The Auswine Forum

2014 Eperosa Elevation Shiraz, Eden Valley

After my recent disappointment of a corked Eperosa Barossa Valley Elevation Shiraz (which was subsequently replaced by Brett, with much thanks) I was looking forward to this wine.

I decanted for 30 mins prior to serving, immediately I could smell the lovely aromas of plum fruit, coffee grounds and hints of aniseed from the decanter.

On the palate there is plum fruit with trickles of blackberries, aniseed, coffee/mocha with pepper and some Christmas cake spice. It is a full bodied wine, rich and texturally in the mouth it is awesome showing a nice viscosity to it. The balance and length of the wine is to be admired. Quite a complex wine which unfurled over the course of the bottle giving me a sense of disappointment once the bottle was finished. Simply put, I loved it. I have 2 bottles left which I am very much looking forward to. Drink over the next 10 years.

Opened a 2004 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier last week.
Lovely perfume with black cherry, blackberries with a little black pepper and leather. This bottle was fully mature and very enjoyable. Should drink well for the next two or three years.

Cheers Con.

A few over the last week or so

2004 Pol Roger BdB
Fine and ample bead, pear, apple, a hint of lemon and light toasted nuts on the nose. Palate quite similar, with some lightly toasted brioche notes, though the fruit is still at the fore. This has time on its side, but it is drinking really well now and I don't think I will hold remaining bottles too much longer. It is in a sweet spot for me. Very nice drop.

2013 Rockford Basket Press
Coincidentally have tasted this twice in the last week or so. Still pretty young and shy, purple fruit spectrum, some chocolate, oak, vanilla, but not really open for business yet. Has everything in place and I feel like this will be a good basket press, true to the style in that it is big but feels much more elegant and restrained than a lot of Barossa bruisers. Very nice but not wow. 5 to 10 years should do this a world of good.

2014 Clonakilla O'Riada
Bit of blackberry, bit of plum, juicy and enjoyable but probably needs time to open up and fill out a bit. It's either quite tight or just a bit too straight forward. Well made but time will tell if it is a really good wine or just a good wine

2015 Hoddles Creek 1er Pinot Noir
Clear garnet. Shy nose, some darkish cherry, cranberry, bit of violet. Palate is dark cherry, sour cranberry, touch of oak, leading to a dry fairly tannic finish with spicy notes. Mouthfeel is pretty silky, almost (but not quite) to the point of being thin, until you hit that tannin on the back end. This feels like it might go somewhere, but is super tight and a long way from getting there. Has potential upside for sure but need to see more from it in the future.

2015 Dr Loosen Bernkasteler Lay Kabinett
Very pale yellow. Citrus, peach and honey nose which makes the mouth water. Palate has tart lemon sherbet, honeydew melon and light honey flavours. Clean medium length finish. Bit simple but very nice summer aperitif, especially at 7.5% alcohol, or good with apicu food.

2013 Collector Tiger Tiger Chardonnay
Pretty restrained nose. Bit of peach, bit of melon, bit of lemon. Palate definitely has citrus, white peach, some oak, some chalk. It's nice. Decent follow through and acid to clean it up. Maybe just a smidge out of balance and lacking crispness on the finish which stops it being really good instead of just good.

2015 Mayer Pinot Noir
Cherry stalky nose, fun funky palate of cherry, leaves, undergrowth and plenty of quality fruit flavours. Super fine tannin structure and a nice line of acid that keeps it moving along. Already very tasty but has the bones and quality of fruit to age medium term and be better for it.

2012 Neudorf Pinot Noir Rose
Vibrant clear red. Tangy, slightly sour, cherry nose. Roses, a little leafiness. Ripe cherry palate, bit of sweetness from the plus fruit, red floral notes. Tastes like pinot but served chilled and with a medium dry rose finish. Probably getting towards the end of its best drinking window but still fresh enough. Better than a lot of rose and worth a go if you like pinot and a bit of fruit sweetness.

2015 d'Arenberg Dry Dam Riesling. Gee this is fantastic. Adelaide hills and mclaren vale fruit (didnt even know there were riesling vines in mclaren!). The charm of this wine is its subtlety. So delicate and elegant. Drink now style, as i dont think it has the structure to age long term. Red and green crunchy apple, floral (slight orange blossom) and chalk. Not a lot of lemon/lime (if any) and that is the really appealing part of this wine. Its not trying to be a clare or eden valley rizza. Its its own wine. Smashability is off the chart. Glad i have 5 left. Great VFM.

2015 Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon. Consumed after the Dry Dam, and was very underwhelming. Maybe too young, but
seemed watery, thin and stretched out. Possibly young vines, but I didnt like this bottle at all.
Not very varietal or regional and you could almost call it a 'generic white wine'. Was 15 Hunter a bad vintage?
Shame as I have loved previous vintages and loved this wine. Lets put it away for 12 months and see where the other 5 sit after that.

