Right, COVID-19, what are we drinking right now?

[JamieBahrain]

I've been fortunate to drink a bit of Tout Pres. A few mates in HKG love it it it turns up regularly. Great glugging! Very enjoyable and I appreciate its immediate class and gratification you don't see with Burgundy.

[Rossco]

Just when I am bleating about no more wine...first of all got sucked in by the Standish train...but so looking forward to trying these when mature. And now Sami Odi...people seem genuinely enthused about what Fraser is doing. Small producer small make, unusual wines, think I am on. Will write to hopefully be in the position to procure a few next release.
Cheers craig

Frasers is the only Shiraz I buy, and only once a year. As i have stated many times here, I have completely fallen out
with over ripe, rich/soupy, over oaked, high alcohol shiraz (and those type of wines in general). So much so that I have given most
of that stuff away to friends & family as gifts (they still love it). I still have some birth year wines for my kids, so will hang onto those,
but the good thing is it has allowed more room for wines I do enjoy.

Fraser is the real deal and will continue to buy his wines (if he lets me!).

[Rossco]

I've been fortunate to drink a bit of Tout Pres. A few mates in HKG love it it it turns up regularly. Great glugging! Very enjoyable and I appreciate its immediate class and gratification you don't see with Burgundy.

I feel these wines need a minimum 10 years to start showing properly. Had a 2010 not long ago, and it was very good, but still felt it needed more time.

[Benchmark]

What happened with Hillcrest? They sold out to mainland Chinese interests? I've done a few minutes of incomplete detective work on the net. They always seemed popular amongst the "online" crowd over both forums.

I was not aware.

We have been OS for four years, but last time we were there it was a family operation.

[Rossco]

2015 Head 'Old Vine' Grenache

Screw cap and from Greenock, a subregion of Barossa.

Just a pup. Label says vines planted in 1960's.
Medium body, has an oily texture. Not silky, oily. Darker fruits than i like in grenache (feels more blackberry/Plummy than raspberry), but nice handling of old oak so I will let it pass
A bit simple and one dimensional at the moment (dumb phase?), length is shorter than I would have expected. Some nice herbs of thyme and rosemary. I have probably spoiled by what has been cracked this week and this needs a lot more time. I opened it to see where its at. Will leave the others for another 5 years to fill out more.

[felixp21]

2012 Head The BRUNETTE Shiraz
screwcap. Background brett, decent length, but doesn't sing Barossa. Failed attempt at a Rhone imitator.
I'm still far from convinced with SC and red wines. 88pts drink: ?

2012 Head The Redhead Shiraz
screwcap. Pretty basic wine of little or no interest. OK as a quaffer. 85pts drink: now

2005 Arnoux Vosne Romanee Half Bottle
Villages Burgundy from this vintage are now drinking well. Sweet Vosne fruit, reasonable length, very gluggable. Like so many 05's, pretty four-square and a little monolithic, but a fair effort. 88pts drink: now-2030

[ticklenow1]

Up next

Sami-Odi little wine #8

Although others have had a much worse day/week/month/year than me, tonight still called for another special wine.

And doesn't this deliver in spades! Every single smell has something different, reveals more and more. Fascinating

First it was a bit of fennel and liquorice, then there is this really nice musky note.
Raspberry, red rope sweets, blackberry pastilles, red earth. Purple florals, especially lavender. Some dried herbs, truffles.... Can't get over the complexity here. Nothing like any Australian red I have ever had. Shocked this is from Barossa. Feels cool climate.
Medium body, length stunning. Again low oak, fruit doing all the talking. So juicy and full of life, the tannin integrated already but acid still there.
Wow.... Kind of speechless
100% Shiraz but from Multiple Vintages.

Just when I am bleating about no more wine...first of all got sucked in by the Standish train...but so looking forward to trying these when mature. And now Sami Odi...people seem genuinely enthused about what Fraser is doing. Small producer small make, unusual wines, think I am on. Will write to hopefully be in the position to procure a few next release.
Cheers craig

In my opinion, Fraser (Sami Odi) and Dan (Standish) are making the best Shiraz in the Barossa, if not the country at the moment. Both decent guys who deserve all the success that comes their way.

I have tried Fraser's 2018's at his winery (lucky enough to try well before release) and they are stunning. I ordered double my usual order. I recently had a Little Wine #3 and it was simply amazing. As good a sub $40 bottle that has passed my lips.

