The Auswine Forum

Hi Good Peoples,

Most of the wine consumed during the week for me were young babies and the tasting notes will eventually be included in the tour diary, but I did have one older winewhich was another slightly disappointing 1998.

Charles Cimicky 1998 Signature Shiraz

My first bottle from a six-pack that was purchased over four years ago. Initially, the wine opened up with some reductive characters and whilst they receded, they never totally blew off. The bouquet was earthy showing mushroom compost, vanillin oak and blackberry. Medium-weight with dusty tannins that still need time to integrate; the blackberry, aniseed, chocolate and vanilla flavours are well supported by fresh acid. Rated as Highly Recommended, whilst it should be better in the year or two, it will never be a patch on the 96. On reflection, this wine may have had a little bit of Brett in it.

And what have you guys been drinking?

Colonna "Allesandra" Barbera di Monferrato Superiore 2000 (Piemonte, Italy)

Wonderful wine which shows how Barbera's acidity can work well with food. Especially when, in this case, the fruit has depth & interest to match the barrique oak & varietal acidity. £15, which is not cheap for Barbera, but really pretty good value.

An interesting bottle as well, as if it had been blown & then left to set on it's side giving it a slightly squashed shape.

Ian

p.s. As an Englishman, I had to raise a glass to a wonderful Grand Slam for an exciting Wales rugby team. Most enjoyable Grand Slam I've seen & it's a good day for rugby that the most adventurous side has won the big prize. Raise a great glass of (red) wine for them tonight.

Thursday: a bracket of 6 Spanish reds, 3 nice ones, 3 fairly ordinary, nothing under $29, nothing of good qpr. The best two were:

Clos Figeuras 2000 (Priorat), a blend of Grenache, Carignan and Shiraz, a classy, big wine with good structure and a fair lash of supporting oak. A very good wine, but not worth the $89 asking price.

Laurona Montsant DO 2000 (Priorat), a blend of Grenache, Carignan and Shiraz plus a little Merlot and Cabernet, classy wine without the big structure of the Figeuras, almost reasonable qpr @ $39.

Both these wines made by Rene Barbier of Clos Mogador, apparently a very "hot" maker in Priorat.

Friday:
Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz 1990, drinking nicely, leathery overtones only just starting, hints of low-level brett but not offensive.

Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet 1990, a freakishly good wine, colour is better than some 2001 reds I've seen recently, essence of Coonawarra cabernet, I love it now, it will get better still over the next 10 years, I hope thay can find the recipe for this one again.

Saturday:
Wynns Black Label Cabernet 1990, interesting to try this the night after the JR and note the stylistic similarities, this is a very good wine with years ahead of it yet, an absolute bargain, I wonder if this label will ever reach the heights of the 90, 91 vintages again?

Primo Estate Joseph Moda Cabe-merlot 2002, warmer, riper cabernet style, with the silky mouthfeel from the "amarone" treatment, fills the palate and glides seamless down with a lingering finish, seductive stuff.

Auswine Reserve Barossa Shiraz 2003, pretty close to all the positive reviews here, just lacking a little mid-palate weight and enough of the silky mouthfeel of the best Barossa shiraz, it's otherwise a pretty seamless package, but Gavin, it's not "huge" by red bigot standards. Very happy to have 11 left in my cellar.

Johns Blend Margaretes Shiraz 2000, from a "lesser" vintage, 75% Langhorne Ck, 25% Mclarenvale, "only" 23 months in Oak (can't remember which type), the oak is less obvious than the JB Cabernet with it's 30+ months, a pretty good effort, with the soft fleshy LC mouthfeel and drinking well already, probably hold for a few years, but I'd drink it sooner rather than later.

Hi all,

Not much of note except for my last bottle of Penfolds 1990 Bin 389. Just lovely and at its peak. Tannins receding.

Chuck.

Red Bigot wrote:
Auswine Reserve Barossa Shiraz 2003, pretty close to all the positive reviews here, just lacking a little mid-palate weight and enough of the silky mouthfeel of the best Barossa shiraz, it's otherwise a pretty seamless package, but Gavin, it's not "huge" by red bigot standards. Very happy to have 11 left in my cellar.


.

Fair enough, but there's a new one in the coming mailout that's 'huge' even by red Bigot standards!

Gavin Trott wrote:

Red Bigot wrote:
Auswine Reserve Barossa Shiraz 2003, pretty close to all the positive reviews here, just lacking a little mid-palate weight and enough of the silky mouthfeel of the best Barossa shiraz, it's otherwise a pretty seamless package, but Gavin, it's not "huge" by red bigot standards. Very happy to have 11 left in my cellar.
.

Fair enough, but there's a new one in the coming mailout that's 'huge' even by red Bigot standards!

Good of you to respond to the challenge so quickly, look forward to the details.

