The Auswine Forum

Firstly - any reports on how this might be drinking right now ? Secondly - how much of a chill to give it and breathing time ?

Seasons Greetings one and all John B

thelongroad wrote:Firstly - any reports on how this might be drinking right now ? Secondly - how much of a chill to give it and breathing time ?

Seasons Greetings one and all John B

375 ml or 750 ml ?

. 750 should be going strong although probably already starting its slide, 375 not quite so convinced. Either way, drink now.
. Reasonably chilled, N1 can be quite cloying with a bit of temperature.
. No breathing time.

Fatboy is right. This is a note from a 375ml from a month ago:

This is now very dark, brown, and looks more like a Tokay in the glass. The nose is subdued compared to young versions of this wine, still showing some orange peel and also some rancio type notes.

In the mouth , the first apparent thing is that a lot of the sweetness has faded, theres still a strong acid presence, but the fruit hasnt held on enough to make this an attractive wine. This is starting to show some oxidative characters, a bit oloroso sherry like in that sense, with caramel/toffee the dominant flavour and the residual sweetness and orange/burnt apricot jam character showing through. The length is still impressive, with musky flavours appearing.

If this bottle is typical, enoy these real soon, its started its journey down hill. 84/100


cheers

Andrew

750 ml bottle - will be polished off in the next day or two during the festivities of the season...

Cheers - John B

My TNs (375ml) from June 2004:

I always keep a few bottles of old Aussie botrytis wines around for my dad who loved this style (and IÂ’m not entirely immune to it either). I find Aussie dessert styles age much more gracefully than their dry white counterparts.

1992 Henschke Noble Rot Riesling
Light gold colour. Nose is full of rich raisins, apricots and lovely fragrant and flowery aromas. Very good length and balance. Residual acidity finishes off the palate and balances the obvious sweetness. Lovely botrytis flavours of honey, apricot peel, mandarins and passionfruit. Not too densely sweet. Surprisingly bloody good.
Very Good 17.5 / 20

1992 de Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Semillon
Deep gold and obviously more evolved than the Henschke. Rich and intensely sweet on the nose with a hint of alcohol heat. Palate is very, very rich, dense and concentrated. Almost too rich (you wouldnÂ’t want to keep it longer) with caramelised fruits, Tokay aromas, toffee, unctuous honey. This is to my palate cloying as it lacks the requisite acid to shield the sweetness and provide the backbone. Far bigger and richer than the Henschke and not as seductive. Of course, my dad loved it (it can never be too sweet for him!).
Good 16.5 / 20