The Auswine Forum

Ric must be sleeping in or wrestling with computer problems or up to his neck in alligators at his pet shop...

What's been good and bad in your wine-drinking week, post away here please.

My highlights were:
A Monday flight of 2002 reds, 4 shiraz, a cabernet and a grenache, a strong range (no barossa fruit bombs here) and personal preferences all over the place:

Te Mata Bullnose Syrah (NZ) Even the NZ person in the group failed to pick this, he was looking for leafiness and didn't find it here, ripe but not over-ripe (14.5%), spicy, peppery, red/black cherry, savoury notes, restrained oak, fine tannins, a very nice wine and worth the $40+ asking price.

Heathcote Estate Shiraz A very subtle wine, but blossomed in the glass, the more you sip the more subtle complexity you find in this wine. It's not as big and brooding as I expected from some reviews I've seen, more a little over medium-weight for my palate, but the balance is superb and the tannins fine. Perhaps lacking a little in fruit intensity, perhaps the effect of relatively young vines. The group (famous for loving big rich soft barossa shiraz) rated this first.

Reschke 'Bos' Coonawarra Cabernet A richer style of Coonawarra cabernet, heaps of cassis fruit and a touch of cedary oak, hints of the Coonawarra tomato leaf make this an easy pick in a line-up of shiraz! The plate is dense and rich, sweet fruit nicely balanced with fine tannins and clean acid, long finish. Perhaps not completely "classic" Coonawarra, but very good.

Petaluma Adelaide Hills Shiraz/Viognier Another fairly subtle wine, I think it needed more air time at this age to strut its stuff, some nice spicy plummy fruit, fair amount of nice oak and apricots noticable on the finish from the viognier.

d'Arenberg Sticks & Stones McLarenVale Tempranillo, Grenache, Souzao The second time I've tried this, liked it better the first time with food, you can tell this one is a bit different, it stands out from the crowd with relatively unfamiliar but pleasant bright fruits of different parts of the spectrum, some raspberry grenache, but also cherries with a herbal overtone , it's just a bit angular and disjointed at present, needs a little time to settle I think.

Fonthill Dust of Ages McLarenVale Grenache Another wine that turned out to be not as intense as some reviewers found, nice density and mouthfeel, with mostly raspberry spectrum fruit, smooth palate and soft finish, just a little simple in comparison with the others in this flight. I took the remaining quarter of the bottle home and enjoyed it with BBQ chicken.

Also tried a bottle of the Houghton Gladstones MR Cabernet 99 to see if I needed to buy more at the special price available this week, this is one classy cabernet in the big, firm, rich MR style, but avoids the overly fierce tannins of some, this one deserves a good 5 years rest in the cellar. I can feel a credit card melting already....

2002 St Hallett Faith Barossa Shiraz: Dark, glowing purple colour. At first the nutty oak is very noticeable on the nose, with star anise battling it for attention. The palate is a rich and soft mesh of sweet coconut and then malty/mealy oak, and spicy chocolatey plum/blackberry fruit. Big, warm, fuzzy, friendly, unmistakably Barossa Shiraz at it’s most unpretentious, and for well under $20.00, brilliantly priced. Perfect with Steak and Black Bean Sauce.

1998 Penfolds Bin 138 Old Vine Grenache Mourvedre Shiraz: Badly corked. Returned the full bottle to the Magill Estate CD who had no replacement stock. I left the bottle for official testing and was given a (Sydney) 1300 number to call to report the fault and request a replacement. Again there was no 1998 stock available, so they have arranged for a current (2002) vintage to be mailed out to me, plus a Thomas Hyland Shiraz as goodwill for the effort I’ve gone through to get it replaced.

1998 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet: Deep, blood red colour. Complex, elegant nose dictated by the Cabernet; green cassis, some cigar box/camphor, and with breathing violets and cedar. The palate has a soft entry, and a powerful build up of ripe, chocolaty red berry/prune and blackcurrant with a hint of raisin, finishing with big, immature chalky tannins, and a tangy mulberry/malty aftertaste. At times it seems to be on the verge of going a little over the top, but it does have time on its side to fully integrate, and again it made the 1998 Bin 407 look pretty ordinary.

