The Auswine Forum

You know the drill; what have you been drinking over the last week. Praise the Lord; mine wasn't an AFW this week.

Brian and Andrea came over and had dinner at my place and naturally we drank a few bottles of vino.

Primo Joseph Sparkling Shiraz - Outstanding as always. Raspberries, chocolate, leather and blackberry.

Jasper Hill 1992 Emily - Bottle variation at work here; not as good as the last one I tried. This had loads of chewy tannins that have softened reasonably but still finished very dry. Leather/earth notes with blackberry, mint and chocolate flavour. Highly Recommended but disappointing at the price.

Cullen 1994 Cabernet Merlot - An excellent wine. Fully mature with terrific complexity; dried green herbs, violets, and multiple dark fruit flavours.

Bullers Callipoe Tokay - Bloody stunning!

Now its your turn to fill us in.

No real notes, I've become far too slack... only two this week!

2001 Ulithorne Frux Frugis Shiraz: Rich dark fruit and spices and other bits and pieces, impeccably balanced. It's the sort of stuff that, given two bottles, you'd give up from exhaustion and overload before the alcohol did anything to you. I liked this a lot.

2003 Torzi Matthews Frost Dodger Shiraz: I'm a little worried about this. I like it a lot, but the past few times I've tried it, I've noticed a slight metallic taste. Opened this one over dinner at a friend's restaurant with three people who know nothing about wine, and they all commented on it. One bloke reckons someone might have dropped some aluminium foil in the bottle. It wasn't offensive, but it was there and I guess it's something to think about next time I try this. Didn't make me like the wine any less, this time.

2002 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Cab Shiraz. The last bottle I had of this really impressed me but this time it was just bloody shocking. Thankfully I have no more

Also tried a pile of wine at the fwdc tasting but either my palate was fussy or it was too cold or too early i dunno wasnt so impressed

The 04 Unison is a pretty smart wine, but its always worth waiting for the selection so i didnt buy any. 05 Clearview reserve chardonnay didnt do anything to change my view that this label has fallen down the hill a bit. I found it pretty boring and far prefer the Te Mata Elston at the same price or cheaper. 02 St Henri didnt impress. The Waipara Hills Riesling was nice, but still prefer either the Fromm La Strada or Peg Bay.

Now a day or 2 off before some hard out tasting at "Hot Red Hawkes Bay"

C

A few of interest last night -

1996 Bin 28 Kalimna
Subtle bouquet of earth, cedar, olive and black currant, all dumbed down by very slight TCA....shame....should have been a lovely drink. Palate was worse than nose indicated, stripped of fruit weight & richness.

1998 E&C Section 353 Cabernet Sauvignon
A long time favourite that myself and a few friends jumped on to at a good price when 'culled' from the Southcorp stables. Intense ripe blackberry supported by ample sweet oak. Still a fruit driven wine with chunky chewy tannins, and considerable length. One of those satisfying reds that you dont have to think to hard about....it just tastes right.

1998 Bin 407
A good counter to the ripe E&C. Fine cedary oak on the nose with cassis and rosemary - very classical. Still relatively tight and unevolved in the mouth with talcy fine tannins. This wine is really in exceptional condition, and I expect it would not begin to really hit its straps for another 4-5 years.

1998 Richard Hamilton Merlot
Im not a bandwagon Merlot basher....but honestly why bother. Not over the hill, but lacking structure and definition and certainly out of it's depth here....lacks appeal.

A bit of a shiraz based theme for us this week.

2004 Tatiarra Shiraz Caravan of Dreams
Deep purple with a redish tinge in colour, this thick wine sticks to the glass like treckle, it's long legs slowly decending down the glass. Aromas of blueberry, mocha and mint probably due to the 16 months of American oak treatment the wine received. No real expectations of this wine but already I like it. The aromas hit the nose in waves and without let-up. And with 30 minutes of air-time the nose only gets stronger and more pronounced. The palate is thick, concentrated, and complex but yet smooth, balanced, approachable and very enjoyable. Very fruit foward with very good oak handling. Shows no sign of it's 15.5% alcohol content. Great mouth feel, a touch of acid and a long finish of dry, silky tannins. This is an action packed wine and although a ooze monster, not one of those where you can only drink one glass. Give me a bottle to myself any day! This is top quality Heathcote shiraz (although it would be very hard for me to pick it as Heathcote!) and the bottle disappeared very quickly. Very impressive and will only improve with some bottle age once it gets rid of it's baby fat.

