Its Sunday for the 3rd time in March...

TORB · Post by **TORB** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:44 am

"ello Good People,

That time of the week again. Please let us know what you have been drinkin' over the last week. Notes, vibes, lists etc. welcome.

Wayno · Post by **Wayno** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 7:24 am

D'Arenberg High Trellis Cabernet 2004
Primarily opened for purposes of ragu prep but a couple of glasses sunk down well. Not especially varietal but drinking well and I reckon will go a few years still. Lots of fruit and acid and a good bit of oak. Not wonderful but it hit the mark well enough.

Pelican · Post by **Pelican** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 10:57 am

2004 Domaine des Nembrets Pouilly Fuisse Vielles Vignes Les Folles

In the dubious 1974 film " Cockfighter " Warren Oates deals with an expensive but underperforming rooster - his offsider then wryly comments " I've a good bottle of Pouilly Fuisse to go with that ". Sorry I digress : good rounded Chardonnay with a good clean finish.

1995 Shaw and Smith Reserve Chardonnay Adelaide Hills

I'm sure many would find this past it - and it sort of is - however I liked it and much prefer it to say a current Albarino or Sauvignon Blanc. Butterscotchy , improved as it got less cold. Of its era but for me not a bad thing. Wonder what the current M3 S&S will age like ?

1978 Chateau d'Angludet Margaux

Nice old gentle claret indeed.

wolf · Post by **wolf** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 12:15 pm

2002 Punters Corner Cabernet Sauvignon: Coffee bean and blackcurrant nose. Dark fruits/mocha and creamy oak. Good intensity with a decent long finish. Very nice.

2005 Thorne-Clark Quartage: Slightly closed on opening. Quite concentrated fruit but slightly overt tannins. Not bad, hopefully will be better in a few.

monghead · Post by **monghead** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 12:18 pm

2008 Vavasour Sauvignon Blanc- Very very tasty and moorish.
2006 Peregrine Pinot Noir- Good, with fruit on the darker end of the spectrum. A little pricey though.
2007 Epis Pinot Noir- Excellent wine. Really spot on. These wines drink so exceptionally well on release. Will they age?

Cheers,

Monghead.

Wayno · Post by **Wayno** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 7:09 pm

Te Mata Bullnose Syrah 2005
A bit short and repressed and the nose was lacking some interest although there was some soused cherries, dried herbs, sherbetty bubblegum and a whiff of white pepper. Didn't particularly twiddle any knobs.

cuttlefish · Post by **cuttlefish** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 8:21 pm

We sat in on the Italian Varietals tasting at "Taste of Sydney" in Centennial Park in Sydney today:

Cleanser - Chandon Z-D Blanc De Blanc
Light white straw with a definite green tinge. Nestle coffee factory aroma. Wet stone and light lemon citrus.

1. Yarraloch Arneis 2008
Light white/green straw colour. Citrus/mineral aromatics. I expected spritz. Very faint mineral/bath salts aroma. Palate light. No real spritz, but fine persistent acidity, and a lasting light mineral/citrus palate. Front to mid palate well represented. Sea spray. I didn't pick it, but some french oak.

2. Pizzini Pinot Grigio
Light white/green straw colour. Reductive. Closed. Very lean and cheesy light palate

3. Chalk Hill Barbera 2007
Very aromatic. Mid dark plum colour Slightly cloudy. Firm and long. Seems good

4. Pizzini Sangiovese 2006
Dark plum colour with lightness towards the rim. Faint coffee, sweet stem/floral and a suggestion of greenness. I think the greenness detrimental, as it seems to accentuate the alcohol. Dry palate.

5. De Bortoli Melba Lucia 2006
Dark plum. 70% Cab.Sauv. 20% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, 8% Sangiovese.
Simple fruit nose, but this wine beckons the cellar. Needs to develop its complexity. Dry. Firm. Good palate.

