Sunday weekly drinking reports due

[TORB]

Hi Good Peoples,

You know the drill; let us know what you ahve been drinking over the last week. In my case it was an ordinary week with nothing new as work was interrupting my wine time; but I will make up for it this week with a trip to Rutherglen and then onto the Yarra.

Lists, vibes or tasting nores welcome.

[peterk]

Had family over the last fortnight so a bit of wine was consumed
Several bottles of 96 Maurice o'Shea no notes taken but it was drinking well.
Clarendon Hills 98
Plenty going on with the nose, red and black fruits some spice,not unlike a craiglee,nothing jutting out,red berry ,raseberry,on the palate, the flavours becomeing more to the black fruit spectrum as it opened up in the decanter,long finish and fine but grippy tannins. A good wine.

Penfolds Connawarra cab/sauv Shiraz bin 820
red in colour with no sign of bricking, very fragrant nose,quite sweet fruit a bit of mixed herb,blackcurrent,cassis,a hint of cherry all following onto the palate fine soft tannins some what overpowered by the fruit, long length. in all a good wine.

Petaluma Tiers 99

Yellow straw in colour showing some age but not yet a rich yellow,again a well made wine with nothing jutting out. The nose and palate showing honey,melon,butter and nut with a bit of citrus. long length a nice wine and showing better than a lot of previous Tiers, It didnt quite ring my bell but a nice wine..

Cheers
Peterk

[Ian S]

Tonight
1997 St Supery Meritage (Napa Valley, USA) 14.2%
This is a bordeaux blend, the Meritage bit is I believe an attempt by a number of producers to establish common credibility for such a blend in the Napa Valley.
Still quite youthful with the rich purple colour edging towards maroon. Good fruit still on the nose, with blackcurrant dominant, but maybe with traces of mint/eucalypt. Possibly a touch spirity as well. Rich palate with still strong fruit, with some suggestion of secondary characters coming through. A touch alcoholic on the finish, but otherwise very classy. Acid still prominent, but not out of line. Tannins quite velvety, but also not too noticeable.

Basically, for a shot into the unknown, a very good wine, if anything let down slightly by the prominance of the alcohol (we're very sensitive to this though). Paid c. £13, but it was bought in a merchants closing down sale a couple of years ago, so would be a bit more expensive to get hold of now.

Last night
2001 Mascarello (Giuseppe I think) Langhe Nebbiolo
No notes taken, but very classy without being flashy. Like a (serious) quaffer for Barolo fans, with all the same characters, but in a lighter package.

Ian

[KMP]

Hmmmmm, Cayuse Syrah. Walla Walla! Oh what funny name you Washingtonians have! Uh, oh what a dent to the bank balance. (More to follow in a separate post.)

Mike

[Wizz]

Nothing like a health and exercise kick to cut the wine consumption to shreds! But over the last coupleof weeks I've still managed:

05 Rockford White Frontignac: grape pip, lychee, pineapple, nice and fruit sweet. Just the rihgt amount of acid binding all of this into a nice summer drink, and cleanses the bit of RS in this. 9.2% alcohol adds to the "hot summer day" type of attraction. A touch of spice would have been nice, but who cares really? Its simple, its fun, its gluggable and I'm getting more. 84/100.

02 Laroche Petit Chablis: White peach, cashew, pineapple. taut and terrific. 86/100, this has shown better on other occasions.

02 Veritas Heinrich: Warm ripe palate. Blackberry jam, redcurrant, earthy and spicy . Still quite primary. Good length, resolving well. While thi swill keep for a while yet, its already drinking well. Mrs Wizz loved it, a bit too ripe and warm for me. 87/100

99 Koltz Shiraz (see separate TN)

00 Castagna Genesis: lovely. Licorice allsorts, purple jubes, spice, white pepper, quite lifted. Tannins fairly well resolved. Drink now. 90/100

Cheers

Andrew

[n4sir]

2003 Jeanneret Clare Valley Riesling (screwcap): Pale straw/green. I had trouble getting the screwcap off this – the whole sleeve tore away from the bottle, but luckily the wine wasn’t affected. A youthful, tight, and yet elegant and complex bouquet opening with waxy lemon/limes with hints of spice/toast and mineral, fennel and eventually passionfruit. The palate was even more impressive and complex, featuring constantly changing spritzy/zesty lemon/lime, passionfruit and mineral characters matched to a spicy/powdery structure that literally flow across the palate with stunning length and depth, leaving at one stage a slightly nutty aftertaste. When this was released I rather controversially said I preferred it to the much vaunted and awarded 2002, and in the following two years this opinion hasn’t changed.


