The Auswine Forum

Finishing the last of our "Jed's Red" Mornington Peninsula Pinot 2017. It's was a cleanskin that our local IGA bottlo used to have. But since IGA changed hands, it's no longer available. One of those Pinots that you can drink fresh or leave for a while (although I'll admit that 2 years was our maximum). It's just leaving me with the urge to open something really nice (not a good idea after a bottle).

I don't suppose anyone knows what the provenance of these Jed's wines was?

2018 Glaetzer AmonRa BarossaValley Shiraz is an outstanding wine, Full Body and a long finish and so balance for a 2 year wine.

A really crap bottle of 2001 Wynns black label...not corked but a nose that is absolutely dead, the better half who runs rings around me in the sensory stakes, said the nose was muted to the point of non-existent. Palate well integrated, but overall very disappointing. This is first bottle in about 15 years from this vintage, I have had several bottles of the 01 Harold Cabernet, which is much better than this.
Might give Wynns/TWE a call tomorrow.

Cheers craig

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Craig said:

A really crap bottle of 2001 Wynns black label...not corked but a nose that is absolutely dead, the better half who runs rings around me in the sensory stakes, said the nose was muted to the point of non-existent. Palate well integrated, but overall very disappointing. This is first bottle in about 15 years from this vintage, I have had several bottles of the 01 Harold Cabernet, which is much better than this.
Might give Wynns/TWE a call tomorrow.

To me it definitely sounds like cork taint. In a mild taint it just strips the wine of any aroma. and sometime flavour. Cant smell any typical cork taint aroma, just get nothing.

Rory wrote:Craig said:

A really crap bottle of 2001 Wynns black label...not corked but a nose that is absolutely dead, the better half who runs rings around me in the sensory stakes, said the nose was muted to the point of non-existent. Palate well integrated, but overall very disappointing. This is first bottle in about 15 years from this vintage, I have had several bottles of the 01 Harold Cabernet, which is much better than this.
Might give Wynns/TWE a call tomorrow.

To me it definitely sounds like cork taint. In a mild taint it just strips the wine of any aroma. and sometime flavour. Cant smell any typical cork taint aroma, just get nothing.

Rory, just spoken this morning to Renee at TWE/Wynns at Southbank...Renee has been very helpful in the past. They are making arrangements to send packaging to pick up the bottle and if need be will look at an unopened one as well. Will be interested to see what QA makes of it. You are probably right, I am a bit insensitive to TCA, but had a 98 St George about 5 years back that was 40 times acceptable limits...could smell that one!!

Cheers Craig

Did Wynn's have problems with corks and bottle variation back then? I opened one of my 1996s and it was completely off, foul enough that we abandoned the bottle immediately.

Mahmoud Ali wrote:Did Wynn's have problems with corks and bottle variation back then? I opened one of my 1996s and it was completely off, foul enough that we abandoned the bottle immediately.

Mahmoud, I have sent back probably a dozen bottles to TWE, BLs and JRs mainly. Never had a corked Michael...touch wood.
Yes I think the issues with mid 90s 389s spilled over to Wynns as well.

Think with an annual production of 120 000 bottles of BL and certainly that many for the cheapies, bound to be a few cork issues. Thankfully wines have been under screwcap since the 05 vintage.
Cheers Craig

Mahmoud Ali wrote:Did Wynn's have problems with corks and bottle variation back then? I opened one of my 1996s and it was completely off, foul enough that we abandoned the bottle immediately.

I've heard of good reports of 96, had one bottle that was ok, but every other 96 BL has been undrinkable. I still have two cases!!!! In general, a horrible wine.

Mahmoud Ali wrote:Did Wynn's have problems with corks and bottle variation back then? I opened one of my 1996s and it was completely off, foul enough that we abandoned the bottle immediately.

phillisc wrote:Mahmoud, I have sent back probably a dozen bottles to TWE, BLs and JRs mainly. Never had a corked Michael...touch wood.
Yes I think the issues with mid 90s 389s spilled over to Wynns as well.

Think with an annual production of 120 000 bottles of BL and certainly that many for the cheapies, bound to be a few cork issues. Thankfully wines have been under screwcap since the 05 vintage.
Cheers Craig

felixp21 wrote:I've heard of good reports of 96, had one bottle that was ok, but every other 96 BL has been undrinkable. I still have two cases!!!! In general, a horrible wine.

In that case I'm done for, since all my Wynn's predate screw caps. I'm talking about '96, '97, '98, '00, and '05 as well as a '94 JR. I've been meaning to try another '96 BL so stay tuned.

felixp21 wrote:

Mahmoud Ali wrote:Did Wynn's have problems with corks and bottle variation back then? I opened one of my 1996s and it was completely off, foul enough that we abandoned the bottle immediately.

I've heard of good reports of 96, had one bottle that was ok, but every other 96 BL has been undrinkable. I still have two cases!!!! In general, a horrible wine.

