A few recent ones...

[cuttlefish]

West Brook Blue Ridge Pinot Noir 2005
Screwcap. 14% alc. Very light burgundy in colour. Fruit here from Marlborough, though the winery is situated in Auckland. On opening this struck me as a fairly earthy dry-red type wine, with a good silky mouthfeel. With time in the glass, the wine opened to show some chocolately mocha/oak characters, and dry leaves. The palate is light to medium in weight, with very fine earthy tannins. Stem and dry leaf aromatics become dominant, with a faint green peppery edge. It's still a fresh wine, but that said, I think it's drinking well now, and I don't think it will improve from here. Lovely mouthfeel. All this wrapped around some strawberry fruit flavours. This turned out to be a bit of a crowd favourite in our household.

Blue Ring Cab Merlot 2006
Screwcap. 14% alc. Dark plum colour. On opening this, there was a big aroma of a fistful of crushed blackcurrants and raspberries, then with a little time in the glass began to show a faintly odd earthy smell, cow poo, and was vaguely meaty, like a BBQ grill. The fine palate medium to full in weight was still fresh, with quite tangy acidity. Such alluring fruit at the start of it all, but then looked a little disjointed after that. Not inexcusably so, considering the price was about $15 or something like that.

Tidswell Wines "Jennifer" Cab.Sauv 2002
Cork stained about 0.5-1cm. 14% alc. A limited release wine from this Coonawarra producer, this is looking OK. There's a fairly sweet oak element working here, so I'll go out on a limb and say it's probably seen at least some American oak; sweet charry woodspice over red berry fruit and a streak of leafiness through the whole, a likely result of a cool year... Some eucalyptus aroma also.
The palate here is fine, and medium to full bodied. Quite resolved with a sweet rich entry, a little dip in the middle and quite warming through the back palate. Loads of almost spicy blackcurrant. Overall this appears to be drinking well right now. With time in the glass I'm seeing some faint furniture polish aroma (V.A)

Montara Chardonnay 2008
Screwcap. 13% alc. This Grampians wine is a light yellow straw colour. It has a quite rich and buttery bouquet over ripe stonefruits, and melon, and a hint of sulphur. Whilst the nose is relatively voluptuous, the palate seems to me a little tart. It does soften and drink a little better as the wine warms in the glass. Overall a fairly simple wine, well made.

[Luke W]

More recent ones......

About 10 years ago I ordered some Yalumba Shorts Vineyard Shiraz 1999 through Cellarmasters (about $10 a bottle on special). It has drunk nicely throughout the last 10 years but I found tonite that I had 2 left over. I pulled the cork (no decanting) and enjoyed a superbly rich, full bodied wine full of the flavours of stewed dark plums and spice.

I can't help wondering at the value of some wines. Every so often you get these little gems that cost almost nothing and taste like a wine that you would be happy to spend $100 on. Conversely at the last Brissie tasting we had a wine that cost more than $100 and I couldn't drink it!

Other bottles in the New Year have been some La Testa Cabernets (1999), Merlot (1999) and blends (2000), a couple of 2001 Geoff Merrill reserve chardys (Grays on line for about $3 a bottle and quite superb).

[TiggerK]

Nothing really exciting in my past two weeks drinking unfortunately, mostly beer and a few cheapie whites. Leo Buring Eden Valley Riesling 2005 has been a great value quaffer ($19), as has Barwang Chardy 08 and Kooyong Clonale Chardy 08. Didn't mind the Taltarni Tache 2008 either as a reasonable sparkling.

And I even went as far as trying out Mrs TiggerK on the McWilliams Inheritance Riesling 2010... Her reply... "quite like this, easy to drink". Tried it myself, hmm, not too bad, bit fizzy on the finish, but for $4.75, it's... what can I say? Good Value? Well sort of, as I couldn't manage much more than a few sips, but it's fair to say it punches a bit above it's price point and is no doubt contributing nicely to Australia's overall happiness, judging by the number of cases of it I saw shifting in the hour I was browsing DM's. But Pewsey Vale 2010 and Jim Barry 2010 far better drinking, even though 3 times the price And the Leo B 05 is great drinking, albeit 4 times more expensive!