Last night with Beef Wellington with friend we enjoyed a Kirrihill 2010 Single Vineyard Series Tullymore Vineyard Clare Valley Shiraz. A very enjoyable orphan bottle (one only found buried in the stash; no idea how it got there) that surprised with it's bold shiraz flavours without going over the top. Well balanced and ready to drink.Well suited to the beef.

Have never had any of their wines and will check them out. Pretty good QPR.

Carl

2009 Castagna Genesis Syrah
Still young and fresh and needing mor time
Bright ripe dark Cherries, plums and red berries
Dried herbs like oregano and juicy game meat flavours take the edge off some considerable acid and gives the impression this wine has some great bones but just needs a bit more time to all come together.

2001 Fourrier Clos St Jacques Perfect bottle. Just a stunning pinot. Wandering into the tertiary flavour period, but just lovely.

Hacker wrote:2001 Fourrier Clos St Jacques Perfect bottle. Just a stunning pinot. Wandering into the tertiary flavour period, but just lovely.

love 01 red burgs immensely

2010 giacomo conterno cascina francia perfume length acid - I guessed it double blind as a Les Amoureses
2007 DRC Echezaux earthy mouth feel with length - some sappy characters - lovely wine
2009 Rousseau CSJ generous power - leave for a decade

Two wines consumed side by side in a Watervale Riesling show down:

2015 Kilikanoon Mort’s Block Riesling, Watervale, Clare Valley

Drinking very well, limes, minerals, slightest whiff of kero on the nose. Racy focussed acidity. Very good balance and finish. Clean, sharp and simply delicious.

2015 Crabtree Wines Riesling, Watervale, Clare Valley

On its own a very good wine in its own right, I would say more viscous and ‘fatter’ on the palate than the Kilikanoon Mort’s Block with the acidity less pronounced. Again trademark Watervale lime flavour plus granny smith apple and a touch of talc.

The Kilikanoon was the winner on this occasion.

michel wrote:Tarrawarra 2014 Reserve pinot
3 bottles in to my purchase
Needs air
Time
I really get this pinosity that fleshes out with petals florals & a tad of mild earthy funk in an excellent way
My kinda Australian wine
Try again in 2 years

I got 3 of these late last year and have one left
thoroughly impressed and found it really came alive on day 2
would like to get more as I can't see myself keeping my hands off the remaining bottle!

Bobthebuilder wrote:

michel wrote:Tarrawarra 2014 Reserve pinot
3 bottles in to my purchase
Needs air
Time
I really get this pinosity that fleshes out with petals florals & a tad of mild earthy funk in an excellent way
My kinda Australian wine
Try again in 2 years

I got 3 of these late last year and have one left
thoroughly impressed and found it really came alive on day 2
would like to get more as I can't see myself keeping my hands off the remaining bottle!

It's a less is more pinot
You are correct the airtime makes a grand difference
You tried a Tarrawarra MDB pinot?
Needs a decade!

Given all the riesling discussions i have had recently, it was either a Zilliken Saarburger Rausch GG 2009 or a Grosset Watervale 2005. At the end of the day, the GG seemed a bit OTT for a Wednesday so I went with the Grosset.

The colour of the Watervale is moving out of the pale greenish phase but still some way to go to reach sunflower yellow. A crisp fresh bouquet flagged the wine is in a beautiful spot at present. The acid has receded into the background and integrated with the red apples and lime fruit delivering a crisp multi layers refreshing riesling with a full mouth feel and long tail. Perfect with salmon the added complexity cut through the fat of the salmon. No need to wait any longer.

Mark

This was all consumed last night with my "Weird Wine`tasting group.

07 Simonsig Blanc de Blancs, South Africa
Great start to the evening. My style of sparkler. Rich, bread, touch of oxidation. Gentle bubbles. In a great place and I think we got this at its peak. I will buy this if I see it. 91pts

87 Altenberg de Berghein Gewurtz, Marcel Deiss, Alsace, France
The chef made up a foie gras dish specifically for this wine and it was very different with and without food. Dark colour. All rose petal and lychee. Not sweet, but very full bodied with a rich texture. Typical bitterness on the finish. It was actually a bit too heavy for me and I think it needed some more acidity. Bit boring. 84pts

07 Le Pucelles, Puligny Montrachet, Leflaive, France
As the Righteous Brothers put it "Youve got that Premox feeling, whoaaa that premox feeling. And its gone, gone gone"...Darker and heavier than you would expect. Its drinkable though, but more like a 30 year old Meursault thats all fat and slightly oxidised. 82pts

97 Villanyi-Sterntal Cabernet Franc, Mondvin
Apparently the best Hungarian red wine maker. One sniff and you were wrongly taken to the Loire. Stalky Rhubarb. touch of medicine, warm vanilla. Very nice and drinking at its prime, but no hurry. 88pts

