Sunday morning weekly reports due please...

[TORB]

Hi Good Peoples,

Time for those tasting notes, tasting vibes or just plain impressions.

My best wine of the week was a Leasingham 1994 Classic Clare Sparkling Shiraz which tasted so much sweeter than normal. That may have had something to do with the fact that it was consumed whilst watching the Wallaby's (surprisingly) do the Kiwis.

Now what have you all been drinking?

[Glen you know who]

with great NZ pinot from Lawsons, Alan Scott, Black Ridge, Akarua (trophy wine from 2003 Air NZ awards) and Mt Difficulty.

And some fantastic Chardonnay from Neudorf for good measure (a weekly dose of c-through stops you getting bald I hear).

Cheers from Kiwiland, back in Oz on Tuesday for some ribbing from John D I'm sure...over a big bold aussie Shiraz.

[David Lole]

Morning good sir,

This week's been a bit warm for Shrek, so the C-thru's have copped a floggin'. Highlight was lunch with Tony WAIW Thursday.

Leasingham Classic Clare Riesling 1996. Remarkable from the straw green colour to the fresh lime & herb nose with a powerful, surprisingly youthful palate with abundant crisp, balancing acidity and a sustained finish. This Excellent Riesling should merit a higher ranking after several years of continued slow evolution. What surprised us both was that with over an hour's breathing in the glass and coming up to near room temperature, the wine only got better.

Cullen's Cabernet Merlot 1995 Just needs a few years for the acid and tannin to fully integrate and we'll have something very special. Deep ruby/purple colour followed by a sexy, complex nose of blackcurrant, plums, cedar, sandalwood with touches of tobacco leaf and an emerging MR minerality/gravel. The sheer weight of fruit swallows up most of the savoury French Oak in the mouth with a lovely creaminess (suggesting old vines) and great persistance and authority at the end. Eerily reminiscent of a fine Bordeaux without any barnyard, wet earth or overt herbaceousness. Outstanding . Should last well into the next decade.

Coutet Barsac 1976 Riddled with citrus peels, mandarins, apricots and superripe yellow peaches, this Outstanding aged sweet white reveals amazing complexity in the mouth without cloying or seeming heavy at any point. There's also integrated spicy coconut, marzipan and buttercotch playing an important supporting role to the unctious fruit. Superb counterbalancing, dry finish. This is a lavish, heavily botrytised, elegantly wrought Sauternes probably at the peak of its powers. With no deterioration in the glass whatsoever it could hold for quite a few years yet. "Simply Irresistible".

LEAS Chardonnay 1999 Spicy Rolls Royce oak, top class winemaking - butter, grilled cashews, smokey bacon and meal over creamy melon and fig fruit. Still handling the 14+% A/V with aplomb. Perhaps going thru a transitional period. Highly Recommended.

Plus some crisp, chilled OZ Rieslings from the cellar I've written up recently.

[TORB]

(a weekly dose of c-through stops you getting bald I hear)

Glen,

You have been so quiet lately both John and I thought you had dropped off the face of the planet.

Actually, it was the 'weakly' dose of c-though in my formative years that caused the chrome to dome.

[Anthony]

Masi Amarone 1994. Not one of the great vintages for Italy in the 90's but a hell of a good wine. 15% but drinking really well at the moment. You don't have any primary fruit characteristics jumping out at you, rather balanced savoury (mixed herbs) and those sorts of characteristics which made for a really good wine.

cheers
anthony

[Red Bigot]

Monday - a few of the tasting group away, one of the relative newbies insisted on whites in honour of the warm weather At least I managed to include 3 old Elizabeth Semillon to further diminish my miniscule white stocks.

Preferences were for the 97 Elizabeth and Montana Reseve Sauv Blanc 2002, closely followed by the 91 Elizabeth, then Skillagalee Riesling 2002, Vintage cellars Malborough SB 2002 (lacking crispness and sweetish) and an unfortuately slightly musty 93 Elizabeth ranked last.

A 97 Rufus Stone Heathcote Shiraz, the first release I think, from very young vines, opened up bright fresh and spicy, restrained oak and tannins supporting quite juicy dark cherry fruit with a slight savoury edge. This has a few more years in it yet.

