The Auswine Forum

Matt@5453 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 21, 2022 12:10 pm

phillisc wrote: ↑Fri Sep 16, 2022 8:51 am 2019 Redman Shiraz, really good fruit, very representative of the 2019 vintage. If a wine for $17 can be this good, then very much looking forward to the upcoming top marques

I tried this. I also picked up the 2020 at the same time. The 2019 was okay, seemed a bit lean, 'bright' fruited and slightly acidic, compared the 2020 which is a richer, fuller style and felt more rounded (for my tastes); 2020 was my pick of the two vintages.

Thanks Matt, I found these 2 the other way round. And had an 18 vs. 19 recently and would put the 19 ahead.
Will be in Coonawarra in a couple of weeks and have a Redman tasting lined up. Will be looking at as many 19s/20s as I can.
Cheers Craig

phillisc wrote: ↑Thu Sep 22, 2022 7:46 pm

Matt@5453 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 21, 2022 12:10 pm

phillisc wrote: ↑Fri Sep 16, 2022 8:51 am 2019 Redman Shiraz, really good fruit, very representative of the 2019 vintage. If a wine for $17 can be this good, then very much looking forward to the upcoming top marques

I tried this. I also picked up the 2020 at the same time. The 2019 was okay, seemed a bit lean, 'bright' fruited and slightly acidic, compared the 2020 which is a richer, fuller style and felt more rounded (for my tastes); 2020 was my pick of the two vintages.

Thanks Matt, I found these 2 the other way round. And had an 18 vs. 19 recently and would put the 19 ahead.
Will be in Coonawarra in a couple of weeks and have a Redman tasting lined up. Will be looking at as many 19s/20s as I can.
Cheers Craig

I hope it goes well! Its a tough market ATM, Coonawarra Cabernet is going vey cheap. Hopefully you get some good discounts

2010 Faiveley Vosne Romanee
Faiveley's villages offerings usually represent great value, but this wasn't amongst that group. Very Vosne and linear, good length, but a slight vegetal streak that I found distracting. Nice fruit and typical spice, but nothing to alert the media about. 88pts, drink now.

2020 Giant Steps Applejack Pinot Noir
Lovely New World Pinot, very fragrant and complex on the nose, the palate a little sweet but avoids the blousiness that affects so many Antipodean wines of this variety. Ripe raspberries and cherries, very red-fruited and good length. Very good. 91 points, drink now-2030.

2002 Rene Engel Clos Vougeot
Found this on it's lonesome when shifting wines around in the racks in my cellar. I thought I'd sent all the Engel off to auction, but as it was a one-off, decided to drink it. Phenomenal wine, but still not one I'd pay 3k for. Like the Giant steps, very much on the red fruit spectrum, but far more savoury and complex. Would have picked this as a Richebourg blind, much better offering than the usual stuff coming out of this very large and varying quality vineyard. 97 points, drink 2022-2040

2001 Rousseau GC Clos St Jacques
As always, a wine that is again red-fruited and, typical of the Domaine, polished within an inch of it's life. Excellent, but again, current prices are a joke and are a reflection of supply v demand far more than quality. 92 points, drink now-2030.

deleted

2002 Doquet Le Mesnil BDB. First bottle (of a case) that I’ve tried since the Maison at time of release some years ago. Consumed over three nights. This was an absolute rip snorter… the perfect BDB just approaching its apogee. Day one was floral, day two it was overwhelmingly citrusy with minerality and day three it smelled of Capillano creamed honey. Can’t wait to open another one early 2023.

deleted

2019 Katnook Cabernet
Lovely waves of black and blue fruits. Generous palate plush with good weight whiff of oak and fine tannins. A delight.
Great warm up for the trip next week... will be going long on 2019s methinks
Cheers Craig

I used to like Katnook back in the ~ 1990s vintages, but after a disappointing couple of bottles in later vintages, haven't revisited them. Sounds like it might to interesting to try them again, albeit knowing my palate preferences have changed over the last 2 decades.

I managed to remember to open this a couple of hours beforehand. The end of the bottle told a sad tale, as I forgot to decant it and we missed a couple of mouthfuls due to residue. Not for the next 3? (2?) bottles that I still have!!! It's absolutely in the zone, the cork is only red on the end, the tannins are now all gone, and only a rich smack in the nose and mouth from the fruit remains. All Shiraz should taste like this!

I went along to the Clare Valley wine show and trophy presentation lunch last week. A great regional event. In previous years, COVID meant that the event was held over multiple locations, this year it was back to one venue which was great to see everyone in the same room again.

