2017 Vin Diemen Sydney

[pc79]

Vin Diemen Sydney

A pretty epic tasting over 5 hours or so. Some good stuff, some not so good stuff, and some not great stuff. Ran around some sparkles first, then riesling, chardy, Pinot and the other Reds. Had an interesting time with Vanessa at the Barringwood stand being told that coming back for a few tastings (3) of their premium was 'a bit cheeky'. That certainly rubbed me up the wrong way and notes below were edited before posting. Had a chat after the event, she put it down to 'having a headache'.

Sparkling
House of Arras
Brut Elite - smells of bread and crushed lemons, yeasty and sweet nougatine finish. Little bubbles (a bit flat). 90
2007 Blanc de Blanc - again those bready lemon croissant aromas, lemon rind, white florals, almond meal drying, complex 92
2008 Grand Vintage - sour nectarine, lemons, I pick up a smidge of a faulty medicinal nr (will come back)
2006 Rose - bright peaches, lime, some of that yeasty nutty slight savoury goodness, excellent 93
2013 Ghost Rock Catherine - apple pie, bready, green apple, sweet and fine bead 91

Riesling
2016 Bay of Fires Riesling - light yellow, lemons, lime, red apples, crushed rocks, finished bright and lively. Good flows 91
2014 Sharmans Riesling - immediate smack in the face of lime and balloons. Lemons on the palate, wet slate, drying, something funky in there 90
2015 Tamar Ridge - fuzzy peachy, and a little creamy. Got some bitter lime on it more Gris like. 90
2016 Devils corner Riesling - lemons and again light bitterness. A zing of saliva inducing acidity. Some white flowers in there and a bit of sherbet. Finishes dry, and slightly acidic. 91
2016 Joseph Chromy - opens with gooseberry and sweet limes, wet rock, lemons, flowers, silty and dry 91
2016 Ghost Rock Riesling - light sweetness and white florals, limes, lemon sherbet. Potentially a tad overs on the residual sugars. Love the style 92

Chardonnay
2015 Tolpuddle - creamy nectarines, white biscuits, struck match, drying and good cashew oak, round but stern and on point 94
2015 Nocton Estate - sweet pineapple, peach, lipstick, round, sweet, flabby, but acid tries to suck it back in line 88
2016 Barringwood Chardonnay - green nectarine and some rockmelon and apple, crushed almonds. Light lean and a real baby. Interested to see how this ages 92
2016 Ghost Rock Small Batch Chardonnay - essence of chardy for me. Flint, struck match, nectarine and some crushed cashew cream, smokey, balance. smells great, tastes great 94
2015 Marions Chardonnay - super interesting. Smells funky, peaches and rubber, sweet lemons and almond meal. Super long finish. really like 92
2016 Holm Oak - peaches and drying nuttiness. Lemon curd, light and delicate finish. dry and good. Focussed. Excellent gear 92
2015 Moorilla Muse Chardonnay - lemons, struck match, flinty, savoury, fierce (higher acid) clean, good 91
2016 Joseph Chromy Chardonnay - lemon cheesecake, white peach, some sulphur in there dry 91
2016 Spring Vale Chardonnay - smells of peaches and cream, gooseberry, almonds gentle funk. Acid flows a little over 90
2015 Bream Creek Estate - marzipan flows over lemons and green nectarine. Light sweetness carries. Decent gear 91
2015 Bream Creek Reserve - real sense of almond and struck match on top of white peach and brioche. Balance excellent. Fiery savoury finish 93
2016 Moore's Hill Chardonnay - almonds and white nectarine. A whip of struck match, gentle acid flow good 91
2014 Sharmans Chardonnay - smells full and round. White peach, Light rubbery and smokey, Green grapes, pleasing 91
2016 Bay of Fires Chardonnay - sweet lemon biscuits, green white nectarine, white and yellow flowers. Sulphurite. Long clean. boom, right in the chardy pocket magic 93
2015 Dalrymple Caves Block - delicious nose of biscotti and lemons. Struck match, white floral aromas and a Beautiful flow across the palate 93
2016 Holm Oak Wizard - toffee apple, finger bun, struck match, white peach light vanilla element. Great flow and balance 93
2016 Devils Corner resolution - white nectarine, some funk, cream and marzipan, struck match residual sweetness loses some complexity 90

