- [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7814994]2015 Brand's Laira Shiraz Stentiford's[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra (30/07/2019)
{screwcap} Well, gosh, this is bland. Generic red fruit, maybe plums, fairly plush and voluptuous, yet with minimal dusty tannin, not much acid. Medium weight, avoids heat, yet I struggle to find any real character to it. Drunk over a couple of hours, but never seemed to blossom. Shiraz is usually pretty drinkable most of the time; I don't know why this was so uninteresting. It's young, yes; perhaps a decade in the cellar will help it blossom into something worthy. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7810453]2015 Gala Estate Pinot Noir[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, East Coast (28/07/2019)
{screwcap, 13.4%} Light garnet red, light and translucent at the rim. Intense, youthful nose of stalk, black cherry, spice. The palate is polished, ripe but not overly fruity. Very much black cherry in flavour, but sour and restrained. Just barely medium-bodied, with medium acidity, and low/medium dusty tannins. Dry, but not harsh. Subtle oak. This is pretty classy in many ways, showing some potential for real development. Although, the finish is medium length at best, so maybe it misses the ultimate recommendation. Around $65 from the winery, so clearly has pretentions. Perhaps questionable value, but then being Tasmania it’s small production anyway. Worth keeping at least another five years or so. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7808466]2006 McWilliam's Mount Pleasant Wines Shiraz Old Paddock & Old Hill[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley, Pokolbin (27/07/2019)
{screwcap, 14.5%} This is bottle 04434, per the photo. Deep garnet red, with a tiny hint of age and orange at the rim. There is a hint of old Hunter earth, or maybe Brett, or at the a sense of over-ripe raisined grapes and broad-grained American oak. But, really, cow pat and Brett, in a gentle way. The palate is full-bodied in a Hunter context, but also fumey and a bit baked. Blackberry fruit, raisins, medium gritty tannins, not much acid, and a drying, astringent finish that lacks fruit and proper development is the sum on offer on the palate. It has a serious hole in the mid-palate, and finishes very short and broken. Phil Ryan is listed as winemaker; honestly, I don’t think it’s an era that shines brightly in the history of Mt Pleasant, despite its longevity (ar least as far as reds go). Further cellaring won’t help this either. From a decent vintage, vineyards planted in 1921 and 1880; really, they should have done better than this. Funny how not fulfilling potential compromises an otherwise OK wine. But only OK. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7805624]2012 Penfolds Shiraz Bin 28 Kalimna[/url] - Australia, South Australia (25/07/2019)
{screwcap, 14.5%} Grim stuff. Dark inky black colour. Big nose of raisins, vanilla, oak chippy notes. Raw and brutal rather then rustic. The palate is harsh, with extracted black flavours, no charm, no seduction. It,s medium/full-bodied, although that’s due to the alcohol and extract, it has harsh medium gritty tannins, a short, dry, hot finish of patchy and porty character. Goodness. This is what the once—mighty Bin 28 has come too. A basic commercial FMCG offering. As Trump would say, sad. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7804287]2016 Bay of Fires Riesling[/url] - Australia, Tasmania (24/07/2019)
{screwcap, 12.5%} Mid straw yellow with a flash of green. Muted, almost dumb nose, hint of rose water, slate. The palate is pretty restrained too; with low key balance of ripe yellow fruit, hidden acid apart from a spritz quality, and an increasingly dense finish. Almost like a sugar-free lemonade in flavour. It never really fills it’s promotes somehow, finishing quite short but I have a sense I’ve missed what it’s offering. A bit in between I think, this could probably use 5 years cellaring. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7804215]2017 Pewsey Vale Vineyard Riesling[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley (23/07/2019)
{screwcap, 12.5%} Mild nose of apples, wet stones. Some initial spritz on the palate (screwcap came off with a distinct 'pop'), but it fades fairly quickly. Light-bodied palate, transparent apple and gentle lime flavours, bone dry, finishes a touch short. Competent, but simple wine; doesn't have the acid to cellar for long. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7801582]2014 Kanta Riesling Echunga Vineyard[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills (21/07/2019)
{screwcap, 12%} Pretty much as for January. Pleasant, apple-infused, slightly watery wine with mild acidity and a steely quality. Dry, light/medium body. Labelled Balhannah vineyard. Might keep longer, not sure about improvement though. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7801578]2006 Tahbilk Shiraz Eric Stevens Purbrick[/url] - Australia, Victoria, Central Victoria, Nagambie Lakes (20/07/2019)
{cork, 3.5%} This never lost an overlay of TCA/cardboard character. Every time I tried for fruit and tertiary character it just got mustier. Not overt perhaps - although it was the first thing I noticed - but always a low level scalping that left this a bit astringent, with no finish and no depth of flavour. NR (flawed) - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7795979]2017 Larry Cherubino Sauvignon Blanc The Yard Channybearup Vineyard[/url] - Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Pemberton (19/07/2019)
{screwcap, 12.5%} Pale straw. Slightly developing and pungent nose of gun metal grey aromas, a hint of Sauvignon grapefruit, maybe the hint of sandalwood oak. The oak is distinctive rather than overt. The palate is dry, gray and Sancerre-like in many ways, but has a generosity of dry lychee and gooseberry flavours, medium acidity, with medium/full weight which give it a real presence and length on the finish. Should age nicely over a decade or so. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7793984]2015 Hastwell & Lightfoot Cabernet Sauvignon McLaren Vale[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale (17/07/2019)
