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

[Sean]

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[Sean]

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[mychurch]

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Another older riesling. Drinking great last night. From the colour you can see that the screw cap has kept it young, and it’s only showing modest petrol on the nose. Fruit is in the apricot spectrum, it’s silky and of course there is acidity to keep it all in check I don’t know how good a producer Wolf Blass were back then, but this is lovely. In Bordeaux the rule was to buy the petite chateau in the good years and the Grand Crus in the bad ones. Does the same apply to SA Riesling ?

[WineRick]

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Another older riesling. Drinking great last night. From the colour you can see that the screw cap has kept it young, and it’s only showing modest petrol on the nose. Fruit is in the apricot spectrum, it’s silky and of course there is acidity to keep it all in check I don’t know how good a producer Wolf Blass were back then, but this is lovely. In Bordeaux the rule was to buy the petite chateau in the good years and the Grand Crus in the bad ones. Does the same apply to SA Riesling ?

2002 vintage across SA was a beauty - probably the best for 20 years. Wine would have been made by Wendy Stuckey and/or Christa Deans - they were responsible for some great WB whites.
Regarding good years/bad years for SA Rieslings - because they are so bloody cheap I would stick to great producers in general for most years. Nowhere near the pricing and promotional hype that surrounds Bordeaux and Burgundy.
Just picked another case of 2022 Buring EV Riesling, this time for $15/ bottle - it's become our house white while the weather is still on the warmish side.

[Mike Hawkins]

Not sure I agree with you Rick if your comment was across all varieties. 2002 was superb for riesling in the two major areas, but I’ve had a few reds that are way too porty. Despite the cooler vintage, my for my tastes, some picked their Shiraz too late.

[WineRick]

Not sure I agree with you Rick if your comment was across all varieties. 2002 was superb for riesling in the two major areas, but I’ve had a few reds that are way too porty. Despite the cooler vintage, my for my tastes, some picked their Shiraz too late.

I guess those 'porty' producers were sucked in to the 'Parker vortex'! Easy to do in those years. 2002 was a ripper.

[ticklenow1]

Not sure I agree with you Rick if your comment was across all varieties. 2002 was superb for riesling in the two major areas, but I’ve had a few reds that are way too porty. Despite the cooler vintage, my for my tastes, some picked their Shiraz too late.

Couldn’t agree more. Lot of overhyped reds that just haven’t gone the distance. Sure, there were some great ones, but ‘04 was much better across the board for reds in SA (well in my experience anyway).

Cheers
Ian

[WineRick]

Not sure I agree with you Rick if your comment was across all varieties. 2002 was superb for riesling in the two major areas, but I’ve had a few reds that are way too porty. Despite the cooler vintage, my for my tastes, some picked their Shiraz too late.

Couldn’t agree more. Lot of overhyped reds that just haven’t gone the distance. Sure, there were some great ones, but ‘04 was much better across the board for reds in SA (well in my experience anyway).

Cheers
Ian

My comments were more about the vintage than wines produced. Clever winemakers, who could see the great vintage coming, made special wines. Those who made wines to a formula (or a wine reviewer!) probably missed the opportunity for greatness. Vintage had cooler ripening with abundant yet mild sunshine, retaining both natural acid and varietal characters.
Agree 2004 was a good vintage, probably as a result of following the drought-ish 2003 - much smaller crops. 2005 was even better, as a result of a good vintage following a good vintage, if you get my drift.
'Winetitles' have good regional summaries for a lot of recent vintages - look up 'archives'.

[mychurch]

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If this was a 40 year old German TBA I’d be going mad over the colour, but alas this was a 40 year old Barossa riesling from an unknown to me producer. It’s says Dorado Wine Company Melbourne on the bottle, with St Julian as the brand. Sherryied and old on night 1, but after a night in the fridge the air has brought it back a bit from the dead. Typical old white notes of tangerine, apricots and earth. It was recognisable as a Riesling in day 1, but now it’s just another old white wine. Not great, but I like taking chances on these oldies as the hits are usually stunning.

