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1999 Warrabilla Glenrowan Cabernet Sauvignon

We've been buying Warrabilla wines for a few years now, and they're always huge monsters: somehow they manage to cram 16.5 to 17.5% alcohol into these beauties and yet maintain them as lovely table wines. When I saw this '99 cabernet at auction I bid on it and won; keen to know how these buggers get on after nearly two decades.

Imagine my horror when it arrived and the label declared a measly 14.2% ABV! Clearly production methods have changed since this baby was released. Expecting it to be well over the hill, I dismantled the cork (it was dry and disintegrated into a squillion pieces) and with a sinking heart double-decanted the quite brown, crust-laden liquid that smelled only of raisins and tar and began contemplating what my backup wine might be.

I needed no backup, however. The wine, despite its appearance and bouquet was just lovely: a surprisingly fresh Victorian cabernet fruit redolent of cigar box and liquorice. Yes, the oak and tannins were well in the background, but this wine just burst with flavour and rewarded whichever thoughtful soul cellared this for us for so long. I'm only sorry we couldn't share it with them. For a sale price of $11 less commission they deprived themselves of a wonderful Rutherglen experience.

Once again, here's a wine that reminded us of why we cellar our reds. For loose change, we've had a fantastic night drinking a wonderful cabernet that has lain quietly somewhere for many, many years and brought us a rare pleasure indeed.

1996 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou
although most the the 96'ers are drinking well now, this is still primary. Lovely fresh nose, dominated by cassis and blue fruits. Great length, but not yet fully integrated. I would say another five years needed. 93+pts Drink: 2025-2050

2003 Chateau Ausone
a glorious wine, there are plenty of wines like this that totally bust the myth that 03 was poor on the right bank. Incredibly complex on both the nose and palate, full of dark chocolate, violets, liquorice, and that incredible merlot mouth-feel. Wonderful length. This may improve, but is a treasure to drink now... the glass went down way too quickly!!! 98pts drink: now-2040

1989 Chateau Palmer
when Margaux is on, it is a commune that takes a power of beating. 1989 saw an 'on" year for Margaux. As always, a feminine wine but still no shrinking violet... lovely floral nuance, blackberries and coffee notes. Lavender. Wonderful minerality and drive. Great wine. 96pts drink: now

1995 Chateau Trotanoy
hailed as an almighty success, particularly in Pomerol, the 1995 vintage has, in general, failed to deliver on it's early promise. Too many tannic and monolithic wines for my liking. This is a better example of the vintage, having loads of blackberry fruit, violets and chocolate, but still framed by severe and rather coarse tannins. Will another decade help? Not so sure. 90+pts (?) drink: 2030+

felixp21 wrote:1996 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou
although most the the 96'ers are drinking well now, this is still primary. Lovely fresh nose, dominated by cassis and blue fruits. Great length, but not yet fully integrated. I would say another five years needed. 93+pts Drink: 2025-2050

2003 Chateau Ausone
a glorious wine, there are plenty of wines like this that totally bust the myth that 03 was poor on the right bank. Incredibly complex on both the nose and palate, full of dark chocolate, violets, liquorice, and that incredible merlot mouth-feel. Wonderful length. This may improve, but is a treasure to drink now... the glass went down way too quickly!!! 98pts drink: now-2040

1989 Chateau Palmer
when Margaux is on, it is a commune that takes a power of beating. 1989 saw an 'on" year for Margaux. As always, a feminine wine but still no shrinking violet... lovely floral nuance, blackberries and coffee notes. Lavender. Wonderful minerality and drive. Great wine. 96pts drink: now

1995 Chateau Trotanoy
hailed as an almighty success, particularly in Pomerol, the 1995 vintage has, in general, failed to deliver on it's early promise. Too many tannic and monolithic wines for my liking. This is a better example of the vintage, having loads of blackberry fruit, violets and chocolate, but still framed by severe and rather coarse tannins. Will another decade help? Not so sure. 90+pts (?) drink: 2030+

Lovely collection of wines. Was this at a friendly dinner or organised wine tasting? I am always interested in what people are eating with these types of wines.

