The Auswine Forum

Hi Good Peoples,

Its that time of the week again!

Petaluma 1998 Shiraz

Brian talked me in splitting some of these with him so if I didnÂ’t like it I knew who to blame. The bouquet showed spice, white pepper, blackcurrant, mint, subtle aniseed and no noticeable effect from the Viognier. Ample in weight, the abundant tannins are taming down but still have a way to go. The fruit is plentiful and provides a savoury top layer on the uptake with very slight sweetness below; spice which is almost peppery in character but not quite, savoury blackberry, plum and a little apricot character on the finish. Oak places a supporting role, the persistence is good, complexity is reasonable and this wine is clean but there is something missing, possibly the excitement factor. Basically its well made but boring. Rated as Highly Recommended, if you have any, let them sleep for a few more years.

Now what have you guys been drinking?

Spent most of the weekend on top of vats plunging reds in the yarra valley which was a lot of fun.

Had the 02 Shaw and SMith Shiraz was was really nice, with very good structure and good weight.

Also the 00 Mount Difficulty Pinot Noir: which was very good indeed. Hard to go past, top class NZ Pinot.

Rockford Eden Valley Riesling 2001: nose was quite muted (due to a very slight cork taint) but this didn't show up as much on the palate. Hence, not a great bottle but still some pretty good fruit lying around there. Will age for a few more years.

Cobaw ridge Shiraz 2001?: very pinot like and very different. Seemed like a younger version of Bannockburn Shiraz (but nowhere near as good if that makes sense) and probably best drunk within the next few years.


cheers
anthony

1991 Craiglee Shiraz
Opened because it has just started leaking (one advantage of not storing most of my wines in boxes is that I can catch early leakers). However they usually drink well early and then plateau somewhat, so it was a good time to open anyway.
I really like this style - ripe and powerful enough (13.1% alcohol) but not jammy and still in the blackberry-dark cherry fruit spectrum, combined with pepper and spice and oak playing very much a supporting role.
A seamless wine now that it is over 10 years of age.

regards
Chris

I've been too busy eating and drinking lately to take notes, but all the wines have been good. Here's a brief list of restaurants and wines

Water's Edge (on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin), watch the sun go down over the lake, Anzac Parade and the War Memorial, lovely spot, great food, even the sourdough bread is superb.) Wines were Seppelt Show Sparkling 1991 (very good, only a slight touch of the earthy, feral character others have reported with this one) and Yeringberg red 1991, starting to show some nicely mature characters, up there with the Coonawarras and MR cabernets.

Dijon (in it's new location in the city, they've settled in now and food and service were very good). Wines were Pol Roger 1996 (not quite as good as I was expecting, a slight hard edge detracted from an otherwise very good wine) and 1990 St Henri Shiraz, superbly mature and drinking at it's peak for my taste, will last longer, but why wait.

Superior Peking The two tables of anglos (including ours) were greatly outnumbered by large and small tables of chinese groups and families all having a great time, many of them drinking red wine too. Felt a bit like being in Dixon St or Little Bourke St. After the two previous nights we kept it light with bubbly, Ravenshead Late Disgorged Pinot-Chardonnay 1993, a bargain at under $20 about 18 months ago, fresh and citrussy, with some lees complexity as well.

Courgette This is the new venue for one of our favourite Canberra chefs, James Musillon ex Atlantic and owner of Aubergine. He's taken over the Fringe benefits site and is cooking there himself whilst still keeping Aubergine. It's a lot easier for us to get to this location too. They have only been open a week and a half and the restaurant was full on Sat night, food was excellent and so was the service. They have a table for 7-8 in their cellar room and a private dining room for 10-12, I can feel a Red Bigot dinner needing to be organised there!

Wines were a glass each of Ch. Heidsieck MIC 98 and Seppelt Original Sp Shiraz 94 from their list and a bottle of 1990 Yalumba Octavius Shiraz from my cellar. I can remember bringing this wine to a dinner in Sydney a few years ago and it was roundly condemned by some (incl Rolf Binder) as being a criminal act to ruin wine with so much oak. Well, the fruit has finally emerged and the oak integrated and subsumed into the background, attractive aromas of fennel and black pepper, hints of the remaining mocha oak, palate is smooth and full of plummy fuit with coffee, fennel and black pepper overtones, fresh clean acid on the finish. Only one left now.

