The Auswine Forum

its that time of week good peoples; please let us know what you have been drinking. TN's vibes or impressions welcome.

Hi all,

Wild Duck Creek 2003 Springflat Shiraz - bought at auction - no fruit to speak of, sour and acidic, I suspect poor storage, heat perhaps.

Wild Duck Creek 2004 Springflat Shiraz - from the winemaker - deep brown/purple, full of chocolate and plums. Loved it.

Marius 2004 Symphony Shiraz - the best young wine I have had this year - deep rich purple, chocolate on the nose and green leaves, fine tannins, tobacco and dark fruit, blackberries and cedar.

Heartland 2004 Cab Sav - deep purple, violets by the truckload, cherries, some earthy characters - truffle - vegetal, a sweet overtone with an edge, think passionfruit, aniseed.

Wild Duck Creek 2004 The Blend Cab Sav Merlot - raisins and tobacco.

Regards,

Allan

Wirra Wirra Sexton's Acre Shiraz 2004
Nice fruity shiraz nothing exceptional but great quaffing gear.

Peter Lehmann Barrosa Shiraz 2004
Another good midweek quaffer didn't have it side by side with the Sexton's but both are worth having. I will probably chase down more of the Lehmann at some stage as this get's put on some rediculous specials.

A couple we had on Friday afternoon to fairwell a departing work coleague

Penley Estate Hyland 2004
Seriously good gear nice fruit pepper and spices.

Marius Simpatico 2004
A step up from the Penley my first try of this wine and am very glad to have some tucked away in the cellar.

Then with dinner

Majella Cab Sav 2003
Excellent Coona cab but has a long time before it will really kick in.

Then the serious stuff for Saturday nights dinner which was Nayan's secrect lamb curry and a couple of other curries served for some friends.

Majella Sparkling Shiraz 2004
Lovely way to start, only tip with this one is don't serve it to cold. I pulled it out of the fridge 1/2 before serving and it would have been better out for an hour flavour was much more intense and complex when it warmed up a little.

Penfolds St Henri 1989
JO has this in the drinking window now and if you like them mature I couldn't agree more. Still has some fruit holding things together and everything is in perfect harmony. Some bricking around the edge to show its age. Brilliant wine.

and to go along with it

Rosemount Balmoral 1995
A bit more weigth than the St Henri and slightly more oak in the mixed but also a lovely wine. Again fully resolved and harmonious. Don't think it will last as long as the St Henri but who cares it is drinking wonderfully at the moment.

Morris Cellar Reserve Tokay NV
Lovely rich fruit cake and coffee flavours went well with the apple pie for desert.

Glen

2005 Moondah Chenin Blanc (WA) - straight out the fridge the wine showed no real characters at all except for slight pinneapple flavours and a fair wack of acid. After about an 30 mins and it warmed up a bit, tropical fruit flavours and again pineapple started to show. The acid was fairly balanced. This wine can happly take another 2-3 years where it will develop further. My suggestion, hold for a couple of years. 7.5/10

2000 Margan Semillon (Hunter Valley) - learning from the above wine, I let it sit for a while before trying. this wine is excellent. colour starting to develop to a golden colour. Acid still showing nicely - could easily last another 5 or so years. Crisp fruit semillon fruit starting to show some aged honey characteristics. The middle palate was incredible with a real 'zing' about it. This was a brilliant match to a spicy chick pea, Choziro and Savoy cabbage soup!

Finally recovering from my flu.

Yesterday was just impressions from three wines:

2006 Omaka Springs Pinot Gris (Marlborough)
Young, fresh fruit on the nose with a luscious mouthfeel and moderate residual sugar on the finish. Good acid underpins the structure. Excellent pinot gris at $16, made more in an Alan McCorkindale style.

2003 Wirra Wirra Church Block Cab Shz Merlot (McLaren Vale)
Appealing nose; complex. Good front palate fruit but it falls away with an abrupt finish. At $20 there are better alternatives.

2002 Metala Original Plantings Shiraz (Langhorne Creek)Cherry, soy and kirsch on the nose. Medium weight, with more cherry and tobacco on the palate. Finishes savoury. Not sure what to make of this. Didn't impress like I hoped it would.

And then Friday (wines tasted blind)...