I keep trying to decide on something decent to get from the 'cellar' but it's all too hard sometimes, and a bit hot too.. See how I go during the week, better get my act together and drink something more interesting methinks. Wish I had cellared more whites actually.... must correct that.

Cheers
Tim

[Luke W]

And I even went as far as trying out Mrs TiggerK on the McWilliams Inheritance Riesling 2010... Her reply... "quite like this, easy to drink". Tried it myself, hmm, not too bad, bit fizzy on the finish, but for $4.75, it's... what can I say? Good Value? Well sort of, as I couldn't manage much more than a few sips, but it's fair to say it punches a bit above it's price point and is no doubt contributing nicely to Australia's overall happiness, judging by the number of cases of it I saw shifting in the hour I was browsing DM's.

Cheers
Tim

Tim

I used to buy this wine about 15 years ago and leave it in the cellar for a couple of years and start drinking it - it used to age beautifully.

[Michael R]

2009 Donnhoff Dry Riesling
Very enjoyable, apple freshness and lovely mineral driven zest. Nice bit of body too. Hard to imagine anyone not liking this.
Brought this to a busy CBD Chinese restaurant on Sat evening. Sea Bay. Located on Pitt near the Civic Hotel. We ordered 3 dishes, good quality, rice for 2, corkage etc, only paid $42. Recommend.

2007 Joseph Drouhin Morgon Beaujolais
Didn’t appeal straight away but improved in the glass. Nothing to get excited by.

2009 Pieropan Soave….nice light warm weather wine, pretty simple & soft, but has a faint touch of fresh acidity of the finish. Decent.

2009 Oakridge ‘Lieux Dits’ Mackay Vineyard Chardonnay…. Pale with green tinges, probably had this too cold to begin with, however even then it showed some melon, minerality and oak.
Once it warmed a bit the oak and acid started to poke out a touch with grapefruit coming to the fore.
Finally it settled and showed a lot more complexity, balanced in terms of oak and acid, beautiful lemon driven fruit freshness. Quite a big complex wine and a treat with roast chicken. Nice wine.

Cheers
Michael

[Red Smurf]

1996 Domaine Laroche Chablis Grand Cru Les Blanchots Reserve de I'Obedience Brilliant wine, well balanced great acid structure and drinking like it was half its age.

[Adair]

As my work and family commitments have increased over the last decade, my internet wine forum participation has declined. To reform this in some practical and enjoyable way, I am attempting to at least write down every wine I taste and at least give it a rating even if I don't get a chance to write a tasting note. So here goes, with memorable wines highlighted that I would be happy to drink again (which does not necessarily correlate with the rating, as I am trying to convey a more personal preference):

2011: Jan 1 - 10:

2006 High Valley “Premium” Chardonnay:
89/100

2008 High Valley “Premium” Chardonnay:
86/100

2000 Clonakilla Riesling:
Pear, custard apple, sweet lime, fragrant white flowers carried by refreshingly fine and textured mineral acidity that was both juicy and sculptured. Rich and generous but not oily. At its peak. I wish all my aged Rieslings delivered on their promises this wine. 95/100.

20??(2008or 2009 or 2010) Wolf Blass “Red Label” Semillon Sauvignon Blanc:
85/100

2006 Penfolds “RWT” Shiraz:
Didn't have the length as reported by others. Little complexity. 93/100

2002 Yarrabank Sparkling Cuvee:
Aged brilliantly. 92/100

2009 Plantagenet "Great Southern" Riesling:
Lime, bath salts, tropicals. Finely textured mineral acidity. Excellent length. 93/100

2009 Petaluma "Project Co." Riesling (23.2g/L residual):
Generous, juicy and sweet fruited without cloying. Excellent balance. Sweet citrus fruits and floral spices fill the palate, front, middle and back. Uncomplicated, easy drinking for novice and expert alike. 91/100.

2010 Macforbes "rs20" Riesling (20g/L residual, 10.5g acidity, Tasmania):
Yeasty nose. Bracing palate with serious texture, line, length, elegance and power. Green apples, lemon juice, lime leaf, minerals, white florals and honeyed pear. Absolutely fascinating wine but not one for the novice. 94/100 + 1 for that X-factor, 95/100.

