It's Sunday and TORB has forgotten...

[Red Bigot]

I see he's been and gone, obviously enjoying himself too much to post the leading question - What have you been drinking this week?

For me it's been a week of checking how some older wines are going and ferreting out some to go to auction to make way for all the new releases Ric is finding in SA at the moment.

Leasingham Bin 56 Cab/Malbec 1995 - Good wine for a tough year, fully mature.
Woody Nook Cabernet (Gallagher's Choice) 1997 - Lovely cabernet, seems to have a touch of merlot or cab franc character too, very nice wine with a few years ahead of it yet.
St Huberts Cabernet Sauvignon 1994 - Drinking nicely now, will hold a few years too if you want.
Rosemount Cabernet - Show Reserve 1994 - this bottle was pretty stinky, unpleasant mercaptens, didn't breathe off.
Tollana TR222 Cabernet 1994 - Fully mature, nice mid-weight wine with elegant Eden valley character.
Leasingham Bin 56 Cab/Malbec 1994 - also fully mature, but drinking very well, nice wine.
Jim Barry McRae Wood Cab/Malbec 1994 - seemed to have a hard edge and sharpish finish, I preferred the Bin 56.
De Bortoli Yarra Cabernet Sauvignon 1994 - another fully mature wine, still hints of the cedary oak from it's youth, but the fruit hasn't dried up yet.
Taltarni French Syrah 1996 - supposedly just entering it's drinking window, but a this bottle seemed a bit more advanced, quite soft and fairly boring really, will have to try another, some off to auction I think.

[Chuck]

Hi all,

Not much to say except for last night's first full bottle of Pennys Hill 2002 Shiraz. Allowed to breath for 2 hours it was a step up from the 2001 and full of all those flavours McLaren Vale is known for. At $27 it represents very good value. Probably the best new release wine in 2004 I've had and further evidence of 2002 being a superb year in SA (except Coonawarra where it was too cold).

[Rob]

1996 Pol Roger champagne
Pale gold in colour with a very consistant bead of bubbles. The rough edge has softened nicely since last tasing. The mouth fills with very forward fruit and lovely balanced acidity. A top drink

1988 John Riddoch
This is the first taste of this wine. The first 15 minutes there is not much showing. Very closed and compact. After swirling for a long time and waiting patiently, the wine opened up nicely. Plenty of tobacco and hint of cigar box on the nose .You can taste the fruit, but it is not powerful. I am really surprised this is a lighter weight wine than I expected. The mouth was filled with plum and sweet tannins. The finish was medium and the tannins is almost resolved.

1997 Penfolds Magill Estate
This wine was first tased 18 months ago. The initial tasting was very unbalanced and closed. Retasted on 7/5/04, the wine has developed and softened considerablely. Dark berry fruit, earthy feel. The tannins is fine, but not grippy.

2000 J Vindal Fleury Muscat de Beaumes (French)
A pale golden colour. Peach aroma filled the nostral. This wine is as refreshing as tasted in August last year. Lovely mouth feel, the sweetness is just enough to coate your palate without overpowering with sickening sweetness that some Australian botrytis have. Still my fav.

cheers
Rob

[Wizz]

Looked at the range of Chandon Sparklers on Saturday:

NV: Yeh, good, next
99 Vintage: Liked this, brioche like character
00 Blanc de Blancs: dont usually like BdB but this was good
?? Rose: to broad for me
?? Blanc de Noir: also too broad for me. I usually prefer BdN's
ZD: Hey like this a lot, not just the sexy packaging, the wine is good too. Vegemitey, bone dry, fluffy and moreish
Cuvee Riche: wasnt paying attention really, nie enough

02 Green Point Chardonnay: Nice fruit, well constructed, reasonably interesting
02 Green Point Shiraz: Nice fruit, plums violets etc, but simple and boring.

cheers

Andrew

[n4sir]

After trying the Cabernet Sauvignon this week, I thought it was appropriate to look at the Shiraz too:

1998 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Shiraz The colour is a deep, dark crimson, sharing the glowing purple hue of the Cabernet. It looks just as youthful, but it’s not inky like the Cabernet, and is a good hint of where the wine is in comparison. Again I decanted the bottle with a breatheasy, and this time there’s a minor amount of crust on the bottle. During pouring, the wine was initially a little funky on the nose, but quickly settled into a big, lifted bouquet of violets and blackcurrants. With breathing it revolves between some toasted coffee oak, very perfumed confectionery, and occasionally some armchair leather. The medium-weight palate features very sweet blackberry and raspberry fruit, and is invitingly soft in profile in comparison to the Cabernet. This continues to the great finish, with lingering black cherry entwined with micro-fine chalky tannins. Like the Cabernet it’s a complex, developed wine that somehow retains that youthful tinge to it, but on a slightly lesser scale.

