Hoy u- this is important - drinkin' reports due...

[TORB]

Hi Good Peoples,

In the sticky thread above, Gavin has asked us to try and have an impact on the forum by posting more. I noticed with last weeks “what we are drinking” thread, by Sunday night well over 200 people had read the thread, but there was only three tasting notes. What about you other 197 people? Don't you drink wine?

Assuming you do, and didn't find your way here accidentally from some sex forum, please feel free to post not just tasting notes; tasting vibes and tasting vibes, especially from newbie posters are especially welcome. So if you have been lurking, now is your chance to come out of the closet and post an impression on this wine. We generally don't bite, and even when we do, it's normally not hard, especially to new recruits.

One of the joys I find in drinking wine, and something I frequently like to do, but don’t do often enough is compare different vintages of the same wine. As I had recently had a bottle of 1996 Orlando Jacaranda Ridge, last night I opened up a bottle of 1997. Whilst there were many similarities in the bouquet between the two vintages, the standout difference between them was that the 97 was obviously from a cooler year as the wine exhibited spicy characters and the bouquet didn't seem to have as much a ripe fruit dominating its profile. Whilst the bouquet did seem ripe, there were more dusty notes and the tannins more pronounced. A muscular-weight wine, the tannins are still very much in play and need another few years to integrate, but they do provide a very solid backing for a wine that should be fairly long lived; the 97 is nowhere near as “eminently drinkable” as the 96. It also doesn't have the complexity or depth of fruit of the previous vintage, but nevertheless it still a most enjoyable wine and an excellent result from a very difficult vintage. Rated as Highly Recommended, it is stylistically very similar to its predecessor and I'm very happy to still have five more in the cellar. It just goes to show, you don't necessarily need to only purchase the best vintages to have most enjoyable wine.

Okay guys your turn, lets see if we can break a record with a number of what have we been drinking posts. (I am not after the prize, but I would like to see a new poster to get it.)

[Guest]

Okay guys your turn, lets see if we can break a record with a number of what have we been drinking posts. (I am not after the prize, but I would like to see a new poster to get it.)

707 wants that

[Davo]

Quiet week but all good.

Pauletts Polish Hill River Reisling 1997 was sensational. Consumed with pan fried red emporor and roasted veg while watching the Eagles soar over the Swans. Lovely toasty honey over crisp lime with an oily mouthfeel.

Yalumba Signature 1998. This is the Oz blend at it's best. Mint, blackcurrent and a hint of spicey cedar. Still got years ahead of it.

Penfolds St Henri 1997, smooth well integrated wine with ample fruit still evident but to my taste was shaded by the Signature on the night.

Normans Old Vine Grenache 1999. Pepper and spice in a full bodied grenache. Still the only varietal grenache I have been able to tolerate, let alone like. Sensational wine and still improving compared to the last I had 12 months ago.

[Ian S]

Finished off the remainder of...
1998 Tedeschi Amarone (Veneto, Italy). Whilst very interesting, maybe we just struggled a bit with the 15% alcohol (fairly standard in the air dried amarone method).

Interesting comparison of the bottle that had been recorked with the dregs (c. 1/4 bottle) - fruit gone, alcohol prominant, aka knackered... and the half bottle I'd filled to the top & re-corked, which had lost little from 4 days before.

Plus
2002 A Mano Primitivo (Puglia, Italy), 13.5%
Fairly inexpensive & some unusually facile comments on the back label that would make even the most nebulous marketing person cringe. Removed the seal & discover a plastic cork (I really hate these things - or more usually, the wine beneath them.
Well this wasn't too bad - it was balanced, had both fruit & acidity, no great complexity for an Italian wine. For a branded wine, this is near to it's mark & it makes reasonable drinking. However I just can't see myself buying another.

[thelongroad]

Sticks 2004 Chardonnay - lots of citrussy character fresh and zingy with just a touch of oak - went well with veal saltomboca for dinner.