felixp21 wrote: 1995 Chateau Trotanoy
hailed as an almighty success, particularly in Pomerol, the 1995 vintage has, in general, failed to deliver on it's early promise. Too many tannic and monolithic wines for my liking. This is a better example of the vintage, having loads of blackberry fruit, violets and chocolate, but still framed by severe and rather coarse tannins. Will another decade help? Not so sure. 90+pts (?) drink: 2030+

This is a significant lesson that I've taken on-board. In the early days of wine enthusiasm, it's too easy to lap up the hype that a particular vintage is weak, strong, vintage of the century etc. but when you see critics hyping vintages such as 1997, 2000 and 2003 in Barolo, then you start realising the critic may not have the same tastes. The next step from seeing a score is to read about the growing year / style of the vintage (e.g. structured, hot, lighter, etc.), but such reports are always very broad brush. Reading a range of tasting notes can help flesh that picture out, but of course the ultimate truth is in the bottle and the glass, so an open mind is the most important tool.

Course tannin is certainly unusual for Pomerol (at 20+ yo), even with the few that have significant %s of Cab Franc/Sauvignon in the blend, so yes I'd understand the concerns. Of the 1995s I have TNs for: Ch La Croix de Gay was fine with subtle tannins (at 17 & 18 yo), whilst Ch La Croix du Casse was unusually tannic / closed (at 14yo)

rooman wrote:

felixp21 wrote:1996 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou
although most the the 96'ers are drinking well now, this is still primary. Lovely fresh nose, dominated by cassis and blue fruits. Great length, but not yet fully integrated. I would say another five years needed. 93+pts Drink: 2025-2050

2003 Chateau Ausone
a glorious wine, there are plenty of wines like this that totally bust the myth that 03 was poor on the right bank. Incredibly complex on both the nose and palate, full of dark chocolate, violets, liquorice, and that incredible merlot mouth-feel. Wonderful length. This may improve, but is a treasure to drink now... the glass went down way too quickly!!! 98pts drink: now-2040

1989 Chateau Palmer
when Margaux is on, it is a commune that takes a power of beating. 1989 saw an 'on" year for Margaux. As always, a feminine wine but still no shrinking violet... lovely floral nuance, blackberries and coffee notes. Lavender. Wonderful minerality and drive. Great wine. 96pts drink: now

1995 Chateau Trotanoy
hailed as an almighty success, particularly in Pomerol, the 1995 vintage has, in general, failed to deliver on it's early promise. Too many tannic and monolithic wines for my liking. This is a better example of the vintage, having loads of blackberry fruit, violets and chocolate, but still framed by severe and rather coarse tannins. Will another decade help? Not so sure. 90+pts (?) drink: 2030+

Lovely collection of wines. Was this at a friendly dinner or organised wine tasting? I am always interested in what people are eating with these types of wines.

hi rooman. I virtually never post TN's on wines I have seen at a tasting, though I have done so. (said TN's are usually just the highlights)
my TN's are almost always at dinners etc, where you can sit down, have a decent glass or two, and really contemplate the wine over a reasonable period of time. This was a dinner with friends. We all love our Bordeaux

2015 A. Christmann Olberg Kapelle GG Auktion
after two hours in the pool, this hit the spot on a hot early-Autumn evening. I am not a huge drinker of German Riesling, but I should be.... this is amongst the most pure and complex young wines I have even seen. Fresh, racy minerality, tropical fruits, some banana, extreme length, this is just awesome. I immediately checked the fridge.... thank goodness there are another four of these!!!
a genuinely special wine. 97 pts, drink from now to probably eternity.

2002 Passing Clouds Graeme's Blend Bendigo
A roughly 60/40 Shiraz Cabernet split
Perfect cork...benefit of professional storage I suppose
Still deep red in colour, fantastic nose of berry, savory textures.
Slight cool climate feel but very rich with heaps of depth on the palate
Has aged extremely well and just entering it prime...another 10 years easily

1998 Seppelts Show Reserve Shiraz
Adorned with numerous gold and trophy stickers and last make of the lineage with fruit now going into the St Peters.
Heavily criticised as being an oak monster, but this has certainly faded.
Perfect cork with 2 mm staining
Just browning on the edges
Nose of berries, peppery notes, yes the oak is there but mellowing out
Really plush profile with lovely drying tannins.
Certainly at its peak (and this bottle was better than the last one I had 5 years ago), however, still has plenty of life.

