Weekly Drinking 22nd - 27th March

[TiggerK]

OK then, looks like it's up to me....

So come on everyone, lets hear what's been sipped this week.......

Going to finish off the Cloudy Bay Chardonnay 2007 from a couple of nights ago, then decide what to sample from there...

Cheers
TiggerK

[Sean O'Sullivan]

deleted

[Michael McNally]

Tonight it's a 2006 Thorn-Clarke "Terra Barossa" Barossa "Cuvee" Shiraz, Petit Verdot, Cab Sauv.
Good red/black colour. Mushrooms, earth, charcoal and black berry on the nose. Savoury blackberry and plum fruit with an appealing edge to the acid, though it possibly chimes in a little early for true balance. Little noticeable oak. Not sure if this will age as well as the 04s have though they are under cork so it might take a while longer? Either way will benefit from at least another 12mths in the bottle.

Cheers

Michael

[TiggerK]

Hey Mr McNally, same brand choice for me too, (what year was yours?)

Loved the rest of the Cloudy Bay Chardonnay 2007, a delicious rich white 2 days in the fridge after opening and still totally yummo. Melon, white peach, rich deep fruit and some nice oak and acid aftertaste in support. Very Good.

Then went for a Thorn-Clarke Shotfire Shiraz 2004 - decanted for an hour, cork was a touch fragile, but still good. Wonderful wine, not a huge nose, subtle earth and closed dark fruit, but on the palate very chewy, definite licquorice, blackcurrant, bit of raisin, tannins along for the ride and a lovely mouth filling dark fruit finish. Will probably last well for 2-4 more years. Considering the price ($20 at recent auction), I'm going to also say Very Good.

Cheers
TiggerK

[monghead]

2006 Lark Hill Pinot Noir- Cherries and roses. Hints of porcini mushrooms, marred by a hot finish. Just Good.

Monghead.

[griff]

Tonight it's a Thorn-Clarke "Terra Barossa" Barossa "Cuvee" Shiraz, Petit Verdot, Cab Sauv.
Good red/black colour. Mushrooms, earth, charcoal and black berry on the nose. Savoury blackberry and plum fruit with an appealing edge to the acid, though it possibly chimes in a little early for true balance. Little noticeable oak. Not sure if this will age as well as the 04s have though they are under cork so it might take a while longer? Either way will benefit from at least another 12mths in the bottle.

Cheers

Michael

Not sure either. What vintage?

cheers

Carl

EDIT: TiggerK beat me to it!

[odyssey]

Autumn, must be Pinot weather.

2008 T'Gallant Juliet Pinot Noir - Quite translucent red rose with maroon edges. Initially sour cherries on the nose and palate, with air tartness gave way a little to faint sweetness and raspberry which made it more palatable but still simple. To steal directly from Monghead, Just Good.

[Michael McNally]

Hey Mr McNally, same brand choice for me too, (what year was yours?)

Hey Tigger - Mr McNally is my father . Please call me Michael...

Sorry 'twas the 2006 - original post edited. I'll see how the other half of the bottle is faring tonight and advise.

Cheers

Michael

[Bick]

Currently drinking a glass of Church Road Reserve Cab Merlot 2007 - what a ripper - Hawkes Bay is the new Bordeaux...

[Gavin Trott]

Kronenbourg 1664 (330 ml)

Noice (apart from that annoying paper thingy over the cap), fruity almost, elegant and with finesse ... plus it reminds me of a recent, and very enjoyable trip to France, where it quickly became the bier of choice!

My goodness, is it beer o'clock already! Well, if you insist!

.

[via collins]

Wed night, and we are in our van, about 20 metres from the waves breaking at Hawkes Bay, Havelock Nth to be specific, and tomorrow, all being well, it will be Te Mata, Craggy Range, and late lunch at Clearlight, but so far this week:
Dolbel methode traditional, 2006, Hawkes Bay - fresh, lemon tart palate, nice yeasty body, thrilling aperitif wine
Clos Marguerite sauvignon blanc, 2009 - asked a friend to select an SB that was out of the ordinary, and this was, well, bloody choice. Forgot where it's from, but lovely creamy stonefruits, balanced body, lovely finish. Good.
Carrick pinot noir 2008 - really meaty body that takes a little time before revealing it's dark berry and plum charms - a very good drink, and throw in the absurdly good price, a QPR of Hoddles Creek proportions.

Tomorrow, gannets, and the new bordeaux. Onwards!

[Michael McNally]

Kronenbourg 1664 (330 ml)

Noice (apart from that annoying paper thingy over the cap), fruity almost, elegant and with finesse ... plus it reminds me of a recent, and very enjoyable trip to France, where it quickly became the bier of choice!