[cuttlefish]

EC3D4BCE-448A-4020-A20D-753E72130E5D.jpeg

If this was a 40 year old German TBA I’d be going mad over the colour, but alas this was a 40 year old Barossa riesling from an unknown to me producer. It’s says Dorado Wine Company Melbourne on the bottle, with St Julian as the brand. Sherryied and old on night 1, but after a night in the fridge the air has brought it back a bit from the dead. Typical old white notes of tangerine, apricots and earth. It was recognisable as a Riesling in day 1, but now it’s just another old white wine. Not great, but I like taking chances on these oldies as the hits are usually stunning.

That colour is frightening! Glad the wine bounced back at least a little overnight!

[mychurch]

EC3D4BCE-448A-4020-A20D-753E72130E5D.jpeg

If this was a 40 year old German TBA I’d be going mad over the colour, but alas this was a 40 year old Barossa riesling from an unknown to me producer. It’s says Dorado Wine Company Melbourne on the bottle, with St Julian as the brand. Sherryied and old on night 1, but after a night in the fridge the air has brought it back a bit from the dead. Typical old white notes of tangerine, apricots and earth. It was recognisable as a Riesling in day 1, but now it’s just another old white wine. Not great, but I like taking chances on these oldies as the hits are usually stunning.

That colour is frightening! Glad the wine bounced back at least a little overnight!

It’s wierd how these things go. The bottle says it was a light white and had 10.5% alcohol. I have seen old Sauternes though that have turned black with age and are perfectly drinkable, so the colour in itself is not a reliable indicator. Didn’t finish the glass though and the rest of the bottles went down the sink.

[phillisc]

2009 Wynns Shiraz, drinking beautifully with an hour of air, plenty of fruit, nice palate weight and a lovely finish. Have drunk several bottles of this, with another case or two to come...outrageous drinking for $8 a bottle.
Cheers Craig

[Sean]

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[Sean]

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[Rossco]

Another interesting evening back in February

Theme was Whites & Sparklings (from anywhere)

Wine # 1– NV Champagne La Closerie ‘Les Beguines’ Extra Brut
A dull yellow in colour, some autolysis that some thought may have been a touch of ox, but I didn’t agree. Lovely nuttiness here, some wild honey notes and a touch of cream.
Superfine mousse, very dry. Startlingly dry as a matter of fact, lively chalky notes… talc as well.
Then those red fruits kick in… beautiful red currants, rhubarb, strawberries. The acid line is perfect, runs the entire length of the palate. Lemon acidity that superbly tames those red fruits, has to be majority pinot. Colour of the wine says differently though. Lovely mineralty here, surely it’s a champagne.
Lovely length, with more of those grilled nuts coming in at the end. 2014 base wine (even though it’s a NV)


Wine # 2 – 2015 Pierre Gimonnet ‘Special Club’ Champagne
Yellow, but a lighter colour than the previous wine, a touch brighter.
Very perfumed, quite extraordinary nose coming out of the glass. I can almost smell the glass next to me its that strong. Purple florals and purple sweets. Like one of those purple roll-ups you used to get in your lunchbox as a kid.
Complete opposite palate though, this is super dry again. Really belies the nose, as I was expecting something sweeter, but it’s a fantastic surprise. This feels like a chardonnay type dryness and acid profile, cant stop thinking this is Bdb or majority chard. Grapefruit acidity – focused and intense.
Grapefruit fruit as well, touch of green apple. Im still on the bdb train.
Line & quality of fruit is nice, not a knockout wow type wine though . Its missing the intensity & power of fruit I want in a top champagne…. And it is champagne…maybe it’s a touch young and needs to fill out a bit?


