Sunday 8th August

[monghead]

Hi all,

Another Sunday rolls along. Tax return week end for me, but managed to get a few decent bottles in...

2008 Dönnhoff Spätlese Oberhäuser Brücke- Very Very Good
2008 Schloss Lieser ‘Niederberg Helden Goldkapel’ Auslese- Very Very Good
2009 Grosset Springvale Riesling- Very Good
2008 Kooyong Massale Pinot Noir- Solid Good
2006 Curly Flat Pinot Noir- Good Good
2000 Wantirna Hannah Cabernet Franc Merlot- Very Good

Cheers,

Monghead.

[Chuck]

Me too doing the family's tax returns while everyone elase is out enjoying themselves.

Last night the last of the Gibsons (Barossa Valley) 2002 Reserve Merlot. Perfect with the roast chook and all the trimmings. At its peak so drink up.

Chuck

[Broughy]

2006 Wirra Wirra RSW Shiraz ok way too early for this I know but wanted a big wine to match some big steak. Rich and full on style, plummy fruit, lots of USA oak. Not quite the complete mouth feel I was after, sounds odd but it was a little thin or hollow. perhaps this will fill out with time but didn't seem to be the generous wine of say the 2002 vintage.

2003 Seppelts Benno Bendigo Shiraz a more complete and resolved wine, with more spicy interest. Fuller palate than the RSW, but also more elegant. not sure what I think about this wine it seems neither here nor there. This was just below the pricing of the St Peter's and I think the extra dollars of the St Peter's is worth paying.

2003 D'Arenberg Derelict vinyard Grenache very nice wine, easy drinking and offers something a little different.

2004 Penfolds Bin 28 Shiraz A bit one dimensional, really needs a good long decant. Quite a nice nose if allowed to peak through. served in a restaurant out of Spieglieu and decanted. was a bit cold perhaps. To be fair this is probably lost the initial blush of fruit and is just staring to gain secondary interest.

[dlo]

Only three to report on this week.

Seppelt Drumborg Riesling 1999. Classic aged Riesling at its best. Beguiling with a plethora of honey, lime and toast on the nose with a mineral undertone. The palate is remarkably fresh and alive with indelible minerally acidity providing a fresh crisp and invigorating finish of lime and toast. 93 points. Drink now - 2020.

Tyrrell's Vat 47 Chardonnay 2000. Somewhat oaky (but not unattractive) on the nose. Much fresher on the palate with mature fruit and excellent acidity providing focus. Multi-faceted and drinking very well indeed. Should a last a few more years if well-cellared. 88 points. Drink now - 2014.

Lindemans Coonawarra Limestone Ridge Shiraz Cabernet 1991 (Museum Release). Lots of American oak (dill and vanilla) on the nose at first. Bucketloads of complex licorice, berried fruit and old saddle leather with some cigar box characters underneath. Ultra-smooth tannins but there's enough resilient acidity to retain freshness. This wine is at the peak of its development and should be consumed as soon as a excuse festers to drink it. Otherwise an excellent wine spoilt only by US oak usage. 90 points.

[daz]

Barwang Cab 08 - cedar oak, blackcurrant/cassis fruit with savoury notes, some maltiness on the front of the palate moving to the reasonably deep-seated fruit, a slight dip then the fruit is joined with a touch of stalky/minty greenness on the medium-length finish.

Cheers

daz

[AndrewCowley]

2003 Jacobs Creek Centenary Hill Shiraz

Awesome. Wonderful blackberry taste. A touch too peppery and spicy, that would be my only criticism. Reminded me of a 1998 Seppelt St Peters I recently had. Very high quality. It defies some of the reviews I'd read of it. Perhaps a good bottle?

[Sean O'Sullivan]

deleted

[Mike Hawkins]

1981 Penfolds Grange Hermitage - when first opened there was no nose whatsoever, so I figured it was dead. Nevertheless, the colour was great - deep red with some bricking. Given an hour of air, it really blossomed. Initially it was dominated by vanilla oak, but further down the track it revealed bacon, cedar and coffee. The palate was surprisingly rich and round with meat and blackcurrant notes. It has a long finish which is unfortunately accompanied by a metallic note. This was the only negative aspect of the wine. By no means a great Grange, the 81 is nevertheless an excellent wine and is drinking at its peak - I can't see it getting better but should hold for a few years.

