The Auswine Forum

.... time to tell us what you have all been drinking. Tasting notes, vibes or impressions all welcome.

A perfectly acceptable LAN Rioja reserva 1999 at a restaurant (drinking near peak and nicely balanced and flexible as a restaurant wine)

Cullen Mangan 2001 which was still quite youthful, but drifted away to my pet hate, raspberry notes (which I often find metallic) with air. Half bottle still left for sunday.

2001 Heywang Grand Cru Riesling from Alsace. Think this might have been heat-affected, though the Alsace typicity was still there in the background. (Just) Tolerable, but suspect it should have been much better than this.

regards

Ian

I tried the Wirra Wirra range at an instore Thursday night, which included the 2003 RSW & Angelus - I found the lot disappointing, dominated by stinky/charred oak. Maybe it was a "root" day?


Yesterday I was at the Norwood Hotel's bi-annual Small Winemakers' Show and these were my favourites:

2006 Leabrook Estate Sav Blanc - fantastic racy acidity on the finish; the best of a surprisingly strong group of SBs this year.

2006 O'Leary Walker Polish Hill Riesling - better than the Watervale this year, more florals & bath scents.

2006 Lengs & Cooter Watervale Riesling - tried this last week too and was just as impressed; fantastic QPR.

2004 Turkey Flat Marsanne Viogner - This was a surprise, as the Viognier didn't stick out at all and the wine resembled more of a waxy, cooler-climate Eden Hills white rather than the valley floor from where it was sourced. I can definitiely handle more Rhone-style whites like this.

2004 Schild Estate Barossa Shiraz - this cheapie stood out again, big, beefy Barossa fruit matched by the equally big tannin structure to stop it from becoming a pure fruit bomb.

2002 Majella Shiraz - This got mixed responses in the last couple of years but I've always liked it; I'm tolerant of the big American oak, and it reminds me a bit of the 1993 Wynns Michael.

2002 The Willows Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon - very much in the minty/eucaplypt spectrum like the Rockford & Turkey Flat. Fanastic structure featuring fully integrated ripe fruit & tannins - my wine of the day.

Cheers,
Ian

Peel Estate Zinfandel 2001, Wow not as rustic as previous vintages, Loads an loads of bight briary fruit and superlative ripe tannins. Huge finish

Yalumba Signature 1996, still has years to go but difficult to keep my hands off them. Beautiful blend showing the best of both varieties.

Brookside Cab Sauv 1999, excellent wine if you are into brett. I poured mine into the "Wabbit in Wed" where it was boiled down into an excellent gravey.

Peter Lehmann Reserve Riesling 1998

Yummo! Lovely golden colour in the glass, a whiff of kero on the nose but in the mouth this was a triumph. Simply the essence of Rose's lime cordial with a long aftertaste and a nice dry finish. Lime, melon and grapefruit were all in there. No kero on the palate, still plenty of acidity and that wonderful bone dry Eden Valley Riesling finish. Could go a couple of years longer without any trouble, but was a treat right now. This is why I love aged Riesling. A total bargain at $19 about 2 years ago. Was a killer match for homemade pizza with fontina cheese, fennel confit and sweet italian sausage.

Lindemans Limestone Ridge 1996 (81% Shiraz, 19% Cabernet)

My my, another winner here. Amazing nose, smelt like good Bordeaux with wafts of mint, cedar and earth. In the mouth, just a wonderfully smooth drink. Lovely combination of floral complexity and an earthy/meaty taste on the finish and such a long aftertaste , but it was the texture that really impressed me, so smooth and lush but not cloying. Everything here is in perfect balance and I'd be surpised if this gets any better in my view. I'm sipping the last glass now and it's so smooth and that finish is so long! Just a delight, and further evidence (IMO) of the truly impressive 1996 vintage in South Australia. Open and enjoy.

Was a great match for another homemade pizza, this time with wild mushrooms, fontina cheese, roasted garlic, fresh mint and drizzled with truffle oil. The mint and the mushrooms really enhanced the minty/eucalypt notes and the earthy edge to the wine.

Going to bed with a happy palate.

MP

Yering Station Shiraz Viognier 2003
This bottle was not as good as one had late last year. A nice wine but without the cool climate shiraz aromatics as previous. Does anyone know how the '02 of the std release is going?

Barwang Cab Sav 1998
A nice wine but not overly Cabernet like to me with aromas more coffee and blackberry than the blackcurrant/ cigar box I know and enjoy . This seemed very much a warm climate style. After several good reviews on this wine I expected better. I would say drink up soonish.

Vins de Vienne Crozes Hermitage 2003
This is a cracker of a cool climate style syrah. Just medium bodied it had a great nose of violets, dark cherries and the palate had a beautiful clean finish with a finish of cherry pips! Washed down with a steak it really hit the spot as it complemented the food and not overpowering it.