One thing that came from the show, not the results but general discussion, that it’s pretty unanimous amongst the winemaking fraternity that 2022 is an outstanding vintage, the term 'great' was bandied a bit, well a lot. 2021 was certainly lauded, but 2022 may be in the ‘great’ sphere, its being compared to 2002 and 2012 as the best vintage of the last 20 years.

2022 also represents 20 years since the Clare Valley Winemakers moved their Rieslings to screw cap. In recent days/weeks there have been a number of tastings looking at the 20-year anniversary of the wines, also the wine of provenance class in the show, many entered 2002 wines along with two other vintage wines. There has been significant praise of the 2002 vintage in terms of it freshness, poise and ‘world-class’ nature of some of the wines. Stuart Piggott was giving significant praise particularly the 2002 Mitchell Riesling.

I managed to try a number of wines on the day, many of the 2022 Rieslings I tried were stunning, also the quality of the 2020 and 2021 reds were great too.

The wine of the Show was 2022 Penna Lane Watervale Riesling winning about 4-5 trophies including Best Overall Wine of show. Sadly, I did not try it, but going on previous vintages of Penna Lane, no doubt it is a cracker. This was made by Steve Baraglia, from Pikes and Naked Run. I didn’t try any his wines on the day, but understand his 2022s are all excellent wines. Also didn’t get to any of the RieslingFreak Wines.

My favourite 2022 Riesling on the day, I hate to say it, was the Penfolds Cellar Reserve Polish Hill River, it was a stunning wine. Other excellent 2022 wines I tried were:

2022 Clos Clare Riesling
2022 Jim Barry Lodge Hill Riesling
2022 Jim Barry Florita Riesling
I could not hunt down a Merle to try, I got there a bit late clearly was consumed early.

Other wines that were note worthy:

2021 Wines by KT Peglidis Watervale Riesling – this should be an attractive long term keeper
2022 Pikes Wines Luccio Albarino – lovely wine
2022 Pauletts Sangiovese Rose – not a big Rose fan, but this was delicious. Also won the trophy for best rose, backing up its trophy in Adelaide. Certainly had a few winemakers taking a close look at it. Will be nice on the Pauletts deck in summer.
2012 Jim Barry Lodge Hill Riesling – this was stunning, lovely fruit and balance, in a really good place
2021 Jim Barry Lodge Hill Shiraz – the colour and vibrancy was sensational
2021 Jim Barry The Farm Cabernet Sauvignon – really well made
2021 Jim Barry Expressions Malbec – lovely fruit and tannins
2021 Woodvale Orchard Road Cabernet Sauvignon – Kevin again doing good things
2020 Pauletts 109 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon – lovely balance
2021 Jim Barry Single Vineyard The Farm Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec – this was probably my best red wine of the day - it was stunning.

There are a lot of Jim Barry wines noted, probably because we ended up with a fair few on our table, but they are doing some really good things and have a good thing happening at the moment.

After a day of young rieslings and reds, a couple of beers at the pub were welcomed

Matt, please don’t post like this! You’ve cost me a fortune as I want to buy them all now!

Thanks Matt, had a look at the results today.
Think I will look at Clos Clare, Merle, Florita, Gaelic Cemetery, Leonay and maybe some of the Naked Run.
Yep must get into the 30 or so CV and EV 2002 and 2012s.
I fondly remember getting a dozen 02 Mitchell's from the Arkaba Hotel, for about $12!! It wasn't considered at the time to be one of the shining lights, but 20 years under screw cap has obviously paid dividends.
I'm not a fortune teller but after 2012 the 20 year synergy just fell into place.
2022 is the swan song thankfully.
Am planning a trip to Clare shortly, after a week in Coonawarra will be a very nice contrast
Cheers Craig

Mike Hawkins wrote: ↑Wed Oct 19, 2022 6:56 pm Matt, please don’t post like this! You’ve cost me a fortune as I want to buy them all now!

Haha, well Mike if you sell 1/100th of your champagne collection it will probably be cost neutral (the beauty of Aussie riesling prices!)

Hi Craig, the Gaelic Cemetery is one I haven’t had before. Must check it out

+1
Was thinking exactly same.
One bottle would probably equate to a dozen Riesling
Cheers Craig

Yes used to be made by Pikes...nice wines.
Cheers Craig

Hi Craig, I ended up buying a case of the 2019 Celtic Farm… very cheap, so I can always gift them!

In Bonnie Scotland at the moment, where my mother keeps one of my wine stashes.

Been nice so far. The ‘14 Piñon has been my favourite - it was served at our wedding in 2017 and I still have a few bottles left. In the style of old Champers.