1994 Wynns John Riddoch - the last 2 bottles I've had suggested this wine had seen better days, but this one was singing. Classic Coonawarra cabernet with a few years of life left. Really good.

1997 Peter Lehman Stonewell Shiraz - not the greatest bottle I've had. A bit simple.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Today was the City2Surf and then beers in the park (Shhhh!) with some friends. Came home just in time for dinner so didn't have much time to think about the wine let alone decant times so I opted for young vigorous wine to go with the rare steaks.

Easy to grab was the 2008 Wynn's Cab/Shiraz/Merlot that I had included in a few mixed cases I ordered over the internet. I was also curious to see how it would be with food as opposed to the taste I had on "Wynnsday".

It was just as I expected, a good amount of fruit with structure and tannin to go with juicy rare steaks. And it should develop nicely in a few more years.

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

[Luke W]

Mike

I concur with the 1997 Lehmann Stonewell. I had one of these last year and was very disappointed - it just went nowhere with fruit or balance

2000 Jacobs Ck Johann - again disappointing after the hype - solid but uninteresting and fairly simple even after a few hours of decanting

cheers

Luke

[Bick]

A couple of nice wines for dinner saturday night with friends over. My last bottle of Benfield and Delamare 2001 was decanted 3-4 hours and showed quite nicely, perhaps like a moderate vintage right bank bdx. Fruit was excellent, though I felt the acid was sticking out a tad, without food. With food, it drank very nicely, however. Good bouquet. This was preceded by a glass of Felton Road Riesling 2007 which is a good wine.

[Roscoe]

Regular blind tasting lunch:
Of interest
Huntington Estate Semillon W2 1999
Very good. Still has a strong lemon character but with some apple and honey highlights. Drink now.
Leo Buring Clare Valley Riesling 1999
Excellent. Both primary and secondary characters- has potential to develop for at least another 4-5 years but excellent right now.
Montana Gisborne Chardonnay 2007
Nobody picked this as a Chardonnay. Pinot Gris was the consensus - enough said.
Warrabilla Parola's Durif 2004
They don't come much denser than this. A monster wine, but very easy to drink with a long future. Balanced despite the 16.5% alc/vol. Excellent.
Warrabilla Reserve Cabernet 2005
Not much varietal character, but also easy to drink and satisfying. Full bodied, but not for the long term.
Morris Durif 1988
Was universally picked as Durif but about 95-99 vintage. Full of life but unlikely to improve as the finish is probably starting to shorten a tad. Excellent wine.
Lindemans St George 1999
Full bodied wine with very ripe fruit. Not picked as a Coonawarra. More like a Barossa Cab. Very good. Quite firm tannins may need a little more time.
Riddoch Estate Cab Merlot 1988
Gone south. Clearly well past its best. Must have been lurking in a quiet corner minding its own business.

[Craig(NZ)]

Had 08 julicher pinot in weekend. That is a fantastic pinto noir, lovely texture, deep dark martinborough style fruit and super balance. I reckon it foots it with any nz pinot twice its price

Also 09 doctors Riesling. Such a vibrant alive and super flavoured wine. Awesome stuff

[PaulV]

2007 Peregrine Central Otago Riesling Less lime/lemon more white peach and whiffs of tropical fruit. a weighty mid palate with some richness but just lacks verve and finesse. Ok but won't scare oz riesling makers.

2009 KT and the Falcon Peglidis Vineyard Watervale Riesling If you're looking for finesse and balance between fruit, acid and strcuture look no further. Pure spicy citrus blossom and limes on the nose. Beautifully balanced palate of minerals and fresh riesling fruit , soft but fresh acid finish - no added tartaric acid here. Organically grown and hands off winemaking by one of the best in the business. Excellent.

2005 Bernard Defaix Chablis 1er Cote de Lechet A bit of a let down - marred on nose and palate by heavy leesy, milky characters. Lacked the freshness expected of a true chablis. This has developed much faster than I expected. Drink up. Disappointing.