2010 Tscharke "Girl Talk" Savagnin:
White peaches, pear, floral spices and darker-spectrum minerals. Medium/full depth and weight. Nice finely phenolic texture. Smooth mouthfeel but with no oiliness. Very good drive through the palate, with good length. 91-2/100.

2010 Gemtree "Moonstone" Savagnin:
Green pear, minerals, florals, some apricot. Pure, clean flavours. Medium weight and depth. Refreshing palate. Clean finish with lingering pear flavours. I wish I was served this as a refreshing aperitif in restaurants instead of Sauvignon Blanc. 89-90/100.

2009 Chapel Hill "il Vescovo" Savagnin:
Mandarin and white nectarine with some floral spices. Light/medium bodied. Clean finish. 87-8/100.

2008 Marchand & Burch "Les Damaudes" Pinot Noir - Nuit-saint-Georges:
Cherries, strawberries and forest fruits on a musky, sappy and savoury palate with whole-bunch texture leaning into a hint of greenness. Good line throughout the palate with chalky rose petal tannins driving the wine, with acid fully integrated, but nothing greatly sculptured or overly charming. Technically a very good wine. 93/100.

2007 Greenock Creek "Cornerstone” Grenache - 15%:
Sweet red berry lolly water that surprisingly does not cloy due to a very serious undercurrent of gravel, stones and earth, and with fine tannins and unobtrusive acid in harmony. 92/100

2002 Rockford “Basket Press” Shiraz - 15%:
Full, rich palate that lacks complexity or purpose. 90/100

2004 Greenock Creek “Apricot Block” Shiraz - 14%:
Full, luscious palate of dark berry fruits and prominent apricot jam, with marshmallow texture. Long and soft finish. If you are in the right mood, 93-4/100.

2003 Wendouree Cabernet Malbec:
Powerful. Controlled dark berries with some juiciness. Dry spice and spearmint complexity. Quite loose-knit. Finish not as focussed as desired but drinking well now. 92/100

2002 Wendouree Cabernet Malbec:
Powerful, rich but controlled dark berries from front to back. A hint of mint with the spearmint. Silt and chalk carry the wine. A year or three from any sort of drinking window. 94+/100

1999 Györgykovács, Imre Jurfark:
Past its best but still drinking well and savoury. 91/100

2004 Tyrrell's Vat 1 Semillon:
96+/100

2005 Cardinham Riesling:
88/100

2002 Tahbilk Marsanne:
Opened for 3 months, left in the fridge. Oxidised, nutty characters on clean base of butter fruit. 87/100

2007 Rolling Cabernet Merlot:
89/100

2004 Kay Brothers "Amery" Shiraz:
Spicy. 90/100

2009 Ingoldby Shiraz:
Sweet jam with some hint of control. 87-8/100

2009 Meerea Park "XYZ" Chardonnay:
Enough fruit to carry the classy match-stic complexity, but no sure if it getting better or worse. 92/100


Some from the last few days of 2010:

2008 Lark Hill Riesling:
94/100

2005 Lark Hill Riesling:
92/100

2009 Vinden Estate Sparkling Alicante Bouschet:
90/100

2009 Stonyridge Larose Bordeaux Blend:
96/100

2004 Sacred Hill "Deer Stalkers" Syrah:
93/100

Kind regards,
Adair

[Mike Hawkins]

1996 Henriot Brut Millesime - lots of secondary charcteristics of toast and caramel. Decent mouthfeel, but lacked the length I'd expect given the vintage.

NV (believed to be 2006) Cedric Bouchard Roses de Jennae BdN Les Ursules - love this producer - one of my absolute favourites from champagne. Ripe fruit is a great replacement for the dosage. Complex and long.

2001 Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile - continues to be excellent. This bottle was a touch more advanced than previous bottles

1989 Leoville Barton - by far the best bottle from the case. Others have been austere, this one was rich and complex, without overwhelming tannins. In a good spot right now.