Wine # 3– 2014 Domain Jean-Pierre Maldant Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Dark gold in colour, this looks like it has some age on it. Pure Chardonnay nose, a little closed at first, needs time and air to open up. Green fruits on the nose, green apple – has a slight burgundy nose to it, feels like burg fruit a bit. Acidity is initially very intrusive, over powers the wine, but again with some time in the glass this settles down.
Once its opened up, wonderful green herbs make an appearance, fennel in particular and some more green fruit. Green melon, green apple, raw cashew as well. Not a tropical note, but has some green papaya as well. This will live a long time, that acidity still prominent.
Lovely rounded mouthfeel. Like its seen a touch of malo or barrel somewhere in its life, not a lot, but just good winemaking decisions for the fruit/vintage. Long life ahead – probably opened too soon,
But drinks very nicely now – why wait


Wine # 4 – 2008 Champagne Henriot ‘Millesime’
Lovely rich yellow colour, some very interesting notes coming out. Very buttery, has a baked strudel/pastry note that is simply delightful. Some slight vanilla/oak as and spice.
Has a richness about it that just fills the senses, very high quality wine here, GC quality for sure. Lovely chalk and talc minerals too, reminiscent of champagne a bit. Chalky dry acid too, front to back, runs all the way through – great balance
Some red fruits in there, but majority Chardonnay – acid is in the lemon/citrus band and the oak is just right. Length is very long – lovely wine


Wine # 5 – 2004 Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blanc Champagne
Dull yellow in colour, looks older in the glass. The bubbles are slow to reach the top. Kind of like me in the morning’s, need two shots of espresso to get out of bed these days.
Buttery nose, rich notes coming out. Lovely herbal note as well, but there is something else, baked bread / yeasty aromas too. Quite complex and very interesting.
More of that richness in the mouth, silky mouthfeel and rounded fruits. This is a broad wine,
Feels like a blend with that richness of the fruit. Not that I get a lot of red fruits, there is such a rich mouthfeel its hard to see 100% chardonnay………
Turns out its oak richness and I missed it – poor form from me.
Mushrooms and damp earth starting to creep in. Sous bois notes, not so much umami, but it adds some beautiful complexity from being an older wine. Bubbles fade and disappear with time, dry wine with some nice chalk notes, but not minerally dominant or anything. Just very well put together and well cellared. Drink sooner than later (probably due to the vintage?)


Wine # 6 – 2013 Dauvissant Chablis ‘Sechet’ Premier Cru
Due to an disagreement at the table, my notes may seem a bit short/indifferent from here on in. I wasn’t into the night any more, and yearned for the event to finish as quickly as possible.
Dark gold in colour, looks old (age wise).
Nose has buttery and citrus notes to it. More in the orange/mandarin side of citrus, smells acidic through. Nice stone fruits, peach, but again acidity is very prominent. Maybe its me having an ‘acidic palate day’ Has happened before.
Its ok, expect more from the maker – not as powerful as I would have wanted, Chablis not my favourite region, just too hit and miss. Ok length – doesn’t feel like its on a downward trajectory but should hold for a while longer.


Wine # 7 – 2006 Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires
Nice straw hay colour – has a shine about it, glowing like its happy to have been released from the prison that is the bottle.
Buttery nose here, loads of it. Milky solids, lovely chalk, actually reminds me of an aged Arras Grand Vintage.
Sublime autolysis here, adds this x factor to the wine. One of those things that if you weren’t concentrating you could miss it. Lemon acidity, not overpowering – playing its supporting role.
Chalky and wet stone minerality. Very high-quality powerful fruits. Very good maker, bigger house style, not getting a grower vibe from this. Its too clean, too pure and pristine Very well made, with some barrel influence, mouthfeel, astonishing length. White tiny bubbles burst with vibrancy – champagne fixes everything, putting me back in a better mood, still not 100% though.
White peach, nectarine, macadamia nuttiness, then a touch of spice and that wonderful oak. Rounds off the wine.


Wine # 8 – 2003 Schoenenbourg Alsase Grand Cru
Lovely honey dark gold colour, still has a glossiness about it. Lots of age by the look of it.
I guess 15+ years old.
Some slight kero notes immediately puts me in Riesling territory, clearly old world, but im leaning more towards Germany. Honey and beeswax nose, some barley sugar in there too
Some residual sugar sweetness, but low alcohol. I miss the Alsace component and still in Germany – however the acid profile is all wrong for Germany. This is where I erred incorrectly, this needs more acid and the Germans would have been different.
Strong Riesling characters, some dried lime, white stone minerals, white flowers, lime blossom and a touch of marmalade at the end. Silky, silky mouthfeel, so rounded, so long. Great wine