2005 Red Nectar Wines Cabernet Sauvignon
Deep red in colour this wine exhibits very typical cabernet aromas of blackcurrant, earth and some eucalypt/menthol notes in the background. A very fruit forward wine with wonderful rich blackcurrant coming to the fore supported with some nice oak handling in the background. Finishes long and tight with fine, silky tannins. The only negative is that is also finishes with a bit of an acidic bite, but once it settles down with some bottle age this will be a real delight to drink. Another impressive cabernet from the Barossa and you cannot help think that the 2004 and 2005 vintages will mark the comeback of cabernet in this shiraz dominated region. A bargain for the price (AUS$23 CD) and will probably out-perform the wonderful 2004 release.

2004 Kalleske Shiraz Greenock
Second bottle of this and was a real treat. Deep purple in colour, the wine displayed wonderfully rich aromas of plum and blackberry fruit, with hints of mocha/coffee making up the rear. The palate was more of the same, rich, dense, sweet plum/blackberry fruit supported by a wonderful cast of dark chocolate, licorice, spice and some good oak use. It definitely is a palate enveloping wine. Very smooth with a great mouth feel, this is a serious wine for serious wine lovers, but is a wine that could turn anybody into a red wine lover. Very easy to drink ... maybe to good for it's own good. Finishes long and rich. Although a very good wine, is probably the weakest out of Troy's 3 releases to date IMO, which is saying something about the quality of wines that he produces. Will last for at least another 10 years, although the question is can I keep my hands off them until then?

2001 Mt. Billy Shiraz Antiquity
First taste of this wine for me. Purchased due to Mike's recommendation. Medium red in colour, this wine took it's time to open up but once it did it exhibited a beautiful nose of ripe plums. The palate was very soft and approachable and continued the rich, ripe fruit theme of plum and black cherry offset with some good oak use. A balanced wine with good acidity and depth and went well with beef. However, for me, the finish was a bit of a let down and seemed to promised more than what it was prepared to deliver.

roughred wrote:1998 Bin 407
A good counter to the ripe E&C. Fine cedary oak on the nose with cassis and rosemary - very classical. Still relatively tight and unevolved in the mouth with talcy fine tannins. This wine is really in exceptional condition, and I expect it would not begin to really hit its straps for another 4-5 years.

Rough,

You must have got a good bottle. Had a few bottles of this a couple of months ago and was not impressed at all. Not sure if it was the style of just the vintage but must admit it was definitely wound very tight and wasn't sure if it had the fruit to survive the rest of the journey. Wasn't willing to take the chance so sold the rest at auction. For your sakes, I hope I was wrong.

Had a house dinner on Friday, was planning to open a red from last decade, but realised in my cellar clean up I lay all of them down in a box

so the only vaguely not recent red that I had to open was a Yalumba Mawsons Cabernet (blend I think) 2000. I don't even remember whether it was Yalumba that made the wine :S

Yalumba Mawsons Cabernet 2000:

Stinky initially, blew off in the decanter after 1.5 hrs. Not much of sedimentation. There was a roast meat aroma floating around for a while though. Became quite varietally cabernet on the nose, a bit of greeness, not unpleasantly so. Did not show much age at all...

Blackcurrants on the palate with some vanilla. Good acid that went well with food, probably a bit dry to drink on its own. Not terribly exciting, I would rate it as good. The back label says cellar for 5-7 years, its already been going for two (and in inperfect conditions too) and I don't see any sort of exciting development... ah well, glad it was a once off bottle.

Now I shall go stand up a 98 Koonunga Hill for drinking next weekend. Anyone have any impressions on this wine?h

Steve wrote:2003 Torzi Matthews Frost Dodger Shiraz: I'm a little worried about this. I like it a lot, but the past few times I've tried it, I've noticed a slight metallic taste. Opened this one over dinner at a friend's restaurant with three people who know nothing about wine, and they all commented on it. One bloke reckons someone might have dropped some aluminium foil in the bottle. It wasn't offensive, but it was there and I guess it's something to think about next time I try this. Didn't make me like the wine any less, this time.

