The Auswine Forum

...but it is worth it as I had yesterday off to recover after Friday night.

Brian, Andrea, and Craig (Finny) Julie joined Marion, Lynne and myself for dinner at Eschalot in Berrima.

The food was terrific, the wine most enjoyable, and the company acceptable.

We kicked off with a bottle of 2004 Rockies Black Shiraz which was stunningly good and then followed it up with a Joseph FRS. The Joseph was "elegant" by comparison and whilst it was a fine wine, it would have been better if it would have been served first.

The cork Gods were against us. We struck 4 bottles of corked or oxidised wine; a Dalwhinnie 92 Shiraz, a Primo 97 Joesph Amoda, 90 John Riddoch (boo hiss) and a 98 E & E Black Pepper Shiraz. Lucky we all had backup's.

My top wines of the night were a Dalwhinnie 91 Shiraz and a 96 Mount Edelstone. Both wines had beautiful, pristine fruit and damn near perfect structure, still having grippy tannins and fresh acid. Needlses to say, both will last for many years yet and may well improve further.

Last night Marion and I knocked off a bottle of Louis Rodere and a 98 Steve Maglieri; both were stunningly good. It's a pity that Maglieri was sold as they made some terrific wines.

Now what have you guys and gals been drinking?

I opened a bottle of Penfolds RWT 1998 last week. Damn, if it wasn't good! Matured perfectly and smooth as silk. I did make the mistake of not decanting first (won't do that again), as there was a lot of sediment. I poured very carefully

A few during the week

1999 Tyrell's old winery semillon: corked. what a shame as it was right in its drinking window.

2005 Villa Maria private bin hawkes bay chardonnay: big deep chardonnay with predominate notes of spicy pear. Went well with home-made fish and chips.

1980 Yalumba Kingston Town vintage port: Great fill and condition. Brown with a red tinge. Still sweet fruit with raisins and chocolate as well as a hint of tar on the finish. Not bad at all.

2005 Teuesner Joshua GMS: I have to be difficult here and say that although it was ripe, it was fruity, it had spice from the mataro I found it just a slightly bland wine with not much interest. I don't know why. Two bottles now and the same impression. I have to crack open the 04 Avatar I have to see if I have the same thoughts.

2005 Lillydale chardonnay: First bottle was slightly simple with a touch of residual sugar. The second was singing and I see what people are talking about. Complex without being OTT. A new world wine with savoury touches. Great value.

2003 Guigal Cotes du Rhone: corked

1996 Croser (late disgorged): NOOICE! Fresh and crisp with an undercurrent of sherry-like characters. I like this a lot.

Thats all for now.

cheers

Carl

Picked up some bottles from an auction site this week, some of them were autographed. But the Kalleske 'graph got wiped off during transit I think, so I had no qualms about opening it. And just for the heck of things, I figured might as well open up a Johann Georg too.

The Kalleske 2004 Old Vine Grenache has all the aromatic qualities one normally associates with a pleasant casual-drinking wine. Troy Kalleske makes this beauty from a single vineyard planted in 1935 by open fermentation, a gentle basket press followed by 2 years in seasoned oak. I was surprised to see the label reading 15.5% alc/vol, because at no time during the 1 hour that it took for this bottle to empty out did I get the heaty feel of any excessive alcohol on the mouth (*cough* greenock creek). Incredible nose of rich raspberry, sweet cherries (not black!) and spice. Medium-bodied drink, great balance of acidity in the mouth with a reasonable-lengthed after-taste. Will do well over the next 5 years. 92-94/100

The 2003 Johann Georg shiraz is made from vines planted in 1875, hence low yielding vines result in an extremely limited production (100 cases for 2003). Standing at 15.5%, similar to the 04 grenache, I never even thought of the alcohol levels in the glass, as I was mesmerised by the lush aromatics wafting out of my glass and I couldn't wait to get stuck into the drink. Notes of fresh white flowers, roast beef sauce and creme de cassis all melded into a deep inky purple joocey stew. A touch of tannins linger with the mellow warm aftertaste on the upper pallet that goes for a good 30+ seconds. A most elegant wine that is unique for the Barossa valley, and does very well in distinguishing itself as an atypical top-notch SA shiraz. This beauty will do well for 10+ years, can't wait to have the 2 more bottles I have! 98/100

knocked of a 04 389.

