Humm, now what day is it? Sunday! Time for you know what...

[GraemeG]

2004 Dr Loosen ‘Dr L’ Riesling (Mosel) AP 04-05 (10%, screwcap, $20)
An experiment, to see if these QbA cheapies are really worth buying. Lemon-green, the are subtle apple citrus notes on the medium-intensity nose. The palate is slightly sweet in a chaptalised way, with clean fruit and respectable weight. A short citric and sugar finish which stops short of cloying, but never really attains any heights of complexity of interest. It’s well worth paying the extra $9-odd to buy the QmP Lay Kabinett (sadly still sealed under cork) – I think home-market price differentials often get quite distorted by the time the wines get out here.

2003 Chateau L’Escarte ‘L’Eden’ (Bordeaux Superiere) (12.5%, cork, $14)
Having signed up for the WSET course, I’m trying to expand my drinking horizons, and this is the result; modest Bordeaux from a good year. A good deep ruby colour, the nose offers overt aromas of ripe currant fruit in an almost new-world way. With minimal oak on the nose, the blackcurrant/chocolate notes are quite attractive. The palate betrays the origin more clearly; this is very dry, with astringent grape tannins the dominating feature. Fruit is reticent on the finish; it works better with food, no doubt. It’s an OK wine, certainly no worse that something similarly-priced from Rosemount, for example, but certainly with less obvious appeal. In a warm year like 2003 some regional ACs like this can provide decent quaffing and reasonable buys, even for new-world palates. Don’t cellar this though; Cru Bourgeois would be the place to look.

cheers,
Graeme

[Aussie John]

2000 Burge Draycott Shiraz

Barossa Valley. Still almost black. This wine is full of Brett.... iodine and farm on the nose, bretty palate and furry, green tannins. Tasted twice with consistent notes. Unlikely to settle in the next few years. One of my fave Aussie wineries, but this is not their best effort.

Drink: now........................................................80pts.

2003 Chateau Bernadotte, Medoc, France

From the Pichon Lalande stable. Wonderful deep red and crystal clear colour. Nose of anise, cassis, dark fruits and some cedar- classic Bordeaux. Deep, broad and rich palate- this is Bordeaux meets Napa cabernet/merlot. Terrific complexity, and shows the good side of this highly unusual vintage. Showed even better second day- a wine to enjoy over the next decade. Particularly like the high quality merlot here- with pinot noir, merlot remains one of the two varietals that we Aussies cannot produce in satisfactory quality.

Drink: Now-2020...............................................92pts

2002 Jacques Cacheaux Echezeaux

Wow.... the 02 vintage just gets better and better, just as 03 Burgundy gets more and more disappointing (unless you like Aussie pinot). What a beautiful, pure bottle of burgundy. Rich, long and incredibly true to its origins- this is the classical "liquid silk" that great Burgundy is famous for. And an astonishing Peacock tail finish- if you are not certain what this means, grab yourself a bottle of this. This wine is just about everything you would ever want from the world's best wine region, and will be a stunner in a decade. Good thing about 02- it seems we will be able to enjoy the reds all the way along their journey, making 2002 the 1982 Bordeaux of Burgundy!!

Drink: 2010-2020..........................................97pts.

[Popov]

Four wines of interest this week -

Working backwards from Friday night:

Wolf Blass Gold Label Shiraz Viognier 2002

Adelaide Hills, 13% A/V, screwcap.

I bought a case of this on the strength of the bevy of golds, trophies and at least one major championship (best red at the national!) awarded in 2003.

Just a few (enjoyable) sips of this last night and this brief note is taken from what is left in my glass!

Deep ruby with some purple flashes. Medium nose of various dark berries, violets, an attractive floral lift from the viognier, very little apricot (a good thing) and subtle spicy French oak in the background. Svelte palate, nice concentration/mix/balance of velvety blackberry/boysenberry fruit, subtle savoury oak, low acidity, soft, fine-grained tannins and very good length. An Excellent, smooth, midweighted wine with quite a few years of life left in it, although drinking (to my taste) beautifully now. Don't normally do/post tasting notes at 7 am in the morning, but the little that was left in the glass got the better of me while I was cleaning up a few bits and pieces left out from last night.

I actually pulled my stash out a few weeks back too and had one of these. Drinking very well now and as you say will continue to do so but I might find it hard to resist these. Also had a 2002 Laughing Magpie the other week and it is travelling very well also. May look at getting some of the 04's seeing that they have had a few good wraps of late.

Cheers
Popov

[JamieBahrain]

2004 Dr Loosen ‘Dr L’ Riesling (Mosel) AP 04-05 (10%, screwcap, $20)
An experiment, to see if these QbA cheapies are really worth buying. Lemon-green, the are subtle apple citrus notes on the medium-intensity nose. The palate is slightly sweet in a chaptalised way, with clean fruit and respectable weight. A short citric and sugar finish which stops short of cloying, but never really attains any heights of complexity of interest. It’s well worth paying the extra $9-odd to buy the QmP Lay Kabinett (sadly still sealed under cork) – I think home-market price differentials often get quite distorted by the time the wines get out here.

You are quite right. This competes on the international front with the likes of the Jacob's Creek riesling at pricing point. In Hong Kong it's about $15 AUD with a 80% wine tax. In the USA it is well under 10 USD.

[action2096]

Turkey Flat Shiraz 1998
Polished a bottle of this off earlier this year and couldn't resist cracking open another last night. Aromas of liquorice, plums & blackberry. A sweet slight confected taste to me ?? Overall very nice wine. Drinking well now but not much in the way of secondary characteristics. As for whether or not it will improve further i have no idea. Got a few left so will plan to try one in another year or so to check on progress

I much preferred their 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon to the Shiraz. Bought a few Cabernet for circa $20 and have enjoyed every one of them over the last few years. Which reminds me, I must get some more.

