Weekday Reports- 14th to 18th September

[monghead]

OK all, now that we are well and truly into the week, what are we all drinking?

Monghead.

[monghead]

Nothing for me last pm, at work...

Make-up drinkie poos tonight!

Monghead.

[daz]

Sacred Hill Chardonnay 08 and Shiraz Cab 08, interspersed with Tahbilk Cleanskin Dry White 08, all very acceptable, very cheap quaffers probably all sbout 86-89pts for me.

The Tahbilks blend of sauvignon blanc, verdelho, chardonnay and semillon works surprisingly well with tropical fruits from the sauv blanc(plus a bit of asparagus) and verdelho up front, moderated by on the mid palate by the chardonnay with some peach, finishing with citrus from the chardonnay and semillon, the latter adding just a hint of grassiness on the medium length finish. I think there may be some residual sugar but not sure given the component varieties. Absolute best bargain for $45.00/doz, I'm surprised this hasn't sold out, may get another case now that summer is already here, before it's all gone.

See The Wine Front (shiraz cab) and The Wine Companion (both) for TNs of the Sacred Hill wines.

Cheers

daz

[Loztralia]

Last night opened a 2007 Oakvale Gold Rock Chambourcin before going to see one of the Wu-Tang Clan in concert. I'm nothing if not broad in my cultural appreciation.

I'm pretty sure I bought the wine for when my dear mother was visiting from the UK as she likes light reds. It certainly had very soft tannins to go with the nice plum colour and berry fruit-led style. Not shooting out the lights by any means but something I'd be happy to drink of a summer evening with or without the music of one of the legends of East Coast hip hop.

[jeremy]

Sacred Hill Chardonnay 08 and Shiraz Cab 08, interspersed with Tahbilk Cleanskin Dry White 08, all very acceptable, very cheap quaffers probably all sbout 86-89pts for me.

The Tahbilks blend of sauvignon blanc, verdelho, chardonnay and semillon works surprisingly well with tropical fruits from the sauv blanc(plus a bit of asparagus) and verdelho up front, moderated by on the mid palate by the chardonnay with some peach, finishing with citrus from the chardonnay and semillon, the latter adding just a hint of grassiness on the medium length finish. I think there may be some residual sugar but not sure given the component varieties. Absolute best bargain for $45.00/doz, I'm surprised this hasn't sold out, may get another case now that summer is already here, before it's all gone.

See The Wine Front (shiraz cab) and The Wine Companion (both) for TNs of the Sacred Hill wines.

Cheers

daz

Yep, that Tahbilk White is excellent quaffing value. Got some myself, almost wrote a tasting note, but you've done a good job Daz, so now I don't have to worry about it I guessed some RS for sure, but it's a fun wine and I think the quality of the fruit is pretty good all things considered.

2004 Leeuwin Prelude Cabernet Merlot- took a little while to open up. Red berries over dark fruit with coffee, tobacco, tar/coal, chocolate, violets, olives and a lovely mouthfeel. Acidity became more prominent over two hours and a hint of caramel came in. Loved it

[Partagas]

Howard Park Cab/Merl 1994 - Awesome nose to start with plenty of ripper ripe fruit and a hint of oak. Loads to play with. The palette is still incredibly youthful this time round (have had a few before) IMO more development still to come. Greatness could be expected but was still a little slightly too tannic and acidic in the background for now. The best of Margaret cabernet? Well not for me but still up there and improvement still to come (wish I had more to see now).

Cape Mentelle trinders 2007 – brilliant to start with, typical classy Margaret river blackcurrant nothing too forward yet but just enough to entice. Was also good on the palette and first night thought this would become fantastic on the second or third day (and a real ager). Anyway didn’t get around till the third day (left in fridge) and although it really came all out ended up being a bit disappointing. It was way too jammy and maybe slightly too sweet. Not sure about this yet because I honestly believed on the first taste that I should go back to the retailer and a buy a case to hold for a while. Still might be the case but threw me a bit at the end. Would be interested to hear other opinions if tried.

Houghton’s Wisdom 2004 cab/sav – still fantastic and only regret is I so wish I had more. You can drink this baby brilliantly right now or in the future. Easily my value buys of the year (or was it last year?)………

[Bick]

Last night a bottle of Church Road Merlot Cab 07. Not the reserve, just the regular bottling. It was good, fruity, silky smooth, very approachable. It had the quality you would expect from a Hawkes Bay 07 bdx blend, esp as its from CR, but it seems to be a drink-now wine, compared to many of the other good value wines out there. Villa Maria Cellar Selection, Esk Valley black label merl/cab/malbec, going through to Te Mata Awatea, etc, are all much more grippy, and aren't nearly ready to drink yet imho. If you fancy quaffing a bottle of hawkes bay right now, I'd say the Church Road is a nice wine for under $15 (if you shop around; RRP about $22).