2001 Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz: Deep crimson/brick red. The barrel ferment ground coffee/spice really dominated the nose at first, gradually opening up to some tobacco, cedar, violets green leaf and tomato dust. The palate is very slender compared to the bouquet, with plum, blackberry and a hint of chocolate, but not enough depth or persistence to justify the price point.


Cheers
Ian

Pennys Hill 2002 Merlot (McLaren Vale)
Not your usual whimpy merlot style. Highly exttractive it has huge fruit with good balance of tannins and acid that should see it cellar well for at least 3-5 years.

Pennys Hill 2003 Red Dot Shiraz
PH's first with non-estate grown shiraz sealed with the revolutionary "Zork" closure. Wonderful fruit from a great year and a real bargain at around $18. The Zork closure is a wonder of science and if trials prove successful will overcome concerns from those who like the pop sound when the bottle is opened.

Rohrlach 1997 Cabernet Shiraz (Barossa)
Given a a xmas present I was a little concerned about the vintage (not great in SA) however after 2 hours breathing it developed into a wonderful wine showing all those distinctive flavours of an aged wine. The wine of the night. Does anyone know anything about this producer

Elderton 2002 Shiraz
My second look at this wine and perhaps my previous comments were a little strong. Good fruit and pleasant to drink however it may struggle to improve in the cellar.

Cleanskin Vintage Port (375ml)
Acquired 11 at a recent auction for $3.00 and not expecting anything great. How wrong I was !!! After decantling to remove major sediment and allowed to breath a great wine was had probably at least 20 years old with lashings of quality fruit and well balanced. Should see out another 10 years at least. For our friends this was their first look at a VP and both were very impressed. The bottle was quickly drained. If I had to guess I think it would have been from Hardys. I have never seen the unusual bottle style further suggesting its great age. Next bottle will be combined with some blue cheese.

O'Leary Walker 2004 Watervale Riesling

Pre release bottle showing good fruit characteristics.

Chuck

Orlando 2002 St. Helga Riesling - good bright colour, reeks of sulphur dioxide (like Brylcreme or hair oil) on nose and to a lesser extent on the palate. Structure's there, but the fruit has gone into hiding. Second bottle opened, for calibration purposes, displayed less SO2, a little more fruit.

Penfolds 1999 Reserve Eden Valley Riesling - soft citrus fruit on nose and palate, a little RS but drinking very nicely, acid falling away, drink up.

Peter Lehmann 1994 The Mentor - Brooding, youthful deep ruby holding all the way to the rim. Infantile (for age) with masses of choco-berry fruit with a turnipy edge from the high percentage of Malbec (33%) in the blend, spoilt by the unsympathetic use of overt American oak. Hopefully, the excellent fruit and structure may live long enough for the oak to integrate and go away (but I doubt it). Needs 5 years minimum and should last for 5-10 thereafter.

Jacques Germain 1995 Beaune 'Les Cras' 1er cru - Delightful light, bright ruby colour. Masses of complex sappy cherry fruit with umpteem other things going on as the wine breathed out. Silky yet authoritative palate with excellent acid and pronounced, but perfectly balanced, integrated tannin stucture, terrific length. Lovely wine with plenty ahead of it. Unfortunately, my last bottle. Seriously good Domaine, IMHO.

Seppelt The Millenium release rare rutherglen Muscat GR113 - My last bottle (hopefully not my last ever) and an absolute treat. Mahogany brown with a flash of ruby and an ancient khaki/amber rim. Thick, drizzling tears meander down the side of the glass. Spiritous/volatile lift over jumbo muscatels with brandied cherries, dusty oak and citrus peel dominate the bouquet. The palate reeks of ancient material, too thick in texture to take into the mouth in any quantity. Still unbelievably fresh, yet revealing incredible viscosity, with mindblowing, intense raisined flavours and a sensational finish that lasts for several minutes. What a wine! The Ultimate Liquer Muscat and the perfect foil to the Buller's Rare Tokay I enjoyed with Ric on Wednesday night (brief notes on that posted on the board - Dinner with TORB).

Which raises the question of which "style" I prefer. Muscat of this class is upfront, bold and in-your-face. Perhaps, Tokay, of a similar ilk, displays greater finesse and refinement. Whatever the differences, these are world-class wines of the highest order. Thanks must be offered to our (Northeastern Victorian) forefathers for their insight in developing such contrasting styles that provide such awesome, hedonistic pleasure. Long may they continue to be made at the lofty standard of tonight's offering.