2003 Yannick Amirault Bourgeuil La Petite Cave Was worried given the stinking hot year this would be overblown. Not at all. A lovely complex cab franc - blackcurrants and fresh herbs even a touvh of pencil shavings. Lovely palate followed the nose with lovely cab franc like structure and lots of freshness. Lovely wine.

2007 Barringwood Park Mills Block Pinot Noir [Nth tasmania] A bit diffused nose of red fruits and spicy oak. Deep fruited mid weight palate stil very primary - needs to develop more complexity but nice freshness. V good

2008 Nanny Goat Cental Otago Pinot Noir Lovely lifted plummy black fruited pinot - very primary and juicy. easy drinking wine with a nicely balanced mid weight palate. good value arounfd mid $20s.

2004 Curly Flat Pinot Noir I tried to like it but ultimately i was disappointed. Over mature nose of mulchy forest floor, slightly extracted palate with some dead pinot fruit - some complexity but to much worked stuff by the winemaker. lacked structure, freshness and complexity. Not stelvin so maybe the cork had let in to much oxygen.

cheers

paul

[Jordan]

2002 Rockford Rifle Range Cab Sav - good old school Barossa Cab Sav. Dry, earthy, leathery notes interplaying with jubey black fruit, hints of green capsicum and dried herbs. Still a lick of firm tannins. Yum. Still time on its side too.

2001 Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz - wow, this was a $90 6-pack purchase when i picked it up 5 years ago and it is drinking so well now. Drinks far better as a 9 year old wine than that price tag would indicate. Smooth, integarted wine. A core of dark berried fruit, a little vanilla, a dash of pepper and spice. Was perfect with steak, jerusalem artichoke and watercress salad.

2008 Collector Marked Tree Red - no note but this wine was a definite highlight. Very complex and savoury but with great fruit. So much interest in the glass. Got better and better with air. Cant wait for the 09s to appear.

Oh, and a night cap of Campbells Rutherglen Muscat

[via collins]

"2009 KT and the Falcon Peglidis Vineyard Watervale Riesling If you're looking for finesse and balance between fruit, acid and strcuture look no further. Pure spicy citrus blossom and limes on the nose. Beautifully balanced palate of minerals and fresh riesling fruit , soft but fresh acid finish - no added tartaric acid here. Organically grown and hands off winemaking by one of the best in the business. Excellent."

- agreed wholeheartedly, nicely condensed decription - superb wine, bound to be in my best for the year.

Grant Burge Cameron Vale 2004 cabernet sauvignon deep, dark purple, expansive floral nose. Luscious blackcurrant flavours with licks of vanilla, a real festival of fruit that pulls up short in the end. Still good. Second night seemed quite flabby though.

Luke Lambert 2008 Nebbiolo Fragile, earthy sour cherry palate on a medium bodied wine that offers a range of aftertastes like cinnamon and anise. Good good.

Poggerino 2008 chianto classico A 3 hour decant saw the wine open nicely - really strong palate of cherry, berry and a little smoked tea. Tannins somewhat resistant early, but smoothed out around 4 - 5 hours, and made this a dream match for the lamb it was served with. Not the best chianti classico of the year, but bloody good. Will be buying more.

Hoddles Creek 1er 2008 chardonnay Nice yellow gold colour, and a zesty citrus approach into crunchy apples and stone fruits with a nice oak balance. Finished very clear and straight. I haven't tried a HC standard 08 for a while, so not sure what difference is. Not worrying about that issue, I really liked this, but I never met an HC wine i couldn't get on with yet!

[Loztralia]