1990 Chapel Hill McLaren Vale Shiraz: Dark to inky brick. A deep, developed bouquet of couch leather and espresso, with hints of dried herbs/fennel and cigar box in the background, slowly developing subtle hints of sandalwood, cedar, Turkish delight and licorice with breathing. The equally developed light-to-mid weight palate opened with warm, tangy/spicy raspberry fruit with hints of strawberry, then mulberry/bright cherries, vanilla and coffee, the velvety palate just hanging off the end of the fruit on the finish. A nice old wine that’s reasonably complex but quite slender and just barely hanging in there – drink up.

A loaded question to finish off with - has anyone had a truly great McLaren Vale Shiraz with over 10 years bottle age? I've been disappointed almost every time and I'm starting to wonder if even some of the current super-premiums are worth bothering with; again this is straight Shiraz, not Cabernet or Grenache/blends.


Cheers,
Ian

[Jakob]

A loaded question to finish off with - has anyone had a truly great McLaren Vale Shiraz with over 10 years bottle age? I've been disappointed almost every time and I'm starting to wonder if even some of the current super-premiums are worth bothering with; again this is straight Shiraz, not Cabernet or Grenache/blends.


Cheers,
Ian

Ian - interesting question/observation. I've very limited experience with aged McLaren Vale Shiraz, but I'd love to see how the 'big guns' from the early 90s are going, Dead Arm and Kays Block 6, for example. The only memeorable wines fitting your description that I've actually drunk have been Haselgrove's 'Futures' (aka 'H'?) Shiraz, which had wonderful structure, depth of flavour and length...like aged Rockford Basket Press but with a different flavor profile; Cabernet-like structure with Shiraz plushness, if that makes any sense. Great stuff. Seeking it out and comparing with the other contenders might make a fun auction-raiding experiment

[Red Bigot]

A loaded question to finish off with - has anyone had a truly great McLaren Vale Shiraz with over 10 years bottle age? I've been disappointed almost every time and I'm starting to wonder if even some of the current super-premiums are worth bothering with; again this is straight Shiraz, not Cabernet or Grenache/blends.


Cheers,
Ian

Ian - interesting question/observation. I've very limited experience with aged McLaren Vale Shiraz, but I'd love to see how the 'big guns' from the early 90s are going, Dead Arm and Kays Block 6, for example. The only memeorable wines fitting your description that I've actually drunk have been Haselgrove's 'Futures' (aka 'H'?) Shiraz, which had wonderful structure, depth of flavour and length...like aged Rockford Basket Press but with a different flavor profile; Cabernet-like structure with Shiraz plushness, if that makes any sense. Great stuff. Seeking it out and comparing with the other contenders might make a fun auction-raiding experiment

Not too many memorable ones, but some that I have had were going strong at 10 years or a bit more are:
Eileen Hardy 1990, 91 and 92
Chapel Hill reserve Shiraz 90 (some bottles)
Rosemount Show Reserve 91
Edwards & Chaffey 94 is still hanging in there, acid just starting to poke out a bit, but a nice drink with a steak.
I hope Wirra Wirra RSW 95 is still going Ok, I have a couple left to try soon.
Coriole Lloyds 92 was still going strong when I drank my last at 9 yo

[Sean]

deleted

[Andrew Jordan]

Busy week of "work" for me too Ric, so not much time for wine, but did manage to squeeze a few new ones in:

2002 DogRidge Vineyard Shiraz DV7 : Nice example of McClaren Vale shiraz, with a screwcap too. At $26 per bottle good value.

Primo Estate Joseph NV 2003 disgorgement: After reading glowing reviews by TORB and Brian on this wine, and then seeing it in Halliday's top 101 wines over the weekend I thought I had better track down a bottle to see what all the fuss is about. Two words, very noice. Will definitely be tracking down some more of this!

[JDSJDS]

I've been in a culling mode lately, as I have access to my northern stash of wines for the first time in about 8 months. I'm drinking up all the wines I think need to be consumed now, most of which are in the QPR style. But I've included some other tasting notes from more serious wines as well.