2004 John Forrest Collection Cab Sauv (Hawke's Bay)
Medium red. Nose is oaky. Coconut, cedar, cinnamon and vanilla and a very malty character too. Some blackcurrant and spiced plum fruit is a little overshadowed. More warm fruit on the palate; of a condensed nature reminiscent of cassis and kirsch. Flavour persists moderately, the tannins fine and well delineated. Tastes more mature than it is. Nose too oaky for mine.

2002 Cornerstone Merlot (Hawke's Bay)
A deep, inky red. Nose closed. Wild raspberry, smoky oak, violets and other flowers arise. Dark berry fruit with earth and chocolate on the palate. Young, agressive tannin structure. There is good, ripe fruit on the palate, complementary acid and a generous finish. Will age well.

2002 Brookfields Reserve Cab/Merlot/Malbec (Hawke's Bay)
Lighter red colour with a faint browning edge. Nose has a strong mushroom and forest floor element, with some vanillin oak and dark cherry fruit over the top. There is a whiff of rubber and diesel fumes as well. A little thin on the palate; more an aged aspect, with alcohol heat showing. Cola and liquorice dominate the palate. Tannins are a little dusty, finish is persistent and length is good. However, I question the fruit structure in supporting those tannins. Alcohol is also a worry.

2001 Petaluma Coonawarra Merlot/Cab
Rich, dark red. Young and unevolved nose; simplistic at this stage. There is a little mint, vanilla, blackcurrant and sarsparilla. Big, weighty fruit structure on the palate; all blackcurrant and plum. Tannins are grainy and persistent. This needs lots of time. The fruit character on the palate is warm, without being hot. The wine lacks balance at the moment, with those tannins overbearing, but I think it will harmonise over time given the depth of primary fruit intensity. Excellent potential.

2004 Montes Alpha Cab Sauv (Chile)
Dark, vibrant red with a mauve hue. The nose is immediately appealing and incredibly complex; first hazlenut, milk chocolate and cloves. Then sweet blackberry and blueberry fruit. Then a floral element; violets and musk. Quite the chameleon. More sweet fruit on the palate with silky tannins. Though the finish is a bit abrupt with a lack of persistent flavour, this scores highly from me for a great nose.

2001 Frescobaldi Marmoreto Cab Sauv/Merlot/Cab Franc (Tuscany)
Moderate red colour with sediment in the glass. Blackcurrant, leather, caramel and peat on the nose. Perfumed though as well. More blackcurrant on the palate adjoined by tomato leaf and pepper characters. Good structure; linear fruit across the palate. Tannins are dusty with a raw oak edge to them. Length isn't great. A bit awkward now. In time, it may evolve. I won't be finding out at the price.

1999 Torres Mas La Plana Cab Sauv (Spain)
Colour is medium red; dark centre but quite light edges. Aromas of fruit cake, cinnamon, musk and cloves with a rubbery element that lessens somewhat with swirling. That fruitcake is a little porty on the nose. More fruit cake flavour on the palate, changing to a more savoury finish with well judged tannins. A good wine, without being great.

Ian, I keep getting surprised by the value in the Montes Alpha gear. Commendable efforts from those Chileans! And look out New Zealand as the Chilean Sauv comes on stream...

Cheers,

Rosemount Orange Shiraz 2000
A very pleasant savoury wine. Alcohol (14.7%) a bit prominent but pretty balanced overall. JO gave it 14.0 (77) which pretty well suggests that he had a dud bottle - because it definitely rates at least in the high 80s on the scales used by most people these days.

Maximus wrote:2003 Wirra Wirra Church Block Cab Shz Merlot (McLaren Vale)
Appealing nose; complex. Good front palate fruit but it falls away with an abrupt finish. At $20 there are better alternatives.

Agreed

but don't give up, grab the 2004 when its in your parts, no short finish there, terrific wine at the $$

2006 Bird in Hand Adelaide Hills Sparkling Pinot Noir ( $ 21 ) : Fresh frothy and refreshing strawberry like sparkling wine. Best young I reckon but quite a fine mousse on it.

2004 Shaw and Smith M3 Vineyard Adelaide Hills Chardonnay ( $ 33 ) : Cork seal still. Very young. Grapefruity spectrum of Chardonnay. Quite fine. Nicely weighted. I'd give it say 3 years in the cellar and cork willing it'd be a great drink.