Feathertop 2002 Shiraz Viognier - not bad - little sweet, but pleasant enough

Rufus Stone 2003 McLaren Vale Shiraz - tasty, good tannin finish... relatively savoury and prefered it to the...

Rufus Stone 2003 Heathcote Shiraz - big!! maybe a bit overdone in terms of the fruit... ive heard things described with the fruit being overcooked? maybe this is a case in point?

D'Arenberg 1993 VP - this was really yum - showing nicely - have 3 bottles left but i won't rush them

And a 1993 Rockford BP Shiraz - was pretty shot to pieces - thin and astringent - altho it was a bottle from my dad's stash and i suspect from other tasting that they have pretty crappy conditions in terms of "cellaring"

pity...

Cheers,

John

[Max]

Well after an invite like TORB's.. one just has to accept..

Got to try a few mention-worthy bits and pieces this week..

d'Arenberg Red Stump Jump 2004 - as reliable, highly-gluggable and value-packed as ever.

Lindemans Bin 65 Chardonnay 2005 - sound chardonnay with good balance between the wood and usual chardonnay fruit, but better examples are around.

Howard Park Cab Sav 2001 - awesome Margaret River cabernet. Still plenty of blackcurrant and other blackberry fruit crammed into the palate with hints of secondary cigar and coffee characters poking through. Barry White smoothness, the concentration of a sharp shooter and male porn star length. Now to get my hands on a few other bottles...

Got some other nice wines to look forward to trying including Sandalford's 2002 Prendiville..

Hope everyone had a great tasting weekend!

cheers
Max

[andyc]

1996 Monthelie Les Vignes Rondes - Remi & Charles Jobard
A modest red burgundy from a good to great year from a producer far more famous for whites than reds I think. The colour has barely faded. The nose at first showed a lot of sulphur which blew off to reveal lovely secondary forest floor and truffle aromas combined with kirsch cherry. In the mouth finishing a tad short but still very smooth, unmistakably burgundy.
1994 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz
Always a favourite. Once again this has barely faded as it's almost black to the rim. The nose was meaty combined with brambly fruit. The palate continues that them with a lovely finish still with lovely acid in balance. This has a way to go yet I believe! (It's great to see the old mans cellar looking after my wines well)

[action2096]

A very quiet week for me this week but a case of quality not quantity !

2003 Howard Park Chardonnay
Must admit to having a bit of a thing for Chardonnay from WA at the moment and this is definetly up there with the better ones i've tasted recently. Plenty of complex mineral citrus fruits on the palate nicely supported by French Oak. I'm certainly no expert but think that this one could cellar reasonably well but why bother it soo good now

Saddlers Creek Mclaren Vale Reserve Shiraz 99
Still a deep dark colour with little if any bricking. Still showing plenty of plummy/jammy fruit. Tannins seem to have softened quiet a bit since i last tried one of these about 6 months ago. Bought these a couple of years ago and while a nice drop i think there is probably better value for money elsewhere ( Paid $45 at C/D )

[Red Bigot]

A mixed bag this week, working through some probably around $15 ready-to-drink reds in the cellar and one good tasting group.

1997 Huntington Estate Bin FB36 Shiraz - earthy, primary fruit gone,secondary flavours a little dull, Ok, but not as good as hoped.

1997 Huntington Estate Bin FB38 Merlot Cabernet - nice musky merlot with a firm backbone from the cabernet, nice wine with a eyar or two to go yet.

1996 Rosemount Traditional Cabernet blend - still in good nick with nice berry fruit, it's thrown a bit of a crust, remainder of the bottle was in fine form the next night, good wine for the price.

1998 Heathcote Winery MailCoach Shiraz - a touch of brett, but within my tolerance limits, nice drinking if not overly typical of a good Heathcote shiraz.

1997 Tollana TR 222 Eden valley cabernet - stunning sweet fragrant fruit, seems to have a hint of merlot musk/violets, but may just be the lovely cooler-climate cabernet, great wine from an unheralded vintage.

