It’s only taken nearly eight months for the first Auswine offline of the year, so it wasn’t too surprising to have a large turnout and equally large selection of wines at T Chow. In keeping with the location the event was a pretty relaxed affair which made for a very enjoyable evening. It was great to meet Mark, Steve, Nick and Kieran, and of course to catch up again with Gavin, Chaz & Nayan – I hope to see you guys again in a month or so for the next one.
2005 Te Mata Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc: Pale straw colour with a tinge of green. A very attractive nose to open the evening, a nice balance of ripe fruit & clever oak; slightly smoky and sweet, gooseberry fruit and a touch of pickled capsicum, subtle, nutty/smoke and flint/burnt match characters. The palate was even more impressive, clean, sweet/spritzy citrus fruit on entry building through to the mid-palate, finishing with refreshing acidity and lingering sweet lime, the length absolutely outstanding.
1989 Tollana Eden Valley Rhine (sic) Riesling: Dark, glowing amber. Very spicy, fully developed & lifted nose, nutty/ginger, kerosene, buttery/herbal with some varnish/VA and black banana, exotic but a bit past it’s peak. The palate’s in worse shape, opening with delicate, toasty/spicy ginger and amazingly still a hint of lime, but the nutty fruit quickly disappeared leaving bitter, fine tannins on the finish. This would have been stunning about five years ago, but even maderised it still made a very interesting curio – perhaps trying it immediately after the current release Sauvignon Blanc didn’t help either.
1992 Lindemans Barrel Fermented Chardonnay: Light to mid gold. Very developed petroleum/floral characters on the nose; opening with buttery/lemon fruit, the palate like the Tollana finished with bitter tannins, but in contrast they were quite coarse and uncouth. I found very little to like about this one, and it quickly hit the spittoon of shame.
1989 Tyrrells Vat 1 Semillon: Heavily chilled and opened at the table, this was quite damp & flat at first so I let it sit and develop; with a lot of breathing it started to open up, buttery/herbal characters and some varnish, then toasty citrus & dried flowers. Likewise the palate opened with powerful toasty/citrus marmalade fruit but dropped off to leave absolutely nothing on the finish, only strengthening my thought something wasn’t right; I’m guessing it’s been scalped by a minor TCA problem to explain why it never hit top gear.
1998 Joseph Drouhin Rully White Burgundy: Light gold. A gorgeous nose, nutty/spicy with pronounced fig & butter characters; the palate’s just as smooth, young, complex and fruit-driven, with fig, kiwifruit and passionfruit, finishing with lingering mineral characters. It’s pretty weird for me to pick a Chardonnay my WOTN but this was the case here.
1990 Best Great Western Bin No.0 Pinot Meunier: Interesting nose of spicy strawberries and white pepper, gradually developing some sweaty saddle/leather characters. While the brett was present but not unpleasant on the nose the palate was a different story, stunningly bad with metallic, dentist chair and mousy characters dominant – spittoon of shame time again.
2003 Chateau De La Roulerie Anjou Les Maronis Loire: Deep red colour. I loved the nose of this 100% Cabernet Franc, glorious, freshly crushed red fruits with a hint of herbs and aniseed. I wasn’t as taken by the palate though, the slight, sweet fruit overwhelmed by dry, gum-draining tannins from entry to finish.
2004 Majella Sparkling Shiraz: The Prof. has nailed this style down over the last few years, it’s so consistently good with clean, sweet raspberry/blackberry fruit and supporting spicy oak. It’s unusual to try it mid-way through a diverse range of wines, but again that just showed how good and how flexible the wine was.
2001 Petramora Di Romacina Sangiovese: A clean nose of earthy, ripe red fruits; I was also impressed with the palate, a peppery entry followed by sweet cherry/plum fruit, a good balance with soft chewy tannins ideally matching the food.
1994 Orlando Lawsons Shiraz: Dark to inky crimson. This opened with the usual Lawsons salvo of mint, mint and more mint, supplemented by some leather, tobacco and coconut oak. The palate was all over the place, again minty with sweet leather, tobacco and coconut/coffee oak, quite disjointed and clumsy; a few thought this may have been slightly oxidized, and the overly sweet cherry/leather characters were a possible sign.
1996 Mitchell Clare Valley McNikol Shiraz: Dark to mid red. Sweet cherry fruit, pepper and herbs on the nose at first, fresher than the 1998 I tried a few weeks ago but with breathing this changed to become just as leathery. The palate was well balanced and clean but rather simple, with cherry and pepper characters and little else going for it.
