The Auswine Forum

felixp21 wrote:wines from Qantas on the way over to LAX from MEL.

all-in-all, very weak effort for a set of First Class wines, Emirates and Cathay First Class are a million miles ahead, but sadly, they are not an alternative to Qantas on the trans-pacific flights.

Depending if they actually have them. When I flew Emirates 1st recently the menu promised Mouton Rothschild which is indeed an order of magnitude better - except they didn't actually have any ("We only take three bottles for the Dubai - Paris - Dubai return route, and we must have used them all on the way out").

To be fair, Emirates and I just seem to have a way of not getting along, even though I have somehow now become a Gold member.

[takes a sip of Koonunga Hill, reads of sjw_11's Emirates dilemma] ... [clears throat] ... Well, Sam, I feel terribly aggrieved for you, and I shall write a terse letter of complaint to the airline immediately. [takes another sip of Koonunga Hill, blinks several times] ... [sobs uncontrollably].

I work for one of the aforementioned airlines and we just had a bunch of crew sacked for pinching the 1st Class wine and selling it online.

Business Class is just a flat-bed. First Class prestige only? I rarely drink on aircraft as the wine below par and tastes like crap with a dry palate anyways.

Those of us who fly cattle class, ahem, I mean economy, are duly chastised. We just do not understand the real hardships suffered by those who fly business/first class. Imagine, the wrong vintage of Tattinger Comtes, and then drinking fine wines under less than ideal circumstances.

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grhm1961 wrote:[takes a sip of Koonunga Hill, reads of sjw_11's Emirates dilemma] ... [clears throat] ... Well, Sam, I feel terribly aggrieved for you, and I shall write a terse letter of complaint to the airline immediately. [takes another sip of Koonunga Hill, blinks several times] ... [sobs uncontrollably].

I didn't mention the bit where the steward forgot twice (!) to bring me my Dom. It is simply untenable.

Mahmoud Ali wrote:Those of us who fly cattle class, ahem, I mean economy, are duly chastised. We just do not understand the real hardships suffered by those who fly business/first class. Imagine, the wrong vintage of Tattinger Comtes, and then drinking fine wines under less than ideal circumstances.

Thank you Mahmoud, your support means a lot.

Couple for dinner last night, both surprisingly good. One day, someone will give me the true explanation as to why the Yanks feel the need to pile twice as much food as you can eat onto the one plate.

2017 En Route "Les Pommiers" Pinot Noir
I am not usually a fan of US Pinot, but this was fantastic. Russian River. Sweet red fruits, but fresh and plenty of drive to keep all that richness in check. I'm not sure how this will age, but a super New World pinot to drink over the next 3-4 years. 91pts.

2015 Shafer One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon
Wonderful Bordeaux-like product of the Napa. Indeed, the 2015 vintage very like the 15's from Bordeaux. Full of red and black fruits, anise, cassis and chocolate. Tannins are there, but rounded and drowned by the wall of fruit. Again, perhaps not one for the cellar, but delicious right now. 93pts

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2010 - gave it a couple of hours in the decanter and watched it unfold for a couple of hours. Medium bodied, elegant, beautiful fruit, tannins almost unnoticeable. Seemed to improve until it disappeared. I only got one glass, but I sat on it for 2 hours.

I opened a bottle of 2010 Delas 'Seigneur de Maugiron' Cote-Rotie (13.5%) on Sunday evening to have with a nice piece of fatty marbled steak. I gave it a good two hours in the decanter and chilled it in the refrigerator. The nose was dark and brooding, smoky, meaty/dried blood, and inflected with herbs. The palate seemed a bit hard and uncooperative, not at all like a previous bottle that seemed fleshier and with a bit of gloss. I couldn't help wondering whether this was due to bottle variation or slightly cork affected.
Cheers .........……… Mahmoud.

Luke and Sean, many thanks for the Rockford notes, the Semillon is particularly underrated. I love them with 10 or so years of age, with the dark yellow colour and blue cheese aromas.
Cheers Craig

+1
I actually think that’s my favourite of their wines with age.

Out of my cellar with a few mates last night...

2010 Tahbilk Marsanne, recently purchased as the Museum Release. Still quite primary, but in a good place. will develop nicely for another 5 years at least.

All reds were double decanted at least 3 hours before.

1996 Jack Mann Cabernet Shiraz. What a great Australian wine. Texture, structure and deeeeep fruit. Well cellared, this will go another ten years before it reaches a zenith. Although it was not disappointing to drink it now. In fact it was downright awesome.

2000 Wendouree Shiraz Malbec. Hhm, either from not a great vintage or slightly TCA scalped, it was just missing something.

1998 Bin 389. Looking fantastic. Bold, rich, structured and long. Looking way better than i ever expected it to, as I never had much faith in the '98 vintage as producing long lived wines. Fantastic.