1996 Leasingham Bin 56 Cabernet Malbec - a great example of this line, supple and balanced mid-weight wine, just really getting into peak drinking.

1998 Tyrrells Rufus Stone Heathcote Shiraz - a pretty good wine showing what can be done with young vines if you do the right things, nice bright juicy shiraz just entering it's drinking window.

Monthly tasting group:

Bracket 1 - Aus Pinot $20-$30 - about what you'd expect in this price range, nothing exciting.

Cloudy Bay 2003 (Marlborough NZ) - seemed to at least have some attempt at varietal flavour, structure and complexity. (My best, group 3rd)

Coldstream Hills 2003 Yarra valley - showing a bit of oak, reasonable structure and some spicy cherry fruit. (my second, group first)

Oyster Bay 2004 (Marlborough NZ) - fresh and light, but ultimately uninteresting (my 3rd, group second)

Scorpo 2003 (Mornington) - the most expensive in the bracket, a little hard, not exciting at all (mine and group last)

At least it was a little better than the usual first bracket of whites at this tasting group.

Bracket 2 - 2003 Shiraz - good bracket apart from one weaker wine

Tyrrells Rufus Stone Heathcote (stelvin) - lots of ripe juicy fruit, but bright, not stewed or overripe dead fuit, nicely balance with good tannins and judicuious oak, good wine at around $18-$19 street price (mine and group first preference)

Torbreck The Struie (cork, Barossa)- initially a bit OTT, ripe blackberry fruit leaps out of the glass (unusual for a shiraz), intensley flavoured, on the limit of ripeness, but settled nicely in the glass, a slightly polarising wine. (my second, group third)

Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz (Stelvin, Bendigo/Grampians) - More coconut to the oak (than I remember from a previous tasting) underlying the spicy fruit, all in a nicely and quite firmly structured package, good stuff. (my third, group second preference)

Giant Steps Innocent Bystander Shiraz/Viognier (Stelvin, Yarra) - the cheapest and least convincing of the bracket, the viognier is a little too apparent for me and the wine lacks mid-palate weight and fruit intensity. (mine and group last preference).

Bracket 3 - Coonawarra Cabernets

2001 Orlando St Hugo - deep rich colours and good varietal flavours in a nicely firm package with well-judged oak. (mine and group first preference)

1996 Balnaves - lighter in colour and body than some more recent vintages from Balnaves, but good varietal aromas and flavours and fine, elegant (in a good way) structure. (my second, group third ranking)

1998 Yalumba The Menzies - Ok, but not great for the vintage, fairly big wine, but a little coarse and not in the style of the best Coonawarra cabernets (my third preference, group second).

1996 Jamiesons Run Reserve Cab/Cab franc/Merlot/malbec/Shiraz - starting to fade and dry out, you could see a bit of complexity in flavour from the blend, but doesn't live up to the promise of the vintage and price of the wine. (mine and group last ranking).

[DaveB]

A bit spoiled this week as I went to the Burghound function at Quay on Thursday...17 wines at the dinner with the standouts being:

Michelot Meursault-Perrieres 2002
Dujac Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Combottes 2002
Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin Les Fontenys 2002
Armand Rousseau Clos-des-Bezes 2001
Leroy Vosne-Romanee Le Beaux-Monts 2001
Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Grand Echezeaux 2002
Comte George de Vogue Bonnes-Mares 2001

All fabulous wines.....

Friday night a Faiveley Charmes-Chambertin 1969 at home by myself.....kicking myself for not sharing it as it was fantastic

Saturday...dinner at Cafe Sydney....Palliser Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2004...consistantly one of my favourites and didn't dissapoint ...Alkoomi Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 which was ok and way too many Mojitos

Cheers

Dave

[Gianna]

Well, it is father's day, so a visit deep into the cellar was a must.