I was also really looking to trying Dan's 2018 offerings next month but that will have to wait awhile now. They would be one of the only wines at this price point that I will happily buy sight unseen.

2018 will go down as a very memorable vintage in South Australia.

Cheers
Ian

[Michael McNally]

Three wines last night with a colleague and appropriate physical distancing (another colleague joining us via zoom with a bottle of the same wine I dropped outside his place in the morning)

2006 Kabminye Schleibs Block. Field blend of Mataro et al. Fantastic complexity and interest. Plenty of earthy savoury "dirt" aspects from the mataro. Just got better and better over a few hours. Lovely.

2000 Cape D'Estaing Kangaroo Island Cabernet. Unfortunately my last bottle. What a wine. Savoury complex cabernet. Top notch.

2012 Cirillo 1850s Vines Grenache. Long, complex, savoury. More fruit weight than I expected. Very good and possibly opened too young. Three more so will see how it goes.

Cheers

Michael

[phillisc]

Thanks Ian... received a great email from Fraser yesterday. Unfortunately won't be able to get any 18s but on the mailer for the early 2021 release (19s I imagine).
Have only 2 vintages of Dan's wines but will try my best to squeeze a case of the 18s into this year's wine budget.
Cheers Craig

[shauno]

A bottle of 2005 Bin389 early this week for my birthday... a glass for the missus and the rest for me (over 2 nights)

unfortunately couldn’t share it with my folks or sister... but that’s payback for the pic they sent me of the cake they baked & then ate!

[Rossco]

2018 Dappled Syrah (Yarra Valley)
This was actually really good. Very juicy blackberry & strawberry fruit, baking spices
and wet earth. Got some mushrooms and pinewood forest floor as well.
Has to be whole bunches in here, has the 'funk'. Feels a bit like a langi
or great western style, cooler climate type thing. Has a jammy note, but
not sweetness jammy, just fruit. I like the balance here, nothing out of place.


2014 Oakridge 864 Chardonnay (Funder & Diamond Drive Block)
I have a few and needed to clear some room in the cellar (more Barolo/Nebs on the way).
Hasnt changed much since I last had one back in Sept 2018 (I think!). Fairly flinty and struck match,
this had better acid than the last bottle. Gold Yellow in the glass, cashews and ripe
peaches. Some wild honey and yellow blossom. In a pretty good spot now and i
wonder if it will improve or just keep the status quo as is.

[sjw_11]

Haven't really been keeping notes but the other day I had a Billecart 2007 to welcome my wife who finally got back from Sydney... We also had a terrific Tinto Pesquera "Millenium" Reserva 2002.

Had some good everyday reds, but a bad streak for whites- couple of things I thought I would enjoy and just didn't.

[Mahmoud Ali]

A bottle of 2005 Bin389 early this week for my birthday... a glass for the missus and the rest for me (over 2 nights)

The 2005 is the last vintage of the Bin 389 that I bought. How is it faring?

[JamieBahrain]

A bottle of 2005 Bin389 early this week for my birthday... a glass for the missus and the rest for me (over 2 nights)

Happy Birthday.

Very responsible self-service of alcohol.

Despite the risk of a New World headache, think I would have polished that 389 off on the night.


Last night a friend came over who's a Rockford BP drinker. So I pulled out a 2003 Hoffman's SVS which was great to exceptional. No time to fastidiously prepare, just popped and poured, a delightful Barossa liqueur, so smooth, even and balanced.

[felixp21]

2005 Chateau Loudenne
pretty-much displays everything that can go wrong with this vintage. Yep, many superb Bordeaux from 05, but a sea of minor Chateaux that produce rubbish like this. Actually quite beautiful on the nose, pretty cassis and floral scents, reminiscent of a good wine from the commune of Margaux, but then the furious, rasping and slightly green tannins kick in on the palate making the wine rather unpleasant to drink.
a casual observer might remark that this is a 3yo wine that needs another decade, but, rather, this is a 15yo wine about to lose it's fruit and be left with a tannic shell and mess. Way too many wines like this from 2005, the characteristics described above are beginning to show in more than a few classified growth wines too. Like day 10 of Covid, year 15 of 2005 Bordeaux might indeed be a pivotal moment in it's development.
75pts, drink: now, but only if necessary and very thirsty.

