The Auswine Forum

Time to tell us what you guys and girls have been drinking over the last week. Tasting notes, impressions or vibes welcome.

David Wynn Patriarch Shiraz 1994 - Eden Valley
Leathery aromas on the nose and subtle cedar on the palette.
Pleasant, but missing something -- should have been drunk years ago.

A prosecco, an aged Boyd-Cantenac and a chambers tokay. Notes to follow tomorrow.

Best's Great Western Cabernet Sav 1997. Amazingly big fruit "cordial" aroma (you could smell in the next suburb), nice balance and flavours, good finish. Lovely wine.

Wolseley Geelong Shiraz 2003. Wow, this is the one of the best $10 wines I have ever had. Lovely fruit aromas, nice balance, big complex flavours and amazing length!

Cracked a carton I had put aside for 2006.

Mostly Moss Bothers 2000 Shiraz and 1999 Cab Merlot. Hell, I should have bought more of these. Both are drinking really well, not hugely complex but distinctively MR wines and very very quaffable.

Reilly's Dry Land Shiraz 1998, also tucked away in the same box. Lovely drinking right now but should see out another 10 years with ease. Drinking this also brings back fond memories of the cellar door in Mintaro. One of those places with great character, several of them in fact and a very good lunch spot.

Elderton Ashmead Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
Nice juice. First impression was that it was surprisingly varietal. Very ripe but not over the top, twist of Barossa black pepper which maybe I am sensitive to. Although hard to criticise, I thought this was high quality but lacking in character. Not tempted to buy again. Very Good

Meerea Park Alexander Munro Shiraz 2003
Don't know much about Hunter but this is outstanding wine. Layers of tightly wound red fruit and tannin but has balance. 14.5% but not a trace of alchohol. Great persistence. Drinking as I write ... still improving after 24 hours ... just lingers on the tongue ... if this is HV I need to buy and learn a lot more. Excellent now but will become Outstanding. Built to age.

Thorn Clarke Shotfire ridge Quartage 2004
Fruit driven cuvee style providing plenty of cassis and blackberry, nice mouth feel just a bit simple for my liking.

Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey 1995 Sauterne
Opens with a definitive bouquet of marzipan, apricot and a slight petrolly nuance. On the palate marzipan again with marmalade also revealing some slight orange peel, finishing with some citrusy honeyed notes, quite complex and very defined. Excellent WOTN.

Jay60A wrote:Meerea Park Alexander Munro Shiraz 2003
Don't know much about Hunter but this is outstanding wine. Layers of tightly wound red fruit and tannin but has balance. 14.5% but not a trace of alchohol. Great persistence. Drinking as I write ... still improving after 24 hours ... just lingers on the tongue ... if this is HV I need to buy and learn a lot more. Excellent now but will become Outstanding. Built to age.

Top wine this...and yes this is the Hunter in a good vintage - although made in a modern style - 40% new French oak. It's as good as any shiraz from anywhere in Australia.
GW

1-5 stars: rubbish/poor/average/good/great

2005 Millton Opou Vineyard Riesling - good
2005 Two Hands Brave Faces Shiraz Grenache - average, becoming good with air
2004 Whitebox Heathcote Shiraz - good
2004 Taylors Cabernet - average, becoming poor with air
2003? Willi Schaeffer Domprobst Spatlese - great
2005 Palliser Estate Riesling - poor
1983 Penfolds Bin 28 - good
2002 Hollick Cab Sauv - good
2005 Seifried Wurzer - good
2005 Red Rock Merlot/Malbec - good
2004 Yering Station Pinot - good
2004? Yering Station Frog Pinot - rubbish
2004? Yering Station Shiraz Viognier - poor
2005 Wild South Pinot - rubbish
2005 Pegasus Bay Riesling - good
2003 Albert Mann Gewurztraminer (Alsace) - poor

I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting...

TN: 2004 Teusner Joshua, Barossa valley, blend of grenache, mataro and shiraz. Unoaked, represents a CdP style, though much more toned down. Whiff of meat with black olives. Well-balanced, refreshing spicey aftertaste.

After O/N in the fridge, opened up slight with bigger meaty characteristics coupled with a smooth olive nose. Organised body and well-balanced aftertaste with velvet finish of spice, and yellow-flesh plum with sweet bitterness.