{screwcap, 14.5%} Very dark ruby. Somewhat muted nose of indeterminate black berries, a whiff of plum, chocolate and raisin. Rather hollow palate, a touch warm, medium-bodied but without depth or dimension to the flavours. Has a high-yield or over-ripe quality to it. Short/medium finish. Could be just too young, or more likely evidence that cabernet loses varietal character in a too-warm region. I've never found cabernet from McLaren Vale to be very impressive at all; this fits with past experience. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7791715]2007 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Single Vineyard Glengyle[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra (16/07/2019)
{screwcap, 14%} Deep ruby red still. Somewhat developing but still vibrant nose of ink, tar, blood plums, black olives, blackberries and a touch of oaky spice, all of which appear on the palate. Which tastes still fairly young, but also a bit disjointed, with the fruit secondary to grainy oak flavours, finely gritty medium tannins, low acid. It coats the tongue fairly well, with only a little dip on the mid-palate, but it still feels very in-between somehow. Savoury and medium-bodied. Has a medium length, slightly warm finish, but always astringetly drying. Might have benefited from a decant; I wouldn’t be scared of cellaring it for another decade in the hope of something integrated emerging, although it’s twelve already, so I’d be expecting things to come together by now. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7790097]2017 Pazo de Barrantes Albariño Rías Baixas[/url] - Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas (15/07/2019)
{screwcap, 13.3%} Mid yellow with a green tinge. Vivid and advancing nose of brine and slatey limestone. The palate is quite dense, with low acid but not too greasy a texture; it has a grey flavour to it. Medium weight, fairly simple flavours, but thanks to the mineral quality it’s not too boring or one-dimensional. Not for keeping though, I reckon this is ready to go now. About A$22; you could do a lot worse. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7785796]2016 De Iuliis Shiraz[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley (13/07/2019)
{screwcap, 13,5%} Bright ruby-garnet. Muted nose of strawberries, sand, white pepper. Gentle palate with little oak, ripe red berry flavours with a sweet twist at the end of the finish. Opens up in the glass, although gets more overt and sweet. Low dusty tannins, medium acid, medium weight. Feels a little subdued and closed, but despite the nicely polished fruit it has a sense of being made down to a price, if you like. I think it’ll hold for 5-10 years easy, but may not really get any more interesting over the time. Barely medium length finish. Although fair value at the mid-$20s price, let’s be honest. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7784114]2017 Ouv+ Agiorgitiko Mountain Fish[/url] - Greece, Peloponnisos (12/07/2019)
{screwcap, 13.5%} Bright ruby red. Muted nose, a bit peppery, but restrained, tart red fruit. Not green though. The palate is low-key, with a touch of spritz, medium acid, red fruit with an iodine quality; inky colour and flavour without depth or weight. Seems oak free, with faint dusty tannins, savoury and dry. Not generous, and also fairly short on the finish; better with food, predictably, but still doesn’t really add to the experience. Lacks intensity and depth, but then it’s sub-$20, so that’s how it goes. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7781606]2017 Mark's Vineyard Shiraz Point Eight[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills (10/07/2019)
{screwcap, 14.5%} Deep ruby red. Vivid nose of plums, boysenberries and sweet spices. Super-ripe palate, a bit raisiny, with a lightly burnt character. Warm palate, medium weight, with low powdery tannins, and low/medium acidity. Sits mostly on the front of the tongue. It’s very young, sure, but it really has a over-ripe and over-cropped quality to it. Not sure cellaring will help this. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7780234]2013 Francesco Rinaldi e Figli Barbera d'Alba[/url] - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba (9/07/2019)
{cork, 14%} Garnet, but fading for age. Semi-mature nose, slightly musty and glassy, prunes dried aromas. Palate is medium weight with medium acidity, dried-petal flavours, blackberry perhaps. Rather simple and one dimensional on the palate though; dry, dusty, a bit savoury. Better with food although the hard cheese I’m eating with it isn’t really helping. Drink now. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7776144]2009 Sinapius Riesling[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Pipers River (7/07/2019)
{screwcap, 8.5%} Deep golden yellow, no brown. Mature, even restrained nose of stewed apples and a touch of honey. The palate seems a little flat, the sweetness is verging on undetectable (30g/l I recall) but the broadness is relieved by some acidity giving its last breath in the service of freshness. Off-dry but barely so. Light/medium body, it's a bit simple but endearing enough. But an apple focus, a befitting Tasmania. Ready to drink definitely. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7778387]2014 Tyrrell's Chardonnay Vat 47[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley (7/07/2019)
{screwcap, 13.5%} Still a pale straw green. Nuts and figs on the nose, still quite youthful. Maybe a hint of sandalwood too. There is a rich, semi-buttery character to the palate, but this is warm climate, not from oak or mall. Medium acid, oak-derived flavours, a smidge of grapefruit, medium/full weight. Has a slight browning quality that comes with a bit of age, but still has plenty of time left. Fairly even palate, maybe dipping a bit in the middle. Still, a pretty tidy wine. Creamy texture, medium/long finish. Another five years would be good. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7776149]2015 Caillard Shiraz[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley (6/07/2019)
{screwcap, 14.2%} Much as per last years' note. Vivid and rich Barossa fruit, not over-done, with a decent enough acid structure, soft dusty tannins, medium weight and finish. Tidy wine which wants more time really.
Graeme