Hi Good Peoples,
What have you all be drinking? The wine I enjoyed most was last nights effort. Fox Gordon 2003 King Louis Cabernet Sauvignon April 05
No; even though this is a Cabernet it is not named after the Frog King, Louis; it is named after NatashaÂ’s son, Louis, who's always trying to upstage his sister Hannah and the wine sells for approximately $49. A closed and tight seriously varietal Cabernet bouquet revealing milk chocolate, mocha, dark berry, mint, the hint of cigar leaf; and even after four hours in the glass it was reluctant to show its true character. It's a bright wine with excellent fruit purity; clean as a whistle and still retains interest; the fruit is doing the talking with the oak in sympathetic support. The wine shows terrific balance; tannins are there but are tight and well controlled; it finishes dry with excellent persistence. Black cherries/currents, milk chocolate, mint and a touch of tobacco leaf flavours are more-ish. This is a seriously good Cabernet Sauvignon and is rated as Highly Recommended with ** for value with room for improvement as the wine matures. Unfortunately for the producers, the grape variety is not in vogue in this area and the wine will be hard to sell that this price point. If it were Shiraz, people wouldn't think twice about the price.
There were two more in the group, the tasting notes for them wil go up on torbwine in the next day or so.
Now what have you guys been drinking? TN, vibes or impressions welcome.
It's that time of the week again...
A quiet week suffering a head cold and recovering from recent excesses, no tasting groups either as the scheduled one was abandoned when the wine provider got caught up in renovations and forgot to turn up with the wine!
Redman Cabernet Merlot 96 had a musty smell on opening, so went for the backup, but the next day it breathed off, a nicely mature medium-bodied wine typical of Redman, soft and approachable, but not really my style.
The backup was a 12 Staves McLarenVale Shiraz 2001. On release is was pretty lush and simple, lacking structure, a couple of years has made a lot of difference, it seems to have lost it's puppy-fat and is drinking well now, will hold a couple of years, but not a wine to cellar too long. It went well with some Cantonese beef dishes (pepper beef hotpot, sizzling mongolian beef, peking twice-cooked shredded beef) at Fortune Cookie, a surprisingly good suburban Chinese restuarant.
Also scoffed waiting to order and with the Squid and Prawn dishes, a bottle of Ashton Hills Salmon Brut 2001, the hue of this wine is a delight to watch in the glass and the wine itself is delightful, one of the best ways to enjoy Adelaide Hills Pinot.
A bottle of Scarpantoni Block 3 Shiraz 96, the first one for a year or 2 opened clean and fresh, unlike some bottles at an earlier age that opened quite smelly/sulphury. The chunky structure has finally softened and integrated, this one is drinking nicely at it's peak for my taste. Good honest McLarenVale shiraz.
Redman Cabernet Merlot 96 had a musty smell on opening, so went for the backup, but the next day it breathed off, a nicely mature medium-bodied wine typical of Redman, soft and approachable, but not really my style.
The backup was a 12 Staves McLarenVale Shiraz 2001. On release is was pretty lush and simple, lacking structure, a couple of years has made a lot of difference, it seems to have lost it's puppy-fat and is drinking well now, will hold a couple of years, but not a wine to cellar too long. It went well with some Cantonese beef dishes (pepper beef hotpot, sizzling mongolian beef, peking twice-cooked shredded beef) at Fortune Cookie, a surprisingly good suburban Chinese restuarant.
Also scoffed waiting to order and with the Squid and Prawn dishes, a bottle of Ashton Hills Salmon Brut 2001, the hue of this wine is a delight to watch in the glass and the wine itself is delightful, one of the best ways to enjoy Adelaide Hills Pinot.
A bottle of Scarpantoni Block 3 Shiraz 96, the first one for a year or 2 opened clean and fresh, unlike some bottles at an earlier age that opened quite smelly/sulphury. The chunky structure has finally softened and integrated, this one is drinking nicely at it's peak for my taste. Good honest McLarenVale shiraz.
