The Auswine Forum

Our Canberra Jazz Club Band had its weekly "blow" today (Thursday) at my place and over lunch I opened a very tasty 1998 Geantet-Pansiot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Le Poissenot - a wine very much still in evolutionary mode, redolent of well-meshed freshly roasted beetroot, hung game, spicy new oak, ripe fleshy black cherries and first-rate sappy notes. Still lively and fresh in the mouth with crunchy fruit reflecting exactly what's found in the bouquet, this relatively robust, medium-bodied pinot noir delivers a reasonably bold statement from perky mineral-tinged acidity and fine-grained but not insubstantial tannins. Its classy fullness is followed by a classic burgundian peacock-tail finish. A very fine wine indeed. Drink now-2018+. 92 points.

For a bit of fun at the end of our meal I served the guys a glass of Gehrig Brothers 1985 Vintage Port. This inexpensive fortified shiraz displays hefty ripe sweet cherry and plummy Christmas cake fruit amidst flicks of licorice and sweet regional earth with some quite significant fine brandy spirit evident on both the bouquet and in the finish. It is about midway through its drinking window and has the potential to last for at least a decade, possibly two. It was well-liked by all at the table. I thought it was deserving of a solid silver medal or about 90 points.

Opened my first ever Tukey Flat N/V Sparkling Shiraz (disgorged November 2007). As with all the serious red fizzes I've tried over recent times, this has tremendously deep purple colour, ernormous streams of fine bubbles followed by an impressive bouquet full of blue- and black- berries, a little sweet earth and hints of spice and subservient oak. The palate equally good with rich, slightly sweet, mouthfilling dark berried flavours, attractive swirling mousse, holding an excellent line through the mouth with cuddly tannins providing a solid foundation, although the finish is marginally short. Otherwise hard to fault. 90 points.

2001 and 2002 Wynns Coonawarra Shiraz - a bit worried that I may have gone past the use by dates given JO's notes but needn't have worried as they both opened well. 2001 initially needed more time to settle but after an hour of aeration and decant (for both) became the better wine. 2002 more developed, softer full of lovely fruit didn't quite have the bite and grunt of the 01 which did soften in the second and third hour. Have a feeling both wines would survive another 5 years with good cellaring. They both are in a good place now.

Had another of the '96 Lanson to go with a slow-cooked salmon tail in Friday. Just as good as the last one. I reckon I may have found the good batch.

Yesterday had a very nice 2004 Rochford shiraz. At it's peak at the moment, I think. Fruit could develop a bit more, maybe, but the tannin balance was perfect. Went superbly with slow roasted lamb and moussaka. This shiraz doesn't seem to have had a flat spot over the 5 years I've been drinking it.

Saturday evening saw two of my daughter's close jazz musician friends join us for dinner, where, with celery soup, we all enjoyed my first ever bottle of Brokenwood ILR Reserve Semillon from the excellent 2005 vintage. This wine drinks superbly today albeit with significant potential for further development. The colour is a shade past a bright pale straw, followed by a seamless bevy of nuance in its wonderful fresh bouquet - green melon, straw, lemon zest, grilled nuts, a subtle toasty overlay and the classic Hunter semillon traits of lanolin and soap. The palate is remarkably smooth and almost silky showing amazing class and polish with bucketloads of crunchy melon and citrus fruit with perfectly-wrought, counterbalancing lemony acidity slowly etching out a brilliant portrait that will be complete in, perhaps, a decade's time. The wine's length is exemplary and you find yourself wanting to go back to it time and time again. 93 points. (11% A/V)

With a roast vegetable tart, we opened a 2000 de Montille Volnay 1er Cru "Les Mitans". A lighter styled pinot noir from a difficult vintage, this opened encouragingly enough with sappy cherry and sous bois aromas but on the palate this bottle displayed very little of the sumptuous, sexy fruit and structure found in the last bottle I opened last month. A drinkable wine with a few good points but rated at 80 points and almost passed it.

