Just tried the 04 Shot Fire Ridge Quartage
I really don't think it was a bad bottle. But I would rate it as barely
drinkable. The nose shows some vanilla but no fruit ! On the palate
it is flat and tasteless no length at all , if this is the Adelaide Show wine
then it should not have even got a Bronze!! Very ordinary.
Earlier this week I tried the latest release Taditional Very nice and a much
better wine.
Cheers Martin
04 Quartage
Wizz wrote:Martin, that sounds like a classic description of a TCA affected (corked) wine,
AB
Funny, we were talking about this at Blacktongues last night - it wouldn't be the first crap wine to win a swag of trophies at the Adelaide wine show.
Martin's pretty good at picking TCA, so I'd be surprised if that's the culprit. At $20 it's probably worth a try for a comparison.
Cheers,
Ian
Forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone.
Interesting - I had completely different impressions. Copied and pasted from my post in the "what are you drinking this week?" thread:
I picked up two dozen about twenty minutes ago... I've had a bottle open for a few minutes and so far, so good. The cork (:() was almost untouched by the wine. Nice dark purple colour with currants, cherries, mint, spices, and vegetation on the nose, but I imagine it will open up a lot more, given time. Smooth, well balanced fruit and spices in the mouth. Long fruity length. Tannins are plentiful butvelvety smooth - nothing gripping here. 13.9% ABV, but the alcohol isn't too apparent.
I'll probably take some proper notes to add to my collection sometime in the future, but this stuff sure looks like it'll be a great easy drinking red for now, and possibly a decent medium term cellaring option.
I picked up two dozen about twenty minutes ago... I've had a bottle open for a few minutes and so far, so good. The cork (:() was almost untouched by the wine. Nice dark purple colour with currants, cherries, mint, spices, and vegetation on the nose, but I imagine it will open up a lot more, given time. Smooth, well balanced fruit and spices in the mouth. Long fruity length. Tannins are plentiful butvelvety smooth - nothing gripping here. 13.9% ABV, but the alcohol isn't too apparent.
I'll probably take some proper notes to add to my collection sometime in the future, but this stuff sure looks like it'll be a great easy drinking red for now, and possibly a decent medium term cellaring option.
I got a possible explanation from Swanno tonight why you didn't like the wine Martin - you're a Shiraz man and the Bordeaux blend doesn't float your boat, that or it wasn't breathed long enough.
Given the amount of debate on this already, for scientific purposes I got a bottle for the Cos Offline tomorrow night.
Cheers,
Ian
Given the amount of debate on this already, for scientific purposes I got a bottle for the Cos Offline tomorrow night.
Cheers,
Ian
Forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone.
-
MartinJohnC
- Posts: 29
- Joined: Sun Aug 17, 2003 1:52 pm
- Location: Adelaide
Thanks Ian
I opened the bottle 3 hours before I tasted and there was
absoluteley no hint of TCA and the wine had no fruit no tanins
nothing. As "Steve" said the cork was white which would mean the
wine has just been bottled !! The question is was this the same as the
Adelaide Show Wine ?
Cheers Martin
I opened the bottle 3 hours before I tasted and there was
absoluteley no hint of TCA and the wine had no fruit no tanins
nothing. As "Steve" said the cork was white which would mean the
wine has just been bottled !! The question is was this the same as the
Adelaide Show Wine ?
Cheers Martin
I just heard that the 04 Shotfire Ridge Quartage is not being released until March next year. Will confirm with the agent tomorrow. So what have people been drinking? and commenting about.
Is it the 03 vintage?
Graham
Is it the 03 vintage?
Graham
Chardonnay: A drink you have when there is no RED wine, the beer hasn't arrived and the water may be polluted
Steve wrote:Graham,
It's definitely the 04 I've bought. Both cases are stamped with "2004 Canada" which leads me to believe they were destined for export. I guess The Edinburgh Cellars aquired them somehow...!
Hmmm...
