The Auswine Forum

phillisc wrote: ↑Sat May 24, 2025 9:47 pm Thanks for the note.
2002 should be good...no JR no single vineyard
Cheers Craig

Did not realise that? I’d always assumed 02 a good year (like most even years in SA!)… will have to try and get my hands on more.
Cheers Ed

I had a Fourrier 2009 Les Goulots last night. I bought this via Ross Duke, a lovely passionate man who bought Fourrier to Oz with VERY favoured terms partly because his daughter Vicky married Jean-Marie. If only we knew the absolute BARGAINS these were then, but luckily I bought a few, including this lovely wine. I think it was around $90 per bottle.
Mature, but some would say there is more in the tank. Opened with a slight spritz but I seem to remember that Jean-Marie bottled with CO2 as a preservative and it needed quite a shake of the bottle to release the gas. Medium to medium/full bodied, a subtle cherry, small berry fruit influence was married with the beginning of the ‘forest floor’ secondary profile. What a pleasure to drink, and without hesitation the best bottle I have had this year.

A shitty day in Adelaide but finally some rain!
One's mind shifts to VP's when it gets cold, and dark early, so pulled out a

1975 Ch. Reynella Vintage Port - ( 'Port' was used in those days )

A quite amazing wine for its age - quite tawny in colour, a great, complex spiritous/Shiraz nose and a nice dry finish.
Beautifully balanced - a lovely mouthful while watching 'Long Way Home'

2021 Ox Hardy Slate MV Shiraz. This is fantastic, liquid velvet so rich and smooth, dark chocolate, spice, a touch of oak (did spend 2 years in French barrels), leading to a long firm finish. Drink now with a 2 hour decant or anytime over the next 25 years.
2022 Geddes Seldom Inn MV Shiraz Grenache Mataro. What a blast from the past. Haven't had this label for 25 years, rich plush profile, a delight. Must make a visit.
Cheers Craig

Houghton 2017 CW Ferguson Franklin River Cabernet Malbec. Enjoyed with another sensational meal at Paris Go in Carlton VIC. BYO $19 pb which is very reasonable. Celebrating 2 birthdays and catching up with son and partner so we pushed the boat out. Mulberries, plum, and many other black fruits. Nice oak treatment and surprisingly approachable at such a tender age. Superb mouthfeel and balance. All commented it was a WOW wine although we had moderate expectation. Another 5 in the cellar.

Also enjoyed a St Johns Road 2020 MR Chardonnay, a very very nice Louis Boullot NV Cremant Rose, and a Sauterne that was a bit thin, lacking fruit sweetness I have come to know from OZ stickies. Maybe a different style. The food was sensational with everyone dipping into each others plates with "Yum" being the most used descriptor. Plenty of bread to mop up sauces. Best restaurant meal in a long time and servings were large and sauces to die for. Very inexpensive too with linen service and excellent service.

The 17 CW is available at Cellarone for $40 in 6 pack delivered. Amazing value IMHO. I'll try to sneak another case while SWMBO is not looking.

2007 Rockford BP
Lovely wine in its prime, good cork, inky black, good palate weight a twinge of sweetness. Great drinking with 5 years in the tank.
1997 Wynns John Riddoch
Very enjoyable, good cork and colour, just browning on the rim, fine enduring palate, carrying through to drying tannins, peaking and or just beginning a gentle fade, probably 2-5 years for remaining bottles.
2015 Mitchell Pepper Tree.
This was very good, plush rich, holding very well. Strong tannins, firm finish...no rush. another 5-10 easily.
Cheers Craig

1990 Penfolds Bin 389…. My favourite from this label after the 1971. This is in great nick with lots of Cabernet dominant aromas and flavours. Excellent balance and length. Shame it isn’t made this way anymore.

1998 Elderton Command… a bit riper than I remember and could have easily passed for a 12 year old wine. Good without being memorable.

2006 Hobbs Shiraz… two bottles, first of which had a profile to the Command. The second was a bit more balanced. Really good wine.