Cheers,
Ian

[Kieran]

Elsewhere Pinot Noir 2001 - Mouthfilling fruit, completely balanced. Drinking beautifully now but may have a little room to improve with a couple more years. Excellent.

Seaview Cab Sav 1991 - Probably on the way down, but still a nice drink. Green Capsicum and Mint flavours remain after some of the fruit has faded. Highly recommended. Much better than the previous bottle of the same, which was too oxidised to drink.

Westend 3 Bridges Chardonnay 2002 - Only had a little, but nice drink. Recommended+.

Kieran

[Anthony]

Been a quiet week on the wine front.

Had a bottle of the 01 Georg Bruer Rudesheim Riesling and thought it was very smart. A lot drier than most German Riesling and probably had more in common with Australian wines. Mandarine peel and lime characterists. It should age pretty well too.

Yering Station Shiraz Viognier 2001. Pretty smart wine for the price and was quite enjoyable, with the Viognier giving the wine a good lift.

Yering Station Chard 02: for a sub $20 Aussie Chard I liked it. Quite refined with lemony/melon flavours and unlike most cheaper Aussie chards, was not fat or alcoholic.

cheers
anthony

[JamieBahrain]

Burge Family Draycott Shiraz 1999 - Only 13.5%. There is some grenache blended in here aswell. A very soft and classy expression of Barossa shiraz. Not the oomph of the 98's-Draycott or Draycott Reserve. But a good medium term cellaring proposition; interesting and deftly balanced.

Leasingham Classic clare cabernet Sauvignon 1997 - Trademark dark fruits, oak and earth nose. Not the intentsity and palate richness of the great Classic Clare vintages. Plenty of blackcurrant & blackberry palate flavour with oak tannin carrying the aftertaste into a lighter red currant spectrum. Built some muscle over time, full bodied with plenty of grippy tannin.

Tim Adam's Aberfelby Shiraz 2001 - Super ripe nose of blackberries, plum and mulberry with appropriate sweet vanillan oak. The ripeness inviting and not at all cloying. All settles with time with more blended fruit aromas and a pleasant smokiness. Full bodied, plenty of structure with clean acid dominating the finish. In time the dense and unrevealing dark fruit flavours are completed by a bold acid/tannin finish. Too young. Needs a few years to settle.

Too many good wines drunk too young recently-will consume a Jasper Hill 02 Red Label & a Henschke 99 Abbott's Prayer this week aswell.

Thankfully, home in June to raid the cellar of mature wine.

[TORB]

Hi Guys,

As to what I have been drinking, far to much but then I have the Meat Pie King of SA to blame for that. Best older wine so far, 1993 Block 6 which was stunning.

Getting close to the top of the list for young qpr (here is an advance tip) is the 2002 Mamre Brook Shiraz. If you can find it on special, GRAB it! Also, one of the best wines in the Torbreck line up is The Struie and its great value (compared to the rest), is in limited supply so grab it if you see it. (Thanks Brian )

[GraemeG]

Well, I've had a dreadful experience. AFD's last Wed - Sat inclusive. Four in a row. It was awful, let me tell you. Just logistics - didn't happen for any particular reason.

And I'm not sure the drought is really broken - the only wine I tasted yesterday was an old bottle we had kicking around in the fridge of
nv Calais Estate Late Harvest
Yes, I can year you saying, Late Harvest what? Who knows - the bottle doesn't give anything away. Yellow - gold, and with 10.5% alcohol it tastes rather like fermentation was just stopped somehow with residual sugar still in the wine. I certainly didn't detect any obvious botrytis flavours. In fact, the wine is well made enough that, despite the low acid, a glassful is actually quite pleasant. The nose has some sweet apricot jam flavours - I'll guess at late harvest semillon. Probably a good wine for a very spicy dish...

cheers,
Graeme

[PaulV]

2001 Jacobs Creek Shiraz Cabernet Thin, lightweight extremely short finish. Poor. Has really fallen in a heap during the past decade.

1998 Devil's Lair Chardonnay [13.8%]Mid yellow. Rich cashew nutty, figgy nose. Similar on the palate, lots of richness but not a lot of complexity, a bit broad - no minerality or lovely acid cut. Nice finish though. Very good but no more.