Wairau River Estate Botrytis Riesling 1998
This was fully mature with marmalade and toast with a clean finish with a backbone of acid. I want to try more NZ botrytis Rieslings after this.

andyc wrote:Yering Station Shiraz Viognier 2003
This bottle was not as good as one had late last year. A nice wine but without the cool climate shiraz aromatics as previous. Does anyone know how the '02 of the std release is going?

Yep, trying to keep my hands off them at the moment as they are travelling well now but still with plenty left in the tank.

Cheers
Popov

Pirramimma Stocks Hill Cabernet Sauvignon, 2002, McLaren Vale, South Australia

Initial mint on the nose and quite hard and dry in the mouth with a slight metallic aftertaste. Decanted at this point. Mint and blackcurrant rising after the decant, along with something that smells like paper but in a pleasant way. Upfront drying tannins followed by mixed black- and red-currant fruits although with the black dominating. Slightly dusty finish by the tannins with reasonably acidity, although the fruit finish is a little short and watery. OK but did not do much for me.

Haselgrove H Cabernet Sauvignon, 2002, Wrattonbully, South Australia

Decanted and left for about 90 minutes. Dark red centre with a touch of brown on the rim, a little surprising for such a young wine. Initial pour shows an immensely blackcurrant nose with a touch of tobacco. After a while, mint begins to rise too. On the palate, starts with a more blackcurrant effect but crosses the tongue and finishes with a more red fruit, perhaps redcurrant, finish. Some vanillary oak present on the finish too along with drying tannins so perhaps with a couple more years, this will integrate a little better. Getting darker and deeper as the night goes on – tannins becoming more powdery and hints of chocolate and dark cherry in behind the blackcurrant fruit and good acidity too. Four hours after opening, this has become gorgeously smooth, the fruit more plumped up and much more integrated, albeit with still an ever so slight vanillary hint that is above and beyond the call of duty on the back palate. Initially, I was a little worried about the balance of this wine but it definitely improved as the night went on.

Chatsfield Gewurztraminer, 2001, Mount Barker, WA

Very pale straw colour in the glass. Amazing varietally correct nose of pungent lychees leaping all over the place along with some rose petals and other things floral! Good upfront fruit, with just a hint of fruit sweetness, but make no mistake, this is a bracingly dry wine! Grapefruit, lime and mango on the front and mid palate with a hint of orange on the finish that increased in magnitude as time rolled by. Great acidity, good length and a very well balanced wine, just perfect for Thai style curries. I haven’t come across many Aussie Gewurzes that have been dry enough for me and also lacking in viscosity, so this was a real surprise and treat.

Chateau La Nerthe, 2001, Chateauneuf du Pape, Southern Rhone, France

Decanted and a large stench of dung came flying off at this time. I got round to drinking it an hour or so later, by which time there was no trace of poo! Deep red centre to pale purple rim. Lots of dark plum/damson on the nose along with spices and black pepper. Big mouthful of juicy plummy grenachiness and pepper, plus liquorice and aniseed with good acidity and moderately soft and well-integrated tannins. Very very long finish of dark plummy fruit. Great structure and a lovely wine just crying out for a lump of dead flesh! Yum!

Cheers

Dave

Just one wine for me this week.

2001 Paul Jaboulet Aine Parallel 45 Cotes Du Rhone
Not a bad CDR, light to medium bodied in style quite a simple nose of red berries, currents and a healthy dash of white pepper. Palate was rather dilute but some savoury fruits did pop there heads up mid palate, tannins were a little bit to gruff for the style but all in all it was ok.

Lately I have been reading a few articles from noteable critics who have been of the opinion that Jaboulet is going backwards in quality starting at the top with the La Chappelle.

From my tasting all I can say is I wont be buying Jaboulet CDR again, there are far better CDR out there and for around $20 Guigal offers much better bang for your buck.

2004 Pennys Hill Mclaren Vale Shiraz

Loved this wine, very fruity, lots of berry flavours and overall a lovely tasting and finishing wine...

1998 Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz

Tasty indeed, spicey, hints of plum, berries...double decantered to rid the sediment and it opened up with a bang. Worth the wait.

2000 Vasse Felix Shiraz: This has aged well so far. The tannins have integrated well and it was very pleasant to drink as an accompaniment to the tender lamb rump I had last night. Even my mostly-non-red-wine-drinking wife was impressed and returned for a second (half) glass.

Seppelt Moyston Cabernet Merlot 2004
Inky red in colour, aromas of dark chocolate, cherry and some mint are present. Complex flavours of fleshy plums & berries lead into a choc mint finish with powdery tannins and a hint of spice.