6. Pizzini Coronamento Nebbiolo 2003
Mid dark plum with clear browning. Attractive tarry nose, but ! an overlying sense of alcohol. Earthy. Dry stemmy. Nose just showing a tiny bit of greenness from oak. Palate balanced. Powerful. Not big tannins, but fine and powerful. Good length. Fo-shizzle.

John #11 · Post by **John #11** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 8:30 pm

1998 Wynns Michael Shiraz
Hard to imagine this getting any better, but I'm sure it will!
Well integrated oak, shiraz just beginning to develop loads of secondary characteristics, smooth, long finish. classy Coonawarra mint and eucalypt adds to the experience rather than detracts. Good for another 5 years I reckon. C'est magnifique.

2004 Chateau Quinault L'enclos
Needed a decent dcant, 6 hours (or more), and was only just starting to open up. Charry oak, rich black cherries, graphite, much more fruity after an hour in the glass, but still gobs of tannins. Leave for a few more years. Great promise.

2003 Chatau D'armailhac
Licquorice, earth and cedar, tobacco, hugely fruited, chalky overpowering tannins. Leave for another 10 years, but just may never live up to its promise. Sacrificial wine at the moment.

2004 Kooyong Estate Pinot Noir
Very elegant, light-to-medum-bodied pinot, lovely sour black cherries, earth and mulch, slate, river pebbles, and more sour cherries. I like this a lot, but I suspect many wouldn't. I'm not sure this will improve much with more time, so drink up! A "shitstorm" TM in a bottle.

2005 D'arenberg Sticks and Stones (Tempranillo Grenach Shiraz)
This is a very under-rated and sexy blend. The Souzao is gone, replaced wih shiraz, and results in greatness.
Herbs, dark berries, cranberries, plums, violets, musk, and bush tomatoes. There's certainly a lot going on here, a great food wine. Delicious.

Leigh · Post by **Leigh** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 9:51 pm

2007 Chalk Hill Barbera- Different, but a lovely wine. Smooth and medium bodied. The palate was an explosion of ripe berries with a touch of spice. Great with food and very smooth. Quality again from Chalk Hill.

2005 Red Edge Degree - Developing nicely. Peppery, fruity and ultra smooth on the palate. Very easy drinking. I could easily polish off 2 bottles in a sitting. Dangerous!

2005 B3 Barossa Shiraz- Great wine, especially for the price. Typical Barossa Shiraz with notes of sweet black fruits, licorice, and prune .

2004 Stella Bella Shiraz- Lusciously fruity wine with flavours of black pepper, spice, plum and liquorice. Beautiful WA Shiraz!.

2001 Penfolds St Henri Shiraz - Received this great wine as a present back in Feb 09. Decided to open it last weekend. It was a quality wine. Decantered for 4 hours. Bloody great with an eye fillet!

Cheers
Leigh

Craig(NZ) · Post by **Craig(NZ)** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 9:06 am

98 Henschke Keyneton. Surprisingly dark and concentrated. Good wine. Seems to have a good few years of life left. My last Keyneton of any description. All gone now. Havent bought since the 98 vintage

05 Carrick Pinot Noir. All class, super lighter bodied otago pinot. yum. Better than the 03 we had a couple of weeks ago, very textural and detailed

02 Penfolds 28 Kalimna. Only just ok, a bit boring but does ok as a quaffer. Acceptable

Wayno · Post by **Wayno** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 12:20 pm

Craig(NZ) wrote:98 Henschke Keyneton. Surprisingly dark and concentrated. Good wine. Seems to have a good few years of life left. My last Keyneton of any description. All gone now. Havent bought since the 98 vintage

05 Carrick Pinot Noir. All class, super lighter bodied otago pinot. yum. Better than the 03 we had a couple of weeks ago, very textural and detailed

02 Penfolds 28 Kalimna. Only just ok, a bit boring but does ok as a quaffer. Acceptable

Agreed on the Bin 28. Boring. Maybe time will help.