1991 Seppelt Great Western Shiraz.[13.5%] For dinner on mothers day with a bbq butterflied shoulder of lamb, baked fennel with parmesan and breadcrumbs, yumy squashed baked potatoes with rosemary. Yum. And so was the wine. red with bricking tints. Rich cedary nose with lots of old leather upholstery and still some spicy french oak. Mid weight palate , soft and sexy with licorice, earth and forest floor stuff you often find in top french burgs. Long palate with soft fully resolved tannins. Excellent . Might as well drink up if you have it.

Cheers

paul

[DJ]

During the week:
375ml 1999 Rockford Cabernet pleasant butwas a little flat - I suspect the aggregate cork
1997 Turkey Flat C/S - very much a food wine at the moment - with food lovely rich berry character with great length - without food tanins overwhelm

Saturday night dinner party as host spent too much time attending the cooking etc for notes
1995 Bloodwood Chirac (Pinot sparkling) recommended nice complexity
1991 Mt Pleasant Elizabeth - likely to hold and a good example classic Hunter toast and honey Highly recommended
1990 Bowen Est Cabernet Highly Recommended probably time to drink up
1997 Yarra Yerring Underhill Shiraz - Highly recommended perhaps I expected more from this wine - don't have much cooler climate Shiraz but many examples head to excellent range
Morris Cellar Reserve Tokay - guest demanded I buy a case and we split it up - need I say more Excellent +

[Sean]

deleted

[GrahamB]

Hi Guys,

As to what I have been drinking, far to much but then I have the Meat Pie King of SA to blame for that. Best older wine so far, 1993 Block 6 which was stunning.

Getting close to the top of the list for young qpr (here is an advance tip) is the 2002 Mamre Brook Shiraz. If you can find it on special, GRAB it! Also, one of the best wines in the Torbreck line up is The Struie and its great value (compared to the rest), is in limited supply so grab it if you see it. (Thanks Brian )

Ric

Did you get to taste the 02 Mamre Brook Cabernet? I've been waiting for this one. Wasn't ready a month ago.

Graham

[TORB]

Did you get to taste the 02 Mamre Brook Cabernet? I've been waiting for this one. Wasn't ready a month ago.

Graham,

Its still waiting to be released and they didnt have any in the building for me to try. But I did ask.

[guest]

Wynns 98 Shiraz agree with the above certainly not as good as the Cab but not too bad value at the price point. However, the Taylors 02 Shiraz was a real surprise plenty of fruit character easy drinking now but could be cellared further no problems. Certainly, makes one look forward to more 02 especially, Clare, Barossa & McLaren Vale.

Scarborough 00 Chardonnay drinking beautifully at present nice butterscotch flavours well balanced and great value.

Charles Melton 9 Popes 00. Only had this in the last 12 months and really enjoy this style (GSM) having being raised mainly on hunter shiraz. Not as good as the 01 but certainly one of the better Barossa 00's to date. A tad young and could certainly, go a few more years however great with food and IMHO worth the money.

Cheers Peter

[corcoran]

Opened a few good ones this weekend.

98 E&E Black Pepper Shiraz - Last tasted 2 1/2 years ago, this has slightly better integration but otherwise is pretty unevolved. Dark, dense purple (still) with a beautiful nose of plums, blackberry, bread pudding and vanilla. Flavors of plums, dark chocolate, blackberry, vanilla and a hint of mint. Long finish or dark chocolate, blackberry and a hint of licorice. Rated as Excellent

98 Wolf Blass Black Label - I've seen quite a bit of criticism of this wine, but I really enjoyed it. Dark blackish red in color. Beautiful aromatics of dark chocolate, cassis, plums and mint with warm wood overtones. Not your typical cab profile, but delicious anyway. Long, long finish of dark chocolate, mint and cassis. Rated as Excellent, I wish I had another few. Yes, there is a lot of wood, but it is well integrated and adds, rather than detracts.

Also:

2002 Marquis-Philips Cabernet S2 - smells and tastes almost exactly like the 02 MP Shiraz (regular bottling), which is not a complement. Nose and tastes of marzipan, black cherries, and stewed plums. Stewed finish of plums and dark chocolate. Rated as Agreeable.

[GrahamB]

Did you get to taste the 02 Mamre Brook Cabernet? I've been waiting for this one. Wasn't ready a month ago.

Graham,

Its still waiting to be released and they didnt have any in the building for me to try. But I did ask.

Ric

I asked too. Even tried to get the pretty young thing to relent. I suppose when you are as old and wrinkly as you and I they won't be conned. Bet if young Wizz had asked it would have been presented.

Graham

[Wizz]

Did you get to taste the 02 Mamre Brook Cabernet? I've been waiting for this one. Wasn't ready a month ago.

Graham,

Its still waiting to be released and they didnt have any in the building for me to try. But I did ask.