Happy drinking and .....

Above was me........apologies.

Chuck wrote:Rohrlach 1997 Cabernet Shiraz (Barossa)
Given a a xmas present I was a little concerned about the vintage (not great in SA) however after 2 hours breathing it developed into a wonderful wine showing all those distinctive flavours of an aged wine. The wine of the night. Doe anyone know anything about this producer

Rorlach is a Cellarmasters label, the 97 Merlot was pretty good to, the only one I have tried.

Anonymous wrote:Peter Lehmann 1994 The Mentor - Brooding, youthful deep ruby holding all the way to the rim. Infantile (for age) with masses of choco-berry fruit with a turnipy edge from the high percentage of Malbec (33%) in the blend, spoilt by the unsympathetic use of overt American oak. Hopefully, the excellent fruit and structure may live long enough for the oak to integrate and go away (but I doubt it). Needs 5 years minimum and should last for 5-10 thereafter.

David, if I didn't have 7 of these left waiting the extra year or 2 I'd take any remaining of yours off your hands, I have faith that it will all come together, just like the John's Blend does. I note JO has it drinking 2006-2014, I think that's about right for me too.

2000 Torbreck the Descendant

Inviting deep ruby-black in colour. Pronounced floral lift from the Viognier is the first impression on the nose. Then spicy blackberry fruit as well. Rich and balanced on the palate, medium to full depth, with violets and sweet blackberries on the mid palate. This is fruit dominant, with oak very much in a supporting role. In the moderniste style, but not over-ripe and raisined like some. Drinking well now but would cellar because of its inherent balance. Will it improve further in complexity however? - I don't know (17.75)


regards
Chris

2002 Marius Wines Shiraz

Have two bottles in this week, same thing come to my mind when I was drinking it. Get More!!

Penfold 98A Chardonnay

It is my first time to drink 98A. Light gold colour and toasted honey and cashernut smell. Good complexity, should be better in few years later.

1993 Howard Park Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot

Much better than what I expected. Deep crimson, brick red colour, with surperb nose. Concentration of ripe blackcurrants, plums, liquorice and chocalate taste, will stand for at least another five years.

2001 Bass Pillips Domain Phillip Jones Old Cellar Pinot

Massive of fruit on smell and tast but without the complexity, quite boring actually. A bit disappointed.

1985 Taltarni Cabernet Sauvignon

Deep brick red colour, decanted for one hour, Super nose with aromas of cedar, spice and .blackcurrant . Excellent balance with cedar, liqorice, spice with outstanding length and persistence of flavours. Will stand for another 3-5 years for sure.


1976 Penfold Grange


The one I tasted was not a prefect bottle. It is mid shoulder and I did worry about it quality before I open it. Pur it into the decenter. Smell like something between a muscat and port. Very poweful!. Wait till three hours and it's palate is very Robert Parker style: powerful with rich plum/chocolate/berry/ liquorice fruit flavours, thick tannin structure and very long length. No wonder why Parker make it the only 100 points Grange. However, I prefer the 86 vintage more than this one myself.

2001 Bass Pillips Domain Phillip Jones Old Cellar Pinot

Massive of fruit on smell and tast but without the complexity, quite boring actually. A bit disappointed.

I had 2 of these recently and they were bloody awful wines. How Phillip Jones can put his name to this rubbish is beyond me. I'd rather drink Windy Peak.

Cheers

Paul

2004 O'Leary Walker Polish Hill River Riesling($17) : used a third for cooking a Risotto , drank the rest of this very good fresh , clean and pure Riesling - the empty bottle the next day smelt lovely too.

1997 Mountadam Eden Valley Chardonnay ( cellar ) : Rather sweet and honeyed - Pascal fruit bon bon lollies came to mind. Good but not Great.

1992 Chateau Tahbilk Cabernet Sauvignon : just got a vertical of 1990 to 2001 for $250 from their Mailing List. Tahbilk are good to deal with directly as their prices are cheaper than in stores , free delivery and interesting older offers like this - full marks there. This particular wine was a pleasant one with nice aged cabernet characters - would keep for longer too but has probably got as complex as it will get I feel.

