The Auswine Forum

drlev wrote:

Wayno wrote:Mitolo G.A.M. Shiraz 2004
A hearty monster of a wine and whilst impressive, did not show much in the way of regional character. Tasty to the last but hardly memorable.

You should try The Savitar from the same vintage

Funny you should say that as I have a bottle of that from that exact same vintage. Presumably better?

deleted

Just a brief note to say that the Mike Press 2005 Cabernet is starting to come around with the fruit swallowing up most of the oak now. Starting to remind me of a Starvedog Lane Cabernet that was had a couple of months ago. Really nice middle weight red.

cheers

Carl

griff wrote:Just a brief note to say that the Mike Press 2005 Cabernet is starting to come around with the fruit swallowing up most of the oak now. Starting to remind me of a Starvedog Lane Cabernet that was had a couple of months ago. Really nice middle weight red.

cheers

Carl

I don't think I appreciated the 05s as much as they deserved - been making up for that with the cab 06 and shiraz 07. Have a couple of bottles of the shiraz 07 stashed. Just started drinking the third case of cab 06 with a couple of cases of the cab 07 requested to be held until after I return from hols starting next week, in a few weeks time. Now I'm wondering when the shiraz 08 will be released. Wish I'd kept a couple of of the 05s longer but these wines do drink really well when young anyway.

Never tried any Starvedog Lane wines (Hardys? forget the region/s) but seem to recall some being fairly well regarded so your TN is no faint praise Carl.

Mike seems to balance the sweet vanillin, light-char oak input to his cabs to perfection, indisputedly varietal in the Australian idiom and in the regional sense. There's character and some complexity here that's just not available in other wines at this price point.

Thank you, Mike. And Judy, your hastily designed label is perfect!

daz

Wynns Coonawarra Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon 1996 Drinking stunningly well, esp. on 2nd night, where it was a perfect match for slow cooked lamb shoulder.

Clearview Reserve Merlot 2000 Another good match for the lamb; sweeter than the Wynns, still plenty of life left in this.

Te Mata Coleraine 2000 A big disappointment -- astringent to the extent that 3 of us didn't finish the bottle, though I kept returning to it during the evening in the hope that it might have come right. Surely a flawed bottle, though I'm not sure what the fault was ...

Te Mata Elston Chardonnay 2002 Much better -- classic Elston & all class.

Neudorf Moutere Riesling 2007 Very good -- sweeter low alcohol style balanced with good acid.

Suduiraut 1988 Lost much of its sweetness, but plenty going on.

Cheers
Peter

Roscoe wrote:

TORB wrote:Agree with David. I didn't like the way it was heading and sold mine.

Thanks guys, I better have a look soon.

Just opened a 98 St Hugo. Opened at 6pm Brisbane time. Now 8.30 pm.
Colour is still very vibrant. Shows fruit on the nose and palate. A typical coonawarra cabernet that is very enjoyable. Tannins are very fine. The cork is pristine, absolutely no seepage up the cork. The wine was double decanted but there was no crusting in the bottle. We cannot see the 'ugly oak' that had been mentioned.

Perhaps the bottle you have opened is not a good example. This one is the last and perhaps right in the middle of its drinking window. Others checking their supplies please comment.

cheers

GrahamB wrote:

Roscoe wrote:

TORB wrote:Agree with David. I didn't like the way it was heading and sold mine.

Thanks guys, I better have a look soon.

Just opened a 98 St Hugo. Opened at 6pm Brisbane time. Now 8.30 pm.
Colour is still very vibrant. Shows fruit on the nose and palate. A typical coonawarra cabernet that is very enjoyable. Tannins are very fine. The cork is pristine, absolutely no seepage up the cork. The wine was double decanted but there was no crusting in the bottle. We cannot see the 'ugly oak' that had been mentioned.

Perhaps the bottle you have opened is not a good example. This one is the last and perhaps right in the middle of its drinking window. Others checking their supplies please comment.

cheers

Pleased to hear there's at least some hope, as I'm also sitting on a 6 pack.

Ditto for the 1999 -- has anyone tried this recently?

Cheers
Peter

Te Mata Elston Chardonnay 2002 Much better -- classic Elston & all class.

drank my last bottle of this a couple of weeks ago. Agree stunning chardonnay. For me it showed a million times better than the sample i got at this years te mata showcase.

I've had both the 98 and 99 St Hugo fairly recently (Apr06 and Mar08 respectively) The 98 St Hugo looked young and vigorous - very good wine. The 99 is leaner and more olivaceous but still a solid St Hugo. No harm in drinking the 99 now.
GW

Good to hear something positive from Peter and Gary on the 98 St Hugo. I still haven't got round to cracking one. I did try the 99 a few months back and really enjoyed it. No notes taken apart from a note that it was in a classic style and to try it again next year.

Gary W wrote:I've had both the 98 and 99 St Hugo fairly recently (Apr06 and Mar08 respectively) The 98 St Hugo looked young and vigorous - very good wine. The 99 is leaner and more olivaceous but still a solid St Hugo. No harm in drinking the 99 now.
GW

Olivaceous. Great word, but if it means what I believe it means, it's more to do with the colour than the taste. Which essentially means green. That aside, it works for me.

No - it means it tastes like olives. A bit like bootylicious...
GW

Gary W wrote:No - it means it tastes like olives. A bit like bootylicious...
GW

So does that mean bootylicious tastes like old leather.. and boobylicious tastes like ....

Depends on the booty. Mainly it tastes like chicken.
GW