Ric

I asked too. Even tried to get the pretty young thing to relent. I suppose when you are as old and wrinkly as you and I they won't be conned. Bet if young Wizz had asked it would have been presented.

Graham

Graham, you funny guy you!

[Anthony]

02 Mamre Brook Cabernet Sauvignon will be released around November. From memory this wine won the Montgomery Trophy for best one year old red.

cheers
anthony

[simm]

Hi Guys,

Getting close to the top of the list for young qpr (here is an advance tip) is the 2002 Mamre Brook Shiraz. If you can find it on special, GRAB it! (Thanks Brian )

Thanks for the advice about the Mamre Brook Ric!

My weekend was filled with joy and sadness:

Didn't get to the cellar on time to get anything and had friends drop over with little notice so grabbed a bottle of Devils Lair Fifth Leg Cabernet Merlot 2001 from the local bottle'o'. this wasn't a bad drop with dark youthful colours in the glass and reasonably strong aroma's of dark berry's, and a slight meaty side from recollection. The palate was mid-heavy wieght with good fruit wieght but a little on the simple side (well, to be fair it is only 2001). Overall okay but not good value for $25+, more like $18. Maybe...

Then went through some others not worth mentioning to finally get to the Seppelts Victorian SH 2001 that came out of the cellar some days before. Ripped it off the shelf, ripped the cork out, filled a couple of glasses half way and stuck my nose in. BAM, I thought, finally bottle variation has gone my way and a real cracker has sidled it's way into the bottle, huge nose, complex, deep colours. My first sip made me think "something going on here" so I looked at the bottle and read the label Seppelts St. Peters 1998. CURSE THAT GOLD COPPER CAP!!!
I thoroughly enjoyed but (you know what it's like) but I'm not so sure anyone else appreciated it, especially considering we were just about falling off our chairs.

cheers all,

[GrahamB]

St Hallett Blackwell Shiraz 2002

A real glass stainer here. Very dark almost black in the decanter. Quite a reserved nose but I have never had this wine so soon after release. The nose remained reserved until finished. Subtle hints of pepper and chocolate and maybe some vanilla.

We kept about 1/3 in the bottle and the rest in a carafe for a late taster. Nice powerful fruity flavours that became richer after about 30 minutes. Fine tannin and a velvety smooth mouth feel.

The wine seemed to loose some of the smoothness and intensity by about two hours. Tasting the sample left in the bottle was fine at this time. I did not expect it to finish this quickly. Any suggestions?

I will still buy some more of this wine. 14.5%

Mt Langi Ghirin Langi Shiraz 1999

I am a first timer for this wine. Lean, and clean with pepper on the nose. Elegant full fruit and as you hold it in your mouth you can feel the underlying power of this cool climate wine.

Not usually my style of shiraz but I liked this one. 14.5%

Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz 1996

Very closed initially and it took several hours for this wine to give up the hidden aromas of spicy fruit and mulberries it contained. Dark red colours with a browning starting at the rim. The wine is mid to full bodied with the same fruit on the nose coming through on the palate. As the wine continued to open up it was a very enjoyable drink which still has several years ahead it it.

Chapel Hill Shiraz (375ml) 1998

A purple black colour which only showed the finest of red rim in the glass. The nose showed blackberries and dried fruit as it opened up. Ripe and lush, itÂ’s maturity showed softness in the mouth with spice and cassis and nicely integrated tannins. There are subtle oaky flavours from the treatment in French and American oak.

It probably doesnÂ’t have another ten years left, due to the 375ml but IÂ’d like a few in 750ml. A decadent drink.

Graham

[markg]

2001 Jacobs Creek Shiraz Cabernet Thin, lightweight extremely short finish. Poor. Has really fallen in a heap during the past decade.

1998 Devil's Lair Chardonnay [13.8%]Mid yellow. Rich cashew nutty, figgy nose. Similar on the palate, lots of richness but not a lot of complexity, a bit broad - no minerality or lovely acid cut. Nice finish though. Very good but no more.

1991 Seppelt Great Western Shiraz.[13.5%] For dinner on mothers day with a bbq butterflied shoulder of lamb, baked fennel with parmesan and breadcrumbs, yumy squashed baked potatoes with rosemary. Yum. And so was the wine. red with bricking tints. Rich cedary nose with lots of old leather upholstery and still some spicy french oak. Mid weight palate , soft and sexy with licorice, earth and forest floor stuff you often find in top french burgs. Long palate with soft fully resolved tannins. Excellent . Might as well drink up if you have it.

Cheers

paul

Hmmmm.. Fennel - have you got a recommended recepie for the baked fennel ?