[Wines101]

2010 Clos Saint-Jean Deus Ex Machina Chateauneuf-du-Pape.... just an enjoyable wine from the first sip ... and a pop and pour wine too

[felixp21]

2008 Yarraloch Stephanie's Dream Pinot Noir
Opened green and uninviting, but after an hour this was really singing. Beautiful broad palate with a precise finish, really nice complexity and excellent length. Probably as good an Aussie pinot I have yet had. 92pts drink: now-2025

2010 Clos les Lunelles
Really nice wine from the Cotes de Castillon, yet again showcasing how incredible this vintage is. Still young, obviously, but full of interest, length and complexity. Super bargain. Hard to better the value of lesser Bordeaux addresses in superb vintages. 92pts drink 2025-2040.

[Rossco]

2015 LAS Vino Chenin Blanc dynamic blend.

NFI what the blend bit is, but this has a Spanish Sherry flor character about it.

Dark gold in the glass.

Very caramelised nuts, mandarin rind, grilled lemons, quince, apricots and an oily brine texture.

Acidity really cuts through the brine and is a welcome relief.

Quite good, not worth the $$

[Rossco]

2012 Bicknell FC Chardonnay (Yarra Valley)
I'm a big fan of Dave's work. This is his own label.

Fruit is from the willowlake vineyard and it is just sublime.

Straw yellow with still just a tinge of green.

So much elegance here. Still has the signature struck match and Flint but not as prominent as 864. I get some figs and green papaya. I love the texture, so balanced.

Yellow nectarines and oh that French oak is perfect. Wonderful acidity, you wouldnt pick this as 8 years old, so vibrant and that ripeness is just perfect.
I would love to see this blind next to a meursault 1er cru.

[tuxy85]

I went drop off a case at my locker at Wine Ark (Brisbane) over the weekend.

It seems that many people are really bunkering down for some serious drinking. By my estimate, at least 30% of the lockers were vacant. This was compared with December 2019 when I last visited when there were only 2 or 3 vacant lockers each with a reserved sticker over them.

As to what I am drinking - I have been keeping it simple - Hoddles Creek Wickhams Road Pinot and Chardonnay for the most part - can't go wrong.

[ticklenow1]

I went drop off a case at my locker at Wine Ark (Brisbane) over the weekend.

It seems that many people are really bunkering down for some serious drinking. By my estimate, at least 30% of the lockers were vacant. This was compared with December 2019 when I last visited when there were only 2 or 3 vacant lockers each with a reserved sticker over them.

As to what I am drinking - I have been keeping it simple - Hoddles Creek Wickhams Road Pinot and Chardonnay for the most part - can't go wrong.

I think it also might have something to do with many people losing employment and cutting expenses. I know that I have stopped buying wine due to job issues. There might be quite a bit of wine floating around the auction markets the next 6 months or so. Good for bargain hunters with the means to do so, not so good for those trying to sell wine.....

Cheers
Ian

[Matt@5453]

My ‘isolation pack’ has consisted of a few Clare Valley wines I have been wanting to try for a while, but also supporting local producers. Impressions below:

2019 Reg & Co “Tank Slap” Riesling – lovely lemon/limes, sherbet, softer acidity. Lovely stuff.
2019 Greg Cooley Pinot Gris – has had extra skin contact, almost Rose in colour. Fuller bodied, grapefruit, musk. Nice.
2019 Pikes Wines Pinot Grigio – firm acid and good structure. Nashy pears. I’d like to try this in 3-5 years time as the acid softens. Good drinking
2018 Claymore Wines “To Pimp a Butterfly” Shiraz Mataro – Claymore are renowned for their unique naming conventions. Medium bodied with soft tannins, lovely blend with the Mataro adding an earthiness to the shiraz. Nice, but not hugely thrilling
2018 Tonic Wines Mataro – served blind this looks like a Pinot – lighter style of wine that delivers – lovely savoury fruit, red currants, a touch of spice, fine tannins and long finish. Loved this.
2019 Gertie Cabernet Franc by Ben Marx – 35% whole bunch in the ferment and wild yeasts. Medium bodied, fruit driven with a touch of oak giving it balance. Liquorice / aniseed tones, mulberry, dark cherries. Stunning nose too. Long finish with fine tannins. Bottle wasn't big enough. it just disappeared.