Had my birthday dinner on Friday night - 19 of us in Na Zdrowie on Glebe Point Road. Polish food, ideal for some mid-range reds I didn't mind letting my friends get their hands on. Here's what I managed to sample:
2006 Pegasus Bay Pinot Noir (magnum): Really happy with this. Bit more primary fruit than a lot of Kiwi pinots I've tried of late. Bang on - would drink all night.
2008 Piggs Peake Big Pig Shiraz: I've been waiting for an opportunity to try this and can't think of a better one than a rowdy dinner with friends. Fundamentally a fun wine - 16.5% and as massive as they come, basically port though actually more than drinkable and not cloying. Not one for everyday use but I'd be happy to have a couple in reserve for the right moment (which should generally be preceded by the words "dude, check this shit out".
2008 Torbreck Woodcutters Shiraz: Another fairly uncomplicated, crowd pleasing wine ideal for a more boisterous session. Good value too.
2007 Meerea Park The Aunts Shiraz: With no great plan in terms of order of opening bottles I was a bit concerned this Hunter Shiraz would get obliterated by the two monsters that preceded it, but actually it was a nice gear shift down. Relatively fruit-driven for a Hunter wine which probably helped make the change less obvious. Again, a good value wine.
2007 Margan Merlot: I think this might be the first bottle of straight Merlot I've ever bought. Unfortunately things were progressing rather rapidly by this stage so I can't add much more except that it stood up ok given the circumstances.

[orpheus]

Pegasus Bay semillon sauvignon blanc 2008 - lovely lively wine, with a very refreshing, tangy acidity. Very good.

Wynns Michael shiraz 1998 - why do I always find myself making excuses for this wine? It always disappoints me. In fact, I think perhaps this one was suffering from cork taint. Whether it was or wasn't, I don't see how this wine could ever be in balance, as it is loaded with tannins of every description, oak and skins, and any fruit that had survived whatever the problem was with the cork was buried in the forbidding nettle of oak.

Kay's Block 6 shiraz 2006 - this is much more like it! I'll keep the rest of these for years. Perfectly ripe, dark, concentrated blackberry, with a nice, tight, liquorice with a touch of cherry finish.

Greenock Creek 7 acres shiraz 2003 - yum. Audaciously ripe berry fruit treated with restraint to create, by some miracle, a perfectly balanced wine (at 15%!).

[Teisto]

Only the one bottle on the weekend - our first wedding anniversary and back to where we had our reception at Ottoman in Sydney for dinner - good thing the wife is still pregnant so she only partook in a glass.

Sorry not big on the notes.

1996 Mitchelton Print Shiraz

Had read a lot about it on here and most said that it was a good drop - certainly wasn't disappointed. Was a lovely bottle with the great food.

[daz]

Wynns Michael shiraz 1998 - why do I always find myself making excuses for this wine? It always disappoints me. In fact, I think perhaps this one was suffering from cork taint. Whether it was or wasn't, I don't see how this wine could ever be in balance, as it is loaded with tannins of every description, oak and skins, and any fruit that had survived whatever the problem was with the cork was buried in the forbidding nettle of oak.

I have a bottle of it bought not very long after release and not long before Southmount dropped the price of it and the Riddoch by near 40%.

Has anyone else tried it recently? I seem to recall having seen other comments less recently that were similarly critical of the oak and tannins, don't relish the idea of pouring a $90 bottle of wine down the drain.....

Cheers

daz

[Wizz]

First a bit of a bas run over the weekend with 3 wines in a row not quite right:
A 2001 Dalwhinnie Shiraz that was over the hill! The bottle didn't have an auspicious cellar history, but I still didn't expect it to be dried out and gone.
A questionable Rockford Black bubbles (08 disg) that I suspect was both corked and had a minor brett issue, and
An 04 Roger Sabon Cuvee Reservee, that was also just not quite right.

But then a 04 Rousseau Gevrey Chambertin didn't disappoint with its violets and forest berries in a powerful package that transcends the lowly regarded vintage.

Then the midweek drinkies:

08 Schloss Lieser Brauneberger Juffer Kabinett - with home made pizza tonight was pleasant enough, if in a bit of a hole just at the moment.
07 Andreas Schmitges Erdener Treppchen Spatlese Medium Dry - very ripe (Spatlese…duh!) perhaps too ripe for a fish dinner. Kebinett dry or just slightly drier. Alsatian in the cut if its jib. Seems to have a bit of botrytis in it. Andreas makes some knockout wines, but this one doesnt quite scale the heights.

And Monghead:

Hi all,

Another Sunday rolls along. Tax return week end for me, but managed to get a few decent bottles in...