2000 Bodega Catena Zapata Malbec Lunlunta - Argentina, Mendoza
Impressive. Drinking beautifully now, and probably best drunk soon. Classic malbec notes, slightly meaty nose and flavours with plums, smoke and earth. Great QPR! (A-). (91 pts.)
1998 Château Faizeau Vieilles Vignes - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Montagne-St. Émilion
Didn't have time to decant, and that was a mistake. Started out fairly lightweight, but gained weight with time. A shorter finish than I'd hoped for, but a reasonable though unexciting wine overall (B+). (88 pts.)
1999 Domaine des Remizieres Crozes-Hermitage Cuvee Christophe - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage
Still tight, but with a couple of hours, it started to behave. Animalistic nose and palate, classic northern Rhone syrah that needs 3-5 more years. Great concentration (90+).
2001 Jim Barry Shiraz The Lodge Hill - Australia, South Australia, Clare Valley
Had this a few days ago. It was better than I expected, so nice QPR here. Nicely integrated flavours of plums, other redfruits and well judged oak. Probably at peak now, but should last 2-3 years yet. (89 pts.)
1999 Mount Ida Shiraz - Australia, Victoria, Heathcote
Solid Heathcote (cold climate) shiraz from OZ, drinking nicely now. Well integrated, not an over the top style at all, with medium-full bodied, rather elegant redfruits flavours and a hint of brown sugar and soy. (90 pts.)
2002 Bassermann-Jordan Forster Jesuitengarten Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Pfalz
Classic kabinett in style; light-medium bodied, slighly off dry, nice citrus and mineral notes on the palate (B+). (88 pts.)
2001 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor Puente Alto - Chile, Valle Central, Maipo Valley
The next wine showed as much power, but more complexity on both the nose and palate. There was a pefumed, classy nose with smoky red fruits. More structured and complex, with concentrated, full bodied earthy plums, blackcurrent, tar and black licorice. A Wow! wine for all the group, this was the Concha y Toro Don Melchor 2001 (A). There are tons of opinions about this wine on the internet, especially the Winespectator board, but count me as a big fan. My only complaint is I have but 2 left. (93 pts.)
2000 Annie's Lane Shiraz - Australia, South Australia, Clare Valley
Better than I expected, with plum and slight mint notes on the nose, and smooth plum and slight brown sugar notes on a medium-full bodied palate. Nicely integrated. At peak now, I would think, but will last another 2-3 years (B+/A-).
1999 Sandalford Shiraz Mount Barker - Australia, Western Australia, Margaret River
Hazy note..I was just looking for a basic shiraz to sip on a couple of days ago, but this was a pleasant surprise, with more elegance and concentration than I was expecting. Nice juice, ready to go now but will last a couple more years yet! (90 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker

[scottv]

No good at tasting notes, so brief impressions:

Seppelt Original Sparkling Shiraz 2002 - Thought it was dry and savoury initially but did seem a bit sweeter when retasting after the Elderton. This is the perfect drink for the Townsville summer coming up (if the airconditioning fails). Must get more.

Elderton Cabernet 2002 - Very good. Silky smooth and long finish. My sister in law said that it was the darkest wine she had ever seen. Had a sip of someone else's Koonunga Hill Cabernet 2002 and couldn't taste anything compared to the Elderton.

Leasingham Bin 61 Shiraz 2002 - Very good.

Cheers

Scott

[davidg]

Tahbilk Marsanne 1997
A nice balance between young and old marsanne characteristics.
Far less developed than the last one I had about a year ago.
Drinking very nicely with a fair bit of time left in it...


Bests Cabernet Franc 2000
Drunk over two nights. The first night a bit musty on the nose with rather subdued black berry fruit and overall feeling kind of disjointed. A night left on its own seemed to have knocked the rough edges off of it.

[Jordan]

2002 Leabrook Estate Pinot Noir: An agreeable Adelaide hills Pinot with a medium purple hue. The nose shows characters of raspberry and cherries as well as aniseed. The palate showed pepper, sour cherry, plum, liquorice, mint and slight undergrowth notes. The wine was quite enjoyable but lacked the complexity of good pinot and drank almost like a cool climate shiraz, especially with the warmth from the alcohol. Decent pinot for $32 but not as good as the 2001.

2003 Greenock Creek Shiraz: A typical Greenock Creek wine of massive proportions. Big flavours of plum, chocolate, liquorice and dark berries. The wine seemed quite balanced to begin with but as it was exposed to air it became hotter. Overall, it was quite a pleasing wine yet the high alcohol levels (16.5%) leaves doubt in my mind of its age worthiness.