havent changed my mind, best vintage since 96, drinkable, good restraint, quite classy. now the remaindeer of my stash can sleep a while

Funny week - had to look it up

02 Leo Buring Eden Valley Riesling
Maturing nicely

03 Glenguin Stoneybroke Shiraz Tannat
Good wine should go for a while

96 Metala Black label Shiraz
Easily passed the bottle test core of good fruit with some nice development

97 Turkey Flat C/S
Why do people keep wondering if Turkey Flat will age? This is fabulous. Even with it in front of me my notes say sweet rich fruit great length nice age development. Conclusion I'm lousy at tasting notes but a great wine which should hold for some time. 3 to go

Rockford Black Shiraz (2005 disg) : Delicious drinking – enough time for the wine to integrate but still remain fresh. Sweet raspberries and blackberries with notes of coffee, vanilla and some savoury earth. I tend to enjoy Black Shiraz at either this stage of development or with about 4-5 years under the belt.

2005 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling: enough has been said abut this Riesling. Great balance of zesty fruit and racy acidity. Great on a warm Adelaide afternoon.

2006 Mount Adam Riesling: lime and floral aromas. Palate is refreshing with good fruit intensity and balancing acidity. Good Eden Valley Riesling.

1998 Penfold St. Henri Shiraz: Elegant style with fantastic depth of fruit. Plums, blueberry, chocolate and a bit of spice fill out the palate. Fine tannins support the deep fruited palate through to a long finish. Very good and will improve with time

2004 Battely Shiraz: in the warmer weather this did not show too well. Lots of slinky, sweet fruit and creamy oak. Seemed a little over ripe and overly floral in the warmer condition and did not have he complexity of the last bottle I tried 9 months ago.

1998 Rymill Coonawarra Cab Sav: good Coonawarra cab with characteristics of ripe cassis and plummy fruit with chewy tannins. There was a touch of earthy barnyard too, but in a complex way that added to the wine rather than dominates it. Enjoyable wine drinking somewhere near its peak but will hold for a while.

2002 Jacob’s Creek Centenary Shiraz: Deep ruby with a nose of shoe polish, vanilla, red licorice, raspberry, new oak, leather. Deeply fruited palate of plums, blackberry, a hint of raspberry, vanilla, chocolate, smoke and spices with a savoury finish. Fine tannins, fresh acid, good length. Intense and balanced. Needs time for oak and fruit to meld

griff wrote:2005 Teuesner Joshua GMS: I have to be difficult here and say that although it was ripe, it was fruity, it had spice from the mataro I found it just a slightly bland wine with not much interest. I don't know why. Two bottles now and the same impression. I have to crack open the 04 Avatar I have to see if I have the same thoughts.
undercurrent of sherry-like characters. I like this a lot.

I know what you mean. Not all that complex but I thought it lovely and juicy. The Avatar, on the other hand was all class, smooth and glossy but ironically also a touch one dimensional but in a really good way! I think both wines are terrific though, in drinking context...

Teusner Riebke Shiraz 2005
Lovely plush fruit and a real crowd pleaser. Not overly complex but a nice drop all the same.

Peter Lehmann Black Queen 1998
2005 Disg so it has spent quite a few years on lees. Exceptional wine and in the same league as Primo and Rockford for my tastes. Lovely complexity and depth of flavour must get me some more.

Glen

Spent the weekend up in Canberra with some mates... so there was less wine and more beer and bourbon.

Havig said that tho', a trip so close to Clonakilla without dropping through. Tim, the chief winemaker was pretty busy so I didn't get a chance to chat with him (and I think they were getting ready for a party for him - 40th surprise party?), however we did go through the four wines on tasting. Obviously the Shiraz-Vioginer was the highlight, great blend. The immediate 'floral' note was of apricots, and as a bit of a sweet tooth at times I found it a lovely bottle.

Their Riesling felt a little too metallic for my personal taste, so austere was it it brought to mind granite.

Also opened up a Campbells Empire Port. Very good, but not exceptional. Not as unctuous as I like my stickies, but still some lovely flavors.

Had the chance to try a 2002 Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon last week. Just wonderful with fine tannins and elegant fruit. Oh to have a few dozen of this wine!

Does anyone drink European wines, or new world stuff from Sth Africa, Chile, etc. I know this is Auswine, but good grief are you stuck in some geographic warp? There is a whole world of wine out there guys. or is this some nationalistic thing?