Pulled this out of the wine fridge:
2013 Knappstein Wines Enterprise Cabernet Sauvignon – one word – dry! lovely nose, but the palate was bland and very drying, lacking any fruit qualities. Despite decanting and leaving it over night – it did not budge. Not sure on this one…

[felixp21]

heaps of wine over Easter, including these four Bordeaux:

1998 Le Bon Pasteur
even after 21 years, this wine remains rugged and tannic. Massive beast of a thing that settled down only slightly with 3-4 hours in the decanter. Plenty of dark fruits lurking underneath, so in time I think this will be a good wine, though never a great one. 90pts drink: 2025-2040

1982 Latour Haut Brion
beautiful clear claret with only slight bricking on the edge. This too took it's sweet time coming out of it's shell, but after about 6 hours in the bottle started to really sing. Lovely tertiary flavours and aromas, certainly at it's peak now. 92pts drink: now -2025

2010 Hautes de Larrivet Haut Brion
wow, what an incredible second wine!!! Absolutely a point, sweet fruits and gravelly feel, typical of Graves reds. Might not be the most profound wine going round, but two of us finished the bottle in about 15 minutes, such was it's drinkability. Up there with the 2009 Alter Ego and the 2000 Pavillon Rouge as the best second wines I have tasted. 94pts drink: now-2030.

2005 La Pointe
great little Pomerol most vintages, but really exceptional in this year. Again, perhaps no the most complex wine, but absolutely delicious. Actually, would like to sneak this into a Blind Burgundy tasting, I reckon it is eerily similar to a good villages from Vosne Romanee in the same vintage. Again, the bottle disappeard in super quick time. Love this wine 94pts drink: now-2030

[Chuck]

D'Arenberg 2009 The Galvo Garage McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Petit Verdot - screwcap. Popped and poured and that was a big mistake. Super tight at first but after 2 hours breathing it was just starting to come together. Glorious black fruits each doing their parts. Plenty of tannins and acid. Rarely see Petit Verdot that added another flavour and with a bit of dark chocolate so typical of MV. Nice oak too. Left half for tonight.

2009 in MV was always an unknown vintage for me. They were tough unyielding wines in their youth (tannins etc) but after 11 years this is just starting to settle down. Needs at least another 3 years and maybe 10. The screwcap will see to that. I still reckon MV is a quiet achiever when it comes to cabernets and blends. The extra warmth allows the fruit to ripen more and the tannins more approachable compared to say Coonawarra. More rounded and generous flavours and mouthfeel. It sits nicely both geographically and flavours between Coonawarra and Barossa.

[Chuck]

D'Arenberg 2009 The Galvo Garage McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Petit Verdot - screwcap. Popped and poured and that was a big mistake. Super tight at first but after 2 hours breathing it was just starting to come together. Glorious black fruits each doing their parts. Plenty of tannins and acid. Rarely see Petit Verdot that added another flavour and with a bit of dark chocolate so typical of MV. Nice oak too. Left half for tonight.

2009 in MV was always an unknown vintage for me. They were tough unyielding wines in their youth (tannins etc) but after 11 years this is just starting to settle down. Needs at least another 3 years and maybe 10. The screwcap will see to that. I still reckon MV is a quiet achiever when it comes to cabernets and blends. The extra warmth allows the fruit to ripen more and the tannins more approachable compared to say Coonawarra. More rounded and generous flavours and mouthfeel. It sits nicely both geographically and flavours between Coonawarra and Barossa.

A day later and the fruit was fading and the tannins still chewy. Unbalanced. Not sure further aging will see the tannins subside. Much better on day 1. Very typical of 2009.

[Alex F]

Seppelt Drumborg Pinot Meunier 2018 - Ridiculously good wine. Very light ruby colour. Very attractive nose, draws you in, raspberry, strawberry, red fruit. Touch of herb lift, gamey complexity. Bit of meat on the palate, cherry, slight plum hints. Builds and builds, fans out with spice at the end. Oak in support. Electric acid finish which is super long. It would be amazing if this had a little bit more tannin (pretty much non-existent!). Full marks. Buy some before TWE messes up Seppelt.

[AdamR]

2014 Lucy Margaux Jaspers Vineyard Pinot noir.
Sitting on the edge of gone or almost gone. Interesting aromas of earth and undergrowth but ultimately not great. Palate is the same. Drinkable but not wonderful. The second Lucy Margaux I’ve had recently that is gone or as good as. Buy again. No. I’m done. Had some amazing wines but no more.

2007 Brokenwood, Maxwell Vineyard Semillon, Hunter Valley
Class act. Still as light as lemon juice, which is where the nose begins, add in some herbs and grasses and straw. The beginnings of toast and cream. The palate is dynamic but not aggressive. Super easy to drink. Buy again. For what I paid sure.

