The Auswine Forum

Hi Good Peoples,

It seems like only seven days since the last weekly reports were due.

In my case, I've had some good wines this week. There were three new releases from Dominic Torzi but were all worth buying. the best of the lot was the Kalleske 2005 Shiraz which is a terrific wine. Full tasting notes to follow on my web site in the next few days.

Now what have you guys been drinking?

A non-descript Sangiovese 2005 (house wine) that whilst showing some sweetness, was at least drinkable - the standard of house wines over here really can be bad

Then a recent bonus wine from a mixed auction case (a 1983 trocken - not even sure it was riesling). Unsurprisingly unpleasant, so used as sink lubricant. Replaced with 2004 Torres vina esmeralda, which is a fine and dandy quaffer. Plenty of muscat to the fore of the blend, but the balance is right. A very handy wine to have in the cellar.

Nothing yet this weekend, but might crack one tonight.

Ian

Rockford BP Shiraz 01 - very bright, clear red/magenta colour - very light on the palate but tasty - cherries etc - first BP I've tried not overly impressed probably due to the vintage.
Coriole Sangiovese 04 - brillant wine - can't get enough

Hi all. My first post so be nice.

2004 Redhouse Shiraz Grenache bit green, with a harsh bitter finish. Not my favourite

2003 Wynns Shiraz pretty simple and lacklustre.

2003 Plantagenet Cab deep fruit flavours, nicely balanced. Improved in the glass and should be v good in a few years.

2004 West Cape Howe Cab Merlot nicely rounded and fruity. V good quaffer.

Wolf,

The '03 Plantaganet Cab is a cracker - glad you enjoyed it. West Cape Howe do do a good quaffer - their Shiraz is pretty good in that range - pity they can't do good premium wine.


Vasse Felix 2004 Cab Sauv - a quintessential Margaret River Cabernet from what will end up being the vintage of the decade. This is a big, fat, well structured Cabernet that will be wonderful in 7+ years time. One for the cellar.

Cloudy Bay 2003 Pinot Noir - this is fantastic stuff, lovely strawberry and dark berry flavours, very fine tannins and a super long finish.

Lazy Ballerina Shiraz 2005

Vibrant aromas of blackberry, plum and an underlying dustyness were virtually leaping around immediately after opening, I am surprised they didn't force the cork clean out of the bottle! The palate lives up to the expectation set by the nose, starting with a burst of ripe dark fruits and berries which are chased down the line by some spices and subtle oak. Intense, balanced and long, there is also plenty of mouthfilling tannin to support the great fruit.

92/100

Big long lunch with a more bottles of wine than people. Some of the more noteworthy

A couple of new experiences for me..

Casaldomo Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico 2005
Just a hint of green in colour, dominant pear and apple with just the slightest hint of some buttery characteristics on the finish.
Normally young fresh whites are not something I would go out of my way to try... but I found it quite compelling and kept working with it even after the lure of reds beckoned.

Duca di Castelmonte Zibbibo Sicilia IGT
Equally compelling by way of a desert wine was this offering from Trapani.
Pale straw with an in your face nose full of honey and almonds. With the addition of fig and perhaps lavender. Long finish that slowly fades away leaving a hint of honey and fig.
Perfect company for the cantucci

Campbells Trebbiano 2005
Never had Trebbiano before, so I came to it with no preconceived ideas. But even so, I was not compelled in any way.


plus.

St Hallets Old Block Shiraz 1996
Singing. Well integrated harmonious .. it was the wine of the night for me.

Wynns John Riddoch 1993
Big blackberry flavours with chocolate on the noes. Fruit and Oak well integrated together but the tannins seemed overly harsh -- making it seem a bit out of kilter.

1998 Dom Perignon - a nice wine but the company I shared it with was even better.... This bottle seemed to lack the complexity and intensity of the bottle last month in Oz.

2005 Mollydooker Enchanted Path - just tried one glass last night and will take another look at it tonight. On the first showing, too "in your face" for my liking, but I can understand why some would enjoy the style. Despite masses of fruit, there was enough tannin and acid to suggest this will last a while.

Been more of a beer week but last night I had

05 Pepperjack Shiraz Good quaffer but perhaps just a little simple for my tastes. Just a bit of sweet caramel as well as some berry flavours. Good body and length though but no noticable tannins to speak of. Went quite well with a steak and was popular at the table. Might settle down a bit with a year or two but I don't think it's built to last much longer than that.

2000 Leasingham Bin 56 Cabernet Malbec.
Decantered for one hour, Still had good Colour but no fruit and like vinegar. The bottle said will gain complexity over the next ten years.Only brought this wine about a year ago from a supermarket. Proberly been sitting under lights on the shelf at twenty odd degrees cooking.