Two excellent examples of Victorian Shiraz, Shiraz blends.

Cheers
Craig

2016 Eperosa "Meld" (Mataro, Grenache & Shiraz blend), Barossa Valley

Brett had some ferments go wrong with his 16's, from what he could salvage went into this blend.
Medium bodied, some nice red fruit, a touch of cola, french oak. Quite acidic and with plenty of tannin lingering on the finish. Given the structure, it should have plenty in the tank to cellar. Overall it was a bit hit and miss for me.

Quick visit to the Grosset Cellar Door today

The recent renovations look great - modern, airy and sleek. Steph’s personal wine cellar has been converted to a climate controlled ‘wine room’ with a large number of back vintages from the entire range available for purchase. They have taste tested all of the wines and all the cork closure wines are in good condition (but you can never tell until you open the bottle itself). The stelvin closure bottles are in excellent condition.

Very brief notes whilst I am harbouring a slight cold:

2018 Alea – fruit driven - nice fruit up front, hint of residual sugar, slight acidity, very good length. Pick of the whites for me today. Probably the best Alea I have tasted. Very balanced wine.

2018 Springvale – upfront fruits; typically lime, Lemon, lemon sherbert with a piercing line of acidity. Long finish but the acidity kept on creeping up on me well after I tasted the wine. Far more acidic than previous vintages (for my tastes).

2018 Polish Hill – mineral, slate, wet stones, talc - complex. Very good line of acidity.

I think all of the above wines need some time to settle down in bottle for a few months yet.

2017 Pinot Noir – bright red fruits; red cherries, strawberries, fruit sweetness and acid kick. Lighter in colour and body than previous years, no savoury characteristics as yet. Needs time to settle down in bottle.

2018 Chardonnay – peachy, buttery with a punch of acidity. Length.

These two need time in bottle to settle down also.

2015 Gaia – a very good wine. Complexity, Cassis, blackberry, cedar, structure, soft tannin and length. They suggest up to 20 years.

2015 Nereus – a year since I have tasted this and its looking good. Blue type fruits wrapped in a nice coat of French oak, savoury, with good length. Some nice tannins and acidity. The blend is coming into balance. This will probably look pretty smart in 10 years time.

A bit off topic but must mention this. Whiler in Lucerne, Switzerland a few days ago our hosts were putting on a special Swiss meal so off I went to the bottle shop to add my bit. Apart from 2 reds that were OK I bought a Nikka From The Barrel Whisky.. It technically can't be called a single malt whisky because it is a blend of various malt whiskies but wow did it turn heads. One of the nicest SMWs I've had. Searched for it online in OZ but not sold there. Bugger. Price wasn't too bad (AUD85 for 500ml). Not bad for a country known for its eye-watering prices. Alcohol high at 51.4% validating its "straight from the barrel" name.

Also bought our hosts a SMW made in Switzerland. Can't remember its name. They bought us a nice Chapel Hill shiraz when they visited us in 2016. Pact is that they can only be opened when we meet somewhere in the world. Have penciled in Hawaii in 2021.

Currently in Budapest enjoying some local wines. In particular their Tokaj that are just stunning. There's a major wine tasting event here on Saturday night which we will attend. It's in some 16th century castle type thing overlooking the Danube. More effing gondolas for the Monty Pithon fans.

Apologies for drifting slightly off topic.

Carl

Chuck wrote:A bit off topic but must mention this. Whiler in Lucerne, Switzerland a few days ago our hosts were putting on a special Swiss meal so off I went to the bottle shop to add my bit. Apart from 2 reds that were OK I bought a Nikka From The Barrel Whisky.. It technically can't be called a single malt whisky because it is a blend of various malt whiskies but wow did it turn heads. One of the nicest SMWs I've had. Searched for it online in OZ but not sold there. Bugger. Price wasn't too bad (AUD85 for 500ml). Not bad for a country known for its eye-watering prices. Alcohol high at 51.4% validating its "straight from the barrel" name.

