really enjoyed before. Oak noticeable but well-integrated / polished and the early guesses of Rhone / Beaucastel with some age were very good, but wrong. I think the 1994 vintage we had showed more of the country / region than this bottle, which really did shout of a fancy syrah led wine. As such it took a while to end up at Italy (it's not a big grape for them), the wine being 2006 Isole e Olena Collezione de Marchi Syrah, from Tuscany.

We had to cut things short a little early due to train strikes messing with schedules, so we missed out on tasting a Georgian Saperavi, Chilean Pais and a Yalumba Racehorse series port (1976 - Without fear), plus there were some relatively obscure dessert wines.

FWIW it worked well as a co-operative throwing of guesses in, with the scene set that it was not something anyone, even the ex owner of a wine shop, would expect to guess correctly, so no shame in guessing wrong.

[mychurch]

76B6C752-7636-4674-8B4E-BE8EAD99D0BD.jpeg

Rather a nice wine and a rate bottle of Penfolds for me. At its peak I would say, with lovely creamy fruit on the mid palate, enveloped in a coat of acidity. Lovely

[VinoEd]

Gave this a go, first time trying this and have a few more in the cellar. Needs more time, lots of fruit, white pepper, star anise, tannic. Overall, not bad, but not brilliant.

[JamieAdelaide]

E3C06546-6F5E-4D2F-A4E3-95D1E3DEAB1B.jpeg

This seems to be a lucky weekend

I’m not generally a fan of Auz Riesling, as they tend to be very tight and austere when compared to my favourite Germans, but this is lovely. Colour is still quite pale given that it’s an 04, but that is stelvin for you. The nose has a heady mix of citrus, stone fruit and petrol, there is wonderful tension in the mouth, with plenty of slightly creamy Stone fruit and some lemon. Finish is refreshing and rather joyous. Can’t think of a better Auz version I have drunk.

So you managed to double the price of Knight Riesling in a month? I got mine last auction for $15 and last night I saw a couple of bottles had you top bidder at $30. I bailed out and went west along the Ocean Road to Drumborg and got about eight to add to my other stash.

Shhhhh ….

Back vintages used to be aplenty at Knights. But if a raffle with their storage and cork. Thirty years ago this was.

I did see that there was a Jamie bidding - wondered if it was you.

I missed out on a few things recently at auction, as I got distracted at the last minute with work, so I put in some commission bids early in the week and just forgot about them. Would have been happier if everyone else stopped bidding at 15, but obviously they pushed them up. I will try to keep my mouth shut about how good they are.

Very interested to see how the Drumborg wines taste in comparison.

You’ve pipped me again. I don’t pay postage so will go higher

[mychurch]

Sorry Jamie. Collecting for a vertical that I want to have early next year. I only buy from Wickman’s and MW, so other sites may have friendlier pricing.

[JamieAdelaide]

That’s unusual attention for Knight. Their reds can be pleasingly unique. Not Craiglee standard for mine but I always enjoyed their Shiraz.

We’ve let the cat out the bag anyways. Best bid the last few minutes.

[VinoEd]

Had these last night… the champagne was excellent. First time trying, very dry. Enjoyable.
MM was in a great place, while I have found the Reflexion to be very enjoyable too (albeit, hard places to compete against the 06). A good night.

Cheers Ed

[felixp21]

2016 Sorrenberg Semillon-Sauvignon Banc
Still a little young, but shaping up brilliantly. Give this another 5 years and you have a World-class wine on your hands.
94+ points drink: 2026-2036

[mychurch]

That’s unusual attention for Knight. Their reds can be pleasingly unique. Not Craiglee standard for mine but I always enjoyed their Shiraz.

We’ve let the cat out the bag anyways. Best bid the last few minutes.

I like the Cabernet Blend Jamie. Not top level, but they release it with bottle age (that could because it’s a hard sell) and I like that concept. The 09 TOR Pinot was good recently as well.

I see now that they are releasing 3 different Riesling Cuvees - the Standard, the 1971 Block and the TOR. I presume that means some dilution of the quality of the Standard, which would be a shame.