It's Sunday and ....

[TORB]

time to report what you guys ahve been drinking this week. In my case it has been an AFW so don't ask me but I would love to read about all the good stuff you guys have been guzzling.

[Ian S]

time to report what you guys ahve been drinking this week. In my case it has been an AFW so don't ask me but I would love to read about all the good stuff you guys have been guzzling.

Is this akin to the pope saying "nah, don't think I'll go to church this week"?

For us tonight, a cheap Kendermans Eiswein 2003 , which was pleasant in an apricot syrup sort of way. Good value, but relatively simple

Last night Plantagenet Cabernet Sauvignon 1998. After a slow start, this one opened out very nicely, with decent complexity. The acid was perhaps a little prominent when drinking on it's own, but with food (Duck salad) it went well. Impressed with this and a little surprised by Oliver bringing his drinking window for this wine from 06-10 to 03-06+. I can only assume he hit a poor bottle.

[action2096]

Mt Ida Shiraz 1998
My first and only bottle from this producer. JO suggested a drinking window of 2003-2006+ so i decided to crack it open. Inky red colour with rich spicy fruit. Tannins seemed to stick out a little at first but softened after some time. Only negative was the coffee/vanilla oak seemed to slightly overpower the fruit but pretty good none the less and i reckon will still hold/improve in the short-mid term.

[Wayno]

Wynns Coonawarra BL Cabernet 2002

Heard some average reviews and thought I'd try one.

Cool climate in style, berry notes on the nose, a bit thin on the palate but nicely chewy finish and with quite nice length. A few hours rest brought a more classic Cabernet appeal. A bit austere and certainly no fruit bomb.

I will be interested to see how it develops...

[Grinners]

Saltram Mamre Brook Cab Sauv 2004 Decanted 2 hours prior to serving. Did a blind tasting against a clean skin - myself and 3 mates all were able to identify the saltram! Good sign!

Really enjoyed the aroma which after 4 hours after the decanting was still very pleasant. Quite smooth, dry finish, enjoyable, hopefully gets better with age.

[Pelican]

2005 David Franz Stonewell Hill Barossa Semillon ( $21 ) : Excellent modern ( ie not too oaky ) but lovely and calm and soulful Barossa Semillon - only 50 doz. made from one row of vines ! Bottom line is that quality fruit was used to make this and it shows. Might be tempted to try this producers reds again. I recall looking forward to a modest 12% or so Barossa Red a couple of years ago but found it too " sweet " . These wines come in a bottle that has writing etched all over it rather than a normal paper label - a bit OTT really - but I don't mind if they produce nice drinkable wines like this Semillon.

Battle of Bosworth McLaren Vale Organically grown wines : For a bit over $20 a bottle the 2 red wines ( a Cabernet' and a Shiraz from 2004 vintage ) were wonderfully pure clean and deep examples of McLaren Vale chocolatey goodness - not cloying at all. For me I found the white wine - a 2005 Chardonnay/Viognier blend ( $18 ) very bland and even a bit bubblegummy - come to think of it I've never really been excited by any McLaren Vale whites at all. So it seems that the care in the vineyard brings out the great things in the Reds but can't produce miracles for grapes that don't really suit the region viz. white wines.

Seppelt Trafford Tawny DP30 Barossa Valley ( $11 ) : high QPR here. Pleasant Tawny Port.

[JamieBahrain]

Only the one wine for me this week- Chapoutier's Les Granits St Joseph 1995. If you note in the auction scene, don't hesitate to buy it for under $70 Aus.

A single vineyard St Joseph, with a bit of of ooomph. The 95 will hold for a while.

[GRB]

Tried a few of the cheaper 04 Shiraz that are getting around at the moment

Pepperjack Shiraz 2004
Grant Burge Miamba 2004
d'Arenberg Footbolt 2004

All drinkable without being exciting the Miamba had a bit more fruit weight than the other 2 and the pepperjack probably had a little more complexity would be happy with any of these with the steak and snags on the BBQ

Then we tried a couple of Cabs that are floating around at good prices at the moment

Wynns Cab Sab 2003 First bottle badly corked but this was happily replaced by DM's. Pretty much agree with the sentiments so far on this one, lovely core of fruit with only the slightest leafy notes. Grabed a couple to see how it goes in the longer term a steal at the current going price.