Thursday tasting group, a small turnout for Oz sparkling whites, the cheaper ones came out ahead, with the Yarra Burn 2000 and Seaview Blanc de Blanc 99 pipping the Killawarra Reserve Pinot-Chardonnay 99, Padthaway Pinot Chardonnay Cuvee 98 and a very disappointing simple, sweetish Seppelt Salinger 2000 bringing up the rear. Not opened due to small numbers, the Clover Hill 99 probably would have led the class. Nothing really exciting here, some yeastiness noticable on the Seaview and Killawarra if you like that.

Friday, 91 Eileen Hardy Shiraz with some nice food at Water's Edge restaurant, after a glass of Moet NV. The EH is staring to show some nice maturity now, integrated nicely, tannins softened, but with a nice backbone still there to show the power of this wine, particularly good with the venison /venison pie and the duck breast/confit/sausage mains and enough left to wash down the (large for a single serve) cheese platter we shared. I like it now and will drink the few I have left fairly soon.

Saturday, 91 Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz. This showed a little more maturity than expected compared to an example from 3 years ago (from Ric's cellar I think), but much the same as the previous bottle from my cellar earlier this year. A touch of bottle stink quickly blew off to reveal some nice soft and quite rich plummy/chocolate notes, pretty integrated now, with that lovely Barossa shiraz silky mouthfeel. JO says 2011-2021, I think I'll be drinking my last one soonish rather than later. maybe my batch suffered a bit of heat on their way to me.

[Brett Stevens]

seem to be drinking a lot of clean skins at the moment and lab samples so wont bore with those. However had an interesting night on friday night. myslef and a mate had a 99 night.

We know 99 wasnt the best year and i guess our overall results proved it.

Penfolds Bin 407 1999 green capsicum, asparagus, pulled foil back and show some leakage through the cork, checked wine not oxidised, i dont think we even finished this bottle.

Charles Melton 9 Popes in the past i have been a huge fan of this wine, always make sure i buy a few for its price mid $30 i think excellent value, however the 99 again was a bit green on the palate, almost unripe, not what i remembered from previous vintages

Saltram No. 1 ooohhhhh baby, this is one bad boy, huge tannin still, well intergrated acid, with strong fruit flavours fighting there way through, i think i will try it again in ten years, this was a fantastic robust wine with a potential to age forever, this was the wine of the night and had the price to go with it. even in a substandard 99 vintage this wine was still head and shoulders above the rest.

Brett

[ChrisH]

1995 Domaine Rabasse Charavin Cotes du Rhone Cairanne, Cuvee D'Estevenas

Phew, the length of the name almost puts you off. It is explanatory though - Cairanne is a village within the large appellation of Cotes du Rhone and the Cuvee d'Estevanas is their reserve Cairanne wine in effect.

One of Lerster Jesberg's imports, a style that is quite different to Australian mainstream Shiraz - savoury, meaty blackberry spectrum fruit with oak very much a supporting role in the background. Quite delicious, food friendly and all the better for its point of difference.


regards
Chris

[radioactiveman]

and an unfortuately slightly musty 93 Elizabeth ranked last.

Brian,

A bad bottle you think? Just wondering as I have a couple of these left.

Cheers

Jamie

[Seamus]

First serious wine (i.e. above $20) that I have had in a long time (AA is allowing me to ween back onto the grog )

Very nice, and subtle. Lost lots of is raw oak and is now displaying a truly balanced wine. Ripe fruit and typically in style to Barossa Cabs, similar to Dorrien, Melton......

Look forward to opening another in a few years time. And not bad for a $17 outlay a few years a go.

Andrew

[Red Bigot]

A bad bottle you think? Just wondering as I have a couple of these left.

Jamie,
I think just a slightly dud cork (not tca), there was some minor ullage as well, cork was wet and smelt musty. I don't remember this in prior 93's, this was my last though.

Hope yours are good ones.

[Wizz]

A few from the last week or so:

Petaluma Riesling 1998: mid gold. Quietish nose, but a full palate of honey, toast, lemon, orange rind, nice fuzzy acid, great length. Still balanced and should go for a long while yet if you like your rieslings well aged. I've had a few of these over the last two years and it doesnÂ’t appear to have had any sort of "dumb phase" that these often get.

Delatite Dead Mans Hill Gewurztraminer 2002 Nice. Musk, lychees, pears, spice on the back palate. This is the tighter style, not the fatter oiler outcome that some makers produce.