The web site doesn't list the 04 wines as available and the Quartage is sold as the Cuvee in the US, but as Quartage in Canada.
Very interesting..
Chardonnay: A drink you have when there is no RED wine, the beer hasn't arrived and the water may be polluted
The 2004 is widely available here in Adelaide - I think their website probably just needs updating.
We tried it last Friday at the Cos Offline, and we all commented how unremarkable the wine was - my full notes to be posted under rooview's thread tonight.
I'd say that Martin's initial comments were spot-on; it really does lack palate weight, depth and complexity, purely relying on some snappy French oak to make any impression. It's not a bad wine but in good company it's frankly lightweight and boring.
Beats me how the hell this won three trophies at Adelaide including best red/white of the show.
Cheers,
Ian
We tried it last Friday at the Cos Offline, and we all commented how unremarkable the wine was - my full notes to be posted under rooview's thread tonight.
I'd say that Martin's initial comments were spot-on; it really does lack palate weight, depth and complexity, purely relying on some snappy French oak to make any impression. It's not a bad wine but in good company it's frankly lightweight and boring.
Beats me how the hell this won three trophies at Adelaide including best red/white of the show.
Cheers,
Ian
Last edited by n4sir on Mon Oct 17, 2005 1:28 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone.
I agree - it's a nice wine, and there's nothing wrong with it... it's just not very special. At $24 or whatever it normally sells for it's overpriced, but at $18 it's pretty good value.
I'm not entirely certain how it could win most outstanding wine, either. Surely there were far better wines entered...!
I'm not entirely certain how it could win most outstanding wine, either. Surely there were far better wines entered...!
Up front I will say that I am a fan of the consistency, quality and VFM of the Thorn Clarke wines and have been for a couple of years.
I also have been a steward for Brisbane RNA wine show for the last two years.
The results of major shows always seem to draw criticism from we (the collective group of wine enthusiasts) when we say:
"There must have been better wines there."
The way the judging is conducted (blind) gives every wine the opportunity to show it's best. It has been suggested at other times that perhaps some wineries enter special bottles but these would surely be found out in the market place and by the judges who awarded the trophies.
In the case of this wine, it had to be good enough to be short listed for the class in which it was entered. Then be awarded the top gold by the four judges and the chief judge. There could have been more than one bottle opened at this time.
Then comes the other trophies which are usually done on a different day. Another bottle opened and depending on the number of panels, as in the case of Brisbane with four panels with 12 judges and 6 associate judges all getting a sample. This would be at least two bottles.
Then the wine of show another bottle judged by 18 judges.
So, what does it mean about the "better wines"? They did not show their best on the day.
Sometimes, when stewarding, I seek out my favourites and taste them wondering what the judges could be thinking not to have awarded this fantastic wine a medal. Perhaps if the judges were tasting the wine now, four hours later, they may make different decisions.
Also many of my favourite small wineries do not enter in shows as there is not enough stock to be able to do this. Have you seen a Kalleske in a wine show. Can you imagine Troy sending six Johann Georg to a show and the having to send another 24 bottles for the presentation of trophy winners and perhaps another 48 for next years presentation dinner as the 2005 winner.
All in all I think it is two things:
Luck and your wine showing really well on the day.
Just some of my thoughts.
Graham
I also have been a steward for Brisbane RNA wine show for the last two years.
The results of major shows always seem to draw criticism from we (the collective group of wine enthusiasts) when we say:
"There must have been better wines there."
The way the judging is conducted (blind) gives every wine the opportunity to show it's best. It has been suggested at other times that perhaps some wineries enter special bottles but these would surely be found out in the market place and by the judges who awarded the trophies.
In the case of this wine, it had to be good enough to be short listed for the class in which it was entered. Then be awarded the top gold by the four judges and the chief judge. There could have been more than one bottle opened at this time.
Then comes the other trophies which are usually done on a different day. Another bottle opened and depending on the number of panels, as in the case of Brisbane with four panels with 12 judges and 6 associate judges all getting a sample. This would be at least two bottles.