2012 Circe Hillcrest Road Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula
To begin with average nose. Almost smells like tca. Palate has an okay mouth feel, decent drive and acid but not highly complex. Let’s see what air does. Air seems to be the issue. The nose is now gentle but of lush sweet berries, red licorice and some spice. The palate has extra sophistication with some nice fruit, that leads into a very savoury after taste of tobacco and spice. Reminds me of the 2012 Fromm Pinot.

2013 Howard Park Miamup Sem Sav, Western Australia.
Really beautiful little wine. Very citrus based, very primary for a 7yo. I would suggest dominant with semillon. There are some developed flavours showing as slight creaminess, a bit of fruitiness. I could see another ten without any trouble.
Buy again. Yep. Sure.
Day two. Really strong in sav Blanc. Weird.

2010 Farr Rising, Berries Creek - Dirt Series, Pinot noir, Gippsland.
Beautiful nose. High toned, yet earthy, the same juxtaposition of good Nebbiolo. Berries, earth, undergrowth. Great nose. The palate is energetic. Whilst perhaps unbalanced showing good fruit energy, acidity and tannins. Almost like a young neb with a Pinot profile. After air time the tannins resolve into the wines length. Improving it. Buy again? I wish. Very good Pinot.

NV Johanne Zillinger Revolution White Solera, Austria.
I really like this wine. I’ve drank about five so far. It’s a balance between a funky amber wine and a white. Super versatile food wine. Good mouth feel, tannins and body. Dried pineapple, mandarin and peachy acidity.

2016 Chatto Mania Chardonnay, Tasmania.
My second bottle. This one seemed wound a little tighter and less giving. More lemons and grapefruit than nuts and cream. Still has good length and balance and I hope it’ll come round. I have seven more.

2018 Cortese Nostru Nerello Mascalese, Terre Sicilian IGP Itali
A nerello not from the volcanic region. This price range of this is the low end and it’s certainly not a wine build to be long lived. It shows the cherry and drive that nerello is known for. It’s a little simple but would certainly be great as a lunch time red. Best on day three. Buy again. Quite possibly.

2017 Único Zelo Halycon Days, Nero D’avola, Riverland
A little less vibrant than I’ve had before. But we’ll resolved. It’s full of cherry and sweet red fruit a bit high toned. On the palate a bit of sour cherries and plum a nice refreshing acidity. Good smashable wine. Last bottle. Buy Again. Just did.

[Dragzworthy]

Cape Mentelle Chardonnay 2018
There's grapefruit and lemon but it's not overpowering. The yeasty brioche flavour runs through with some vanilla and just a hint of a cinammon spice if that makes sense. The finish is long. It's a heavy wine but balanced on oak, fruit, acidity and alcohol. I prefer this over the Voyager 2017 which i liked immensely.

[felixp21]

2010 Echo de Lynch Bages
tried a bottle after big reviews from NM in the 10 year on tasting. Good fruit, balance, but still too tannic for me. Try in another 5-7 years. 89+ pts, drink 2025-2040.

2003 d'Escurac
minor St Estephe Chateau. Trace of oxidation, but settled nicely after 3 hours in the decanter. 90pts drink: now-2025

2009 Les Trois Croix
an old favourite, Fronsac, still powering on in it's primary phase. Probably best to drink now. 89pts drink: now-2025

[Chuck]

Jamiesons Run 2001 Winemakers Reserve Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz (cork). Another in a series of wines under this label where winemakers got access to some excellent parcels of fruit and a good % of new oak both US and French. Series lasted just a few years into the early noughties. Such a shame as there were some great wines including this gem. Cork stained about 1cm and came out easily. Left to breath for a few hours and the result was a very impressive wine. Colour black. Lovely black and blue fruits and spicy oak. Full bodied but not by much. I am not a great fan of Coonwarra shiraz but it married perfectly with the cabernet. Fruits were fully ripened in a hot year. Coonawarra at its best. Great mouthfeel. Still some primary fruit flavours married with developed flavours.Tannins and acids now resolved resulting in a perfectly balanced wine. Thought it may be passed its best but I reckon this can go at least another 3-5 years. Maybe the oak was a little too heavy handed but overall a good wine to match crumbed lamb cutlets, mash and peas. Oh the simple things in life.

Just a shame this series of special wines were discontinued. But at $50 on release it would have been a hard sell for this budget priced label.

Carl