Red Bigot wrote:Courgette......They have a table for 7-8 in their cellar room and a private dining room for 10-12, I can feel a Red Bigot dinner needing to be organised there!

Brian,

Count me in for that if you do! I'm sure David and Tony would also be interested.


Cheers

Jamie

Hello all

Love this weekly thread.

A request though, any one with multiple wine notes for this section, if possible and convenient, could you post one or two as part of this thread, and perhaps one or two as separate tasting notes?

Just a request and an idea, I think that the notes posted separately may get more response and discussion than as part of a larger post.

Again, just an idea that may be worth trying?

What do we all think?

Te Mata Cape Crest Sauvignon Blanc 2002

Brought it because of Attila's thread.

Elegant nose with citrus fruits, pear and toasty oak (and gooseberry on the second day). Very full mouthfeel and long finish for a Sauvignon Blanc. Lovely texture as well. Needs 1-2 years more for the fruit to express itself.

On barrel fermented SB, anyone tried the Domaine A a lady fume blanc? Its stunningly good!

Cheers,
Alan

1999 Jansz : ( $29 ) , Quite Good. Fresh and crisp. Enough time has lapsed since my last Champagne proper to try a local bubbly again so I thought to try this. The difference between Champagne and this is simply that with Champagne you get more complexity , intensity and length.

2000 Brezza Dolcetto d'Alba : ( $30 ) , My New Years resolution was to try more Italian wines ( well , it makes a change from trying to lose weight etc ) and so I thought I'd start at a modest level. To be honest I had trouble deciphering the label - which was the producer/region/grape for a start !? I was confused by the mention of Barolo on the label as well. All part of the adventure I say. The wine was pleasant for me - I had just come back from the Soccer at Hindmarsh stadium ( Adel United 2 Sth Melb 1 ) so was a bit excited anyway so maybe not totally objective. It was a bit " rustic " and had an old wood note but was nice and dry on the finish and a nice match with Pizza.

First I would like to tell you that I am not a real expert in wines but learning everyday.
Here is my experience with 2000 d'Arenberg Laughing Magpie drank over 3 days.

Colour - it has developed into a deep brick red as it has been matured enough to show its ageing. I was quite excited about this wine as I was pouring into the glass.

Nose - to my nose I couldn't detect any fruits in there whatsoever. Initially, I suspected it might have been corked but realised it wasn't.

Palate - very oaky, big in the initial palate (Robert Parker gave 94points???) and it had very earthy character (not my type). Finish wasn't that great either. It seems to be there but lingering taste faded very quickly. Again I tried to find the fruits in this wine but there were no sign of them!!! I drank this wine over 3 days to see if it would improve but no changes.
I will say this is an average wine.

Love to hear what others thought & experience on this wine.

David wrote:First I would like to tell you that I am not a real expert in wines but learning everyday.
Here is my experience with 2000 d'Arenberg Laughing Magpie drank over 3 days.

Colour - it has developed into a deep brick red as it has been matured enough to show its ageing. I was quite excited about this wine as I was pouring into the glass.

Nose - to my nose I couldn't detect any fruits in there whatsoever. Initially, I suspected it might have been corked but realised it wasn't.

Palate - very oaky, big in the initial palate (Robert Parker gave 94points???) and it had very earthy character (not my type). Finish wasn't that great either. It seems to be there but lingering taste faded very quickly. Again I tried to find the fruits in this wine but there were no sign of them!!! I drank this wine over 3 days to see if it would improve but no changes.
I will say this is an average wine.

Love to hear what others thought & experience on this wine.

David, Welcome!

You picked an interesting wine to post on first up, there has been a lot of discussion on the Australina Forums about Shiraz Viognier Blends, and this one has a LOT of viognier in it - about 10%!

I wonder if you found what a few of us have found: this wine has turned to black olive as the predominant flavour, and isnt berry/plum fruit dominant at all. Olives wasnt a descriptor I would ever have used until this wine!

Also interesting to note this wine is now appearing at auction - and by the truckload (including mine ).

If you can, try the 2002, its quite a different - and IMO much better - wine. And please post and tell us what you thought,

cheers

Andrew

Anthony wrote:
Had the 02 Shaw and SMith Shiraz was was really nice, with very good structure and good weight.


cheers
anthony

Hallelujah, its not just me! Loved this wine. Tip Top.