Roscoe · Post by **Roscoe** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 2:44 pm

Catching Thieves Cab Merlot 2007
I didn't enjoy this as much as the Brookland Valley Verse 1 Cab Merlot 2007 I had last week. Very similar in style, but I couldn't coax as much fruit character out of this, which was more austere and hard-edged.
Jamison's Run McShanes Block Shiraz 2002
Very good. Seemed riper than one would expect from the place and vintage. I think this is entering its window.
LEAS Chardonnay 2005
Just lovely! My white WOTY last year. It will be hard to beat this year.
Grant Burge Thorn Riesling 2000
In the shadow of the LEAS. Very good and drink now- developed.
Rockford BP Shiraz 2000
I'm halfway through these. Again very good. A lighter BP, not for extended ageing.
Orlando St Hugo 2000
Very good wine from an indifferent year. Drink now
De Bortoli Noble One 2004
Right out of the mould (sorry for the pun). :roll:

I think this will drink well at any time at least for the next 5 years.

Craig(NZ) · Post by **Craig(NZ)** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 5:19 pm

Te Mata Bullnose Syrah 2005
A bit short and repressed and the nose was lacking some interest although there was some soused cherries, dried herbs, sherbetty bubblegum and a whiff of white pepper. Didn't particularly twiddle any knobs.

I am a huge Te Mata fan but bullnose has never ever done it for me. Just misses a bit of x factor and excitement. Have to agree

Sean · Post by **Sean** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 5:45 pm

deleted

Partagas · Post by **Partagas** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:08 pm

Went to the LangtonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Ã¢â‚¬Å“Great Wine Estates of WAÃ¢â‚¬Â tasting last Thursday. No where near the jaw dropping experience from a couple of years back (Maybe because the great 04 vintages were released back then). As a whole they seemed to really need different fazes to be anywhere near enjoyable. The 07 Cullen Di Madeline (fair enough though, only bottled a week ago apparently) was a tannin monster and a half. Wow, if you want to explain tannin to somebody, a sip of this and explanation over. Nothing else to talk about there as yet.

Stand outs (unfortunately not too many)

Voyager 04 cab/merl Ã¢â‚¬â€œ outstanding but you all probably knew that.
Vasse Felix Heyetsbury cab (vintage current?)
Moss Wood Ribbon Vale Vineyard Cabernet Merlot (vintage current?)
Vasse Felix Heyetsbury chardonnay (vintage current?)
LEAS chardonnay 05
Pierro chardonnay (vintage current?)

n4sir · Post by **n4sir** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:31 pm

Pelican wrote:2004 Domaine des Nembrets Pouilly Fuisse Vielles Vignes Les Folles

In the dubious 1974 film " Cockfighter " Warren Oates deals with an expensive but underperforming rooster - his offsider then wryly comments " I've a good bottle of Pouilly Fuisse to go with that ". Sorry I digress : good rounded Chardonnay with a good clean finish.

Sounds like you outbid me again at the last local auction. :wink:

Thanks for the note - glad to hear it was a good one.

Pelican wrote:1995 Shaw and Smith Reserve Chardonnay Adelaide Hills

I'm sure many would find this past it - and it sort of is - however I liked it and much prefer it to say a current Albarino or Sauvignon Blanc. Butterscotchy , improved as it got less cold. Of its era but for me not a bad thing. Wonder what the current M3 S&S will age like ?

I've still got a magnum of this floating around somewhere that I was intending to drink years ago - never got to finding an occasion with enough people and a rich/creamy bacon sauce dish to match. Maybe this year...