This was overshadowed by

Majella Cab Sav 2003 Menthol / Mint on the nose with typical Coonawarra cab notes underneath still a pup with a lovely core of cassis fruit on the palate this should be lovely in a few years and I have a 6 pack coming to find out.

Mitolo Jester 2004 Nice choc fruity shiraz but I don't think it was quite as good as the Penny's hill or Filsell that I have had recently that both found a place in the cellar. Lacked a bit in complexity for mine.

Peter Lehmann Cab Sav 2000 Last one of these from the cellar and is still a pleasant wine from what was a pretty tough vintage, not a patch on the 02.

Glen

[Davo]

Tim Adams Aberfeldy 2003, deep intense colour and equal intensity of fruit. Leave at least another 5 years

Clos Clare Shiraz 2003, Fighting well outside its price range. Superb Clare Shiraz, drinking very well now but will also improve over the next 5.

Turkey Flat Cab Sauv 2003. Intense warm climate old vine cab. Just enough green pepper to reinforce varietal character without being unpleasant, at least for me. Also very good drinking right now and also will show improvement over the next 5 years.

Stanton & Killeen VP 1993. Oh yeah, this is the stuff. Very bloody good VP.

[cranky]

This week I have had two wines that are worth recommending:

Pra Soave Classico 2001 Really interesting and tasty. Drank well by itself and with food. Best at a cold-to-cool temperature, rather than straight out of the fridge or after getting up to room temp.
Edit (pt.1)... after 4 days in the fridge: more to smell than before, less crisp - marmalade, macadamias, tropical fruit - more like a desert wine nose. Slightly richer on the tongue, with some honey, almond, unripe rockmelon( ? ), slightly sour finish indicating oxidation underway. Still pretty good to drink.

Mr Riggs Tempranillo 2004 Very drinkable, nice on the nose, great with Italian bistro food. I will have to get some more of this!

Also opened a 2004 Wine By Brad cabernet merlot. Not bad at all! Smooth, easy drinking, good with a Herdsman Fresh Beef & Guiness with Champ "pie". Fantastic value at clearance price. Fools. Well worth trying the FYMAT's stuff.

[JamieBahrain]

Turkey Flat Cab Sauv 2003. Intense warm climate old vine cab. Just enough green pepper to reinforce varietal character without being unpleasant, at least for me. Also very good drinking right now and also will show improvement over the next 5 years.

I thought this a shocker when I tried recently. The worst I've ever had from this label. Will be interested in how other people find it.

What's the shiraz like from 03?

[Anonymous]

<b>2004 Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz:</b> Decanted for 6 hours. Tannins still quite aggressive, thus needs time to settle down. Will revisit in a few years time.

<b>2004 Wolf Blass Adelaide Hills Shiraz Viogner:</b>
Not impressed. Decanted for several hours before tasting. This wine has a very salty after taste that was too prolonged for my liking. The initial palate was impressive with lots of fruit, but that after taste left me gaging. Screwcap. Anyone has similar experiences?

<b>Normans Chais Clarendon McLarenVale Adelaide Hills Cabernet Sauvignon:</b> Wonderful. Fruit is still alive in this one. Slightly drying finish, but with a roast beef this was superb.

<b>2002 Annies Lane Riesling:</b> Lovely golden colour with aging honey characters beginning to show. Can still go a long way. Other 2002 rieslings have remained in the cellar and the Annies Lane may stay a little longer based on this sample.