1999 Bannockburn Geelong Cabernet Sauvignon ( $37 ) : Took a chance on this from a shop which had it on display under lights as if they were trying to " hatch " it rather than store it properly. Happily the wine was absolutely lovely. Good complex secondary characters - the only detracting factor for me was a stronger than you'd like " menthol " character. I must buy more from this winery because each wine I have had from them has always been characterful and interesting and so are worth the extra $ they charge.

deleted

Penfold's 1996 St Henri - Pristine blackberry fruit and the typical leather/earth of the style evident on the nose. A seamless wine, with harmony of fruit and tannins, rich dark fruit flavours on the palate with a perfect transition onto the finish where the tannin is super fine and the earthy/blackberry aftertaste lingering. A poorly cellred example testament to the quality of this vintage.

Chapel Hill "The Vicar" 2001- New and classy oak dominate the nose, some bright berry fruit pokes through too. Palate is tight and unrevealing and the full bodied wine finishes with good length and drying tannin. Disjointed in youth somewhat, will it come together?

That was last night in Mt Macedon. Tomorrow doing a Henschke horizontal-1994 the reds-after a big week in the Barossa. Good to be home.

Jaime,

My fav. Mt.E & Cyril were fr the '94 vintage.
The Cyril was sublime and my best older Bordeaux blend fr OZ. The unmistakable sweet berry nose reminded me of the HoG. Texture was seamless, stroking & carresing my palate.
Can't said the same for the HoG'94, prefered their '92 & '96. Stephen Henschke rated it highly and called it "the year of the black ferment"

Have a good time and look 4ward to ur notes...

My wife and I went out to dinner Saturday night with our forum dictator, his wife and two long time lurkers (Gary and Chris). Italian resteraunt called Enzos on Port Rd. Thebarton, the best stuffed Quail in town (When its on the specials board that is!). No notes taken, so from memory:

Devils Lair Chardonnay (Vintage ?)
Lovely, fresh fruits and lingering finish.

2002 Sandows End Pinot Noir Reserve
Absolute hands down wine of the night (for me and Gary at least). A fantastic, full bodied, rich Pinot full of varietal flavour that went just perfect with my entee of crab cakes and my Quail.

2000 Henrys Drive Reserve Shiraz
This particular wine is one of my benchmark, favourite wines. Full bodied, rich, blueberries and mocha, long finish. Wow, just great drinking. Unfortuantely it is the last in the line of the HD reserve Shiraz that (IMO) had a distinctive flavour about it. All of the Henrys Drive from the 2001 vintage onward seem to be modelled around a different profile and have lost any elegance they may have had and just seem to taste the same as many of the other mass-produced, made to order, boutique wines around.

1996 Annies Lane The Contour Shiraz
My 3rd pick of the night, excellent, full bodied wine of intense fruit and fantastic length.

1996 Reynell Basket Press Shiraz
A big, bold wine. Nice chocolate and black fruits. Good body and length.

2002 Massena the 11th Hour Shiraz
Rats - Faulty in some way. It was disjointed and sloppy, definately something wrong. Rats.

All in all a very enjoyable night.

Have been working on the posting once every two weeks but now I have to remember what I've drunk

Every wine we have at the moment we are decanting half into a half bottle for the next night - annoying some nights when the wine is really good but means we get to see it the next day which is really interesting with the 2002s.

2002 Summerfield Shiraz - Highly recommended but needs time

2002 d'Arenberg Footbolt Shiraz - this is the best Footbolt in ages, probably since they dropped the "old vine" from the label. I just wanted to suck air through this and get more flavour - probably a 2002 to drink over the next 5 years while waitng for the others to come together - second half of the bottle 2 days later not as exciting.

2002 Marius Shiraz - I hope jaques decanted this hours in advance of drinking - first half lots of potential and interest - second half Excellent + rich velvety mouthfeel choc mint plus berries etc yum oh. Needs time but great value.

1997 Tyrrells Vat 47 Chardonnay - first half someone closed bit thin second half excellent great example of Aussie chard

2002 Brokenwood Cab Merlot - a gift so interesting to try - recommended could do with a couple of years for better balance

markg wrote:My wife and I went out to dinner Saturday night with our forum dictator, his wife and two long time lurkers (Gary and Chris). Italian resteraunt called Enzos on Port Rd. Thebarton, the best stuffed Quail in town (When its on the specials board that is!). No notes taken, so from memory:

Devils Lair Chardonnay (Vintage ?)
Lovely, fresh fruits and lingering finish.