1996 Charles Cimicky The Signature Shiraz: Dark red colour with a hint of brick on the rim. With the luxury of four tasting glasses I was able to try it alongside the previous two Shiraz and this was my favourite of the three, a classically aged Barossa nose of petroleum characters, some old leather and roasted coffee. Those leather/petroleum characters were there on the entry of the palate too, followed by a burst of slightly green/herbal fruit, a sign of the cool year, finishing with very fine, dry tannins.
2002 Kalleske Greenock Shiraz: Dark to inky red/crimson. Slightly toasty at first, followed by rich, creamy blackberry with some cloves and vanilla. Likewise the palate was very grand, huge creamy blackberries and vanilla, layers of flavour, serious concentration and length. Gavin produced this one as a cleanskin for a bit of fun, and it turned out to be the wine of the night for many.
2002 Hahn Catharina Barossa Vineyards Shiraz (Screwcap): Dark to very inky red. A very extracted nose with quite lifted blackberry fruit and a hint of VA/nail polish that at the moment looks a tad overdone. The palate was more impressive, with peppery raspberry/blackberry fruit leading into fine, black olive tannins on the finish – this will be an interesting one to watch to see if it pulls it all together or falls apart.
1998 Hardys Tintara Reserve Grenache: Corked. After telling everyone to check/decant their wines in advance I can’t believe how this happened. I got home from work, pulled the cork and it smelled okay, poured a small sample in a glass and decanted and washed the bottle. After about 30 minutes it smelled a little horsey, but after putting it back into the bottle checked it again to get quite sweet fruit characters on the nose. I finally poured a glass at the dinner and found it was hopelessly corked, and as you can gather I’m rather filthy about it – I’ve heard of TCA doing stealthy things to other people but it’s the first time I’ve been caught out like this. Chaz said I should use the Bill Clinton “I did not have sexual relations…†defence, but regardless of what excuse I use the wine was rooted. Sorry folks.
2000 Charles Melton Nine Popes (Magnum): Bright red. Opened with licorice allsorts and toast, developing some wonderful complexity with Barossa petroleum and meaty/grill characters. That petrol is there on the palate entry too, followed by comparatively slender/dry, peppery fruit, the tannins standing out on the finish. Like Gavin, Chaz presented this as an option and while I picked it was a Barossa I thought it would have been about ten years older, especially in a magnum format.
1995 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon: Dark to inky crimson/brick. A very impressive nose for such a difficult year, classic Wynns with coal, roasted capsicum, and some green leaf characters that never threaten to go over the top. Likewise the palate’s a lot better than I expected, strong cassis fruit with a tinge of green, and powerful, chalky tannins on the finish; an early drinker but quite a nice surprise.
1999 Eldredge Gilt Edge Shiraz: I thought the Pinot Meunier had a bad brett fault but this was far worse, pure Band-Aids on the nose, disgusting metallic/medicinal characters on the palate. The less said about this one the better.
2002 “Bottle of Brett†Barossa Red: Mark brought this along for a bit of fun, and it was interesting to compare it directly to the Eldredge. It actually wasn’t as bad at first, with sweet cloves/vanilla and similar sweaty saddle/leather characters to the Pinot Meunier, but with breathing it had a distinct whiff of bandages soaked in acetone too. I got the feeling there was an attempt to make this barely drinkable by smothering it in sweet oak, the palate being dominated by cloves, leather, acetone and minty warmth (15.4% alcohol). Undrinkable, but amazingly not quite as bad as the Eldredge.
1979 Bullers Calliope Vintage Port: Mid red/brick. A promising nose that got better in the glass, opening with obvious brandy spirit, ripe fruit/licorice, and eventually some sweet caramel and coffee. There’s very nice, sweet licorice characters on the mid-weight palate too, followed by ripe raisins and a very sweet finish.
1994 Yarra Yering Dry Red Wine #2: Deep red/brick with and orange rim. Beautiful, cool-climate/Rhone style red with white pepper, floral violets, fresh red fruits and a touch of capsicum. An unpretentious style that’s drinking beautifully right now.
1983 Lindemans Bin 6600 Hunter Valley Shiraz: Mid red/brick. This had all the best attributes of a fully developed Barossa Shiraz at its peak; complex, leathery, peppery/meaty fruit with some petroleum characters, beautiful poise, balance and length. Magnificent wine.
2006 Jeanneret Mosquito: Pale straw/green, almost colourless. Well chilled, this Moscato really wasn’t my style, a little too slender, sickly sweet and short.
Thanks again to everyone for attending and making it such a relaxed dinner, Nayan of course for organizing it, and the staff at T-Chow for the great service and putting up with us until the midnight hour.