Savaterre Chardonnay 2001: Mid yellow gold, surprisngly coloured. Complex nose of many fruits, mealy oak and some tight buttery elements. These followed nicely onto the palate which opened into a rich complex burgundian profile as the wine warmed a little. 13.5% Alcohol showed as surprisingly hot. Different, but v nice.

Teusner Avatar 2002: GSM blend, same fruit as the Tuesner Joshua, but 16 months old american oak has done a lot. Drunk from crappy bistro glasses, so nothing going on the nose. Red purple, the palate starts as all red fruits: red cherries, raspberry redcurrant, and then an iodine like note as well. Some white pepper and spice, and a meatiness to it as well. Theres also an unusual nuttiness which might be the oak. very nice, one of the better GSM's around.

Castagna Sauvage Shiraz Viognier 2000: Dark purple - plum skin colour. Pepper, VA, redcurrant,raspberry, rhubarb nose. Palate is aniseed, licorice, white pepper, some dark cherry and a lovely lift from the viognier. THIS is how to do a shiraz viognier blend! Fine, mouth coating tannin, quite a complete palate, and good length. Outstanding.

cheers

Andrew

[AlanK]

Sorrenberg Chardonnay 2001

Classy creamy melon fruit on the nose. Smooth and spicy fruit with excellent acidity. Long finish. Highly recommended.

[Guest in a bag]

Had a few good Burgundies the other day.....hard to say which was the best, but the two 1990s were great. So was the 1978. The Jayer is a better style 'cos it's de-stemmed where as Leroy and DRC are 100% stalk fermented.

And the 1967? Breathtakingly good.

Dom perignon 1992 Pretty good, bit developed.

Diebolt Vallois 1997 Cramant Fleur de PassionÂ….very serious dry chardonnay

Tattinger year 2000 Cuvee MAgnum....very balanced and round but a bit sweet


Red Burgundies;

1992 H. Jayer Vosne Romanee Cros Parentoux

1996 Leroy Vougeot

1993 Leroy Clos de la Roche

1990 Leroy Richebourg


DRC Richebourg 1978, 19983, 1985, 1990, 1995, 1998 and 1999


1967 dÂ’Yquem


1977 Dows VP


Had a bottle of the 1998 Virgin Hills that ONE journalist raved about....first half a glass had character.....rest showed oxidised and flat. It's a $30.00 wine. Most of the las ten years are very poor anyway.


Adios.

[Justin B.]

Finally coming out of a relatively dry spell:

2001 Goundry reserve chardonnay - Full flavoured and very varietal. Good wine for the $.

2000 Goundrey reserve shiraz - a bloody ordinary wine for $20-odd. Also had a 2001 Plantaganet hazard hill shiraz grenache the night before and enjoyed that mor than the goundrey. Goundrey had decent intensity but was thin, a bit short and a dull mouthfeel. Avoid.

1994 Julians sparkling shiraz - holding well for its age. a nice drink without exciting too much.

1998 Rosemount GSM - the more I drink wine, the more I can pick these very obvious styles easier. Ripe and oaky. Enjoyable if you like the chocolaty style. One or two glass is enough for me at any sitting.

2002 Orlando St Helga riesling - yummy stuff. This wine has everything going for it - aroma, mouthfeel, length, flavour and very refreshing acid. I got more than I expected. Great value. I enjoyed this more than the 02 Grosset sem/sauv blanc at double the price

Justin

[Red Bigot]

Forgot to mention:
Andrew Harris The Vision 1996 strong mercaptens, high v/a, let it breathe in big glasses a while and it only got worse, opened something else, left the bottle 'til the next morning, down the sink

[Mark S]