[platinum]

Majella Cabernet 2003, Mint and Cigar Box. Lovely Oak integration covered by a good amount of dark fruits and spice. Much more integrated than my last bottle 3-6 months back where it was still too tannic, this has a very strong 5 years ahead. Excellent & **** for value

Saltram Mamre Brook Cab 2004, Violets,Plum, Cedar Oak. I found this to be a little softer and smoother than I was expecting & was Quite different to the 2002's I have had; Not in a bad way. Plenty of smooth Plum fruits and no alcohol hotness. Lacked the Pepper and Spice style of the Majella. Highly Recommended & ****

[winetastic]

Pepperjack Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Fleshy plums, berries and alcohol on the nose, the palate has a solid structure starting with juicy dark fruit and finishing with noticeably drying tannins and lingering flavours of coffee and oak. This is not a cabernet for the feint hearted, displaying its ripe and rich Barossa heritage.

Score: 7/10
Price: $15-20
Closure: Cork
Would I buy this wine again?
At the often seen “on special” price of $15, yes indeed.

[pstarr]

An interesting drinking week. Our vineyard volunteers got together for another Wine Wednesday session, this time with a tempranillo and tapas theme.

We started with the joven or young style wines:

- Telmo Rodriquez LZ Tempranillo 2004 (Rioja): red to purple, nose somewhat restrained, but good cherries on the palate, mid-to-short finish and mild tannins.
- Pondalowie MT Tempranillo 2005 (Bendigo): WOTN for many, which surprised me as I didn't think it would appeal to all. I tried this before release when visiting Pondalowie and it is a cracker. A beautiful, youthful bright purple at the edges, the nose is very varietal with sarsparilla and cola coming through strongly. There are tannins, but they are fresh and in good balance with the fruit. My case of this is rapidly disappearing.

Then the oaked styles:
- Tempus Two Tempranillo 2004 (South Australian fruit): Colour quite dark, reasonable fruits but a somewhat disconcerting amount of crushed-ants. Seemed a bit disjointed, but was a cheapie.
- Tscharke Only Son Barossa Valley Tempranillo 2004: The heavier end of things, some thought the fruit verged on over-ripe, but well-liked by the group. Surprised people as a good food match with grilled chicory.
- Pondalowie Special Release 2003 Tempranillo (Bendigo): I threw this in, even though it needs a bit more time in bottle, for the contrast with their joven style. Darker in colour, the sarsparilla is much less pronounced, with more cherry and cola. Tannins are long, but a little blocky and still need time to settle.
- Roda II Reserva 2001 (Rioja): This is 94% tempranillo, 4% garnacha and 2% graciano. This had a couple of hours in the decanter to open up beforehand and was excellent. The length and smoothness of the fruit and tannins were obvious and this one went away very quickly. Shone with food or without. I'm now eyeing off my Roda I...

Other than Wine Wednesday, had a Banks Thargo Coonawarra Merlot 2001 that took ages to open up but was good (strangely the green olive character was the last thing to emerge). Dinner Thursday night at Sage had a bit of a sparkling reds theme, and had the new release Primo Estate Joseph and the 1995 Leasingham Classic Clare Shiraz as starters. Interesting to see that both wines performed really well, even back to back. Also a Yarrh Sangiovese (Canberra) that was a little thin but good drinking with Italian food.

[Dave Dewhurst]

A right mix of home and foreigners this week:

Upper Reach Cabernet Merlot, 2003, Swan Valley, Western Australia

Decanted and a rich dark blood red colour at the centre to mid-red at the rim. On the nose, there is a fair amount of mint and possibly some rosemary too along with blackcurrant fruit and a smidge of blueberry. Initial taste shows a mix of black and red fruit, black upfront and red to finish. A bit glycerolly in the mouth and quite a vanillary oaky finish. Did not change much over the course of the evening, possibly the oak becoming a little more overt. OK as a quaffer.

Prunotto Barbera D’Alba, 1998, Piedmont, Italy

Decanted. Deep red centre with a hint of red-brown on the rim. Quite a powerful nose with black cherries and violets detectable, even when the glass is sitting an arm’s length away. Soft and gentle in the mouth with fully resolved tannins and mild, gentle black cherry fruit. Reasonable acidity with a hint of cranberry on a relatively short finish. Great nose but a little disappointing in one’s gob and not a patch on the 03 I had at a tasting a few weeks back.