Cheers
Ian
TN: Adelaide Offline @ T-Chow 28/7/06
TN: Adelaide Offline @ T-Chow 28/7/06
Last edited by n4sir on Sun Jul 04, 2010 10:10 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone.
Hmm...just impressions from my (hazy) memory.
Cape Crest Sav Blanc 05: Tried this against my better judgement. Not too bad from the perspective of this SB hater.
Tollana Riesling 89: Madeirized. A curio. Worth tasting, but couldn't drink much of it.
Lindemans Chardonnay 92: I actually liked this one - quite lively and youthful given its age.
Tyrrell's Vat 1 Semillon 89: I found it quite pleasant, but I don't have much of a frame of reference. Amazingly soft.
White Burg 98: Nice.
Bests Pinot Meunier 90: An interesting curio at first, although I did get the "dentist's chair" in the nose that Ian found. Revisited it a few hours later near the end of the night and it was like a different wine - pleasant drinking with a nose of cola Chup-a-Chup.
Burg 03: Good, but mouth-drying tannins dominated after a few seconds. Leave for a while.
Majella Sparkling Shiraz 04: Astoundingly, I thought this tasted like a Majella Shiraz with bubbles. Returned for more late in the evening.
Italian Sangiovese: Good.
Orlando Lawsons 94: OK, but very minty (mostly spearmint toothpaste)
Mitchell McNicol 96: Don't remember. Probably OK (I'd remember if it was good or bad).
Charles Cimicky Signature 96: Good but not spectacular. Much softer than I was expecting.
Kalleske 02 Shiraz cleanskin: almost WOTN for me. Gorgeous nose, rich fruit. Not surprised when he revealed what it was.
Hahn Catharina 02 Shiraz: Good, but outclassed by the Kalleske.
Nine Popes 00 magnum: Good. Not too hard in the options.
Wynns Cab 95: About what I expected - a decent cabernet from a shite year. Drink up.
1983 Lindemans - just got a dribble of this - classy stuff.
And my WOTN, the 1990 Basket Press from another table which was passed around late. Magnificent stuff.
Bullers VP - better than the 83 I inflicted on a recent Sydney offline.
Kieran
Cape Crest Sav Blanc 05: Tried this against my better judgement. Not too bad from the perspective of this SB hater.
Tollana Riesling 89: Madeirized. A curio. Worth tasting, but couldn't drink much of it.
Lindemans Chardonnay 92: I actually liked this one - quite lively and youthful given its age.
Tyrrell's Vat 1 Semillon 89: I found it quite pleasant, but I don't have much of a frame of reference. Amazingly soft.
White Burg 98: Nice.
Bests Pinot Meunier 90: An interesting curio at first, although I did get the "dentist's chair" in the nose that Ian found. Revisited it a few hours later near the end of the night and it was like a different wine - pleasant drinking with a nose of cola Chup-a-Chup.
Burg 03: Good, but mouth-drying tannins dominated after a few seconds. Leave for a while.
Majella Sparkling Shiraz 04: Astoundingly, I thought this tasted like a Majella Shiraz with bubbles. Returned for more late in the evening.
Italian Sangiovese: Good.
Orlando Lawsons 94: OK, but very minty (mostly spearmint toothpaste)
Mitchell McNicol 96: Don't remember. Probably OK (I'd remember if it was good or bad).
Charles Cimicky Signature 96: Good but not spectacular. Much softer than I was expecting.
Kalleske 02 Shiraz cleanskin: almost WOTN for me. Gorgeous nose, rich fruit. Not surprised when he revealed what it was.
Hahn Catharina 02 Shiraz: Good, but outclassed by the Kalleske.
Nine Popes 00 magnum: Good. Not too hard in the options.
Wynns Cab 95: About what I expected - a decent cabernet from a shite year. Drink up.
1983 Lindemans - just got a dribble of this - classy stuff.
And my WOTN, the 1990 Basket Press from another table which was passed around late. Magnificent stuff.
Bullers VP - better than the 83 I inflicted on a recent Sydney offline.
Kieran
"In the wine of life, some of us are destined to be cork sniffers." - Dilbert
Re: TN: Auswine Offline @ T-Chow 28/7/06
n4sir wrote:2006 Jeanneret Mosquito: Pale straw/green, almost colourless. Well chilled, this Moscato really wasn’t my style, a little too slender, sickly sweet and short.
Great notes on a really interesting mixture of wines.
This sounds like it's got the same problem as the Brown Brothers Moscato we tried when over in April. The two key elements that really help Moscato D'Asti lift itself from being sickly sweet are:
- balancing acid, bringing freshness to offset the sweetness
- Gentle spritz (aka frizzante), to again lift the wine
Without these two features in the mix, the Brown Brothers version (and this by the sound of it) just ended up tasting like insipid lolly water.
