The Auswine Forum

Some 93 Petaluma Riesling is coming up for auction here soon and I'm tempted buy it, but its 14 bottles and thats a lot to pour down the sink if its past it. I remember it being a very grapy wine back then (muscat like) and I'm not sure how it will have lasted. Any body tried it, or other 93 rieslings, recently ?

Forgot to say that I had the 2000 Coonawarra Cab/Merlot sat night. Great wine. Lovely balance and perfume, not at all heavy, with bags of structure and red berry fruit. Lovely with a Danish version of beef wellington.

No, I haven't tried the 93 Petaluma or other 93s recently, but I would be very surprised if it is past it (barring catastrophic storage).

In my experience, the Petaluma ages beautifully. I have had 20 y.o. Petaluma, and it is great.

mychurch wrote:I remember it being a very grapy wine

hahahaha i know exactly what you mean, i love it when people describe wine with all these metaphors, but hearing that put a smile on my face this morning...

hmmm wrote:

mychurch wrote:I remember it being a very grapy wine

hahahaha i know exactly what you mean, i love it when people describe wine with all these metaphors, but hearing that put a smile on my face this morning...

Yes, I tend to prefer the grapey wines too.

"I don't know, I'm picking up something on the mid-palate, some sort of fruit, grape, perhaps....?"

Nick just wrote in the school day delights thread:

1991 Petaluma Coonawarra - spectacular, probably RWOTY so far.
1994 Petaluma Coonawarra - if anything more developed than the 1991, still a wonderful old wine but clearly shaded by its older brother.
1990 Petaluma Riesling - spectacular, probably WWOTY so far.

Petaluma wines are generally very long lived but yes, obviously storage is an issue. I guess if the price is right, it's worth a gamble though but if it's overpriced, maybe not. But when they are good, they are very, very good.

I personally don't have any 93 rieslings as I started collecting these in the 97 vintage.

BTW, I have God is a DJ as my ringtone. I LOVE that song.

Thanks for that.

The description says that 2 of the bottles have corroded capsules, which i take to be the sign of a nice wet cellar.

Luckily there does not seem to be much interest in old auz white wine here, so the estimate is only 20-30 euro for 14 bottles....

Actually picked up the 97 Clarendon Hills Semillon last month for 25 Euro a case....Richer than I had expected, with some toast and the slightest wiff of petrol.. Absolute steal for the money.

I'll post a note if my bid is successful.

mychurch wrote:Thanks for that.

The description says that 2 of the bottles have corroded capsules, which i take to be the sign of a nice wet cellar.

Luckily there does not seem to be much interest in old auz white wine here, so the estimate is only 20-30 euro for 14 bottles....

Actually picked up the 97 Clarendon Hills Semillon last month for 25 Euro a case....Richer than I had expected, with some toast and the slightest wiff of petrol.. Absolute steal for the money.

I'll post a note if my bid is successful.

97 was a good year for the clarendon hills whites. Loved the chardonnay as well.

Good Luck!

Carl

Well I picked up 14 bottles last Thursday, took them home and opened one up. Nice pale colour, with no sign of aging. Slighly soapy nose, with none of the petrol I was expecting. Very fruity, but its just like I remember from all those years ago - very grapey and very mucscat like. The fruit domiantes and for me its lacking a bit in acidity. Finish was a bit short and bitter, but I think that was just due to the travel. If you like the Petaluma style, then its a good wine with still years of potential. I'm not a fan though and I was left with that "what am I going to do with the rest of the bottles feeling".

Opened up 2 other bottles to see if decanting had an effect. The first was very dark and oxidised, the other inbetween the first and the second.

I've put the rest in the wine fridge though and I'll try another in a couple of weeks.