Decided to keep for another day, so O/N on the table. Tight structure, no longer meaty or olive nose. Fresh clear plum overtones. Fleshy smooth aftertaste concentrated on the upper pallet. Excellent value. 7/10

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carricks top chardonnay, whatever it is called cant remember from 2002 vintage. Once it had some air and warmed up a bit it was really good actually. finely structured, flashes of butterscotch among the usual chardy flavours enjoy a good chardonnay for a change.

on friday night had a 04 wolf blass yellow label cab 04. not a bad friday mindless quaff, varietal, dark not over oaked or with too much spirit and without the crap oak most cheap aussie wines have.

Sean wrote:Ric,

Glad to see you are back from the dead.

So what's on the other side? Or more importantly, what's the wine like??

Sean,

The wines tried on this trip, be it by accident, good luck or careful planning were, on average, the best of any Tour Diary trip to date. Now all I have to do is write the story, decipher about 250 tasting notes and knock the pictures into shape.

TORB wrote:

Sean wrote:Ric,

Glad to see you are back from the dead.

So what's on the other side? Or more importantly, what's the wine like??

Sean,

The wines tried on this trip, be it by accident, good luck or careful planning were, on average, the best of any Tour Diary trip to date. Now all I have to do is write the story, decipher about 250 tasting notes and knock the pictures into shape.

Yes, there is some very very good plonk on tasting at CD in SA this year. Made me really happy to do 2 trips.

McWilliams Maurice O'Shea Shiraz 2003

I kinda figured that this one would need some time in the decanter so i gave it a good 2-3 hours but on first appearance you would have thought i'd poured it straight from the bottle.. ! Initially all coffee, chocolate oak, marzipan ? tannin & acid. Plenty of fruit there but it didn't want to show itself. Over the course of the next couple of hours the fruit started to show a little more but the oak & tannin were still at the forefront. Left the remainder for 24 hours and what a transformation.. The oak & tannins had subsided and the wine was now showing plenty of rich blackberry/cherry fruit..

Not really approachable now i'm not going to even think about opening another for at least 5 years

Chris

Craggy Range Le Sol 2004
A dense purple to black wine with aromas of plummy, blackberry jam with elements of pepper, meatiness, a little oak peeking through with caramel and vanilla notes, some floral elements and a little lifted raspberry liquorice. Uber-comlex nose. Palate does not disappoint with dense plum, blackberry, a taste of cherry, pepper, aniseed, milk chocolate and caramel oak. Super fine tannins. Only detraction for me was that I thought there was a little heat in the palate which cost the wine a point or two in my view – but that is a moot point and I would drink this anytime.

93/100

Tim Adams Aberfeldy Shiraz 2001

Classic Clare valley nose of blueberry, menthol, earth, iodine and herbal notes. This wine has fantastic depth and persistence in its palate which abounds with flavours of dark berries, plums, dark chocolate, minerals, pepper and a little mint. Fantastic backbone of fine tannins makes for a tight racy wine. This wine needs more time to show more complexity but is awesome in its power and structure now.

94/100

Jacob's Creek Steingarten Riesling 2002

Nose of slate, minerals and lime with some floral elements. Crisp acidity makes for a racy plate with complex layers lime and lemon juice with complex minerals. Looking very young and should be fantastic with time

92/100

Sepplet St. Peters Shiraz 2002

Two years on from release this wine is just starting to integrate. Nose of blackberry, aniseed, pepper, spice, roasted meat and cedar. Very supple mouth feel with the palate showing blackberry, liquorice, plums, spice, pepper, mushroom and still a fair bit of oak but not as much as on release. A fine backbone of tannins. Quite seamless and complex. A fantastic Shiraz.

93/100

Barratt ‘The Bonython’ Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir 2002

Nice Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir with generous red cherry and strawberry flavours and notes of mushroom, earth and forest floor. Good oak integration – very smooth. Not an overly complex or delicate Pinot but a good drink at its price.