Steve,

Interesting! here is my TN on this wine.

Torzi Matthews 2003 Frost Dodger Shiraz Nov 04

This wine lived up to its name when, in November, a black frost reduced the final crop to one ton per acre. Wild fermentation is used and there is no filtration nor fining. Recently bottled under Stelvin, when the wine was first opened it showed some sulpha over milk chocolate and plums; whilst it is fruit driven, there is a little French oak mushroom/coffee influence and there may have been a touch of Band-Aid too (which I suspect is oak derived.) As it opened up, the sulpha blew off and the rich, inviting pure fruit shone through, even for the bouquet you can tell the mouth feel will creamy and seductive.

The palate has a sexy mouth feel and the the pure fruit delivers off-sweet plum, blackberry verging on prune, aniseed and tar seductively. Muscular in weight, the consistency is supple and the structure is rock solid but tight. A clean, polished well made wine with good balance and structure that can be consumed now, but that would be waste as it will only get better as it peaks around 2009+. Rated as Highly Recommended (now) with *** for value.

When I asked Domenic about the possibility of Brett, he swore it didn't have any, but add bandaid and metallic together in a wine that is unfiltered and ..... ?

Coriole Sangiovese 2004 (McClaren Vale): Very hot alcohol on the palate – sticks out way too far. Savoury but with a little caramel, but the alcohol heat killed it for me. I thought the 2003 was really good, so this was a real disappointment. <80/100

Sandalford Cab Sav 2002 (Margaret River): very decent varietal cab sav with typical characters of blackcurrant, dusty earth, black olive with fine tannins. A little herbaceous but in a good, complexity adding way. Great suppleness in the mouth. Drinking really well now, but will hold for another 5 years. 88-89/100

Coopers Verdelho 2004 (Hunter Valley): My poor misguided Father brought this back from a recent trip to the Hunter Valley. It was terrible – the sweetest table wine I have ever had. Passionfruit cordial and sugar, no acidity. <80/100, maybe even <70/100

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2002(Barossa Valley): After the Verdelho, a serious wine was needed to rectify the situation. Luckily this had been sitting in the decanter for a few hours . The nose had aromas of dark fruits, blackberry and cassis and a little coconut and cedar. The palate delivered a fantastic depth of ultra-ripe fruit (yet not quite over ripe) with explosions of plum and blackberry filling the mouth – some may say a little porty. The pure fruit intermingled with chocolate and coffee and nutty, cedar oak. Backed by velvety tannins the wine had a great mouth feel and the wine finished long and lingered on the palate. A good start to what I believe will a fantastic journey over the next decade for this wine – it still needs plenty of time, but it made me smile now.
93/100 now, but with potential to accrue more points when I open my 6-pack in 2012.

2004 Marius Simpatico Shiraz As already noted, very nice now, probably even better in a few years.
2002 JJ Hahn 1979 Cabernet SauvignonBest wine of the weekend, brick red with slightly brown edges, beautiful herby nose, slightly green edge to a lovely fruit-filled palate, subtle tannins but enough to give really great structure. Definitely worth a look.
2003 Annie's Lane ShirazNo specific notes but a nice drink at its price point.
2000 Rockford Moppa Springs GSMPerfect time to drink this for my palate, went perfectly with home-made gnocchi bolognaise, great food wine.
2003 Gemtree Uncut ShirazA bit too in your face on opening, plenty of tannins and primary fruit, settled down quite nicely after 24 hours, really solid McLaren Vale Shiraz, will be sitting the rest down for 3-4 years.

Alex

On the Koonunga 98s, I have a couple of bottles of that left, and I tried one a few weeks ago (admittedly with a bit of a cold).

Still in reasonably good shape, I thought... the bitterness I tasted I attributed to my cold at the time. My last two are lined up in the 'drink soon' pile and I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on it. I'll probably get to one in a week or so.