The 03 Clos de Sarpe has never been great, but the aromatics are improving with age. It does not have the acidity I would hope for in a Bdx and I can’t see it aging further, although I said that 5 years ago and it has improved.

The Jon Blanc is great. Natural style, without sulphur, this has the typical stinky cheese nose, but there is loads of melon and stone fruit underneath and a real complexity. No sign of being old or starting to oxidise. Yum.

Can’t get a picture of the ‘13 Wendouree cab/Malbec to load, but it’s lovely. It was drinkable via a pop and pour, but needed a few days left in the bottle to really open up. Nice and will go on for a while.

A big smile from me seeing the Pinon Vouvray Brut. It's been stocked in a local wine shop for many years and has been a super reliable wine and it ages well. Perhaps aromas/flavours of apple might point us away from Champagne, but I don't know of any Champagne that can deliver anywhere near the enjoyment & complexity for the price.

A BYO evening at a top local restaurant.

The Huards is an old favourite and not available in Auz for some reason. It’s on the edge of being oxidised, but becomes younger with air. Old champagne, quince and ginger. Yum.

The ‘12 Muscadet is still young and needs time. Went well with the shark, but needs time to turn into a great Muscadet.

The Wendouree is drinking well and is a ringer for a top Italian Cabernet. Good acidity and fruit.

2012 Mitolo GAM. Shiraz.
firing on all cylinders !

Big juicy beast. Love the dark fruits and oak. Tannins in the middle . bit of grip but starting to soften up.
Big big finish. Got miles in front of it.

deleted

Had a beautifully cellared 1998 Wirra Wirra Penley Cabernet.

Fantastic wine. Feels immortal. No way you would pick it was 24 years old. So youthful. I will look at my last bottle in 5 years

DJ1980 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 23, 2022 11:45 am Had a beautifully cellared 1998 Wirra Wirra Penley Cabernet.

Fantastic wine. Feels immortal. No way you would pick it was 24 years old. So youthful. I will look at my last bottle in 5 years

Drank my solitary bottle of this just over 4 years ago. I really liked the balance & that it wasn't tricked or bulked up. Not especially complex, but potential for that to emerge over 5-10 years.

From your bottle, it sounds like the 5-10 years might have been overly cautious (and especially so, as I do enjoy wines fully and even over-mature). How was it for complexity?

Tasting face to face with my Wierd Wine group last night.

The only oddity was the first - a pet Nat sparkler from Alois Lageder, MUS XX1. Made from Moscato Giallo and Muller Thurgau, it was grapey, slightly sparkling and only had 11.8%. Nice way to start. 3*

1988 Baron de L was next. Still pale, this had lovely acidity and plenty minerality. Creamy, yellow fruit, quite thick. Touch of green veg on the finish. Opens up well and really is gorgeous. Most Sauvignon Blanc is drunk too young and this shows that it really can age. 4*

Jelle’s brother is a chef and was cooking for us today. With the goose liver we had a half of Climens 07. Very fat, with lots of botrytis , appricots and marmalade. Yum.3.5*

Next up was the 14 Cotat Les Culs de Beaujeu. Fantastic nose - all minerals and a hint of green fruit. The palate does not quite match the nose, with plenty of asparagus and acidity. Never been a fan of this house, but that’s because I’ve mostly had them young. This will be singing in another 10 years. 4*

Up next was a 1990 Corton Charlemange from the now defunct Denis Pierre et Fils. Perfect fill, getting near the end of its peak drinking window, this was perfect with some creamy mushrooms. Truffel, silky texture, just a hint of oxidation, long finish. Real old burg. Lovely. 4*

Next we had a dish of Tarbot and Cauliflower Taboulet. With this we had the 2012 IO Cammino da Solo. We are in orange wine country here and this is a classy version. It has the orange notes, and is quite pungent, but it’s also silky and round. Great with the food, this is the best wine I have had in this style for a while. 4*

We moved onto reds next and we had the 2013 Grange de Peres and the 17 Clos St Jacques, Bruno Clair, with some duck confit and a rich risotto. 2 lovely wines. The Grange obviously is terrible value if you try to buy it now, but Jelle has been buying this and Trevallon for years. This has that Langeudoc Syrah funk, lots of red fruit, leather and a ‘please fill my glass up’ drinkability. Yum. The Clos St Jacques was much younger tasting and needed some time to blow of an almond nose. It really grew with air and had that beguiling quality that only Grand (or top 1er ) Cru can give. Both 4*