2004 Waterwheel Bendigo Shiraz.
Plums,Black Friut and spice. Great wine for the Price.

Noon Twelve Bells, 2005 - First time in about 5 years that i have bought/drunk this drop. Found it initially to cause too much reflux, but i like the style now...a mid weeker for sure, but still pleasant to drink a half bottle very easily. Hides the 16% very well.

Most of the wines I had over the last week I've posted impressions of before but I'm presently tasting a bottle of Wolf Blass Grey Label 04. McLarenvale fruit, and it shows with chocolate, dark berry fruits on the front palate moving to some toasty oak, some tar and licorice on the mid-back palate. Finishes with soft acid, sweet tannins from the American oak component and stalky/pippy tannins adding some dryness. A mainstream-style McLarenvale shiraz that's very gluggable, I can understand why it scored a gold medal at the NWS. Recommended+/91pts, excellent value at ~$20.50 (incl freight for a 6pk). The back label says cellar 6-10 years. It's already nicely integrated, with the structure to make 7-8 years easily if the fruit holds on.

Cheers

daz

bacchaebabe wrote:Been more of a beer week

My favourite beer for some time now has been James Squire Pilsener. But I do like pilsener-style beer.

Took the parents, best man and some friends upto the Hunter Valley at the weekend and stayed at Tatler Wine ... if you have a group of around 6 people and want to stay somewhere fab it is the Loft at Tatler .. also they have a good tapas restaurant. Anyway enough of that and onto the wine

We had a private tasting at Lindemans and they couldn't do enough for us, we tried a total of 12 wines, below are the ones I can remember

1985 Nursery "Coonawarra" Riesling (Museum release) - wow this had a really strong smell of kerosine which was almost too much, however it actually tasted pretty good.

1989 Hunter River Verdelho (Museum release) - Now I'm not normally a white wine drinker, but this was bloody good, quite a surprise for me. Still plenty of fruit coming through and a lovely long finish .. so I bought some.

Stevens Hunter Shiraz 1999 - Not a bad wine, but came across as quite thin with not alot to it

1973 Hunter River Burgundy (Museum release) - Not alot on the nose, and not alot on the palate either .. going, going, gone!

1990 Limestone Ridge (Museum release) - Had this at the tasting and also a few days ago with the parents at a crakcing restaurant in Sydney called Two Rooms in Randwick. Went very well with pork belly (cooked for 12 hours). Also better than the last bottle, not the burnt, smokey smell, and the taste was great. I really like this wine

1979 Vintage Port (Museum release) - Come to daddy, this was fab, in fact I bought a bottle of the 1962 Port as they said that was even better.

Also tried the Tawny which goes for $16.95 CD, and was very reasonable, although I ended up buying the 10 year old Tawy for $30 as it has a bit more complexity.

Have to commend Lindemans on a great tasting which the parents and friends thoroughly enjoyed.

Lots of quaffers this week but a couple of notables

Marius Simpatico 2004
I have tasted this before but this is the first time I have taken a little time over a full bottle. Wow just make sure you give this a good decant before leaping in as it just kept evolving over the couple of hours before it all disappeared. Lovely depth of fruit with fruit cake spices choc all meshed in together. Well liked by all.

Seppelt Para Port 1939
My wife wanted to try a REALLY old wine so I picked this up at auction. Unfortunately I think it may have been stored for a fairly long period of time standing up. I layed it over in the cellar and it started to leak . Still provenance would be hard to verify on a 70 year old wine at the best of times. The cork was very soft and crumbling but I managed to get it out without any going into the wine. Very brown in colour interesting aroma's of rancio, caramel and licorice. Had a bit of a sharp edge to the finish which I think was from the advanced oxidation very long finished that kept changing for minutes. Started to round out after a little while, not something you get to try every day and worth the experience for my money.

Glen

Daryl Douglas wrote:

bacchaebabe wrote:Been more of a beer week

My favourite beer for some time now has been James Squire Pilsener. But I do like pilsener-style beer.

I got to taste a new beer last week.

Knapstein Enterprise Brewery
Reserve Lager
5.6%

Comes in four packs in a 16 bottle case.

Very good. Much better than that Coopers swill
I also like the Pike's Oakbank beer.

Graham

GrahamB wrote:Knapstein Enterprise Brewery
Reserve Lager
5.6%

Comes in four packs in a 16 bottle case.

Very good. Much better than that Coopers swill

Graham

Not sure about the "Coopers swill" comment as my favourite dark beer is the Coopers Special Old Stout (the tan label not the yellow and black standard stout), but agree with the comments about the Knappstein. Very complex, long and refreshing. Never liked the idea of four-packs though. Just not enough beer.

Michael

Jacobs Creek Limited Release Shiraz Cabernet 1998
What Chuck said in a prior post -

"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 "

Except (a) it's a Shiraz 55% Cab 45% not a Cab Shiraz and (b) I have never drunk Bin 90a 1990 and have none but am open to offers!
All class and elegance. Balance, restrained power and excellent length. Drying tannins but still lovely now and improving for 5 years at least. Not a show pony now, if ever it was. A classic wine. 13.5% alchohol. Just waiting for the 2001 Jacob's Creek Johann to drop to $30 or less also .

