The Auswine Forum

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2011 Mike Press Cabernet SauvignonI've been waiting for this release as in the past they have proven to be good value and I wanted to see what the cooler and difficult 2011 vintage brought. I had it decanted for a good hour before trying it-although I could not resist sticking my nose in the decanter for a little wiff. It smelt of ripe red fruit and the colour was Pale red with a purple hue. The palate is full or ripe red currant and pomegranate with a hint of capsicum. The oak provides a nice coffee and brown sugar finish. The tannins are fine and the acid intense. It needs a few years to come together and settle down. On the second night it had settled and fills me with promise. Another very good Mike Press Cabernet even better considering the conditions provided by mother nature.
2011 Mike Press Shiraz A Pale medium bodied red that has peppery shiraz fruit with plum, black cherry and hints of violets after an hour in the decanter. The tannins are fine talc like with an elegance that surprises. The oak is barely noticeable with intense acid similar to the Cabernet. On the second night the acid settled slightly and it came together well. It is too young, yet so tempting to drink now. I'll drink most of the case now, if not all of it, and put some down for 1-2 years before drinking over the next 5. Elegant, sophisticated and just 12 bucks. A great achievement!

2010 Torzi Matthews Schist Rock - Great Eden Valley Shiraz. Very good.

2009 Pio Cesare Il Nebio 100% Nebbiolo. Was good on the first night but second night had it humming along with a bit more air.

Shaw Vineyard Estate (Canberra) Winemakers Selection Shiraz 2008 This is all about the deep-seated fruit, ripe black, red cherry, blackberry in abundance with background, integrated cedar oak and slightly savoury acid in support of fine, dusty tannins on the very good length finish. It develops just a bit of green character with air time that for me adds to the experience rather than detracting from it. Halliday rated it 92pts, about right for me, ticks lots of my boxes especially for ~$13 delivered. It's a well-balanced wine so could cellar well for another 5-6 years or so.

Sorby Adams Jellicoe Eden Valley Riesling 2010 Dunno about the up-to-20 years cellaring potential mentioned on the back label but it's a very useful wine. I've guzzled almost a dozen and a half of it over the past few months. It's not a "pristine" riesling, to me there's something a bit feral about it that I like. There's just a touch of sweetness to the lemon/lime/grapefruit varietal characters with medium acid in support of the finish that's just satisfyingly long. Bargain for $8.75/btl, even better value at $7.50 for the second dozen.

2001 Marquis Philips 'Integrity' Shiraz
This wine is/was/ has something of a cult status when it comes to this style. Apparently it received a 99 from RP in his hey day yrs.
Impressive nose of floral violets and blueberry / red fruit spectrum.
Massive mouth feel thats all structured very well. Will last a fair while i think. A big long finish that's for sure. A little more elegant than what i was expecting.......age perhaps
We loved it but were just a little underwhelmed considering the reviews. Possibly we were expecting a life changing experience Expensive wine as well. 94+

1996 Fox Creek Estate Shiraz
This wine was a cheap Langtons purchase. Not the Reserve so really thought this would be gone. It wasn't Aged nose with fruit reducing but hanging in with tannins taking over. Enjoyable. 89+

2001 Greenock Creek Cornerstone Grenache
I had this a few years back and remember it to be pretty volatile. Massive alcohol % for a Grenache. Now it seems to of settled quite nicely. Lovely brambly fruit with an edge that Cornerstone seems to bring. 92

ross

From the last few days:

2005 Craggy Range Sophia - New Zealand, North Island, Hawkes Bay, Gimblett Gravels (7/15/2012)
{cork, 14%} Opened due to a cork failure; wine suddenly seeping through the capsule. Presumably not typical, therefore. Handsome garnet red. Somewhat developed although fairly muted nose of dark plums and mildly spiced black fruit. Some oak seasoning, but subtle. Very appealing. Palate is a bit diffuse; tannins are very soft, just showing a powdery dryness at the end of the finish. Flavours more-or-less match the nose, but lack great depth and complexity. Medium weight, short-medium finish. It's quite drinkable - even quite decent - but the single vein up the side of the cork which has bled wine out the top and dropped the level down to the bottom of the neck can't have helped matters. Happy to keep a remaining pristine bottle another 5 years to meet the 10-12 year cellaring recommendation. NR (flawed)

2007 Pipers Brook Vineyard Pinot Noir Estate - Australia, Tasmania (7/13/2012)
{screwcap, 13.5%} Bright cherry and strawberry aromas, little oak, and just moving off primary in their aspect. Colour has an orangey hue to the core garnet red. Palate is a touch meaty, but mostly very astringent; almost to the point where I wondered if this was heat-damaged in some way. It seems a little stripped of fruit somehow. Piper's never meant their pinot's to be easy drinking; this one has a aging sour cherry note to the flavours which is very authentic. It seems to alternate between sweet and sour - interesting. It's light-medium-bodied, but still serious in its intent. Just suffers a bit with a short length of finish. with unknown provenance, a bit hard to call.