Cheers,
Ian

griff · Post by **griff** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 8:19 pm

Partagas wrote:Went to the LangtonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Ã¢â‚¬Å“Great Wine Estates of WAÃ¢â‚¬Â tasting last Thursday. No where near the jaw dropping experience from a couple of years back (Maybe because the great 04 vintages were released back then). As a whole they seemed to really need different fazes to be anywhere near enjoyable. The 07 Cullen Di Madeline (fair enough though, only bottled a week ago apparently) was a tannin monster and a half. Wow, if you want to explain tannin to somebody, a sip of this and explanation over. Nothing else to talk about there as yet.

Stand outs (unfortunately not too many)

Voyager 04 cab/merl Ã¢â‚¬â€œ outstanding but you all probably knew that.
Vasse Felix Heyetsbury cab (vintage current?)
Moss Wood Ribbon Vale Vineyard Cabernet Merlot (vintage current?)
Vasse Felix Heyetsbury chardonnay (vintage current?)
LEAS chardonnay 05
Pierro chardonnay (vintage current?)

I didn't like it as much as the space was too small. That was the main concern for me. While the 07's are great I was impressed with the prior releases as well. Here are my notes:

2006 Cape Mentelle Wallcliffe SSB: A little too much oak on the nose but a classy textured palate with a chalky finish. Still think the 05 has the edge :twisted:

2008 Cullen Mangan SSB: Perhaps A little more fruit than the Wallcliffe but as also textured and lengthy finish but no chalk (or oak). Preferred this to the Estate from 08. I think both the 07's were a touch ahead of this wine but still excellent.

Also liked the 2008 Plantagenet Riesling. Was like a trocken (dry) german. Durham likes Georg Bruer and I can see the resemblance.

Of the chardonnays the favourite (and favourite white wine for me this year and last) was the 05 LEAS Chardy. Was complete and everything was in balance. Predominate note of musk melon this time. Every time there is something different with this wine. The 2006 had similar weight but the fruit had yet to fill the worked shape of the wine. The palate had an intense limonene oil. Still a very good wine but the 05 has it more than covered. (I certainly agree with you here)

The 07 Pierro was weighty as is its wont. If you like those big powerful chardonnays (and I have to admit to liking them every now and then) this is the goods. (agree also)

The 07 Vasse Felix Heytesbury had a fresh sawn plank of french oak on the nose but the palate was very good.

The 08 Xanadu limited release was fresh as a newborn babe. Very fragrant and mineral fruit at the moment almost like an aromatic white e.g. riesling or semillon. Very fresh and interesting to see.

The 06 Voyager once again didn't put a foot wrong but once again didn't inspire. It just doesn't have any quirkiness or even individuality. A bit like a german saloon car

Still a very good wine though.

The 2007 Devil's Lair was the best value I think. Was leaner than most but was in balance and had a nice spicy character that I like. Perky!

The 06 Cullen was probably my second favourite chardonnay with nuts on the nose. Almonds come to mind. A lean, structured palate with medium texture but not too broad. Quite savoury when compared to the others. Excellent wine.

Onto the reds.

The pick for me was the 05 Cape Mentelle cabernet. Beautiful clean nose of blackcurrant, just a little leaf and tobacco as well as anise. Not sure if I can say lead or pencil without sounding even more wanky. Powerful palate but the fruit in balance with the tannin. Very long finish. Excellent/Oustanding with potential. Apparently Rob Mann finished this one off after John Durham left. Hope Rob continues the way he started.

The 05 Cullen Diana Madeline was once again a stunning fragrant drop and hard to say if the Cape Mentelle has the nod. The 07 was younger and more estery but I think it perhaps leaner than the 05. Perhaps it will fill out somewhat. ( I agree that the tannins dominate at the moment as well)

The 05? Devil's Lair was typical Margaret cab but the tannins were a little hard and green even!?

The 04 LEAS Cabernet was the best I have tasted from them. Was rich, ripe and rippled over the palate. Tannin present but criticism has been leveled in the past regarding how dry this is. The 04 is certainly not.

