The Auswine Forum

Hi Good Peoples,

Time for your weekly reports, I will post mine later.

1996 SEPPELT Partalunga Vineyard Chardonnay

A highly praised wine in it's time, still holding up with good French oak and typical buttery Chardonnay fruit. However, lacking character and excitement, tasting somewhat basic, enjoyed the first glass but in the end I didn't drink all of it because after the superb 2003 Tower riesling I didn't find this interesting at all.
It was AU $25 on release.
Cheers,
Attila

Suckfizzle Cabernet 01

This bottle was subject to an air conditioner failure in a bottle shop and showed a little bottle leak. It was offered to us for a very good price and was opened and consumed within 24 hours of the problem.

There is a nice aroma of sweet red fruits on the nose. The ripe fruit comes through well on the palate with well balance fine tannins and some acidity lingering. Excellent structure and give confidence of an excellent wine with a few years in the cellar.


Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz 1994

This wine stayed closed for a long time and even at the end did not deliver.

I remember Ric doing a note about this wine a while back and checked it. Bottle variation? and not the same wine but maybe after another 24 hours.

Only one, but very good:

Tyrells HVD Semillon '95.

Yellowing colour showing it's age, but not as dark as it wil get or for it's age. Beautiful nose of honey on jasmine, a long soft palate of honey, lemon and toast that still has good acid left. A remarkable wine that is not at it's peak yet, but is drinking wonderfully.
Once again, an aged semillon beats Oz chardonnays hands down.

Rory

Just a couple of half bottles of brokenwood semillon this afternoon.

1998 - still nice and zingy - colour just starting to deepen a little - recently picked up a magnum at auction - will let it sleep a while.

2000 - more developed and a little darker - butter and toast with a hint of lemon butter or lanolin - not flabby but i'd say even a full size bottle wouldn't get a whole lot better.'

Cheers - John B

1996 Penfolds Bin 28
Enjoying it right now. Nice wine, good pedigree, quality vintage. Drinking very well now, displays loads of vanilla oaked flavoured, rich, ripe Barossan Shiraz. At present a very atypical Penfolds, I think most would struggle to identify this as a Penfolds in a masked line-up. It is more reminisant of Burge, Mamre, Lehmann, etc. IÂ’m not being critical, I like it immensely, itÂ’s a damn fine wine, and a bargain too. This is going to be so much better with further age. Glad I have a couple more in the cellar.

2000 Tatachilla Shiraz very nice smooth drinking but has not improved much in the last 12 months.
2001 Tatachilla Cab just an average wine
1998 Bin 61 slightly corked
1999 Bin 61 allowed to breath for 2 hours, a very good wine and great value best drinking now and over the next 2 to 3 years.
2003 Ben Schild Reserve would have to be in my top 10 new releases for this year, great wine.

Cheers Martin

Martin, good to see you having a post!

The 2003 Ben Schild Shiraz is definitely a high quality wine that I've now had on two occasionsand both times been very impressed. I don't think this is a good pointer for the 03 vintage in the Barossa but more just a damned fine one off from this estate. Let's hope they can repeat it in future.

I also had a 96 Kalimna Bin 28 just to see how it was going - very nicely thank you, agree it's got more time. Sad to think how this line has slipped badly since 1996, this is the last vintage I bought, even the 98 wasn't up to the standard IMO.

1986 Mamre Brook Cabernet Shiraz
The nose was dreadful but the palate was full and living and displayed mead and raisins on a smooth and long palateÂ… once you got past the stink. This bottle was opened without much time to breathe. I hope and suspect that my last 2 bottles will show better after a few hours in a decanter. I have found that great old wines need this time.

2002 Waterwheel Cabernet Sauvignon – Bendigo (14%)
Sensational value for money wine. Ripe, dark berry flavours with sweet oak and aniseed complexity flow freely on a long and broad palate. Ripe tannins are very present but unobtrusive and add greatly to the wine. Rated Highly Recommended, this wine disappeared very quickly on Friday night.

Adair

Best I can do is a few 'impression' TVs.

At a party on Saturday, Bollinger nv from magnum was a fine, weighty biscuity wine that you could drink for ever. Also from magnum, the 1998 Leo Buring Leonay (don't remember whether its Clare or Eden) was showing a little development of faintly kerosine-like notes, yet still with lemon fruit, tight acidic structure, and years to go yet. Stunning wine.