2002 Sandows End Pinot Noir Reserve
Absolute hands down wine of the night (for me and Gary at least). A fantastic, full bodied, rich Pinot full of varietal flavour that went just perfect with my entee of crab cakes and my Quail.

2000 Henrys Drive Reserve Shiraz
This particular wine is one of my benchmark, favourite wines. Full bodied, rich, blueberries and mocha, long finish. Wow, just great drinking. Unfortuantely it is the last in the line of the HD reserve Shiraz that (IMO) had a distinctive flavour about it. All of the Henrys Drive from the 2001 vintage onward seem to be modelled around a different profile and have lost any elegance they may have had and just seem to taste the same as many of the other mass-produced, made to order, boutique wines around.

1996 Annies Lane The Contour Shiraz
My 3rd pick of the night, excellent, full bodied wine of intense fruit and fantastic length.

1996 Reynell Basket Press Shiraz
A big, bold wine. Nice chocolate and black fruits. Good body and length.

2002 Massena the 11th Hour Shiraz
Rats - Faulty in some way. It was disjointed and sloppy, definately something wrong. Rats.

All in all a very enjoyable night.

Devils Lair was 2002, and better than your short note indicates Mark, you guys are becoming Red Bigots!

Liked the Sandows End, nice Pinot indeed.

Pleasantly surprised by the henrys Drive, I'd forgotten how nice that vintage of this wine is.

Less enamoured of the Annies Lane, nice wine but didn't do that much for me.

Massena was definitely faulty, unfortunate for me too, I'd have loved to try it.

Meal was great, company was great, a good night indeed.

DJ wrote:Have been working on the posting once every two weeks but now I have to remember what I've drunk

2002 Summerfield Shiraz - Highly recommended but needs time

2002 Marius Shiraz - I hope jaques decanted this hours in advance of drinking - first half lots of potential and interest - second half Excellent + rich velvety mouthfeel choc mint plus berries etc yum oh. Needs time but great value.

Hello

Agree re the Summerfield, and am a big fan of the Marius, great wine at any price really, great bargain at $25.

Been a busy week wine wise, so here is a summary.

Giaconda Chardonnay Vertical dinner will be on a seperate posting, but the night was great.

'97 Yarra Burn "Bastard Hill Pinot: Someone switched the lables with the Shiraz. No way on earth you are going to pick this blind as a Pinot.
'99 Yarra Burn "Bastard Hill" Chardonnay: Excellent with at least 3 more years yet to hit it's peak.
'98 Trimbach Vendage Tardive Guwertz: Simply beautifull.
'98 Bannockburn Chardonnay: Indicitave of the regional mix of friut, a good Oz Chardonnay.
Deveaux "D" Brut: Excellent aged characters and dry style.
'99 Main Ridge 1/2 Acre Pinot: Very good Peninsula Pinot close to it's peak.
'96 Bobbie Burns Shiraz: Great rutherglen shiraz, sweet but not porty.
'93 Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz: Good, but not up there with the '90 or '91.
'01 Dromana Estate Pinot: Good in a feral way, good compexity, showing some development.
'02 Murdoch James "Wiata" Martinborough Pinot: Very clean compared to the Dromana Estate, sweet fruit, good length.
'03 Crittenden "i" Range Rosatto: Bloody good rose, pity it's hard to find now.
'02 Crtittenden "i" Range Sangiovese: Time and time again comes up trumps with those who drink it for the first time. Very good wine.
'01 Torres Coronas Tempranillo: Blended with some Cab/Sauv, very easy drinking wine, good food wine.
'00 Stonier "Reserve" Chardonnay: Excellent wine, close to it's peak.
'98 Wynns Black Label Cab/Sauv: This bottle didn't show as well as one I'd had two weeks ago, and comes closer to the average reports I have been reading of late, which worries me.

