post-Easter weeknight drinking

[Sean O'Sullivan]

deleted

[TiggerK]

Penfolds Bin 138 GSM 2004 - Quaffable, but a bit too much alcohol on the nose and a bit short on the finish. Possibly not the best bottle? Just Good

[Michael R]

Some Easter tipples with friends;

2008 Collector Reserve Shiraz (Canberra region) 8.5/10….very balanced (alc, tannins,acid etc) nice bit of spice on the finish ($48)
2008 Felton Road Pinot (C Otago) 7.5/10….brambles, cherries, fruit forward with good tannins ($60)
2004 Penfolds Bin 28 (Kalimna) 8/10 ……..Rich, major legs, would like longer than the 60 mins in the decanter, very enjoyable (gift)
2007 Moppity Shiraz (Southern Highlands) 6.5/10….very funky nose, soft mid-palate, decent finish ($20)
2005 Bowen Estate Shiraz (Coonawarra) ....too late in proceeding to note anything other than it was red wine.
2008 Mount Difficulty Pinot (C Otago) 6/10…had quite a few of these and just cant appreciate them for the price ($50). Was better the 2nd day though.
2008 Pewsey Vale Riesling (Eden Valley) 8/10….citrus fruits, warpped in minerals and a very slight lick of sweetness on the mostly dry finish. (gift)
2004 SC Pannell Shiraz (McClaren Vale) 9/10…..quite a serious bottle of wine, deep dark colour and the expected traces of chocolate everywhere. Fruit and tannins suggest it will keep going for some while yet. A delicious treat. ($80)

Cheers....
Michael

[orpheus]

Howard Park Leston shiraz 2001 - lovely wine, fully mature now (I would drink it now rather than hold on to it too much longer), in very good balance, with great mouth-feel, weight, and a lovely, long, dark finish. ENticing, floral nose.

St Hallett Blackwell shiraz 2006 (half bottle); still enjoying what was one of the great cellar door bargains of a year or so ago; I bought about 48 bottles of it at $10 a bottle. A crowd pleaser - this and the HP were consumed with my wife and her friend this time, and it is always very popular, and rightly so. Good, honest, ripe but balanced South Australian shiraz, the generous, chocolate/blackberry fruit kept under control with large-grained, grippy tannins.

[Michael McNally]

St Hallett Blackwell shiraz 2006 (half bottle); still enjoying what was one of the great cellar door bargains of a year or so ago; I bought about 48 bottles of it at $10 a bottle. A crowd pleaser - this and the HP were consumed with my wife and her friend this time, and it is always very popular, and rightly so. Good, honest, ripe but balanced South Australian shiraz, the generous, chocolate/blackberry fruit kept under control with large-grained, grippy tannins.

I got some of these too and they never disappoint. Have to be moderately oak-tolerant as there is a bit of vanilla oak in the mix. But, yes, good honest Barossa Shiraz that hasn't been overworked. Wish I had bought 48!!

[orpheus]

St Hallett Blackwell shiraz 2006 (half bottle); still enjoying what was one of the great cellar door bargains of a year or so ago; I bought about 48 bottles of it at $10 a bottle. A crowd pleaser - this and the HP were consumed with my wife and her friend this time, and it is always very popular, and rightly so. Good, honest, ripe but balanced South Australian shiraz, the generous, chocolate/blackberry fruit kept under control with large-grained, grippy tannins.

I got some of these too and they never disappoint. Have to be moderately oak-tolerant as there is a bit of vanilla oak in the mix. But, yes, good honest Barossa Shiraz that hasn't been overworked. Wish I had bought 48!!

Yes, not overworked, and yes, the fruit is generous enough to counterbalance the oak.

[n4sir]

I tried this unfortunate lot last week, but this thread will do...

2009 Hungerford Hill Chardonnay, Tumbarumba (screwcap): Very pale green with noticeable spritz. Has the appearance of being unoaked, very sweet pure bubblegum/juicyfruit gum, green bananas/banana essence and fennel with breathing. The palate’s pretty good too although a little simple, grassy and yeasty with passionfruit/banana and a clean, crisp finish. Easily the best of a bad bunch.

2003 Mt. Difficulty Pinot Noir, Central Otago (screwcap): Despite a good breathe it’s still slightly reductive, wafts of burnt rubber/stuck match lingering behind bright but lightweight cherry fruit with gamey/sous bois complexity. With breathing it becomes quite meaty and a little disturbing, with salami and horsy/mousy characters occasionally popping up; I’m beginning to wonder whether there’s some brett now. Disappointing again.

2008 ConoSur Pinot Noir, Chile (screwcap): This is much worse than the ’03 Mt Difficulty; a weird mix of cheesy and parsley characters at first, then strong salami and even stronger burnt rubber characters. Mercaptan City.

2006 Formby & Adams (by Brothers in Arms) Leading Horse Cabernet Sauvignon, Langhorne Creek (screwcap): Medium/dark crimson/blood red. Slightly rubbery at first, then very leafy and vegetal, green tobacco and blackcurrant with an extremely bitter finish. Disappointing considering their resources and the strong vintage in the region.

NV Currency Creek Estate Serendipity Sparkling Shiraz (cork): Bright but pale red with a lot of initial fizz, but it’s flat as a tack very quickly. An initial hit of eucalyptus is replaced by cloves, then heavy bandaid and banana oak characters; the palate’s lightweight and short with no creaminess, and absolutely reeks of brett. Amazingly it's even more revolting than that Chilean rubbish.