1990 Dom Perignon - fantastic botle. I've been a bit critical of this vintage, but this bottle was just what I'd hoped for. Lots of sweet frtuit, flowers and nuttiness, with the trademark DP mouthfeel. Not sure it will improve much more. Drink now until 2020.

1980 Penfolds Bin 80a Cab shiraz. Glorious nose of cigar box, chocolate & earth. Palate wasn't as good. Touch short and with a hint of metal on the finish. I've had better bottles in the past.

Cheers

Mike

[Bick]

There's some decent long lists of good wine in this thread. I only have one to comment on - but I was very impressed with a cheaper bottle of aussie wine when over in Sydney recently: Killikanoon Killerman's Run Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 - what a cracker! Lovely density, smooth, ripe without being at all jammy, a really nice bottle of wine for about $27 I think. Anyone else tried this? I must try to get some more... not sure that's easy to do now I'm back in kiwidom.

[Craig(NZ)]

2005 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir. Extremely Good. Real pinot, how I like it, detailed complex, texctured, subtle but with still great concentration
2008 Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chardonnay. Lovely, love the fine acid spine and deft oak
2008 Kumeu River Mates Chardonnay. Ditto, a little more savoury and inegrated with more depth
2008 Kumeu River Coddington Chardonnay. Though the weakest of the 3 KR's still very good
1998 St Jerome Matuka Cabernet Sauvignon. The last time I had this vintage it was exceptional. This bottle though very old fashioned and difficult to enjoy. A bit angular. This style wine is rapidly on the way out.
2005 Clearview Reserve Chardonnay. This is a pretty oaky wine and I can't see it going anywhere. Still when served at a warm temperature it is good stuff, enjoyable but over shadowed by the fresher and more subtle oak of the KR's.
2007 Le Fou Riesling by Gibbston Valley. On release I rated this as one of the best NZ rieslings I have tried. It is still very good but unfortunately hasn't developed in the bottle and perhaps lost some of the texture it had on release. Good stuff but not quite the wow it had. My last bottle, probably just as well.
Moet NV Rose. Just curious and got it cheap but really it is pretty ordinary. Some nice flavours sure, but it is a bit chunky and coarse. Billicart all the way me feels! Not worth the money i paid which is 50% the normal retail.
Montana Deutz NV. Given it but this just isnt the wine it once was. Some shortcuts taken to get it to the $19.99 price point??

[cuttlefish]

Cape Mentelle Wallcliffe Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2008
Screwcap. 13% alc. I had a fleeting look at this wine sometime around October/November last year, and it struck me as a wine with personality, so I (finally) found it in a store, coughed up $40 for a bottle, so that I could take a longer look...
It's not unlike other wines of this style in that if you drink them too cold, you only see the oak and the wine will seem hard-edged. AS this wine warms, there's a lovely balance of cedar and vanilla aromas, faintly toasty, smoky, then delicate florals, and lovely mineral nuances (think wet stones), and sweet damp vegetation (leafiness). With these attributes alone, this wine imbibes me with a real sense of place. You can sense the earth from some site somewhere in Margaret River where the fruit for this wine was grown, and that is something special.
Through that little bit of barrel fermentation, the wine is quite luxurious across the palate. Here, I can't quite pick the fruit flavours, but it seems somewhere in the vacinity of a grassy-edged nectarine, and some grapefruit. Finally, as this very easy to drink wine goes down, and you think it's all over, comes a beautifully delicate ripple of mouthwatering acidity, pushing through a kind of vaguely crab-apple cum sour plum flavour. Overall it's a savoury wine in my opinion and very, very moreish. Long and lovely like Schiffers legs. Pass me a glass of this, and I will pass you my car keys, because I could never stop at one.

[Adair]

Looks like I am buying a bottle of 2008 Cape Mentelle Wallcliffe SSB tomorrow!

[rooman]

Looks like I am buying a bottle of 2008 Cape Mentelle Wallcliffe SSB tomorrow!

This is the only SSB I have ever REALLY enjoyed. Streets ahead of the few other SSB I have tried.

[Loztralia]

Looks like I am buying a bottle of 2008 Cape Mentelle Wallcliffe SSB tomorrow!