Then the wine of show another bottle judged by 18 judges.
So, what does it mean about the "better wines"? They did not show their best on the day.
Sometimes, when stewarding, I seek out my favourites and taste them wondering what the judges could be thinking not to have awarded this fantastic wine a medal. Perhaps if the judges were tasting the wine now, four hours later, they may make different decisions.
Also many of my favourite small wineries do not enter in shows as there is not enough stock to be able to do this. Have you seen a Kalleske in a wine show. Can you imagine Troy sending six Johann Georg to a show and the having to send another 24 bottles for the presentation of trophy winners and perhaps another 48 for next years presentation dinner as the 2005 winner.
All in all I think it is two things:
Luck and your wine showing really well on the day.
Just some of my thoughts.
Graham
Chardonnay: A drink you have when there is no RED wine, the beer hasn't arrived and the water may be polluted
GrahamB wrote:Luck and your wine showing really well on the day.
I think that's a pretty good way of explaining it.
At university I've tasted a bunch of wine one day, and listed a few to investigate further... only to buy some and wonder why the hell I thought it was any good to begin with.
I guess the result also has a lot to do with the other wines that were entered. I didn't get a chance to go to the show, so I'm not sure what it was up against.
Steve wrote:GrahamB wrote:Luck and your wine showing really well on the day.
I think that's a pretty good way of explaining it.
I guess the result also has a lot to do with the other wines that were entered. I didn't get a chance to go to the show, so I'm not sure what it was up against.
In the end, it was up against everything.
Chardonnay: A drink you have when there is no RED wine, the beer hasn't arrived and the water may be polluted
I heard something kinda interesting from my local last weekend.
Immediately after the Royal Adelaide Wine Show one of the judges walked in and bought two bottles of all of the trophy and gold medal winners to check the consistency of what was presented at the show.
I can already hear Steve saying aloud "it's about bloody time", but in the case of a big discrepancy what happens next?
Is the winery asked to politely "please explain", are they publicly flamed and stripped of their awards (and if so how are they then redistributed), or do the judges blush with embarassment and hope the whole thing is forgotten quickly rather than admitting they were duped?
Cheers,
Ian
Immediately after the Royal Adelaide Wine Show one of the judges walked in and bought two bottles of all of the trophy and gold medal winners to check the consistency of what was presented at the show.
I can already hear Steve saying aloud "it's about bloody time", but in the case of a big discrepancy what happens next?
Is the winery asked to politely "please explain", are they publicly flamed and stripped of their awards (and if so how are they then redistributed), or do the judges blush with embarassment and hope the whole thing is forgotten quickly rather than admitting they were duped?
Cheers,
Ian
Forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone.
n4sir wrote:Immediately after the Royal Adelaide Wine Show one of the judges walked in and bought two bottles of all of the trophy and gold medal winners to check the consistency of what was presented at the show.
I believe at the NWS they do some sample buys of some current release wines before judging and compare supplied samples with purchased samples before the results are released. Must ask my mate who is one of the stewards for more details when I see him next.
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! :-)
Red Bigot wrote:n4sir wrote:Immediately after the Royal Adelaide Wine Show one of the judges walked in and bought two bottles of all of the trophy and gold medal winners to check the consistency of what was presented at the show.
I believe at the NWS they do some sample buys of some current release wines before judging and compare supplied samples with purchased samples before the results are released. Must ask my mate who is one of the stewards for more details when I see him next.
That would be incredibly difficult to do "before", based on the number of wines that are entered. To check trophy winners after the event would be a good thing I think. And I believe that trophies should be removed if it can be proved that the wine entered as a commercial wine was not what was commercially available.
Graham
Chardonnay: A drink you have when there is no RED wine, the beer hasn't arrived and the water may be polluted
MartinJohnC wrote: The nose shows some vanilla but no fruit ! On the palate
it is flat and tasteless no length at all and Thanks Ian
I opened the bottle 3 hours before I tasted and there was
absoluteley no hint of TCA and the wine had no fruit no tanins
nothing. As "Steve" said the cork was white which would mean the
wine has just been bottled !! The question is was this the same as the
Adelaide Show Wine ?