(I didn't write the next bit, Gavin, did you edit this instead of replying? But you are right, sounds like I would hate it )

Not sure if it'll be your style, huge fruit, high alcohol, powerful and almost OTT style by a very high quality Boutique producer.

Drank over the entire week:

Eileen Hardy 2001: A very elegant wine. Fine grain tannins with everything in restraint. Will drop Eileen as my prospect in future.

Mitolo GAM 2003: @ half the price of Eileen, this is a revelation. A wine that never fail to elicit a big WOW fr those who let it passed thru their throat.

Later in the week, we went to a local wineshop who received a sample of Arakoon Doyen 2003.

Doyen 2003: (16.5%) This is no iron fisted in a velvet glove. This was a slugfest with bare-knuckle! Return to the form of their mighty 2001. A pugilist wine!

Branson Coach House 2003 (14%) Most impressive piece of packaging! A very balance wine with excellent depth all wrapped up in a very elegant frame. The owner told me this is a RP 97 pointer and it's retailed for US$75 and charged us accordingly. I was a little suspicious becos it doesnt taste like a 97 pointer or maybe RP was too generous with his ratings(?) The next day I did some searches and found out this was indeed the 2nd liner, the Branson Greenock Block (US$45, RP92) and not the Branson Coach House Block which he claimed -sigh-

Christa Rolf Grenache/Shz 2002 - Excellent follow thru fr their 2001 vintage which I raved last year as the most fantastic bang for the buck. Dazzling aromas, a big mouthful and a sustainable finish. For a sub<$20 swirl, this is the antithesis of an intellectual wine but boy,...it delivered. Just sitback and enjoy!

O'Connor Park Durif 2001 - Upon released, 2yrs year ago this wine did it for me but since then it has shed most of its primary fruits and tasted a lil' metalic. Passed!

La Testa Merlot 2000 - Tony DeLisio is clearly living in his honeymoon when RP lauded his 99 vintage to the sky. No doubt 2000 was a less than stellar vintage in SA but for a $100+ bucks wine, he clearly priced himself out of the competition. I expected much more not a sappy, docile and loosely knited Merlot which I hesitated even paying anything more than $30

Salena Est Cabernet 1998 - A very nice quaffer fr Riverland drinking at it's peak. Sadly the quality of their recent vintages isn't a patch of wat it used to be

opps. it's me.

deleted

Anonymous wrote:La Testa Merlot 2000 - Tony DeLisio is clearly living in his honeymoon when RP lauded his 99 vintage to the sky. No doubt 2000 was a less than stellar vintage in SA but for a $100+ bucks wine, he clearly priced himself out of the competition. I expected much more not a sappy, docile and loosely knited Merlot which I hesitated even paying anything more than $30

Martin,

You are never afraid to let your personal opinions and feelings get in the way of the facts. The 00 Merlot sold for $50, not $100 - that said, I thought it was poor vale at $50 too.

As for the Eileen, what took you so long to wake up, it has been heading in that direction for years.

And don't you just love those retailers that misrepresnt wines and their Parker scores.

96 Eileen Hardys is one of the best

2003 Fox Creek Shadows Run Shiraz/Cabernet. For about $11 what a wine!!! I have not had a better wine for this price. None or very little oak is'nt much of a problem due to very sweet fruit yet the right amount of punch from the Shiraz/Cabernet blend. Highly recommended to bargain buyers and anyone seeking a great everyday drinking wine. Love to see this wine in a super vintage. Cant wait to hear some more opinions on this one.

Anonymous wrote:96 Eileen Hardys is one of the best

And the 95 was pretty flash too, unfortunatly then they lost the formula and went the "elegant" route which routed the wine. Did I say that I guess I did

Written notes not taken, so I'm working from impressions...

1999 Tahbilk Marsanne (Goulburn Valley)
light-mid yellow, lovely sweetish honeyed nose, yet dry on the palate. Actually quite round and full bodied, lovely balance of structural elements across the palate. Good length, and all round stunning bargain for the $9 it cost.

2004 Peregrin Rose [pinot noir] (Otago)
deep pink/pale red. Lifted aromas of strawberry, candy/bubble gum. Palate is sweetish, but the fresh acid keeps it from being in any way cloying. Super outdoor wine. Under screwcap.

1990 Henschke Mt Edelstone Shiraz (Eden Valley)
Mid brick red. Initially a nose of sweaty socks, but with some stewed red fruit and eucalyptus notes underneath. The palate is better than the nose suggests, with good coverage front to back. Tannins are very fine, and quite discreet. Plenty of smoky secondary notes here as well. Finish is mid-weight, reasonable length. Very good.