88/100

Also recently quaffed:

Leo Buring Eden Valley Riesling 2005 - super value
Shaw & Smith SB 2006 - alright and not near the quality of the 2005
Marius Simpatico Shiraz 2004 - plenty of delicious raspberry, chocolate, vanilla with savoury elements of leather and tobacco. Great drinking

To avoid temptation there is a 6 pack of Jacobs Creek Limited Release 1998 Cabernet shiraz (best Coonwarra cabernet and Barossa Shiraz) buried under a mountain of boxes in the cellar. Much has been said about this wine which tempted N4sir and me to shares some from a recent auction. Being visible like a rabbit in the spotlight one screamed to be opened. I couldn't resist and was not disappointed. Stunning wine of great elegance and grace. Remined me of the Penny's 1990 90A, not in the same class but approaching it. One level up from 389's but more elegant. Drinking well now the tannins and oak have integrated and will be brought out only on special occasions over the next 10+ years. Must bury the rest out of temptation's way. Best wine for 2006 so far.

Apart from that we have been drinking good cleanskins and export labels from a market awash with good value wines.

Chuck

Only tasting vibes really, from recollections the day after.

N.V. Breganze Prosecco Extra Dry - Italy, Veneto Didn't pay it too much attention, but it disappeared quickly, so must have gone down well. Not too serious but nicely balanced. Great value at ~ £8-9

1982 Château Boyd-Cantenac - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux Decanted immediately prior to drinking.
A fantastic (almost decayed) heady truffle smell on opening. Over time this subsided a little and more tobacco-like notes appeared. Fruit still there, but very much in the supporting role. Acidity spot on. A fine bottle.

N.V. Chambers Muscadelle (Tokay) Rosewood Vineyards - Australia, Victoria, North East, Rutherglen Seriously good value and a treat with after dinner coffee.


Served with Roast Guinea Fowl, Crispy roast spuds, carrots, spiced beetroot and a creamy mushroom sauce from fresh & dried mushrooms and a fine porcini mushroom paste with a touch of single cream.

regards

Ian

Steingarten Riesling 2002
Pale with yellow tints, starting to show some development, nice fruit sweetness with lemon curd, lime and tang of canned pineapples. Well balanced, nice package. Drinking well.

Hugel Riesling 2000
Nice nose but palate completely shot and empty. No good at all.

Geoff Weaver 2005 Sauvignon Blanc
Quite big, in your face SB - Adelaide Hills characters. More tropical and only vaguely herbaceous than some others. Not especially elegant. Drinking nicely though.

Seppelt Dorrien 1996 Cabernet
Beautiful wine, in pristine condition. Structured, elegant and complex nose of berries, chocolate and leathery notes. Medium bodied. Still with several years at least to go but drinking superbly.

2006 Houghton White Classic - for value for money this is hard to go past. Fresh, lively and fruit driven, perfect for a summers arvo.

2004 Evans and Tate Shiraz Cabernet (Screw Cap) - on first opening I was thinking a waste of money, however after decanting and give it some time it opened up. Not one of the better wines about however good quaff value at the bargain price of $6 (at Auction). This should develop and integrate further.

Domaine Pierre de la Grange Muscadet 2004 Made by one of the top Muscadet viticulturist Pierre Luneau off 50 year old vines grown on mica, schist, and gneiss soils. Lovely fresh grapefruity, lemon and a touch of peach on the nose. Fresh minerally light to mid weight palate with lovely crunchy acid. For what it is a lovely aperitif wine. Imported by Vintage and vine and a great summer quaffer - around $18.

2005 O'Leary Walker Watervale riesling pale yellow colour - no flashes of green. orange blossom and melon nose. Similar on palate without much complexity or mineral acid cut. Fairly commercial and a disappointment.

2006 Tyrrell's Vat 4 Semillon Lifted lemon and straw nose. Quite a rich midweight palate with more lemon and straw. Softish acid. easy drinker.

2006 Tyrrell's Vat 18 Semillon Broader straw and soapy nose. Unbalanced palate with disjointed hard tartaric acid finish. Disappointing. i usually really enjoy the 18 off the belford vineyard.

2006 Tyrrell's vat 1 Semillon Wow this is good. Fresh lemon/lime and wet grass nose. Much more restrained and austere than the 4 or 18. Powerful palate. Quite structured and austere but with bags of reserved fruit below the tight minerally palate. great length already. Buy as much as you can.

2004 Saint Cosme Cote de Rhone. very bretty on the nose and palate. Actually some very nice fruit below the brett. Not my style.