2000 Cascabel Shiraz Fleurieu ( cellar ) : Had a very bretty bottle of the 2002 under stelvin of this a while ago from a shop where it was on special so I approached this with some trepidation. No worries here - no brett at all and had gained a bit of smoothness. An example of cork beating stelvin for once !

1999 Hardy's Tintara Grenache McLaren Vale ( $ 30 ) : An example of a 14.5% alc red that has aged well ! Lovely mushroomy , earthy licorice aspects with great depth. Very pleasing wine showing that big companies can make very good wine.

2001 David Franz Benjamins Promise Barossa Valley Shiraz ( $35 ) : Lovely baked earthy and sweet but in a great way Barossa Shiraz. Sort of like Basket Press. Only 500 cases made. Real artisan stuff.

GRB wrote: Wirra Wirra Sexton's Acre Shiraz 2004
Nice fruity shiraz nothing exceptional but great quaffing gear.

Bought the Winter members pack eh? This was an export only label but leftovers were included in that pack apparently.

GRB wrote:Peter Lehmann Barrosa Shiraz 2004
Another good midweek quaffer didn't have it side by side with the Sexton's but both are worth having. I will probably chase down more of the Lehmann at some stage as this get's put on some rediculous specials.

Agreed, very nice wine for the price, if a bit over oaked. A certain retailer has this at a very good price with a decanter thrown in for carton buys.

We had the kids over last night.

Rockford Rifle Range Cab Sauv 2002, inky deep colour, just enough green on the nose to identify it as a cab, lovely blackcurrant and earthy bramble palate with a medium length finish. Silky tannins. A lovely example of Barossa Cab.

Turkey Flat Cab Sauv 2003, impenetrable dark colour. Sweet black fruits on the nose without a hint of green, similar sweet fruit palate and soft tannins. A pleasant drink but a touch simple in comparison to the RR.

Mt Horrocks Cordon Cut Reisling 2005, sensational with the cheese and dried fruit platter, especially the goats blue and the bitey cheddar with dried apricot.

During the week:-

Peter Lehman Barossa Shiraz 2004. Excellent quaffer and superb value at under $15 a bottle.

Bleasedale Frank Potts 1995, mine are now all gone and I think just in time. Lovely tertiary characters but heading downhill from the last bottle I had.

Warrabilla Club Cleanskin Durif ?2005, superb value drinking, heaps of fruit as you would expect from Smithy, with more than adequate complexity to hold the interest.

Tatachilla McLaren Vale Cab Sauv 1998, Still doing it's thing very nicely. Excellent varietal cab showing some improvement with a bit of age.

Kilikanoon Oracle Shiraz 2002, What can I say. Still a huge wine with loads of sweet Clare fruit with a touch of earth. A beautiful wine.

Gavin Trott wrote:

Maximus wrote:2003 Wirra Wirra Church Block Cab Shz Merlot (McLaren Vale)
Appealing nose; complex. Good front palate fruit but it falls away with an abrupt finish. At $20 there are better alternatives.

Agreed

but don't give up, grab the 2004 when its in your parts, no short finish there, terrific wine at the $$

Second that. We tried the Church Block at the CD in July. Very nice wine for the price.

It was very sad to see the amount of unpicked fruit throughout the Vale, mostly Cabernet I believe. I heard some of the newer producers with no established market picked no fruit at all.

Speaking of Marius I had a sneek peak at the 05 Marius Symposium Shiraz/Mataro. The wine is still a bit bottle shocked. Hang on to your hats when it is released!
04 Kays Hillside is prostigious
04 Balgownie Cabernet is smashtastic.
96 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne ... too young.
..
the 03 and 04 Kays Block 6 are on the bench. Cant rush them.

GW

Davo wrote:

GRB wrote: Wirra Wirra Sexton's Acre Shiraz 2004
Nice fruity shiraz nothing exceptional but great quaffing gear.

Bought the Winter members pack eh? This was an export only label but leftovers were included in that pack apparently.

Sure did and yes I thought it was export leftovers. This is the only wine I have tried so far. We were lucky in that they must have run out of 03 Church block so our case came with 04 If the Sexton's is the worst wine in the pack it is a pretty good deal.

Gary W wrote:Speaking of Marius I had a sneek peak at the 05 Marius Symposium Shiraz/Mataro. The wine is still a bit bottle shocked. Hang on to your hats when it is released!
04 Kays Hillside is prostigious
04 Balgownie Cabernet is smashtastic.
96 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne ... too young.
..
the 03 and 04 Kays Block 6 are on the bench. Cant rush them.