2008 Dönnhoff Spätlese Oberhäuser Brücke- Very Very Good
2008 Schloss Lieser ‘Niederberg Helden Goldkapel’ Auslese- Very Very Good
2009 Grosset Springvale Riesling- Very Good
2008 Kooyong Massale Pinot Noir- Solid Good
2006 Curly Flat Pinot Noir- Good Good
2000 Wantirna Hannah Cabernet Franc Merlot- Very Good

Cheers,

Monghead.

Save up for the 09 Niederberger Helden Langhe Goldkapsel. Tasted it at cellar door last month. Its brilliant.

Cheers

Andrew

[orpheus]

Wynns Michael shiraz 1998 - why do I always find myself making excuses for this wine? It always disappoints me. In fact, I think perhaps this one was suffering from cork taint. Whether it was or wasn't, I don't see how this wine could ever be in balance, as it is loaded with tannins of every description, oak and skins, and any fruit that had survived whatever the problem was with the cork was buried in the forbidding nettle of oak.

I have a bottle of it bought not very long after release and not long before Southmount dropped the price of it and the Riddoch by near 40%.

Has anyone else tried it recently? I seem to recall having seen other comments less recently that were similarly critical of the oak and tannins, don't relish the idea of pouring a $90 bottle of wine down the drain.....

Cheers

daz

Daz, I don't think you need to pour it down the drain! I left about half of the bottle out on the bench, Vacu-vined (is that a word, not really) and drank it a couple of days later, and I would say that it was better rather than worse, though it was still hard to get at the fruit.

The South Australian 1998 shirazes, over time, are perhaps not living up to their hype; I noticed this at a recent (generally very enjoyable) shiraz tasting with a flight of 98s. They were all rather strident, hard to get close to sort of wines. Perhaps some need a long, long time.

[orpheus]

IT would be interesting to hear some different experiences of the 98 Michael. Am I misjudging it?

[Mahmoud Ali]

I tasted boththe '98 Michael and John Riddoch at cellar door a number of years ago. They were dense, powerful wines that I thought would need 15-20 years of cellaring and needless to say would last a lot longer. I've heard many say that the '98s were overated but I suspect that in the case of the '98 Michael it is in a dumb phase, where the fruit has been subsumed by the tannins and oak which are stll powerfully present. In time, when the tannins settle, the fruit will emerge in the guise of a broad, ripe, earthy complexity. At least that is the theory, and it has been my experience on a number of wines.

If I had a '98 Michael it would be one of the last '98s that I open.

Daz, if you're planning on pouring the wine down the drain why not send it my way, I have just the drain in mind...........my gullet.

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

[dlo]

I tried a 98 Michael a few months back. Very nice wine to drink now but dramatically forward. Came from a good cellar, too. The wine was in balance, approachable and did not have anything much left for the long term. I was dumbfounded when it was unveiled.

[Chuck]

Wynns Michael shiraz 1998 - why do I always find myself making excuses for this wine? It always disappoints me. In fact, I think perhaps this one was suffering from cork taint. Whether it was or wasn't, I don't see how this wine could ever be in balance, as it is loaded with tannins of every description, oak and skins, and any fruit that had survived whatever the problem was with the cork was buried in the forbidding nettle of oak.

I have a bottle of it bought not very long after release and not long before Southmount dropped the price of it and the Riddoch by near 40%.

Has anyone else tried it recently? I seem to recall having seen other comments less recently that were similarly critical of the oak and tannins, don't relish the idea of pouring a $90 bottle of wine down the drain.....

Cheers

daz

Ditto. I've never got this wine. Coonawarra tries and tends to fail with this variety. I refer to this style as a "hard" wine - it just doesn't please the mouth in any shape or form. Not enough fruit sweetness that we are used to in SA shiraz. Ok as a blender but not on its own. Coonawarra should just stick to what it does well. A man's got to know his limitations - Clint Eastwood.

Chuck

[daz]

I guess it seems best to leave it for at least a few more years. Halliday's window(tn2001) is to 2015. BTW it will only go down the drain if it's corked or vinegar

Thanks all

daz

[orpheus]

I tried a 98 Michael a few months back. Very nice wine to drink now but dramatically forward. Came from a good cellar, too. The wine was in balance, approachable and did not have anything much left for the long term. I was dumbfounded when it was unveiled.

Must have been from a different barrel .