I can only assume Ric is on the road...

[simm]

... so without wanting to step on anyones toes here goes my entry under the "Weekend Reports due , please" title:

Norman's Chais Clarendon Cabernet 1999:

Colour: Strong, slightly dusty garnet, with a hint of bricking to come around the edges.

Nose: Raspberries, blackberry, plums, cedar, all mingling nicely with spices. Slightly pongy smell lifting quickly.

Palate: Red cherry acids, porty nuance mixed with red plums and powerful green tannins...
After half an hour it softens to blackberry and darker plums with green skin nuances. Oak seems to be balancing out a little better. Strangely, it looks like this wine can not make up it's mind as to whether it is made up of warm or cool climate fruit.
After an hour and a half it has settled down to a barely mid-weight wine with green tannins standing strong and the fruit falling away under the dominance of cedar. The length is getting shorter and I doubt even food would help (you could try but I would say 'don't bother'). A very sad, unbalanced outcome. In an attempt to defend it I can't find any other faults other than simply bad wine!

I can't really recommend this wine (and I'm a bit of a fan normally) and I think giving it a 87/100 is being generous, even if you can find it for $15/bottle.

And this is the only one I got to this weekend
regards,

[GraemeG]

1999 Tahbilk Marsanne (Nagambie)

Mid-deep yellow, developed, sweetish nose of marzipan, nougat, and honeysuckle. Quite a heavyweight on the palate - a little oiliness, sure, but still enough acid to keep things fresh. Very drinkable indeed, although seems to have come on quickly in the last 18 months or so. Very attractive wine now, and will no doubt hold for a few years. Cost all of $9 when I bought it, and worth every penny.

cheers,
Graeme

[simm]

1999 Tahbilk Marsanne (Nagambie)

Mid-deep yellow, developed, sweetish nose of marzipan, nougat, and honeysuckle. Quite a heavyweight on the palate - a little oiliness, sure, but still enough acid to keep things fresh. Very drinkable indeed, although seems to have come on quickly in the last 18 months or so. Very attractive wine now, and will no doubt hold for a few years. Cost all of $9 when I bought it, and worth every penny.

cheers,
Graeme

This seems to be a real specialty for Tahbilk, coming up top of the rank in good years, and good in the bad!

cheers,

[michaelw]

I opened a bottle we received a Christmas hamper we won from my son's pre-school. I was apprehensive.

1999 Maple Vale Semillon Chardonnay: not your average white blend and, it seems, with good reason. It's made in Griffith and is from the South Eastern Australia region. Sweet-ish, short and altogether unappealing. One glass was more than I could tolerate.

The hamper was made up of donations. No prizes for guessing why this was donated! But it must be said that the rest of the hamper was great. Christmas puddings, Ferrero Rochers, nuts, teas, jams, etc. One bottle of wine and it was bloody terrible!

[simm]

I opened a bottle we received a Christmas hamper we won from my son's pre-school. I was apprehensive.

1999 Maple Vale Semillon Chardonnay: not your average white blend and, it seems, with good reason. It's made in Griffith and is from the South Eastern Australia region. Sweet-ish, short and altogether unappealing. One glass was more than I could tolerate.

The hamper was made up of donations. No prizes for guessing why this was donated! But it must be said that the rest of the hamper was great. Christmas puddings, Ferrero Rochers, nuts, teas, jams, etc. One bottle of wine and it was bloody terrible!

Hi Michael,
Seems to be the way with hampers, I have only ever donated without giving it another thought or hoping I don't win, and I went off the Ferrero's a long time ago. Maybe the wine was just donated by someone who thought it was a real winner, instead of something to get rid off...sounds a bit like the d'Arenberg Stump Jump blend of Riesling etc

[Andy]

1999 Tahbilk Marsanne (Nagambie)

Mid-deep yellow, developed, sweetish nose of marzipan, nougat, and honeysuckle. Quite a heavyweight on the palate - a little oiliness, sure, but still enough acid to keep things fresh. Very drinkable indeed, although seems to have come on quickly in the last 18 months or so. Very attractive wine now, and will no doubt hold for a few years. Cost all of $9 when I bought it, and worth every penny.

cheers,
Graeme

This seems to be a real specialty for Tahbilk, coming up top of the rank in good years, and good in the bad!

cheers,

A good coincidence, last night I had a 1988 Chateau Tahbilk Marsanne which was supposedly one of the best vintages of the wine. Colour was deep honey with gold tinges. Nose was honey with a touch of burnt toast/butter. Palate showed some lemon and lime with that aged white oilyness. The wine was a touch past it - but still holding on. I would have loved to try this wine at 10 years of age, rather than 16. Still, certainly showed the wine is built for aging. Well done to Tahbilk for their sensible pricing of the wine.

Cheers

Andy

[Guest]

Hiya all,

Spurred on to post given recent debate. Been a lurker for months, due to feeling of insecurity in posting TNs- no formal training. Have tried all night (as am a 2 finger typer) to post a somewhat lengthy post, but not successful- keeps on crashing, so will try one last abbreviated time

Fri night

Bollinger Grande Anne 1996
Superb champagne. Converted to french NV recently. Will break the bank if similar conversion to vintage stuff occurs.