Cheers
Brian
Life's too short to drink white wine and red wine is better for you too! :-)
Brian
Life's too short to drink white wine and red wine is better for you too! :-)
Hi all,
Finished of the last of the Warrabilla 'tasting' six pack this week.
Warrabilla 2004 Parola’s Durif: 25/4/05 – Black/purple in colour, almost clings to the side of the Reidel’s – I know it is going to be smooth – the nose is full of blackberries and currants, there is a sense of alcohol, not surprising at 17.5%. The mouth feel was as expected, pure velvet – the tannins were soft, tingly on the sides of the tongue, adding a little zest to the magnificently huge fruit – again black berries and currants. Finish was sweet with a (very) little heat and sultanas that just hung around for 10 minutes!! Loved this wine. Ann still has a glazed look on her face – I think she liked it……Andrew, the order is going in tomorrow (which it did), Love your Parola’s Durif. Of the six pack, the Parola’s Durif and Parola's Cabernet were the pick for us. Huge wines!
Warrabilla 2004 Reserve Durif: 25/4/05 see above, less fruit, not as sweet - what did you expect after a bottle Parolas Durif at 17.5%...tasting notes??
Tamar Ridge 2004 Sauvignon Blanc: 27/4/05 Light textured wine with plenty of punch, herbaceous with a sharpish finish, holds up well with spicy food.
Henschke Henry 7 2003 Shiraz Grenache Viognier: 27/4/05 Young, woody, light weight and perhaps a little ‘sour’. Doesn’t do it for me, although Ann likes a glass of it during the week.
Katnook Estate 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon: 30/4/05 Brown/Red. Chocolate, vanilla nose. Mouthfeel is a little light for my taste. Up front the tannins are a little astringent but settle down after two hours in a decanter. The plummy fruit is very light, flavour more focused on earthy tones, there is also quite a bit of vanilla oak, perhaps olives. Chocolate doesn't carry through to the palate until wine has been decanting for 2 hours. Earthy flavours linger. (Chuck, is this what you mean by a 'greener' wine?). Probably go down well with a good beef dish during winter.
The Willows 2001 Shiraz: 29/4/05 Lighter textured (but we have been drinking some very big wines lately) but full flavoured red. Got a lot going for it - wood, fruit, spice, cinnamon/cardamom, mocha, creamy but light. Went down very well with Thai on Friday night - good call on the Shiraz/Thai combo all!
Regards,
Allan
PS: anyone interested in the outcome of the Kennards Locker rack solution I have updated the thread with a link to some photos.
Finished of the last of the Warrabilla 'tasting' six pack this week.
Warrabilla 2004 Parola’s Durif: 25/4/05 – Black/purple in colour, almost clings to the side of the Reidel’s – I know it is going to be smooth – the nose is full of blackberries and currants, there is a sense of alcohol, not surprising at 17.5%. The mouth feel was as expected, pure velvet – the tannins were soft, tingly on the sides of the tongue, adding a little zest to the magnificently huge fruit – again black berries and currants. Finish was sweet with a (very) little heat and sultanas that just hung around for 10 minutes!! Loved this wine. Ann still has a glazed look on her face – I think she liked it……Andrew, the order is going in tomorrow (which it did), Love your Parola’s Durif. Of the six pack, the Parola’s Durif and Parola's Cabernet were the pick for us. Huge wines!
Warrabilla 2004 Reserve Durif: 25/4/05 see above, less fruit, not as sweet - what did you expect after a bottle Parolas Durif at 17.5%...tasting notes??
Tamar Ridge 2004 Sauvignon Blanc: 27/4/05 Light textured wine with plenty of punch, herbaceous with a sharpish finish, holds up well with spicy food.
Henschke Henry 7 2003 Shiraz Grenache Viognier: 27/4/05 Young, woody, light weight and perhaps a little ‘sour’. Doesn’t do it for me, although Ann likes a glass of it during the week.