This is the only SSB I have ever REALLY enjoyed. Streets ahead of the few other SSB I have tried.

If you get a chance, try the Cullen Mangan Vineyard SSB - it's one of the few I really like. Always found Cape Mentelle pretty overrated across the range but I know I'm in a minority there.

[Adair]

I find many wineries overrated, but these wineries usually have the potential to make great wine and every now and then their reputation comes to fruition. A great example that comes to mind is Torbreck. I find find 90% of their wines overrated and overpriced, then I taste one that makes me happy to bring out the credit card.

[Jordan]

A few highlights recentley:

Numerous bottles of Rockford Black Shiraz. As good as they all were, i still have the Jospeh Sparkling Red a smidge ahead of it as my favourite in the style.

Plenty of Xmas/New Year's Champagne, with the standout being the clean, crisp beautifully structured 2002 Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage.

Highlights in the white wine department included a stunning 2004 William Fevre 'Bougros' Gran Cru Chablis which showed classic mineraly, oyster shell and grapefruit like fruit. Also very much enjoyed a 2005 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling, 2008 Paco & Lola Albarino and an excellent 2003 Chateu Rieussec.

Red wines saw an excellent few weeks including a 2001 Isole e Olena Cepparelo which was absolutely superb and coming into its prime drinking window IMO, 1990 Penfolds St Henri nearing its peak, 1990 Penfolds Grange a super wine i have been lucky enough to drink twice lately, being a solid 94-95 point wine on both occasions, 1992 Penfolds Grange, 2000 Wendouree Shiraz, 2001 Voyager Estate Cab merlot with years ahead of it and a very intruiging, spicey 2008 D'arenberg Wild Pixie Shiraz Roussane.

Also did a quick Barossa day where I loaded up on the fantastic 2006 Rockford Growers Semillion for summer drinking and a few bottles of the 2008 Torbreck 'The Celts', which impressed me with its tannins and earthy fruit. I also went a bit mental at Rockfords and picked up a magnum of 1997 tirage Black Shiraz disgorged in 2008.

[cuttlefish]

Looks like I am buying a bottle of 2008 Cape Mentelle Wallcliffe SSB tomorrow!

This is the only SSB I have ever REALLY enjoyed. Streets ahead of the few other SSB I have tried.

To be precise, the Wallcliffe is a SBS, as opposed to a SSB

[Matt]

D'arenberg Footbolt Shiraz 2006
Decanted for 3hrs - Black pepper and cherry ripe.
Love it and wish i had bought more at the time as this will go another 6-8 yrs in the cellar imo.
One of the best in its price range imo. Fantatsic stuff and recommended.

[TiggerK]

Teusner The Dog Strangler Mataro 2009 - Really enjoyed this. Robust and deep, I did get a touch of heat and band aid on day 2 having put a half bottle in the fridge overnight, but a second bottle a few days later didn't last long enough to go into the fridge, so always a good sign. Will buy more. Good Good.
Samuel's Gorge Cadenzia Grenache 2008 - Another juicy rich red, bit of spice and a nicely balanced blend of deep red and black berries. Would buy again if I see it, although not as cheap as I'd like! Will age well. Very Good.
Tahbilk Marsanne 2005 - My first Marsanne, and I'm now a fan (hey..poet). Elements of aged semillon, with some riesling notes. But this is naive, of course it tastes of Marsanne! Looking forward to trying a flight of this 96-04 later in Jan. Good Good.

Cheers
Tim

[rens]

Tahbilk Marsanne 2005 - My first Marsanne, and I'm now a fan (hey..poet). Elements of aged semillon, with some riesling notes. But this is naive, of course it tastes of Marsanne! Looking forward to trying a flight of this 96-04 later in Jan. Good Good.

Cheers
Tim

I am also a fan of the Marsanne and I'm looking forward to your notes on the vertical. I was lucky enough to have the 98 about 2 months ago at a tasting. This bottle was probably a little out of its window, but still sublime. I think anyone would be hard pressed showing me a white that comes in at sub ten bucks that ages so well. I'm yet to have a bad one.