The Auswine Forum

Scotty vino wrote:
Ended up a bit crunchy but i always feel like I'm denying the wine some of it's form and flavour if I filter it.

Rossco wrote:2007 La Spinetta Langhe Nebbiolo

Was a bit brown or maybe bad storage/bad bottle, but I could still see what was underneath

Rosewater, dry tannins and mushrooms. Some Brown earth as well, but didnt pick up much cherry
notes that i was expecting. The real highlight was that rosewater.... wonderful aroma.

All in all, if the wine was in better condition, probably would have been a much better wine, never the less
went very well with spaghetti.

Ozzie W wrote: I think that wine is at the end of it's drinking window, so bottle variation and storage will play a big part. You are right to expect some cherry on the palate in a good bottle.

JamieBahrain wrote:Catching the Nebbiolo bug Rosscoe?

Matt@5453 wrote:2018 Jim Barry Watervale Riesling

First look at 2018 wine. Lemon sherbet, grapefruit, backed up with some nice mineral/slate and texture. Nicely balanced acidity with a long finish. Probably not long off the bottling line, but this is looking bloody good. Always very good value for money. Bring on summer.

felixp21 wrote:1991 Wynns Black Label Shiraz
had a few of these this year, all pretty good, but this particular bottle was absolutely stellar. Rich, round, complex and incredible length, an excellent wine at the peak of it's powers. Best value wine in Australia?
94pts drink: now-2025

Bobthebuilder wrote:2000 Wendouree Shiraz Malbec

I was a little worried it might be a little premature to open this but it is drinking very well right now and would imagine at its peak. In the first half hour or so there is a distinct Coonawarra mintiness? which almost disappears completely after half an hour of air.

Mulberry, juicy ripe blood plums, rhubarb, cherry pipe tobacco, spicy bbq sauce, rare roast beef, cocoa, a little bit of leather. The fruit is still bright but the tannin has integrated beautifully and its still got a great backbone of acid that holds and enhances the aged characteristics of the wine. Nice long finish. One of the best bottles of Wendouree I've had.

Mahmoud Ali wrote:

Bobthebuilder wrote:2000 Wendouree Shiraz Malbec

I was a little worried it might be a little premature to open this but it is drinking very well right now and would imagine at its peak. In the first half hour or so there is a distinct Coonawarra mintiness? which almost disappears completely after half an hour of air.

Mulberry, juicy ripe blood plums, rhubarb, cherry pipe tobacco, spicy bbq sauce, rare roast beef, cocoa, a little bit of leather. The fruit is still bright but the tannin has integrated beautifully and its still got a great backbone of acid that holds and enhances the aged characteristics of the wine. Nice long finish. One of the best bottles of Wendouree I've had.

A very evocative and tempting note on a bottle of wine. Thanks. This note alone would make me wish I had a bottle of Wendouree - but it is not available in Canada.

Cheers .................. Mahmoud.

Sean wrote:The highlight this week...

Craiglee Shiraz 2012 - Not trying to be something else, it is just a Craiglee Shiraz. Might get compared to other Victorian wines or even French wines. That is more a way of trying to explain it to someone who hasn’t tried it themselves. (If you want to do that, the 13 and 14 are $55 at the cellar door.) For me it is a two bottle buy, drink one and keep one. This year is Pat Carmody’s 40th vintage. It began with a legendary story about a cache of 1872 Craiglee Shiraz that was found at the winery. It was drunk by James Halliday and others who were impressed by it. Not too many other hundred year old Australian table wines have been drunk. I guess Pat wanted to replicate that as much as practically possible when he re-established the vineyard and winery in 1976. Back vintage tastings that I have done show it ages well. No problem as a twenty year old wine anyway, some vintages age very slowly. It is a wine you can confidently cellar. This wine has a loyal band of supporters. You only have to go along to a tasting event at the winery to see that. I am sure they would be horrified if it ever took off like some of those Parker wines did years ago. (That is unlikely anyway, it is the wrong kind of shiraz.) Production is very much limited to the 10 hectare vineyard. No second label stuff. There is or was a LTV Shiraz (which has a bit of Viognier), but this is the shiraz to get. This is typically medium-bodied. A crimson red colour. Perfumed and black pepper. Dark cherry, red fruits, licorice and spice. A hint of sweetness in the fruit, which is probably just the way it goes for a while. It comes up nice in the glass with an earthy/dried herb character. Recent vintages before this might have been bretty or a bit too earthy. I think that has been “cleaned” up and isn’t an issue now. Some good things with this vintage. The French oak is subtle. It is 13.5% alcohol. I like the change to screwcap with this wine. Soft, but firm tannins running through it. Other vintages are bigger (dark fruits and spicy) and others like this. Got the feeling this is another one to keep twenty years.

And a few others...

Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2008 - The 28 usually has a sameness about it, dominated by the house style. The 08 has been more of a romp. I have enjoyed every bottle that I opened. Might be other vintages that you keep longer, but this has been pretty good. The colour is still strong. Perfumed and spicy. Blackberry, plum, cherry, aniseed and some brambly/smoky aged character as it opens up in the glass. The sweet fruit is nicely balanced with chocolatey oak and deep tannins. It feels harmonious. It has never really needed to soften up, that has always characterised this vintage. Rather it seems to have a big, broad drinking window.

Tahbilk Shiraz 2008 - I’ve had this wine in both screwcap and cork. The latter I got after a back vintage tasting at the winery in 2016. It felt like it had a bit more character and barnyard. Under screwcap it always had lots of early drinking appeal, and seemed fresher and robust. This is under screwcap. A warm vintage and it shows a little. Garnet red colour with bricking. Blackberry, dark plum, red fruits, raisins and quite earthy. It is warm and mellow with age on it. Some dry tannins, but not enough to keep it longer for that reason. I was never going to hang onto it much longer anyway.

Yarra Ridge Chardonnay 2016 - This brand has gone on a long slide down to nowhere. The winery in Yarra Valley changed hands years ago, it is a Treasury/VoK brand. In recent times, the Yarra Valley grapes were pressed locally and the wines made at Seppelt. That obviously won’t be happening anymore. The address on the back label is 1 St Huberts Road, which is the address of St Huberts. Not sure that means anything, because the wines aren’t made there either. This is a nice wine, however, with an extra year on it. Got enough leesy/French oak influence to feel familiar if you like Yarra Valley chardonnay. Straw coloured and a little funky. Citrus, stonefruit, spice, subtle toasty oak and a slightly chalky finish.