Wine # 9 – 2005 Arras EJ Carr Late Disgorged
Lovely Hay Yellow colour, tiny, elegant bubbles gliding to the surface.
Banana leaf nose, like others tonight has a buttery / dairy nose. Some tropical citrus notes as well in there, lovely nose.
Very powerful on the palate, its mouth filling. A total wine experience with very powerful fruit, very focused acidity, yet a richness of either Malo or oak, I can never tell the difference in a sparkling. The fruit flows all through the palate from front to back. Again oak influence adds a roundness to the wine. More white and yellow peaches, some lovely herbal notes, slight fennel possibly however some lovely white floral notes as well. Acidity is just lovely, more citrus type. Some mineral notes but this is not champagne as im not getting a lot a chalk. Great wine – complete wine of great focus.


Wine # 10 – Maison En Belles Lies Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru
Lovely light hay straw colour looks young in the glass. Green tinges on the rim.
Long fruit length in the mouth, feels like a Meursault that is 5-ish years old, however fruit isn’t as powerful as I want, im thinking it just needs time to fill out a bit. Lovely oak character, some cinnamon and vanilla spice in there. Fruit is more white peach, some lemon in there too.
I do like the spice in here, acid is nice not dominating or intrusive, but this wine is just missing that x factor I want. Im in premier cru territory, cant see this having the power of GC fruit (wrong again) – some nice nuisances in here, green herbs and some green grassy notes. Nice wine, needs time.


Wine # 11 – 2009 Giuseppe Mascarello Santo Stefano Di Perno
Cherry red in the glass. Red and powerful fruits. Red to black fruits – similar to the colour, this is all red cherry, some blackcurrants, redcurrants, very powerful fruits. The perfume leaping out of the glass is really something to behold. All purple and red florals. Dried strawberries, roses, lavender and some really lovely aniseed. Some light tarry notes as well – I could smell this all day.
In the mouth it was more of the same. Blueberry fruits, strawberries and bright red cherries. Silky mouthfeel, well integrated tannin and some wet earthy notes. Length was nice.
Due to the aircon struggling in the room, the wine was served a bit warm. May have affected the wine a bit, but oh well, that will serve me right for bring a red on a whites & bubbles theme.


Wine # 12 (extra) – 2005 Domaine Duriche Lavaut-Saint-Jacques Geverey Chambertin
Dark/Black cherry in the glass, quite blurry as well. Looks older im around 15ish years old.
Big whole bunch nose, some band aid notes too – again served too warm and its starting to fall
Apart in the glass. Very tertiary, lots of mushroom and earthy notes. Fern type greenish aromas starting to come out, its ok without being great.


Wine # 13 – 2002 Domaine des baumard Clos de sainte Catherine
Lovely sweet nose, lots of mandarin peel and dried citrus. Marmalade notes this is wonderful to smell. Some slight kero starting to appear, cant pick variety yet. Kind of thinking its Riesling, but could be a Semillon as well. Genuinely have no idea. Makes sense when the variety is revealed. Lovely silky mouthfeel, very long length, rounded texture, nice acid not intrusive, just supportive. A dryness starting to creep in just adds to the complexity, fruit again on that marmalade orange spectrum, some baked pear and spices to finish. Didn’t pick it as Chenin Blanc due to the low acidity, past experience have told me it


Wine # 14 – 2012 Jones Botrytis Muscat
Cardamom, and the bark of a cinnamon stick. Woody and exotic. Lots of cloves and musk, coriander seed with some eucalyptus notes… lots going on here. Barley sugar sweetness, raisins and some Smokey notes but not in a faulty way. Unctuous texture its rich and sweet. Lacking acid to balance it out and make it a superstar, however it’s a wonderful wine. Length is quite something, that mouth coating richness leaving a oily feel in the mouth (some like that feeling, others do not). Darker orange in colour definitely has age on it. Feels 15ish years…. If only it had more acid! Ce la vie.