Katnook Estate 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon: 30/4/05 Brown/Red. Chocolate, vanilla nose. Mouthfeel is a little light for my taste. Up front the tannins are a little astringent but settle down after two hours in a decanter. The plummy fruit is very light, flavour more focused on earthy tones, there is also quite a bit of vanilla oak, perhaps olives. Chocolate doesn't carry through to the palate until wine has been decanting for 2 hours. Earthy flavours linger. (Chuck, is this what you mean by a 'greener' wine?). Probably go down well with a good beef dish during winter.
The Willows 2001 Shiraz: 29/4/05 Lighter textured (but we have been drinking some very big wines lately) but full flavoured red. Got a lot going for it - wood, fruit, spice, cinnamon/cardamom, mocha, creamy but light. Went down very well with Thai on Friday night - good call on the Shiraz/Thai combo all!
Regards,
Allan
PS: anyone interested in the outcome of the Kennards Locker rack solution I have updated the thread with a link to some photos.
Last edited by bigkid on Sun May 01, 2005 12:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
bigkid wrote:The Willows 2001 Shiraz: 29/4/05 Lighter textured (but we have been drinking some very big wines lately) but full flavoured red. Got a lot going for it - wood, fruit, spice, cinnamon/cardamom, mocha, creamy but light. Went down very well with Thai on Friday night - good call on the Shiraz/Thai combo all!
Another convert!
If you have a really good Thai restaurant, see if they can do any southern-style Thai curries and try with a Warrabilla Durif.
Cheers
Brian
Life's too short to drink white wine and red wine is better for you too! :-)
Brian
Life's too short to drink white wine and red wine is better for you too! :-)
D'arenberg Ironstone Pressings 1999 - grenache/shiraz/mourvedre - surprisingly youthful & tannic; have to struggle to get much from it at this stage - from past experience, these blossom at 8 - 10+ years. Oak, sweet/savoury fruit, some gaminess; good value at 20-something from Langtons Exchange, not so good at $50+ retail.
Leconfield Cabernet 1995 - mellow, secondary spectrum varietal flavours, tannins, acid, oak, fruit fully integrated now - maybe lacking a bit of oomph - was a brilliantly intense cassis-laden wine some 3-4 years ago.
Seppelt 1978 Para Vintage Liqueur Port - in the Seppelt groove - lovely rancio character, not too sweet; alcohol pokes out at present, bit hot & distracting on the mid palate - should even out over the next few (10, 20?) years.
Leconfield Cabernet 1995 - mellow, secondary spectrum varietal flavours, tannins, acid, oak, fruit fully integrated now - maybe lacking a bit of oomph - was a brilliantly intense cassis-laden wine some 3-4 years ago.
Seppelt 1978 Para Vintage Liqueur Port - in the Seppelt groove - lovely rancio character, not too sweet; alcohol pokes out at present, bit hot & distracting on the mid palate - should even out over the next few (10, 20?) years.
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Guest
Wines of the week.....
...... a range of wines this week, given birthday celebrations. Let's see if I can remember them....
No problems remembering :
2001 Bannockburn Chardonnay. Multi-layered, balanced, harmonious wine. Delicately balanced between very good fruit, oak and secondary development. Drunk in company with Cullen's vineyard manager, who wanted to extract another bottle from the cellar. VVG
2003 Madew Belle Riesling. Distinctive in the combination of floral & lemon characters, and low alcohol was in balance here.
Grosset Noble Riesling 1999. I've been drinking too much Noble One, and now realise how sensational botrytis rieslings are. Lovely.
Cullen 2004 Chenin Blanc Semillon botrytis. You're right - you won't see this on the shelves probably. The first vintage of what may become a Cullen regular. Sorry, the Grosset shoots it down, although it's not a bad wine.