[jeremy]

2006 David Hook The Gorge Shiraz- very Hunter, with earth, leather, red ruit, balanced acid/tannin structure. But what I loved was the farmyard/sauvage/rustic character. Similar to what I like in a good Chianti. No Brett but not too clean either. Personality and interest plus.

[odyssey]

2006 David Hook The Gorge Shiraz- very Hunter, with earth, leather, red ruit, balanced acid/tannin structure. But what I loved was the farmyard/sauvage/rustic character. Similar to what I like in a good Chianti. No Brett but not too clean either. Personality and interest plus.

I also like their Barbera, for another earthy farmyard rustic take on a warm climate Italian varietal. Interesting wines!

[jeremy]

2006 David Hook The Gorge Shiraz- very Hunter, with earth, leather, red ruit, balanced acid/tannin structure. But what I loved was the farmyard/sauvage/rustic character. Similar to what I like in a good Chianti. No Brett but not too clean either. Personality and interest plus.

I also like their Barbera, for another earthy farmyard rustic take on a warm climate Italian varietal. Interesting wines!

I think I can source that retail. I'll keep an eye out. Love Barbera and if that Shiraz was any guide, there is some good stuff being done at David Hook. Thanks for the tip.

[James Douglas Hook]

I have always wished I was related to David Hook.

Great wine.

[seddo]

Barwang Cabernet 05 - not as plush as the 06 but still a nice drink and well worth the money, it is more of a short term cellaring proposition - no more than 5 years.

Teusner Avatar 05 - love this wine, may be more than it more highly rated successor the 06. dark fruits and a meaty component ? mataro.


cheers
Seddo

[griff]

My apologies for being remiss in my scribing.

Monday night was fine. From memory:

2002 Drappier Grande Sendree Champagne
Nice and weighty on the palate. Yellow apples. Very Good.

2003 Ferrand Lartigue St Emillion
Tobacco and cedar. Very meaty palate finishing with slightly rough tannin but an excellent wine indeed

2002 Chateau Batailley Paulliac
Beautiful nose of lead and cigar box. Quite a lean austere palate finishing quite long with silky tannin. Best 2002 left bank I have had (not that I have had many but no unripe features noted) Excellent.

2001 Poderi Aldo Conterno Cicala Barolo
This was a really funny one. When Justin brought it round it had been double decanted for an hour. Had quite a lot of VA on the nose and palate for me. A surprising amount of caramel oak as well along with a fiercely tannic palate. Honestly I thought it disjointed to being a mess. With the leftovers I had a look at them the next day and they were pretty much the same. I had poured a big glass and came back to it after a couple of hours thinking to tip the contents. All of a sudden it smelled like rose petals. So THAT is barolo. It was light and lithe on the palate even. Like an exotic pinot! If only it showed that initially! Agreeable at first and for that last glass and a half it was simply Outstanding. Thank you Justin although now I am scared that I may like barolo

1978 Poderi Giovanni Scanavino Barolo
Well less VA than the 2001 barolo but an empty husk of a wine with stern tannin and nothing else. Oxidised by the next day so no magical act with this wine. Hand-blown bottle though.

2005 Carmen Gold Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
A big luscious brute of a wine with mint and coffee integrated into an intensely varietal black-currant leaf nose. A bit of a Spinal Tap cabernet with everything amped up to 11. Didn't really have a mid-palate hole. Very Good/Excellent and not only held up but improved after three days to an Excellent wine.

NV Diznoko 5 puttonyos Tokaji
From the communist era. Brown colour with quite an oxidative caramel nose. The palate was a lot more interesting with good balance between the acidity and the sweetness. Good/Very Good.

An interesting Rothbury Estate Aleatico was passed around. Was similar to an Australian Rare Tokay or Muscat in terms of depth. A little lighter even with nice acid balancing and pure grapey flavour. Excellent wine and very interesting.

And during this week:

NV Morticia Sparkling Shiraz
Earthy and spearmint plummy nose. Medium weight yet intense palate following the bouquet. Good/Very Good and great value.

2007 Louis Jadot Combe Aux Jacques Beaujolais Villages
What more could you want. A fun and expressive gamay with a touch of class. Wild strawberries and raspberry. Made for current drinking and it drank well. Very Good wine.