Nice run of wines yesterday:
Rumball Sparkling Shiraz Coonawarra Cuvee
I had low expectations and these were far exceeded. Lots of bubbles, lots of fresh berry fruit, not too much sugar, decent weight and length. Not really complex, but very yummy.
Saltram Mamre Brook Cab 2004
Thought I better have another go at this as everyone seems to love it except me. My opinion has not really changed on this tasting, it is a very sound wine but it is not really my type of Cab. It is great VFM so one can hardly go wrong buying a few and letting them sit around in a cool dark place for a while - there is clearly some potential there..
Tower Estate Barossa Shiraz 2000
Slight bricking, a very pungent nose of violets, dark and red berries, hint of cassis and subtle smoky oak. These flavours all came through on the palate accompanied by some chocolate and fine tannins, but I felt the alcohol poked out a little on the finish (14.5%), which was a touch disappointing because it was otherwise an excellent wine. Still, very enjoyable.
Wynns BL Cabernet Sauvignon 1990
This was an excellent bottle. I feel the tannins still have a little way to go (maybe 4-5yrs) but the fruit was in lovely condition and all the complexities we have come to expect in good examples of this label were there to be enjoyed. Great stuff.

roughred wrote:1998 Bin 407
A good counter to the ripe E&C. Fine cedary oak on the nose with cassis and rosemary - very classical. Still relatively tight and unevolved in the mouth with talcy fine tannins. This wine is really in exceptional condition, and I expect it would not begin to really hit its straps for another 4-5 years.

This is welcome news. Have read some bad reviews recently. I was getting a little concerned. Perhaps I should take a look myself.

Torb,

Very interesting! I didn't want to drop the B bomb, but given your tasting note it's not looking
good.

I think I'm correct in saying Domenic makes Long Hop and Old Plains at the same winery the Frost
Dodger is made - do you think those are similarly affected?

Back in February I tasted both the 04 Long Hop and 04 Old Plains - the Old Plains stuck me as not
being quite right (I think I mentioned cleaning fluid in my tasting note) and the Long Hop seemed to
have a metallic tinge that I put down to the age of the wine and the hangover I had at the time.

I really hope I'm wrong, because all three of these have impressed me greatly in the past.

Hi Steve

Happy to replace my wines that have not performed to their expectations.

Elderton Friends Shiraz 2001 Loads of coffee oak on the nose and the palate. Fruit showed signs of being a little stressed, though better than some 01 SA wines I have tried at this price point. Quite enjoyable but not for the oakaphobe.

Preece Cab Sav 2001 Good mid week quaffer with some typical cab characters.

Warrabilla Reserve Durif 2002 Still a pup, had this to start drinking in 08 and should have taken my own advice but Yvette was going out to dinner with all the local mum's and wanted something with a big whack of fruit. I was lucky they didn't get through the whole bottle and got to try a glass on the second night. Plenty of lovely plummy fruit but the tanins are still a bit strong. 17% alc but it hides it very well.

Peter Lehmann Clancy 2002 Great QPR, Lehmann certainly had some hits in 02 as this and the Barrossa Cab are both nice wines. Had enough fruit weight to punch through the Sunday night curry reasonable complexity for a wine in this price range.

Glen

Wayno wrote:My last two are lined up in the 'drink soon' pile and I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on it.

I will certainly report back. Why are yours in the drink soon pile? penfolds has a ravishing drinking window for their 98 koonunga...

Does it exhibit alcoholic heat? Opening this wine for someone who dislikes the taste of alcohol...

Hi folks,

Here they are...

1999 Domain Chandon Brut Vintage
Nice, but I didn’t pay too much attention as I was preparing lunch.

2001 All Saints Marsanne
Light gold, quite muted on the nose at first but it did open up with hint of that aged marsanne honeysuckle and marmalade character. Not a particularly exciting wine, but it was OK, and made better for the fact I only paid $5 for the bottle

2005 Terra Felix Mourvedre
Awesome value at $12 and a really nice quaffing wine. Quite a floral nose, a hint of rose perhaps. Dark fruits and spice with a soft finish. went well with thai for dinner.

2000 Bannockburn Pinot Noir
Somewhat cloudy, mid cherry in appearance. A funky, intriguing and complex nose of sour cherries, mushroom and earth. I loved the nose on this wine, i spent a few hours just letting it build and it just kept getting better. The palate was savoury, with sour cherries and smoky oak coming together beautifully in a long, generous finish.

2001 McGuigan Shareholders Reserve Late Harvest Gewarztraminer (Hunter Valley)
Mid orange, but did not taste as if it was oxidised. Extremely sweet and not much else. Left far too long...and the label said it would last a decade!!