GW

Had the 04 Kays Block 6 last night at a bit of a dinner with the tasting panel members, its prostigig...ious

Great night, if you're in Adelaide eat at Vietnam, the restaurant. Miles from the CBD but worth the drive.

Also very very good were

04 Arakoon Sellicks Beach (really lush, great balance, not the usual huge alcohol)

05 Majella the Musician (I prefer it to the 04, more intense)

2004 Kays Amery Shiraz - a belter, old fashioned in style with loads of firm tannin framing some fabulous fruit, we were in raptures until

2004 Kays Block 6 - wow, and more wow, intense but balance, already complex, length, style double yum!

2004 Arakoon the Doyen - loved it, these can be overdone but not this time. Big big wine, again lush with huge fruit but balanced ... and 14.5% alcohol!!! Well done Arakoon the 2004's are pretty special!!

Did you try the 04 Hillside?
GW

Gary W wrote:Did you try the 04 Hillside?
GW

Not yet.

A man can only do so much!

besides, I'm a good taster, but not renowned!

Gavin Trott wrote:

Gary W wrote:Did you try the 04 Hillside?
GW

Not yet.

A man can only do so much!

besides, I'm a good taster, but not renowned!

Please try harder. I like it as much as (if not more) than the B6. At least for drinking now. Parker is on the money with Kays.

GW

Here goes with the first post:

1992 Wynns John Riddoch - still a good healthy purple red with plenty flavour 89/100

1994 Leasinghams Classic Clare Shiraz - garnet red with bricking around the rim - very bland wine - probably past it 80/100

regards

seddo wrote:
1994 Leasinghams Classic Clare Shiraz - garnet red with bricking around the rim - very bland wine - probably past it 80/100

regards

Hey Seddo, welcome to the forum - you definitely had a dud bottle there - here's my note from Dec 2005, when we christened the new barbecue -

" Yes, yes, Oh God yes! please, please, more, God, yes! I love this - pretty much everything you expect in a big SA shiraz bruiser, the fine mellow tannins, the typicity, the rich ripe fruit, acidity, etc all in balance, the perfect accompaniment to our 1st barbecue meal, chops, steak, etc outside. "

Friday night Penfolds presented seven wines from the Cellar Reserve, Thomas Hyland & Bin range for the API Wine Club, and this one was the pick of the bunch by a long margin:

2002 Penfolds Cellar Reserve Grenache: Dark to inky crimson with a hint of purple on the rim. Beautiful, spicy, pure Grenache fruit on the nose, incredibly sweet blackberries, blueberries and raspberries with just a dash of pepper and aniseed. Likewise the palate was just as impressive, beautiful, creamy, sweet blueberry/black cherry fruit balanced with very fine tannins and again just a hint of black pepper and exotic spices, finishing with superb length. A much awarded, magnifcent expression of pure Grenache this was sourced from one of the Seppeltsfield vineyards, and unfortunately it's a casualty of the ongoing Fosters sell-off.

I also had these during the week:

2001 Jamieson's Run Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz Merlot (1L bottle): The capsule was a tad sticky, so it wasn’t a surprise to see the cork slightly stained down one side; this could be a slightly advanced bottle. Dark to almost inky red/crimson. An initial burst of toasted/coffee oak on the nose, quickly settling down to showcase sweet cassis fruit and a hint of toast and barnyard. The entry of the mid-weight palate was equally sweet, followed by slightly tart blackcurrant fruit and hints of pepper, vanilla and licorice on the slippery finish. Not a big wine by any means and fairly approachable now, but the fresh fruit, oak and fine tannins on the very finish suggest it could still do with a year or two in the cellar. A good match for Napoletana pasta right now.

2002 Leasingham Bin 56 Clare Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: A surprising amount of crusting already on the bottle - decanting is essential. Dark to very inky purple. A slender but very attractive, perfumed nose of sweet cedar, rose petals and spicy blackcurrants dusted in icing sugar. The mid-weight palate opened with a burst of sweet cassis fruit, black olives and very noticeable tannin, becoming quite chewy and jammy with mulberry fruit, finishing long and grainy with black olives again. With more breathing it lost those jammy characters, developing hints of leather, licorice, game and barnyard, suggesting it could develop surprisingly quickly for a Bin 56.

