The Auswine Forum

NOBLEROTTERSSYDNEY - WINE I LIKE - Glass Brasserie, Sydney (3/07/2024)

Change of theme to a blind tasting of ‘favourite’ wines, more-or-less. Pretty much a free-for-all, at least that’s how I took it. Five absentees, two guests, and yet there seemed to be plenty of wine.

• 2012 G. H. Mumm & Cie Champagne Brut Millésimé - France, Champagne
  {cork} [DavidH] Lots of yeast, autolysis character, hint of cheese. All in a good way; this is aging nicely. Maturing, fleshy yellow fruit flavours, fine bubbles, light/medium weight, medium/long finish. Very tidy stuff, which will keep a while easily.
• 2001 Georg Breuer Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling - Germany, Rheingau
  {AP 7 02, cork, 12.5%} [Graeme] I had this decanted immediately before dinner, already at around 10C, as much for some air as for eliminating the ‘give-away’ aspect of a Rheingau bottle in a blind tasting! Annoyingly, the young server chap then plunged the glass decanter into a bucket full of ice and water, so it was served far too cold and much of the nuance was lost. FFS! I saved a glass for later, as it warmed up. In great condition, then, with yellowish apple fruit, medium weight. Fine and polished, low/medium acidity – or at least it doesn’t stick out, but the structure is still well present. Rich and creamy, dry, a little earthy even. Medium/full weight for riesling. Wasn’t huge support for it around the table, but I really like this. No rush to drink, either.
• 2015 Alkoomi Riesling Black Label Frankland River - Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Frankland River
  {screwcap} [Glenn] Grass, straw, hay, citrus – I had this pegged as Hunter semillon. Grassy palate too, juicy, dry, but with low/medium acidity, and alight/medium weight. Semi-mature palate, but there’s more gentle aging here than development of complexity. Close to peak, I reckon, and fine drinking now.
• 2014 Howard Park Riesling Mount Barker - Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Mount Barker
  {screwcap} [Andrew] Kerosene-tinged nose, detergent, aging citrus. Light/medium weight palate is the same, but with fairly low acidity – a trait that made sense once the provenance was established. Fairly broad palate, even a hint of butteriness, with a mature shortish finish. Ready to drink, but better young.
• 2022 Stargazer Riesling Palisander - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
  {screwcap, 12.5%} [Sian - guest] There’s a real springwater purity to this, with both nose and palate giving lifted apple, lychee and lime. Juicy but then bone dry on the palate. Medium acid & weight. Laser-like purity on the even palate and medium/long finish. So seductive young; makes you wonder what will become of it. Transcendent evolution, or flabby descent? Tough call.
• 1987 Mount Pleasant Wines Shiraz Maurice O'Shea - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
  {cork, 13.5%} [Andrew] A curio; the first vintage of this flagship cuvee, but also wearing a commemorative label recognising its creation for the inaugural eponymous award dinner at which it the wine was launched. What a shame the contents were so clearly over-the-hill thirty-five years later (not that is was a great vintage in any case)! Bacterial and bretty; some leather there somewhere, but mostly it’s doing a good impression of sump-oil. Short finish, thankfully…!
• 2010 Yalumba The Signature - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
  {cork, 13.5%} [Stephen] Double-decanted two hours prior. Classic old-school aussie; mature ripe red and black grapes, fairly shouting South Australia, vanilla and coconut overtones, balanced oak, fine medium tannins. Ticks all the boxes. Avoids too much alcohol; one of the better examples of this classic blend that I’ve tasted over the last few years.
• 2016 Domaine Simha Pinot Noir Amphora Lionheart - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
  {screwcap, 12.5%} [Graeme] Double-decanted two hours prior. Pale translucent garnet. Maturing nose screams pinot – no point in making the variety an options question! Roses, dirt, delicatessen; all very lifted and aromatic and pretty. Palate tastes much older, with earth and spice and faint red fruit with hints of ashtray with more air and time. It’s no more than light-bodied, with low/medium chalky tannins and medium/high acidity. No apparent oak. For the record: “handpicked on a fruit day before harvest moon, wild ferment in clay amphora, 90 days on skins, matured six months, basket pressed, unfined, unfiltered.” Wasn’t that much sediment when I decanted it. Can hold for longer, but I can’t see the point. I liked it; one or two didn’t!