Rory

2003 Leeuwin Art Series Riesling: the Olsen frog has been a favoured wine - both young and with about 5 years on it (the time at which Clare & Eden are in recess) for many years, but this vintage it is a LOSER for me: much more aromatic and spicy - enough that I had to check the label. Drunk twice and picked the second time: will not drink again. It has moved to differentiate itself from not only SA Riesling but also other MR producers on this showing - or it is an aberration. Each to his own but this was heading into SSB territory - no flint, no mineral - little citrus but lots of spice and aroma.

2003 Capel Vale riesling: lower price - better wine from this vintage, and drinking very true to form. Also should cellar well for the short term - and very pleasant drinking in a classical WA style.

1983 Lindemans HR Burgundy (shiraz) bin 6600 : every bottle an adventure but no duds as 7 knocked off over last 10 days. Corks look sick and almost completely soaked (cheap small and nasty) but the wine overcomes all: calssic pong of seaty saddle & leather with the only similarity being some northern Rhone, and the palate diffent on every bottle. Vibrant and full through leatehry palate hanging in there (but still good) through to lighter style to the extent that you would doubt it was the same wine. Only a few more dozen to go in single bottle format...

Pedro Ximenez sherry: wonderful alternative dessert wine for a change - and hugely underpriced as unfashionable. Rid yourself of the memory of cooking sherries and those fine brandy coloured styles, this is a whole heap darker than Coke - or any port you'll ever see and is reminiscent of toffee, coffee - and a hinto licorice with a finish which is not syrup although you think it will have to be....blend none younger than 30 years...MM should try this for a change of pace- and it would not offend his international prejudices...

Billecart -salmon n/v: very well-made but a style which is just too sweet for me and big bead.

Lanson n/v : the black label which was a bargain as they changed distributors. More a gutsy wine with yeasts in the krug style - albeit lacking the sheer class of K. Satisfies the boss and I'll have a sip if pushed...

Penfolds bin 128 1991: drinking at peak but will hold for at least 3 years, and renews my faith in coonawarra shiraz. Not rated highly by Rewards of Patience but I'll take these every day...

Tollana TR222: 1994 - certainly will not improve and plateaued but a very good drink - drink up...
1996: bigger in every way than the 94 and just approaching window- lovely Eden valley fruit
1998: change of style with blending of Coonawarra fruit & Eden - to the detriment of the wine as a whole. Not a bad CS - but nothing special and will not get much better.
1999: see comments for 98 but occasional bottle a trifle porty, most fine.

If this is what they were going to do to the old Tollana CS better to put it out of its misery than continue with a travesty.
Note the TR16 (shiraz) from 98 is still a very good Eden shiraz and is to be preferred to the CS (and is not really ready yet), but finish your 93 excellent (93 Reserve - outstanding) & 95 Reserve - brilliant.

fred

Gavin Trott wrote:Devils Lair was 2002, and better than your short note indicates Mark, you guys are becoming Red Bigots!

Liked the Sandows End, nice Pinot indeed.

Pleasantly surprised by the henrys Drive, I'd forgotten how nice that vintage of this wine is.

Less enamoured of the Annies Lane, nice wine but didn't do that much for me.

Massena was definitely faulty, unfortunate for me too, I'd have loved to try it.

Meal was great, company was great, a good night indeed.

Red Bigots !!! Hmmmm... Must admit that I only gave the Devils Lair a token swig as I was anxious to start on the reds. Still, it was a very good chardonnay, certainly top end stuff !

Rory wrote:'98 Wynns Black Label Cab/Sauv: This bottle didn't show as well as one I'd had two weeks ago, and comes closer to the average reports I have been reading of late, which worries me.

Rory

Got a bottle out on the weekend to try to see how consistent this problem is.. Will post findings shortly (fingers are crossed that this bottle will be a good'un)

Very late but what the:

Yarra Burn Cabernet 98 Double decanted back to bottle.

Crimson with burtn ochre bginning to show at the rim. There's a ripe Sarah Lee blackberry pie in here, blackcurrant and subtle cedar, all intergrated and yet cleanly defined. The palate follows the nose with a slightly stronger tobacco leaf element and dusty tannins. Good length 91/100. Wish I'd bought more at $18/bt

Allyn River Hunter Chambourcin 02

I have no idea what this wine is all about. A light to medium bodies wine that should only be drunk with Dominoes Pizza if at all, and then when you are way too drunk to notice if you are still standing. Not rated, and after half a glass it went down the sink. Yak!!!