1998 PL Stonewell Shiraz
Deep black color and great nose of vanilla and cherry.
Decanted for 2hrs (needed more I think), palate was lush and
a complex earthy shiraz flavour. Starting to hit its straps, but will improve
for a least another 5-7 yrs. 91pts

2001 Rockford BP Shiraz
They say this is not a great vintage, but I beg to differ.
Drinking just superbly right now and i feel will improve,
strong bouquet of spice and roses, very silky texture that
just glided down. Tannins have softened and a very, very enjoyable
wine. yet to be disappointed with the BP. 92pts

1996 E&E Black Pepper Shiraz
Initially i thought this would be a spoiled bottle as the cork has leaked
and wine was visible at the top and the seal was quite brittle.
Argh!! i thought, but alas, wine is often more robust than we think.
A gentle bouquet of strawberries and cherries, soft texture, but it
did seem to have lost a bit of its structure. Palate was simple and not
overly complex, a bit thin. Given i was prepared to pour it down the
sink a most welcome suprise. 89pts.

1994 Howard Park Cab Merl
WOTD. It took 1 hr for the bottle stink to throw off, another hour for the nose to give anything other than oak, but the third hour yielded a fabulous wine. A beautiful, deep dark brooding cabernet enhance by the merlot blend. Still plenty of oak and cedar on the nose, but lots of subtle plum and leathery aromas also shone through.
JO has downgraded HP over the last few years, but I still rate HP very highly. To me, this is a quality wine with excellent structure. 94pts.

[jester]

Tried over last week or so, all brief impressions

Serafino Cab 2002 - Different style, most pleasant
Dead Arm 2003 - Needs time, big and juicy. V good
GB Meshach 2001 - Intense yet elegant and complex, most compelling. Excellent.
Coriole Llyod 2001 - Big fruit, big tannins. Try again someday.
St Peters 1999 - Dark spice and oak, needs more time.
Majella Maleea 2000 - Lovely but expected a bit more for some reason
Wynns BL 2001 - Very Coonawarra, good wine, will get a few at current specials prices.
Lengs and Cooter Old Vines 2002 - Elegant and enjoyable needs a little time to integrate but is a cracker for its price range.
Octavius 2001 - Wow, absolutely superb. Was expecting lots of oak, got lots of gorgeous fruit. Wish I could afford a six pack.

[Guest]

Howard Park Cab Sav 2001 - awesome Margaret River cabernet. Still plenty of blackcurrant and other blackberry fruit crammed into the palate with hints of secondary cigar and coffee characters poking through. Barry White smoothness, the concentration of a sharp shooter and male porn star length. Now to get my hands on a few other bottles...
..

cheers
Max

Max If you have had Cullen and Moss Wood Cabs, Is this in the same class? I have tried these two fantastic wines but havent got around to the Howard Park yet and all notes I see are either one or the other.

[Guest]

Howard Park is largely a Great Southern cabernet (about 70%), which gives it a slightly different flavour profile to Cullen and Moss Wood. Some people respond to this difference, some people don't. In brief it gives it a longer, more elegant structure, without the classic gravelly/chocolatey characters of Willyabrub/Margaret River. To my taste, the HP is every bit in the same class as Cullen and MW, and if I had to choose it would actually be my favourite of the three. But it is different to those, regionally different, hence (partly)n the disparity of views.

[Max]

Howard Park Cab Sav 2001 - awesome Margaret River cabernet. Still plenty of blackcurrant and other blackberry fruit crammed into the palate with hints of secondary cigar and coffee characters poking through. Barry White smoothness, the concentration of a sharp shooter and male porn star length. Now to get my hands on a few other bottles...
..

cheers
Max

Max If you have had Cullen and Moss Wood Cabs, Is this in the same class? I have tried these two fantastic wines but havent got around to the Howard Park yet and all notes I see are either one or the other.

Unfortunately not - money, mortgage and my low-paying job dictate most of my wine purchases to the sub-$20 range! I was fortunate to have been able to enjoy this amazing wine for gratis, so perhaps that's why it tasted that little bit better?!

But I have had a fair bit of a cabernet in my time, admittedly a lot of South Australian (both cool and hot) and I'd say that this was the best cab sav I've had with a 99 St Hugo and 98 Bin 389 in second and third. I reckon it was simply amazing and probably my red of the year to date.