Chris Robinson wrote:Does anyone drink European wines, or new world stuff from Sth Africa, Chile, etc. I know this is Auswine, but good grief are you stuck in some geographic warp? There is a whole world of wine out there guys. or is this some nationalistic thing?

29% W.E.T + 10% G.S.T + custom tax + transport

Chris Robinson wrote:Does anyone drink European wines, or new world stuff from Sth Africa, Chile, etc. I know this is Auswine, but good grief are you stuck in some geographic warp? There is a whole world of wine out there guys. or is this some nationalistic thing?

Hahaha.

I drink as much European stuff as I can afford, but the fact is that Australian wine is more accessible and, especially given transport costs and taxes, better value for money. Additionally, yes Auswine does tend to be Australian focussed, not that this is a bad thing. Also, there are even some people on this forum who have extensive European experience, yet still prefer home. I am not one of those but I certaining respect those who have this palate preference.

Back to my last glass glass of Piper which is selling in Sydney at the moment for $40 per bottle.

Kind regards,
Adair

Chris Robinson wrote:Does anyone drink European wines, or new world stuff from Sth Africa, Chile, etc. I know this is Auswine, but good grief are you stuck in some geographic warp? There is a whole world of wine out there guys. or is this some nationalistic thing?

You have a point of view (despite the interesting delivery). Why don't you start a new thread and I will be happy to talk about Australian v. Rest of the World in terms of availability, value and knowledge etc.

I think this thread is about what you have been drinking this week. I would be happy to read what you have tried, especially if it is interesting/international.

cheers

Carl

04 Bruno Giacosa Barbera d'Alba.
Purple with a violet rim, Fresh young wine showing good Fruit, Medium weight on the palete, First experience with this variety and won't be the last. $39 Nzd.

05 Mt Diffculty Pinot Noir
Ruby red, Good fruit and acidity. Very nice $38 Nzd.

Chris Robinson wrote:Does anyone drink European wines, or new world stuff from Sth Africa, Chile, etc. I know this is Auswine, but good grief are you stuck in some geographic warp? There is a whole world of wine out there guys. or is this some nationalistic thing?

Jeez, steady on. Not everything tasted gets talked about. Let's see. Friday night was a 2004 Casa Quemada Syrah (Spain). Saturday I tasted half a doz German Rieslings, followed that with 2005 Felton Road Chardonnay (Central Otago, NZ) against 2004 Failla Chardonnay, Keefer Ranch, (Russian River Valley, California). Then tried the 2005 Rosenblum Zinfandel, Monte Rosso Vineyard Reserve and the 2004 Kay Brothers Shiraz, "Hillside". Sunday night was a Russian Hill Estate Syrah Port (NV), and last night was the 2005 Marquis Philips Shiraz. Tonight - I'm not sure. Might look to see if a bottle from my recent Kalleske 2004 Shiraz purchase opens up OK, or I could pull out a TerraVin Pinot to work myself up for Thursdays Burgundy tasting. Pretty average week, when you think about it.

Mike

Chris Robinson wrote:Does anyone drink European wines, or new world stuff from Sth Africa, Chile, etc. I know this is Auswine, but good grief are you stuck in some geographic warp? There is a whole world of wine out there guys. or is this some nationalistic thing?

Mmm... that sounds like a challenge to me!

How about for next week's tasting reports everyone submits a non-Australian wine. It doesn't have to be first growths or grand crus, just something outside of our national borders. What do you think TORB & Gavin?

Cheers,
Ian

And before anyone asks, Tasmania doesn't qualify.

n4sir wrote:

Chris Robinson wrote:Does anyone drink European wines, or new world stuff from Sth Africa, Chile, etc. I know this is Auswine, but good grief are you stuck in some geographic warp? There is a whole world of wine out there guys. or is this some nationalistic thing?

Mmm... that sounds like a challenge to me!

How about for next week's tasting reports everyone submits a non-Australian wine. It doesn't have to be first growths or grand crus, just something outside of our national borders. What do you think TORB & Gavin?

Cheers,
Ian

And before anyone asks, Tasmania doesn't qualify.

I'm happy enough for anyone and everyone to report on what they have been drinking and their thoughts.

Geo T and Ian S report on European and US wines regularly, so the more the merrier I say.

We are not Australian exclusive, just the sum of the members thoughts, experiences, interests etc, so post away!