Last night, we invited a friend recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery for dinner and consumed the following wines. The Joseph Sparkling Red (disgorged July 2011, 13.5% A/V)) is a potpourri of red wine vintages going way back to the 'sixties topped up with a yearly hogshead of Joe Grilli's Moda Cabernet Merlot and Primo Estate Shiraz and then finished off with a mixed dosage of old Aussie fortifieds! As Mr. Grilli so aptly concludes on the back label, "don't ask any questions, the answer is in the bottle!" Not surprisingly, the wine offers up a splendid array of the best of the very old and the new, with a myriad of elegant aromas and flavours from dusty sweet earth and old book leather to delectable small berries and subtle spicy oak. The most admirable quality though is the method that Joe pulls all this together to deliver a precisely assembled package of freshness and vitality coupled with the softness and elegance of maturity for the discerning wine-drinker. At 93 points you'll no doubt enjoy it, but it ain't cheap. Always a drink now experience, but it will hold for several years if you're waiting for a special occasion to open a bottle.

Next up with fillet mignon we opened a 1998 Jamieson's Run Alexander's Block Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. This very fine wine holds a solid ruby core with virtually no bricking in the edges, throws up an intense fragrant bouquet of ripe blackcurrant and mulberry backed by a touch of regional spearmint, hints of spicy/malty oak and later, some developing secondary complexity of saddle leather and spice/cigar box. Initially the wine was smooth as silk in the mouth, gliding down the throat without as much as a whimper, full of rich, sweet, mouthfilling black fruit and, predictably, seriously good length. With considerable time, however, the tannins began to assert themselves providing some terrific counterbalancing structure that proved a perfect foil to all that glorious Coonawarra cabernet fruit. This is quite a formidable wine that could well see it's drinking window extend for another decade or more. A superior drinking experience for me. 92 points. (13% A/V)

To finish off a fantastic night we served up some quality dark chocolate treats that went well with a one hour decanted 1964 Saltram Mueum Vintage Port. In A1 condition, this blend of Shiraz and Cabernet, mainly sourced from Langhorne Creek, surprised us with its very dark colour, superb aromatics of cherry kirsch, dark Jamaican chocolate, licorice and lifted clean brandy spirit followed by an amazingly smooth, but still fresh palate of considerable class with very similar nuance to the bouquet with an added Christmas cake complexity running amuck. Smoothly resolved astringency was found throughout the wine's unmitigating and most impressive finish. A real eye-opener, and, I'm guessing, well-kept bottles with live for some considerable time to come. 94 points.

Bought some rieslings from local bottle shop the other day.
First one opened, a Rockford 2006 Eden Valley Riesling. Kicked myself for not checking at the bottle shop, but it had a cork stopper. "Please don't let this be corked", I pleaded to myself as I opened it. Guess what, it was corked. A reminder why Stelvin is a safer option these days.
So, opened a 2006 St. Hallett Eden Valley Riesling instead. A bit better, although a bit cloying towards the end, hadn't aged as well as I thought it would.
Tonight, a 2011 Whistler Barossa Riesling. First glass, not bad but lacked the refinement of some of the Clare rieslings I've tasted recently. The second glass was better, it had opened up a bit, often find that with Stelvin, they seem to taste better once the air has got to them for a while.

Here's what I drank over easter...
2003 Connor Park Sangiovese - Pleasant enough but not particularly verital 86 points
2010 Chrismont La Zona Arneis - Clean crisp Lemony acid. Not complex and the finish isn't long but pretty good otherwise
2006 Rutherglen Estate Renaissance Petite Sirah - Interesting to note the use (and spelling )of Petit Sirah in this case. More elegant than some of the regions durif, but still plenty of flavour. Good tannin and acid balance very drinkable 90 points
1977 Warre's Vintage Port - A little hot and spicy on the nose. On the palate there was an initial sweetness and big stewed berry flavour. The finish was also a bit hot and perhaps a little short but very nice none the less. 91 points
2005 Turkey Flat Grenache - Some good inital sweet berry flavour that gives way to sour cherry by the end. Not unpleasant though and tends to be better on day 2 or with a bit of decanter time - 87 points

Briar Ridge Karl Stockhausen Reserve Chardonnay 2010 (HV)... Mid yellow in the glass, attractive clean aromas of melon, stonfruit and some subsidiary oak. The palate was full but well balanced, with good length and depth of flavour. Nice wine.