Cheers,
Ian

Crawford River Reserve Riesling 1999 - simply superb, clearly developed, but at the furthest extreme from broadness or kero. Minerals, florals, citrus, all there in the classiest style - half for next day, similar, tropical fruits have come up more, its bracing acidity makes short work of any hint of flabbiness (to my mind often associated with tropical fruit spectrum)

Coldstream Hills Pinot 2000 - awful, flat & tasteless - sent it back under my own steam to the winery - took a while, but got a good response, they acknowledged that there had been randox issues with the corks for that vintage, and will send a Magnum as a replacement. Bravo Coldstream Hills!

Savaterre Les Enfants Pinot 2004 - wonderful stuff, Keppel's second label pinot - young vine material apparently - quite approachable now, oodles of typicity, ripe fruit, slightly savoury/funky characters, couldn't stop myself consuming the bottle the same night on my own - may well age, but why keep it?

Leeuwin Art Series Cabernet 1998 - worried, cork came out in pieces, and I've not had many impressive L. A. S. cabs before - quite developed, and ready - had a slightly mousy/funky nose on opening, but plenty of lovely cabernet character also - kept thinking there's a touch of brett there, but if so, the level of brett is (for me) attractive & intriguing; next day - heaps of personality, you'd be forgiven for picking it as a GSM blend blind, quite long, leaving a herbal, leafy taste in the mouth, rich flavour profile.

Classic McLaren Wines La Testa Shiraz 1999 - the 'label' embossed directly onto the glass, with a thick, red wax seal (also have bottles of the same vintage with a normal label & cap) - with a bit of time, the full range of gorgeous ripe shiraz characters comes up - while it has lushness and great depth of fruit, somehow it also has elegance and a silky mouthfeel different from most SA shiraz; again, finished off the bottle by myself the same night.

St Hallett Pedro Ximinez Bin CW/68 - old style port bottle, auction purchase; excellent condition, made around 1968 - somewhat lighter style than the full-on road tar/syrup PX often seen now, but lovely, mild rancio, pleasant warmth, around the same quality level (or a touch better) as the Seppelt Grand Muscat DP63

D'Arenberg Footbolt Shiraz 2004 Yeah, another one. The licorice has me hooked and it's discounted at present. Enough complexity to keep me happy.

Shotfire Ridge 2004 Typical Barossan, full-bodied, plummy but not overdone (unlike the Limestone Coast Jip Jip Rocks I had last week), tannins a bit gravelly, fruit has soaked up the oak, some vanillin, finishes a tad short, very good quaffer.

Metala White Label Shiraz Cab 2002 Had this after the Footrot so it took a while to become accustomed to it and for the fruit to show through. Medium-full bodied, some savoury plum, noticeable oak, grainy tannins, medium finish.

Tahbilk Reserve Shiraz 1994 Heavy crust. Clear, dark brick red colour with a little browning at the edges. Leather, some initial old oak bottle stink with underlying red berries, a hint of plums on the nose. On the palate it has savoury red fruits, some of the leather on the nose, a smidge of honey, very fine, just dusty tannins and a lingering finish with good acid. Drinking well now but should hold for at least several years more.

Cheers

daz

[quote="Davo"]Bleasedale Frank Potts 1995, mine are now all gone and I think just in time. Lovely tertiary characters but heading downhill from the last bottle I had.[quote="Davo"]

Davo,
still have some 98. Have not tried for 2 years have you tried this lately?
MM.

Muscat Mike wrote:

Davo wrote:Bleasedale Frank Potts 1995, mine are now all gone and I think just in time. Lovely tertiary characters but heading downhill from the last bottle I had.

Davo wrote:
Davo,
still have some 98. Have not tried for 2 years have you tried this lately?
MM.

Mate, I think Davo already told us he tried his last bottle of it within the last week?

daz

One possibly contentious note - this may represent my changing tastes as much as it represents the wine...

2003 Wolf Blass Shiraz Gold Label (Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley)
Opaque Purple in colour, with Blackberry and slightly piercing black pepper on the nose, replicated on the palate but with the pepper/spice and alcohol really quite prominent. I found this a dense but not overfruited and slightly hot immature shiraz (15%alc). At this stage in its life there's little complexity. I'm sure the hot vintage didn't help, what for me is a slightly simple (and potentially unbalanced) wine. At least the oak is under control.
I'm not saying it's not a good wine, nor undrinkable, just one that doesn't suit me.