Tahbilk Shiraz 1988. Yep, the standard model Tahbilk (not the 1860). Double decanted, it came good, and even impressed my Margaret River colleague. If in doubt about Tahbilk reds, err on the side of caution.
Hopefully more notes to follow, time permitting.
Cheers
Waiters Friend
No problems remembering :
2001 Bannockburn Chardonnay. Multi-layered, balanced, harmonious wine. Delicately balanced between very good fruit, oak and secondary development. Drunk in company with Cullen's vineyard manager, who wanted to extract another bottle from the cellar. VVG
2003 Madew Belle Riesling. Distinctive in the combination of floral & lemon characters, and low alcohol was in balance here.
Grosset Noble Riesling 1999. I've been drinking too much Noble One, and now realise how sensational botrytis rieslings are. Lovely.
Cullen 2004 Chenin Blanc Semillon botrytis. You're right - you won't see this on the shelves probably. The first vintage of what may become a Cullen regular. Sorry, the Grosset shoots it down, although it's not a bad wine.
Tahbilk Shiraz 1988. Yep, the standard model Tahbilk (not the 1860). Double decanted, it came good, and even impressed my Margaret River colleague. If in doubt about Tahbilk reds, err on the side of caution.
Hopefully more notes to follow, time permitting.
Cheers
Waiters Friend
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Waiters Friend
- Posts: 2782
- Joined: Mon May 02, 2005 4:09 am
- Location: Perth WA
#2
Hello again
A few more quick TNs from my birthweek. BTW, the 'birthweek' is a tradition I carry on from my paternal grandmother. Why only have a birthday? My birthweek this year will be hitting Day 15 tomorrow......
Salitage 1997 Pinot Noir. Pemberton. Surprisingly holding together well. Gamey and earthy characters, + mushroom and a surprising amount of cherry fruit. More complex than I expected. Accompanied Chinese crispy fried duck in plum sauce. The combination was Yum! The wine won't last much longer, though.
Picardy 2003 Pinot Noir. Pemberton. This time with Duck A L'Orange. Young, and that was a good thing. Flavourful, some strawberry (which you would expect) but not overly. Oak not at all dominant, and reasonable texture / mouthfeel (without at all competing with Diamond Valley, for example). Nice wine at a reasonable (restaurant) price.
There have been a few WA SSBs or SBSs as well. Best were Jane Brook, Alkoomi, and mostly Devil's Lair Fifth Leg. All very commercial wines, and I won't worry about detailed descriptions.
Also found a small stash of Taltarni 2001 Rose. It seems to be going down well with the masses, as is the Devil's Lair Fifth Leg Rose.
Any comments on the wines described would be most welcome. Hello again Gavin.
Cheers
Waiters Friend
A few more quick TNs from my birthweek. BTW, the 'birthweek' is a tradition I carry on from my paternal grandmother. Why only have a birthday? My birthweek this year will be hitting Day 15 tomorrow......
Salitage 1997 Pinot Noir. Pemberton. Surprisingly holding together well. Gamey and earthy characters, + mushroom and a surprising amount of cherry fruit. More complex than I expected. Accompanied Chinese crispy fried duck in plum sauce. The combination was Yum! The wine won't last much longer, though.
Picardy 2003 Pinot Noir. Pemberton. This time with Duck A L'Orange. Young, and that was a good thing. Flavourful, some strawberry (which you would expect) but not overly. Oak not at all dominant, and reasonable texture / mouthfeel (without at all competing with Diamond Valley, for example). Nice wine at a reasonable (restaurant) price.
There have been a few WA SSBs or SBSs as well. Best were Jane Brook, Alkoomi, and mostly Devil's Lair Fifth Leg. All very commercial wines, and I won't worry about detailed descriptions.
Also found a small stash of Taltarni 2001 Rose. It seems to be going down well with the masses, as is the Devil's Lair Fifth Leg Rose.