[Sean]

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[Rossco]

A wine evening at the start of this month (March)

Theme is Mt Etna - Basically any wine from there

As always all wines served Blind

Wine # 1 (extra/starter) – 2020 Piona Gavi di Gavi Bricco delle Farfalle
Light Straw colour, tinge of white on the edges/rim. Bright colour though. On the nose there is some banana leaf, touch of sulphur. There is a glycerol character, its very very grippy in the mouth. Beautiful minerality, has a stone type mineral there. Lots of almond and grapefruits. The acid is grapefruit as well, very long acid spine… stunning. That acid runs the entire length of the wine, and that fruit is really up to the task. High quality fruits, green honeydew melon and Kiwi Fruit.
No oak to be seen, despite the acid it’s a delicate and soft wine, has a lightness to it. Length is good, just a touch short but a great starter…calls for fried whitebait by the sea please.


Wine # 2 - 2014 Le Casematte 'Faro'
Light cherry red in colour, VA on the nose with some sulphur and a bit of barnyard. Not a good start, but thankfully it blows off with time in the glass.
Some vigorous swirling occurs around the table, conversation drops off as the parties study the wine and try to coax it out. It’s a bit closed initially, but finally starts to open up to reveal some red cherries, but its austere fruit. It’s a hard fruited wine, lots of acid that is disjointed and achingly overpowering the wine at this stage, Fees way too young (under 5 years old). Needs to integrate and settle before visiting again.


Wine # 3 – 2013 Graci Etna Rosso Quota 1000
Lovely colour here, clear and unabashedly bright. Nose is has an off-putting funk about it – again some barnyard characters and some VA. Im beginning to think Etna is VA and Barnyard style based on the last two wines. Has a stalkiness and a bit of butter on the nose. Hard to pick the variety, not sure if it’s a Narello Mascalese or not. Its light bodied, its lacking some fruit power, its short in length as well. Not a big fan at this stage of its life.


Wine # 4 – 2015 Graci Etna Rosso Quota 1000
Looks slightly older in colour, it’s a bit darker and has a slight browning starting to creep in. Very perfumed though lots happening. Lavender, dried roses and tarry notes. Love the tannin structure here, its gravelly and profound. This is a wonderful wine, lots of cherry fruit with more of those roses coming through. Length is great, perfect acid balance and those volcanic black minerals only etna can give, in a charcoal type mineral vein. Complex and interesting. Such a contrast to the 2013 - completely different


Wine # 5 -2014 Passopisciaro Contrada ‘R’ Rampante
Smalls bad – like a hospital when you walk into a ward. Medicinal cleaning products.
Rubber, hot, VA and TCA all stripped fruit. Hard pass and tipped out.


Wine # 6 – 2015 Calabretta Nerello Cappuccio
Quite dark in the glass, almost a clear black blackberry type colour mixed with black cherry.
Huge black tea nose, you can almost smell the tannin, has some tea spices in there too.
Very fine, dry and dusty tannin, perfectly ripe fruit more maraschino cherries & dark cherry, some lovely provincial herbs and more of those wonderful black minerals, Graphite this time adds to the complexity and intrigue. This is different to the others, it’s a different fruit profile – makes sense as it’s 100% capuccio grape, very rare and usually used as a blender. Very good wine.


Wine # 7 – 2014 Passopisciaro Contrada ‘S’ Sciaranuova
Light cherry red in colour, slight band aid nose initially, pork sausage and BBQ meat.
Meaty nose here, chunky and large. Acid it hard too, disjointed tannin, this is all arms and legs at the moment, needs time to come together. Fruit is hiding behind all that structure, will it ever present itself? Its ok without being great. Put in the back of the cellar.


Wine # 8 – 2015 Benanti Serra Della Contessa Etna Rosso Riserva
Lighter again here, its so light looks to have white edges/rim which is very unusual for a red. Interesting!
Liquorice and aniseed nose here, different to all the other wines, green regional herbs, has a cleanliness about it. Its high altitude, and there is a purity about this wine… like fresh mountain air. The length is fantastic here, balance is great acid and tannin letting the red cherry new season fruit shine. Feels 10sih years old and just staring its long drinking window. More please.


