The Auswine Forum

Me, I tried a Wine and Truffle Company Merlot 2000 last night and found it Agreeable, although it might become a little better with time. Earlier this week a bottle of Casella Yendah Vale Tempranillo 2001 went beautifully with Chorizo and Squid - Highly Recommended.

Anyway, enough about me...what have you been drinking?

Kieran

Hi all,

Yalumba 2001 Barossa Shiraz.
The 5% voigner adds a nice touch to this well made and interesting wine. Not like the usual high octane jobs the fruit is in balance with fine tannins. 14%

Yalumba 1998 The Menzies Cabernet.

Lovely expression of the Coonawarra at its best. Surprisingly 14.5% but carried well

Stepping Stone 2001 Cabernet

Getting down to the last of the 3 dozen acquired as a quaffer. It is the first case and is noticeable better than the latter 2. Case variation? Initially used to make my red wine sauce it was brought to the table when the Menzies was finished. Great value wine. 13%

Rosenblum 2001 Limestone Coast Cabernet

FriendÂ’s private label and surprisingly very nice with lovely fruit and a dollop of good French oak. Lovely nose. 13.8%.

Brian Barry 1999 Special Release McLaren Vale Shiraz.

Have never heard of BB doing McLaren Vale fruit but quite enjoyable.

Taylors 2001 Promised Land Unwooded Chardonny.

Not a great fan of this style but well worth the opening.

Chuck

Yawn.... thanks Kieran. I went and lay down to read a book straight after and early breakfast and only just woke up.

My best of the week was Petaluma 1994 Coonawarra. Although the wine was decanted for over an hour, it didnÂ’t show much but there was a little VA, it was clean and had pure blackcurrant, subtle cigar box, and mint.

Tannins have smoothed out nicely but there is a very solid backbone of them, which combined with enough balanced fruit intensity, will ensure this lasts for many years more. Finish is reasonably persistent but in an understated, clean way. Flavors are advertised on the bouquet and it is rated as Highly Recommended.

After a few hours, the wine took on weight and went from being from ample weight to being muscular and a ripe core of lovely chocolate dominated the palate. All this bodes well for a long future and the rating way well improve too.

Nothing fancy, guys.

1980 Domaine Romanée de La Conti St Vivant Grand CRu
1980 Domaine Romanée de La Conti Échézeaux Grand Cru
1971 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1991 Yeringberg Lilydale red blend, etc.

Seriously, full report on our 2nd Club Dinner in August of 2004 soon.
Cheers,
Attila

Mixed bag this week:


From a tasting with some folk from work:

01 Gloucester Ridge Cabernet
01 Rockford BP - Damn this is good, very ripe, aniseed/fennel, pure plummy fruit fine tannin. had a strange plasticene like nose initially which blew off after a short while.
01 D'Arenberg Custodian Grenache. A surprise. Good value at $16 if you like a rich (very) ripe red.
01 Greenock Creek Alices Shiraz - wow, what a change! this was a borderline alcoholic mess when I bought them in the cellar door stampede last year, but it has settled down a lot and is now a very good example of the super ripe fruit bomb style (I know, this is a contradiction in terms for some!) Cherry ripe, dark chocolate, a whle bunch of forest fruits. Richly textured, and 24 hours later it was gorgeous.
95 Baileys Cabernet - a bit tired now
98 Kays Hillside - not the best bottle I've had, an auction buy that has clearly seen better days and was unrepresentative
96 Morris Durif - yum! nicely developed, and still ages to go I reckon.

Some Yarrabank Cuvee for Mrs Wizz's birthday lunch on Wednesday. nice lemon and green apple aperitif style;

through the week:

00 Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz St peters in miniature, great wine sub $20
99 Vasse Felix Shiraz Choc plums and cherries. well structures to age, but Im not sure where it will go.

at an instore tasting yesterday:

01 Houghtons Frankland River Shiraz rich and yummy.
01 Yering Station Shiraz Viognier good fruit, well managed viognier addition, a tad simple for me, but great value at $20
99 Jenke Shiraz Oak Char and choc. not for me.
02 D'Arenberg Dead Arm Corrrrrr, this is the business! beautifully balanced, great fruit oak, will age into a classic.

and some Krug NV today for more celebration for Mrs Wizz. 'nuff said.

cheers

Andrew

I have never truly understood the dismissal of Sauvignon Blanc as "Cats Piss ". This is because I have not previously noticed cats piss - never having owned a feline friend. But the other morning whilst eating my breakfast I saw a black cat , that often is in our backyard , climb up onto the fence and " spray " onto the fence. It was my duty as a wine lover to go and have a whiff......and yes I can see the relevance..a certain type of pungency and intensity...........


1998 Chandon Brut Rose : like a dry rose but with bubbles....competent but not thrilling.

2000 Chateau Canon Saint Michel , Canon Fronsac : very tannic. still mostly primary. to its credit of its type. I enjoyed it. At $45 it would be nice if this was cheaper. Needs food at this stage.

1999 Bannockburn Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot , Geelong : I had a bottle of this earlier in the year which was very good despite dubious storage. This was a better bottle. Lovely sweet tobacco and some cedar in a pleasing rhubarb fruit vein. Excellent for me.

Al Salaam A'alaykum.

Quiet week. Most of it in China. Interestingly, supermarkets are filling with foreign wine- I noted Lehmann, Scotchman's Hill aswell as the Aussie big brands. One supermarket had most Grand Cru's. Having just bought pirated material of just about everything, some of it very good, I was reluctant to buy what could be Dragon Wine hidden within a bottle of Latour.

