Merry New Year Everybody
It's been a while, so just a few notes from the recent trip. I was a good scout, and did take some Australians along...they just never fail to impress. Here are some imnotepressions of a few of the interesting ones, more as I get the energy and time
Chateau Margaux 1975 - Supposedly a sub-standard vintage, this took a few hours to start showing itself as the elegantly impressive and highly enjoyable wine it was. If this is one of the worst vintages, I've had my suspicion that that this Chateau can't do wrong affirmed. That floral (violets and roses even!), yet minerally, velvety yet restrained elegance that Margaux so deserves be famous for. Lacks nothing but maybe a little weight and length (that sounds more serious than it is). No doubt a great bottle of this year, if other (puzzling?) reviews of the vintage are taken into account. Drink now-2010(?). Excellent; almost, but not quite, Outstanding.
Penfolds Grange 1983 - A
great wine. Stunning depth of flavour with complexity to boot, length to make John Holmes blush. Wow. Now to 2015+? Outstanding. Australia, hold your vinous head high!
Grant Burge Meshach 1994 - Easily held it's own with the 1983 Grange, with (yes!) more length and waves of mouth-coating flavour. A touch more refinement than the Grange but still takes no prisoners, with a buttery toffee and chocolate edge. Going out on a limb, this is just as good value as the following...also warrants an Outstanding, having proved itself in regal company. Drinking now till who knows when?. (wave a small Australian plastic flag!)
Wynns John Riddoch 1994 - Just starting to
sing with the last glass. Gravelly chocolate vanilla cocoa notes, dark blue and black berries and vanillin oak. This just isn't quite ready to be consumed, but my word what a wine! Remarkable concentration, great depth with impressive
latitude of flavour. It's just all here. Somebody was ridiculed (I think on 'the other forum') recently for saying Riddoch could be seen as Bordeaux-like. Well, it is. And magnificently so. One of the world's best Cabernet wines, period. Hugely undervalued in the second market. So shoot me, it gets an Excellent with potential for Outstanding. Now with a day's decanting, until at least 2015. I want more than the few bottles I have left. (wipe a tear from your eye, it's that good)
Penfolds Grange 1975 - Grows with every breath. This is a
massive wine, bigger than the 1983, but perhaps a little more, forgive me, 'four-square'. Incredible length and concentration, just lacking that real complexity right now (...but Outstanding is not being
terribly generous
) No real sign of ageing, give it 5-10 years?
Penfolds RWT Shiraz 1997 - Mmmm...Lemony French oak. Maybe too much of it, but this is an excellent wine considering the vintage. Very good weight and great mouthfeel. A little VA to start blows off and we've got a wine that brings a pretty big smile. Lay it down another 5 years to let the fruit come out and play. Excellent.
Orlando Centenary Hill 1995 - Chocolate, mocha (sounds more right than coffee right now), vanilla notes and the red berries go on and on and on and o...for a wine in this bracket anyhow. Probably ready, but won't go downhill. Very Good/Excellent.
Greenock Creek Alices 2001 - Such a joy to drink. Disturbing depth of colour, wonderful silky mouthfeel and very good length. Just plain Excellent now, who knows where it'll go?
Redbank Sally's Paddock 1997 - Ahh...this is a bit different. Glyceriney red fruits in (restrained) buckets, if that's at all possible. Always reminds me of a good Graveyard. Excellent.
Reynell Basket Press Shiraz 2001 - Gorgeous ripe (but
never overly so) black and red fruits with vanilla cream topping. McLaren Vale's (very much cohesive) answer to Rockford BP? Very Good/Excellent.
A bunch of Bordeaux from $15-$100 - Some downright poor, some good, most very much so but never really that impressive. I'm ever more sure that Australian wines offer a better drink for the money, right up to the point where we get to the very heavy hitters (think Chateau Margaux, Latour, Mouton and the best of Pomerol...that 1982 Trotanoy resounds). The standout of this bunch was the 2000 Grand-Puy-Lacoste. Excellent with a slight leaning towards Outstanding, but the rest are just plain ordinary wines, though they
will be very very pleasurable dinner accompaniments in the future.
Happy Drinking in the New Year!
Jakob
) it certainly made my day a good one 
I just can't stop laughing at that. I'm hysterical. Will look forward to coming in tomorrow and seeing what has been added.