2004 Epis Pinot Noir
Light cherry red. This wine has an amazing nose, it took me ages to actually to take my first sip. Perfumed floral, spicy notes and sour cherries. Great mouthfeel, lots of cherries, red fruits and spice integrated perfectly with the oak, great length. I'll wait five years to open my next bottle.

1998 Penfolds Bin 407
Also tried a bottle of this during the week. Still looking a youthful purple, but starting to show some aged characters on the nose and in the mouth but quite tight and not very generous. I've read + and - comments here over the past few weeks and i have to say that my experience of this wine was somewhere in the middle. I was underwhelmed and something seemed lacking yet at the same time i felt that it could be better if left alone for a few more years. I have one left i might just wait and see...

Cheers
Cheyne

Alex F wrote:

Wayno wrote:My last two are lined up in the 'drink soon' pile and I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on it.

I will certainly report back. Why are yours in the drink soon pile? penfolds has a ravishing drinking window for their 98 koonunga...

Does it exhibit alcoholic heat? Opening this wine for someone who dislikes the taste of alcohol...

I don't trust the Penfolds cellaring windows completely. If the next one works out, I'll shift the last one back into the racks. Don't recall the last one I tasted seeming as though it had years ahead of it either. Seems like the Koonunga to keep of recent years though... An absolute far cry from the very disappointing 02. Speaking of cellaring windows, I think ROP tasters note the 02 as a stand out and cellaring until 2012?

The 02 was the first koonunga I've tried. Certainly wasn't bad for the price (sub 10), plenty of flavour just not much elegance or structure I guess. The drinking window looks about right (from my memories of ROP), and I think you tend to notice all the newer wines having comparatively less cellaring potential than wines say 10 years ago.

Anyway I heard the 98 koonunga was good so I got two of the last auction to try

Hope they are good... no signs of leakage.

Torzi wrote:Hi Steve

Happy to replace my wines that have not performed to their expectations.

Domenic
Thanks for this - this is the sort of reassurance that gives me confidence in a producer.
regards
Ian

Just checked for myself the ROP drinking window for the 98 Koonunga - 2020! By that reckoning it will outlast plenty of its comparative age super-premium buddies. The bottle I tried didn't quite give me that but maybe it was not a good bottle? I might have to bring forward my drinking of it now out of interest.

Cheyne

I'm pleased to hear your appraisal of the 2004 Epis Pinot - I bought 6 bottles recently out of reputation and reviews alone, all of which seemed to consistently rate it as a longer term winner. Maybe I might put off opening one just a bit longer given the consensus seems to be 'wait awhile'.

Some brief (and late) thoughts about a Pirramimma instore last week:

2005 Pirramimma Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon: Fresh, SB dominant, slightly grassy & passionfruit - would be great with a salad/seafood selection.

2003 Pirramimma Stock's Hill Shiraz: Thin & hot.

2003 Pirramimma White Label Old Bush Vine Grenache: Pure, sweet raspberry/cherry Grenache fruit, and some earth/licorice - well balanced, no sign of any heat, a great result from 2003.

2002 Pirramimma White Label Cabernet Sauvignon: Green/leafy nose, relatively thin, hot palate (14.5%) - there's a lot better from McLaren Vale in 2002.

2001 Pirramimma White Label Cabernet Sauvignon: An interesting contrast to the cool 2002; toasty/earthy nose, palate was again hot (14.5%) but a better core of cassis fruit filling it out (for now at least - but I think the 2002 will have the legs).

2002 Pirramimma White Label Shiraz: Toasty nose/burnt coffee, and a weird, almost contrived palate with cherry, coffee & earth - good structure though.

2002 Pirramimma White Label Petit Verdot: The nose had me a little scared at first - quite porty with ripe fruit/mint and licorice characters. The palate was the polar opposite, a fantastic chewy structure, length and elegant fruit, not at all porty. A great dry red and a must buy.

2002 Pirramimma Fortified Grenache: Very sweet Grenache fruit up front, but that simple, lean fruit gives way to a wallop of hot alcohol - a good illustration of where some Shiraz/Mourvedre could add some needed body & complexity.