Best Tolpuddle, next Dalrymple then Ghost Rock

Pinot Noir
2015 Tamar Ridge Estate - black cherry spice, some smokey, Mulchy wet earthen flavours flowing through. Savoury and quite complex but an acid bite at the end. Quite a big thing 90
2014 Tamar Ridge Reserve - black cherry again, dark strawberry, light sweetness flows with a spicy more balance savoury and forest floor finish. More gentle than the Estate 91
2015 Tamar Ridge Single Block - smells refined, light weight dark cherry, gentle vanillan, dark green and maroon in flavour grippy tannin 92
2013 Sharmans Pinot - black cherry, sultana, fierce flavours, got that wet forest thing happeneing, a bit over extracted and warm. 89
2015 Delamere - black cherry and marzipan flow, cured meats, nice sweet spicy flow, but again overarching sense of being overdone. 91
2016 Dalrymple Estate - strawberry, slicked ripe cherry, wet tree bark, great balance betw sweet and savoury best yet 92
2014 Dalrymple Cottage Block - forest, immediate bottle green smell with a splash of red fruits. black and red cherry, smokey, light hit of barnyard, balance, sticky tannin, refined 93 excellent
2014 Dalrymple coal Valley single site - gentle sweetness, dark cherry, Black Forest, wet soil, dark savoury spice. The goods and an Excellent thing. My pick of the 3. 93 coming back. Great balance. Finishes a little cuddly. Score stands.
2016 Eddystone - all stalks and stems, dried tobacco, red cherry and ripe strawberry, gentle sweetness, with garden herbs. a banger 92
2014 Delamere Block 8 - ooh baby! Burgundian. Sweet cherry spice, autumn leaves, prosciutto, charcuterie, beaut tannin 95 should go long and strong and develop in to something I great. Under cork.
2016 Bay of Fires - instant strawberries, black cherry. Crushed twigs and leaves. Dark red flavours. Finishes a little overly sweet with savoury trying to suck it back in. Residual sweetness overs 91 good and pleasant gear though
2013 Bream Creek Pinot - yeah this is good. Punches. Black cherry, savoury leaves. Stemmy, but great balance. Cherry, spicy tomato leaf salsa. Good stuff 91
2008 Bream Creek Pinot - I like where this is. Light, sweet savoury balance. Wood Fires, autumnal, red cherry secondary coming in to flow. Sweet savoury spicy. 91
2016 Moore's Hill Pinot - a pretty shy nose, but explodes on the palate. strawberry, anise, stalks and stems. Fruit and spice in harmony. Great balance whew! Intense, A bomb 94
2016 Barringwood Estate Pinot - rose and strawberry, red black cherry fruit, Stemmy, stalky, bright and light. Well treated stuff. A fan 92
2016 Barringwood Mill Block - more focussed. Cherry, curry leaf, dark forest and crushed leaves, great balance, finesse and power. 94 love what these guys do with their Pinot.
2016 Tolpuddle Pinot - stems and stalks, savoury spice, red cherry, strawberry fruited and a long bright finish. Nothing out of whack, just a well made Pinot 93
2015 Nocton Estate Pinot - strawberry and spice. Cloves. Dark forest. Dark cherry. Big and bold. Nice balance, but hefty weight. Like 91
2016 Stoney Vineyard - sour fruits, bright cherry acetone nose (offputting for me). Palate of kirsch. Huge overdone thing not for me 87
2010 Domaine A Pinot - grow in to itself caramel cherry, dark fruited again, Black Forest and wet soil. everything has softened in to itself 91
2015 Nocton Reserve Pinot - sour cherry, weird profile of cured meats, rotting cherry fruit that I'm not a fan of. Black, savoury. Interesting though 88
2016 Glaetzer-Dixon Avance Pinot - cherry sweet, dark forest floor, red spiced fruits, spritzy palate. Overly sweet 90
2014 Glaetzer-Dixon ReVeur Pinot - black cherry, spicy dark coconut pie, sweet. Overdone, Odd. Not for me 90
2014 Moorilla Estate Pinot - dark cherry, autumn leaves, dark and bright vanilla, light and sweet but in great balance. Excellent gear 93
2015 Marion's Vineyard - stems and tomato leaf, dark cherry, mulchy. Excellent. Spice and herbs. 93
2016 Holm Oak Pinot - Splash of cherry nerds. Foresty. Dark green and crimson Good balance. 91 good value at 25 or under.
2015 Holm Oak Wizard Pinot - black cherry, vanilla pods. Autumn leaves dark spices. Labrynth. Supreme balance. Finish fades off a little but light tannin sucks it back on track 93 great gear
2016 Ghost Rock Two Blocks Pinot - red cherry, garden herbs. Crushed leaves. Light sweet red fruit flows over. bloody great stuff. Small stiffy 94
2016 Ghost Rock Bonadale Pinot - dark cherry, wet forest floor, spiced cherry, runs a bit sweet for me 92
2016 Springvale Pinot - strawberry and dark cherry (monotonous), fresh rain, spicy stalks, good gear but a pinch overdone 91
2010 Springvale Pinot - browning, still fresh with pink flowers over red fruit. Spice still tugging along. Smells of a wet farm. They age ok these pinots 91
2016 Springvale Melrose - yes boom. Black cherry anise. Stalks grab but let go to remind you they're still there. Herbal but light sweetness grazes the palate. Great balance 93
2015 Joseph Chromy Pinot - dark cherry. Sweet spicy vanilla cherry fruit with a smack of forest floor. Pleasing cheapy 91
2012 Joseph Chromy Zdar Pinot - browning rim. Saucy. Softer cherry, intense cherry spice, flash of autumns. Sucked back in by acid. Nice balance 92