2003 Saint Cosme Chateau Neuf du Pape Very dark. Incredibly spicy and earthy nose and palate. Nothing roasted though. Deep rich palate with substantial but not rough tannins. Very much like Vieux telegraph CndP. needs 10 years but potentially will be very good in a bigger style.

2004 Sancerre Domaine de la Moussiere tried another one of theses . Again lots of bottle stink. Really needs a good couple of hours decanting. Some racy but muted gooseberry and flint on nose and palate. Quite minerally but lacking focus and interest. Just average.

2004 Isabell Pinot Noir Marlborough Big rasberry and plummy fruit with lifted vanillan oak. Nice nose but like a lot of nz pinots doesn't follow thru on the palate. All up front fruit which falls over the cliff from mid palate with a sour thin finish. Either overcropped fruit or rain stuff them. Poor.

1996 Chateau La Lagune Haut Medoc Leather, some cedar and earth. Quite developed for a 96. Similar on a mid weight palate with surprising resolved tannins. Some complexity and interest but ready to drink.

1996 Cornas Noel Verset C abbagey slightly volatile and medicinal nose. More VA and disjointed acidic palate. Poor

1996 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz. hello mr penfolds. Sweet oak, rich licorice and spicy leather nose and palate. Quite four - square but cuddly and rich. Full-bodied and for me slightly old fashioned in its broadness. Lots of fully ripened tannins will mean this will last and be better for another 10 years in the cellar. Always a penfolds rather than a discourse on either grape. In that light a nice wine.

1985 Chateau Leoville Barton St Julien. A quintessential claret. No more than mid weight but dancing a merry dance between lovely cedary, pencilly dark red fruits and fine but intense tannins finishing with a beautiful long palate. from an under-rated year but a year that is drinking beautifully at the moemtn. if you have any have one you'll love it. What i love about bordeaux this has it.

2005 Moscato D'Asti [can't remember the maker but a DM special] What better wine to go with scrumptious fully ripe strawberries marinated in 10 year old treacly balsamic vinegar with marscapone! Uncomplicated fruity muscat flavours some petullant fine bubbles and a lovely fresh fruity finish. Nothing cloying about this . Only 5.5 % alcohol and a winner. Can drink bags of this.

Maximus wrote:
2003? Willi Schaeffer Domprobst Spatlese - great

Willi Schaefer is one of my favourite producers out of Germany look out for the soon to be released 2005's worth stocking up on.

2 of interest this week.

Schild Estate Shiraz 2004
Delightfull juice, rich fruit with choc and some nice oak in there as well great qpr.

Grant Burge Filsell 1998
Entering its drinking window from this example, some bricking around the edges but should hold up for a while longer good gear.

Glen

Mourchon Seguret CdR 2003
Despite some good reports this wine went nowhere over 24 hrs. Big, dumb, tannin over the top. A representative bottle? Who knows but I won't go back for another.

Bidgeebong Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2002
A very cool year from a cool spot, no surprises the acidity is high for a Oz chardy. Very nice taught style entering its drinking peak.

Cline Zinfandel 2004
Nice medium weight Zin from California. Blueberries and sandalwood, something different.

Sanford Pinot Noir 2004
Central coast pinot that is quite a big exotic style. Not one for the burg fans but an interesting drink with some affinities with some oz pinots in warmer years.

Prunotto Barbera 2004
This works a treat with tomato based pasta. Each glass more interesting than the last. Decant to get the most from it.

Chuck wrote:To avoid temptation there is a 6 pack of Jacobs Creek Limited Release 1998 Cabernet shiraz (best Coonwarra cabernet and Barossa Shiraz) buried under a mountain of boxes in the cellar. Much has been said about this wine which tempted N4sir and me to shares some from a recent auction. Being visible like a rabbit in the spotlight one screamed to be opened. I couldn't resist and was not disappointed. Stunning wine of great elegance and grace. Remined me of the Penny's 1990 90A, not in the same class but approaching it. One level up from 389's but more elegant. Drinking well now the tannins and oak have integrated and will be brought out only on special occasions over the next 10+ years. Must bury the rest out of temptation's way. Best wine for 2006 so far.