• 2012 Poggio Antico Brunello di Montalcino Altero - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
  {cork, 14%} [Paul] Smoky, dusty spicy, concentrated sort of wine, some age evident. Leather and old red fruit, polished, medium/full weight. Medium dusty tannins, medium acidity. An earthy, old-world mien. Medium long finish. Plenty of time left on this. No surprise when unveiled; a class act wine that probably deserved a bit more time!
• 2021 Centennial Shiraz Limited Release Bridge Creek - Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Orange
  {screwcap, 14.3%} [Phil - guest] Maturing nose with a feral, balsamic quality to it, as though someone had exhumed some long-forgotten variety and decided to go on a PR mission with it. Palate was light/medium weight, well-aged and soft, with a bit of a minty character to it. Gentle chalky tannins, lowish acid and then a fast-fading presence and lighter weight finish. Hard to credit it was so young when unveiled! Not for keeping. This labelled “Bridge Creek” – seemed very different to a younger, sweeter Limited Release shiraz I tasted at the winery six months ago, but the website seems to suggest there’s only one bottling?
• 2019 Craggy Range Syrah Le Sol Gimblett Gravels Vineyard - New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay, Gimblett Gravels
  {screwcap, 13.5%} [Andrew] Somewhat developing nose of iodine, blackberry essence, and a inky, concentrated but still refined character. The beautifully maturing palate has a mineral, earth-and-iron character to the black fruits that did steer many of us away from Australia as an option. The palate is medium/full in weight, with medium powdery tannin, medium acid, and a medium/long balanced finish. Something of an iron fist in a velvet glove. In some ways tasted older than the vintage might have suggested, but I would still keep this in expectation of evolution to a decade old. Very impressive.
• 2013 Henschke Shiraz Mount Edelstone - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
  {screwcap, 14.5%} [Gordon] Double-decanted three hours prior. Supercharged, barely developed nose of blackberry jam. Seems Parkerish, if that’s still an adjective? Huge monster of a palate. Spicy black fruit, warm alcohol, with a heavily macerated, almost mulled quality. Full-bodied, low acidity; wonder what the pH is? Big warm finish of reasonable length. It’s a way from the style I’d typically expect from MtE, I must say. The quality is undeniable but I’m not convinced about aging.
• 2013 Torbreck The Factor - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
  {cork, 15.5%} [Gordon] Opened as a spontaneous back-up – thanks Gordo! Fumey nose, stewed and raisiny fruit. Dry, but full-bodied, with minimal tannin and low acidity. You know the style; rich, verging-on-overripe jammy black fruit, warm, medium/long finish that does ride a bit on the alcohol. Standard semi-porty style (and hard to serve blind with the distinctive bottle!). Great example of the style but ready to drink, surely.
• 2013 Penfolds Viognier Cellar Reserve - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
  {375ml, screwcap, 9%} [Andrew] Mid gold. Fading pear and honey on the medium-dry palate. Low/medium acid. Picking up an aging, old-carpet sort of character to it. Much lighter in body than you’d expect from the grape. Still OK, but time to drink.
• NV Campbells Rutherglen Topaque - Australia, Victoria, North East, Rutherglen
  {375ml, cork, 17.5%} [DavidH] Distinct colour difference between this quite light caramel wine and its ‘Classic’ sibling. Here there’s lots of fairly simple brown sugar, quite rich, a touch burnt. Fully sweet; the impression heightened by relatively low acidity. Just medium weight, medium length finish of a fairly simple nature.
• NV Campbells Classic Topaque Rutherglen - Australia, Victoria, North East, Rutherglen
  {375ml, cork, 17.5%} [DavidH] Distinct step up from the ‘Rutherglen’ bottling; picks up a molasses tinge to leaven the brown sugar. Slightly more burnished on the palate, still fully sweet, but with a bit of extra acid and some more honeyed and caramel notes. Well worth the extra money over the base bottling.

It was a very high quality night, even if these rather picky notes suggest otherwise. Your stylistic preference might determine whether Brunello, Craggy or Edelstone was your red of the night. Also a bit unusual to have so many wines drinking at what I’d consider their peak, as opposed to too young.

Eclectic line up Graeme. Think I’d love all three of those reds you mentioned! Edelstone I’d want way more from though.