Champagne Deutz Brut- green-gold, pure apple essence aromas initially, musty yeast nuances followed. Delicate mouthfeel, citrus flavours on the palate rounded by fine acids and some yeasty flavour persistance.

Te Mata Estate Coleraine Cabernet Merlot 2000- Full purple- red. The nose is alluring and spicey on a layer of ripe dark fruit. The palate texture is silky and mouthfilling. Spice and dark plum again. A long flow of cedar and fine ripe tannin. An impression of harmony and approachability completes the wine. Lazy 92 points.

Craig NZ has some terrific notes on this and other Coleraines, aswell as a good understanding of the style, under the Coleraine thread.

Delas Freres Clos Boucher Condrieu 1999- An unabashed lover of Condrieu. Overpriced for what it is, but a week in the little town converted me. I prefer the old world pretentious style as opposed to new world and fruit driven. This is a full bodied, spicey and minerally expression of the appellation. The finish is long and subtle, with a touch of not distracting Condrieu heat. QPR low but I do enjoy guzzling this wine.

Hello

Mixture, samples and more. Two interesting wines though

2002 Massena Shiraz - quality intense wine, liquorice, plums, blueberries ... great flavour and intensity with cellaring ability, most impressed.

2001 Shadowfax Pink Cliffs Heathcote Shiraz - slightly thin, savoury and lacking generosity - most disappointed. I wonder, bad bottle perhaps, no sign of cork taint though??

Our scheduled guest couldn't make dinner because he wanted to watch Port play football (I can't see why as it was a forgorn conclusion anyway), so we invited Gavin and Robyn over as a backup (thanks guys for filling in )

2002 Massena 11th Hour Shiraz
Wonderful wine, deep, rich and full of flavours with persistence and backbone.

2001 Shadowfax Pink Cliffs, Heathcote
Dissapointing considering the raves about this wine, finished quite dry, little depth and character. Imporved slightly as the night wore on but didn't really live up to its reputation.

1986 Lindemans Coonawarra Limestone Ridge Shiraz Cab
Past it and tired. Barely drinkable.

Chambers Grand Muscat
Hmmm... Yum. Lucsious, hugely mouth filling, intense flavours of orange, lime, lemon, raisin, honey, fruitcake, coffee and walnut... Went nice with sticky date pudding.

Pelican wrote:I have never truly understood the dismissal of Sauvignon Blanc as "Cats Piss ". This is because I have not previously noticed cats piss - never having owned a feline friend. But the other morning whilst eating my breakfast I saw a black cat , that often is in our backyard , climb up onto the fence and " spray " onto the fence. It was my duty as a wine lover to go and have a whiff......and yes I can see the relevance..a certain type of pungency and intensity...........

Now that is what I call dedication to developing a flavor library!

We have four of these feline beasts, plus three standard poodles (one of which is little more than a puppy) and so Sunday morning alone involved stepping in and/or cleaning up puked up cat food, dog food, a fur ball, and an accident of major proportions - all before we got to our breakfast.

While catÂ’s piss is one descriptor IÂ’ve heard mentioned in reference to NZ sauvignon blanc, IÂ’m waiting for the wine that smells like the legs of my big male poddle after his pee ricochets off the cement back onto his feet and matures for a day or two!

Mike

KMP wrote:While catÂ’s piss is one descriptor IÂ’ve heard mentioned in reference to NZ sauvignon blanc, IÂ’m waiting for the wine that smells like the legs of my big male poddle after his pee ricochets off the cement back onto his feet and matures for a day or two!

You are a sick man Mike. Have you thought about buying a pet store?


The problem with 99.9% of Poodles is that they are smarter than their owners, mine included.

There is a smell that is far worse than two day old Poodle pee. Try a wet 75 kg Newfoundland, or the breath of a Golden Retriever after he has been in the paddock have a gourmet meal of cow poo.

Hi all,

Lenotti Amarone 1998: Nice Amarone with a nose of red friut, wood and plum, medium body and a medium finish. 90/100 P

Clarendon Hills Shiraz Piggott Range 1998: Shows a purple color, the Nose is very closed with a little darkberry, vanilla and dark pepper. Have a lot of power but needs 3-5 years of cellaring. 93/100 P

Jim Barry The Armagh 1996: Color is purple and very dark, the Nose have dark berrys, fine wood with a little smok, cassis, a little pepper and vanilla, in the mouth fine tannin with a lot of black berrys, little vanilla, not to much wood and a long peppery finish, WOW 94/100 P

Gregor

TORB wrote:You are a sick man Mike. Have you thought about buying a pet store?

The problem with 99.9% of Poodles is that they are smarter than their owners, mine included.

Hi Ric:

A red bigot and poodle lover - what a combination!

With a wife that is a veterinarian (shameless plug of Mercy the wonder poodle) we sort of have our own pet store. Poodles are clever - fortunately they aren't big wine drinkers.

Mike

KMP wrote:[With a wife that is a veterinarian (shameless plug of Mercy the wonder poodle)

Mike,

I know I said Poodles were smart, but I didnt know they were smart enough to become vets!

TORB wrote:

KMP wrote:[With a wife that is a veterinarian (shameless plug of Mercy the wonder poodle)

Mike,

I know I said Poodles were smart, but I didnt know they were smart enough to become vets!

And what a great kennel-side manner she has too!!

Mike