I think Wynn’s whiffed altogether in 1996

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Sean wrote:

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Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 17 - I took the bottle out of the fridge and left it on the bench after that. Slow to unwind and open up. A cooler, later vintage, and this feels leaner than I was probably expecting. A light straw colour. Lots of primary fruit and neat spicy/toasty French oak working through this. Grapefruit, melon, stonefruit, oyster shell, subtle cashew oak and minerally acidity. I remember Hugh Johnson talking about the electric energy you get in great Burgundy white wine, and this has that.

Lean like Chablis or oaked but lean like chassagne Montrachet (well I always find it much leaner than puligny)?

I've been considering getting some of these

Bolgheri Grattamacco 1998
Everything I read on cellar tracker said this bottle should be rubbish (bitter and acidic, devoid of fruit) or just over the hill now. As such, I decided to open it to add to my slow cooked lamb shoulder stew. Contrary to the tasting notes, the wine was fantastic and had a lot of sweet juicy fruit (boysenberry/cassis) and some secondary leather and balsamic notes. By no means a complex wine but very pleasant. Just a shame that I tipped half the bottle into the stew before realising how good it was...on the flip side, however, that was quite a dish!

Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard 2018 Chardonnay
This is the first time I've had a giant steps wine (to my knowledge) and it was recommended to me by a friend following my praise of the Cape Mentelle 2018 Chardonnay.

The nose on this wine is all passionfruit (had me worried at first) and then melon creeping through (the latter more pleasant given my distaste of NZ Sauvignon Plonk). The mid palate had a really nice honeysuckle type flavour that comes through with a touch of creaminess (vanilla and a tinge of butter). The wine is balanced between fruit but not flabby thanks to adequate acidity. Glad I bought a second bottle.

That’s a nice wine - the other single vineyard wines have more personality, but I bought 4 of the Sexton as it was the one I kept seeing on special offer. Have a couple of bottles of their Amphora Chardonnay maturing. More for the Chablis lovers.

mychurch wrote:That’s a nice wine - the other single vineyard wines have more personality, but I bought 4 of the Sexton as it was the one I kept seeing on special offer. Have a couple of bottles of their Amphora Chardonnay maturing. More for the Chablis lovers.

Appreciate! I can get all of them here (Singapore) but was advised on the sexton by a friend who knows my preference is for a bit more fruit and more malolactic fermentation (I recently loved the Mentelle 2018). Which of the single vineyards do you think could fit that profile?

The Wombat was my pick when I tasted the range at the cellar door earlier this year. I thought the Sexton was a slight step up from the basic Chardonnay. The Tarraford was better, but it was a lighter wine. Botje the Applejack and the Wombat were biggger. The Applejeck had a musky nose and showed some oak. The Wombat might be for you - lots of smokey pinapple for me on the nose. Seemed to be a bigger version of the Sexton. The Ocarina had more chalk and lemon and is more in the Chablis style.

Most of these prior to Stage 4 in Melbourne.

2011 Escarpment Kupe pinot noir
high quality fruit, bit clunky and foursquare. Short finish. Still, a pleasant-enough drop. 87

2014 Clonakilla Shiraz-Viognier
touch of brett, left in the decanter 3 hours. Brett mainly blew off, more a side-note than a distraction. Nice viognier lift, decent length and the drinker is spared the whack of black pepper seen in too many examples of cool-climate Aussie shiraz. Good wine. 90

2010 Penfolds St Henri
thought I'd open one of the six-packs and have a look. 10 years down, and this is still much too young. Decent fruit, still monolithic and somewhat closed. Hard to assess at this stage, but I'd be confident this will turn out nicely, 91-93 point potential. 88 today.

1995 Moss Wood Cabernet
although running low, desperate times need desperate measures. Last bottle before another infernal lock-down. One of the great wines of Australia, and one of the great vintages for this winery. Cedar, cassis, anise, violets, eternal length, awesome complexity. As a Bordeaux-lover, very proud to see an Aussie version that would compete with the best of it's 1995 French cousins. 96

2012 Head The Redhead Shiraz
another pretty uninteresting and monolithic Barossa shiraz. I'm guessing French oak, but I do often wonder if screwcap is the ideal closure for these big Aussie shiraz wines. Time might improve, but I wouldn't be that confident. 88

1990 Penfold's Grange
the head-turner in it's youth, WS wine of the year gave Pennies the green light to inflate the price to it's current absurd levels. Still too young, with harsh tannins and plenty of coconut. Masses of blueberry and blackberry fruit should, however, see this wine come into balance in about 10 years from now, and I'm guessing it will be worth the wait. World class. 96 point potential, 94 today.