2004 Pirramimma Botrytis Riesling: Waxy/pithy lemon fruit, slender weight and some good botrytis on the finish. A bit simple at present and lacks the weight of a good Semillon sticky in comparison.

Cheers,
Ian

Torzi wrote:Hi Steve

Happy to replace my wines that have not performed to their expectations.

Hi Domenic,

Welcome to the forums!

Thank you for the offer - it's fantastic to see this level of care coming from a wine maker.

I'm hesitant to contemplate replacements because I can't be completely confident that the unpleasant characters I picked up on were faults with the wine. The conditions weren't controlled so the glassware (in the case of the Power Of One) or storage conditions of the wine prior to purchase may have been the problem... the problem could even how I was feeling that day

With regards to the Frost Dodger Shiraz and the slight brett characters that Torb and I picked up on, I know that I am more sensitive to brett than most people, and I wouldn't feel right accepting a replacement because of the strange way in which my body works. I hope that the brett is at a stable level (actually, I really hope that Torb and I are dreaming about brett) and doesn't develop further in the bottle - as I said, the characters were only slight and we didn't find them unpleasant, just there.

Expectations of the wines have been surpassed on multiple other tastings, and I know that I'll be buying plenty of the next releases, and probably more of the current releases.

Again, thank you for the message. It's greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Steve,

I am not 100% convinced it is Brett, but it is a possibility.

Jeremy Oliver wrote an excellent answer to a question about metallic tastes in wine recently. Brett is not the only possible cause. JO said "(Other than Brett) the most common (cause) is the result of greenish, under-ripe acids and tannins typically found in wine made from grapes that did not reach full physiological ripeness. This is usually the result of poor, cool seasons, or simply because the vineyard (i) was planted to the wrong varieties that ripen too late for that site, or (ii) should never have been planted at all."

Hi Torb,

I'm not convinced either... I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the metallic characters I was picking up on were acid and tannin related. Around two years ago at university we did a comparison of those two causes of metallic tastes in wine and nearly all of us were thoroughly confused. It was hard enough to tell the difference when we knew which was which, and it's a hell of a lot harder now that I'm not taking any more sensory classes.

Roscoe wrote:Nice run of wines yesterday:
[Saltram Mamre Brook Cab 2004
Thought I better have another go at this as everyone seems to love it except me. My opinion has not really changed on this tasting, it is a very sound wine but it is not really my type of Cab. It is great VFM so one can hardly go wrong buying a few and letting them sit around in a cool dark place for a while - there is clearly some potential there..

We might be in the minority Roscoe but I'm with you. For me it's a tannic monster at present, though it could be a good example of the old five-year rule of thumb, for the tannins to soften and the fruit to shine. I might try a bottle of the remaining eleven in about a year to see how it's developing. Didn't try the 02 but find the 03 much more approachable though it's not in the same class as the Wynn's BL 03.

daz

Roscoe wrote:Nice run of wines yesterday:
[Saltram Mamre Brook Cab 2004
Thought I better have another go at this as everyone seems to love it except me. My opinion has not really changed on this tasting, it is a very sound wine but it is not really my type of Cab. It is great VFM so one can hardly go wrong buying a few and letting them sit around in a cool dark place for a while - there is clearly some potential there..

We might be in the minority Roscoe but I'm with you. For me it's a tannic monster at present, though it could be a good example of the old five-year rule of thumb, for the tannins to soften and the fruit to shine. I might try a bottle of the remaining eleven in about a year to see how it's developing. Didn't try the 02 but find the 03 much more approachable though it's not in the same class as the Wynn's BL 03.

daz

Roscoe wrote:Nice run of wines yesterday:
[Saltram Mamre Brook Cab 2004
Thought I better have another go at this as everyone seems to love it except me. My opinion has not really changed on this tasting, it is a very sound wine but it is not really my type of Cab. It is great VFM so one can hardly go wrong buying a few and letting them sit around in a cool dark place for a while - there is clearly some potential there..

We might be in the minority Roscoe but I'm with you. For me it's a tannic monster at present, though it could be a good example of the old five-year rule of thumb, for the tannins to soften and the fruit to shine. I might try a bottle of the remaining eleven in about a year to see how it's developing. Didn't try the 02 but find the 03 much more approachable though it's not in the same class as the Wynn's BL 03.

daz