Wine # 9 (backup for # 5) – 2012 Passopisciaro Rosso
Corked / the dreaded ox


Wine # 10 (Backup) - 2015 Terre Nere Santo Spirito Etna Rosso
Glistening red cherry and a touch of darker cherry colour as well. Like a 50/50 blend of the two.
Volcanic minerals, chalky tannin too a real interesting twist. I love this type of tannin, its powdery, light and again chalky/talc in texture. Cherry red fruit, some slight strawberry notes and cranberry as well, but only just ripe. This is a very high-quality wine, everything in place. Love the length here, but the mouthfeel is (apart from the fruit) the real star here. Silky and has a rhubarb tartness all at the same time, those tannins run down the side of the cheeks all the way to the back. Nice. When Terre Nere is on… it’s a titanic battle; BUT Calabretta wins for me (as a producer).


The next flight was served concurrently/together

Wine # 11 – Left Glass - 2015 Ca d’Gal vite Vecchia Moscato d’asti
Marmalade, orange blossom, orange peel, cloves, apricot jam, touch of lemon.
Has a slight spritz about it, very soft, ultra-fine bubbles left over from the fermentation perhaps?
Clearly left there on purpose, just adds to the complexity. Gives this lightness to the wine, sweet sherbet…. Length is out of this world. Doesn’t stop, keeps going and going, This is god like in its quality. The florals leaping out of the glass are so pretty. White flowers, orchard flowers, its beautiful in its delicacy, restrained powered fruit its extraordinary. A sight to behind, a wine moment and wine of the night for me. Candidate for Sweet wine of the YEAR (WOTY) and its only march!



Wine # 12 – Right Glass - 2004 Joh Jos Prum Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese Riesling
Smells German or Alsatian, pale in colour though. Definitely Riesling but confused as to where its from (its not Australian though). Fruit is a bit weak, and im leaning towards Alsace as its lacking power. Its off dry in style. Nettles, petroleum nose, green fruit – green pawpaw, green papaya, candied limes with touches of apricot flower as well. Missing the acidity, I want in a German, so I pick Alsace.
Geeze that’s the totally wrong decision. STILL don’t see the German acid in here, its missing that acid backbone. 2015 Ca d’Gal killed it

[phillisc]

2016 Wolf Blass Medlands BV Shiraz, lovely wine, black blue fruits, oak is there but largely soaked up, long lingering palate with fine tannins.
2015 Henschke Mt Edelstone Shiraz, a real surprise here, lovely intense florals, voilets, dark fruits on the nose, silky smooth palate almost chocolatety in texture, credit to the wine making team, such a balanced wine. Under screwcap, it will outlive me. Pity about the stupid pricing on this wine, certainly can't afford to drop $1500 on a sixer
Cheers Craig

[WineRick]

2016 Wolf Blass Medlands BV Shiraz, lovely wine, black blue fruits, oak is there but largely soaked up, long lingering palate with fine tannins.
2015 Henschke Mt Edelstone Shiraz, a real surprise here, lovely intense florals, voilets, dark fruits on the nose, silky smooth palate almost chocolatety in texture, credit to the wine making team, such a balanced wine. Under screwcap, it will outlive me. Pity about the stupid pricing on this wine, certainly can't afford to drop $1500 on a sixer
Cheers Craig

Craig, would be interested to know what you'd think is a less-stupid price for Mt Edelstone.

[phillisc]

2016 Wolf Blass Medlands BV Shiraz, lovely wine, black blue fruits, oak is there but largely soaked up, long lingering palate with fine tannins.
2015 Henschke Mt Edelstone Shiraz, a real surprise here, lovely intense florals, voilets, dark fruits on the nose, silky smooth palate almost chocolatety in texture, credit to the wine making team, such a balanced wine. Under screwcap, it will outlive me. Pity about the stupid pricing on this wine, certainly can't afford to drop $1500 on a sixer
Cheers Craig

Craig, would be interested to know what you'd think is a less-stupid price for Mt Edelstone.