Chuck

Glad you liked it, and even happier I went halves with you on those at auction. Mine are happily snoozing waiting for the appropriate occasion.

Cheers,
Ian

A mixed bag over the weekend with a nice dinner on friday night and a family barby on sunday.

97 Veritas Bulls Blood OMG, this wine is so good. If you have any, start drinking it. This is the second bottle of late and both have been fantastic even if from an average year. Just exploding with fruit and spice.

94 Henschke Mount Edelstone Big Blackcurrent nose following through on the palate. We decanted this in the restaurant and it would have been much better if I had decanted earlier. A very good wine but just somewhat muted through lack of air time. Opened up very nicely in the glass and the last few sips were the best by far. No rush to drink this but if you're heading that way, give it at least an hour prior.

99 Noons Reserve Shiraz Very dark purple colour with an overwhelming nose of Amyl Nitrate. While, this is something I enjoyed in my youth, I can't tolerate it now and it's not pleasant at all in a wine. This is a Parker 100 pointed wine and it's very difficult to see how it got this rating. While there is abundant fruit underneath, the amyl and alcohol on the nose is just too much. Again, I think it needed a lot more time in the decanter for this to blow off even a little. Not a great experience and I'm seriously wondering where these are going.

Finished with a 93 Royal Tokaji 3 puttonyos I bought this 200ml bottle years ago from Kemenys and it still had the $27 price tag on it. I really enjoyed this wine. Quite a dark caramel colour. Wonderful nose and very clean and sweet on the palate. No one fruit dominating but just a very crisp, clean acid with wonderful length. Still very fresh with virtually no sign of age. Of course this was my only bottle but I'll be looking at getting a lot more of the style and trying to forget about them for as long as this one was hiding away.

Then on Sunday, more of a white afternoon with some of the girls in my family.

04 Cloudy Bay Savignon Blanc Found a stash of these that didn't get drunk last year so they've gone to the front of the drink now area. All the usual cloudy bay hallmarks but just a bit muted and not quite as zingy. Still nice passionfruit flavours dominating.

06 Tyrrels Lost Block Semillon Dominate flavour of pear, both on the nose and palate. Great summer wine and very refreshing.

03 Verse 1 Chardonnay Not as vibrant as the last two wines but OK for a cheap quaffer. A bit blousey in that aussie chardy way but fine for quaffing, especially after a number of cocktails and three other bottles of wine. I get less fussy as I get more drunk!

A few wines with Andrew Jordan...

2002 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz - the more I try this, the more I think it will become a great BP. Yes, I know there is a fair whack of oak and alcohol, but I'm not as offput by it as others.

2002 The Standish Shiraz - super tight. Not as complex or long as the 01.

1999 Voyager Estate Cab Merlot - corked

1996 Mitchelton Print Label shiraz - corked

I recall we may have tried a 2001 RWT Shiraz as well....

Chuck wrote:To avoid temptation there is a 6 pack of Jacobs Creek Limited Release 1998 Cabernet shiraz (best Coonwarra cabernet and Barossa Shiraz) buried under a mountain of boxes in the cellar. Much has been said about this wine which tempted N4sir and me to shares some from a recent auction. Being visible like a rabbit in the spotlight one screamed to be opened. I couldn't resist and was not disappointed. Stunning wine of great elegance and grace. Remined me of the Penny's 1990 90A, not in the same class but approaching it. One level up from 389's but more elegant. Drinking well now the tannins and oak have integrated and will be brought out only on special occasions over the next 10+ years. Must bury the rest out of temptation's way. Best wine for 2006 so far.

I have a whole stack of the 99 JC Limited which I picked up for a song and whilst I have quite enjoyed the couple I've had, they're very oaky and not particularly integrated, at least yet. Total teeth stainers. I have heard excellent things about the 98 and wonder how different it is / how it compares to the 99, just out of curiosity. Anyone?

Wayno wrote:
I have a whole stack of the 99 JC Limited which I picked up for a song and whilst I have quite enjoyed the couple I've had, they're very oaky and not particularly integrated, at least yet. Total teeth stainers. I have heard excellent things about the 98 and wonder how different it is / how it compares to the 99, just out of curiosity. Anyone?

Wayno,

Tried a '99 job a few months ago and agree it needs more time however felt it was not in the class of the '98.

Chuck