The Auswine Forum

...cause it Sunday and your weekly drinkin' reports are due. You know the drill.....

Saltram Metala Original Plantings (Black Label) Shiraz 2000
Dark fruit, tar and menthol on the nose, likewise on the palate with some cloves and other spices thrown in good length but a slightly hard finish, good wine from a tough vintage. Still kicking along nicely on the second night, no hurry to drink up but I don't know if it will improve any further.

Glen

Rosehill 1999 - Lovely wine - probably fully developed now - classic lightish hunter with long length. Still very good 24 hours later suggesting a long life ahead (if you don't have a dodgy cork).

2004 Saltram Mamre Brook Cab Sauv
Looking fairly similar to the 2002 at a similar age - needs some time but opens up very well on the second day

2006 Meera Park Viogner
Don't know if I like this variety by itself - great peach / other stone fruit character but doesn't go any where

2004 Marius Symphony Shiraz
This is seriously good juice. I just wanted to hold each mouthfull and suck air through it getting layers and layers of flavour. Bravo Roger - wish my budget extended to heaps of this.

1993 E&E Sparkiling Shiraz
Stuffed cork - flat and oxidised - down the sink

1996 discorge Rockford Black Shiraz
No surprises that the corkscrew came out to get the cork out but in fine condition. Fully mature and won't go any further but a very pleasant drop.
EDIT: Above was written while still drinking it but it fell over towards the end of the bottle - last couple of glasses starting to oxidise and not much chop. Drink Now

Just finished 3 months of AFD's - swapped Basket Press for the Bench Press and Coopers Ale for a protein shake but I'm now back on the Wine train and I feel Good.

Anyway.............

EGLY-OURIET Champagne Brut " Les Vignes de Vrigny " ( $70 ) :this is one of those smaller Champagne producers that Jefford recommends. I was really looking forward to this and can appreciate the trouble they went to to produce this , including 42 months ageing , but frankly this was very brassy and verging on browned apples and I don't think it was a merely oxidised bottle. Interesting but an expensive rustic wine.

2002 By Farr Chardonnay Geelong ( $ 37.80 found on special at a Department store ) : Youthful colour for a 5 y.o Chardonnay. Quite a grapefruity chardonnay with a touch of bitterness detracting from it being a great wine. Still I liked this a lot.

1999 BERBERANA Rioja Gran Reserva ( $24 ) : I really like this Spanish winery - even their $5 NV dry red is very drinkable IMHO. This " upmarket " wine from them is a lovely mature Tempranillo at good QPR. A nice drinkable wine indeed.

I tried some Tyrrells during the week. The 1999 Vat 1 Semillon was very impressive again but still very, very young. The 2002 Stevens Semillon was solid, but lacks the X factor of the Vat 1. The 2003 Stevens Shiraz & 2005 Rufus Stone were likewise solid but unspectacular.

Cheers,
Ian

Orlando JC Steingarten Riesling 2005
Not sure about this one, at this stage at least. The 02, for me, is drinking beautifully currently, very well structured with pleasing secondary development shading the fruit edges. This, in comparison, seems quite simple and one dimensional and a touch sweet. Not a whole lot of steeliness or austerity here either, just soft with a squeeze of lemon. I'm prepared to give this the benefit of the doubt but for now, a pleasant drink and not a whole lot more. Will revisit in a few months and then some.

Orlando JC St Hugo Cabernet 2003
Soft, rounded wine with a lovely, distinctive nose- notes of capsicum, menthol, cedary oak and dried herbs with a distinctively fresh toothpaste spearmint burst that developed over time. It's Coonawarra heritage subtlely apparent. Vigorous tannins but certainly not clanking, rigid or bolstering. A touch lacking in depth but a rather enjoyable and balanced wine that I suspect will not be a long term keeper.

Yering Station 05 Shiraz Viognier
Distractingly spicy nose - rather sulpur tinged dried apricots, the viognier such an obvious give away. A deliciously, light to medium bodied shiraz with lots of velvety texture and flavour but probably lacking in dimension a touch. Very good value.

Egly Ouriet NV - Excellent. Especially considering it is small maker rubbish.
2004 Paul Pillot Chassagne Montrachet - Excellent. Reminded me of 99 Leeuwin Chardonnay but with less alcohol and oak. Very clean wine.
1970 Chateau Lynch Bages - Strong colour. Rich cherry/cassis, beef, roast coffee/earth. Plenty of fruit. Strong tannins. Top wine. Not as good as 70 Latour but very strong.
GW

Lost 3rd grade cricket grand final yesterday - drowned sorrows with 1996 Perrier Jouët Belle Epoque and NV Pol Roger. The Pol was very impressive: fresh, floral and yeasty with lively but soft, creamy and long mouthfeel. 93/100. The Belle Epoque had unsurprisingly lost some of its primary fruit with creamy, vanilla oak being quite prominent but still in balance. The acid has also settled down and complimented the depth of the wine. Really lovely but now needs a few years to develop. 93+/100.

Opened a bottle of NV Bollinger on Saturday night to celebrate the fact that we bowlers had done a good job keeping Sutherland to 258 on an absolute road and that our batsmen should do the job; the Bolle was equally impressive with honeyed fruit depth and wonderful autolysis characters. Also 93/100.

A weekend of quality drinking but I would have drunk 3 bottles of Great Western to change the result of my cricket match.

Momentarily depressed,
Adair

Picked up a couple of these recently at Dan Murphy. Put one at the back of the cellar, and opened the other with my father-in-law on Sunday night to celebrate his birthday with a Korean BBQ...

Seppelt St.Peters Shiraz 2004
Three hours in the decanter, this inky dark wine gives up aromas of blueberry, liquorice, earth, and spice. Medium-bodied with plenty of acidity on the palate to balance the savoury; and, as Jeremy Oliver notes, sour-edged dark berry fruit. White pepper on a medium-length finish. Aromatics were starting to close down after another hour, while the palate was turning increasingly silky and seductive.

2003 Saltram Mamre Brook Cab Sav: good Friday night quaffing. Lots of lush fruit, good full bodied texture and a little warmth. Easy to drink.

1996 Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz: this bottle seemed more advance than others and may have had a little doubt as to storage. Thick crust on the bottle and in need of a severe decant. The wine was a ruby red with a slight brown edge, which alerted me to a question of dodgy storage. The nose showed raspberry, leather, cedar, coffee and some licorice. The palate showed raspberry, plums, a little licorice and coffee, some vanilla with a good deal of integration and soft tannins. This bottle seemed a little more advanced than a super young bottle I had last year but was still very good.

Had some good wine on Staurday

05 Paringa Estate Chardonnay
15% alc. Needed time to breathe to let the fruit catch up but rich hazelnut and ripe stonefruit nose and long in the mouth. Good stuff.

00 Knappstein Enterprise Shiraz
Still heaps of potential and great balance b/n fruit and structure

'78 Commonwealth Bank Social Club Vintage Port by Brown Bros
Got a glass in hand now! Perfect cork. Cedar red, rich Christmas pudding with hints of past red fruits. Excellent condition. With a fine ripe Stilton this was heaven.

Battle of Bosworth Shiraz 2002

Bought some of this 2 years ago, tried one immediately and was in two minds about it. Left them in the cellar and had one on Sunday with roast lamb - now drinking beautifully, all the elements have come together well, a nice example of McLaren Vale Shiraz from (I assume) a small winery.