Howard Park Cab Sav 1996
Good wine, at it's peak, and will probably decline soon.

Grant Burge Meshach 1995
Great wine. Great complex palate. A joy to savour. Wish I had more of this "lesser" vintage.

Sat night:

Culle Mangan 2002
Confused? Liked the earthiness, but the spritziness???? Wine fault??

Sun night:

Houghton Gladstones Shiraz 1999
Superb wine. Room filling aromas. Great mouth-filling palate with extraordinary length. Big, BIG wine.

Cheers (for the fourth time)

Monghead.

[monghead]

Hi again,

Bloody hell, now it goes through, but under "guest". Anyways, that was me above.

Monghead

[DaveL]

Some wines drunk at the Winechic BBQ on Sunday, very nice crowd.
Only short impressions though, but did have some lovely wines on Saturday night.

92 Pewsey Vale Riesling
Deep gold, not quite orange.
Forward kerosene nose, follows onto palate, some spicy honey, finishes dry.
Definitely drink now.

02 Scorpo Pinot Gris
Very soft nose, apricot(?)
Good mouth feel, quite viscous, long finish.

01 Leeuwin Estate Prelude Chardonay
Oak and white fruit nose
Same on palate, sweetness (alcohol?)
(I've never liked this wine so I'm a little prejudiced)

02 Mount Trio Sauvignon Blanc
Simple Passion fruit nose
Sweet tropical fruits, became clumsy with sweet alcohol as it warmed, good acid finish

99 Sinclair of Glendron Sauvignon Blanc
No fruit on nose, oxidised smells
Empty palate, yuk.

03 Ashbrook Semillon
Nose quite dumb, faintly grassy
Much more going on in palate, tropical fruit, finishes dry.

00 Capstone Gold Reserve Shiraz
Slightly spicy nose
Earth and red fruits, but all very subdued
Gentle tannins

99 Jean Marc Brocard Domaine St Clair Chablis
Strongly oxidised burnt matches nose
Savoury palate, very little fruit, minerally
Similar to a dry sherry to my palate.

03 Wirra Wirra Hand Picked Riesling
Apples and Lime nose
Fruit on palate more tropical, some acid on finish but not searingly acidic

01 Mirool Creek Reserve Durif
Big dark fruit on both nose and palate
Medium tannins

95 Ingoldby Cabernet Sauvignon
Sweet oaky nose, more oak and red fruits on palate
Very gentle tannins

90 Pirramimma Hillsview Cabernet Merlot
Predominantly oaky nose
Dried out fruit; tannins and acid rule the palate

Cleanskin Mount Barker Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc
A whiff of spice(?) dark fruits, violets
Similar palate
Tannins firm, very slight bitterness on finish.

On Saturday night:

96 Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz
I do understand why TORB etc are jaded in regard to this wine, though I am young and inexperienced enough to be blown away. Everything worked! Gorgeous savoury fruit propped up by sweet oak. I found an almost olivey(sp?) savouriness running into the palate, and the tannins served to drag out this sense of savoury fruit into the finish.
I do have a bottle of 91 Stonewell sitting and waiting to be attacked, will refer to this in the near future.

[Ian S]

Hi again,

Bloody hell, now it goes through, but under "guest". Anyways, that was me above.

Monghead

Monghead
Welcome!
Ian

Good to see someone else struggling with technology

[simm]

Hi again,

Bloody hell, now it goes through, but under "guest". Anyways, that was me above.

Monghead

Hey Monghead, how's it going? Obviously you have been hanging around long enough to feel it is worth your while registering. There is some very useful info at Ric's site that will help you with your note taking:

http://www.torbwine.com/images/Torb%20T ... 0Sheet.pdf

and much more at www.torbwine.com but your've probably already been there.

Again, welcome!

[monghead]

Heya guys,

Thanks for the welcome. I must say, I was quite frustrated yesterday when I had to type the original lengthy post 3 times and fail. However, I have discovered the copy and paste option in case things fail!!!

Anyways, tonight I am sipping the Tower Estate 2000 Barossa Shiraz. Colour deep purple. Palate dominated by mocha oak, and dark spicy cherries. The palate was of medium to full body, with predominance of spiciness. Dark cherry/plum fruit was also noted, with generous lashings of mocha oak. Tannins were persistent, and chalky, and ?alcohol hotness evident. Altogether an enjoyable wine, rated Reccommended on the TORB scale.

Cheers,

Monghead.

[Phil Shorten]

Just a couple..

1999 Domaine Diochon Moulin-a-Vent, Vielle Vignes

Gamay at its best - very tightly wound - excellent raspberry and cherry fruit and very fine grained tannins - needs time to show its style.

1998 Cotes du Rhone, Le Clos du Caillou

A favourite of mine. Good mature southern Rhone stuff, and a pinch at just over £7.

Cheers
Phil

[Adair]

Cullen Mangan 2002
Confused? Liked the earthiness, but the spritziness???? Wine fault??