My goodness, is it beer o'clock already! Well, if you insist!

.

Was it the imported version or the CUB clone? I have found the Australian version of this to be less than its original inspiration. Call me a beer snob, but the same goes for the (locally brewed) Becks, Heineken and particularly Stella. Might be just preconception as I haven't done the blind trials.....

Cheers

Michael

[Michael McNally]

Drank the leftover half od the 06 Thorn-Clarke Barossa Cuvee tonight. It had opened up a little, but the acid still chimed in a little hard and a little early for mine. I was thinking of getting some more of this to tuck away based on the 04, but might think again.

Cheers

Mr McNally

[Red]

2002 Nieto Senetiner Bonarda - Argentina. My first ever Bonarda and really enjoyed it! Lovely ripe dark fruits and some really appealing smoky/tobacco flavours. Different and very enjoyable.

[monghead]

Kronenbourg 1664 (330 ml)

Noice (apart from that annoying paper thingy over the cap), fruity almost, elegant and with finesse ... plus it reminds me of a recent, and very enjoyable trip to France, where it quickly became the bier of choice!

My goodness, is it beer o'clock already! Well, if you insist!

.

Was it the imported version or the CUB clone? I have found the Australian version of this to be less than its original inspiration. Call me a beer snob, but the same goes for the (locally brewed) Becks, Heineken and particularly Stella. Might be just preconception as I haven't done the blind trials.....

Cheers

Michael

I was reading this thinking that the Kronenbourgs I've had in the past were far from inspiring. Consequently, I have steered clear of them for many years now. I always thought, how could a country which made such great wine produce such sh#te beer? Perhaps I've been having the locally brewed versions...

Monghead.

[monghead]

After a couple of AFDs, last night, I was disappointed by this one.

2001 Majella Cabernet Sauvignon- Blackcurrants and olives, hints of leather. However, all disjointed and falling apart. Absent mid-palate, and astringent acidic finish. From memory, a bottle we had last year was really quite good. Perhaps this wine has suffered sub-optimal storage in it's youth (bought in my pre-wine storage facility days). Not Good.

Monghead.

[Gavin Trott]

Kronenbourg 1664 (330 ml)

Noice (apart from that annoying paper thingy over the cap), fruity almost, elegant and with finesse ... plus it reminds me of a recent, and very enjoyable trip to France, where it quickly became the bier of choice!

My goodness, is it beer o'clock already! Well, if you insist!

.

Was it the imported version or the CUB clone? I have found the Australian version of this to be less than its original inspiration. Call me a beer snob, but the same goes for the (locally brewed) Becks, Heineken and particularly Stella. Might be just preconception as I haven't done the blind trials.....

Cheers

Michael

Hello

The imported.

A couple of points

First, I totally agree regarding the locally brewed, under licence European beers, uniformly pretty ordinary, and I avoid them. Even worse, often, are the locally brewed imports on tap, so Stella on tap ... yuk.

Second, Kronebourg is not my favourite beer, nor the best beer around, but I was enjoying it greatly while jotting my little note (so I had another), and it took me back to a place and time which was really enjoyable

so

the beer drinker's version of the cellar door syndrome, where a wine often tastes much better while trying it at cellar door, than a week later back at home!

.

[griff]

After a couple of AFDs, last night, I was disappointed by this one.

2001 Majella Cabernet Sauvignon- Blackcurrants and olives, hints of leather. However, all disjointed and falling apart. Absent mid-palate, and astringent acidic finish. From memory, a bottle we had last year was really quite good. Perhaps this wine has suffered sub-optimal storage in it's youth (bought in my pre-wine storage facility days). Not Good.

Monghead.

Had the 2006 Majella Cabernet over the last two nights. I thought the acid was poking out too much for me and hence disjointed but the better half didn't have that concern. Didn't change over the two days either.

I ended up opening a 2008 St Cosme CDR. Lovely herby light to middle weight shiraz. Some inky, earthy violets there as well but its an unassuming wine that does what it does well with no real ideas above its station. Very Good and a bargain.

cheers

Carl

[Rawshack]

Tonight an 08 Water Wheel Memsie, which is a pleasant drinking $10 red, mostly shiraz and some malbec and cab sav, with nice mocha and dark plum aromas, smooth and fruit driven and a slightly gamey edge to it.

I loved the 07 Memsie and thought it to be a real bargain. Not so sure about the 08 though, will try again tonight

[Rawshack]

I had a Delatite Devils River 2005 over the past couple of nights and a most curious wine. It's blend of Cabernet Merlot and Malbec. The producers proudly claim how 'un-Australian' it is and they're not wrong.

