The Auswine Forum

It's that time of year again for my annual Christmas message as you all start dusting off those cherished old bottles from the cellar or delving into the secondary market gems you just couldn't pass up during the year.

So now is the time to start thinking about your wine preparation...

Do you have a decent decanter? Is it clean, or does it have the residue from a bunch of gerberas that were plonked in it when the flower vase went missing? Rotting Gerberas don't add a lot to the character of genteel older wines, so how about giving it a good wash now. If the rotting Gerberas got the opportunity to dry into a crusty scab reminiscent of the remains of an old Barossa Shiraz, a handful of dry rice, a slice of lemon, some water and a vigorous shake should do the job.

If you're lucky enough to be contemplating drinking old reds under cork, do you have a decent opener? By that, I mean a double prong butler's friend, not a second rate waiter's friend with a screw that would be better put to use picking stuff out of work boots that you nicked from the local RSL. Put one on the Xmas list if you don't.
If that fails , which quite often can with older corks, are you prepared for dealing it? Fine strainer? Funnel? No point letting a great wine go to waste because of a few entirely predictable and natural floaty bits. Be like a boy scout and be prepared (the shorts are up to you).

Under no circumstances do I want any of you to be ringing me in January complaining that the cork broke when you attempted to open a 20 year old sublime red with one of those hideous wingy things. You've been warned..

Do your homework on your drinking windows and decanting times. If you're opening something older and you're not sure how it's holding up, put the time in and call the producer. They'd (we'd) much rather hear from you ahead of the game and have a nice chat about what to expect than deal with the disappointment after you've opened a bottle with high expectations, left it to fade for four hours too long, only to find it as past it as granny at 4pm on Xmas day with a few sherries and a bottle of Moscato under her belt.

Also take the time to get your older reds out a few days ahead of time and stand them upright to let the sediment settle. Yes Dorothy, there will be sediment. It's as inevitable as Toto begging at the table for the turkey left overs. No Xmas pork, ham or roasted onions for the pooches by the way. Vomiting dogs don't add to the atmosphere and a trip to the vet on Boxing Day is going to cost you more than the wine did.

Lastly, if your gem fails to shine, please don't tip it down the sink in disgust. Jam the cork back in, quietly put it to one side and open something else. Then at your leisure call the number on the bottle and talk to the people who care. Hopefully it won't be me but experience & statistics tell me in some cases it probably will.

Don't forget to put the bubbly in the fridge Xmas eve so they're ready for breakfast and if there's not Sparkling Shiraz on your table by lunchtime you should be ashamed to call yourself Australian..

Timely and helpful thoughts here.

Thanks Sparky, especially love the comment re Sparkling Shiraz, I have already shifted half a dozen various versions from cellar to wine fridge in readiness for Xmas ham and the homemade treacle and clove cured bacon I've got ageing in the fridge right now. A couple of slices of that fried up with a glass of Joseph Primo is a good way to start the day

Its like a mash up between the Queen and Sam Kekovich!

Rockford fizz in the line up for us, with a special bottle of Henschke headlining later in the day.
I've been a bit unlucky with their corks previously, but i will forgive and forget all if this one is sound.
Jesus, Allah, Buddha, let the cork be sound!

Happy Xmas Sparky.

Ah...

We should talk more about what to do with dead pigs, Krusty - my homemade fennel salami is coming along quite nicely too and will probably feature heavily on the wood fired pizzas over the next few weeks!

my first Christmas day outside Australia for almost 40 years, have always managed to get home previously, but not possible this year.
Will be an absentee for the traditional family beer tasting (usually won, amongst 15-20 people, by the youngest contestant lol), but given my performance over the past ten years, my absence will not be noticed hehe My bro's will have to find much of the decent wine themselves this year, but I have given my sons a 3L of Two Hands Bella's Garden 2005, a magnum of Seville Reserve Chardonnay 2010 and a magnum of 1996 Rockford Basket Press to bring to the lunch.
I will console my mixed sad-happy feelings with two Chinese mates, their wives and my lovely wife and baby with dinner at mine after work (yep, it is a normal Thursday here in China) and will drink the following
NV Rockford Black Shiraz 1996 disgorge
2005 Leeuwin estate Chardonnay
2008 Bass Phillip Premium Pinot
1996 Moss Wood
1997 Rockford Port
and some God-awful bottles of Changyu or the like, whatever is brought over,but on such a day of peace and love, I will pretend to love the stuff
fortunately, one of the Chinese mates is a head chef at one of the best restaurants here, and is cooking, so the meal will be quite special.

peace, love and a great day to you all back home!!!!!!!!!!!!

I followed your tips in opening an absolutely sublime 1971 Bin 389 Sparky. Qualitatively, it was on par with the Grange from the same year. The Ah So worked wonders with a crumbly old cork.....

Merry Christmas Sparky and to everyone else.