1991 Wynns Centenary Shiraz Cabernet. Blew us all away. The Cabernet dominating on first taste, however the Shiraz balanced out as it breathed up in the glass. Another awesome Australian red. Its a baby right now, god knows when it will hit its real stride.

Mahmoud Ali wrote:I opened a bottle of 2010 Delas 'Seigneur de Maugiron' Cote-Rotie (13.5%) on Sunday evening to have with a nice piece of fatty marbled steak. I gave it a good two hours in the decanter and chilled it in the refrigerator. The nose was dark and brooding, smoky, meaty/dried blood, and inflected with herbs. The palate seemed a bit hard and uncooperative, not at all like a previous bottle that seemed fleshier and with a bit of gloss. I couldn't help wondering whether this was due to bottle variation or slightly cork affected.

Cheers .........……… Mahmoud.

Funnily enough I just had a 2012 Delas Gigondas Les Reinages and I was decidedly unimpressed, although I think this producer generally makes some smart wines at decent prices.

• 2012 Delas Frères Gigondas Les Reinages - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas (7/17/2019)
  Mid red. Quite a bit of funk on the nose- undergrowth and spice. Minimal fruit. Mulberry and green on the palate. Finishes short. On this evidence I would drink up. (86 pts.)
• 2017 G.D. Vajra Dolcetto d'Alba Coste & Fossati - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Dolcetto d'Alba (7/16/2019)
  Serious dolcetto - perhaps an oxymoron but this wine would convince otherwise. Side by side with the standard label the extra density on the nose is clearly apparent. Deep plum, vanilla and spice. In the mouth this is sweetly fruited and dense with surprising grippy tannin I haven’t seen in dolcetto before. At €17 it’s fantastic value. I’d like to see it in a couple of years and see how it ages. (90 pts.)
• 2017 Albamar Rías Baixas sesenta e nove arrobas - Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas (7/14/2019)
  Expressive nose, peach and apricot with some white flower notes. Excellent purity in the mouth, quit rich in flavor but still finishing with appealing acidity to keep it all fresh and in balance. I expect this will gather complexity and weight over a couple of years at least. (92 pts.)
• 2017 Van Remoortere Menetou-Salon - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Menetou-Salon (7/11/2019)
  Wonderfully pure bright cherry, musk and lifted floral notes on the nose. Sweet and gently sappy in the mouth, finishing with lingering red fruits and perfume. Great summer wine, perfect with a slight chill (but not too much). Excellent value for money. (90 pts.)

Posted from [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/]CellarTracker[/url]

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Curley Flat Chardonnay 2013 tonight. Just a big butterball. Very concentrated. If you love the style it’s a winner, but it’s missing complexity and refinement.

2017 Gembrook Hill Pinot Noir

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Candied red cherry, morello cherry and raspberry fruit. Earthy, herby, forest floor savouriness. It's light bodied and delicate on the palate. Smooth, dusty tannins and superb acidity balances out the sweet fruit and holds everything together in such a harmonious way. A very long finish to this classy Pinot. Magnificent drinking now while young or any time over the next 15 years.

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was in Australia for 48 hours en route to home, first thing i did was go to the cellar and drag out two favourites.

2005 Chateau Pape Clement Blanc
I'm sure I have written about this many times before, but it remains one of the greatest white wines I have had. Stunning, and actually very hard to describe. Sort of tropical, but lifted, rich yet incredibly light on it's feet. Absolute masterpiece. 98pts drink.. whenever you can!!

1990 Henschke Hill of Grace
only a couple to go, this is a great old Aussie shiraz. Just super length, seems to go on forever with sweet fruits, liquorice and dark chocolate. An Australian classic, not slowing down, but at peak now., 96pts drink: now-2030+

Would you put the 90 HofG up against the 90 Grange Felix? I'm doing a Grange event next year and thought it a good odd man out. Appreciate your thoughts.

JamieBahrain wrote:Would you put the 90 HofG up against the 90 Grange Felix? I'm doing a Grange event next year and thought it a good odd man out. Appreciate your thoughts.

At least the Grange would be cheaper. I sold 90 HoG at $400 years and years ago, clearly ripped myself off only making 1100% , up to nearly 20 times the sale price now.
Wonder how the less than desirable Mt Ed vintages at $250 a pop are going?

Cheers Craig

2000 Majella Shiraz a lovely bottle, blue fruits still quite primary, lovely palate with gentle tannins.

1999 John Riddoch, cork broke neatly in 2, but all extracted OK. This took hours and hours to open up, purple/black in colour, nose of blackberry, olive, a hint of oak, but largely gone, felt very cool climate and slippery in the mouth. Can't work out if this is a drink now, and yes its very good, or drink in 20 years to really reveal itself.