Tyrrells Vat 47 1997 - worried, as this had been in the laundry for 2 or 3 years - no need, gorgeous chardonnay, cork showed perfectly; elegant, European style, a far cry from the big buttery, oaky chard examples; next day was, if anything, better - right up to room temperature it kept its charm, not many whites I can say that about!
Moorilla Estate riesling 1998 - restrained, almost ethereal, none of the gross kero characters that spoil many aged rieslings for me - rather like a classy semillon/sauvignon blanc blend.
D'arenberg Hermit Crab marsanne viognier 2002 - Jeremy Oliver only gives this 15/20 - I liked it a lot - character & complexity & zest in a $13 white wine! Don't think I've ever tried a marsanne/viognier blend before; excellent with seafood.
Bream Creek pinot 1997 - another one found in the laundry after languishing there for years - again, perfectly sound, with funky, gamey, earthy characters, rich & burgundian-like pinot, still good a day later.
Rockford Dry Country Grenache 1997 - unusual wine, medium-bodied, with typical developed varietal grenache notes at first, then seemed to retreat into its shell, so much so I suspected TCA, but a few hours on, transformed into a savoury, remarkably pinot-like wine.
Saintsbury Carneros Pinot 1996 - Californian wine retailing for about US$25, a disappointment - faint bouquet, bland palate, suggestion of greeness/bitterness on the finish.
Miranda Old Vine Shiraz 1998 - from the big end of town, pretty much what you'd expect from Barossa shiraz from 1998, big on extract, oak, ripeness, eminently slurpable, little different from many of its $40 - $80 cousins, for under $20 on discount! Drink now/soon.
Ferguson LJK pinot 1998 (Yarra Valley) - never really heard of them before this bottle - very appealing wine, even if hard to pick as a pinot; fruit, acidity, tannins, all smooth & in balance, quite refreshing.
Yarra Yering Underhill shiraz 1994 - oh yes, of course, this is why I became interested in wine in the first place - lush, voluptuous, huge flavour impact on both nose & palate, Bailey Carrodus has got to add viognier to his shirazes or I'm a monkey's uncle - at its peak, but not a keeper, in a few hours it had become thinner, more tannic; drink up!

[GraemeG]

A few wines across the weekend:
2002 Grosset Watervale Riesling (Clare)
A wine as pure as the driven snow. Pale, with lime and green apple fruit. Sweet on the palate, though not in any way because of residual sugar. I could drink this by the bucketful. Just wonderful.

1998 Domaine A Pinot Noir (Coal River, Tasmania)
A surprisingly deep red, this has velvety red aromas, a mile from thin cherry-like pinot. Actually, I wonder if anyone would pick it blind as a pinot - but it has settled down to a lovely blurry drink - perhaps the sort of wines that caused Hunter Shiraz to be labelled 'burgundy' in the past. There's still lovely weight of ripe flavours, but it's hard to pin anything much down. The structural elements have blurred into an attractive smudge - they don't parade in front of you like those of a young pinot often seem to, and I wonder if the wine isn't a little closed down in some ways - there's not much secondary development yet. Ultimately, I think it needs some more time. Still very attractive, but I think there's more to come here.

1999 Killerby Shiraz (Capel, WA)
Very purple in the glass, this seems to carry iron-like black fruits and what seems like US oak aromas (didn't check label) but without being a bruiser. Rich and smooth, this wine has an element of sophistication missing from lots of sub-$20 shirazes. Half a bottle still left for tonight, so I'll get a second go at it...

cheers,
Graeme

[simm]

Hi all,

Actually had the time to get some notes down this weekend. All were tried at around 19-20 degrees due the hot temps of the weekend.

Wynns Shiraz 2001. Didn't bother to decant but it did sit for an hour before I got to it.
Colour: was a clear garnet with purple to bright red hues.
Nose: Plums and dark berries easily balancing the oak. Simple yet ample.
Palate: Heavy plums a smidge on the porty side (could be due to the warmth of the wine) with a touch of white pepper. The tannins are slightly puckering yet pleasant. A hint of bitterness on the back palate with dark berries overwhelmed by red berry acids in the end.

Tatachilla Cabernet 1999 Not decanted (should have been).
Colour: Lovely clinging oily aesthetic to its visual texture with deep reds with brick subtlety. Dense yet bright and clear glaze.
Nose: Dry autumn leaves with hints of saddle. Opens with ripe red berries then to blackberry with Amyl Nitrate way off in the background. Alcohol stands out on the nose (14%).
Palate: Green and white pepper dominated by ripe but not overly sweet red to black cherries, cassis, leading to dark forest fruits. Glycerol texture to follw its viscous look. Lingering tobacco leaf, cedary, very drying tannins around the tips and edges of the tongue, with a slight blackcurrant aftertaste.
Not quite what the label claims as having blackcurrant and blackberry dominance, this one will do another five years for further complexity but may not hold longer than ten due to what I see as a lack of balance. It may well pull itself together! There were no signs of tartrates adhering to bottle but plenty of sediment in large flakes. My favourite of the weekend and I can't wait to try the next bottle in a couple of years.