I've just test driven the Durand for the first time tonight (albeit on a bottle that didn't really warrant it).
I'll add a little tip of my own for keeping both cork flakes and sediment out - I will often decant through Cheese cloth.
Especially useful, when you've forgotten to stand a bottle up!

sparky wrote:Don't forget to put the bubbly in the fridge Xmas eve so they're ready for breakfast and if there's not Sparkling Shiraz on your table by lunchtime you should be ashamed to call yourself Australian..

+1 on that

Cheers

Michael

sparky wrote:Don't forget to put the bubbly in the fridge Xmas eve so they're ready for breakfast and if there's not Sparkling Shiraz on your table by lunchtime you should be ashamed to call yourself Australian..

Yep, +2 on that as well!

Rockford Black Shiraz and and something a little different for us, a Craiglee Sparkling Shiraz as well. Plus a few bottles of French Bubbly to keep festivities humming along.

Merry Christmas to all on here and may 2015 be your best year yet. Here's to more good friendly debate and drinking good wine.

Cheers
Ian

I also have a bottle of the Rockford Black ready to go.
Will finish with a 1994 Noble One.
Still not sure what will be had in-between.

It will be a totally Aussie red Christmas at our place. We'll be starting with 2001 Ashton Hills sparkling shiraz followed by a range of Bin 389s, possibly comparing vintages from 1994, 1996 and 1998. Hopefully the corks behave themselves but if they don't, I know what to do. And in memory of the great Cliff Booth, we'll finish with a 1989 Taminick Cellars vintage port and one of his old liqueur muscats.

And Sparky, thanks again for the professionalism of your team (Kallem this time) in dealing with a corked Seppelts 2001 Chalambar shiraz. May you all party till you drop and wake as clear headed as you started.

Thanks Moira for the kind and wise words...compliments of the season.
If there was one thing I would add, it is...if you have good stemware, decanters, other bits and pieces (as most here do) use them EVERYDAY...particularly when consuming with SWMBO.
I have been using Riedel Sommelier for years and she opts for a vegemite glass...'ok if it breaks'.
Equally, no bottle is too good not to open, retort with who is more important than you?

It has been a pretty good year professionally, promotion, completion of studies.
Youngest has finished school, in the top 1% in the state...pleasing that that will see him in with a shot for most courses.

Thanks Gav for allowing me a rant.
Thanks to the one or two here who have given me a rocket because they think I am a negative grumpy bastard ( which I am , but only some of the time).
Thanks to Felixp...what a breath of fresh air, and by the sounds of it what a cellar!
Thanks to Scotty Vino re the great cellar exploration...if only at my place!

Happy Xmas to all the usual suspects, must do an offline in 2015...oh and to start proceedings my first 1994 Seppelt Show Reserve Sparling Burg...no Ah So required...just flick the crown seal.
Cheers
Craig

sparky wrote:If you're lucky enough to be contemplating drinking old reds under cork, do you have a decent opener? By that, I mean a double prong butler's friend...

Indeed, and two weeks ago I used one for about 3 surgically accurate minutes to open this...

1968 Penfolds Shiraz Bin 747 Claret - Australia, South Australia (12/7/2014)
NobleRottersSydney - Christmas Lunch 2014 (Greg's place): {cork} Here’s a curio. The inaugural vintage of a short-lived, occasional cuvee; a legacy of the same ex-Qantas marketing manager who gave Penfolds the still extant Bin 707. All shiraz, from the Barossa and Clare valleys. Level is mid-shoulder. Saturated cork. Decanted into a closed vessel for about 2 hours prior to sampling. Alarmingly murky brown. Aged leathery nose; a hint only of volatility probably because it doesn’t quite seem to have the energy to be powerfully acetic. The palate is the best part of all; soft and leathery, yes, but like furniture polish; still alive and not too bacterial. Dry, lovely even presence on the palate. Barely medium-bodied at nearly 50 years old, but really surprisingly good. More surprising than enthralling, but a privilege to taste anyway; thanks Geoffrey.

cheers,
GG

phillisc wrote:Thanks Moira for the kind and wise words...compliments of the season.
If there was one thing I would add, it is...if you have good stemware, decanters, other bits and pieces (as most here do) use them EVERYDAY...particularly when consuming with SWMBO.
I have been using Riedel Sommelier for years and she opts for a vegemite glass...'ok if it breaks'.
Equally, no bottle is too good not to open, retort with who is more important than you?

It has been a pretty good year professionally, promotion, completion of studies.
Youngest has finished school, in the top 1% in the state...pleasing that that will see him in with a shot for most courses.

Thanks Gav for allowing me a rant.
Thanks to the one or two here who have given me a rocket because they think I am a negative grumpy bastard ( which I am , but only some of the time).
Thanks to Felixp...what a breath of fresh air, and by the sounds of it what a cellar!
Thanks to Scotty Vino re the great cellar exploration...if only at my place!

Happy Xmas to all the usual suspects, must do an offline in 2015...oh and to start proceedings my first 1994 Seppelt Show Reserve Sparling Burg...no Ah So required...just flick the crown seal.
Cheers
Craig

+1

Rick

Compliments of the season to everyone!

Looking forward to another year of excellent discussions on Auswine. Wishing everyone and their loved ones a safe holidays and a prosperous New Year.