1998 Saltram Shiraz No.1 - Australia, South Australia, Barossa (7/11/2012)
{cork, 14.5%} There's a real brown-brick tinge to the rim of this wine these days. Aged coconut and vanilla on the nose, sweet prunes and raisins are there too. There's a whiff of volatility, too. The palate is aged, ripe and raisiny. There were too many over-ripe grapes in this, and it shows in the soft tannins, lack of acid, and dissolute, rather flabby structure. That said, the flavours are still enjoyable enough, so it's pleasantly drinkable. Was full-bodied once, now easing into a genteel senility, loose-limbed and flabby. Drink up.

2008 Casa Santos Lima Alenquer Quinta das Setencostas - Portugal, Estremadura, Alenquer (7/10/2012)
{screwcap, 13%} Impressively deep and ripe aromas of plum and blueberries, not especially oaky, and with an authentic old-world earthiness to them. But the palate lets the show down, being relatively loose-knit and coarse in its flavours. Still, it's $12, so you can't complain too much. But still, there's an earthiness that goes beyond the soil here, almost into the fungal realm. About medium-bodied weight, but with a predicatably short finish. So-so, I guess. Better spend more money than try to find better at this price.

cheers,
GG

Two stand-out 2002 riesling's dominated my wine-drinking early in the last week. Jim Barry's 2002 Lodge Hill Riesling delivered mesmerising nuance on both nose and palate. The slow rate of development of this wine pays testament to the greatness of this wonderful vintage and the calibre of the older vines. This is a pure, vibrant and refreshing wine with loads of crystalline limey flavour, exemplary mouthfeel and a crisp mineral-infused finish of considerable duration. And it will last for a decade or more. 93 points. Barossa Valley Estate's 2002 Eden Valley Riesling wouldn't invoke strong "buy me" suggestions to most people, but it's what's in the bottle that counts and this wine delivers in spades, especially at the meagre price I paid. Developing toasty characters blend seamlessly with lively crunchy pithy citrus fruit and an acid-rich crispness on a lingering and most satisfying departure. Excellent effort from this Barossan winemaker, not widely associated with this grape and style, with at least five years of development ahead. 91 points.

Over dinner Friday night with a group of highly-talented young jazz muso's, we opened a rogue bottle of 1990 Orlando St Hugo Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon I purchased from auction some time back that I found intermingled (and incorrectly catalogued) in a case in the cellar holding several bottles of the 1996 St Hugo. Served with fillet mignon, this wine revealed some slight ullage and heavily stained and fully soaked cork, raising issues of provenance and probably suffered slightly as a result. Still, we all enjoyed the fully mature, earthen and aged-berry character laced with traits of old leather, regional mint and cigar box character both in the bouquet and as the wine slipped all too easily down the hatch. The wine smelt and tasted somewhat older than what I was expecting but was still worthy of about 90 points. As a favour to the drummer at the table that night, I opened a mid- to high-shoulder bottle of All Saints Vintage Port from the 1971 vintage that was showing signs of recent weeping and what a joyful wine it was for three of us on the night. Fully mature and somewhat bottle-stinky (tarry and creosote volatility) to begin with, this outsatanding offering of shiraz freshened considerably in the glass for a few hours before slowly fading very late in the evening. Typical for the maker and this era, this fortified was rich in earthy licorice fruit, a fascinating underpinning of West Indian spices, some chocolate/mocha characters and dustiness from its old oak unbringing of 18 months. The integration and smoothness of both spirit and astringency of this wine provided a fascinating finish to a memorable drinking experience. 92 points This wine is one for drinking over the next several years.

Earlier in the week as I slowly made my way through those riesling's, I also had the pleasure of opening a terrificly youthful but approachable bottle of red burgundy - Domaine Jean Grivot Nuits-St-George 1er Cru "Les Pruliers" 1999. About half a dozen bottles of this wine have been quietly resting in my cellar now for over ten years. I don't recall trying one, but having tried this bottle, I'm confident I haven't missed the boat for leaving these for this amount of time. Still riddled with deep purple hues, this effusive pinot noir oozes deepset dark berried fruit coupled with notes of cardamon, sap, spice and quality savoury wood. Expansive and flavoursome in the mouth with an additional modicum of delicious red-accented fruit this outstanding example delivers a medium/full body, excellent acidity levels and a sturdy but feminine, fine-grained tannin regime. It's rich without being heavy and has only minimal secondary development, but is blessed with a mouthfilling creaminess and a sleek but quite lengthy finish. It lacks the rusticity I often associate with the Nuits-St-Georges appellation - resembling something more from Vosne-Romanee in its seductiveness and pureness of flavour. I'm predicting this will last for a decade or more and I'm in no rush to drink them. At 92 points there may be some scope for a higher score some time down the track. 13% A/V.

From the past week or so.......

