Auswine Blind Tastings (New Discoveries) - PT 2

[markg]

PART 2
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Wine 7
The notes on this don't indicate the wine name. I can't remember what it was. Charry oak, super intense, high alcohol, a 2002 Shiraz.

Wine 8
This one lost out in the crowd although still a very good wine it did not seem to hold its own against the competition. A powerful nose of sweet oak, nutmeg and hints of gooseberry(??) and mint. A nice burst of berries on the finish, warm alcohol and chalky tannins. It was a 2002 kays Amery Shiraz.

Wine 9
Wow, this one was a leap ahead quality wise. Probably the most elegant, yet powerful wine of the night. The color was the first indicator, a deep purple, almost black. A big, lifted nose of sweet violets and musk. On the palate a core of intense fruit with layer upon layer of creamy, plummy mocha. It had everything; fantastic length, intense, seamless flavours and incredible balance. This turned out to be from the same winemaker as the first wine of the night, it was the 2002 Kalleske Shiraz - Wow, whats dissapointing is that only limited quantities of both Kalleske wines were made.

Wine 10
This was another elegant, well made, enjoyable wine. A wonderful nose of intense coffee, some chocolate and white pepper. A wonderful palate of savoury flavours, complex structure and fantastic length. It turned out to be a 2002 Summerfield Reserve Shiraz, a great wine !

Wine in a Sock
The last absolute suprise for the night was a wine in a sock that Roger Pike, the owner/maker of Marius Wines pulled from the boot of his car. At first I couldn't tell if the stink in my glass was from the sock or the wine, but putting it down my gullet I realised that the smell hid alot of searingly intense flavours that were just wonderful. The color, intensity and freshness of the wine hinted at something made around 2000, maybye 2001. But for some reason I kept coming back to the nose, something akin to seaweed and old socks, and relating it to something older. In the end everyone agreed that is was a recent vintage, probably a Mclaren vale cab or shiraz ! Then the sock was pulled off and blow me down if it wasn't a bottle of 1994 Reynell MERLOT !!!! We were all quite taken back but very much entertained to say the least !!

The notes for the evening start to rapidly deterioate from this point on and from memory I can remember opening up a bottle of 1999 Olivers Taranga Shiraz which was just marveous, full of body, fruits and a long finish. Gary cracked a bottle of 1994 Peter Lehman Stonewall Shiraz, which was wonderful but I can't honestly remember any details about it at this stage, only impressions. Ian pulled out a bottle of Kambinye but I can't even remember the vintage let alone what it tasted like.

All in all a wonderfully entertaining evening meeting new people with a similar interest in wine and getting to try out some very interesting wines - Thank you again Gavin and Robyn !!

[Gavin Trott]

PART 2
-----------------

Wine 7
The notes on this don't indicate the wine name. I can't remember what it was. Charry oak, super intense, high alcohol, a 2002 Shiraz.

Wine 8
This one lost out in the crowd although still a very good wine it did not seem to hold its own against the competition. A powerful nose of sweet oak, nutmeg and hints of gooseberry(??) and mint. A nice burst of berries on the finish, warm alcohol and chalky tannins. It was a 2002 kays Amery Shiraz.

Wine 9
Wow, this one was a leap ahead quality wise. Probably the most elegant, yet powerful wine of the night. The color was the first indicator, a deep purple, almost black. A big, lifted nose of sweet violets and musk. On the palate a core of intense fruit with layer upon layer of creamy, plummy mocha. It had everything; fantastic length, intense, seamless flavours and incredible balance. This turned out to be from the same winemaker as the first wine of the night, it was the 2002 Kalleske Shiraz - Wow, whats dissapointing is that only limited quantities of both Kalleske wines were made.

Wine 10
This was another elegant, well made, enjoyable wine. A wonderful nose of intense coffee, some chocolate and white pepper. A wonderful palate of savoury flavours, complex structure and fantastic length. It turned out to be a 2002 Summerfield Reserve Shiraz, a great wine !

Wine in a Sock
The last absolute suprise for the night was a wine in a sock that Roger Pike, the owner/maker of Marius Wines pulled from the boot of his car. At first I couldn't tell if the stink in my glass was from the sock or the wine, but putting it down my gullet I realised that the smell hid alot of searingly intense flavours that were just wonderful. The color, intensity and freshness of the wine hinted at something made around 2000, maybye 2001. But for some reason I kept coming back to the nose, something akin to seaweed and old socks, and relating it to something older. In the end everyone agreed that is was a recent vintage, probably a Mclaren vale cab or shiraz ! Then the sock was pulled off and blow me down if it wasn't a bottle of 1994 Reynell MERLOT !!!! We were all quite taken back but very much entertained to say the least !!

The notes for the evening start to rapidly deterioate from this point on and from memory I can remember opening up a bottle of 1999 Olivers Taranga Shiraz which was just marveous, full of body, fruits and a long finish. Gary cracked a bottle of 1994 Peter Lehman Stonewall Shiraz, which was wonderful but I can't honestly remember any details about it at this stage, only impressions. Ian pulled out a bottle of Kambinye but I can't even remember the vintage let alone what it tasted like.

All in all a wonderfully entertaining evening meeting new people with a similar interest in wine and getting to try out some very interesting wines - Thank you again Gavin and Robyn !!

Thanks again Mark

Yes, Wine 8 did get a bit lost, amongst some heavy weights like Kalleske and Summerfield reserve! Nice wine, but without the weight and potency of the big guns.

The Reynell Merlot was a fascinating wine, very powerful and youthful still, and no one guessed merlot at all.

[n4sir]

Great notes to capture a great night!

The Kabminye I brought along was the 2002 Schliebs Block blend of Mataro, Carignan, Cinsaut, and Black Frontignac. It's a wonderfully aromatic, exotic wine that was a standout in the considerably good Kabminye line-up, but in this field at the end of the night, it was dominated by the heavy-hitters. It would have had more of a chance at the very beginning, where even the 2002 Kalleske Grenache dwarfed it for size and power.

Thanks again to Gavin and Robyn, and everyone there for a fantastic evening, great BBQ and an incredible line-up of wines.

Cheers
Ian