I really don't get this wine at all. From memory, I thought the wine seemed too fresh, too fruit driven and in need of more time in oak(I don't think I have ever said that before!!! - except with regard to Chardonnay maybe). I think age will help. I guess my impression is not greatly dissimilar from your "spritziness" comment although I did not pick up any bubbles/gas as such - Stelvin issue?

Adair

[GrahamB]

Petersons Back Block Shiraz 2000

Good deep plumy red colour with a bouquet of pepper and spice with hints of chocolate

Good length of palate with lots of berries with nice integration of vanilla from the American Oak. Spicy flavours and firm tannins. Excellent structure and a good long mouth filling flavours

Highly recommended

Grant Burge “Meshach” 1995 Oxidised S**t


Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

This wine is a delight. A little bottle pong when it was opened but this blew away quickly.

Good dark colour. Excellent balance of fruit, oak and tannins. The flavours linger in the mouth for quite a long period of time with some pleasant savoury taste remaining.

Still very young and at 5 years, bring it on in another 5 years +

Very highly recommended

Casa Freschi “La Signora” (C/S 80%, Shiraz 9%, Nebbiolo 6%, Malbec 5%) 2001

This was a surprise wine to be tasted.

The nose is quite savoury and lots of berry flavours I would expect from a European style wine maybe from the Nebiolo. Some coffee and mint here as well.

Well balance with good length and maybe somewhere between medium to full bodied wine.

Highly recommended

[ChrisH]

Graham - thanks for the note on the 99 Cape Mentelle. Confirms that mine stay put for some years ( I have found these Cabernets tend to age gracefully and slowly).

Actually, I was more taken with your truisim :

Why is it that most nudists are people you don't want to see naked?

regards
Chris

[monghead]

for replacing a dud 1990 Meshach ( taken with great expectations to Matteos restaurant in Melb to complement their wonderful food) which we poured back into the bottle & sent under my own steam to Grant Burge.
Got a letter from Craig Stansborough (senior winemaker) explaining that the Meshach I returned had no detectable TCA but was badly oxidised, and sending me a 1999 Meshach ( with at least 6 trophies to date). Professionalism, efficiency & generosity - bravo, Grant Burge Wines!

GrahamB,

I hope you kept your bottle of 95 Meshach. As MarkS had indicated in an earlier post this week, GB are great at replacing faulty wines!!
I had the wine in question only a week ago, and it was quite lovely. Too dark to assess colour, but the nose was enticing, with dark fruit and berries evident, and mocha oak. Hints of tar/ leather mixed in. The palate was similarly an explosion of flavours. Juicy, spicy dark cherry fruit, with marked spiciness, and cigarry-leather nuances to add complexity, finishing off with fine tannins. Palate weight was medium to full, and length was substantial.

Anyways, might want to source out another bottle of this red soon, as it is probably at it's peak.

Monghead.

[monghead]

Cullen Mangan 2002
Confused? Liked the earthiness, but the spritziness???? Wine fault??

I really don't get this wine at all. From memory, I thought the wine seemed too fresh, too fruit driven and in need of more time in oak(I don't think I have ever said that before!!! - except with regard to Chardonnay maybe). I think age will help. I guess my impression is not greatly dissimilar from your "spritziness" comment although I did not pick up any bubbles/gas as such - Stelvin issue?

Adair

Yeah, Adair, that spritziness was not so much bubbles, but a tartness or tang at the tip of your tongue. Not sure if I liked it though, as it seemed to distract me away from the fruit in the wine. The wine was bottled under cork from memory...

Cheers,

Monghead.

[GrahamB]

for replacing a dud 1990 Meshach ( taken with great expectations to Matteos restaurant in Melb to complement their wonderful food) which we poured back into the bottle & sent under my own steam to Grant Burge.
Got a letter from Craig Stansborough (senior winemaker) explaining that the Meshach I returned had no detectable TCA but was badly oxidised, and sending me a 1999 Meshach ( with at least 6 trophies to date). Professionalism, efficiency & generosity - bravo, Grant Burge Wines!

GrahamB,

I hope you kept your bottle of 95 Meshach. As MarkS had indicated in an earlier post this week, GB are great at replacing faulty wines!!
I had the wine in question only a week ago, and it was quite lovely. Too dark to assess colour, but the nose was enticing, with dark fruit and berries evident, and mocha oak. Hints of tar/ leather mixed in. The palate was similarly an explosion of flavours. Juicy, spicy dark cherry fruit, with marked spiciness, and cigarry-leather nuances to add complexity, finishing off with fine tannins. Palate weight was medium to full, and length was substantial.

Anyways, might want to source out another bottle of this red soon, as it is probably at it's peak.

Monghead.

Monghead

The 95 Meshach was an extra purchase. I have some in my cellar but didn't want to disturb them. I purchased this one locally and have an understanding that I can return any suspect wines which I did.

When Grant Burge was in Brisbane at the end of last year, his comment on the 95 was "It was a beast when I made it but has settled and at a taste recently was wonderful"

For special everyday drinking, I can't wait for the 2002 Filsell to be released.

Graham

[simm]

Same here Graham.