WineRick,
$100-125
Cheers Craig

[Alan Foo]

2015 Henschke Mt Edelstone Shiraz, a real surprise here, lovely intense florals, voilets, dark fruits on the nose, silky smooth palate almost chocolatety in texture, credit to the wine making team, such a balanced wine. Under screwcap, it will outlive me. Pity about the stupid pricing on this wine, certainly can't afford to drop $1500 on a sixer
Cheers Craig

Craig, would be interested to know what you'd think is a less-stupid price for Mt Edelstone.

WineRick,
$100-125
Cheers Craig

Yes, Mt E is still one of my top favorite. I will put it at $140

[WineRick]

Craig, would be interested to know what you'd think is a less-stupid price for Mt Edelstone.

WineRick,
$100-125
Cheers Craig

Yes, Mt E is still one of my top favorite. I will put it at $140

So about the Tappa Pass price?

[Mike Hawkins]

For ME, I might be wrong, but the releases seem to be longer after vintage than in decades gone by. If that memory is correct, my guess is the continual price rises are responsible for it, since the quality of the wine hasn’t deteriorated.

[Andrew Jordan]

For ME, I might be wrong, but the releases seem to be longer after vintage than in decades gone by. If that memory is correct, my guess is the continual price rises are responsible for it, since the quality of the wine hasn’t deteriorated.

My guess is they are trying to keep up with Penfolds ...

[phillisc]

For ME, I might be wrong, but the releases seem to be longer after vintage than in decades gone by. If that memory is correct, my guess is the continual price rises are responsible for it, since the quality of the wine hasn’t deteriorated.

Mike, good point, yes must be buckets of this wine in storage, suspect if a 2017 was made so will a 2020 ( both vintages I am a little dubious of). Therefore, tens of thousands of bottles/litres in storage 2018-2022??
Yes drip feed releases always give wineries a chance to whack up prices to stupid/outrageous/inflated/exaggerated/unrealistic/dreaming (insert any word you like here) levels. The prices on 2018/19 will be eye watering indeed, but good luck to them, I am unaffected other than being critical, as I don't buy the wines.

Just a final pot stirrer though, as good as the 2015 was, certainly not worth 2 Standish.
Cheers Craig

[mychurch]

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Almost added this into the Chardonnay thread, as it’s now a still white wine rather than a sparkler. First vintage of Chandon Cuvee Brut - Cuvee 87-1. Without the bubbles this is still great. Still bread, brioche and some creamy butter in the nose and taste. Only downer is that the cork fell apart and there is some bits floating in the glass, which gives a bitterness on the finish. Nice, but not for everyone.

[Ian S]

For ME, I might be wrong, but the releases seem to be longer after vintage than in decades gone by. If that memory is correct, my guess is the continual price rises are responsible for it, since the quality of the wine hasn’t deteriorated.

My guess is they are trying to keep up with Penfolds ...

It always felt that way

[Mike Hawkins]

1991 Eileen Hardy Shiraz…. A very rare walk into MV territory for me. Lots of bottle stink but eventually got better. Quite a floral nose for an older wine, soft and simple on the palate with a reasonable length. ‘OK’.

1998 jacobs Creek Centenary Hill Shiraz. In a good spot and not likely to get better. Chocolaty nose and also on the palate… reminded me of Old Gold to be precise. Well integrated tannins and good length. Pleasant wine.

2005 Jim Barry Florita… excellent wine getting closer to the need of its drinking window based on this sample. Coola cordial nose with some slatiness on the palate. Well integrated acid finish.

[mychurch]

0BDFBBD4-712F-4A10-900A-4573EF69E191.jpeg

Not sure how good a producer Brown Brother were when this 91 Cabernet was released, but this is a wine that Can hold its own with any aged Auz Cabernet. So good infact that I popped the wine into the Riedel Sommelier Cabernet glass, which is known to destroy lower quality wines.

The wine itself is very my Bdx. There is a leafy nose, plenty of red fruit, chocolate and it’s fully resolved and in its prime drinking window. Really lovely - glad I have a 2nd bottle.

[Con J]

Sounds lovely Cameron.

I’ve always considered BB to be a very commercial and average producer, shouldn’t really say average.

But I’ve had a few that others have put on and were lovely interesting and very enjoyable. I think someone from here put one on at a Melbourne offline a few years back.

Cheers Con.