Jay.

GRB wrote:Lots of quaffers this week but a couple of notables

Marius Simpatico 2004
I have tasted this before but this is the first time I have taken a little time over a full bottle. Wow just make sure you give this a good decant before leaping in as it just kept evolving over the couple of hours before it all disappeared. Lovely depth of fruit with fruit cake spices choc all meshed in together. Well liked by all.

Seppelt Para Port 1939
My wife wanted to try a REALLY old wine so I picked this up at auction. Unfortunately I think it may have been stored for a fairly long period of time standing up. I layed it over in the cellar and it started to leak . Still provenance would be hard to verify on a 70 year old wine at the best of times. The cork was very soft and crumbling but I managed to get it out without any going into the wine. Very brown in colour interesting aroma's of rancio, caramel and licorice. Had a bit of a sharp edge to the finish which I think was from the advanced oxidation very long finished that kept changing for minutes. Started to round out after a little while, not something you get to try every day and worth the experience for my money.

Glen

Glad you liked the 2004 Simpatico, Glen ... little ripper, isn't it?

Now the Para Liqueur Port - NEVER lay the bottles down on their side. They have short corks and were never designed for such a purpose, so it's no surprise it started leaking.

I quote the notes included with the 1983 release:

"Storage recommendations:
Your Seppelt Para Liqueur Single Vintage tawny has been bottled after long barrel maturation and is drinking at its peak now. As such it does not require any further bottle maturation. After the bottle is opened we reccommend that the wine be enjoyed within six months.

If you choose to cellar your bottle beyond the bottling year your Seppelt Para will slowly develop bottle maturation characteristics. To Maximise your enjoyment decant your bottle-aged Para to remove sediment before drinking. Unlike most table wines Seppelt Para Liqueur should be stored in an upright position. This wine is best stored in a cool and dark area with little temperature fluctuation."

That said, I'm still glad it drank well - I have one myself. Stored upright, in its original box. Enough said.

Cheers,
Ian

Colour:Water white, pale straw meniscus.Nose: Nice clean simple estery aromas of pear and apple, some residual yeast autolysis. Palate: tight and focussed, but a core of sweet fruit, giving way to a lovely crisp citric like acid to close. I reckon this is wine to drink in it's youth; went well with fennel crusted pork ribs and salad...

n4sir wrote:Glad you liked the 2004 Simpatico, Glen ... little ripper, isn't it?

Now the Para Liqueur Port - NEVER lay the bottles down on their side. They have short corks and were never designed for such a purpose, so it's no surprise it started leaking.

I quote the notes included with the 1983 release:

"Storage recommendations:
Your Seppelt Para Liqueur Single Vintage tawny has been bottled after long barrel maturation and is drinking at its peak now. As such it does not require any further bottle maturation. After the bottle is opened we reccommend that the wine be enjoyed within six months.

If you choose to cellar your bottle beyond the bottling year your Seppelt Para will slowly develop bottle maturation characteristics. To Maximise your enjoyment decant your bottle-aged Para to remove sediment before drinking. Unlike most table wines Seppelt Para Liqueur should be stored in an upright position. This wine is best stored in a cool and dark area with little temperature fluctuation."

That said, I'm still glad it drank well - I have one myself. Stored upright, in its original box. Enough said.

Cheers,
Ian

Thanks for the tip Ian, the bottle was not in the original box and the label is very scant for info. I am a little surprised that they store them upright the cork was VERY loose so it must oxidise like crazy, but maybe this is all part of the plan. The wine was a caramel colour with not even a hint of red any more.

Ciao

Glen

Quick question, is the storing upright just for the Seppelt Para???

As I have just bought a Lindemans Vintage Port 1962, in a normal port style bottle. It is currently laid down in a wine fridge. (It was rebottled in 1980)

Thanks for any advice

Cheers

mkcoleman wrote:Quick question, is the storing upright just for the Seppelt Para???

As I have just bought a Lindemans Vintage Port 1962, in a normal port style bottle. It is currently laid down in a wine fridge. (It was rebottled in 1980)

Thanks for any advice

Cheers

The Paras (or for that matter any very old Tawny Ports) which have short corks and have already had a long amount of aging (ie. oxidisation) prior to bottling should be stored upright. They are made to be consumed relatively soon but storing them as such should do little damage (in a good cellar) because of their already advanced state of age.

Vintage Ports are a very different matter - they are made to specifically age in the bottle (ie. your cellar) and should have the same length cork as your average red wine. The general rule of thumb is that these must be treated like your average wine and be stored on their side if you plan to keep them for any decent length of time.

Cheers
Ian