Seppelt Salinger 2008... Yellow/straw. Clean nose with citrus and just a hint of toast. Full/rich palate, but finishing with crisp acidity. Very pleasant drinking.

Also did some Hunter Valley touring (following Mclaren Vale last week - not that I visit a wine region every week). Very impressed by Meerea Estate especially the Semillon's (Hell Hole and Terracotta, although note the 2003 reserve which seemed a bit tired), and the Shiraz up to the Alexander Munro. Also got to try the two latest Lakes Folly's (2010 Cabernet and 2011 Chardonnay) - both excellent.

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Big weekend of tastings!

2008 Majella Shiraz - Wonderful dark fruits, lovely Coonawarra earthy flavour, although I do prefer the Cabernet, this was a great wine.
(Went to Tahbilk Winery - so T/N from the cellar door)
2011 Tahbilk Marsanne - Light and easy drinking. Had a wonderful backbone of lime acidity with fresh straw/honeydew on the palate. Drank well now, or will last 20 years! Amazing wine for the $$$
2011 Tahbilk Riesling - Disliked the 2010, but this was fantastic. Beautiful floral notes on the nose, the lime/lemon acidity didnt overpower the wine (which i love in my Rizzas as some are just pure lime juice) - Almost thought the grapes were from the Tamar Valley, it was so tassie-esk....but got a stern 'NO' from the cellar door lady....opps
2011 Tahbilk Viognier - Again, I disliked the 2010, but this vintage is amazing. Lashings of Dry Apricots and was rather light and easy drinking. good acidity and great length.....went well with the Peking Duck tortellini I made the day after!
2010 Tahbilk Chardonnay - Not enough fruit for my liking. Bit too buttery/oily however has some nice oak....just wish it was a more fruit driven style.
2008 Tahbilk Cab Sav - No need for notes. Was awesome. Pity you can buy it SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper from other retailers than the cellar door (but I guess thats typical of most cellar doors unfortunately)
2008 Wine By Some young punks sangiovese shiraz - Bright red fruits, cherry and raspberry, almost pinot like, but the shiraz brings it back from the brink. Still a very light style wine.
2008 Turkey flat Shiraz - Actually this was a purchase, and didnt crack any over the weekend
2009 Leconsfield Cab Sav - Again, this was a purchase, and didnt crack any over the weekend
2006 Penfolds RWT - for the cellar only. Not for tasting yet

Other than the mega-events posted elsewhere today, a few brief notes on some recent wines....

Mumm NV - Last minute decision to take, so wine fridge to freezer for 40mins before taking to a quality Indian restaurant. I've had this umpteen times, and when looking to buy at DM's (and wary of recent grey import comments), I had three bottles of Mumm NV in front of me, all with very different importers and/or batch numbers! I went with the latest batch number, maybe a factor? Particularly good bottle, so fresh, nice bead, decent length and subtle NV complexity.

Auburn Bendigo Riesling 2011 - Well chilled at the same Indian BYO. Bottle 089 (of 785!). Sweet, clean and fresh, stood up brashly and confidently to the hot food, but this heat likely masked any subtle flavours as the sweetness was dominating the palate and finish. Next day though it started to strut its' refined fresh flavours of sweet orange and citrus. Still needed a few hours to unfold, and but did so nicely. Will keep the rest for a good stretch to see what happens. Nice work Max (and Wizz!).