I'd be curious to hear about the bad reviews - I've just read the next set of Guest postings and would have to agree with his Great Southern comment. I can only see a style factor being responsible for someone not rating this wine... there was plenty of fruit weight on the palate, the wine was silky smooth and the finish lasted and lasted. I did a nice little rosat leg lamb and it was a solid match.

If only the Wallabies came out on top against the All Blacks then it would have been a nigh-on perfect day!

It's a $60 bottle and I'm not the kind of person who can afford to spend that much money on a wine, but if you do have a penchant for good cabernet, the Howard Park 2001 (incidentally 2001 was a great year for both the Margaret River and Great Southern regions) would make a top special occasion drop...

I hope that helps!

cheers
Max

[Max]

Incidentally, further to my comments, Howard Park also do a couple of other cabernets; the Leston and Scotsdale which are sourced from Margaret River and The Great Southern respectively.

While these two wines were sound expressions of regional cabernet, the 2001 was heads and shoulders above the pair, though around double the cost - but the jump in both price and quality is justified.

cheers
Max

[JamieBahrain]

1995 Balmoral Syrah- Going great guns. Underrated and probably a bargain on the auction scene.

2000 Balmoral Syrah- This may do something in a few years, but not in the class of the 95.

98, 99 & 00 Rockford Moppa Springs- Simple and unconvincing style. I had 4 bottles of the 98 just to be sure over the last few weeks. The 99 probably the choice of the three.

[JDSJDS]

I moved this week, so there wasn't a lot of time for wine, and no time for note-taking. But I did mange to finish off a bottle of the Seppelt Grand Tokay NV over the last few evenings. Great wine to sip on as you unpack! Lovely as always, with enough acidity to lift the palate up from the density, sweetness and richness of the wine. The price just went up to $30 Canadian (750 ml) for this wine, but that's still great QPR in my books for a fortified wine of this quality.

Started a Annie's Lane Coppertrail GSM 1999 last night. I'm a big fan of this wine across the four vintages I've tried (1998-2001). Excellent balance here, drinking great now, but has the structure to last a few years yet. Lovely earthy flavours, a slight hint of mint, and deep red and black fruits; just slight sweetness in the backpalate. It cost $40 here, and I'd definitely buy it again.

[Guest]

2 bottles of Overstone Sauvignon Blanc. Not as tropical as typical Marlborough but none the less a nice refreshing drop great for a seafood dish.

2001 Rosemount reserve Cabernet (S.Aus). Excellent price for what was an easy drinking Cab. At $15.00 / bot I reckon its worth having a few on hand for the just gotta have something to wash down with. Even better than that just a great quafer. Went well with lamb chops off the grill.

1998 Petaluma Merlot 'limited vintage' (as it says on the label). Well, what a superb merlot, full bodied, Rasberry on the nose, and again overwhelming rasberry and dustiness in the mouth. A little like a Pinot with a center (I can here or the Pinot fans now...). Tannins were there in abundance and it certainly has time left. Somewhat sweeter than the cab merlot and the finish is a bit shorter which is a shame because otherwise this was a great wine, merlot or not. mmm every time I go back to the glass the nose is very pleasing and the palet gets more intense. I hate to use the description but it's a nice soapy tase on the finnish, hate to use the term because I mean its a good thing not a bad thing. Even some licorice though I struggle to find it but it seems to be in a layer you find as you search through it. Is this a typical Petaluma Merlot (non - blend) or just a great vintage??? Not a lot of '98's or Coonawarra merlots floating around in the U.S. so I might not find out.
Mick.

[parb]

Tried a few Cabs with Lamb Shanks

Huntington reserve Cab Sav 1999 - Very nice. VG
Wynns BL 1993 - A great wine, lovely capsicum and black fruits. Will try not to touch the remaining couple for another 5yrs. Excellent
Chateau Le Fournas (Bernadotte) Pauillac AC 1995 - No good. Only one decent bottle so far out of the 4 tasted.

