The Auswine Forum

Seeing as I'm the only dumb bunny up at this hour and the forum's been down for some time, I thought I'd start this off for a change and give TORB a break - besides, he's an early riser and there's still at least 3 and a half hours before he gets up - plenty of time to get this thread going!

So, not much for me this week except a 1996 Wynns Cabernet Savignon
Didn't notice the colour so much but lovely blackcurrant nose with that flavour and other berry fruits and a bit of chocolate following through to the palate. Plenty of body, tannis just right and basically delicious stuff and has obviously just hit its straps in terms of it's drinking window. No rush on this but if you're wondering how it's going - it's going very well and you can start on that case you've got tucked away.

DonÂ’t have my notes with me butÂ…Â…Â….. Usual Saturday trip to Vintage wines for their $5 Tasting (half a doz California zinfandels ranging from $13-20.bt). Might try to put up notes later.

Also tried a few from the winebar.
2003 Chateauneuf-du-pape Blanc, Clos des Papes, Paul Avril
Excellent little wine. Very aromatic, great mouthfeel and lengthy finish. Best of the dry whites we tried – Miranda’s favorite overall and its French! (Its been quite a while since we’ve had a decent French white.)

Also did three chardonnays. The 2003 Ch. Montelena Chardonnay, Napa ($28USD/bt), the 2003 Ojai Chardonnay, Bien Nacido Vineyard ($25USD/bt), and the 2002 Giaconda Chardonnay. The Giaconda was pricey ($72USD/bt) compared to the other two but was clearly the better wine. Much softer and more supple mouthfeel without being fat. Nice aromatics.

But the pick for me was the 1992 Schlossgut Diel Riesling GKA. Beautiful golden brown with a distinctive marmalade nose! Rich and luscious with a wonderfully lengthy finish. Very, very nice.

Saturdays are the best part of my wine week! I hope everyone has access to a local wine shop where they can taste a variety of wines. For the Zin tasting we got to sample about $100 worth of wine for $5! And the wines from the winebar would have cost over $200 but it was just $26 for the tastes. Plus we (and others) bring along cheese and crackers and other nibbles (or even full meal) and just relax!

Sunday celebrated the mother-in-lawÂ’s 82nd birthday with lunch at The Prado, Balboa Park. Had glass of Kim Crawford Sauv. Blanc. Nice wine. Citrus note, slightly herbaceous with good crisp acidity.

Mike

Just opened a Fergusson Jeremy 1998 Shiraz (Yarra Valley), but haven't even sniffed it yet! Still relatively young in colour.
Over the weekend a Mariamma Taurasi Riserva 1997 (Campania) which was fairly austere, but did open out a little over a day or two. I'm starting to think the Taurasi are wines to put down for 10+ years from (limited) experience & for my tastes.
Ian

1998 Lindemans Pyrus

No great intensity. Dried herbs, cherries, mint, slight VA lift. Medium bodied, well structured, but still a bit bony and needs to integrate a little. Should do well.

1998 Taylos St Andrews CS

A little denser than the Pyrus. Blackberry, allspice, and some cigarbox beginning to develop. Medium bodied with a huge ball of tannin at the finish. Interesting to see if the tannin ever integrates.

2003 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier

Funky nose. Herbs, rasberries, cooked meats and loads of cracked black pepper. Similar on palate with really impressive length even at this early stage. Spicy and supple.

LL

1998 Chateau Pato Shiraz (Hunter Valley) Oh boy oh boy! I bought this in 2000, one of those rare wines when told there was a maximum of six bottles per customer I fell for it. First opened a bottle in early 2002 either it was in a dumb phase or slightly corked because it wasn't very interesting but this bottle
Deep inky black purple, complex nose, intense palate layers of fruit. I should have taken proper notes but tend not to want to when enjoying a great bottle over a meal. I haven't had anything I'd rate as highly for a while, Outstanding could become a classic. 13% alc.