Best: Delamere Block 8, Barringwood Mill block, Dalrymple Coal Valley

Other Reds
2015 Glaetzer-Dixon Mon Pere - cherry and bright. Could be forgiven it's another Pinot but for the darker fruited profile. Black plums savoury spice: 91
2015 Nocton Vineyard Merlot - bright savoury tannin, soft raspberry and darker fruited. nice balance 90
2010 Domaine A Merlot - cherry acetone again. Dark berry and light caramel. Savoury spice with grippy tanningNot my thing 89
2008 Domaine A Cabernet - mint blackcurrant dark choc. Tannin in the background. Lovely lines. Had a bit of a crust which I chewed on. Good cab. 92
2005 Domaine A Cabernet - here's a better thing. Darker and richer than the 08, but the palate lighter and more refined. Dark choc, Violet perfume, blackcurrant overrides. This is a slick cab 94
2014 Moorilla Cabernet Sauvignon/Franc - deep dark thing. Black cherry blackcurrant. Violets. Tannin. Spicy oak. Cabernet, but not like you know it. Scraping tannin off teeth. good 93
2016 Moore's Hill Cabernet - very pinotesque. With cherry and raspberry fruit. Spicy, very much so. Dark, but bright. The Would never pick it as a Cabernet 92
Moore's Hill project 99 90% pinot 5% franciac 5% Riesling - lots of whole bunch. raspberry cherry spice. Soft finish. Clean bright. Whew. Where'd this come from? 93

WOTD - 2014 Delamere Block 8 Pinot closely followed by the 2015 Tolpuddle Chardonnay

[Willard]

Thanks for the write-up. You got through a decent number of wines!

I was a little disappointed reading the standard Delamere on first pass as I have a soft spot for this wine. Then saw the Block 8, sounds fantastic, though the price is a killer for me unfortunately.

Cheers
Will

[michel]

$110 for the block 8 Delamere .....

[pc79]

$110 for the block 8 Delamere .....

Yeah, had no idea of the prices as I picked my way through. Looked it up post event with the intention to get some. At $50-60, a yes. At $110, there's better stuff out there.The regular Delamere Pinot was pretty good. Would be happy to have it in the cellar.
Very impressed with the wines from Marion's vineyard