The 05 Voyager Cabernet was still a little estery with a very silky palate indeed. Acid poking out on the finish but this may (not experienced enough to say should) integrate. The 04 next to it was the better wine however. ( I agreed here as well)

The 05 Howard Park Abercrombie had closed down pretty hard. Hard to get anything out of it. But it was a LOT better than that tasted at cellar door last month.

The 07 Moss Wood Ribbon vale merlot was great and better than the Cabernet merlot. Reminded me a lot of the Blue Poles 07 Reserve merlot although perhaps not as much weight and extract. Would be interesting to have side by side. (Guess I disagreed here but the cabernet merlot was almost as good))

05 Plantaganet Shiraz was excellent. Nervous about brett (especially when the 02 being shown next to it showed what could happen) but the nose of licorice was Crozes Hermitage in style. The palate was a lot richer and riper than the Old World however. An excellent shiraz.

cheers

Carl

Peter NZ · Post by **Peter NZ** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 8:33 pm

The ones that come to mind from the past couple of weeks:

Smith Haut Lafite 1996 Really enjoyed this -- well balanced wine with plenty of life ahead of it, but drinking nicely now.

Dry River Craighall Riesling 2002 2nd opened recently, & still struggling to get particularly excited about this.

Church Road Merlot Cabernet 1998 Drinking nicely.

Penfolds Bin 407 1998 Better than the last couple, & enough there to think it might be worth leaving this for a couple of years to see how it goes, but still nothing to get too excited about.

Burnt Spur PN 2006 Martiborough Vineyard's 'other' label, & one I prefer to the Martinborough in '06.

J&F Lurton Toro El Albar Barracas (Spain) Harsh on the mid-palate.

Coopers Creek Hawkes Bay Riesling 1996 A trip down memory lane -- used to drink a lot of this with around 4 years of age, but CC stopped producing it a few years back. Picked up 6 bottles at the winery recently (at $10), but not surprisingly it's past it ...

Cheers
Peter

Dave Dewhurst · Post by **Dave Dewhurst** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 11:50 pm

Sean wrote:2004 Tahbilk Shiraz - This was still very primary and unevolved, dark purpley colour, spicy, fresh tasting, with big blackberry fruit and deep natural tannins. I have had a few bottles of this now and the quality of fruit is really impressive and no doubt it will build nicely in yrs to come.

Had the 03 over two nights over the weekend. Very similar by the sounds of things - extremely primary, blackberry and licorice, which had developed to dark chocolate by the second night. Good tannin depth and great length. Yum! Great value.

Also had a Lindeman's Pyrus 2000 which was much less evolved than previous bottles from the same 6-pack. Deep, mouth-coating blackcurrant fruit, a touch of mint along with some smoky leatheriness, dark chocolate and a dusty tannin finish. Quite liked this too.

Cheers

Dave

Sharkey · Post by **Sharkey** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:59 am

We had our monthly wine degustation dinner at our local restaurant last week. The winery was Abercorn from Mudgee and my wife and I were fortunate to share a table with Tim Stevens (proprietor of Abercorn and Huntington) and his lovely fiance.

The food was sensational - as always - and the wines were perfectly matched.

2008 Abercorn Sparkling Chardonnay - nice and light fizz. Went well with th Vietnamese salad, rhubarb jelly and coconut mousse but it is not really my style of bubbles. Huntington are in the process of making a proper Pinot Noir based methode bubbly that I look forward to trying.

2007 Huntington Estate Barrel Fermented Chardonnay - A lovely wine. You could still sort of taste the Mudgee dirt in the back palate - in a good way. Really nice mixture of flavours and textures.

2007 Abercorn Sangiovese Merlot Rose - This is one of the nicest roses I have tried for a while. Dry and very savoury with quite a good finish.