DJ wrote:1998 Chateau Pato Shiraz (Hunter Valley) Oh boy oh boy! I bought this in 2000, one of those rare wines when told there was a maximum of six bottles per customer I fell for it. First opened a bottle in early 2002 either it was in a dumb phase or slightly corked because it wasn't very interesting but this bottle
Deep inky black purple, complex nose, intense palate layers of fruit. I should have taken proper notes but tend not to want to when enjoying a great bottle over a meal. I haven't had anything I'd rate as highly for a while, Outstanding could become a classic. 13% alc.

Classic wine. Vineyard is next to Graveyard. Bought a case of the 2003 (screwcapped) and it will be (just as) superb. Similar hot dry vintages. Sold out now though. About $40 ish dollars from memory. The next wine to look out for is 2003 Meerea Park Alex Munro Shiraz (about $45). This, next to the 00 Graveyard, is probably the best Hunter Shiraz I have had (back to the '65 3110). For my tastes as good as any warm climate shiraz made in this country anywhere. Release is October. I am down for a case.

GW

Gary W wrote:

Classic wine. Vineyard is next to Graveyard. Bought a case of the 2003 (screwcapped) and it will be (just as) superb. Similar hot dry vintages. Sold out now though. About $40 ish dollars from memory. The next wine to look out for is 2003 Meerea Park Alex Munro Shiraz (about $45). This, next to the 00 Graveyard, is probably the best Hunter Shiraz I have had (back to the '65 3110). For my tastes as good as any warm climate shiraz made in this country anywhere. Release is October. I am down for a case.

GW

Gary

If I wanted to get one Hunter Shiraz from 2003 to cellar, without breaking the back (Graveyard), what would be your recommendation?

Goog Hunter Shiraz is a 'hole' in my cellar right now.

My picks are

03 Chateau Pato DJP (sold out) $42
03 Meerea Park Alexander Munro (release October) - 96+ points for me. $45
03 Thomas Wines KISS - 300 case make. Richly oaked but very good. $45

03 Meerea Park Aunts $25 - will go 10 years no worries.

Not tried but should be top
03 Bimbadgen Estate Signature
03 Pothana

wait for release of

03 Glenguin Schoolhouse Block - $30


GW

Thanks

Appreciate the tips.

bacchaebabe wrote: 1996 Wynns Cabernet Savignon
it's going very well and you can start on that case you've got tucked away.

Thanks wil crack one open tonight.

christo

Some of my notes from a weekend of great wine... Enjoy

1981 Wolf Blass Hermitage

Dark Purple, magenta showing some brick red/browning around the edges. On the nose cherry, stewed plum, leather with hints of cedar and some spice. Medium to full bodied this wines Ronaldo style kick showed it still had a number of years left in it. The palate was dominated by divine morello cherry with a dash of mulberry and a hint of menthol, medium length finishing smooth and firm.

1986 Wolf Blass Black Label Cab/Shiraz/Merl

Deep Eggplant purple with some slight dark brown earthy colour towards the rim. On the nose sweet ripe blackberry, cherries, prune and a touch of black pepper. The palate displayed complex layered dark jammy berry fruit, chocolate, liquorice, spice and plenty of oak. Full bodied, concentrated and with plenty of meaty chewiness about it this wine was like plush smooth velvet finishing full and long with ripe gravely tannins. Superb wine from an outstanding vintage I really enjoyed this monster wine.

1991 Mitchelton Reserve Cabernet

Dark Crimson with purple hues. Subtle aromas of black currant, boysenberry jam and spice. The palate was smooth and whole with boysenberry, blackcurrant, plum, spice and not too much oak. Medium bodied, elegant with a dry and firm finish.

1996 Dalwhinnie Moonambel Cabernet

Warm reddish brown and purple in colour. Only very subtle herby menthol aromas. With minimal dark fruits and spice. Overall very short and lacking on the palate. Quite a textured mouth feel and I felt as though this wine fell short for me. I feel as though more time in the cellar probably wouldnt do any justice to it either. Disappointing.

