The Auswine Forum

I looked back, and TORB's last post on this forum was 1th November 2009, when he started his Sunday thread. To quote the big man....

"Hi Good Peoples,

It's that time of the week yet again. Please let us know what you have been drinking over the last week. Notes, vibes, impressions, lists and what ever, all welcome."

Cheers.

2001 Tatachilla Foundation Shiraz... volatile and disjointed with a short finish... long passed its best. I speculate it may have copped some heat damage at some point.

2006 Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz... coming along nicely but not ready yet. Prominent tannin, lovely twiggy character and spicy fruit. Acid profile provides for a nice long, refreshing finish.

Wynns 03 John Riddoch: classy wine, varietally distinct, refined, herbal... Is it a Riddoch though really?

Sella & Mosca Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva 2006 Dark cherry red colour, and a gentle mouth feel, thin body. Leather, licorice, all the dark berries and a hint of anise as well. A really fine example of the grape, length is excellent.

2007 St Hallett Faith Shiraz- Ripe and stewed, quite chocolatety. One dimensional and hollow. Sub Good.

Wayno wrote:Wynns 03 John Riddoch: classy wine, varietally distinct, refined, herbal... Is it a Riddoch though really?

Wayno, how do you mean? Is it not good enough to be typical of a Riddoch, or the opposite? I've had limited experience with the JRs, but from what I can remember, they do tend to be well made, varietal, and well balanced, but somewhat un-exciting, so with the costs creeping up again, I don't buy them...

Monghead.

Mong
What I mean is that the JRs I've had previously have been more powerhouse and robust in style, with years to burn. I found the 03 JR to be just a slightly classier take on the black label and probably not a keeper. There are probably stronger recent BLs than the 03 JR. Good wine though!

PHI Pinot Noir 2006

Gee this is a cracker of a wine. As GW wrote on winefront, clarity and definition. Its best years are ahead of it but it was a fantastic experience drinking it tonight. Will be grabbing another 4 of so to open over the next 5 years or so. Benchmark Aussie Pinot.

2008 Vasse Felix Semillon Sauvignon Blanc- - Pleasant wine and very well made, lemon zest and a little SB grass and although I typically dislike Sauv Blancs the acidity and mouthfeel of the Semillon was enough to make this quite drinkable for me as I could forget about the grassy hints. Solid good.
2002 Mt Pleasant Old Paddock & Old Hill Shiraz - A very nice wine despite vintage. Lovely hunter leather earth, licorice and chocolate on the nose, a few years definitely has enhanced the wine. Cocoa, plum and a touch of earth. Went beautifully with Haighs chocolate coated raspberries. Was much more generous and a touch more savoury the next day, when it perfectly matched rosemary-marinated lamb chops. Another bottle of this to hold on for a little longer I think. Very good with rich shiraz-friendly foods.
2005 Hartz Barn Barossa General Store Shiraz - Quite the young, fresh red fruit basket. Not as dark/complex/liquoricy/rich as the previous vintage of this wine (which I had in the past and therefore thought this might have followed the OP&OH) - not overripe although the choco-berry component is definitely sweet (especially after the earthy OP&OH). Still a very enjoyable wine, if a little more basic compared to the previous vintage. Solid Good and drink now.

Wayno wrote:Mong
What I mean is that the JRs I've had previously have been more powerhouse and robust in style, with years to burn. I found the 03 JR to be just a slightly classier take on the black label and probably not a keeper. There are probably stronger recent BLs than the 03 JR. Good wine though!

Thanks wayno. I guess 03 was a weaker vintage in the Coonawarra.

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Last night over dinner with friends we consumed the following:

Clover Hill Sparkling (vintage unknown) - Good clean wine. Didn't show much in the way of bottle-developed characters

Spring Vale Chardonnay 2006 - Well weighted wine. Nothing incredible, but good drinking

Leconfield Riesling 2005 - Showing some lovely lighter kerosene aromas, and a clean palate of mostly lime-like flavours. Very nice.

Balnaves Shiraz 2002 - Looking good. Elements of bitumen, soy, and damp earth/forest on the nose. Weight was good, fruit still there.

2007 Cumulus Rolling Shiraz- really enjoyable no brainer shiraz for a lazy Sunday night with homemade pizza.
Hesketh The Proposition- spritzy strawberry bomb. My wife loved it and I thought it was nice too. Apparently semillon with a touch of shiraz to give it the pink colour & a bit of body.
2008 De Bortoli Windy Peak Pinot Noir- Always a good value pinot and didn't let me down. Nothing too complex.
Morris Rutherglen Tokay- Beautiful toffee and biscuit, hint of black tea and spices.

Chad

quite a few with the family last night. From memory 04 brown Brothers patricia shiraz. First impressions was that it was a bit over crammed with quite classy american oak, but as you drank on it improved. a serious wine. 07 Church rd Reserve Cabernet Merlot was a pretty classy number. its almost perfect though i would have like to see the alcohol down just a shade. 09 Johaneshoff Gewurtz was very classy. We also knocked off some cheap sicilian stuff which was pretty good and started a pretty crap french wine...didnt even read the label but vin de pays.