2004 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier: My first Clonakilla SV and it delivered upon all expectations. The wine had a brilliant purple hue and the nose brought forward a perfume of red berries, spice, a slight note of vanilla and some floral notes. The palate revealed a complex, savoury, ethereal wine with flavours of red and dark berries, spice, cedar and pepper. Fine grained tannins were beautifully integrated with smooth, supple palate. An experience which defines why I drink wine.

[Jersey]

Torbreck '02 The steading.
Dark, inky red. Impressive nose mmm's and ahhhs from my wife and myself flowery boquet with plenty of fruit, pallet showed ripe fruit of berries and flavor profiles from a typical pinot to peppery liqorice of shiraz.
Interesting wine, have one more in the cellar and after this will look for a couple of years or more. Oh and the finish was long and concentrated, this was my first run at a Torbreck and certainly not the last.

Governors bay '04 Pinot[b] Suprise suprise! A Pinot from NZ under $10.00! Didn't have huge expectations. Ruby colour, darker than expected, nose full of cheries and even some darker fruits mixed in with some spiceness at the end. The pallet was soft but flavorsome, went well with Salmon steaks, and without. Also had a suprising amount of tannins which were balanced quite well.

Mick.

[Big Dave]

A bit of a pinot week here, with the odd exception:

Silkwood Pinot Noir, 2002, Pemberton, WA

Tasted from leftovers saved overnight in a half-bottle. No note from first night, other than the impression the wine was not as full and open as the following note describes. Pale red core to brick-red rim. Nose of red fruits, tar and a warmness associated with high alcohol (actually 13%). Initially, there is bright ripe red fruit on the palate (redcurrant) quickly changing to savoury, sour black cherries with a moderately long finish. Very warm, supple and mouth-filling with a hint of glycerol. Oak and fruit are well integrated but the alcohol seems a little (but only a little) out of whack.

Silkwood Pinot Noir, 2003, Pemberton, WA

Red core to pale red rim. Very rich and ripe on the nose with hints of mushroom, lots of cherry and black cherry and alcoholic warmth. Plenty of umph for a pinot, full of ripe savoury blackcherry fruit with a long finish with slightly sweeter redder fruit coming up at the end. Very smooth, silky and full in the mouth with soft tannins also the heat from the alcohol (14%) is very noticeable and gives the wine a slightly cloying mouthfeel and a hint of cough mixture (metallic?) almost at the end. Darker fruits and much richer in the mouth than the 2002 above. Decanted the wine at this point. A good aeration calmed things down a bit. Rich dark cherry fruit to the fore and the slightly sweet cough mixture finish now gone. Alcohol still seems to stick out like a sore thumb though. This one got a gold medal but for me the '02 was the better wine.

Rigel Pinot Noir, 2000, Mornington Peninsular, Vic.

Not decanted. Typical pale red pinot colour. On the nose, it is quite smoky, with savoury dark fruit, mushrooms and a hint of liquorice, tar and port. The wine has considerable body and length, with initial black cherry flavours, which tend towards lighter red fruits on the finish. Very soft tannins come up slightly at the end and the wine seems well balanced.

Pegasus Bay Pinot Noir, 2002, Waipara, New Zealand.

Initially, not decanted. Typically pale red pinot colour. Strong forest floor/mushroomy nose with a little dark cherry fruit. First flavour was slightly candied raspberries followed quickly by extremely sour black cherry and a very greeny (say green pepper), almost unpleasant aftertaste. Still, the wine was quite full-bodied and mouthfilling. At this point, the wine was decanted. And a rare, seasoned porterhouse came into play. An hour on from first impressions, the nose was less mushrooms and more black cherry, the aftertaste had gone and the wine was transformed into something altogether yummier! Long full red and black cherry flavours, a spicy pepperiness (maybe brought out by the steak seasoning), soft tannins and eminently drinkable, especially as a bin end at around half price ($25)!! Amazing what a bit of time and food can do!

The Warren Vineyard Cabernet Merlot, 1998, Pemberton, WA.