Cheers Martin
Don't want to be too presumptive but you have given the perfect descriptor for a mildly TCA affected wine. No evidence of TCA at all but the loss of fruit on the nose and palate and lack of length. For mine this wine is corked.
Just when I thought this topic was finished with, along came this response by Graham when someone on the other forum asked for a TN on the wine:
Was there any kind of public consultation over this "bottling problem" because this is the first I've heard of it - in contrast I've seen plenty of big adverts bragging of their show success though.
The bottles we tried a number of times at the end of last year didn't have export labels either, and coincidentally they were sourced from the same retailer where that Judge picked up samples immediately after the show for checking.
So in which batch were the "good" bottles - the local release or the exports?
Cheers,
Ian
GrahamB wrote:The 04 Quartage was the one that got the BIG gong in Adelaide last year.
There were a few not so complementory reports on the wine and it turns out the there were some bottling problems that only became evident after bottling was completed.
The wine was released in Australia using stock that was destined to go O/S but with the win, everyone was trying to get a taste hence the O/S stock was released in Aus.
A new bottling run fixed the problem and it is a tidy blend worth drinking. Just avoid anything that may have some packaging to go overseas.
Have not tried the Shiraz as yet.
Graham
Was there any kind of public consultation over this "bottling problem" because this is the first I've heard of it - in contrast I've seen plenty of big adverts bragging of their show success though.
The bottles we tried a number of times at the end of last year didn't have export labels either, and coincidentally they were sourced from the same retailer where that Judge picked up samples immediately after the show for checking.
So in which batch were the "good" bottles - the local release or the exports?
Cheers,
Ian
Forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone.
Hi all,
Played golf with David Clarke of Thorn-Clarke this week and he said there was a cork problem with the early bottlings. Subsequent batches were good so it may pay to try this wine again.
His 2004 Shotfire Ridge Shiraz won a big gong in the Sydney wine show last week. Can't remember what it was but was something pretty special.
Chuck
Played golf with David Clarke of Thorn-Clarke this week and he said there was a cork problem with the early bottlings. Subsequent batches were good so it may pay to try this wine again.
His 2004 Shotfire Ridge Shiraz won a big gong in the Sydney wine show last week. Can't remember what it was but was something pretty special.
Chuck
Your worst game of golf is better than your best day at work
-
Martin Phillipson
- Posts: 64
- Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2003 1:49 am
Hi All
While I'm not doubting the veracity of any of the previous posts something doesn't sit right with me. So let me get this straight: Us Canadians have to accept a dodgy batch of this wine? Surely if the wine is crook then it shouldn't be sold anywhere right? Thorn Clarke make really good wines and have a great reputation in this neck of the woods. I'm sure if something was seriously duff it would be poured down the sink wouldn't it?
Again, not casting any aspertions (sp?) on the previous posters or the winery, but if a batch is known to have quality control problems it's canned a la 2002 Mt Langi Ghiran right? Or would this depend on the nature of the quality control problems i.e. serious bloom of brett in the bottle as opposed to cork variability. I guess this ends up being a question to the winemakers who follow this forum. When is a fault serious enough that you pull the plug? A high enough percentage of the batch has to be crook for example? This may end up being an unintentionally rhetorical question and I would understand if no-one chose to answer. AGAIN I emphasise that I am not criticising previous posters or the wine in question I'm just curious as to when you would recall a batch of a product.
Martin
While I'm not doubting the veracity of any of the previous posts something doesn't sit right with me. So let me get this straight: Us Canadians have to accept a dodgy batch of this wine? Surely if the wine is crook then it shouldn't be sold anywhere right? Thorn Clarke make really good wines and have a great reputation in this neck of the woods. I'm sure if something was seriously duff it would be poured down the sink wouldn't it?