Mount Pleasant 'lizzy' Semillon 2000 - Should buy more of this - Excellent
Evans & Tata Chardonnay 2004 - Too much wood, too sweet. Expect better from MR, but @ $13 maybe expect too muck. - Fair

Cheers,
Parb.

[DJ]

1991 Tyrrells Vat 9 Shiraz - Please decant at least 2 hours before drinking - this bottle only had about half an hour and kept openning up. relatively old fashioned Hunter fair bit of bottle stink which needed to blow off - a food wine very enjoyable fruit was slow coming to the fore but great condition. Tipping the decanting dreggs out the next day smelt fabulous hence my comment on a longer decant being need. Distinction

1997 Clare Esentials Prospect Vineyard Riesling - A brief MildaraBlass label, most of the fruit in Annie's Lane these days. again openned in the glass as it cleaned up, pleasant aged riesling distinction

1993 Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz - enjoyable sparkling shiraz but not oustanding - the Seppelts Original is better value. Credit.

[Andrew Jordan]

A few low budget/quality wines over the weekend, with some impressions:

2002 Seppelt Original SS - Good value quaffer. My wife loves the stuff.
2003 Howard Park Leston Cab - just purchased a 6 pack so was wondering how the 03 matched up against the 01. Fine tannins but just opened it up too early. Try again in a couple of years.
2004 Teusner the Riebke - another good value wine. Took to a mates place for dinner and all were impressed. May have to get a few more of these!
2004 Majella The Musician - didn't seem to be as good as the first bottle we had a couple of months back, but still good for the price. Good to see Majella has put their wines in screwcap.
1998 Peter Lehmann Cab - Drinking very well now and cannot see it improving any further. Will be drinking the rest of my case during the year I think.

AJ

[Adair]

2001 Rockford BP Shiraz
They say this is not a great vintage, but I beg to differ.
Drinking just superbly right now and i feel will improve,
strong bouquet of spice and roses, very silky texture that
just glided down. Tannins have softened and a very, very enjoyable
wine. yet to be disappointed with the BP. 92pts

Sounds like time to open a bottle.

1994 Howard Park Cab Merl
WOTD. It took 1 hr for the bottle stink to throw off, another hour for the nose to give anything other than oak, but the third hour yielded a fabulous wine. A beautiful, deep dark brooding cabernet enhance by the merlot blend. Still plenty of oak and cedar on the nose, but lots of subtle plum and leathery aromas also shone through.
JO has downgraded HP over the last few years, but I still rate HP very highly. To me, this is a quality wine with excellent structure. 94pts.

IMO, the 94 HP is one of Australia's greatest Cabernets, FWIW.

Thanks,
Adair

[Brucer]