Also bought our hosts a SMW made in Switzerland. Can't remember its name. They bought us a nice Chapel Hill shiraz when they visited us in 2016. Pact is that they can only be opened when we meet somewhere in the world. Have penciled in Hawaii in 2021.

Currently in Budapest enjoying some local wines. In particular their Tokaj that are just stunning. There's a major wine tasting event here on Saturday night which we will attend. It's in some 16th century castle type thing overlooking the Danube. More effing gondolas for the Monty Pithon fans.

Apologies for drifting slightly off topic.

Carl

You might want to look again...that Nikka is definitely available in Australia.

Thanks Cuttlefish.

2016 Marius Wines Symposium, McLaren Vale (50% Shiraz & 50% Mataro)

A touch more than medium bodied but packed full of flavour. Dark berries, plums, spice, pepper with some american oak toastiness. I love the earthiness & line of spice the Mataro/Mourvèdre brings to the blend. Lovely mouth coating / drying type tannins. The finish is long and lingering. Consumed over two days and showed equally well on day two. If drinking now, I would suggest a long decant/aeration time, but I would park to the cellar for 5-10 years for this wine to truely come together. My type of blend, seriously delicious.

2009 Noon Reserve Shiraz
from a small block located at Langhorne Creek
Really interesting, savory earthy a little olive, not the traditional berry fruits or jammy type Shiraz that I perhaps are more used to
Took 2-3 hours to open up
Still jet black in colour, 16% AV, you could feel it but did not detract from the wine.
Big bruiser with a long finish and 5-10 years easily.
cheers craig

cuttlefish wrote:
You might want to look again...that Nikka is definitely available in Australia.

I could swear I saw some, out of all places, at Dan Murphys yesterday.

-- George Krashos

Had a couple of friends over for dinner friday night. It was somewhat bitter sweet because the night before I got news of the passing away of a mate of ours, a generous, warm-hearted wine enthusiast and importer of wines, beer and spirits. We toasted him with out first glass of sparkling.
All the wines were served served blind by the person who brought it.

N/V Jo Landron 'ATMOSPHERE' (12%) - 80% Folle Blanche, 20% Pinot Noir, excellent mousse, vivacious, fresh and clean, strong cut of acidity and a hint of blush from the pinot. Excellent and seemingly young. I'll hold off opening my other bottle.
2001 Neederburg Sauvignon Blanc Reserve, Limited Release, Western Cape (14%) - Colour was dark and though alarming It was much to my taste. Since I knew what it was I could detect the sauvignon notes. For the others it was difficult. There was a hint of maderization, some sweetness, and a fat oily quality. The guesses were chardonnay and semillon. As the wine developed the sweet aspect grew, to the point where one person thought it resembled an older Moulin Touchais. A very satisfactory outcome for a chance taken many years ago.
2011 Vigna del Lauro Sauvignon, Collio (13.5%) By sheer coincidence another saugivnon was served, this one ten years younger. My first though was that the previous wine had enough character and finish to confer a sauvignon-like character to this wine. A bite or two of the Cornish hen and a hint of melon and pear appeared leading to think it was pinot gris. What was that about sticking to your gut instinct?
1996 Campillo Reserva Especial, Rioja (13%) - Despite this being more than two decades old it was still dark and youthful. I believe Campillo is made in a more modern style and the oak was quite prominent but no in a bad way. A very nice wine but quite less evolved than my guest had thought and in need of more time.
1979 Chateau d'Angludet, Margaux (11.5%) - This was one of my earliest purchases when I first started collecting in the mid-80s. I had a bottle or two when young and they were delicious. It has changed a lot, fading slightly, but holding on remarkably well.
2006 Mantra Zinfandel, Old Vines Reserve, Alexander Valley (15.7%) - This did not go over so well, the alcohol and fruit being far too powerful. I thought it was an Argentinian Malbec but it was the better half that nailed it as a zinfandel. Very intense but far too disjointed right now.
1985 Warre's Vintage Port (20%) - This was showing well. It had a four hour decant and was very harmonius and even keeled, all the componets in balance.