Any comments on the wines described would be most welcome. Hello again Gavin.
Cheers
Waiters Friend
2001 De Bortoli Winemaker's Selection Shiraz - King Valley - 13.5%: Marvellous wine at $16. Ripe, powerful and elegant. Anise, prune and a gamut of red berries and rhubarb. I am not a follower or fan of the region, but this is the best I have had. 91/100.
2003 Sally's Hill Pinot Noir - Pyrenees - 15% : I bit sweeter than I felt the last bottle I had, giving it a "cheapness", but still an enjoyable wine. 86/20.
1997 Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon – Hunter Valley - 11%: From magnum. A lovely, ready-to-go wine with excellent depth and smoothness on top of enjoyable acidity giving excellent length but that was slightly imbalanced indicating that this wine was at its peak. This wine was obtained from a retail outlet's shelf 3 or so years ago so its condition may be questioned. 89/100.
2001 La Corte Negroamaro – Puglia, Italy IGT – 14.5%: Made by Chris Ringland, this is the most expensive and my favourite of the La Corte wines. Powerful violets, dark fruits, sour cherry and savoury characters with strong but not fierce tannins that create a very dry, very slightly chalky, but long finish. The wine has an excellent presence of depth and definition. Built to age. Drink from 2008. 91/100.
Adair
2003 Sally's Hill Pinot Noir - Pyrenees - 15% : I bit sweeter than I felt the last bottle I had, giving it a "cheapness", but still an enjoyable wine. 86/20.
1997 Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon – Hunter Valley - 11%: From magnum. A lovely, ready-to-go wine with excellent depth and smoothness on top of enjoyable acidity giving excellent length but that was slightly imbalanced indicating that this wine was at its peak. This wine was obtained from a retail outlet's shelf 3 or so years ago so its condition may be questioned. 89/100.
2001 La Corte Negroamaro – Puglia, Italy IGT – 14.5%: Made by Chris Ringland, this is the most expensive and my favourite of the La Corte wines. Powerful violets, dark fruits, sour cherry and savoury characters with strong but not fierce tannins that create a very dry, very slightly chalky, but long finish. The wine has an excellent presence of depth and definition. Built to age. Drink from 2008. 91/100.
Adair
Caught up with Grant Dodd and my brother at the Healesville hotel last week. Wines we tried:
Hillcrest Yarra Chard 03: came to the table way too cold but over the course of the dinner opened up to be a very nice wine. This should drink well over the next five years.
Martinborough Pinot noir 2002: in theory this wine should have been brilliant. Sadly it was a big dissapointment. Lacking any realy Pinot characteristics and too alcoholic to be enjoyable. Anyone else had this wine? Not a patch on Carrick and Mt Difficulty 2002's.
cheers
anthony
Hillcrest Yarra Chard 03: came to the table way too cold but over the course of the dinner opened up to be a very nice wine. This should drink well over the next five years.
Martinborough Pinot noir 2002: in theory this wine should have been brilliant. Sadly it was a big dissapointment. Lacking any realy Pinot characteristics and too alcoholic to be enjoyable. Anyone else had this wine? Not a patch on Carrick and Mt Difficulty 2002's.
cheers
anthony
Good wine ruins the purse; bad wine ruins the stomach
Spanish saying
Spanish saying
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bacchaebabe
- Posts: 1222
- Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2003 5:04 pm
- Location: Sydney
Saturday night:
04 Nobilo Sav Blanc Not as good as many Sav Blancs I've had lately. Drinkable but lacking that fresh fruit excitment. Just a bit dull and flat for me.
02 Mount Mary Chandonnay Something weird with this. The acidity was a a bit jarring and previous bottles have shown much better. I think the primary fruit is fading and the secondary characteristics haven't come through as yet. A strange stage and not much fun. Leave for a few more years now.