At this point we had another 4 reds already, but Jelle told me to to the Cellar and pull out whatever I wanted. I new he had some old Sparkling Shiraz somewhere, but I couldn’t find it, so we decided on cabernet, which meant his last bottle of 2000 Lafite. We decanted it and it was a great wine, with lots of earth and clay, lovely balance and already some complexity. It is of course 20 or 30 years from its peak and so it wasn’t the fireworks you would expect from such a wine. Lovely to try though 4*

Cheese was out now and Jelle’s wife and brother went back up to the cellar (it’s in the roof) and gave us a wine to try blind. We all guessed it - Trevallon Blanc, this time from 2009. I like Trevallon, but it’s the white that really stands out for me. This has the best nose of the day , full of minerality and yellow fruit. In the mouth it’s thick, layers and light all at the same time. Alcohol was no doubt effecting me tasting at the point, but was clearly a step above all the previous wines. Fantastic. 4.5*

The real cheese wine was the 1984 Clos de Coulaine Savenieres from Francois Roussier. Another house that is no more. This was the wine I was most looking forward to and it did not disappoint. A lot of old Savenieres can be dry and taste of apples, but this was nothing like it. Round and creamy, pale in colour and full of minerals. It’s unreal that it is so full of life at this age, but it was sourced from an old Belgian Cellar and that makes a difference. Brilliant and even more impressive than the Trevallon. 4.5*

Last wine was picked by Danielle again - 1996 Salon. Always like ending on some bubbles, and this is as grand as it gets. More vinous now, with a refined mousse. It’s nice, but it was really lost on me after all the other wines. 3.5*

General consensus was the the Trev Blanc was the wine of the day, with the Cotat and the Savenieres close behind.

It’s sad that I live on the other side of the world now as I really miss these afternoon. We drink wines together via zoom and Auspost, but there is nothing like being with people.

It’s not loading all the photos at the moment. Will try later.

There comes a point when you need a break and after the excesses of Monday (after all that wine over lunch I ended up at the world famous BonteKoe in Leiden at midnight) Tues was 1 bottle of Piper- Heidsieck between 3 and yesterday was a glass of bubbles followed by the 15 Coche Aligote at Restauant Amarone in Rotterdam. For its size (< 500k people) Rotterdammers are spoiled with a number of great restaurants and wine lists.

I have only drunk Coche a few times and this was the first Aligote. It’s bigger than the Leroy version, but very fine. The nose is Smokey and while the wine does not have the power of the Chardonnays I have tried, there was lovely lemon oil and silky citrus fruit. Really lovely with the delicate fish dishes we had. Yum.

1 more blow out tonight with Tom Canavan and some Wine-pages contributors and then I can take it easy.

1997 Rockford VP Shiraz
whilst all the accolades for Rocky revolve around the Basket Press and Black Shiraz, both over-rated IMO, this wine is spectacular and for me, the king of the Rockford castle. I'm not much of a port drinker, the cases from the 80's and 90's in my cellar just stare at me every time I go down there, but this might change my habit.
still young and fruit-forward, but a kaleidoscope of sweet fruits, earth, herbs and wild-flowers. Great length and persistence, easily the best non-Rutherglen fortified wine I have seen in Australia. Smashes many Portuguese wines of similar ilk, a superb value. 96points, drink 2022-2050

felixp21 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 28, 2022 9:42 am 1997 Rockford VP Shiraz
whilst all the accolades for Rocky revolve around the Basket Press and Black Shiraz, both over-rated IMO, this wine is spectacular and for me, the king of the Rockford castle. I'm not much of a port drinker, the cases from the 80's and 90's in my cellar just stare at me every time I go down there, but this might change my habit.
still young and fruit-forward, but a kaleidoscope of sweet fruits, earth, herbs and wild-flowers. Great length and persistence, easily the best non-Rutherglen fortified wine I have seen in Australia. Smashes many Portuguese wines of similar ilk, a superb value. 96points, drink 2022-2050

Many thanks Felix, have two of these from the young lads birth year...they didn't release one in my older lads year.
IIRC in a 750 ml bottle, can't ever understand why VPs are in 500 or 375 ml...the love doesn't go very far.

Cheers Craig

2019 Penley Estate Eos Shiraz Cabernet 65/35 split. Popped and poured surprisingly light in palate weight and texture savoury notes with twinge of black berry and cherry, silky slippery tannins, very mellow with not a hair out of place.
Reflects the 2019 vintage, smooth and goes down easily. Will put the rest away but certainly not a $100 wine, glad I paid nowhere near that.
Cheers Craig

Edit, after 2 hours in the decanter, opened up beautifully.
Cheers Craig