The Auswine Forum

GRB wrote:Has anyone heard anything more about this wine, I emailed the guy about and week ago and haven't heard back. Anyone else got a reply yet?

Thanks

Glen

cuttlefish wrote:I emailed, got no reply, so rang and ordered a case. The girl who answered the phone knew the deal, so it doesn't appear to be "Top Secret".

Christo wrote:

cuttlefish wrote:I emailed, got no reply, so rang and ordered a case. The girl who answered the phone knew the deal, so it doesn't appear to be "Top Secret".

number? what was deivery to sydney p/case?

cheers
c

Ph: +61 (0)8 8568 6217
delivery $13 p/case to sydney

bought 1x of each 98 & 06 for my father in law.. i'll sneek a btl of each to try as my comission.
c

Tim Smith wrote:Just working through my first bottle out of my case purchase.
First impression is that the wine looks so young and fresh for a 98. The spirit looks a little 'tailsy' (i.e in laymans terms this is lesser quality spirit )on the nose and the palate is probably on the sweeter side of what I would consider ideal for VP, even by Aussie standards. If you have tried Damien Tscharke's 04 Touriga VP or the 06 Kalleske Shiraz VP, they are both right on the money in terms of Baume/alcohol balance. Regardless, at $60/doz I dont think you'll find better value from any region in Austalia at the moment with this style. Safe to say this can be put away for at least another 10 years easily...
Anybody keen to add a more comprehensive TN?

orpheus wrote:Did you taste these ports? What did you think?

Edit: 1987 Seppelt GR number & grammar.

n4sir wrote:

orpheus wrote:Did you taste these ports? What did you think?

I tasted the lot and would recommend all to Vintage Port lovers (didn't take any notes but the following are my impressions).

First up was the Peter Lehmann 1998 The King (750ml $15/bottle) at CD which is heady stuff, full of black liquorice, liniment and just a hint of bacon. After the first wallop it seems very refined and rather plush, the quality spirit dropping into the background behind the fruit - it's gorgeous now, but will easily improve and last another 10-20 years in a good cellar, possibly more. I was looking for a 1998 Barossa VP to match up to my McLaren Vale & Rutherglen wines and this fitted the bill perfectly.

After asking them about why it was so cheaply priced, I then asked whether if what was going on at Seppeltsfield was any factor (referring to the previous cleanskins) - they then dropped the bombshell that a previous customer had told them they were now selling VPs as cheaply as $2/bottle (not quite right, but close enough), so logically the the next stop was Seppeltsfield:

At the CD they kindly presented a mini-vertical of their VPs that was available for sale - the major thing that struck me was the consistency when taking into account the difference between some vintages:

2006 Cleanskin Fortified Shiraz Touriga, 750ml (screwcap) $80/dozen: What I've written before about this wine sums it up - very young and fruity, full of black liquorice and earth and rich, blackberry fruit. At the moment you could virtually drink it as a dinner wine with something rich like Osso Buco or slow-cooked lamb shanks with rosemary & a red wine/tomato reduction. It will last close to a lifetime under that screwcap too.

2001 Seppeltsfield Show Vintage Fortified Shiraz Touriga, 375ml (cork) $20/bottle: The labeled version at full cost looked a lot better than at a previous tasting, earthy with a core of sweetly scrubbed berries and minty spirit and black liquorice. Still slightly in the shadow of the others, a little in between phases, but it's mainly because of the price difference.

1998 Cleanskin Fortified Shiraz Touriga Cabernet, 375ml (cork) $60/dozen: The cabernet component is more obvious in a mini-vertical like this, and this time I liked the difference - it had been opened about 20 hours earlier, and had more ash/tobacco and sous bois and less minty/herbal characters than at previous tastings. That said, there's still the thunderous liquorice, earth and spirit of a good VP. I thought $5/bottle was getting ridiculous for this kind of quality...

1999 Seppelt GR54 Fortified Shiraz Touriga, 375ml (cork) $30/dozen: A little more developed/less fruity and earthier than the 2001 vintage, about the same stage as the 1998 but without the herbal/ashen cabernet and with additional black liquorice characters, maybe a fraction shorter but that's nit-picking. $2.50/bottle is just crazy.

1987 Seppeltsfield Show Vintage Fortified Touriga, 750ml (cork) $45/bottle: (I think this was the old GR127 under the original Seppelt label when it was first released years ago) Another twelve years on and it's softer, richer and more complex, just a hint of wood polish on the bouquet and a slightly nuttiness on the palate too. Great stuff, and will hold this form for quite a few more years yet.

Cheers,
Ian

Teisto wrote:It might be an untapped market. I mean groups get stubby holders made, there could be a new demand for port sippers?

daver6 wrote:Speaking of port sippers...

Ive always wondered where the idea behind them came from. Anyone able to shed any light on this?

thanks

david

Teisto wrote:Thanks VC.

It might be an untapped market. I mean groups get stubby holders made, there could be a new demand for port sippers?

A little more gentrified than the old Bundy and Coke.

Cheers

Teisto wrote:Thanks VC.

It might be an untapped market. I mean groups get stubby holders made, there could be a new demand for port sippers?