My Weekend's & Early Week's Drinking
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 9:03 pm
Friday night:
1998 Cathcart Ridge "Rhymney Reef" Cabernet Merlot
Harmonious and mature although not a great deal of depth. Good buying. 16/20, 87/100.
2003 Hoddles Creek Pinot Noir
16.2/20, 87/100. See tasting note here if you are interested: http://forum.auswine.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=3581
Saturday night:
2002 Centennial Cabernet Merlot
I could not believe the friends I invited over for dinner brought this. No fruit but at least some oak trying to make a wine of it. Pretty bad actually, even though it is actually made from Orange fruit, as opposed to Southern Highlands, NSW. <14.5/20, <80/100.
Sunday night (to make up for the above):
1999 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz
Surprisingly I didn't enjoy this at all. It had most of the elements but seemed very disjoined and slightly tough. This bottle was cellared next to the bottle that Attila raved so greatly about in Hungary so I took the bottle to him the following day to see if I was "loosing the plot". I didn't tell him that I was disappointed with the wine to avoid any negative expectations but it still only took him a second to ask whether I had put another wine in the bottle as this was dreadful and nothing like the previous bottle from my 6-pack.
Sweet shaving cream and vanilla oak on top (totally unenjoyable to my nose and palate) of considerable dark fruit but lacking depth on the front palate despite an array of other flavours opening more on the middle and back: liquorice, blackberry, dark chocolate, ripe cherries, fruitcake spice and oat meal. The back palate does show some class by the way the flavour and ripe, powdery tannins spread on the back palate, as well as create great length, but this sensation does not make it to the next day, become tough and loosing much length. At least the back palate showed good power with great elegance and class for a little while! I hope the front palate gains depth and the wine comes together in time, but given the great reviews I have read about this wine and AttilaÂ’s tasting a month earlier from the same 6-pack, this wine was undoubtedly a dud bottle. 17.3/20, 90/100 for the wine at its best, as it did show hints of structural greatness which I value highly and need to recognise that despite the wineÂ’s constant lack of enjoyment, but much less for the majority of its time open, around 15.5/20, 85/100.
2002 Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz - 15%
Upon opening, I found it nearly undrinkable, so intense and powerful was the red berry/rhubarb jam, prune and dark chocolate on the palate, like a high-octane Zinfandel, with some medicinal and salami nuances and a hint of spice. It was well-structured with some firmness and fineness to the tannin and good length but simply too hard to get past the intense, alcohol boosted flavour. The wine started to come more into balance after 24 hours but just as I thought the wine was going to become truly enjoyable, an unripe component becomes noticeable in the form of a green haze on the middle and back palate as well a firm, green aspect to the little amount of slightly chalky tannins. There is also a little amount of bitter acid.
It seems part of the grapes used for this wine were under-ripe and then some overripe grapes were used in an attempt to compensate. No matter how good the winemaking, which I find quiet classy with this wine, the winemaker can only work with the grapes they have been given and situations like this tend to be revealed with time, as is the case here.
Nonetheless, Tim Kirk maintains that this wine will get better in time so there will remain a single bottle in my cellar for a while to come. 15/20, 82/100.
Monday and Tuesday:
2001 Frankland Estate "Isolation Ridge Vineyard" Chardonnay
Upon opening I thought this thing was a weird Alsace variety with sweet front palate but finishing powerful, minerally and dry, and although not great, maybe even something from Somlo. Not long after I felt a little stupid as the wine was obviously Chardonnay. Quite impressive chardonnay with ripe peach and banana fruit, good nuttiness and excellent length with powerful, fine acid carrying the flavours as well as balanced phenolics. However, the front also had a sweet and slightly cloying vanilla sweetness from too much oak, giving the feeling that this wine had its greatness stolen from poor winemaking. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the wine cold. 17.3/20, 90/100. Drink now.
1996 Mount Pleasant "Elizabeth" Semillon - 10.5%
The worst bottle in my case so far, although not too bad, seemed more developed/oxidised than other bottles with more heavy marmalade on top of the waxy, lemony, toasty fruit. The structure still has some class but not much happening on the back, although others bottles are similar. 16/20, 87/100, the best bottles have been in the 17-17.5/20, 90-91/100 range.
1996 Chateau Francois "Pokolbin Mallee" Semillon
I enjoy this for its clean lemon and pumice mineral front palate, although there is not much else in the wine. Attila took 2 seconds to put the cork back in the bottle. 15.5/20, 85/100 for me, less for Attila.