2008 Abercorn Pinot Noir - Tasted like a typical Mudgee Pinot, with just a bit of varietal character showing.

2003 Abercorn A Reserve Shiraz - This was seriously good. Mouthfilling flavour and long finish. Probably just hitting its straps. WOTN

2003 Abercorn A Reserve Growers Revenge (Cab Shiraz Merlot) - This was the mystery wine. Being on a table with the winemaker, I opted out of playing the options game. Even though Tim gave nothing away I always think it looks a bit suspect if someone on the winemakers table wins the prize. This had an obvious backbone of Mudgee cabernet, with plenty of tannin. Was softened somewhat by the shiraz and merlot, but I actually prefer a full-on Mudgee cab. For something softer I would take the shiraz.

2006 Huntington Estate Mudgee Vintage Port - A great finish. Not too sweet VP that went perfectly with the dessert which was just called 'Flavours and Textures of Chocolate and Raspberry'. Each plate was such a work of art that you felt it was a shame to eat it. By the time you were finished you were wishing you had more.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:06 am

Monghead says

2007 Epis Pinot Noir- Excellent wine. Really spot on. These wines drink so exceptionally well on release. Will they age?

If my experience with Macedon pinot is anything to go on, lay some down monghead. I had a 2000 Curly Flat late last year, perfect cork seal admittedly, but the fruit was still very much alive and the wine tasted better than ever. I tend to think of many of these pinots (Bindi, Epis, CF etc) do get better over the course of at least 5-7 years.

cheers
jeremy

Bick · Post by **Bick** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:06 am

I was interested to read about some of the wines you've been tasting Peter:

Peter NZ wrote:Smith Haut Lafite 1996 Really enjoyed this -- well balanced wine with plenty of life ahead of it, but drinking nicely now.

Jealous of this!

Peter NZ wrote:Dry River Craighall Riesling 2002 2nd opened recently, & still struggling to get particularly excited about this..

Interesting. I've only had really young DR riesling, but have a little bit cellared. I was planning on leaving it for a decade as I've heard it needs time... do you think it might improve yet?

Peter NZ wrote:Church Road Merlot Cabernet 1998 Drinking nicely.

Yes, I think the standard Church Road blend can be great and recent vintages have been super. I've put some recent vintages down to cellar, as I think it should age pretty well.

I've only had one wine in the last few days: Penfolds Bin 28 2004. It was pretty much as Craig described the 02 funnily enough - ok, but only that. Shame, I recall it being better than just ok on release. Perhaps the other 2 I have will improve over time.. I'll leave them a while now.

KMP · Post by **KMP** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 11:40 am

This weekend we finished the second bottle of what hopefully is the worst wine I will drink this year. I was told that the label was by the guy who did the album cover for the Beatles Sgt Peppers and so I bought two bottles because Miranda is a BIG Beatles fan and so is her English pen-friend of 40+ years. It was thus a memento/gift without regard to the quality of the wine. But, of course, the label designer was not the guy who did Sgt Peppers, so we decided to open one about a week ago. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s a California Cabernet (85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Syrah, 2% Petit Syrah) and so at about $12USD/btl you donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t expect much. And there wasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t much, except for the wood splinters Ã¢â‚¬â€œ and this is from someone who doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t mind a bit of oak. So why open the second bottle on the weekend? Lighting doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t strike the same wine twice, right? Yes it does. This stuff was so difficult to drink that Miranda tipped herÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s down the sink, but I persevered over two nights. And this was purely as an academic exercise to see how much punishment my palate can stand. The answer? Not a lot. If you ever see any R Wines Red Label Cabernet Sauvignon donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t buy it, not even for the label. I think tonight IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll pull out an over oaked, unbalanced 16% alcohol Shiraz just to appease the taste buds.

Mike

Partagas · Post by **Partagas** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 1:23 pm

Thanks for the notes Carl. It was a long evening for me so didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t concentrate too much on mental notes etc. I think you summed up pretty well for me too. Yes the Cullen Chardonnay (from memory) was also good. In fact the Chardonnays were the standout as oppose to the usual cabs. Yes I forgot about Cape Mentelle, which was the wine I went back for to "drink" more often than not, so that should say it all (then Ribbon Vale). You also reminded me of the Sav Blanc I found superb, I reckon it was probably the Mangan too form memory. Very good drinking.