Happened to come across Sasha and Neil Robb of Sally's Paddock fame, holding a new release tasting. 15, 14, 13, 10, 09, and 04 on show. Have a good run of 90s and early 2000s of this wine but have not purchased for a few years. 5 varietal blend, with Cabernet, Shiraz, Cab. Franc, Cab. Merlot and something else tossed in. The 15 was fantastic, beautiful structure, hint of sweetness, 14 tasted a little green and astringent, high volume of C/S, picked a little early perhaps. 13 very good indeed. The 10 was the best wine of the flight, so balanced and integrated, beautiful to drink, 09, not far behind, and my wife who has a better nose than I felt TCA was present in the 04, a little dank, certainly not much fruit there, so may have been slightly corked, surprising!
Cheers Craig

phillisc wrote:

JamieBahrain wrote:Would you put the 90 HofG up against the 90 Grange Felix? I'm doing a Grange event next year and thought it a good odd man out. Appreciate your thoughts.

At least the Grange would be cheaper. I sold 90 HoG at $400 years and years ago, clearly ripped myself off only making 1100% , up to nearly 20 times the sale price now.
Wonder how the less than desirable Mt Ed vintages at $250 a pop are going?

Cheers Craig

I've found with Henschke the lesser vintages can be the best of the vintage. 1993,1995 and 1997 Mt Ed were crackers. Cyril too including 1992 and way earlier. Late 90's have to be careful with brett as many aware.

The 1990 HofG is a legend of the wine world. Like Felix, I've only a bottle or two left. I'll leave it for family. Happy to source for $600 + when others from abroad paying- neat little export earner for Australia.

Jamie, I prefer the 90 HoG to Grange. IMO, the 1990 Grange, after all the incredible initial hype, has not (thus far) lived up to it's reputation. I don't drink Grange very often anymore, but last time I had it, was side-by-side with the 91 Grange, which came across as a much better wine.
However, if you are a die-hard shiraz fan (I haven't been for more than 20 years) I think you would love the 90 Grange, with all it's blueberry and coconut. I suspect your wine group might love it.

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Wow, this thread is 5 years old today.

Happy anniversary!

felixp21 wrote:However, if you are a die-hard shiraz fan (I haven't been for more than 20 years) I think you would love the 90 Grange, with all it's blueberry and coconut. I suspect your wine group might love it.

Thanks Felix.

My wine group is pretty classical. Think of Julien, your Burgundy supplier in Hong Kong. He's a member.

Personally, I'm not a fan of blueberry notes in shiraz. I've had the 90 a number of times though its been poorly prepared. No aeration.

Interesting, part of the appeal for Shiraz (at least for me) is that black, blue and red fruit characteristics or a combination of the black and blue are present.
When I have had multiple Mt Eds from EV over the years, all have shown this, and its appealing. In the dozen or so HoG that I have tried, again the presence of a combination of blue and black fruits, is a common characteristic of the wine.

When referencing the original tasting notes written by Stephen Henschke, notes for both wines going back 20+ years are littered with descriptives of black and/or blue fruits...strange??

Cheers Craig

Yes Craig, I fully understand. Shiraz is a great grape, and there are countless great shiraz wines out there, but it just lost it's appeal to me somewhere in my mid-30's. I can still very much appreciate it, and still enjoy the occasional bottle, but these days the only Aussie shiraz I purchase is from the Hunter Valley, but that seems to have also ceased.
I'm certainly not a knocker of Aussie Shiraz, it put Australian wine on the map, and the wine industry as a whole can count their lucky stars the mystifying government incentives to rip old vine shiraz out all those years ago proved largely unsuccessful.

Craig I wouldn't get fussed its just personalized descriptors which are different for many. Especially amateurs like me. The ripe blue spectrum in my perception was in the 2000's in Australia and many of our wines were different with higher ripeness. Even Henschke in the 2000's the wines were different aromatically than the 80's and 90's- this was noted in three verticals I presented with HofG and Mt Ed.

I went back and had a look at a few of the winemaker's Mt Ed tasting notes that I've drunk many, many bottles of. The 1990 is the original note and typical of the time whereas 1995 is re-reviewed in 2011 and the 1994 2017. Can't ever remember blueberry in Mt Ed's of the 90's but could be wrong as it is mentioned now ( oddly at near 25 years of age )

What is really amazing to me are the original Henschke notes were so limiting in their cellaring recommendations. The 1995 was a 10 year wine! Still have that strong recollection as I wrote to the winery. Not sure if it was the advent of common professional cellaring or a gross under-estimation by Stephen Henschke, but they slowly changed. 1995 went up a few years later in cellaring recomendations and is now 20 + The 1994 is astonishingly 30 + and I'm pretty sure the original 94 notes had no blue fruits. It was such a retarded Mt Ed; stationary in development for 15 years.