Elderton Cab 2000 Had the foresight to decant for two hours but it didn't seem to change the profile from the initial taste.
Colour: Slightly dusty, deep, earthy reds.
Nose: Strong Vanilla dominating red berries over blackcurrant. A bit on the austere side.
Palate: Red cherries, vanilla and cedar (domintaing in opposition to vanilla on the nose) overplayed and hardening to tar. There are gentle green mouth coating tannins which last longer than the berry flavours but aren't unpleasant. More "elegant" than usual (more like a bad year) for Elderton with the oak overpowering and there is more black tar than fruit on the sustain, which is not exceptionally long.
Not bad for $18 but IMHO 2001 could be the more exciting wine to go for, and where the oak use may be susbstantiated.

Have a better one,

[michel]

Howdy everyone

just a few

Wynns Black Label Cabernet 1996
toooo young and closed and tight opened up over two hours but the best is yet to come
my last six will not be touched for 5 years

Paringa Pinot 2000
the last of my six pack and the best
this wine is peaking with balance of oak and fruit
drink now and be impressed

Grossett Pinot 2000 cork hay citrus and funky fruit- good wine but i preferred it in its youth - drink now

2002 Riesling tasting
Pewsey Vale in cork good limey wine and good price

Grant Burge Thorn something in cork and corked and replacement was ok

Mt Adam in screwcap all rubber and stench not drinkable

Annies Lane Contours in screwcap my WOTN brilliant fruit acid balance - shame about the price

Wilson vineyard ok wine but some sulphur initially

Penfolds reserve bottling as good as the Annies Lane quality wine but the price is up there at $30 dollars

cheers
michel

[guest]

Penfolds 707 1977

med to full red-purple in colour no signs of bricking.
The nose was earthy a touch gamey,a bit of mint and a slightly vegetative (can of peas) mint earth raseberry blackcurrent and hints of coffee on the palate.Firm tannins a little tartness wich goes through the long finish. a good wine

Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz 1994

Brick red in colour,red and dark cherry nuances,dark plums a little earth. chocolate dark plum and cherry on the palate tight soft tannins,up front dark fruit,earth flavours on the long finish a nice wine that still needs time to hit its straps.

Penfolds Kalimna 1972

no notes taken but a nice wine. drinking now

Old Dolcetto 1939 V.P

No real notes (as happens with most ports) but drinking better that I had expected plenty of fruit and no hot spirit.

Mount Langi Ghiran Shiraz 1999

full red purple in colour,huge nose of spice white pepper,cherrys and plums. Cherry spice and pepper on the palate some black olive on finish which is long and lingering. Soft tannins,nicley structured. For a young(too) wine the big upfront fruit sits well. This will develop into a very nice wine.

Cheers
Peterk

[Aussie Johns]

Sounds like guest in a bag was at Walters for the DRC lunch last Friday. Pretty impressive line-up.

Talbot 88
Usually a terrible wine, this was the best I have had to date. Although remains thin, the weedy characteristic usually seen in this wine was not present. Flavoursome and good length.
Drink now-2008..................87pts

Clerc Milon 95
Has had some bad comments recently. I found this still a little closed, but deep, long and intense. Should be an absolute cracker in 5-10 years
Drink 2008-2020+................94pts(on potential)

Penfolds 707 76
The wine that re-started the marque, has always been my favourite of the series. Now a completely integrated, seamless and charming drink, it is complex and long. A beauty.
Drink now...........................92pts

Kellermeister Black Sash Shiraz 93
A great quaffer, true to its variety and region. A mature Barossa shiraz- long intense with hints of anise, herbs, black fruits and tar. A super wine, especially when you consider the less-than-perfect 93 vintage in the Barossa. Well worth the wait, and just over $20 on release.
Drink now-2009.................91pts

Lehmann Stonewell shiraz 93
Possibly the WOTV for 1993?? Certainly those in the industry thought so 5-6 years ago when this wine, Grange et al were released. Absolute stunner, and IMO, even better than the 91. Deep red with no bricking, red and black fruits, rose, anise and herbs dominate the incredibly complex nose and palate. As good as Barossa shiraz gets, and simply amazing for the vintage.
Drink 2005-2015................96pts

Penfolds 389 90
Never warmed to this wine- always too much oak, and I am not really a fan of the cab-shiraz blend from multi-regions. No personality or "terroir", IMO. (in contrast to the Signature from Yalumba)
Taking away my personal misgivings, this is well-made and now almost ready for consumption, if a little mundane. Should really appeal to lovers of this style.
Drink 2005-2015...................88pts