Other drinking for the weekend was the Chapel Hill the Vicar 1996. dark red, showing some development in the colour. Initially this was quite closed and showed a lot of developed character, tobacco and soy sauce. Over a few hours in the dcanter, this changed a lot - blackberry and mulberry fruit, then some vanilla, then chocolate, and the faintest of leafy hints. A fair smattering of secondary flavours too, tobacco and cedar. Fruit sweet, good acid, grainy tannins and good length. A better wine for the decanting time. Good gear. I'll be drinking them in the next two years though,

cheers

Andrew

Henschke Henry's 7 Shiraz Grenache Viognier- Fantastic second vintage. An evolving and interesting style-would be cracker jack at $20 but, alas, comes with a Henschke premium.

Rich, ripe and spicy. Anise and dark fruits. Sily smooth finish with noted viognier on the backpalate.

Tyrrells 1996 Vat 8 Shiraz Cabenet-65% Hunter shiraz and the rest cabernet from Leconfield in the Coonawarra. Unrevealing nose with some spice, earth and leather. The wine is medium bodied with supple complexity courtesy of soft fruit flavours on the palate-rich blackfruits. the finish is solid and with length. Plenty of cabernet backbone.

Elderton 1997 Shiraz - wonderful wine, all at dinner loved this, really probably at its peak but still years to go before it drops off.
l
Leasingham Bin 61, finally crawling out of the hole it was hiding in over the last 9-12 months. Will be a magnificent QPR wine as it evolves.

Rymill 2000 Shiraz, wasn't sure at the beginning but with time in the decanter turned into a nice Coonawarra Shiraz, excellent value at(cough cough) DM at $189 for a case this week.

Tarchalice 1994 Shiraz, this one didn't make it (cork), had one last week which was excellent. Unfortunately this has had a high cork failure rate, the ones that make it have all been excellent.

2002 Seppelt Sparkling Shiraz, very good QPR - damn didn't buy the 1999 in quantity.

1997 Rockford Riesling - damn this was excellent, made us really appreciate why you age good riesling. Still had vibrant acid and excellent fruit - wow!

1998 Punters Corner Cab Merlot - All I can say is damn, wish I bought more of this. Excellent example of what Coonawarra can do.

Have been really busy at work so TN have been really slack. Once the current project is finished (cubby house for the kids) I am going to start on the cellar. Will free up lots of space and allow me to find stuff thats been hiding for years will have to do TN on these as they get discovered.

radioactiveman wrote:

Red Bigot wrote:Courgette......They have a table for 7-8 in their cellar room and a private dining room for 10-12, I can feel a Red Bigot dinner needing to be organised there!

Brian,

Count me in for that if you do! I'm sure David and Tony would also be interested.


Cheers

Jamie

I'll let you know, may not be until May, I have bookings already for w/e of 3 April (with Ric) and a weekend in Melbourne the 16/17th, need to slow down a bit after the excesses of the last couple of weeks.

A very slow week, as I suspect they all will be until our kitchen is reinstalled.

Jamieson's Run Cab Sav 01 - Quite tannic in its youth. Can probably use three or four more years.

Miranda Family Reserve Chardonnay 99 - Quite tasty, probably as good as it will ever be.

Tempus Two Hollydene Cab Sav 98 - The fruit is good, the tannins are now soft, but the oak juts out. Tasted like something from the Barossa - Elderton perhaps.

Kieran

David wrote:First I would like to tell you that I am not a real expert in wines but learning everyday.
Here is my experience with 2000 d'Arenberg Laughing Magpie drank over 3 days.

Colour - it has developed into a deep brick red as it has been matured enough to show its ageing. I was quite excited about this wine as I was pouring into the glass.

Nose - to my nose I couldn't detect any fruits in there whatsoever. Initially, I suspected it might have been corked but realised it wasn't.

Palate - very oaky, big in the initial palate (Robert Parker gave 94points???) and it had very earthy character (not my type). Finish wasn't that great either. It seems to be there but lingering taste faded very quickly. Again I tried to find the fruits in this wine but there were no sign of them!!! I drank this wine over 3 days to see if it would improve but no changes.
I will say this is an average wine.

Love to hear what others thought & experience on this wine.