2000 Cullen Wines Sémillon Sauvignon Blanc (Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River)
Initially was quite sauvignon dominated on opening. However with time in the glass (and portuguese decanter/cooler that some friends gave us) this opened out to show a good deal of complexity.

Drinking well now with a little air, don't feel the need to drink any remaining bottles in a rush, as it should hold well for 2-3 years on this evidence.

regards

Ian

Muscat Mike wrote:

Davo wrote:Bleasedale Frank Potts 1995, mine are now all gone and I think just in time. Lovely tertiary characters but heading downhill from the last bottle I had.

Davo wrote:
Davo,
still have some 98. Have not tried for 2 years have you tried this lately?
MM.

Mike, I haven't had a 98 in a year or so. I only have 1 of them left and I was planning on next year for it.

MossWood Chadonnay 1991, A bit worry about this wine before open it , however, it really surprise everyone and the style is quite difference from the other aged Australian Chadonnay which I tasted before. Unfortundately, that was the only bottle I got.

Penfold Grange 1998, Big wine, got everything you want , very promising but please wait for another 10 years at least.

Astralis 1996, Good to drink now, smooth and good balance, not sure whether it will improve any further. However, I wonder whether it worth the money I paid for!

Cheatau Mouton 1982, A bit disappointed, may be it is still too early to drink this wine. Personally, I prefer the 1996 vintage.

Leoville-Las Cases 1982, very enjoyable but doesnt worth the 100pints RP given. It may be due to bottle variation.

A couple of weeks to catch up on....
Did a wine-off with a buddy
D'Arenberg Dead Arm 2001 vs Yalumba Octavius 2001
Octavius is a serious heavy weight shiraz, drinking very well now, great mid-palate and so smooth a finish, seamless some might say. A nice blend of berries with vanilla and slight choc flavours.
Dead Arm, a mid-heavy weight, very nice but not quite the wonderful mouthfeel of the octavius, the tannins still massive, with hinting blackberry and aniseed flavours, still has that great long, long, finish, this baby still needs 3 years at least. On current form the octavius was the winner just, but in a couple of years the result could easily reverse.
Turkey Flat Shiraz 2004
Another heavy weight shiraz, already well in balance, just a hint of heat(from the 15% alcohol) on the finish, maybe time will see that intergrate.
Wynns Black Label Cab Sav 2000
Very nice wine, ripe fruit with big hit of liqorice, another wine that needs alot more time
Knappstein Enterprise Shiraz 2000
Drinking as i type up these notes, this was opened yesterday and was very closed but with good weight and long tannic finish, very little sediment, today is drinking beautifully, the berry flavours a little more pronounced, a slight underlying oak presence and that finish has softened a little , this should be "leave it in the cellar wine"

Went to restaurant06 a convention for the hospitality industry, some of the cheese i had there was amazing, as far as the wines i had

Taylors shiraz 2004 v.good VFM best quaffer i tasted
Taylors St Andrews Cab Sav 2001 the stand out of the taylors range
Dalwhinnie Moonambel Shiraz 2004 sensational wine, best of the line up
Dalwhinnie Eagle series Shiraz 2001 great wine, but wait for the 2004
Grant Burge filsell 2004 this has lots of promise, better than the 2002
Katnook Odyssey 2001 top shelf coonawarra cab sav
Katnook Prodigy 2002 nice wine but better out there for price
Katnook Cab Sav 1994 (Thanks Terry) beautiful aged cab, wine of the day
Castagna Genesis 2004 very nice but out done by...
Castagna La Chiave 2004 another cracker... needs time
am going tomorrow to do some more wine and others(beers/spirits, liver transplant)
and to taste some more of that great cheese
Cheers
Simmo

2003 Marius Single Vineyard McLaren Vale Shiraz. Screwcap. 15%. $25
Coconut and chocolate on the nose. Sweet dark cherry/berry fruit with spice. Again something dark or blck that I cannot pick (tar, liquorice, something?). Nice spice on the palate and a very long fine finish which is midly spicy. Rating: Very, Very Good. QPR: High. (Help! - I am drinking these too quickly!)

All Saints 'Rutherglen' Muscat. Cork. 18%. $19.
Nose of sweet candied peel. Beautiful sweetness floods the palate with flavours of toffee, nougat and hazelnut. Finishes long. Rating: Very Good. QPR: Medium/High. I need more experience with these wines.