2018 Rockford BP…. Plum and chocolate…. Quintessential BV Shiraz. Will be really good in a decade.

phillisc wrote: ↑Mon Jun 02, 2025 1:39 pm 2007 Rockford BP
Lovely wine in its prime, good cork, inky black, good palate weight a twinge of sweetness. Great drinking with 5 years in the tank.
Cheers Craig

Had the 2002 BP Friday and what an amazing wine.
Cooler vintage showed with a bit more fennel and aniseed, mocha and blue plums. Back cherry, soft and silky tannin that was perfectly integrated. More floral than the usual BP, leather and tobacco. Has easily 5 + left, probably more. Best BP I have had

Also in the line up:

NV Andre Clouet Grande Reserve Champagne
2012 Woodlands Chloe Chardonnay
2009 Chateau Beychevelle
NV Campbell's Grand Topaque


The BP wiped the floor with the Beychevelle. As good as that was (and it was very good) the BP was better

Thanks Rossco, lucky to have a sixer and a few loose bottles of the 2002 BP.
2007 was a bit of a ho hum vintage, but this bottle showed very well.

Cheers Craig

I’ve found the 2002 BP underwhelming over a number of bottles. Must revisit as it could just be some of the wild variation of the time.

phillisc wrote: ↑Tue Jun 03, 2025 1:12 pm Thanks Rossco, lucky to have a sixer and a few loose bottles of the 2002 BP.
2007 was a bit of a ho hum vintage, but this bottle showed very well.

Cheers Craig

Was my first of 3 bottles bottles bought directly from winery.
Cannot wait to see the other two in the future.

I have seen reports that this vintage is past it and not as good as others, which is why I opened it. Turns out that's not the case based on mine and it was spectacular. Genuinely a memorable wine moment

Out of a dozen bottles of 2002 and 2004 BP that I have drank over the years, I found they are the best. I am lucky to still have one of each. The last time that I had the 2002 BP was in Jan 2025.

I’ve still got 8 bottles of 2002 BP according to cellartracker. I’ll stand a few up.

I had to cancel a BP event I was organising abroad which would have used up 30 bottles of late 90’s and early 2000’s BP. I had planned using the 02 as a dinner wine after a vertical . Really need to deplete my stocks.

I am a little the same, need to run a few big verticals, perhaps lamb on the spit with a few boozy mates, who will appreciate largely anything
When i am next down at the cellar, will fetch an 02.
Cheers Craig

Opened a bottle of 2017 scotchman’s hill Cornelius Syrah from their spray farm vineyard in Geelong on the bellarine coast. Is really nice! Very nice aroma, very smooth, nice acidity that carries the wine. I don’t have all the descriptors and whatnot but a very nice smooth cool climate Syrah, very enjoyable to drink and I think I only bought it for $50. Very impressed and would recommend!

Chris Ringland CR Barossa Shiraz 23 - A cooler, rain affected vintage early on. Picking was later than average years. This is very consistent even with vintage variation however. Style is the main thing. Loads of colour and rich, warm flavours. Blackberry, plums, mocha, spice and velvety soft tannins. - 22/5/25

Pepperjack Certified Shiraz 23 - I usually get the Shiraz Cabernet blend, but this is a Shiraz. Matured in old and new oak for 15 months. It packs a punch. A dense, deep purple colour and legs in the glass. Loads of flavour and intensity. Blackberry, plums, aniseed and sweet coffee/vanilla oak. Rich and full-bodied with soft, powdery tannins. - 25/5/25

Stumpy Gully Peninsula Panorama Pinot Noir 24 - Sourced from their vineyard (est 1989) at Moorooduc using a few different clones. Ruby colour and very aromatic. Feels like a lighter style, but good fruit intensity and fresh vibrant acidity. Dark cherry, rhubarb, spice, some earthy pong and soft tannins. - 27/5/25