Meerea Park Alexander Munro Shiraz 2006 - Still young, so a touch unbalanced (strictly speaking). But good quality fruit, and oak starting to integrate quite well. Keep for a few more years, then should go very nicely for another 10+. Love the 03, and the recent 98 was still showing wonderfully and still so young! #hunterlove

Audrey Wilkinson Semillon 2009 - Grassy, touch of honeysuckle & lime, slightly weak short finish. Fresh and clean though, wife liked it.

Grosset Polish Hill Riesling 2009 - Lovely nose, tropical and sweet limes. Long palate, but marred for me by a touch of bitterness on the finish. Probably just needs lots more time?

Cape Mentelle Shiraz 2004 - Really travelling nicely, not certain how this might improve with time, but wil try and resist drinking my last one for a while. Rich blackcurrant, not hugely complex, but smooth and decadent.

Cape Mentelle Zinfandel 2004 - Trying to show a diehard big Shiraz drinker that there are other varietals out there! Succeeded! Big, spicy, very ripe fruit, I'm a fan. Good drinking over next year or three. Wishing I had more to see how it develops.

Meerea Park Epoch Semillon 2002 - Quite a developed nose, showing slightly aged hints of lanolin and honey characters. Happily offset with fresh lemon and limes, drinking well now.

Craggy Range Syrah 2009 - nice and clean, easily drinkable with cool climate balance and some acid structure. Not great, but happy to drink anytime.

Cheers
Tim

2005 Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz. Lots of spice and dark fruits. Tannins are super fine and oak only just recognisable. Well balanced and colour is still youthful. Medium bodied and typical cooler climate shiraz. A lovely wine that is right in it's window now. Will hold for a few years yet as it was just as nice on night 2. 4/5

Cheers
Ian

Lol!

Nice one Ian, i might 'leverage' your tasting note and apply it to an 04 Dalwhinnie Southwest Rocks....only replacing the spice descriptor with a hint of cherry, and slightly phenolic on the nose.
Very tasty drop that stood no chance of seeing a second night. Would probably drink now but should hold for a couple of years more.

Cheers
Michael

2006 Kalleske Pirathon Shiraz No longer the big fruit bomb with a nice spicy less fruit dominant vein running through it. All starting to integrate with soft tannin. A little sweetness on the finish but in a good spot.

One wine deserving of an Easter mention:

1996 Penfolds St Henri shiraz. Initially quite closed. After a 3 hour decant, deep brick red, complex dark fruits, beautiful meaty aromas, leather, caramel, hints of vanilla and spice. Tannins and oak were soft and absolutely seamless. The wine was supple and smooth on the pallet, and had a mouthwateringly long finish. It was a lot less jammy and lacked the fruity complexity that I expected, but cannot say enough good things about the wine. I tried to savour it, but could not help but drink it down within an hour of being poured along with two other family members. I would suggest that this vintage is entering the peak of its drinking window now. I have one bottle left that will be opened by the end of the year.

Thanks Lawrence. I've a bottle of the St Henri 1996 left too but was thinking to leave it another few years which it should handle given your assessment.

Hi daz. You'll enjoy it! Drop me a line when you're thinking of cracking yours - if I've had my last bottle at that time I'll let you know how that bottle went to help you decide whether to drink yours.

LawrenceM wrote:One wine deserving of an Easter mention:

1996 Penfolds St Henri shiraz. I would suggest that this vintage is entering the peak of its drinking window now. I have one bottle left that will be opened by the end of the year.

For my tastes it hasn't even started in its drinking window... each to their own !

Cheers

Mike

1990 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz - in superb form at this point in time ! Super complex - seemed to smell like a different wine each time I wernt back to it. Lovely rich velvety mouthfeel (not unlike the 91 in that regard). In no risk of falling over any time soon if bottles are well stored. Both this one, and the recent one are candidates for WOTY to date.

2006 Vilmart Grand Cellier d'Or - if you like citrusy champagne, this is the one for you. Tasted twice in the past week, with similar results. Excellent

2000 Vilmart Cuvee Creation - a shame this is no longer made. May get slightly better, but is in such a good spot now, makes no sense to wait. One of my favourites from the vintage..


Thanks

Mike