On opening the nose is hiding behind a rock; it's not quite ready to pop out and declare that it's there. When it does open up - just enough to let you get some idea of what it's about - it's a savoury, spicy affair with some blackcurrant and plums lurking there somewhere. There's some nice vanilla and overall the oak is well integrated.

In the mouth it's a similar affair; lean and medium bodied with savoury tannins and a good natural acidity. Savoury is the operative word here and the fruit, while solid, isn't the stand out feature.

The producers claim that the 06 will age for 20 years, but with the 05 I'm not so sure. Yes the tannin and acidity will certainly last the test of time, but I'm not sure that the fruit is quite up to the journey; it may have bought a ticket and boarded the train, but it might get off halfway through.

I will confess though that it showed a lot better the second night than the first and it's also a wine that's crying out for food. I suspect a lamb chop or two might be a good partner for this.

Overall a wine to provoke interest, rather than excitement

[AaronL]

On a stormy night in Perth:

2001 Somerled Shiraz - 2001 is a somewhat overlooked vintage for McLaren, but this is looking pretty schmick. Poured a deep dark red, almost black, perhaps as black as our house at night with no electricity. Or maybe it was just so dark I couldn't see the wine. On first taste, the flavours are flooding my mouth, similar to the rain that broke through the office roof and created an instant corporate swimming pool. There's the usual suspects of plums, spices, a hint of licorice. At the end, there's a comforting hug of alcohol allowing me to forget the hail damage to the car and the defrosted ice cream. Very good.

[griff]

On a stormy night in Perth:

2001 Somerled Shiraz - 2001 is a somewhat overlooked vintage for McLaren, but this is looking pretty schmick. Poured a deep dark red, almost black, perhaps as black as our house at night with no electricity. Or maybe it was just so dark I couldn't see the wine. On first taste, the flavours are flooding my mouth, similar to the rain that broke through the office roof and created an instant corporate swimming pool. There's the usual suspects of plums, spices, a hint of licorice. At the end, there's a comforting hug of alcohol allowing me to forget the hail damage to the car and the defrosted ice cream. Very good.

Oh dear! I knew north was worse but that is bad!

If you you were without power for over 12 hours you get $80 as a consolation prize apparently.

cheers

Carl

[AaronL]

If you you were without power for over 12 hours you get $80 as a consolation prize apparently.

Thanks for the heads up. We were without power for 12+ hours on Monday, and almost again last night, but the power came on just as I was going to bed Hmmm $80 could buy something nice...

[dazza1968]

Drank the leftover half od the 06 Thorn-Clarke Barossa Cuvee tonight. It had opened up a little, but the acid still chimed in a little hard and a little early for mine. I was thinking of getting some more of this to tuck away based on the 04, but might think again.

Cheers

Mr McNally

04 is a cracker Had one this week and have decieded to drink the rest now

Regards Dazza

[Sean O'Sullivan]

deleted

[Sean O'Sullivan]

deleted

[Red Smurf]

07 Mercury Bay Pinot Noir really light when first opened bright red, strawberry but moved quickly to a sweet cherrie, earth and flowers,nice mouthfeel good finish. Nice with the margherita pizza.

Red Smurf

[Michael McNally]

04 is a cracker Had one this week and have decieded to drink the rest now

Regards Dazza

Yep, can't see it getting any better, and it's very good. I had a straight Petit Verdot recently at Miller's Dixon Creek and while the nose seemed a lttle bretty, the winemaker assured me it was the characters of PV. It was a cracking wine, and the Thorn-Clarke makes me think I should find some more Petit Verdot. There was a cheaper PV I used to buy semi-regularly about a decade ago, but can't remember what it was.......

Cheers

Michael

[Michael McNally]

Oops meant to add that tonight I am drinking a 2005 Brini McLaren Vale Grenache Shiraz. Very nice, but I think starting to show some tiredness. I had planned to put half a bottle aside for tomorrow night, but it might be off by then..............

Cheers (literally)

Michael

[TiggerK]

Last night tried Schulz Johann Barossa Zinfandel 2005 - Nice to try an Oz Zin, I've had some fantastic US ones, such a great grape if you avoid the overblown versions. But so far, only the Cape Mentelle 2004 has rocked me. So to the Schulz.... Good solid rich red, slight hit of alcohol on the nose as you'd expect at 15.5%, but having made sure it was cooled a bit, not so bad. I'm preferring my reds around 16-18C these days, I recommend to get a wine thermometer, it really makes a difference, esp to Pinot Noir. Anyway, this wine was smooth, ripe and chewy , no real complexity, but enough tannin and bit of acid to give it some sense of balance. Solid Good.

Gentleman's Agreement Yarra Chardonnay 2008 - easy to drink, balanced (very well made for the $) and at a good price (DM $17). Good.

Cheers
TiggerK