Jaboulet Hermitage "La Chapelle" 89
Comes with a huge reputation, and the first of a case opened. Disappointing, with the brett giving this wine too much barnyard nose and palate. A little TOO gamey for me, despite my tolerance of this style. A bad bottle perhaps?? I will find out in two years when I open the next. Good length, and an acid cut that suggests more time in the cellar is required.
Drink 2015+ (??)..................87pts

[Adair]

2002 Orlando St Helga riesling - yummy stuff. This wine has everything going for it - aroma, mouthfeel, length, flavour and very refreshing acid. I got more than I expected. Great value. I enjoyed this more than the 02 Grosset sem/sauv blanc at double the price

Justin

Damn it. I chose the 2001 Brian Barry Jud's Hill Riesling from the VC fridge for dinner last Wednesday night which was next to the 2002 St Helga. Was not bad though. Similar in style to the Rockford EV Riesling - quite extractive. Rated Recommended.

Also chose a 2002 Taylor's Shiraz to drink with dinner that evening from the Jetty Road, Glenelg VC. Picked it due to my diner's palate. A bit over the top for me, a bit glyceriny, but still worth a Recommended rating as I did indeed enjoy drinking it. I think this experience would have been like drinking the 1998 Rosemount GSM.

Opened a 2000 Tahbilk Marsanne last night. Wow, what a cracker - intense. Actually had very similar aspects to Alsace Riesling, even had that Alsace cheesiness. In a slightly awkward stage of its life with slight honey development but with acidity slightly unbalanced but had everything there to ensure longevity. No wonder Tahbilk rate this a 7/7. Rated as Excellent at the moment.

Kind regards,
Adair

[Adair]

Sounds like...
......87pts

Hello Aussie John,

Great to see you posting your tasting notes here. Your notes (and comments) will be most appreciated. I was actually able to identify them without seeing your name. I was actually scrolling from down to up and said to myself that this must be Aussie John.

Kind regards,
Adair

[markg]

2003 Yellowtail Shiraz
Didnt like this as much as the Merlot. Too sweet for me and not enough tannins and alcohol. Saying that myself and wife polished off the bottle over pretzels and sausages.

2002 Kaesler Stonehorse Shiraz
Silky tannins, rich and fruity.

2002 Kurtz Boundry Row Shiraz
Rich and fruity, quite sweet but balanced by a good dose of alcohol. Excellent wine for the price (Thanks TORB )

[Mike Hawkins]

TORB,

I too had the 94 Classic Clare Sparkling Shiraz while watching us thump the Kiwis. The wine was almost as sweet as the victory.

[bacchaebabe]

2002 Henschke Tilly's Vineyard

Took this to a local cheap japanese place hoping for a fresh fruity white in a classic dry white style. Found it to be much more cheap chardonnay semillon style very reminiscent of some cheap BVE cleanskin white blend cases ($40 a case) I bought a few years ago. I think there was too much chardonnay and not enough sav blanc and I just found it a bit dull and lifeless. Maybe I was just expecting something different.

I only bought these to fill out the half case requirement to order a 98 Hill of Grace. They might be better with a different style of food but I'm not rushing back to them. Might be relegated to picnic wine for friends.

PS: Guest in a bag - very jealous on the '67 Yquem!

[Adair]

2002 Kurtz Boundry Row Shiraz
Rich and fruity, quite sweet but balanced by a good dose of alcohol. Excellent wine for the price (Thanks TORB )

I am pretty sure this would have been the 2001 - this is what I bought. The GSM was 2002.

Adair

[simm]

Wynns Black Label Cabernet 1996
toooo young and closed and tight opened up over two hours but the best is yet to come
my last six will not be touched for 5 years

Hi Michel,

I really keep an eye on any TN's about this wine as I only have two bottles left. By all accounts I am going to have them for some time as it goes on and on with its slow rise to the peak.....

much appreciated and regards,

P.S. Howdy AJ

[markg]

Whoops, forgot my trip to Noons Cellar Door yesterday - Doh...

Standouts from tasting the entire line up (except the house reds which had all sold out) was the 2002 Eclipse (Seemed to be better balanced than the 2001), the Solaire (Yum, can't wait to crack a bottle with some Special Reserve Black Chedar) and the wonderful, decadant Vintage Port (Only got 2 bottles out of 6 I ordered - Rats !!).