Peter Lehmann The Bond Grenache 21 - Drunk a few bottles of this vintage, and thinking I should pick up a couple more before it runs out. Dark ruby colour and lots of fruit intensity. Feels medium-bodied. Red fruits, cherry, earth and spice. Vibrant with fresh acidity, subtle savoury oak and soft tannins. - 31/5/25

Peter Lehmann The Bond Shiraz 21 - Deep red-purple colour, fruit driven and 14.5% a/v. Lush, lifted aromatics and generous helpings of blackberry, plums and cherry with sweet chocolatey oak and spice. Got some weight on the palate and typical Barossa intensity. Drinking this over two nights, a little more tannin showing on the second. - 3/6/25

Sidewood Shiraz 21 - Got this in the latest wine club order. Wild yeast, 100% French oak and 15 months maturation time. A bigger style of Shiraz from Adelaide Hills with 14.5% a/v. Definitely feels like this has settled nicely with an extra year or two bottle age. Deeply coloured and funky aromatics. Spice, plums, cherry, dark chocolate and herbs. Good intensity with smooth, powdery tannins. - 5/6/25

Sidewood Pinot Noir 23 - Wild yeast, some whole bunch and 10 months in larger French oak barrels. Ruby colour and bell clear varietal character. Red fruits, cherry, forest floor and herbs. Feels like a lighter style with fruit intensity and clean, fresh acidity on the palate. Nice lingering aftertaste and soft tannins. - 6/6/25

2018 Hurley Vineyard Garamond Pinot Noir

at seven years this is at peak. Let slow ox for five hours prior (it initially opened very closed) this displayed pretty red fruits, decent length and some interest in complexity. Quite sweet-fruited, but balanced by a nice acid and tannin spine. I am not a huge fan of Mornington Peninsula pinot, but this is a good effort. 89 points, drink: now-2028

Majella 2012 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon.

I believe it was many years ago that Ian (aka N4sir) commented that he regarded the Majella Coonawarra Cabernet as the benchmark Coonawarra cabernet. He was not wrong. The Majella 2012 is a quintessential Coonawarra cabernet. Last bottle from our old Adelaide home cellar. Decanted for 3 hours. Beguiling aromas and tastes of blackcurrant, blackberry, cedar, boysenberry, cigar box. Nice unobtrusive oak treatment. Tannins that were quite assertive in it's youth have now developed but still plenty for future aging. Nice acidity. Perfect balance with everything in its place. It's still a pup and has the tannins and acids to allow this to age for another 10+ years. And still just $35 direct from winery. Back up the truck stuff. Enjoyed with crumbed lamb cutlets, mashed potatoes and baby peas.

The front label says, like raised braille, “We adore you baby Tui and thank you for entering our lives in 2012. This is for you, your mum, your nana and your great nana moten (I can’t quite decipher that word, sorry Fraser) four amazing women. xxxx”.
I have opened a bottle and it has been sitting in the decanter for five hours, although I took a sneaky sip up front. I knew I had the perfect wine for catching up with our London based daughter and her wonderful husband. We are holidaying in a small town in Switzerland named Ovronnaz surrounded by mountains. Just superb.
We have cooked medium rare fillet steak with red wine jus (not the Tui!)

Baby Tui is equal or even has surpassed any other wine I have experienced. The Halliday comment of the iron fist in a velvet glove applies here even though he was referring specifically to Wendouree. I would prefer to refer this wine as strength in silk. Deep rich fruit only just entering a secondary phase of opulence that only a rare breed of Barossa Shiraz can capture. This rises above any Barossa, or for that matter, any red wine experience I can recall. I am blessed to have a couple more of these but there is no immediate hurry to drink. But I cannot think of a better time than now to treat yourself, close friends and family to a memorable wine experience.

Very interesting I hadn’t heard of baby tui before from Sami odi . Ovronnaz looks superb also !

SipAndANibble wrote: ↑Sun Jun 08, 2025 7:48 pm Very interesting I hadn’t heard of baby tui before from Sami odi . Ovronnaz looks superb also !