Hi David, and welcome,

It seems a little odd to me that this wine is showing so much age in its colour and then hasn't the fruit or complexity to back it up. I haven't tried it but it sounds to me like it may have a problem. Sure it wasn't oxidised? Do you have another bottle? Just doesn't sound right to me. Anyone?

Nothing new from me, just Seppelts Victorian Sh 2001 and Ferngrove Cab Merlot 2001, the TN's for which may be found floating around.
cheers,

Had some wine-appreciative visitors from Sydney staying for the weekend, so I had an excuse to crack something good. Saturday nights dinner included:

2000 Jasper Hill Georgia's Paddock Shiraz: As can always be expected this wine was BIG. Lovely, intense fruit and great length. This is a wine I can happily sit, swirl and sniff for hours on end. A lovely accompaniment to a Mediterranean Vegetarian Lasagne.
2000 Baileys of Glenrowan 1920's Block Shiraz: This followed the Georgia's and did not disappoint. It showed the differences between the way these two Victorian regions use this variety. This has been noted as a big wine too. Although not in the same big category as Jasper Hill, the fruit showed slightly less intensity and will probably not last as long the Georgia's would be expected to.

With those notes in mind, both were great examples of Shiraz from their respective regions and both still have many years ahead of them.

Sunday night was a bit quieter (being a school night and all).

1998 Rymill Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon: I've had this on a couple of previous occasions and am always impressed at the quality of this wine and the price at which it is pitched. Much darker than both of the previous nights wines and a lovely curl-up-in-front-of-the-TV-on-a-cold-Melbourne-night type of wine. Perfect for last night! My nose let me down last night due to my first cold of the new year. But my taste buds were delighted.

**Update** I almost forgot! We finished saturday night with a Campbells Liquid Gold Tokay. Absolutely delicious and it re-inforced my love for this wine. Mmmmmm.

Thank you Wizz and Simm for welcoming me to this wine forum.

I have few more bottles of this wine. I will try another one within this week and let you know whether the other wine had a faulty cork or not.

David

Hello forum,

1998 Wolf Blass Black Label:

BIG and wonderful nose packed with black currant (Ribena), dark ripe cherries, mocha, chocolate, coffee, and wonderful vanilla oak. Walking around in the room you could still smell the wine, as it stood there on the table. The palate showed the same with the fruit showing the way. Lots of sweet fruit (black currant, plum and dark ripe cherries), chocolate and vnilla oak. The tannins are fine and well integrated.

An absolutely lovely wine at the moment, and I wouldn't keep it more than 3 - 4 years.

At around AUD 55.00, I will certainly buy me a few more bottles for the Swedish summer and the BBQ nights.

Anders

De Redcliffe, 2001 Ice Wine (NZ, Riesling)

Appearance: Pale straw with some greenish hints

Nose: sweet honey and toast, some lime or citrus on the background along with floral hints. Very aromatic overall.

Palate shows toast and honey sweetness, round pallet yet with good structure (so I'd say still good balance between sugar and acidity). I picked some lime, peach, nuts and violets behind the primary fruit.
Very beautiful wine, best riesling I had for some time! Reminds me some German wines at their best.

Ander,
Ur BL seems very cheap esp. the '98 which was a JWT winner. Cost 2x (+) in OZ. Should buy more

Thanks MartinC,

Yes, I know it is cheap when comparing to Australian prices (having lived in Australia for 15 years). It is strange how some wines are actually cheaper over here, where the sales tax is 25% and then the alcohol tax on top of that. The only explanation I have is that with a monopole and with a very few importers, they have a lot of buying power.

Take Grange 98 for example, at AUD 245.00 it is an absolute bargain. Then again, when you buy Rawson's Retreat, Koononga Hill, Lindemans Bin65 and so on by the pallet (I am talking BIG numbers), then you can dictate the price of te top wines.

Kind Regards,

Anders

PS. Yes, I will definately buy a few more BL.

Saturday....

For starters

NV Banrock Station Sparkling Shiraz

Reasonably widely available here in the UK. Not bad stuff - lots of sweet plummy fruit, nice spiceyness, and good persistent bubbles. A good match for Chinese duck with pancakes.

1998 Bannockburn Shiraz

We are all familiar with the story behind this one, so I won't go into detail. I recall this wine receiving a lot of praise when released, then bought a bottle and tried it, but was somewhat underwhelmed. I have to say that is still the case. Nice plum/raspberry fruit and nutmeg/cinnamon spice on the nose, reflected on the medium weight palate. Not a bad wine, but not a particularly interesting wine either. I'm sure some people would love it, but it doesn't do it for me.