1997 Wendouree Shiraz (Clare)
Very deep red indeed. Archetypical nose of spearmint, eucalyptus, menthol, but without any hint of unripeness. Whiff of VA adds a little interest? Solid fruit weight right across palate, firm, fine tannins. Not especially polished, but neither was it a coarse wine. Full-bodied, certainly, tastes age 2 or 3, not 8 years. Keep longer.

cheers,
Graeme

Something of a mixed bag over the last week or three. Knocked over the last couple of Cullen Chardonnay 01 as I'd a bottle around Christmas that was prematurely aged - serious bottle variation going on here. Had four, the first late last year was exemplary, the second (as above) was not up to scratch and of the last two, one was nearly as good as the first, the other OK but not as good as the first and thrid bottles. On the Cullen train, and worried about the results of my caring neighbour's thoughtfulness in turning off the aircon master switch in the fusebox after six weeks of my being marooned in Mackay with a fractured malleolus (ankle bone), a month or more before my returning home (32-34Cduring the day) thought I'd try one of the two remaining bottles of Mangan 2002. Absolute crap. The cork was saturated and the wine was undrinkable. Opened the last bottle and it was fine, fruity but savoury. Hope Cullen move to stelvin across the range, the sooner the better as I've had a DM 01 that had those streaks almost to the top of the cork. Dunno, but for $50-80/btl wines, cork doesn't seem to work very well for Cullen.

A cheapie I discovered and really enjoyed before I was told it won a couple of trophies at last year's Perth Show is a current favourite for the tropical climate here, Houghton SSB 04. Great vfm @ $9-$10. Inadvertently bought a bottle of the 03 in Mackay - prematurely aged, another crap wine.

Turkey Flat Shiraz 01 is travelling very nicely with quality Barossa fruit character that is nicely supported by judicious use of oak.

Can't believe how much Lehmann Clancy's 02 must've been made but it remains a favourite quaffer @ $10.

Tahbilk Marsanne 2000 is really starting to deliver on it's potential that had me enjoying and drinking all of 6+ bottles of it within a year or so of release. Classic Tahbilk Marsanne at around $15. The Shiraz 01 seems to be a change in style and the better for it IMHO. Nice. Sangiovese 03 is ordinary though.

Cheers all

daz

Agree on the Clancys

Had Dinner at a local restaurant last night and had a bottle of 99' Mt Langhi Ghiran Shiraz from off the ' cellar bin ends list ' for the very reasonable price of $35. Spicey / peppery and with great pure fruit on the palate with good length and a slightly hot finish ( but not too hot ).
Very enjoyable and was great with the slow roasted Scotch Fillet.

2003 De Bertoli Wild Vine Shiraz - As a quaffer at the price ( bugger all ) one could simply not ask for more.

Daryl Douglas wrote:Something of a mixed bag over the last week or three. Knocked over the last couple of Cullen Chardonnay 01 as I'd a bottle around Christmas that was prematurely aged - serious bottle variation going on here. Had four, the first late last year was exemplary, the second (as above) was not up to scratch and of the last two, one was nearly as good as the first, the other OK but not as good as the first and thrid bottles. On the Cullen train, and worried about the results of my caring neighbour's thoughtfulness in turning off the aircon master switch in the fusebox after six weeks of my being marooned in Mackay with a fractured malleolus (ankle bone), a month or more before my returning home (32-34Cduring the day) thought I'd try one of the two remaining bottles of Mangan 2002. Absolute crap. The cork was saturated and the wine was undrinkable. Opened the last bottle and it was fine, fruity but savoury. Hope Cullen move to stelvin across the range, the sooner the better as I've had a DM 01 that had those streaks almost to the top of the cork. Dunno, but for $50-80/btl wines, cork doesn't seem to work very well for Cullen.

A cheapie I discovered and really enjoyed before I was told it won a couple of trophies at last year's Perth Show is a current favourite for the tropical climate here, Houghton SSB 04. Great vfm @ $9-$10. Inadvertently bought a bottle of the 03 in Mackay - prematurely aged, another crap wine.

Turkey Flat Shiraz 01 is travelling very nicely with quality Barossa fruit character that is nicely supported by judicious use of oak.

Can't believe how much Lehmann Clancy's 02 must've been made but it remains a favourite quaffer @ $10.

Tahbilk Marsanne 2000 is really starting to deliver on it's potential that had me enjoying and drinking all of 6+ bottles of it within a year or so of release. Classic Tahbilk Marsanne at around $15. The Shiraz 01 seems to be a change in style and the better for it IMHO. Nice. Sangiovese 03 is ordinary though.

Cheers all

daz

Edited the post - the Houghton SSB is the 04.

daz

jester wrote:Had Dinner at a local restaurant last night and had a bottle of 99' Mt Langhi Ghiran Shiraz from off the ' cellar bin ends list ' for the very reasonable price of $35. Spicey / peppery and with great pure fruit on the palate with good length and a slightly hot finish ( but not too hot ).
Very enjoyable and was great with the slow roasted Scotch Fillet.