94 Penfolds 389
Reasonable wine, will go further

98 Glaetzer Shiraz
Fairly good, bit too much oak.

98 Seppelt Reserve Great Western Shiraz
Very good wine, a few years left in it. Not overoaked IMO

00 Tatachilla Foundation
Big and over the top, but surprisingly very oxidised on day 2.

96 Lindemans Reserve Semillon
Love this wine, few years left in it

97 Eileen Hardy Shiraz
Okay, but not exciting

97 d'Arenderg Dead Arm
More excitement than the Eileen

96 Coriole Shiraz
pretty good, needs drinking up

98 Tatachilla Foundation
Big rich oaky wine, but in balance

93 Seppelt Mellinium Sparking Shiraz
Brilliant wine.

01 Meerea Park Epoch Semillon
Drinking well now, nice wine

00 Henry Drive Shiraz
Good solid wine

98 Kaesler Stonehorse Shiraz
Good wine, using older oak

96 McWilliams Lovedale Semillon
Glad I bought lots

95 McWilliams Lovedale semillon
More forward than the 96, which is better

00 Keith Tulloch Semillon
Very good wine, years ahead of it

97 Tim Adams Semillon
Drinking well now

98 Tatachilla Shiraz
Good everyday drinking, at its peak

02 Bullers Calliope Shiraz
One of my favourite wines of the year. Fantastic.

96 Rosemount McLaren Vale Shiraz
Been a great wine, this was the last bottle

94 Leo Buring Cab Sauv, Coonawarra/Barossa
Still holding well

98 Willows Shiraz
Some bottle variation, but get a good one, and its fantastic

01 Keith Tulloch Kester Shiraz Hunter Valley
Very good wine, and not like Hunter reds

98 Wirra Wirra RSW
In its dinking window, and very good

98 Chapel Hill Shiraz
Holding up well

98 Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz
Holding well, but a bit tight and boring

98 Edwards & Chaffey 353 Cabernet
Bit oaky, but a good drink

98 Haselgrove H Shiraz
all I seem to get is Vegemite

[fred]

Return to drinking following release and recovery from operations, so a little making up to do this week:-

1991 Eileen Hardy shiraz: classic mclaren & other mix with ripe mix ready to drink but not in any risk of close down for at least another 5+ years (and probably a safe decade)

1998 Annie's lane Coppertrail shiraz: very smooth and pleasant but a trifle undistinguished and characterless from Clare

1996 Jim Barry McRae Wood shiraz: far sweeter than previous vintages of this wine but loaded with character...just not sure it was what I expected having been a fan of the less heralded 1993 and 1994 vintages I am a little disappointed with this as I tend to prefer a slightly more savoury taste to my shiraz - but it is not fruitbomb

1996 Pirramimma Reserve shiraz: classic big and honest McLaren in a bygone style - this is a meateater's hearty wine

1991 Orlando jacaranda Ridge CS: outstanding with years to go but entering a window of joy. Coonawarra responds to Haut-Brion rather brilliantly

1999 Wynns CS : slightly in a hole at present and should emerge in next 2 years

1991 Penfolds bin 28 Kalimna: always preferred the 1990 but this is still surprisngly good (even if the bin 128 of 1991 beats it) and mature although will hold for a decade; big berry but not jammy flavour and Pennies house profile

1978 Leoville las cases: not the best bottle but still excellent with classic cedar and cassis

1984 Ch Latour: poor year great wine with surprising power for the vintage - but not for the house. Probably has a limited life albeit will drink beautifully over the next decade- so a "short term" Latour, but well-cellared


1983 Lindemans HR bin 6600 shiraz: nice pong but mediocre bottle with more leather and less fruit and trifle harsh on back palate; far better examples of this wine of late than this bottle

1998 Knapstein CS: mellow and fair example of Clare CS which has further 2-3 years improvement but will never be great

[Gavin Trott]

98 Willows Shiraz
Some bottle variation, but get a good one, and its fantastic

I got a good one the other night, and you are so right!

I think the 2002 has ecellent cellaring potential also!

[Brucer]

Gavin,

Re 02 Willows Shiraz, I have bought a dozen, but not tried yet.
In the latest Winewise, received today, it has the Small Vigerons awards, and the 02 Willows only received an "Agreeable" rating, which was disappointing.
Bruce

[TORB]

The Willows 2002 Shiraz SAMay05 sells for $23 at cellar door. A very attractive, youthful, fruit driven bouquet showing plum and a black fruit aromas. The silky tannins and pure fruit, seat the wine well in the mouth and the plum, spice, blackberry and pepper linger beautifully. Ample-weight this solid, harmonious wine with a well-developed complexity is good for the price and whilst it's drinking well now, it will improve. Rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value.

[Jordan]

1998 Tatachilla Foundation:

Very dissapointing. Over the top stewy fruit, which seems to be falling over, pepper and strong vanilla/oak flavour. Lacking in finish. Have a feeling this may have been at its peak about 2 years ago. Did not drink like a $50 bottle

[TORB]

1998 Tatachilla Foundation:

Have a feeling this may have been at its peak about 2 years ago. Did not drink like a $50 bottle

Had my last one in June 2004 and paid $35 a bottle. But yours does sound like a non representative bottle.