98 Mount Pleasant Semillon Another weird one. Had a bad night really. This was very slightly corked. Not enough to stop me drinking it but enough to make it just a little musty. Some lemon underneath but again the acid seemed out of balance and I thought the was also mid way in its development and needs more time (and less cork problems)
Sunday:
04 Devil's Lair somethingorother - A white blend? Lovely wine but didn't pay too much attention as I didn't really look at the bottle. Just the stuff for a picnic and what we were lacking the night before. Clean fresh flavours with good length and complexity.
04 Noon Rose Much better than the last bottle I had of this and now also perfect picnic fare. Much heavier than most other roses on the market with less sugar and more complexity but still in a light style. Obviously no tannins but still plenty of structure and body. Went very well with food.
03 Seppelt Chalambar Less of the cherry characters I noticed with the last bottle and seemed so much heavier than the Noon. Plenty of tannins or maybe they were highlighted by the previous wine. Felt very solid after the Noon and went down very nicely. Good drinking and a big future in front of it.
04 Nobilo Sav Blanc Not as good as many Sav Blancs I've had lately. Drinkable but lacking that fresh fruit excitment. Just a bit dull and flat for me.
02 Mount Mary Chandonnay Something weird with this. The acidity was a a bit jarring and previous bottles have shown much better. I think the primary fruit is fading and the secondary characteristics haven't come through as yet. A strange stage and not much fun. Leave for a few more years now.
98 Mount Pleasant Semillon Another weird one. Had a bad night really. This was very slightly corked. Not enough to stop me drinking it but enough to make it just a little musty. Some lemon underneath but again the acid seemed out of balance and I thought the was also mid way in its development and needs more time (and less cork problems)
Sunday:
04 Devil's Lair somethingorother - A white blend? Lovely wine but didn't pay too much attention as I didn't really look at the bottle. Just the stuff for a picnic and what we were lacking the night before. Clean fresh flavours with good length and complexity.
04 Noon Rose Much better than the last bottle I had of this and now also perfect picnic fare. Much heavier than most other roses on the market with less sugar and more complexity but still in a light style. Obviously no tannins but still plenty of structure and body. Went very well with food.
03 Seppelt Chalambar Less of the cherry characters I noticed with the last bottle and seemed so much heavier than the Noon. Plenty of tannins or maybe they were highlighted by the previous wine. Felt very solid after the Noon and went down very nicely. Good drinking and a big future in front of it.
Cheers,
Kris
There's a fine wine between pleasure and pain
(Stolen from the graffiti in the ladies loos at Pegasus Bay winery)
Kris
There's a fine wine between pleasure and pain
(Stolen from the graffiti in the ladies loos at Pegasus Bay winery)
-
Guest
Re: It's that time of the week again...
TORB wrote:Hi Good Peoples,
What have you all be drinking? The wine I enjoyed most was last nights effort. Fox Gordon 2003 King Louis Cabernet Sauvignon April 05
No; even though this is a Cabernet it is not named after the Frog King, Louis; it is named after NatashaÂ’s son, Louis, who's always trying to upstage his sister Hannah and the wine sells for approximately $49. A closed and tight seriously varietal Cabernet bouquet revealing milk chocolate, mocha, dark berry, mint, the hint of cigar leaf; and even after four hours in the glass it was reluctant to show its true character. It's a bright wine with excellent fruit purity; clean as a whistle and still retains interest; the fruit is doing the talking with the oak in sympathetic support. The wine shows terrific balance; tannins are there but are tight and well controlled; it finishes dry with excellent persistence. Black cherries/currents, milk chocolate, mint and a touch of tobacco leaf flavours are more-ish. This is a seriously good Cabernet Sauvignon and is rated as Highly Recommended with ** for value with room for improvement as the wine matures. Unfortunately for the producers, the grape variety is not in vogue in this area and the wine will be hard to sell that this price point. If it were Shiraz, people wouldn't think twice about the price.
There were two more in the group, the tasting notes for them wil go up on torbwine in the next day or so.