87 Castillo Ygay Rioja Gran Reserva Especial, Marques de Murrieta, Spain
Next 2 were drunk together and there is a world of difference. This is in our face, with loads of noticable American oak. touch of prune and layers of rich red fruit. As subtle as a brick. Nice to have once in a while and made me long for a bottle of early 90s Auz Chardonnay. One glass was enough. 87pts

87 Unico, Vega Sicilia, spain
Very closed nose that does not give much away and it stays that way the whole time. Introverted and seemingly lacking in fruit, this just explodes as you swallow. Wow. Brilliant red fruit, length, almost endless. What a contradiction. Just needs time. Another 10 years ? 89pts for now, but with a large upside

47 Vouvray, Marc Bredif, Loire, France
2nd of my bottles with a fill that was a cm or so above the previous. That makes all the difference though as this is in a very good place. Younger looking than the Gewurtz, this still has a lushness to it. We think this was probably dry or maybe demi-sec to begin with and there is still bags of tangerine and red berry fruit. The ´11 we had last year was a better wine, but maybe this just needs another 30 years in the cellar. Yum and very good with the mega cheese board we had. 95pts

47 Sainte Criox Du Mont, Domaine de Morange, Bordeaux France
This should have been the wine of the night...Unheard of Chateau, starting to brown, but with a fill into the neck. Barley sugar nose. Even silkier than the Vouvray, Taste of burnt apples and mapple syrup, but with enough crunchy acidity to keep it light, Obviously we were drinking and the tastes buds were effected by the alcohol, but I found the combination of the age and the taste to be brilliant. Continued to improve in the glass although it did not last long. 97pts

That should have been that, but the alcohol had kicked in and as we were now the only people in the restaurant, we had a chat with the owner. Apparently he had 01 Yquem. Very expensive. He said he could open it for a lot of money. Jelle offered half and 10 minutes later we had

01 d´Yquem
I drank the 2nd of my 3 bottles at my 50th last year, 10 years after we had drunk the first. The expectations were high and while yes it was good, it was not like that other worldly sensation I had the very first time. This time though we just drank it for what it was and is: the best wine made in the last 30 years. Of course I have not tried all the great wines made in this period, but its pointless. This has everything. The perfect balance, fruit to die for, the finish that I can still taste as I type. All morning I´ve been hit by different facets, that just keep popping into my mouth. A real treat and definitely a 100pt wine

So 8.5 bottles between 4, 1 of whom was driving, was more than enough.

Jelle decided to stay with me as his girlfriend had an early start and once we got in the choice was tea, coffee, water or...

07 Plantiers de Haut Brion Blanc, Bordeaux, France
Looking in the fridge, half the bottle seems to have been consumed. I think it would have been a nice palate cleanser, with its high acidity and well rounded fruit, but honestly, I have no idea how it tasted last night. Previous bottle a month or 2 ago was singing though and its a wine that is just entering its drinking window, where it will stay for at least another 10 years. just a shame that the price of the current version is so much more - this was the best 1st growth buy for a number of years and if you see any at auction then its a real no brainer. 91pts

Con J wrote:Opened a 2004 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier last week.
Lovely perfume with black cherry, blackberries with a little black pepper and leather. This bottle was fully mature and very enjoyable. Should drink well for the next two or three years.

Cheers Con.

I agree, the 2004 is drinking really well at present, especially since the 2005 has years ahead of it before it's ready to open up.

Mark

mychurch wrote:So 8.5 bottles between 4, 1 of whom was driving, was more than enough.

Shocking if the driver swallowed a good proportion of that wine.

Had a Wendouree Cabernet Malbec 2014 (its also got a touche of Shiraz in it). Nice wine but vastly different than with 10yr plus. Lots of fine tannin. I would recommend burying. I have had a lot of old Wendouree wine. Just wanted to see what its like young.

Cactus wrote:Had a Wendouree Cabernet Malbec 2014 (its also got a touche of Shiraz in it). Nice wine but vastly different than with 10yr plus. Lots of fine tannin. I would recommend burying. I have had a lot of old Wendouree wine. Just wanted to see what its like young.

Burying indeed. I had a 1990 the other month and it was smooth as. 15++ years at a minimum. Worth it though. And don't write off the Shiraz. A 1991 recently (I have a stash because of daughters birth year) was velvety but with rich traces of dark fruits. Yum!

Last night a Torbreck 2009 Barossa The Steading. A GSM predominantly Grenache from a vintage that made this grape shine. Very nice and handled the 15% ABV well. Oak a little excessive but not much.