Again, not casting any aspertions (sp?) on the previous posters or the winery, but if a batch is known to have quality control problems it's canned a la 2002 Mt Langi Ghiran right? Or would this depend on the nature of the quality control problems i.e. serious bloom of brett in the bottle as opposed to cork variability. I guess this ends up being a question to the winemakers who follow this forum. When is a fault serious enough that you pull the plug? A high enough percentage of the batch has to be crook for example? This may end up being an unintentionally rhetorical question and I would understand if no-one chose to answer. AGAIN I emphasise that I am not criticising previous posters or the wine in question I'm just curious as to when you would recall a batch of a product.
Martin
Martin Phillipson wrote:Hi All
While I'm not doubting the veracity of any of the previous posts something doesn't sit right with me. So let me get this straight: Us Canadians have to accept a dodgy batch of this wine? Surely if the wine is crook then it shouldn't be sold anywhere right? Thorn Clarke make really good wines and have a great reputation in this neck of the woods. I'm sure if something was seriously duff it would be poured down the sink wouldn't it?
Again, not casting any aspertions (sp?) on the previous posters or the winery, but if a batch is known to have quality control problems it's canned a la 2002 Mt Langi Ghiran right? Or would this depend on the nature of the quality control problems i.e. serious bloom of brett in the bottle as opposed to cork variability. I guess this ends up being a question to the winemakers who follow this forum. When is a fault serious enough that you pull the plug? A high enough percentage of the batch has to be crook for example? This may end up being an unintentionally rhetorical question and I would understand if no-one chose to answer. AGAIN I emphasise that I am not criticising previous posters or the wine in question I'm just curious as to when you would recall a batch of a product.
Martin
Martin
The batch that was to go to Canada was sold in Australia due to it winning in Adelaide. This was when it was discovered to have a bottling problem.
All of these (first lot of) wines were recalled and new wines were bottled and distributed.
What you should now have is the "good stuff". We have received our second allocation of the wine and it is under screwcap as opposed to cork for the first.
Cheers
Graham
Chardonnay: A drink you have when there is no RED wine, the beer hasn't arrived and the water may be polluted
You may have the good stuff, but if it is the same as the good stuff I tasted a week ago I am not sure I would bother buying it.
All the blokes cooing over a label covered in gongs, that someone was flogging fo $16 a bottle because he had bought too much.
When tasted, I thought it too flabby with too much residual sweetness. Basically a crowd pleasing fruitbomb that was destined to go nowhere.
But, that of course is just my opinion.
All the blokes cooing over a label covered in gongs, that someone was flogging fo $16 a bottle because he had bought too much.
When tasted, I thought it too flabby with too much residual sweetness. Basically a crowd pleasing fruitbomb that was destined to go nowhere.
But, that of course is just my opinion.
Davo wrote:You may have the good stuff, but if it is the same as the good stuff I tasted a week ago I am not sure I would bother buying it.
All the blokes cooing over a label covered in gongs, that someone was flogging fo $16 a bottle because he had bought too much.
When tasted, I thought it too flabby with too much residual sweetness. Basically a crowd pleasing fruitbomb that was destined to go nowhere.
But, that of course is just my opinion.
Davo, if you think you may have some of the early stuff, contact the agent:
Western Australia
Mezzanine
Troy Denham
22 Bowman St
South Perth, Western Australia 6151
Telephone: 08 9368 1477
Fax: 08 9368 2477
Graham
Chardonnay: A drink you have when there is no RED wine, the beer hasn't arrived and the water may be polluted
Davo wrote:Thanks Graham, but I didn't buy any. The label looked special but the contents were not worth the $16 being asked, IMO.
Could have been from the first batch. There was a feeding frenzy to get the wine. Tell your friend to send it back. The bottles I have tried were good and remember we are talking about a $20 wine here.
Graham
Chardonnay: A drink you have when there is no RED wine, the beer hasn't arrived and the water may be polluted