I thought Voyager had the 03 and 04 cab/merl unless I missed the 05. In fact I missed out heaps I wanted to try really. The 05 Howard Park was disappointing compared to the sublime 04.

Anyway look forward to giving them all a bit more time in a couple of weeks when I head down south.

Sam

griff · Post by **griff** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 2:07 pm

Partagas wrote:Thanks for the notes Carl. It was a long evening for me so didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t concentrate too much on mental notes etc. I think you summed up pretty well for me too. Yes the Cullen Chardonnay (from memory) was also good. In fact the Chardonnays were the standout as oppose to the usual cabs. Yes I forgot about Cape Mentelle, which was the wine I went back for to "drink" more often than not, so that should say it all (then Ribbon Vale). You also reminded me of the Sav Blanc I found superb, I reckon it was probably the Mangan too form memory. Very good drinking.

I thought Voyager had the 03 and 04 cab/merl unless I missed the 05. In fact I missed out heaps I wanted to try really. The 05 Howard Park was disappointing compared to the sublime 04.

Anyway look forward to giving them all a bit more time in a couple of weeks when I head down south.

Sam

I agree on the 04 Howard Park. That is a very good wine indeed and the 05 was a disappointing follow-up. Lucky the 99 was there to make me feel better

The Voyager Estate table had the 02, 03, 04 and 05 on tasting. Quite a nice mini-vertical.

cheers

Carl

Partagas · Post by **Partagas** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 2:58 pm

Lucky the 99 was there to make me feel better

Dohh I actually forgot to find out what was in that decanter. CanÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t believe I didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t come back to try it.

ross67 · Post by **ross67** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:53 pm

1993 Penfolds Bin389 Cabernet Shiraz: 13.5%

My 2nd and last btl. Cork leakage half way up....but still sound /firm.
Typical 389 aromatic nose pro Cab. This was probably much more opulent 5 yrs ago but is sadly fading and past its best. Still ok with a reasonable finish.

Are there any 1993's out there still going strong of any Australian wine?

ross

Rick Morcom · Post by **Rick Morcom** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:17 pm

Had a 1993 Seppelts Dorrien the other night. Still has a few years left. Excellent.

Mahmoud Ali · Post by **Mahmoud Ali** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:12 pm

Rick,

I recall drinkiing a bottle of the 1993 Dorrien courtesy of friend back in 2003/04. It was a lovely wine and would have been the wine of the night but for a 1982 Chateau Pape Clement. By the way, Parker, in perhaps his first book on Bordeaux, gave the '82 Pape Clement a score of 67 or 68. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha....................

Cheers...................Mahmoud

Peter NZ · Post by **Peter NZ** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 5:37 am

Bick wrote:I was interested to read about some of the wines you've been tasting Peter:

Peter NZ wrote:Dry River Craighall Riesling 2002 2nd opened recently, & still struggling to get particularly excited about this..

Interesting. I've only had really young DR riesling, but have a little bit cellared. I was planning on leaving it for a decade as I've heard it needs time... do you think it might improve yet?

Peter NZ wrote:Church Road Merlot Cabernet 1998 Drinking nicely.

Yes, I think the standard Church Road blend can be great and recent vintages have been super. I've put some recent vintages down to cellar, as I think it should age pretty well.
.

Bick

Not obvious to me that the DR will improve -- nothing to indicate it was too young, & if anything short on acid.

And I omitted the "reserve" from my Church Road note -- haven't tried cellaring the standard label. I'm getting toward the end of a dozen of the '98 (& 6 of the '98 CS), which have been toward the best of the various '98 HB reds I cellared.

Cheers
Peter