1992 Penfolds Bin 389

Mint, menthol, eucalyptus and blackcurrant. Enjoyable, drinking at its peak, but a bit humdrum.

1998 Penfolds Clare Valley Merlot Cabernet Franc Cabernet Sauvignon

Big, young and not particularly subtle, but will develop into a decent wine with another 3 or so years laying down.

2000 2nd wine of Ch. Lascombes, Margaux

Surprisingly lightweight for a 2000, even if this was a 2nd wine. One should get better wines than this from the 2000 vintage.

2002 La Spinetta Moscato d'Asti

Very nice grapey, light, sweet and refreshing. Good stuff.

Sunday

1999 Marques de Grinon Syrah

This wine was delicious. At 14.5%, definitely ripe, but seductive mid-weight palate - silky smooth - nice sweet boysenberry fruit leading to 5 spice. All in all a well made wine, in a not too similar mould to the 1998 Bannockburn Shiraz, but more sophisticated.

2003 Errazuriz Shiraz

Reasonable quality Chilean Shiraz, probably from young vines. Lacks backbone and the bell pepper on the nose is mildly distracting, but it ain't bad stuff for six quid.

Cheers
Phil[/b]

Simm wrote (in response to David's TN) :

It seems a little odd to me that this wine is showing so much age in its colour and then hasn't the fruit or complexity to back it up. I haven't tried it but it sounds to me like it may have a problem. Sure it wasn't oxidised? Do you have another bottle? Just doesn't sound right to me. Anyone?

David, it does sound corked to me - lack of fruit, earthy and "oaky"on the palate.... anyway, I guess when you open the next one you wil know for sure.

regards
Chris

Good buying Anders.

Europe can be a source of very cheap Aussie wine.

In the heart of the Norhthern Rhone Valley, Chapoutier's cellar door in fact, Jasper Hill shiraz cheaper than in Australia.

Guest_anders wrote:Hello forum,

1998 Wolf Blass Black Label:

BIG and wonderful nose packed with black currant (Ribena), dark ripe cherries, mocha, chocolate, coffee, and wonderful vanilla oak. Walking around in the room you could still smell the wine, as it stood there on the table. The palate showed the same with the fruit showing the way. Lots of sweet fruit (black currant, plum and dark ripe cherries), chocolate and vnilla oak. The tannins are fine and well integrated.

An absolutely lovely wine at the moment, and I wouldn't keep it more than 3 - 4 years.

At around AUD 55.00, I will certainly buy me a few more bottles for the Swedish summer and the BBQ nights.

Anders

Hello Anders!

Haven't tried this wine but it did make a bit of an impact in the USA I believe - should impress your guests at your next barbeque!

cheers

daz

To JamieBahrain,

Thanks for the info.

Jasper Hill at Chapoutier's cellar door. Aaahhh, Jasper Hill, my favourite wine from when I lived in Australia.

Gorgia's Paddock 93, 96, 97 (especially 97) and 98
Emily's Paddock 92, 98 and 99.

Don't have my notes here at work, but I DO remember them as absolutely brilliant wines.

Must try to get down to Northern Rhone and Chapoutier....

Kind regards,

Anders

1993 Barossa Valley Estate E and E Sparkling Shiraz

So i lost my sparkling shiraz virginity this week. bought from another bin-end sale from a local wine retailer for A$50. interestingly the shop has the 98 right next to it for A$80. The 93 back label has an UK importer/agent's details on it. So i guess it might have had done some travelling.

TV: brown hue, chocolatey/vanilla nose with hint of cinnamon sweetness. The bubbles were mousse-like. Coating mouthful of chocolate, coffee and vanilla supported by good acidity. Long long finish.

An excellent drink for the price i suppose, but of coz i cant tell if i've never had other sparkling shiraz before.

Eddie

gee, that was me
eddie

JamieBahrain wrote:Good buying Anders.

Europe can be a source of very cheap Aussie wine.

In the heart of the Norhthern Rhone Valley, Chapoutier's cellar door in fact, Jasper Hill shiraz cheaper than in Australia.

If only we could get it all into the smugglers plane and divvy it up on the beach.

cheers,