Carl

On a warm summers evening like tonight I've got no idea how people are drinking reds. For me W Getltz-Zilliken Rausch GG 2009, - German riesling - greenish yellow hue, white peach floral notes with finger lime fruit, a smidgen of mint and a hint of RS yet technically dry. Probably far too young but on a hot summers evening like tonight with fish just the perfect wine.

rooman wrote:

Con J wrote:Opened a 2004 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier last week.
Lovely perfume with black cherry, blackberries with a little black pepper and leather. This bottle was fully mature and very enjoyable. Should drink well for the next two or three years.

Cheers Con.

I agree, the 2004 is drinking really well at present, especially since the 2005 has years ahead of it before it's ready to open up.

Mark

For some reason I skipped 05, 06 and 07 and started buying again from 08 onwards.

Cheers Con

Thats a pity. The 06 is also drinking really weel now. The 05 is just huge and needs years more in the bottle. The 07 was the year the crop was wiped out and the little that was made goes for huge prices on the secondary market. I picked about 4 bottles but they are now worth over $200 per bottle so I am tempted to sell and buy some other vintages.

Mark

2012 WDC Hammerhill Shiraz Malbec.
This wine is a thumper and having not had one before reminds me of high alcohol reds from days gone by in the Barossa and Heathcote areas....not that that is an issue and at 15% on the label, (felt like more), it drank very well. Plums on the nose with savoury spice, the Shiraz pokes through then muted a little by the Malbec and then vice versa. Very mouth coating, palate lasts for ages with surprising little heat...will give the remainder a decade.

2012 Gommersal Barossa Shiraz...picked up a few of the standard and the reserve, amazing what some hotels stock, and when the chap says have not sold one of those for a while...happy to take them off their hands for a good price.
Typically Barossa with the fair lady of the house suggesting it was like a "slightly lighter year of BP in its early development."
A meaty savoury nose with hints of black berry...a palate probably showing more oak at the moment then perhaps preferred but great VFM. Feel that this is just entering the drinking window and good for easy 5-10....will be a treat by then.
Thanks to Ian T. for the recommendation here, will have to visit the winery and do the full range.

Cheers
Craig

swirler wrote:

mychurch wrote:So 8.5 bottles between 4, 1 of whom was driving, was more than enough.

Shocking if the driver swallowed a good proportion of that wine.

No, the driver was pretty sober at the end, which was bad news for the rest of us.

A 2011 Sangiovese, Borgo Cipressi - cost $4 @ Grays's 4 years ago and unfortunately hasn't improved with age - it's not bad, but it's certainly not good

should go in the spaghetti like the rest of the case!

Tonight was a 2013 Craiglee Shiraz at Kirk's Wine Bar in Melbourne CBD. It took a while to get drinks, but this was poured into a decanter as requested. Pleased I did as it was pretty tight to start with (particularly the nose) but it opened up quite quickly to a lovely medium-bodied Shiraz, The tannin was lovely and there was enough interest in the wine to keep swirling. Sure it would have evolved more if there hadn't been three of us drinking it.

2016 Primo La Biondina Colombard.
easy. fresh. pouring out of the regular fridge. give it 15-20 mins to come up in temp and it's
a pretty little wine. VFM, tick. refreshing vino coming off a 40+ degree day? tick.

mychurch wrote:

swirler wrote:

mychurch wrote:So 8.5 bottles between 4, 1 of whom was driving, was more than enough.

Shocking if the driver swallowed a good proportion of that wine.

No, the driver was pretty sober at the end, which was bad news for the rest of us.

Are the others out of hospital yet?

Do your magic global warming, do your magic...

• 2011 Litmus Wines Element 20 - England, Surrey (07/02/2017)
  Somewhat pale lemon-straw colour.
  
  Nettles & gooseberry on the nose, but backed by slightly cheesy/creosote savouriness. Swirling reveals bright citrus fruits.
  
  Nice balance of fruit/savoury on the palate, with decent complexity and a relatively long and slightly waxy finish reminiscent of Hunter Semillon. Nice vibrant acidity carries it well.
  
  Much better than the previous bottle - this one still feels like it has a few years left in it yet, though whether there is more improvement is harder to say.
  

Ignoring where it's from, a very good wine. Taking that into account it's a bl**dy miracle

Continuing the wonderful weather we are having here in Adelaide and that one is getting older...a 2012 Salinger.
There are plenty that bang on about the Tassie stuff, Croser and others, but pound for pound this really delivers...it always reminds of a junior Bolly, has the depth and complexity, the yeast and the biscuits...and when being bastardised by a multi-national as it often is, it can be had for a song.
On the beer front, I revisited an old friend...Carlsberg Elephant...a beautiful full rich 7.2% lager and yes you get a trunk after drinking a few.
Well done to the lad for sourcing these.
Cheers
Craig

bay of fires Riesling 2015
Very floral, lemon curd, murtle dried flowers
Palate is long and driven with good persistence lemon grapefruits. Med acid High in R/S .. abit much for my standards. Still very enjoyable