Not decanted. Deep crimson core with no change in colour towards the edges. Quite gentle on the nose with dominant mint with some hints of blackcurrant. Quite silky in the mouth with good blackcurrant fruit and the softest of tannins and oak. Went superbly with a charcuterie mix (coarse liverwurst, smoked pork and beef, chorizo). Beautifully integrated wine, somewhat French in style and one of my favourites from the region without a doubt. Very very different in style to many Oz cabs/cab-merlot blends. I also had the 1997 and 2000 of this wine on a later day - no notes, but both of similar style, though my feeling was the 2000 was the pick of the bunch.

Cheers

Dave

[andyc]

Have been in Johannesburg last week so got to try a few of their offerings:
[/b]Goat Roti 2003
As you can imagine with this play on words, this is Syrah and would need to be more expensive than Goats Do Roam! Gimmicks aside this was good with smoky, cherry aromas and a long finish. Approx A$13 retail

Le Sommet Mont Du Toit 2001
This is a serious take on Chateauneuf Du Pape with allegedly all 13 permitted CNdP varieties! This was an excellent wine with really saturated dark fruits and a lovely structure. The good thing about this wine was that it tasted unique and from what my Sth African colleagues really soke of its origins. I was fascinated. Further proof unique wine doesn't come cheap as this was approx. A$100 retail. This was had at Brown's steakhouse in Jo'burg, anyone wine lover going there should defintiely visit this cellar

Glen Carlou Syrah 2004
I tried their Chard which was an excellent new world style but the Syrah blew me away. A cooler climate style but packed with the lushest blackberry fruit immaginable. I'm not sure it will make old bones but around A$22 great value. Memo to Aussie wine makers; don't blink!!

Southern Right Pinotage 2002
Struggle to come to terms with Pinotage as on the nose and the first impression on the palate you think you are tasting Pinot Noir but then it kind of goes a bit weird with a banana thing going on?? Is this the yeast strain used or part of the grapes flavours. I don't think I revisit this variety in a hurry.

Cordoba Crescendo 2002
A Cab Franc based Bordeaux blend that smelled of Raspberry/Raspberry leaf. The palate really sang with cool fruit and a long finish. This was a great style that worked really well with food.

This visit piqued my interest to next time go down and experience the Cap winelands first hand. In the past ten years since I last tasted them, Sth African wines have come a long way.

[Geoffrey]

Andyc

Thanks for the impressions of the South African wines. Im off to SA early next year for a mth or so to watch a bit of cricket and rugby. Good to have those wines as a bit of a yard stick as i know very little about SA wines. I have set aside a couple of days to visit vineyards round Capetown. Closer to the time that im leaving i will ask the forum for any tips on visiting the area. I like the sound of that steak bar in Joburg, is it very expensive ?

Geoffrey

[n4sir]

2002 Leabrook Estate Pinot Noir: An agreeable Adelaide hills Pinot with a medium purple hue. The nose shows characters of raspberry and cherries as well as aniseed. The palate showed pepper, sour cherry, plum, liquorice, mint and slight undergrowth notes. The wine was quite enjoyable but lacked the complexity of good pinot and drank almost like a cool climate shiraz, especially with the warmth from the alcohol. Decent pinot for $32 but not as good as the 2001.

Agree with you on this Jordan: it's complex but the 14.5% alcohol is the thing that kills it, quite a jump from the 13.0% on 2001. Even with spicy Indian food the alcohol sticks out a mile.

Cheers,
Ian

[andyc]

Andyc

Thanks for the impressions of the South African wines. Im off to SA early next year for a mth or so to watch a bit of cricket and rugby. Good to have those wines as a bit of a yard stick as i know very little about SA wines. I have set aside a couple of days to visit vineyards round Capetown. Closer to the time that im leaving i will ask the forum for any tips on visiting the area. I like the sound of that steak bar in Joburg, is it very expensive ?

Geoffrey

Not very expensive by Aust/NZ standards. Mains of steak equally half a cow equalling approx. A$20 and superb quality. Great Sth African wine list.

[Chuck]

Hi all,

Haven't been drinking much quality stuff lately however highlights were:

Penfolds 1998 Kalimna Bin 28. Just lovely and a true expression of shiraz.

D'Arenberg 1998 Old Vine Shiraz. A bit disappointing but still nice with last week's BBQ.

Mildara 1992 Coonawarra Cabernet. Stole the show at same BBQ. Quintissential aged Coonawarra cabernet. Heap of life left in it. An underated wine that did not even rate a mention in Hallidays recent AWC.

Chuck