Also last week had the 2003 Balgownie Bendigo Shiraz which was great. Didn't make notes but recall a beautiful nose, nice supple fruit and medium long finish. Nice for $25, if not in the same class as the Marius.

Some over the past couple of weeks:

Whites

Yarrh Sauvignon Blanc 2004, Canberra, 12%.
Starts with green herbs, then on to mixed tropical fruits. Decent acid and a crisp finish. Bit of green apple skin in there too. Bottle age may have dulled it a bit.

Brown Brothers Arneis 2005, Victoria, 13%.
Good arneis. Supposedly a drink-quick white, but opens up well over a couple of days in the fridge, especially the almond characters. Not sure which vineyards this comes from.

Brown Brothers Very Old Tokay, Victoria, 18%.
Caramels and toffee, with a little oak threaded through. Reasonable acid and good drinking with chocolate.

TK Gewurtztraminer 2004, Lenswood/Adelaide Hills, 12.5%.
Thinking about being a little fat, lychee dominates on the nose and through the palate. Spice quite restrained. Decent, and good with a stirfry of chicken and thai basil, but not in the class of the Penfolds Cellar Reserve Gewurz.

Tatachilla Growers Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2004, South Australia, 12.5%.
Fairly basic quaffing SSB blend, decent enough for the price, but I'd like a bit more citrus in this.

Ferngrove Vineyards Estate Cossack Riesling, 2002, Frankland River, 11.8%.
Some nice aged characters creeping into this, but still spritzig. Lovely label of the Cossack Spider Orchid, but didn't convince me about riesling from WA.

Voyager Estate Chardonnnay 2004, Margaret River, 13.2%.
Lovely chardonnay. Interest on all fronts without ever being overworked. I don't drink much chardonnay, but will have to ration my bottles of this.

Reds

Torres De Casta Rosado, 2004, Catalonia, 13.5%.
A rose from garnacha and carinena. Still good colour and some acid, but the fruit is dulling, heading off into dried strawberry territory.

Lark Hill Exaltation Pinot Noir, 2001, Canberra, 13.8%.
Looks like it could be dilute, but isn't. Lovely intensity of fruit and a lengthy finish. Tannins tucked away. Two bottles for two weekends of duck risottos. Tasty.

Hoddles Creek Estate Pinot Noir, 2005, Yarra Valley, 13.2%.
Excellent judgement with the alcohol on this. Has good structure behind the fruits and follows on well from the 2004. I opened this as a taster, with the rest going to sit for six months or so before I come back.

Saltram Mamre Brook Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004, Barossa, 14%.
Also a taster out of a case, has the goods for the long haul and excellent value cabernet, but not ready yet to my taste.

Primo Estate Joseph Moda Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, 2001, McLaren Vale, 14.5%.
Opened before it's time, but lovely savoury fruits and fine, long tannins. Still tight and restrained, even with days open. Had the 1999 of this last Friday night, which was a cracker. The amarone-style approach with the fruit for this works so well, but very differently from Mitolo's Serpico.

Torzi Matthews Frost Dodger Shiraz, 2004, Eden Valley, 14.5%.
Continuing the appasimento/amarone theme, a partial-drying shiraz. I liked this, but there was a bit too much prune going on for me to really get into it. It's good value, and shows part of what drying shiraz can achieve, but lacks some elegance.

Ravensworth Shiraz Viognier 2005, Canberra, 14%.
Excellent value shiraz viognier, with lifted white pepper and red berries cathing you well before any hint of apricot. I'll buy more of this. Viognier is at 5%.

Yering Station Shiraz Viognier, 2004, Yarra Valley, 14%.
The french oak works well on this, and the value is excellent, but it was outclassed by the Ravensworth.

Domaine Saint Prefert Chateauneuf du Pape, 2004, Southern Rhone, 13.5%.
Had this with a Sunday dinner of beef bourginon. A bit young still, but that works OK for the 90% grenache component. Oaking is really kept for the 5% Cinsault and 5% shiraz+mourvedre. Reasonable CNDP, but a slight stretch in value terms.

There were a couple of chianti's in there are well (a Peppoli and two Isole de Olena's) that were fairly unremarkable, and a good amarone de valpolicella at Benchmark I forgot to take notes on.

Thanks Mark S - have another bottle will give it a go in a couple of weeks

regards