2006 Sons Of Eden Remus shiraz
Wow. Big and gutsy. Seemed more Barossa then Eden Valley. I loved this.

2008 Head Blonde Shiraz V
Good, fruit driven, modern style.

2006 Kalleske Greenock shiraz
Been getting into this. I like. Ripe and fairly typical of a solid Barossa wine.

2005 Hently Farm Clo Otto Barossa shiraz.
Expensive wine, but its worth every cent. Best fruit of the vintage, and it shows. Sensational.

1983 Peter Lehmann Vintage Port 2001 AD
I think the 2001 AD bit is when its best to drink.
This was just wonderful. Even held up the next day.

2002 Penfolds St Henri
Good solid wine. I like the style.

2008 Willows shiraz
Barossa Valley. Sweet fruit, slight caramel oak, very drinkable.

2004 Deisen shiraz
Barossa Valley. Big, rich and balanced wine. Has an X factor that makes it special.

1999 Tyrrells Vat 1 semillon
Good cork, and a wine that is about perfect for an aged Hunter sem. Has years to go, if the cork god is on your side.

2010 Willows Barossa semillon
Very drinkable. Not the acid of Hunters sems. I like. Shows lanolin with a soft finish

David, really interesting comments about BVE 02 EV Riesling.

My wife and I about 8 years ago did the run up to get my Greenock Creek order and then onto Seppeltsfield and then round the corner to a still fairly new BVE cellar door. I did not intend to drop in other than to have a squizz at the new facilities, let alone buy anything, have not been overly happy with the Black Pepper Shiraz since the early 90s, as there was not much black pepper involved but.....

They had a stack of cartons in a pyramid of the 02 Riesling at $50 dozen and 02 Moculta (sic) shiraz at the same price. The story was failed export order. It was amazing we ended up going back after an initial case purchase of each to buy another 10 cases of each...yes a $1000 dollars but for 240 bottles of wine for our starters at our respective 40ths, an absolute bargain. As you said the Riesling has another 5 years.

Incidently the local Liberal member bought a pallet of the shiraz for his Christmas functions. Wish there were bargains like that to be had now!!

Cheers Craig

Sean wrote:
2006 Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz - I have been waiting for the tannins in this to soften up and I think that is happening now. While it is fairly smooth and showing a nice dark fruited and quite savoury/mocha feel to it, it did not have the clove you often see in this wine and the tannins did not have the depth to them I was still expecting in this. Other bottles could be the same or different or maybe it needs more time anyway.

Thanks Sean

I have been sitting on a few of this vintage for a couple of years now, as I also have the impression it will take a little longer for these to come around. I suspect they will be very good wines when they do, but will probably leave it another year or so to find out.

Does anyone have opinions on the 2004 and 2005?

Cheers

Allan

I had the 2004 recently. I gave it a 6-8 hour decant and it was fine. Drank well.
2005 I'm not so sure about.

I'd say the 2004 is ready (lovely soy sauce hints on the palate), but not the 2006. Not tried the 2005.

Hmmmm...here's a not-so-old tasting note of the 2005 Chalambar I forgot I'd posted:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12288

1991 Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna - aahhh, back in the day when the good fruit (from an outstanding vintage) went in to Bin 28. This was really singing on the night. A mixture of meatiness, chocolate & just a trace of earth, backed up by a lovely velvety mouthfeel. Tannins were soft and well integrated. The only slight detracting feature was the length - it was long, but not long enough to be outstanding.

2004 Pierre Moncuit BdB Millesime - my favourite vintage of this label. Needs a decant, or better yet, save some for day 2. I love the citrusy characters and length. Will be even better in 5+ years

2006 Marc Hebrart Special Club - made by one of the nicest guys in Champagne, sadly this particular bottle lacked the wow factor of previous ones. Not surprisingly, it was bought through retail channels rather than the CD (which is where the rest came from). Look out for the 2008 that will be released end of year, as not much will get to Oz. This bottle showed that its not just Australia where the champagne is a victim of poor transportation.

2002 Laurent Perrier - 2nd bottle and I've been a tad underwhelmed by both. There ' a slightly annoying 'flour-y' charcter on the palate.

cuttlefish wrote:Hmmmm...here's a not-so-old tasting note of the 2005 Chalambar I forgot I'd posted:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12288

Of course. I keep forgetting the search function is there

Tyrrell's futures selection, Hunter Hermitage, 1995.
This is my last bottle from a case I purchased from auction around 6 years ago.
On opening it seems a little lifeless and dull, but after an hour or so it became a beautiful combination of soft old leather and five spice aromas with a silken pallet displaying the same characteristics.
I'd say I opened the last of these at just the right time. It's standing on the edge ready to go over, so if you've got any laying around, now might be a good time to dig them out.

Evans & Tate Metricup Road Chardonnay 2009
I had this with Thai food and it was a perfect match, all honeydew menlon, white peach and just a hint of toastiness.

Chateau Dasvin-Bel-Air 2003
I picked up a bunch of these at auction as I'm sure a few of you must have also, cheap as chips and a good pizza or bbq wine.