Sorry, I could have been clearer. Baby Tui is the 2012 iteration of the Hoffmann Dallwitz releases, with most vines established well over a century ago. It is great to see such brilliant evolution of these wines. It gives me great confidence in continuing to purchase every year. Sorry, those people who are waiting to join the mailing list.

Hacker wrote: ↑Sun Jun 08, 2025 4:36 pm The front label says, like raised braille, “We adore you baby Tui and thank you for entering our lives in 2012. This is for you, your mum, your nana and your great nana moten (I can’t quite decipher that word, sorry Fraser) four amazing women. xxxx”.
I have opened a bottle and it has been sitting in the decanter for five hours, although I took a sneaky sip up front. I knew I had the perfect wine for catching up with our London based daughter and her wonderful husband. We are holidaying in a small town in Switzerland named Ovronnaz surrounded by mountains. Just superb.
We have cooked medium rare fillet steak with red wine jus (not the Tui!)

Baby Tui is equal or even has surpassed any other wine I have experienced. The Halliday comment of the iron fist in a velvet glove applies here even though he was referring specifically to Wendouree. I would prefer to refer this wine as strength in silk. Deep rich fruit only just entering a secondary phase of opulence that only a rare breed of Barossa Shiraz can capture. This rises above any Barossa, or for that matter, any red wine experience I can recall. I am blessed to have a couple more of these but there is no immediate hurry to drink. But I cannot think of a better time than now to treat yourself, close friends and family to a memorable wine experience.

I agree, an amazing wine and my favourite Sami Odi to date.

Enjoy the holiday!

Took a 2002 Grosset PH to day one of the World Test Championship at Lords. Despite the average glassware, this remains a cracking wine (fantastic line and length) with the loveliest lime aromas and beautiful cleansing acidity. Plenty of life left

2016 Hardys HRB Chardonnay - rich, almost unctuous yet retaining a degree of freshness.
1998 Yalumba Menzies Coon. Cab. - bottle emptied too quickly! Beautifully aged and stylish red - a delight.

Cape Mentelle Marri Chardonnay 24 - Named after the local marri trees around Margaret River. When they flower in late summer into autumn the birds are attracted to that rather than the grapes, so often a big factor in vintages. Straw coloured and very clean and fresh. Lightly oaked with tropical fruit, stonefruit and moderate acidity. - 9/6/25

Oakridge Willowlake Pinot Noir 22 - A single vineyard site in red volcanic soils at Gladysdale, Yarra Valley. Whole berry/bunch, open fermenter and 10 months in French oak. All MV6 clone. Ruby colour and florals. Cherry, red fruits, rhubarb and savoury spice. Feels fresh and vibrant with obvious fruit character and punchy acidity. A little tannin if you want to get age on it for a bit more complexity. - 10/6/25

Vasse Felix Filius Chardonnay 24 - An early, warm vintage. Lighter style of MR Chardonnay showing typical clean fruit character. Natural ferment, a mix of used barriques and larger foudres and 7 months maturation. Green gold colour. Citrus, white nectarine, cashew and minerals. Moderate oak influence. Feels robust and very fresh with a chalky texture on the palate. - 11/6/25

Sidewood Chardonnay 23 - Not done a note on the Sidewood Chardonnay for ages, though we drink it often. I think we have been drinking the 22 vintage up until recently. Wild yeast and 8 months in French oak. Straw colour. Got that clean purity of fruit you see in these Adelaide Hills whites. Stonefruit, grapefruit, lemon drops and spice. Good balance of fruit and oak influence. Comes up nice as it warms up in the glass. - 12/6/25

Grant Burge The Holy Trinity 21 - A traditional Barossa GSM. Sourced from 50 to 120yo dry-grown vines and matured in old oak puncheons and foudres. Deeply coloured and floral aromatics. Really enjoying the plush fruit in this. Raspberry, plum, mulberry, earth and spice. Some tannin, but this has settled in with the wine. Feels nicely balanced and obviously could be kept a while. But much too easy to drink now. - 13/6/25