Yesterday, 1990 Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz was lovely and leathery, with dark cherry and plums fruits, a long finish, fine bead and gentle tannins. Lanson nv was fine and tart, not as satisfying as Bollinger, but very good in a different style.

cheers,
Graeme

A hot evening in Brissie so made sure that everything was well chilled.

2001 Chandon Really enjoyed this. Great fruit flavour with a nice finish. Simple.

Tale of Two Pinot's

2000 Nepenthe Pinot Noir - Adelaide Hills A redy purple hue still looking quite young. A lighter style with good spice and savoury on the palate. Went well with the Thai food we were having.

2000 Kooyong Pinot Noir - Mornington Penninsular A musky earthy nose initally then deep dark fruits. A much heavier style with plenty of oak evident and a good finish. I really enjoyed it although it didn't seem in the classic pinot style.

96 Henschke Keyneton
I thought this was pretty good. Few jarry edges, but they help cut thru the Chinese meal.

94 Henschke Mt Edelstone
Same Chinese meal! This is a good wine, and has aged well, and is in its dinking window. It was almost a bit boring.

91 Penfolds 389.
My last bottle. This is a very good wine. Along with the 90, the best two 389s for the past 15 years IMO. Will hold for a few more years.

96 Penfolds 389
Fantastic wine. Rich, in balance, great fruit. Better the second night. Has years ahead of it. Dont drink yet.

97 Henschke Keyneton.
Drinking beautifully now. Lovely fruit. Drank my last 5 this week, and there was 2 corked bottles.

91 Jasper Hill Georges Paddock.
This was towards the end of a big night, and it was simply stunning.
Great fruit, depth and balance. At its peak.

91 Jasper Hill Emilys Paddock.
I found this to be less approachable than the Georges, it needs a few more years.

96 Charles Melton Shiraz.
Oak is a bit dominant for me, but the very sweet fruit is there in abundance. Probably needs to be drunk in the next 2 years.

96 Tim Adams Semillon
Has a hardness about it. May improve in a few more years. Not as good as the 97.

Hi all,

Plenty of Xmas cheer here. Noteworthy:

'96 Yaumba Red D.

Delicate and very nice with all components in tune. Not your usual Barossa

'04 Sunday Creek Pinot Gris

An interesting grape. Somewhere between Chardonay and Riesling - fresh zing with body.

'02 Gramp's Barossa Shiraz.

WOTN. No.4 in the Winestate 2004 best of so worth a visit. Initially sceptical @ 15% alcohol but wonderful fruit and good acid and tannin that carry it now and 5+ years. A different and interesting wine. Excellent value @ $17. A case for the cellar in order.

'69 St Hallet's Vintage Port

Always a crowd pleaser.

Chuck

The 02 Gramps Barossa Shiraz raised a few eyebrows at the stellar Adelaide Wine Show tasting which given its pricepoint takes some doing. Thanks, your post has reminded me to chase some down.

91 Jasper Hill Georgias I can only agree wholeheartedly with, a stunning wine.

Best wine for me recently was the 1985 Seppelt Show Shiraz, light on the fizz ("so you can slam it down fast" I think the Solo ad went ) complex with that smoked oyster character seen in the best of this line and lovely mouthfeeel, it impressed all the Blacktongues. I'm taking it's sister wine, the 1987, to the Barossa with me for dinner tonight, or maybe with a picnic lunch tomorrow.

Moet NV on the plane home from Thailand.

A few from the last couple of weeks...

Seppelt shirazes...
2000 Chalambar - V nice, savoury with still nice fruit, probably at least a few years left to soften.
1999 Harpers Range - suffered from poor storage (gift from someone clearing out sponsers stock at a venue... was in an office cupboard for several years) a bit thin and acidic, little fruit, quite savoury, drinkable on first night, not second.
Victoria reserve, current release? - quaffable, tasty, light compared to others.


Wolf Blass Yellow Label Chardonnay 2003 - a good propaganda tool to use by Red Bigots to show the evils of c-thru. Not pleasant.

Yalumba D Black 1998 - Nice, dry, intense, not as sweet as the 96. possibly will soften with some more age. Apparently the Black uses The Signature blend as a base?

Cheers!