I pitted the TF 98 shiraz vesus the 99 TF shiraz recently. The 98 shiraz looked structually unsound against the 99.

Jamie,
With the exception of the 2003 vintage the 98s are my first foray into Turkey Flat. Might have to try and get hold of a 99 for comparasion. Anything in particular you found with the 98 ?

[Pelican]

Some 1996 South Australian Red wines had this weekend. All very enjoyable , drank a full half bottle of each and the short notes below are intended at a hard marking level.

1996 Galah Clare Valley Sparkling Red ( cellar ) : A few years in storage did this no harm. Belongs amongst the elite of Sparkling Reds. Good depth and a nice eucalypty strain. Excellent. It will be interesting to see if any more of this will be made as I read in the Ashton Hills newsletter last year that the Galah Clare Red range ( petit Wendouree ) was ceasing. I recall vintages of this from 1992 , 1996 and 1998.

1996 Peter Lehmann Barossa Valley Eight Songs Shiraz ( cellar ) : Good deep wine but for me a bit oppressive with the oak.

1996 Penfold's St Henri Shiraz ( cellar ) : Still young but was a nice drink. I know St Henri prides itself on not being too oaky but this still seemed a bit oaky. Try next one in 5 years.

1996 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz Barossa Valley ( cellar ) : Healthy Barossa red wine - I found a fairly dominant liqueur cherry chocolate aspect to this , which although not unpleasant , made it seem a bit one dimensional. Managed to wait until now to open the first one of these.

[Dave Dewhurst]

Plantagenet Shiraz, 1993, Mount Barker, Great Southern, Western Australia

Decanted. Crimson centre to slightly red-brown rim with a touch or wateriness. Initial nose is blueberries and possibly even bilberries. Became a bit smoky and bacony on the nose with time. Very soft and velvety mouthfeel, fully resolved tannins, with a lovely savoury blackberry flavour and a touch of black pepper on the finish. Really delicate and gentle, medium bodied with a moderately long finish. The fruit, the weight and the length of this wine just kept increasing throughout the night, as did ever so slight drying tannins on the front, over about four hours of drinking. Simply gorgeous!

Just some quick impressions too on Tyrells Lost Block Semillon 2002, under cork. Beautifully clean and crisp, Granny Smiths and lemons on the palate with great acidity. Yum!

Cheers

Dave

I prefer this (now) to the 1994. I have one bottle left and just plucked it from the cellar for imminent consumption. I'll post a note when I crack it and see how it compares to yours.

David,

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Do you by any chance have any knowledge of the 1997? I saw it at the local bottlo recently and was wondering whether it was worth a punt.

Cheers

Dave

[Gary W]

Plantagenet Shiraz 1993: Dirty black licorice/
molasses, red fruit and white pepper. Light weight on
the palate but showing red fruit and lashings of pepper.
Good but not great. Drink: Now-2008. 90 points.

Plantagenet Shiraz 1997: Compost and sewer, spice
and some vegetal overtones. The palate is still pleasant
if not a touch stewed and simple. Drink: Now. 85
points.

http://www.winorama.com.au

[Davo]

Plantagenet Shiraz 1997: Compost and sewer, spice
and some vegetal overtones.

Sound like just your sort of thing really

[Gary W]

Plantagenet Shiraz 1997: Compost and sewer, spice
and some vegetal overtones.

Sound like just your sort of thing really

Yes ..when not drinking Hunter ...WA fits the bill! If the fetid shoe fits...
GW

[Jordan]

In Sydney over the weekend. A few wines at a few restaurants - Harbourside Imperial Peiking, Whitewater at Manly and Rockpool.

2004 Shaw and Smith M3 Chard: excellent chardonnay. Minerally with long acidity and a complex yeasty, apple/pear palate. Long finish with precision.

2003 Olivers Taranga McClaren Vale Shiraz: Soft, rounded wine drinking well now. Silky mouth-feel with plush plum, vanilla, choc-berry flavourings and a dash of white pepper. Not overly sophisticated but enjoybale with slow cooked beef

2001 Trimbach Reserve Riesling: minerally but with a little more sweetness and aromatics than similar Aus rieslings. Good stuff - further pricking my interest in Alsace

2002 Domaine Rene Engel Vosnee-Romanee: One of the better of few Burgundies I have had. Sappy cherry, a little wet leaf, soft tannins...complientd the veal I was having very well. Good food wine.

[dlo]

Plantagenet Shiraz, 1993, Mount Barker, Great Southern, Western Australia

Decanted. Crimson centre to slightly red-brown rim with a touch or wateriness. Initial nose is blueberries and possibly even bilberries. Became a bit smoky and bacony on the nose with time. Very soft and velvety mouthfeel, fully resolved tannins, with a lovely savoury blackberry flavour and a touch of black pepper on the finish. Really delicate and gentle, medium bodied with a moderately long finish. The fruit, the weight and the length of this wine just kept increasing throughout the night, as did ever so slight drying tannins on the front, over about four hours of drinking. Simply gorgeous!

Just some quick impressions too on Tyrells Lost Block Semillon 2002, under cork. Beautifully clean and crisp, Granny Smiths and lemons on the palate with great acidity. Yum!

Cheers

Dave

I prefer this (now) to the 1994. I have one bottle left and just plucked it from the cellar for imminent consumption. I'll post a note when I crack it and see how it compares to yours.

David,

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Do you by any chance have any knowledge of the 1997? I saw it at the local bottlo recently and was wondering whether it was worth a punt.

Cheers

Dave

Avoided 1997 pretty much across the board. No help from me on this one. Sorry.