Kind regards,
Adair
1998 Cathcart Ridge "Rhymney Reef" Cabernet Merlot
Harmonious and mature although not a great deal of depth. Good buying. 16/20, 87/100.
2003 Hoddles Creek Pinot Noir
16.2/20, 87/100. See tasting note here if you are interested: http://forum.auswine.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=3581
Saturday night:
2002 Centennial Cabernet Merlot
I could not believe the friends I invited over for dinner brought this. No fruit but at least some oak trying to make a wine of it. Pretty bad actually, even though it is actually made from Orange fruit, as opposed to Southern Highlands, NSW. <14.5/20, <80/100.
Sunday night (to make up for the above):
1999 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz
Surprisingly I didn't enjoy this at all. It had most of the elements but seemed very disjoined and slightly tough. This bottle was cellared next to the bottle that Attila raved so greatly about in Hungary so I took the bottle to him the following day to see if I was "loosing the plot". I didn't tell him that I was disappointed with the wine to avoid any negative expectations but it still only took him a second to ask whether I had put another wine in the bottle as this was dreadful and nothing like the previous bottle from my 6-pack.
Sweet shaving cream and vanilla oak on top (totally unenjoyable to my nose and palate) of considerable dark fruit but lacking depth on the front palate despite an array of other flavours opening more on the middle and back: liquorice, blackberry, dark chocolate, ripe cherries, fruitcake spice and oat meal. The back palate does show some class by the way the flavour and ripe, powdery tannins spread on the back palate, as well as create great length, but this sensation does not make it to the next day, become tough and loosing much length. At least the back palate showed good power with great elegance and class for a little while! I hope the front palate gains depth and the wine comes together in time, but given the great reviews I have read about this wine and AttilaÂ’s tasting a month earlier from the same 6-pack, this wine was undoubtedly a dud bottle. 17.3/20, 90/100 for the wine at its best, as it did show hints of structural greatness which I value highly and need to recognise that despite the wineÂ’s constant lack of enjoyment, but much less for the majority of its time open, around 15.5/20, 85/100.
2002 Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz - 15%
Upon opening, I found it nearly undrinkable, so intense and powerful was the red berry/rhubarb jam, prune and dark chocolate on the palate, like a high-octane Zinfandel, with some medicinal and salami nuances and a hint of spice. It was well-structured with some firmness and fineness to the tannin and good length but simply too hard to get past the intense, alcohol boosted flavour. The wine started to come more into balance after 24 hours but just as I thought the wine was going to become truly enjoyable, an unripe component becomes noticeable in the form of a green haze on the middle and back palate as well a firm, green aspect to the little amount of slightly chalky tannins. There is also a little amount of bitter acid.
It seems part of the grapes used for this wine were under-ripe and then some overripe grapes were used in an attempt to compensate. No matter how good the winemaking, which I find quiet classy with this wine, the winemaker can only work with the grapes they have been given and situations like this tend to be revealed with time, as is the case here.
Nonetheless, Tim Kirk maintains that this wine will get better in time so there will remain a single bottle in my cellar for a while to come. 15/20, 82/100.
Monday and Tuesday:
2001 Frankland Estate "Isolation Ridge Vineyard" Chardonnay
Upon opening I thought this thing was a weird Alsace variety with sweet front palate but finishing powerful, minerally and dry, and although not great, maybe even something from Somlo. Not long after I felt a little stupid as the wine was obviously Chardonnay. Quite impressive chardonnay with ripe peach and banana fruit, good nuttiness and excellent length with powerful, fine acid carrying the flavours as well as balanced phenolics. However, the front also had a sweet and slightly cloying vanilla sweetness from too much oak, giving the feeling that this wine had its greatness stolen from poor winemaking. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the wine cold. 17.3/20, 90/100. Drink now.
1996 Mount Pleasant "Elizabeth" Semillon - 10.5%
The worst bottle in my case so far, although not too bad, seemed more developed/oxidised than other bottles with more heavy marmalade on top of the waxy, lemony, toasty fruit. The structure still has some class but not much happening on the back, although others bottles are similar. 16/20, 87/100, the best bottles have been in the 17-17.5/20, 90-91/100 range.
1996 Chateau Francois "Pokolbin Mallee" Semillon
I enjoy this for its clean lemon and pumice mineral front palate, although there is not much else in the wine. Attila took 2 seconds to put the cork back in the bottle. 15.5/20, 85/100 for me, less for Attila.
Kind regards,
Adair