Score: 8/10
Price: $21
Closure: Screwcap
Would I buy this wine again?
Yes, as soon as I see it on special I will grab a few bottles for the cellar.

Full Review

Dave Dewhurst wrote:Chatsfield Gewurztraminer, 2001, Mount Barker, WA

Very pale straw colour in the glass. Amazing varietally correct nose of pungent lychees leaping all over the place along with some rose petals and other things floral! Good upfront fruit, with just a hint of fruit sweetness, but make no mistake, this is a bracingly dry wine! Grapefruit, lime and mango on the front and mid palate with a hint of orange on the finish that increased in magnitude as time rolled by. Great acidity, good length and a very well balanced wine, just perfect for Thai style curries. I haven’t come across many Aussie Gewurzes that have been dry enough for me and also lacking in viscosity, so this was a real surprise and treat.

Where did you source this wine?

Im a sucker for a good Gewurz

winetastic wrote:

Dave Dewhurst wrote:Chatsfield Gewurztraminer, 2001, Mount Barker, WA

Very pale straw colour in the glass. Amazing varietally correct nose of pungent lychees leaping all over the place along with some rose petals and other things floral! Good upfront fruit, with just a hint of fruit sweetness, but make no mistake, this is a bracingly dry wine! Grapefruit, lime and mango on the front and mid palate with a hint of orange on the finish that increased in magnitude as time rolled by. Great acidity, good length and a very well balanced wine, just perfect for Thai style curries. I haven’t come across many Aussie Gewurzes that have been dry enough for me and also lacking in viscosity, so this was a real surprise and treat.

Where did you source this wine?

Im a sucker for a good Gewurz

This one was direct from the winery and a real bargain. I met them at the food and wine fair in Perth a couple of weeks back and on the basis of that tasting, bought 6 bottles, one of which was what I described above. They have a website and not much left.

Cheers

Dave

2001 Knappstein Riesling (Clare Valley)

I was looking forward to this wine but it did not deliver. Nose of lime and citrus, with a steely, kerosenie type back bone which concerned me. Palate continued to disappoint, the acidity was still there, but the primary fruit characteristics had disappeared, with only a hint of lime remaining but the steely, unpleasant kerosene characteristics dominated. After leaving open over a period and decanting the wine, it did not help open it up.

2004 Pepper Jack Shiraz

Having never tried this wine before I was pleasantly surprised. Can’t really remember the full characteristics of the wine (as had consumed too many others before this), but the fruit characteristics of pepper and spice integrated nicely with the oak, it had some nice complexity. The palate was quite smooth and finished well. Not a bad quaffer.

Some impulse auction buys this week.....

2004 Brian Barry Judd's Hill Cabernet Clare Valley
A little dumb on the nose at first but opened up to reveal youthful dark fruits, blackberry essence and menthol. Medium to full bodied, dry, reasonable fruit weight, and chalky tannins that are still at odds with the rest of the wine. Pretty awkward wine at this stage, but should come together in the next 5-6.

2001 Lalande de Pomerol Haute la Gravette Bordeaux
Dank and earthy on opening, but as it aired some rasberry fruits came to the fore. Attractive, savoury and complex. Grainy tannins, with hints of truffle and sweet red capsicum. Great food wine.

2003 False Cape Cab Merlot Kangaroo Island
A bit of a lucky dip - never heard of before, but thought it might make for a good mid week tipple. Surprising depth of fruit with some intense red berries, dusty oak, and slighty unripe tannin profile. Quite dense and full with some tannic bitterness towards the finish.

....and Sunday afternoon was spent polishing off a bottle of NV Mumm with some Jindi Triple Brie....sure as hell beat mowing the lawns. It's some time since I had a Mumm and it was a little cleaner and richer than I remembered. Pulled up a touch short, but on special for $45 ish it was just the ticket for a sunny winter Sunday.

Pizzini Il Soffio King Valley ( $21 ) : A pink coloured Sangiovese based sparkling wine. Really nice. Not as rich as say Ashton Hills Salmon Brut but a lot more enjoyable than recent pink bubbles from Jansz and Seppelt Salinger. Label states nose of faded rose petals and palate of strawberry/cherry which I don't disagree with. To be commended for being crown capped too - why more sparkling wines are not in crown seal is beyond me. A needed addition to the fairly limited number of good Australian sparkling wines and fairly priced too.

1996 Pichon Baron (Pauillac) - half way through a case. I have to leave the rest for a decade. This one had none of the green streak some bottles have had. Massive bottle variation for this wine - take a punt and hope for the best. When its on song (as this bottle was) its a decent drop.

2002 Penfolds Bin 28 - finished too hot for my palate.

1996 Penfolds Bin 28 - second bottle in the past fortnight. Still very primary. Outstanding for the price.

1989 Leoville Barton - drinking right at its peak. Not as good as more recent releases (2000 & 2003) though.

Seppelt Drumborg Vineyard Cabernet 1998

The last of these and drinking beautifully. Someone was asking how the 98 were going - well this one seems to be right in the drinking window.

