The Auswine Forum

Hey

Its Friday afternoon here in Adelaide, and its freezing. About 9 degrees, showers etc. Over the weekend, it gets colder, with hail!

My mind turns to winter warming wines. Tell me, what are your favourites? Let's get your ideas in two parts perhaps, favourite winter warming reds, and favourite fortifieds.

To help out other potential buyers, where possible can we have a detailed or even short tasting note or comment on the wine?

..well, it's 14 degrees up here in the green, rolling hills of hope and hemp near Coffs Harbour, with gale-force winds..so Taylors Promised Land 2001, or any Taylors in fact, and Tyrell's Lost Block or Long Flat is a sure bet. Teamed with Oxtail braised in red wine and a log fire there is nothing nicer.

It's a cool, star clear evening here in the big smoke, and so the following wines are on the butcher's block. Just impressions.

1976 Wendouree Vintage Port - This is a massive Shiraz VP, incredibly dense purple black, you could be forgiven for thinking this was a current release. Iron like, steely, very fine tannins, with strong blueberry, currants, black fruits and some warming alcohol. Classic Wendouree mouthfeel, this is really way too young, at 28 years of age, to show itself without restraint. Still somewhat austere, though very impressive, try again in 15-25 years. Yowsers

1996 Buller and Son's Calliope Shiraz - This never fails to please. I've called this a non-fortified vintage port in the past, and I'm sticking to that description. Showing some ageing now, this is a very deep garnet with slight bricking red on the rim. Very similar in colour to a 1996 Leasingham Bin 61 opened earlier, interestingly. Quite strong glass cling. A wonderful nose of porty and big Rutherglen Shiraz notes, more on the palate and a long, pleasing finish. Very enjoyable, this wine carries the 16% alcohol very well, and certainly for me, is a great winter warmer!

Jakob

While I'm in Bribane its still relatively cold, daytime temps in the teens at the moment.

For winter warming reds this year I'm looking at a number of Rhone blends: I've had the 02 Fonthill Grenache (v good) and 02 Hewitson Miss Harry (good) so far - notes to come - and a corked 02 Teusner Avatar . On the bench are a few of the 02 Veritas blends, the 02 RBJ theologicum, and maybe some Holy Trinity and 9 Popes for good measure.

No doubt there wil be some big shiraz as well, I'll have to think about what they will be...

cheers

AB

In Canberra it's not so much "the warming winter reds", but "warming the winter reds".

With overnights down to -7 and daytime maximums 8-9 at times, the cellar is around 14.5 and as we both work during the day the ambient temp in the house sometimes gets down to less than 15 too. Even if the heat comes on before we get home, the bottles of red in the ready-drinking rack are usually a few degrees too cool for immediate enjoyment.

There are a few methods of warming up the wine, the old bottle between warm thighs trick, sit the bottle just the right distance in front of a fan heater (and remember to rotate it frequently) and I've even resorted to 10 seconds in the microwave for a large iso glass serving to get the temp up to the right level. I've thought of taking a bottle to work to acclimatise during the day, but that requires a bit more planning and forethought in the than is usually available at that time of a frosty morning.

Gavin, what happened to the third thread, Single Malts and Brandies? Winter is the time for the likes of Lagavulin, Hennessy and Chabot for me.

To cold to drink any wine or beer at the present.
Cognac and Single Malts for me.

Another good stuff in Winter is warm Sake (Japanese rice wine). I love that stuff too, not the "GO-SHU" Australian made rubbish. The real stuff imported from japan made by distillery with 200+ years experience. Sadly, there is just not enough seletions in Australia and pretty hard to find good stuff too. I was lucky enough to find a good source of supply.