‘01 El Coto Crianza Temporanillo (Spain).
Some herbaceous notes and earthiness. Ruby Pinot like. Slight herbaciousness earthy. Earthy notes, fine tannins, slight cherry fruit. Trying to find something, just earthiness on the nose earthiness on the pallet nothing else to be found, throw it in the fridge and swap to Paracombe Cabernet. Not a chance of repeating this one, bit like a watered down Pinot Noir (imagine that!?)

‘02 Paracombe Cab sav .
Dark, Dark red purple. Intense fruity nose. Some mocha and mushroom notes with plenty. In the mouth was somewhat jammy, loads of liquorice and tobacco, some cherry and blackberry, quite jammy. Took an hour of decanting to open up into a more complete mouthful, liquorice notes toned down and overall nice balance but still a fruit bomb. Look forward to the next bottle of this one.

‘02 Villa Maria Cabernet / Merlot (touch of Cab Franc). (Hawkes Bay)
Dark ruby. Some alchohol standing out from dark cherries. Smooth texture, no alchohol bite as anticipated from the nose, fine tannins and supple fruit with notes of cedar. Not much of a finish but my mouth keeps asking for more. Very good @ $12.00 / bottle.

‘03 Christopher Columbus Sauvignon Blanc (California) .
Oh dear, no wonder New Zealand is so well acclaimed for itÂ’s Sauvignon Blanc.

‘98 Neagles Rock Cabernet.
Reddish brown colour. Black berries with some smokiness smooth tannins and a nice but somewhat short on the finish. Not as intense as the last bottle, maybe a little bottle variation.

Mick.

Brands Cabernet 2000

Drinking beautifully now. Medium bodied with nice tannin structure that is integrating well. Developing some nice characters and will live for some time yet.

2002 Zema Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

A disappointing wine from what usually delivers good quality and value.

An over-reliance on oak here to try and bring up the fruit which is leaning too far into the savoury/herbal spectrum. No typical Coonawarra warmth and dustiness to be found here with the wine generally lacking body. Overall fairly mute on the nose and palate - mostly uninspiring stuff.
I'm not a viticulturalist, but overcropping and underripe are words that spring to mind when drinking this wine.

A far cry from the very drinkable 2001.

Cheers,
Stuart

Stuart,

Sounds like a suspect bottle to me. FWIW, here is my TN

Zema Estate 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon PlonkOz04

I have been a fan of this label for many years and it is one of the standout values in Coonawarra, year in and year out. Dusty, sweet and off-sweet notes with subtle cigar box aromas lurking in the background; the attractive palate is off-sweet on the uptake, sweet in the middle and finishes with chocolate and tomato leaf. A solid, firm wine, of ample-weight, it is well balanced with pure, obvious fruit and drying tannins. A good wine for the price, it is rated as Recommended with **** for value and the rating should improve as the wine matures around 2009.

Notice the very first work in my TN is "dusty" where yours critised the wine for a lack of it; not having a shot at you or your judgement, just pointing out that is why I think the bottle you had may have been sus.

Stuart wrote:2002 Zema Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

A disappointing wine from what usually delivers good quality and value.

An over-reliance on oak here to try and bring up the fruit which is leaning too far into the savoury/herbal spectrum. No typical Coonawarra warmth and dustiness to be found here with the wine generally lacking body. Overall fairly mute on the nose and palate - mostly uninspiring stuff.
I'm not a viticulturalist, but overcropping and underripe are words that spring to mind when drinking this wine.

A far cry from the very drinkable 2001.

Cheers,
Stuart

Sounds like the almighty cork monster has struck again.
MM.

2001 ROCKFORD Rifle Range Cabernet Sauvignon 375 ml- Barossa

Colour cherry red. Blackberry and aromatic plum on the nose. Beautifully sweet plum jam, blackberries, dark cherry and chocolate on the medium to full bodied palate. Slightly burning sensation from the 14% vol alcohol. Extremely delicious and satisfying. Absolutely superb drinking RIGHT NOW. A very good red but as a Cabernet, not varietal at all. Fruitier and more seductive than the better structured and longer haul 2002.
Enjoyed this a lot. If I had more, I'd drink them all this year in case that beautiful sweet fruit dries out. Just so ripe and delicious!

Cheers,
Attila