Cheersm
Ian

[monghead]

Just so busy...

2009 O'leary Walker Polish Hill Riesling- Good citrus fruit intensity, but I thought this a little heavy and blousy on the palate. Just Good.
2006 TarraWarra Premium Pinot Noir- On the heavy, meaty side of the spectrum, but with an unexpected soft finish which was quite enjoyable. Solid Good.
2007 Vasse Felix Cabernet Merlot- All over the place. Too hollow, and sweet yet sappy and drying. Sub Good.
2008 Escarpment Pinot Noir- Noice. Very Good.

Cheers,

Monghead.

[Red]

2006 Rosby Shiraz - Mudgee - lovely medium bodied shiraz. Plum, earth, and chocolate. Tasty!

[dlo]

A phenomenal dinner party with friends at their country farm retreat on the way to Bowral over the long weekend.
I supplied the wine, the fare, from our hosts.

Starters - well matured/perfectly breathed Tasmanian Heritage double brie upon nashi pear slices - a great match with an exquisite bottle of 1995 Dom Perignon (94).

Entree - ripe rock melon wrapped in Parma prosciutto - Trimbach 1989 CFE Riesling VT - another match made in heaven. Even better bottle here than the last one I opened a few days prior. (96).

Mains - garlic and rosemary infused Weber-baked Leg of Lamb, Thai salad with a roast potato - 1985 Chateau Palmer (Margaux) (94) - what a gorgeously mature Claret - and have a guess - proved a great match to the "melt in your mouth" pink lamb.

Dessert - Strawberries marinated in Champagne topped with a very special blend of Gippsland yoghurt and very rich cream with home-grown passion fruit swirl served with a most beautiful bottle of fully mature and amazingly complimentary, 1983 Chateau Suidaraut (Sauternes) (93).

With very high calibre espresso coffee a very small amount from a pristine and stellar bottle of 1971 Stonyfell Metala Langhorne Creek Vintage Port. (93).

I might elaborate more on the wine's in due course.

A memorable night of great wine and food.

[griff]

Quick impressions while my baby niece is screaming.

Last night we finished off a 2007 Crasto Douro. Interesting wine with a stencilly character with lemon if you went looking. I always thought that the citrus came from the aguardente in vintage port but maybe not. Very rough tannin and strong acidity on the finish that was difficult to enjoy. Good now and should be better ifwhen the acid integrates.

Tonight a sneaky glass of 2003 Noon Eclipse Grenache Shiraz. Its interesting to visit my wines in Sydney as they are so different to what I buy now. This one is inky with an old wood smell. Some camphor and menthol. Big palate that still is somewhat tight. Savoury with anise and sarsparilla flavours and chewy with a bright acid line on the finish. Not as disjointed as the Douro yesterday though. Good now and I think it still has upside.

cheers

Carl

[orpheus]

I tried this unfortunate lot last week, but this thread will do...

2009 Hungerford Hill Chardonnay, Tumbarumba (screwcap): Very pale green with noticeable spritz. Has the appearance of being unoaked, very sweet pure bubblegum/juicyfruit gum, green bananas/banana essence and fennel with breathing. The palate’s pretty good too although a little simple, grassy and yeasty with passionfruit/banana and a clean, crisp finish. Easily the best of a bad bunch.

2003 Mt. Difficulty Pinot Noir, Central Otago (screwcap): Despite a good breathe it’s still slightly reductive, wafts of burnt rubber/stuck match lingering behind bright but lightweight cherry fruit with gamey/sous bois complexity. With breathing it becomes quite meaty and a little disturbing, with salami and horsy/mousy characters occasionally popping up; I’m beginning to wonder whether there’s some brett now. Disappointing again.

2008 ConoSur Pinot Noir, Chile (screwcap): This is much worse than the ’03 Mt Difficulty; a weird mix of cheesy and parsley characters at first, then strong salami and even stronger burnt rubber characters. Mercaptan City.

2006 Formby & Adams (by Brothers in Arms) Leading Horse Cabernet Sauvignon, Langhorne Creek (screwcap): Medium/dark crimson/blood red. Slightly rubbery at first, then very leafy and vegetal, green tobacco and blackcurrant with an extremely bitter finish. Disappointing considering their resources and the strong vintage in the region.

NV Currency Creek Estate Serendipity Sparkling Shiraz (cork): Bright but pale red with a lot of initial fizz, but it’s flat as a tack very quickly. An initial hit of eucalyptus is replaced by cloves, then heavy bandaid and banana oak characters; the palate’s lightweight and short with no creaminess, and absolutely reeks of brett. Amazingly it's even more revolting than that Chilean rubbish.

Cheersm
Ian

What terribly bad luck! Not anything like the standard of the wines you normally encounter, going by your past tasting notes (which I enjoy).

[Michael McNally]

A phenomenal dinner party with friends at their country farm retreat on the way to Bowral over the long weekend.
I supplied the wine, the fare, from our hosts.

Good to see use the (much overused) word 'phenomenal' in the appropriate context. Sounds like a brilliant feast. Thanks for sharing David.

Cheers

Michael

[daz]

2008 Pewsey Vale Riesling (Eden Valley) 8/10….citrus fruits, warpped in minerals and a very slight lick of sweetness on the mostly dry finish. (gift)
Cheers....
Michael

Took a bottle of 2009 to dinner with friends last weekend, thought it very approachable but wasn't really in assessment mode.

daz