Musella Valpolicella Superiore, 2001, Verona, Italy

Decanted with an initial strong whiff of bright red raspberries. Swirling brings out some blackcherries and a touch of blood. This is gorgeously mouthfilling, fruit is slightly sweet upfront which soon resolves into very savoury blackcurrant and black cherry, ever so slightly glycerolly with the softest of tannins. Quite a long finish with a light raspberry touch. Drinking beautifully now and I can’t imagine it will get better than this.

Chateau Mazeris, 2001, Canon-Fronsac, Bordeaux, France

Decanted and left for an hour or so with about half the bottle drunk over a couple of hours. The remaining half was stored in a half bottle at room temperature overnight. Deep inky purple in the centre to deep crimson red on the rim. On the first night, very restrained on the nose, with very little in evidence apart from a touch of spearmint. Strong but fine tannic attack on the palate is seemingly hiding some juicy red and black fruits, which come up slightly during the first night. Moderate length. By the second night, a whiff of blackcurrant and stronger mint appease the olfactory senses and while the drying tannins are still present in abundance, much more deep redcurrant and blackcurrant fruit has come up and the wine has put on weight and length. Much more drinkable and likeable now. I would imagine another 2-3 years in the cellar to soften those tannins a little more will really see this wine hit its straps. Have some ’03 of this coming and will be interesting to compare to the ’01 given the known vintage variations.

The Mazeris for me was probably the pick of the bunch.

Cheers

Dave

[Mike Hawkins]

2001 The Standish Shiraz - this is a super wine. Rich, sweet (in a good way), very primary but with a great earthy, lengthy finish. I've got to lay off the rest for a few years. One of my favourites of the year so far.

2004 Amon Ra - not as good as the 02 but better than the 03 IMO. Another ultra rich wine, just lacking the class and style of the The Standish. Finished a touch hot. Nevertheless, this is pretty good stuff.

1996 Nicolas Feuilatte Palmes d'Or - corked

1996 Lanson Gold Label - not a good bottle. Seemed a tad bitter

2002 Penfolds Bin 28 Shiraz x 2 - muted nose and finished soapy and ultra-peppery. Both bottles exactly the same. I guess some of those trans-Pacific storage issues may be true. This was nothing like the TNs I've read elsewhere.

[Jordan]

Just a few, nothing spectacular:

1998 Penfolds Bin 407: flat and disspaointing - going through a dumb phase or always been dumb?

2003 Wynns Black Label: Very nice and great QPR - 6 please!

2001 Galah Clare Valley Shiraz: good stuff at $25 per bottle. Plenty of rich fruit in a smooth, sumptious style - good cold weather quaffing

1998 Tatachilla Foundation Shiraz: Ok but not great

[n4sir]

Just a few, nothing spectacular:

1998 Penfolds Bin 407: flat and disspaointing - going through a dumb phase or always been dumb?

1998 Tatachilla Foundation Shiraz: Ok but not great

Like I've mentioned elsewhere (a few times) I haven't struck a decent bottle of 1998 Bin 407 - for all the flak the 1998 Wynns Black Label CS has copped this is consistently worse - a lot worse.

I haven't been that impressed with a couple of bottles of the Foundation either. TORB thought the last one may have been a dud, but the two I tried were pretty similar which is a worry - I was on the verge of turfing a magnum at Wickman's last auction, but TORB's vote of confidence gave at a last second reprieve.

Speaking of which, Mark's posted a new auction today so I'm just about to check it out myself...

Cheers,
Ian

[Jordan]

I agree with your thoughts on the Foundation n4sir.This is the 3rd bottle within a year that this wine has shown very poorly - very flat with a little stewed, cooked fruit flavour. Thats either bastard-like luck with bottle variation and cork, poor storage somewhere along the line or just a dud wine.

[Wayno]

It's funny, I've had two bottles of the Foundation Shiraz 1998 over the last year or so - I thought both quite average. Disappointing even.

[Ian S]

The one we had last year was very good and even impressed the francophiles at the tasting (I'd expected them to hate it!).

Will crack our other bottle over the next 2-3 months and (try to) remember to post back on the outcome.

Ian