A few sips of Benromach Traditional and the Canadian Lot 40 Rye and that was all she wrote. Sleepy time.

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

1998 Petaluma Coonawarra
Perfect cork, brick red in colour
Lovely blue fruits , Merlot poking through
Rich palate with gentle tannins...really good spot with good bottles going a lot longer.
Cheers
Craig

We are staying at a cosy Air B&B in Plitvica Lakes, Croatia enjoying the wonderful lakes and waterfalls. Our host puts on a sensational outdoor dinner cooked over a BBQ any aussie would be proud to own. Also a wood fire oven for home made bread. Apples and pears straight from the tree with fruit bugs free of charge. Caught up with an Aussie friend also in the area for a day or so. The wine offerings were a white and red in unlabelled bottles. Both were home made. No indication of grape variety and I could not identify them. The white was passable but the red was awful. So like Halliday does on holidays I drank beer. They do some good local stuff and it's sold in 500ml bottles which is perfect after a day's walking.

Carl

Most whites are passable in Croatia with the reds being terrible . Spent a month in Istria a few years back

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Sean wrote:Notes on wines opened at a BBQ for some American guests, who were much more familiar with Napa Valley and Bordeaux rather than Australian wines.

Nice line up... lucky guests!

2000 MM Quintet... beautiful wine most gorgeous palate... gentle floral blackberry nose... texture so soft...no tannins but great length... years to go
Closest I'll get to Bordeaux
Cheers
Craig

Maybe it’s because I was drinking this sort of wine in Europe for the pr bios 4 or 5 years, but this is one of the best Auz whites I have had. If you don’t appreciate the complexity that oxidative wines have, then this is not for you, but for me, well it’s wow. Still young, lots of saline and sherry notes, good fruit underneath. Biggest smile that a glass has given me in a long time.

2015 - pheasants tears - Tsolikauri


if i've ever tasted this grape before, i never knew.
I sampled quite a few of these Georgian wines a couple of months back at Vinosphere and they were my most memorable wines of the night
so i sought out to find some, and enjoyed this thoroughly tonight
dried herbs and minerals on the nose and all over the palate, with a lovely salinity that persists throughout.
made in clay pots buried in the ground to ferment (so i believe?)
really out there stuff, but quite delicious.

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mychurch wrote:
Maybe it’s because I was drinking this sort of wine in Europe for the pr bios 4 or 5 years, but this is one of the best Auz whites I have had. If you don’t appreciate the complexity that oxidative wines have, then this is not for you, but for me, well it’s wow. Still young, lots of saline and sherry notes, good fruit underneath. Biggest smile that a glass has given me in a long time.

Totally agree, excellent wine. Latta are an exciting producer.

P.S nice drinking too bob, Quevri goodness.

And Sean, spoiling the guests there with some higher end wines, nice one, enjoyed your honest notes. Bit of an oak-fest, true to the Aussie wine stereotype, but hey, for those it’s quality oak!! Pleased the Riddoch showed well, albeit crazy young.

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A few magnums the other night in HK. Neighbourhood restaurant is sensational, well worth a visit if you are travelling up here.

1998 Vilmart Cuvee Creation
in this format, the bottle itself is stunning. As for the wine, equally stunning. Rich, round but with tremendous drive and energy. Still very young in tis format, I would think another decade will see it in it's prime. Awesome start. 96pts

2001 Ramonet Batard Montrachet
again, incredibly young and pretty tight. opened up during the night, with typical Batard white flowers, tropical and stone fruits. Lots of river pebbles and minerality. Super length. I'd wait another decade in this format. 93+ pts.

2013 Fourrier Echezeaux
despite this being a Maison wine from Jean Marie, there is the typical polish and red fruit accent. At such a young age, the oak is understandably a little prominent, but the wine should come together nicely in the next 5-10 years. I really like the 2013 vintage. 92+ pts

1990 Camille Giroud Pommard Clos Les Epeneaux
fully mature, opened with a little bret, but this blew off after an hour in the decanter. Pretty wine, good length, red fruit spectrum. Lots of interest without being a world-beater. Drink up. 90 pts.

A great night, the wine fantastic and the food a highlight.