Port Phillip Estate Balnarring Pinot Noir 23 - 2nd bottle of this Pinot and really enjoying it. Open fermenter, wild yeast and some whole bunch. Got 11 months in mostly older French oak. Ruby colour and lovely earthy/spice aromas. Go slow with it, opens up nicely in the glass. Dark cherry, red fruits, herbs and forest floor. Feels silky smooth with soft tannins. - 14/6/25

Mike Hawkins wrote: ↑Thu Jun 12, 2025 5:15 am Took a 2002 Grosset PH to day one of the World Test Championship at Lords. Despite the average glassware, this remains a cracking wine (fantastic line and length) with the loveliest lime aromas and beautiful cleansing acidity. Plenty of life left

Snap! Almost. Took a 2005 to share with Mr Carrington, who fabulously secured tickets, to The Ashes in 2019. Brilliant wine. Same day as Smith got hit in the head by a rocket.

TravisW wrote: ↑Sun Jun 15, 2025 1:24 pm

Mike Hawkins wrote: ↑Thu Jun 12, 2025 5:15 am Took a 2002 Grosset PH to day one of the World Test Championship at Lords. Despite the average glassware, this remains a cracking wine (fantastic line and length) with the loveliest lime aromas and beautiful cleansing acidity. Plenty of life left

Snap! Almost. Took a 2005 to share with Mr Carrington, who fabulously secured tickets, to The Ashes in 2019. Brilliant wine. Same day as Smith got hit in the head by a rocket.

I went again yesterday but didn’t bother with wine. To my knowledge it’s the only cricket ground that allows byo.

Mike Hawkins wrote: ↑Sun Jun 15, 2025 4:58 pm

TravisW wrote: ↑Sun Jun 15, 2025 1:24 pm

Mike Hawkins wrote: ↑Thu Jun 12, 2025 5:15 am Took a 2002 Grosset PH to day one of the World Test Championship at Lords. Despite the average glassware, this remains a cracking wine (fantastic line and length) with the loveliest lime aromas and beautiful cleansing acidity. Plenty of life left

Snap! Almost. Took a 2005 to share with Mr Carrington, who fabulously secured tickets, to The Ashes in 2019. Brilliant wine. Same day as Smith got hit in the head by a rocket.

I went again yesterday but didn’t bother with wine. To my knowledge it’s the only cricket ground that allows byo.

Agree we took a 1986 Seppelt Show Sparking Shiraz to the 2012 ODI in June. Good game but still no win for the Aussies

2023 Wynns BL Cab
New livery is awful, why don't the muppet marketers leave well alone. Now known as the original...whatever next.
Opens with quite a muted nose, blue and more blue fruits really magnified, a whiff of oak. So distinctively Coonawarra on the palate, very cool climate feel, presence of oak, with firm drying chalky tannins.
Just lacks a fraction in the mouth, not as rich, plush or unctuous as previous offerings. That said no harsh edges, green notes or overt acid.
Will need to dig out a 2019 or 2021 to compare. A mate said Wynns make too many wines now, is BL becoming diluted...he could be right.
It should be the only offering from the tricky 2023 vintage, so should see the best available fruit.

Will have a chat to the winemaker on Wednesday, see what he thinks.
At $21 through the chains last week, so not a bad buy.

Cheers Craig

phillisc wrote: ↑Mon Jun 16, 2025 9:25 am 2023 Wynns BL Cab
New livery is awful, why don't the muppet marketers leave well alone. Now known as the original...whatever next.
Will have a chat to the winemaker on Wednesday, see what he thinks.
At $21 through the chains last week, so not a bad buy.

Cheers Craig

Had a quick look side by side of the new and old labels.
Looks to me they are relying on Brand strength rather than region. Not sure on The Original, may be a change to lure newer drinkers to it? I think to most it will still resonate as BL.
But definitely looks like they have taken cost of out the packaging in particular the front label design, in the current state of the market, a wise thing to do.