Now what have you guys been drinking? TN, vibes or impressions welcome.
Was this a free sample TORB?
What were the other two?
bacchaebabe wrote:04 Noon Rose Much better than the last bottle I had of this and now also perfect picnic fare. Much heavier than most other roses on the market with less sugar and more complexity but still in a light style. Obviously no tannins but still plenty of structure and body. Went very well with food.
Kris,
Drew makes a Rose??? How intriguing...
Does he make anything else (or have something lined up) besides the Res Shiraz, Res Cabernet, Eclipse, Solaire and this Rose?
Cheers,
Max
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Avant d’être bon, un vin doit être vrai
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Avant d’être bon, un vin doit être vrai
Maximus wrote:bacchaebabe wrote:04 Noon Rose Much better than the last bottle I had of this and now also perfect picnic fare. Much heavier than most other roses on the market with less sugar and more complexity but still in a light style. Obviously no tannins but still plenty of structure and body. Went very well with food.
Kris,
Drew makes a Rose??? How intriguing...
Does he make anything else (or have something lined up) besides the Res Shiraz, Res Cabernet, Eclipse, Solaire and this Rose?
Cheers,
A Vintage Port. And occasional cleanskins.
Kieran
"In the wine of life, some of us are destined to be cork sniffers." - Dilbert
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bacchaebabe
- Posts: 1222
- Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2003 5:04 pm
- Location: Sydney
2003 Kalleske Shiraz
Incredible colour, very deep; mouth feel was full...a lovely wine. My first taste of Kalleske...happy i bought half a case.
2003 Noon Reserve Shiraz
Incredible colour, almost a deep purple "paste" around the top once the cork was removed. Longivity with palate was not there unlike the Kalleske...still recommended though.
Incredible colour, very deep; mouth feel was full...a lovely wine. My first taste of Kalleske...happy i bought half a case.
2003 Noon Reserve Shiraz
Incredible colour, almost a deep purple "paste" around the top once the cork was removed. Longivity with palate was not there unlike the Kalleske...still recommended though.
Cheers
-
JamieBahrain
- Posts: 3754
- Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2003 7:40 am
- Location: Fragrant Harbour.
Henschke Abbott's Prayer 1994- Plush, merlot dominated with class and more power than elegance at the moment. Long acids and astringent tannins. 90 poimts and will get better. Clever oak handling.
Henschke Abbot's Prayer 1995- This vintage has cabernet in the majority and it shows with the oak. Solid cabernet backbone with oak in support all the way through to a slightly dry, cedary finish. Should be fully mature soon. The fruit quality doesn't seem to fill the structure but could be very good as a medium bodied, Bordeaux blend with a touch more developed complexity in a couple of years. 88 points now.
Coldstream Hills Briarston 99- Standard quaffer for me. Peaking. Won't get any better as the fruit fades with air- taken over by earthy overtones. Good wine, good style. Shame on you Southcorp!
Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc 04- Good Marlborough SB. Varietal and lively and just a couple rungs below the gun SB's from the South.
Anyone know why my brand new Apple G5 can't highlight headlines like my old computer? The edit function doesn't have any affect.
Henschke Abbot's Prayer 1995- This vintage has cabernet in the majority and it shows with the oak. Solid cabernet backbone with oak in support all the way through to a slightly dry, cedary finish. Should be fully mature soon. The fruit quality doesn't seem to fill the structure but could be very good as a medium bodied, Bordeaux blend with a touch more developed complexity in a couple of years. 88 points now.
Coldstream Hills Briarston 99- Standard quaffer for me. Peaking. Won't get any better as the fruit fades with air- taken over by earthy overtones. Good wine, good style. Shame on you Southcorp!
Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc 04- Good Marlborough SB. Varietal and lively and just a couple rungs below the gun SB's from the South.
Anyone know why my brand new Apple G5 can't highlight headlines like my old computer? The edit function doesn't have any affect.