Not much drinking done in the last week. One Only

2006 Brown Brothers Petit Verdot This seemed to be in a bit of a hole. The nose seemed very closed even after being given a good airing. Spice, violet and berries on the nose. The palate was more blackberry in taste with no discernable length. Maybe a dud bottle? Definitely a different proposition to the 2004 I had a couple of years ago which was very good.

Gee I haven't posted a weekly tasting note in a while. But had a couple of note on the weekend

2006 Best's Great Western Sparkling Shiraz I found this on the self a bottleshop last weekend and thought didn't i read some good reviews on it A great wine and fabulous value, great length, purity of fruit, yum and under crown seal should go for ages. Very pleased I'd bought six

2001 Voyager Cab Merlot Hmm what to follow the previous wine. I'm on a bit of a Margaret River kick at the moment, now I just wish it had started 10 to 15 years earlier so I had some decent stocks in the cellar. Initially closed and dull, perhaps too cold - after about an hour started to emerge, glorious stuff. Keep finding my self wanting to use similar words to the Best's but the flavour profiles differ in line with their variety and region.

2007 Richmond Grove Barossa Riesling First of this lablel I've bought since the 1999 and I'll admit I thought I was buying the Watervale (of which I have every vintage except 2000 since 1998) - part of pack whihc meant it only cost $10 or perhaps less on the basis of the other wine. Initially it was a bit disjointed, almost as if the Barossa and Eden Valley components hadn't fully integrated. Over the next two hours it really came together, the clean refreshing Eden Valley lime character supported by richness of the warmer Barossa. This should go 5 years plus, another recent buy I'm very happy with.

DJ wrote:
2001 Voyager Cab Merlot Hmm what to follow the previous wine. I'm on a bit of a Margaret River kick at the moment, now I just wish it had started 10 to 15 years earlier so I had some decent stocks in the cellar. Initially closed and dull, perhaps too cold - after about an hour started to emerge, glorious stuff. Keep finding my self wanting to use similar words to the Best's but the flavour profiles differ in line with their variety and region.

Interesting tasting note. I often find at this time of the year that wines perform so much better if brought up to room temperature over night. I have a case of this tucked way and had thought about opening one soon. I will try and get it up to drink the night before.

[b]Frux Frugis Shiraz 2002[/b]
Slight stink on opening concerned me a little but blew off fairly quickly. Mid weight, slightly sweet and jammy. Fruit is fading and the best appears to have passed this wine. I had a dozen and only have a few left but it has deteriorated over the past three years. It gradually lost its mojo over acouple of hours to be nothing more than a reasonable quaffer.

[b]Coldstream Hills Limited Release Shiraz 2004[/b]
Very closed on initial opening. Very tannic but with all the right stuff appearing to be in the mix. Pure fruit and nicely oaked. Opened up very nicely over a two hour period. Left a glass for the next day when it really started to show off. Clearly this needs at least another 3-5 years before it starts hitting its straps. Lovely wine. Glad to have a decent stash.

Sean O'Sullivan wrote:

Julio G wrote:2006 Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz... coming along nicely but not ready yet. Prominent tannin, lovely twiggy character and spicy fruit. Acid profile provides for a nice long, refreshing finish.

I totally agree and yet people keep opening this wine to drink now.

It is definitely one of those Chalambars that needs time in the btl (5 or 6 yrs) and will do its thing just like the fabulous 2000 vintage of this wine did.

Yes, but these Chalambars bat at such a high QPR that we often commit vinfanticide as it is all too easy to restock...

Sean O'Sullivan wrote:Nice start to the thread Monghead.

Yes, thank you.

Like all good things, I guess we all kinda took the big fella for granted. Now that he has not posted his vibes, impressions nor musings for the last 6 months, I for one miss it. I guess in that moment of nostalgia, I looked back to gain inspiration forward.

Cheers.

monghead wrote:

Sean O'Sullivan wrote:

Julio G wrote:2006 Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz... coming along nicely but not ready yet. Prominent tannin, lovely twiggy character and spicy fruit. Acid profile provides for a nice long, refreshing finish.

I totally agree and yet people keep opening this wine to drink now.

It is definitely one of those Chalambars that needs time in the btl (5 or 6 yrs) and will do its thing just like the fabulous 2000 vintage of this wine did.

Yes, but these Chalambars bat at such a high QPR that we often commit vinfanticide as it is all too easy to restock...

I still have my 6... this was somebody elses

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Cloudy Bay Pelorus 2005 - Very nice, gentle, citrous biscuits.
Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay 2007 - creamy, rich, pretty good, as per usual.
Destiny Bay Aeolus 2005 - wotw/e, this was a stunning Waiheke right-bank style blend. I know nothing about it, but it was class in a glass. This wine doesn't even feature on the Destiny Bay website, but I suspect its now labelled as 'Destinae'. Very reminiscent of Craggy Range Sophia.
Conti Zecca Primitivo 2006 - form over function here, bit too structured and needs time.
Villa Maria CS Sauvignon Blanc 2009 - nice enough, but without the richness and strident aromas of an Astrolabe or Saint Clair block, say.
Mills Reef Elspeth One 2002 - Hawkes Bay merlot, cab franc, syrah, cab sauv blend. Very good, but still needs more time. Lots of sediment, needs careful decanting. Cellered for 4-5 years at home, so at least I know the passive cellar 'works' in the sense of not ruining or prematurely aging decent wine.