I tried Victorian Cabernets at the Victorian winemakers and didn't like any in the masterclass. This one was a stunner and I had trouble saving some for the boy when he got in from work.

Dutschke St Jakobi 1999

Stunning! This was consumed while we watched the Wallabies on Saturday night. Good night all round.

Incredibly intense, how did they pack that much fruit into such a small bottle? Oak was not a main feature of this wine, pure fruit. Great balance.

Great value wine as well. I regularly see this wine at auction under $20. Can't wait to open some of the new relaeses and give them a whirl.

Billy B

2000 Vasse Felix Shiraz - I had this about 2 years ago and it was very impressive. Still is. It is a great wine. I found it had settled a lot more than when I had previously tasted the wine. Not as florally or sweet on the nose as before. Nice dark look to the wine and I may be wrong but thought I smelt some coffee aromas this time (maybe not). It took 1-2 hours to open up (I was scared it was a bit tainted at first). By the end of the bottle (4 hours) it was very nice...

2000 Jameisons Run McShane Block - not sure if these are still being produced. I wish they were. Great Shiraz. I have one more bottle of this left and I'm guessing it's nervous... Maybe another 3-5 years left in it but I could be wrong on that scale. A touch below the Vasse in my opinion but still great.

Impressions from a Clare day on Sunday.
Pikes Riesling 2004- very good. Typical
Tim Adams Riesling 2005 Has it all there but too acidic for me at present
Leo Buring Special Release Clare Riesling 1999 Very nice, with plenty more potential. WOTD for me- unusual that it was see-through!
Taylors Promised Land Unwooded Chardonnay 2005 Uninteresting quaffing material
Leasingham Bin 56 1998 Still a little unyielding, but could be very nice in 2-3 years.
Knappstein Shiraz 2004 Very attractive wine now and with some potential.
Knappstein Cab Merlot 2004 A big mother. Not much varietal character, but a very rich wine for laying down or pairing with a slab of red meat.
Tim Adams The Fergus 2004 Not enough fruit and too much alcohol. Unbalanced.
Annies Lane Shiraz 2002 A very nice easy drinking shiraz- quite typical.
Annies Lane Shiraz 2004 2nd bottle in a couple of weeks. This tasted a little confected compared with the other. I think it will settle nicely into a great quaffer.

Couple of lighter reds to go with the BBQ'd snapper

Seppelts Sunday Creek Pinot 1999
Nice wine at went well with the snapper good balance and nice complexity.

Gehrig Rose 2000
Slightly sweeter than I would like but not a bad drink all in all. Again went well with the fish.

Then on to the more serious stuff

Warrabilla Cleanskin Durif 2005
Another winner at an absolute bargain price, if depth of fruit per dollar is your measure this one is hard to beat. Don't know the %alc in this one but whatever it is it hides it well.

Kirrihill Langhorn Creek Shiraz 2001
Fare amount of coffee oak in this one but the fruit is still in the game. Towards the end of its life for my palate but a nice drink at the moment.

Teusner Riebke 2005
Was quite impressed with this after a quick taste at an instore so grabbed a bottle to try at home. Nice fruit in this wine but lacked a little complexity for the price. Not to my taste in particular but that is not to say it wasn't a good wine.

Balnaves Shiraz 2004
Nice wine with lots of black pepper characters over a good depth of fruit would be worth a buy if you like Coonawarra shiraz. I will likely grab some if the budget allows.

Then some bubbles to celebrate the neighbours buying a new house.

Seppelts Salinger
Pleasant enough drop for the price and has a nice crisp clean finish but was completely overshadowed by

Moet & Chandon NV
Nice depth of flavour, fine bead and excelent length shows where the money goes over a mid priced Aussie bubbles.

SOSS 02
What can be said still kicks it big time for the price.

Orlando Lawson's 1988
Same wine I brought along to the Bowral offline earlier in the year and on that showing it was due to be drunk. I think this one was a little better than the last bottle but it could be that it had less competition this time around. Lovely harmonious wine with cigar box, cedar, some fruit and a little menthol on the nose. The palate was smooth as silk and the length was a little better that the last one just a lovely wine and was great over lunch with some pasta and a few old friends I hadn't caught up with in a while.

Just a quiet week on the drinking front really

Glen

GRB wrote:Warrabilla Cleanskin Durif 2005
Another winner at an absolute bargain price, if depth of fruit per dollar is your measure this one is hard to beat. Don't know the %alc in this one but whatever it is it hides it well.
Glen

According to the label on the carton, it is 16%. I am cracking my first one tonight, and looking forward to it.