Recent Antipodean Wines from My Cellar

JDSJDS · Post by **JDSJDS** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 1:34 pm

Here's a few Antipodean wines I've tried lately. All Aussie except for one Kiwi wine. I'm a big fan of the Wigan Reisling.

2007 Peter Lehmann Riesling Wigan - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley (4/4/2016)
Hazy notes from 3 days ago. This was in great nick again. It seemed even richer, less austere than my last bottle. Mainly citrus and honey on the medium-full bodied palate, great intensity, finishing dry. This is a great, world class dry riesling. (A-)
2009 Church Road Cabernet Merlot Reserve Hawkes Bay - New Zealand, North Island, Hawkes Bay (3/20/2016)
This bottle confirms my impression of this producer. They tend to make rather plush, ripe, low acid, non-tannic red wines that show well in competitions but don't really gain a lot with age. I thought this wine had too much residual sugar as well, though this improved (and tannins appeared) on the second night when I served it closer to cellar temperature. Certainly not a bad bottle, and good QPR at the sale price I paid - a good table wine, but nothing more. (B+)
2007 Majella Cabernet Sauvignon - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra (3/12/2016)
Hazy notes from last night. This was a big cab, with lots of black fruits and some tar and cedar notes on a powerful, full bodied palate. No heat, but the amount of oak was surprising and disappointing to me. I don;t mind a big wine if it is balanced, but this just had too much oak to get into the 'outstanding' category for me. Normally I don't notice the oak this much in Majella cabs, although it is always part of their profile. (B+)
2005 Majella Shiraz Sparkling - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra (3/5/2016)
This is still evolving nicely. There's a lovely nose full of deep plums and a hint of brown sugar, and these carry onto the rich but dry finish, which has deep red fruits, charcoal and tar. Definitely some secondary or even tertiary flavours here. This has continued to improve over time. This was my last bottle and I think remaining bottles should be finished over the next 2 or 3 years, as this might be peaking soon. (A-)
2010 Balnaves of Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra (2/20/2016)
Deeply coloured wine with a lovely nose of mint, blackfruits and cedar. Medium to full bodied on the palate, with similar flavours and a nice long finish. Still young but not a crime to open now with some decanting. (A-)
2012 Balnaves of Coonawarra The Blend Coonawarra - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra (1/19/2016)
Solid QPR wine. Didn't take notes, but this was better on the second night, as it filled out a bit. Medium to medium-full bodied, with a combination of red and black fruits and herbal notes that add interest and dimension to the wine. Not complex, but a well made, tasty table wine. (B+)
2008 St Hugo Cabernet Sauvignon - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra (11/22/2015)
Notes from the second night open. Deep, dark purple in colour. There's a lovely mix of mint and blackfruits on the powerful nose.The palate is medium-full bodied with a lifted acidity that keeps the palate fresh: there is a mix of mint, blackfruits, cigar box, cinnamon and cedar with healthy tannins. Avoid if you aren't a mint fan! It's almost a bit much here, but it's still an enjoyable wine that is still quite young and has many years left. Great QPR. (A-)
2008 Sandalford Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Reserve - Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River (10/7/2015)
Hazy notes from a few days ago. On the first night, there was oak, oak and more oak - quite unbalanced. It improved a bit the second night, but still too much medium quality oak notes prevailed, despite the nice texture overall. Disappointing wine for me. (B-/B)
2012 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Black Label - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra (9/18/2015)
Didn't take notes, but had a couple of glasses of this last night. Pretty closed, but this had more oak on the medium bodied palate than I was expecting. Interesting to read all the notes on CT on this wine - I didn't get any heat at all, and agree that this is a different kind of cab than many CA cab drinkers are used to: much lighter and much lower alcohol. But it certainly tastes like a cab, if a very young, closed down one at the moment. I'll wait another 5 years to try one... B+ right now.