Lindemans 2012 Limestone Ridge Coonawarra Shiraz Cabernet.
Thought I'd open this first bottle from a 6 pack. Decanted 1.5 hours beforehand. Great colour and lovely aromas but palate tight as a drum with fruit there but very shy. However by the last glass the fruit was starting to appear and showed its potential. Ample tannins and acid to see it through for another decade or 2 I think at least another 5 years will allow it to start showing its true potential. Perhaps a long stint in a decanter now will release the fruit for those without patience or just want to see how it's travelling.

mychurch wrote:The Wombat was my pick when I tasted the range at the cellar door earlier this year. I thought the Sexton was a slight step up from the basic Chardonnay. The Tarraford was better, but it was a lighter wine. Botje the Applejack and the Wombat were biggger. The Applejeck had a musky nose and showed some oak. The Wombat might be for you - lots of smokey pinapple for me on the nose. Seemed to be a bigger version of the Sexton. The Ocarina had more chalk and lemon and is more in the Chablis style.

Thanks for the tip, I will try the wombat upon next purchase.

2015 Tignanello. Initially popped and poured - nose of charry oak and tobacco box with a hint of the cabernet plum and some black fruits coming through. Lashings of fine tannin, although not mouth-puckering as I had expected - much more approachable than I would have thought. Was trying to hold out until day 2 and 3 to see how it progressed, but kept slurping it a la Keith Floyd until only a full glass pour left.
2nd day more fruit sweetness coming through, and the tannins beautifully fleshing the wine out in balance with the acidity. Well constructed wine. Wishing I had kept more aside, I can't help this will be singing in around ten years, and keep for longer. Not a bold wine, but understated power, a touch on the full-bodied side of medium, and delicious with lasagna (in Summer?!)and an eggplant and mozzarella pasta.

2004 389 adequate

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It was my birthday Thursday and I celebrated until Sunday, but Saturday night I had a party with friends and these are some of the wines we enjoyed.

2010 Barroche Pure
2018 Glaetzer Amon Ra
Campo Viejo Cava
Champagne Piper Heidsieck
2018 Two Hands Field of Joy
2016 Clos Saint Jean
JP Chenet Brandy
Lots of Perrier water

Found a pic of the wine we had last Monday. I took the photo because of the beautiful colour (and other things).

Dragzworthy wrote:Bolgheri Grattamacco 1998
Everything I read on cellar tracker said this bottle should be rubbish (bitter and acidic, devoid of fruit) or just over the hill now. As such, I decided to open it to add to my slow cooked lamb shoulder stew. Contrary to the tasting notes, the wine was fantastic and had a lot of sweet juicy fruit (boysenberry/cassis) and some secondary leather and balsamic notes. By no means a complex wine but very pleasant. Just a shame that I tipped half the bottle into the stew before realising how good it was...on the flip side, however, that was quite a dish!

Sounds like a good result for 22 year-old wine. It seems that the cellar tracker crowd misunderstood the dumb phase. I very much like the label on this wine.

Mahmoud Ali wrote:

Dragzworthy wrote:Bolgheri Grattamacco 1998
Everything I read on cellar tracker said this bottle should be rubbish (bitter and acidic, devoid of fruit) or just over the hill now. As such, I decided to open it to add to my slow cooked lamb shoulder stew. Contrary to the tasting notes, the wine was fantastic and had a lot of sweet juicy fruit (boysenberry/cassis) and some secondary leather and balsamic notes. By no means a complex wine but very pleasant. Just a shame that I tipped half the bottle into the stew before realising how good it was...on the flip side, however, that was quite a dish!

Sounds like a good result for 22 year-old wine. It seems that the cellar tracker crowd misunderstood the dumb phase. I very much like the label on this wine.

Yes Mahmoud - I think you and I share a fondness for the slight classic and retro wine labels.

As for it being in the dumb phase, I'm not sure....I think I lack the knowledge of yourself and others on this board (I constantly learn from many here who post) and find this dumb phase difficult to identify...having said that, I feel as though the Grattamacco had evolved to a very tertiary state and that some may not enjoy that development as much as others. I find cellar tracker to be the best resource on drinking windows but it usually errs on the conservative side and wines can normally be stored for longer than most realize. That was certainly the case (no pun intended) with some of my Grant Burge Meshach 2003 as well as penfolds Bin 389 1996. The former had a long time left whereas the latter was really on form.

Dragzworthy,

Thanks for the compliment but my so-called experience is nothing more than patience. If the wine appears tannic and fruitless then it may well be in a dumb or muted stage, and the better the reputation or quality the more likely that might be the case. If however the wine has indeed passed on and it is no longer enjoyable then there is nothing to lose by not drinking them and seeing if something does develop. I`ve had several wines that seemed dead and gone, but simple patience did the trick.

In my experience many wines last much longer than realised.

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

PS:

Dragzworthy wrote: ... I feel as though the Grattamacco had evolved to a very tertiary state and that some may not enjoy that development as much as others.

I should add that tertiary qualities are very much my preference.

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