2003 De Bertoli Wild Vine Shiraz - As a quaffer at the price ( bugger all ) one could simply not ask for more.

Was that at Lickerish - I recall seeing the Mt langhi Ghiran on the list.

Cheers

Paul

Paulv,
was not Lickerish was at Hadleys, impressed though

Jester

1999 Penfolds Koonunga Hill (Shiraz/Cabernet): While I won't say this is a return to the Koonunga Hill vintages of the 80's and early 90's, this wine has aged adequately. The gripping tannins experienced when young have now mellowed and the wine is drinking very well. I'm glad I snookered away about half a dozen.

1999 Brown Brothers Limited Release Riesling: Bought a few of these at CD about 3 years ago. Lovely fruity wine with a refreshing crispness to finish. My wife's favourite varietal and she wasn't disappointed.

1999 Allanmere Semillon: In keeping with the 1999 theme! We bought this wine a couple of years ago while meandering through the Lovedale region for the Lovedale Long Lunch. The wine went well with the food we were eating that day but I feel it is now past it's best. Quite flat and nothing at all special about this wine.[/b]

interesting how the 99 vintage stuff keep rolling through with glowing reports.

NN

Hopward Park Reisling 2001lovely intense lime flavours, nice balancing acidity, long way to go for this one in my book.
St Hallet Old Block 1996intense chocolate , full rich and long palate , excellent wine, tannins unobtrusive.
Rockford Basket Press 1996good wine a little developed for what I was expecting. long intense fruit.
Wynns Cab Sav 19998gave this a try after some poor bottle showing previously, this bottle good, balanced good berry fruit, lovely drink. I think there is some significant bottle variation going on here, 6 that have been ordinary, 3 good-excellent, 1 corked and returned.

1993 Tyrrell's Vat 1 Semillon. Hooray! a pristine bottle after 2 oxidised duds green/ mid gold colour - lots of lanolin, cold toast, even a hint of lime rind. Rich mid palate with heaps of fruit and fresh acid with a seriously long finish - no coarseness at all. Lovely.

1999 Jean Boillot Savigny-les Beaune 1er "les lavieres" Extremely dark blood red colour - never seen this one this dark from burgundy more like some oz pinots. Not good I thought. Yep a bit extracted on the nose and palate - lacked definition both on the nose and palate - neither fruit dominated or any secondary flavours. Some tannins and good acid. Maybe a bit closed. Hopefully needs time. Just Good at the moment.

Cheers

Paul

Chuck wrote:Hi all,

Not much of note except for my last bottle of Penfolds 1990 Bin 389. Just lovely and at its peak. Tannins receding.

Chuck.

Hmmm, tried two of these last year and was disappointed each time. Maybe unlucky ??

PaulIV

I bought a case of Vat 1 recently and I think it was all stelvin. Well I certainly hope it was after your run of bad luck!

For me a miserable wine week compounded by the consumption of Jamieson's Run 02 & D'Arenberg Orginal 02. 10 years ago these were honest quaffers. These days the label of both is diluted with a string of more expensive labels ( which can't sell ) and are poor value and disappointing wines in a mid week quaffer category!

JamieBahrain wrote:PaulIV

I bought a case of Vat 1 recently and I think it was all stelvin. Well I certainly hope it was after your run of bad luck!

For me a miserable wine week compounded by the consumption of Jamieson's Run 02 & D'Arenberg Orginal 02. 10 years ago these were honest quaffers. These days the label of both is diluted with a string of more expensive labels ( which can't sell ) and are poor value and disappointing wines in a mid week quaffer category!

Yeah from the '04 all in stelvin thank god!!

1999 Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon

Great wine in a much lighter style to what I am used to. Drinking well now.

Any ideas on how long this wine will go?

Elvis

Over the weekend:

'97 Olivier Leflaive Chassagne Montrache.
Wonderfull meaty/meally nose with stonefruit thrown in to top it off, with a fine minerally palate that is elegant, well structured with a good mouthfeel, but not overly long. I picked it up cheap, and for what I paid, it was excellent.

'96 Penfolds Bin 389.
Outstanding! I love 389 and this was a classic. Slight VA on the nose, but the rich fruit gets through without a struggle. The palate is just complex, rich and goes on forever with flavours bursting in your mouth every second. Has still a good line of acid and small grain tannins that will see it easliy over the next decade.


'96 E&E Black Pepper Shiraz.
Outstanding as well! A great celebration of the wonderfull '96 vintage. Big, black inky nose of dark fruits, mocha and vanilla that rolls effortlessly onto the palate with rich mocha, chocolate and licorice. The length of palate is extraodinary, a wonderfull wine in it's big Barossa style. Well deserved of the Parker 96 Parker points.

Rory