A good version can be useful at the start or end of a meal (or a tasting) as a freshener. A couple I've tried recently have had a wonderful creamy texture as well.
regards
Ian
Thanks for the great and comprehensive notes Ian.
I don't have nearly as good an excuse for the Eldredge - didn't have time to open it beforehand, opened it when I got there and it was stuffed. Apologies to all, will try to open beforehand next time.
Highlights from a daunting list of wines, in no particular order:
2005 Te Mata Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc - liked the use of oak, thought it toned down any 'tropicana' tendencies that I often find overpowering in NZ Sav Blancs, beautiful lemon/lime finish.
2004 Majella Sparkling Shiraz - Agree with Ian that it was unusual to have it halfway through, but enjoyed it then and enjoyed my 2nd glass even more right at the end of the night. Always like the mouthfeel of this sparkling - nice, fine mousse.
2002 Hahn Catharina Shiraz - Have enjoyed many bottles of this, almost milk chocolate on the initial nose with refreshing red fruits which follow through into a long finish.
2001 Fattoria Zerbina Pietramora Sangiovese - Probably could do with another ten years, but still had beautiful mouthfilling earthiness and cherry flavours. Tannins were really aggressive early, settled down a bit after a couple of hours.
2000 Charles Melton Nine Popes - this was almost my WOTN, didn't take any notes but remember loving it.
1990 Rockford Basket Press - again, no specific notes except for 'fantastic'. My WOTN.
1983 Lindemans Bin 6600 Shiraz - plenty of leather, still great fruit, outstanding length, wonderful stuff.
Thanks all for a great night and especially Nayan for organising, look forward to doing it all again soon.
Cheers
Nick
I don't have nearly as good an excuse for the Eldredge - didn't have time to open it beforehand, opened it when I got there and it was stuffed. Apologies to all, will try to open beforehand next time.
Highlights from a daunting list of wines, in no particular order:
2005 Te Mata Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc - liked the use of oak, thought it toned down any 'tropicana' tendencies that I often find overpowering in NZ Sav Blancs, beautiful lemon/lime finish.
2004 Majella Sparkling Shiraz - Agree with Ian that it was unusual to have it halfway through, but enjoyed it then and enjoyed my 2nd glass even more right at the end of the night. Always like the mouthfeel of this sparkling - nice, fine mousse.
2002 Hahn Catharina Shiraz - Have enjoyed many bottles of this, almost milk chocolate on the initial nose with refreshing red fruits which follow through into a long finish.
2001 Fattoria Zerbina Pietramora Sangiovese - Probably could do with another ten years, but still had beautiful mouthfilling earthiness and cherry flavours. Tannins were really aggressive early, settled down a bit after a couple of hours.
2000 Charles Melton Nine Popes - this was almost my WOTN, didn't take any notes but remember loving it.
1990 Rockford Basket Press - again, no specific notes except for 'fantastic'. My WOTN.
1983 Lindemans Bin 6600 Shiraz - plenty of leather, still great fruit, outstanding length, wonderful stuff.
Thanks all for a great night and especially Nayan for organising, look forward to doing it all again soon.
Cheers
Nick
Did we really get through all that?
Many thanks to everyone for attending. Great to see faces old and new. And Ian, thank you so much for the notes. You are my rock at these things Sir.
I think next time I might try for a more structured approach of flights, rather than the free-for-all it was on the night (think I lost track of what was in which glass by about the fourth red).
To whoever puts their hand up for organising the next one, the one piece of advice I can give you is...
If you hold it, they will come.
Regards
Nayan
Many thanks to everyone for attending. Great to see faces old and new. And Ian, thank you so much for the notes. You are my rock at these things Sir.
I think next time I might try for a more structured approach of flights, rather than the free-for-all it was on the night (think I lost track of what was in which glass by about the fourth red).
To whoever puts their hand up for organising the next one, the one piece of advice I can give you is...
If you hold it, they will come.
Regards
Nayan
Nayan wrote:Did we really get through all that?
To whoever puts their hand up for organising the next one, the one piece of advice I can give you is...
If you hold it, they will come.
Regards
Nayan
I've already got some dates in mind for the next one - Saturday the 2nd of September, or maybe Friday the 1st.
I've just got to check tonight whether it will clash with something but I'm pretty sure it's not the case. The Coonawarra Roadshow is also on the following Monday at the Stamford, so that may influence numbers.
If it's a go I'll get off to an early start to see who's interested and find a suitable venue.
Cheers,
Ian
Forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone.