The Auswine Forum

Hi Good Peoples,

The high of this week was a Tahbilk 1991 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon which went from recommended to Excellent in the last two years. The last time I tried it the tannins were searing, overpowering everything and it was a toss up as to which would win, the fruit or the tannins but the tannins are resolving and this is turning into a glorious wine now. Full bodied with some nice aged mushroom and chocolate characters.

The low of the week was a 96 Johns Blend, fruit overshadowed by massive amounts of dill, it was drinkable just out of whack at the moment, hopefully it just going through a difficult patch.

Now what have you all been drinking? Lurkers as always welcome and tasting vibes are perfectly acceptable.

Another big week at the end of the month with 3 wine-tastings.

Monday goup, 1993 reds from my cellar (all decanted just before tasting):

Yalumba Signature Cab-Shiraz - young fresh and firm, good fruit with chocolate and some licorice overtones, impeccable balance. Still a few years to peak.

St Hallett Old Block Shiraz -softer than the Signature, but similar quality and structure, starting to show some nice maturity, but will hold years yet. Just checked the JO book, drinking 1998-2001, this one has out-performed that rating.

John's Blend LC Cabernet -less of the obvious oak than some years, hint of mint, soft berry fruit and nice balanced finish.

(First three were well ahead of the next three in this showing)

Wynns Coonawarra Cabernet - not showing as well as expected, perhaps on the cusp between youthfulness and maturity, primary fruit fading a bit, slightly unbalanced acid.

Penfolds Bin 389 Cab-Shiraz - typical Penfolds nose and structure, but lacking the depth of the first 3 wines, not faded though, perhaps again on the cusp.

Balgownie Bendigo Shiraz - stinky mercaptens would not blow off, some good fruit and structure underneath, but hard to get at.

Tuesday Bridgewater Mill Shiraz 96 - fully mature for my palate, nicely softened, showing the slightly spicy effect of some cooler climate Adelaide Hills fruit and french oak, nice drinking now.

Wednesday monthly tasting group, the annual Wendouree tasting:

The usual white torture to start, this time 2003 Rieslings. The group voted the Kilikanoons cheaper Mort's Block first, the more expensive Mort's Reserve second last. I voted the Mort's Block last and the Mort's reserve firstbut what would I know. Others were Petaluma and Leo Buring Clare (group last).

The two Wendouree 2001 cabs were matched with the Grossett Gaia and Killikanoon Blocks Rd.

My ranking:

Wendouree Cabernet-Malbec - Right on form, typical mint/menthol, fruit a little subdued yet, but fills out the middle palate nicely, trademark fine firm drying tannins. Lovely wine, built for the long haul. (Group second)

Grossett Gaia (stelvin) - also relatively subdued on the nose, but quite powerful dark fruit on a firmly structured palate, not as firm as the Wendouree though, some complexity showing already. Another one built for cellaring. (Group first)

Wendouree Cabernet Sauvignon - more menthol and berries than the C-M, but less complete on the palate, slightly hollow, needs time to fill out. One of the two bottles opened was corked. (Group third)

Kilikanoon Blocks Rd Cabernet - I'd bought and enjoyed the 2000 vintage of this, but we were all disappointed in this one, sweet confected fruit buried in cedary oak, very medium weight. No real backbone to carry it. Even developed a pronounced dill character at one stage of breathing, though no American oak used as far as I know. (Notably the notes provided were from RPJr, 92 points, "drink now (if you like your wines thick and grapy) or over the next 10-15 years." He must have had a much better bottle than the two we had.)

The three Wendouree Shiraz/blends were challenged by the Tim Adams Aberfeldy Shiraz, apparently still featuring some fruit off 1904 vines planted by the Birks family. As it turned out, a worthy challenger. The group followed my vote on these

Tim Adams Aberfeldy Shiraz - had an immediate richness and warmth not shown by the more restrained Wendourees. Nice slightly minty dark berry/cherry fruit, fair dollop of oak, but controlled. Palate is rich and warm, structure is firm, oak well-judged, long finish, a lovely wine that will cellar well.

Wendouree Shiraz - more restrained and closed than the Aberfeldy, but every bit as powerful, just needs the time in a good cellar to strut it's stuff.

Wendouree Shiraz-Malbec - The 30% malbec shows in the soft/plummy/earthy character and the soft fine drying finish. Nicely balanced.

Wendouree Shiraz-Mataro - Except for the odd surprising vintage I usually find this the lesser of the Wendourees and don't buy it. A nice enough wine, with a bit of meatiness and earthiness, approachable now if you want something to drink while waiting for the Shiraz and Cab-Malbec to do the time to show their best.

Thursday Fortnightly Tasting Group:

Due to the absence of the scheduled provider, I put together a group of 2002 Shiraz, some repeats from other tastings, a couple I hadn't tried before. All wines 14.5% a/v:

O'Leary Walker McLarenVale-Clare Shiraz - well at least the two tasting groups are consistent, but this one didn't rush out to order 5 cases. Lovely balanced red, classic dark fruit and plums, hints of chocolate and licorice/spice, oak needs to settle a little, but a fine wine for medium-term cellaring.

Thorne Clarke Shotfire Ridge - a firmer wine than the OLW, richer in flavour, but ultimately a little simpler and slightly disjointed. Still avery good wine and good value at around $20.

Cleanskin Barossa Shiraz - less fruit intensity than the TC, but similar style and structure, a tad less firm. Good value at $15.

Eden Springs Barossa Shiraz - Fruit-driven,very ripe and intense fruit, but not jammy, oak very much in the background, needs a bit of time to integrate properly, perhaps just needs a bit more backbone, tannins are soft and unobtrusive.

Rockbare MclarenVale - Nice enough wine, easy drinking, just a bit simple, improve with short-medium cellaring. I've seen this down to $13, good value at that price.

Two Hands Angels Share (stelvin) - the most expensive wine in the group, almost universally rated last. Very aromatic immediately, bright fragrant spicy fruit, clean and fresh, yet to me quite unsatisfying and a trifle cloying. There was over 1/3 of the bottle left, the next night I tried it again, Andrea loved it, I couldn't have more than a few sips, opened a 94 Sevenhill Shiraz instead.

Friday:

Sevenhill Clare Shiraz 1994 - slighly rustic, earthy nose, hint of v/a, but well within bounds, lovely mature seamless mouthfeel, good honest shiraz, drinking at it's peak for my palate, will hold a year or three.

Saturday:

Leasingham Bastion Shiraz-Cabernet 1999 - half the bottle (and the remaining sevenhill) went into a shin beef (on bone) casserole that I cooked for half the day, just the hearty food to cope with the current spell of cold windy weather. This wine was one of the bargains of the year of release, I haven't found the subsequent releases to be quite as good. Lovely medium-weight fruit-driven red with impeccable flavours and balance. Will mature short-term, maybe longer, but I don't think I'll find out as mine will be quaffed over the next year or so.

Ric,

Give the John's Blend a few more years yet, the 91 is drinking pretty well now. I have the 96 listed to try again in 2005. The immensely oaky when young 90 vintage was showing perfect balance, good fruit and integrated oak at 10 years of age.

Just one this week (unless I crack one tonight).

1998 Pipers Brook Opimian (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot)

Was fantastic with twice roasted duck, although could have been aged a bit more. Lovely deep ruby colour. Soft on the palate, with spicy, ripe berries with a hint of golden syrup/vanilla on the nose. Not a bad wine and I think I should buy some more as it goes well with food. The 2000 is supposed to be quite good.

For the claret drinkers out there, does this wine compare at all with Bordeaux wines?


Jamie

Friday - Craigow Riesling (Coal River Valley) 2002 - cork
C - Pale Gold

N - Initially ripe red apples which was dominate with some orange and musk. After the wine had been open a couple of hours the aroma changed to something like the tropical fruit drink I had as a kid.

P - Very round at the front and in the middle with the apple character sinning through but the fruit faded at the end. The finish was long and persistent and strangely the fruit reasserted it self. I think the wine lacked a little acid as the fruit fullness could have a carried more and made it a little cleaner.

The wine dumb down as we were getting towards the end of the bottle (3-4 hours after opening) and was little flabby in the mouth. But overall we liked the wine and were glad we had a chance to taste it but we will not buy anymore.

Saturday - Petaluma Coonawarra 2000

C - Deep Red

N - Plum, toasty/smoke characters, vanilla and red berries. Quite restrained which it continued to be over the time we drank the bottle.

P - Mid to full weight with plum and chocolate flavours dominate. The wine felt great in the mouth and to me was seamless. Good acid for a clean finish and fine tannins.

An elegant wine that seems a little restrained now. I would like to see it in 3-5 years

2001 Ross Estate Merlot

A very lovely wine to drink now. medium bodied fruit and very soft to almost non-existance tannins. Very good palate

J.Vindal Fleury Cotes Du Rhone GSM 2000


medium bodied wine with very soft tannins. The fruit and acidity is well intergrated. A nice quaffing wine. I don't think aging will improving this wine

Knappstein Clare Valley Shiraz 2002 (pre-release): pretty blood good and an obvious step up from te 2001. Heaps of dark chocolate and sweet fruit and some good tannins to back it up.

Knappstein Care Valley Riesling 2003: very different to the 2003, with the 02 for me being more european in style. Quite austere and minerally which might be due to a change in the vineyard contributions.

Bannockburn Range shiraz 2001: I know I shouldn't be drinking this so young but have now consumed 2 bottles in the last two weeks. Very yummy with the potential to be one of the great bannockburns.

Turkey Flat Shiraz 1996. Holding up very well with only the slighest sign of ageing starting to appear. Some secondary characterists now starting to palance the fruit. Great wine, great balance.

Turkey Flat Cabernet Sauvignon 1994: TF have made their name for Shiraz but if this is any indication on the quality of shiraz they are producing, I am pretty impressed.

cheers
anthony[/b]

Hello from a guest,

Had an interesting line up of the Bordeaux second growth Pichon Lalande....1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1983. All in perfect condition and all beautifully ready. The '81 was brilliant and outshone the 'great '82. The '78 was sublime and the others were wonderful expressions. Balance and finesse were the keys. That's the high merlot component subduing the naturally aggressive/singular/obvious cabernet characters.

These wines are expressive of the need to age fine cabernets in order to find finesse and elegance. They will keep going for ten plus years, no question.

If you must drink cabernet then Pichon, or Vieux Chateau Certan, is one of the better places to be!

But better to pursue pinot 'cos it's got elegance, perfume, finesse, intensity early on....well, the good ones do.


All the best.

Just a few,

Houghton Pemberton 2002 Chardonnay

Classy oak handling, with elegant mild cedar and spice on the nose, backed by the classical richness of chardonnay. Palate had a great vibrancy which had a good weighted fullness yet still managed the cleaness and crispness that made us wanting for more. Certainly poles from the worked flabby styles of old. I reckon at $24 it has been the best value chard I've had this year, and would give many dearer wines a good run.
The wine was matched with a meal of Patagonian Toothfish. I couldn't understand the fuss about the fish. We grilled it and in hindsight It probably should have been baked. Oh well, worth the taste, and a bit of fun.

Cape Mentelle 2001 Marmaduke

I seem to have drunk a bit Cape Mentelle lately, not intentially but thoroughly enjoyable. The marmaduke is only medium weight with gentle spice and is completely drinkable. One of the best drinking around for under $15.

Clonakilla 2002 Hilltops Shiraz

I wine that seems to have created a stir of late. Decanted for 2 hours prior. It was far too raw for my liking. A meaty, dark berry with plums and just too muted and lacks definition. I recall someone (Adair??) stating it being in an italian mould, and with it's savouriness I would agree. However at this stage I find it very underwhelming but I'm willing to give it a bit of time to soften and come together. Not much fun at the moment.

Fox Creek 1996 JSM Shiraz Cab

Still quite youthful, with unusual Mclaren Vale fragrances of lead pencil, tar and bitumen with a nice full palate of currants and ripeness (made before too much of the Parkerised influence!). It threw plenty of sediment and did not have any over the top oakiness. Good drinking.

Keep drinking,
TA

Been on bit of a bender since Wednesday due to it being my birthday last Thursday. Many good wines and food and not even a corked wine either.

Highlights winewise :

1992 Bollinger Grande Annee ( MAGNUM from Auction ) : Pelicanette and I shared this over the course of an evening at home. Less brassy and gutsy than the NV but a fantastic wine. Very forceful bubbles , lighter colour than the NV but with a piercing citrus flavour that was rich and complex. Ate with bread , butter , nuts , glace fruit , cheese and chocolate !

1993 Chateau Lafite , Paulliac ( cellar ) : Lovely fragrant Bordeaux. This got better as we drank more. Was not of great length - I suppose due to the lesser vintage of 1993. Nonetheless clearly showed its class. Imagine what this wine is like in great years !

1983 Penfold's Grange ( Auction ) : Cannot disagree with what has been written elsewhere about this vintage of Grange ( eg see Rewards of Patience ). A great wine that has aged complexities but still very good fruit too. Still has good 10 years plus ahead of it.

Interesting , although it does not surprise me , that these wines clocked in at 12% , 12.5% and 12.9% alcohol respectively.

Stefano Lubiano Pinot Noir 2000 - dont have much experience with Pinots but seeing as the weather here in Perth is hotting up I thought I may as well cool a Pinot down a bit and try one. I was very impressed but then again I should be for $44. Enjoyed much more than the 2001 Tamar Ridge ($30) tried 2 weeks ago. The SL had lovely chewy tannins and an enjoyable complexity to the palate. Has the structure to see it through a few more years. Recommended. I have also bought the 2001 which I will try soon. I hear its a better vintage.

Grosset Sem/sauvblanc 2002 - Halliday gave this 95 points I think, while he only gave the 2000 Stefano 89 points. I enjoyed the Stefano much more. The Grosset was technically very well made without doubt, but I was wondering were the value was. I have enjoyed many whites more at the $20 price range than the Grosset at $33. It seemed to lack a bit of palate richness but was otherwise a nice wine. Good.

Houghton Mriver cabernet 2000 - 2 bottle tried in the past month and enjoyed just as much. Lovely nose but just needs more time to soften. I read some recent forum comments that this wine paled in comparison (or 'outclassed' may be a better word) to other WA reds at a recent WA travelling wine show. Seems damn good value to me. Recomended.

Ciao

Justin

Redbank SallyÂ’s Paddock 1985 Magnum

Only got 11.5% alc. Open up after an hour in the decenter. Complex nose that continually changed in the next couple hours before we finished it. Good deep purple colour. Excellent balance with long after taste. In its peak period and sure it can hold for another 3-4 years.

Observer wrote:Had an interesting line up of the Bordeaux second growth Pichon Lalande....1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1983.

But better to pursue pinot 'cos it's got elegance, perfume, finesse, intensity early on....well, the good ones do.

Observer,

I'm envious of your tasting/drinking lineup.

Re your second observation, it might work for you and some others, but I'm a red bigot - not a masochist.

1994 Penfolds Bin 407 - never entirely certain about 407 - I'm slowly clearing them out of the cellar. Pleasant fruit and development but was not as well balanced as you'd expect - can't see going any where drink up.

1994 Houghton White Burgundy - for those who like aged whites HWB is a fantastic bargain to cellar. On release a nice dry white with tropical fruit overtones with age toast and honey is added - yum. Missed a few years but back to buying a case a year - use half for quaffers and leave the other half for about nine years

1990 Chateau Reynella Vintage Port - oh no I've run out of muscat and tokay (other than three specials not to be used as week day drinking). It is continuing to be cold and miserable in Canberra so some fortified after dinner was needed - so time to open a VP. This wine has heaps to go. My impression is of chocolate and licorice - bullets perhaps - but the better half doesn't like bullets but like this. Has developed since first opened - will be interesting to see how the second half of the bottle goes - decanted and sealed half to begin.

1995 Leasingham Bin 56 Cabernet Malbec - very pleasant drinking now, unlikely to go any further, time to drink without regrets.

1991 Eileen Hardy Shiraz - initially silky balanced long but perhaps a little reserved with a solid dose of mint (Clare component ?), towards the end of the bottle started to get some greater complexity with adding an earthy character - no worries in my mind about leaving for a few more years. BTW seems a more interesting wine than the 91 E&E, E&E had too much oak - just a thought from the 91's I've drunk from my cellar this year.

96 Balmoral Shiraz - Excellent, McLaren Vale perfection, getting better.
99 Tatachilla Adelaide Hills Merlot - VGood, at last a decent Merlot.
NV Chandon Sparkling Pinot Shiraz - Good, very simple.
01 Craiglee Shiraz - VGood, not as good as 00, but still underated classic

97 Balmoral Shiraz - Not the best Balmoral produced
01 Pikes Shiraz - Elegance in a Clare Valley Shiraz

1994 Penfolds Bin 389 cabernet Shiraz - Opened a bit flat but after an hour some berry and meats. The palate was all over the place - heaps of fruit and oak tannin but a very blurred palate, no real definition and I really think the fruit is already drying out leaving a shell of tannin. Not a good example of blending shiraz and cabernet. A disappointment.

1997 macWilliams Elizabeth semillon - corked.

1998 Brands Cabernet Sauvignon. Excellent and if you have it leave it for another 5 years to be superb. Lot's of good mint and dark red berries and a whiff of vanillan oak. Lovely rich berry fuit palate with great structure and acid. An excellent example of Coonawarra cabernet - not too big, no greeness or weediness and the oak plays only a very minior supportive role. well done Mx cWilliams!

Paul V

Ninth Island Pinot Noir 2002 - Not a bad wine, decent fruit and length with a floral nose..i just didn't enjoy it that much.Ok value at $23

Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir 2001 - Nice wine, evident oak, ripe fruit and a nice silky finish. Good value for money compared to many other overpriced pinots at $26.

Windy Peak Pinot Noir 2001 - Very good quaffing wine for summer, nothing amazing but a nice drink for $10

Wilson Vinyard Rielsing 1998 - Just rereleased, sensational wine, abundant fruit and the start of the aged complexities. Good value for $30

Stoneleigh Pinot Noir 2001 - Another nice quaffer for summer.Again nothing amazing but a nice drink and very good value at $16

Cheers

Paul

Better late than never.

In addition to the Peel Estate CD tasters in a separate post:-

Chestnut Grove Verdelho 1998

Getting better every time I try it. Best with only a cooling rather than a chill as I find with a lot of whites as this allows the volatile aromatics to show better. Too cold and you turn em into crisp acid drops with the fruit hidden.

Chittering Estate Cab Merlot 1997

Still quite youthful with good varietal fruit definition. A good quaffer.

Moondah Brook Shiraz 1997

Just hitting its straps now. Bloody good wine for the price.

Brown Hill "Chaffers" Shiraz 2002

Way too young. Possibly the best value shiraz out of MR at $16 a bottle by the doz. Full body with tons of varietal fruit and oak in good balance. Just a touch on the simple side now but should pick up with a bit of age at 5 to 6 years. Bloody good wine for the money and better by far than many down here at nearly double the price.

Ruffino Riserva Ducale Chianti Classico 1996 Riserva

Off the list at an Italian eatery. Light body but tons of dark cherry fruit with a solid acid backbone. Went bloody well with the grilled Italian sausage, bruschetta, and chargrilled squid that I had an the grilled Lemon chicken and polenta the boss enjoyed.

Let's see, from memory:

At a dinner in SA:

Yalumba 1998 Signature Cabernet Shiraz - I'm not a fan of Yalumba Sig as it can be a bit too oaky, but this looked great. Good length and balance and plenty of rich, ripe fruit. 5-10 years ahead of it.

A riesling I can't remember - but it was excellent!

Rockford 1996 Basket Press Shiraz - Sensational and a good follow-on to the Yalumba. perfectly balanced, long, with firm tannins and integrated acidity. Not a flaw. Will be one of their best. Will be ageless.

Waipara 2000 Gewurtztraminer - Showed a touch oily and disjointed. Looked a little over-ripe. Good, and good value with the Malaysian, but would look elsewhere.

Saddlers Creek 1996 McLaren vale Shiraz - Great bouquet, plum, raspberyy and cholcoate tones. Smelled like a good'un and it was. Good length, firm if slightly aggresive tannins, and nicley put together. Seemes to be going through a transition phase and will be at its best 2008-2015.

Cheers
David

Friday
With Lamb tagine....

1998 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape "La Crau"

Very young and still very pimary fruit driven. Good but needs time to show its best.

Saturday[b]

With pizza...

2001 Cascabel Grenache et al

3rd bottle from a 6-pack. A bit of a leftfield wine style-wise, but very gluggable. Not a keeper but I don't think it's designed as such.

Sunday

With roast lamb and all the trimmings...

1999 Jaboulet Domaine du Thalabert Crozes Hermitage

Surprisingly light in colour for a 1999, some "smoky bacon" development on the nose, medium bodied palate, quite acidic, tannins are already quite soft, quite a savoury wine with slightly sour fruit. Went very well with the lamb.

Cheers
Phil[/b]

Phil Shorten wrote:
1999 Jaboulet Domaine du Thalabert Crozes Hermitage

Surprisingly light in colour for a 1999, some "smoky bacon" development on the nose, medium bodied palate, quite acidic, tannins are already quite soft, quite a savoury wine with slightly sour fruit. Went very well with the lamb.

Phil,

I bought a case of this on spec after a big rap from Huon Hooke and I agree about the "meaty", "smoky bacon" almost "feral" nose. Both bottles opened thus far have revealed a much denser, darker colour and seemingly, more robust elemental fruit on the palate compared with your note. My thought was to leave this wine for a few years and let it settle down. Have you tried any previously?

And I'd better hand in my homework or face detention from Mr. TORB

1981 Leoville Las Cases - superb, mature Claret for the vintage, drink up!
1975 Rieussec - still holding well - stunning, multifaceted Sauternes - no hurry to drink if well kept.
1993 Geantet-Pansiot Les Poissenots 1er Cru Gevrey-Chambertin - who cares if this is aging at a snail's pace, drinks beautifully, etc - for 'his' sake - it's a bloody Pinot
1999 Denis mortet Les Champeaux 1er Cru Gevrey-Chambertin - apply 'ditto the previous wine'
1990 St. Hubert's Cabernet - a lovely example of cool climate Cabernet.
1986 Seppelt Great Western Shiraz - soft, sweet, delicate, mature - this wine has finally peaked - a dirty, tarry, tannic monster for many years -what a transformation

Will not post on c-thru's ever again
Will not post on c-thru's ever again
Will not post on c-thru's ever again
Will not post on c-thru's ever again
Only 96 to go Mr. Torb

And a disappointment -

1994 Wynn's Cabernet - dumb on the nose and even dumber on the palate Was warned by a few about this wine. Not sure if this is going anywhere but downhill.

[/quote]Phil,

I bought a case of this on spec after a big rap from Huon Hooke and I agree about the "meaty", "smoky bacon" almost "feral" nose. Both bottles opened thus far have revealed a much denser, darker colour and seemingly, more robust elemental fruit on the palate compared with your note. My thought was to leave this wine for a few years and let it settle down. Have you tried any previously?[/quote]

David

This wine seemed to show more development in colour (medium ruby) and on the bouquet than I would have expected for a 1999 - after all - it was a great year for N Rhone. However, there was a decent amount of primary fruit (sort of sour plum) on the palate.

IMHO, it was well and truly drinkable now (with food) but has some margin for improvement over the medium, but not the long term. Note also that the storage conditions in my London flat are less than ideal.

I'd be tempted to open a bottle in 6 months time and every 6 months thereafter. My only concern about this wine is that it may dry out if you decide to leave it for too long.

Cheers
Phil

Phil & David

Had the 99 on the flight back from Germany. Was impressed, not usually with this Jaoboulet, with the quality of fruit on the palate drying aircraft environment-also made Terminator 3 pass nice and quickly.


1999 Les Couversets-Jerome Quitot Chateauneuf du Pape- Nice expession of the style. Not pretending to be anything it can't be-eg muscular and ripe Aussie GSM- and a delight to match with food. Dark, spicey, licorice fruit with fine tannin. Beautiful with pork medallions.

PaulV wrote:1994 Penfolds Bin 389 cabernet Shiraz - Opened a bit flat but after an hour some berry and meats. The palate was all over the place - heaps of fruit and oak tannin but a very blurred palate, no real definition and I really think the fruit is already drying out leaving a shell of tannin. Not a good example of blending shiraz and cabernet. A disappointment.

Strange. This was (along with 90 & 96) among the stand-outs in the 89-99 Bin 389 vertical I had in Nov 02. I note RoP gives it a red star as well. Don't you hate "bottle variation".....

cheers,
Graeme

Hi graeme

yeah a bummer. I have had a couple of these from my cellar earlier in their lives and the balance was a lot better. it just seemed as though they had overly extracted - either too much pressings etc. relative to the depth of the fruit for the year, so when younger the fruit could rise to the tannins but now the more delicate fruit year vis a vis '90 91, and '96 is starting to show through. maybe its not that the fruit is drying out rather there isn't enough intensity for the tannins. Yeah I saw the red star in RoP before I pulled it from the cellar,so another reason for the disappointment - hopefully bottle variation.

My gut feel, nevertheless, is that it probably was at its best a couple of years ago which is very unusual for 389. On the other hand I could be way wrong and in 10 years it could blossom back into balance - let's hope so.

paul V

Bit of a mish mash after a weekend away up past the Hunter.

Lots and lots of beer - nice and refreshing

98 Peter Lehman Seven Surveys (I think its a shiraz grenache blend). Very food friendly and drinking well now

93 Penfolds Bin 389 Bit dissappointing after the Peter Lehman. Seemed a bit disjointed although improved towards the end of the bottle. Not really sure what I thought of it.

A friend brought up a 01 Bluegrass Cab Sav claiming it was her favourite wine. I was instantly worried but it was a great early drinking style with plenty of complexity and nice length, good fruit and nicely developed. A very enjoyable easy drinking style.

01 Tempus Two Cabernet. (I think it was the cabernet but didn't actually look at the bottle) A bit simple and dissappointing. Probably a bit too young to be drinking but seemed to have overbearing tannins and did not have any great length. Not sure how much it will improve

96 Petaluma Cabernets. I'm really not sure on this one either. I wanted to like it but there wasn't a lot of fruit there and it still appeared rather closed. Maybe I should have decanted it. The last glass seemed a bit better but maybe it just needs more time.

There was a Tempus two sticky as well but I've no idea what it was. This was all class though. Very delicate pineapple flavours and a really lovely drink.

87 Brown Bros Late picked riesling - corked

On the way home we stopped in at the hunter and dropped into Emma's cottage and tried:

99 Semillon. I thought this was corked but the lady at the door assured me it wasn't. Not like any semillon I'd ever tasted. Very flat, no fruit and musty smelling. I still think it was corked, either that or it was just bloody awful.

03 Verdelho - not too bad but quite unusual and very spicey. I thought I had white pepper on the finish but by this stage the woman at the cellar door thought I was mad!

96 Shiraz - a bit thin, insipid and fading fast

99 Shiraz - more body with plenty of tannins. Still not so inspiring

Also tried a late picked semillon which was nice enough to buy and a tokay - not sure of the vintage - out of the barrel. Also worth purchasing but only one bottle.

Finally dropped in on Lake's Folly before spending three hours in the traffic back to Sydney.

Both the 01 chardonnay and the 01 cabernets were sensational. Puts my faith back in what the hunter can produce. The chardonnay was just lovely and was like a breath of fresh air.

The Cabernet was initally a huge tannic monster but after walking around for a while and lots of swirling its class came shining through. By the last mouthful I was totally convinced. One of the best cabernets I've had for a while and with some age this will be a beauty. I bought three of each of the Cabernet and Chardonnay and will more than likely buy a full case of the cabernets. I had a feeling that Lake's Folly had lost the plot after the departure of the Lake's but I'm very glad I dropped in and tasted it for myself. Great Wine!

Hey,

Fairly quiet wine week but a couple of good ones nonetheless.

Bottles:
2001 Coriole McLaren Vale Shiraz:
Deep inky purple; massive amounts of fruit and spice on the nose. Quite a lot of fruit sweetness on the palate, almost syrupy with vanilla overtones (American oak influence nost likely) with a long, yet fairly hot finish. Quite tannic and feels like it will live for a while yet.

2000 Taltarni Cabernet Merlot:
Medium purple; plummy, cassis notes upfront, and judging from the nose the expectations were high for what was to come. However it was not to be, i felt it to be a bit weak, lacking flavour with a short finish.

Tastes:
1999 Seppelt Sparkling Red:
Tops stuff yet again, tasted a bit sweeter than the 1998 and for $15 great value

1999 Wynns John Riddoch:
Limited release for this wine, apparently very little was made. Slightly different in style to the previos Riddoch's i've tasted being far more restrained.

Cheers
Cheyne

Last Saturday -

2000 Cullen Cab Merlot - Very First bottle Ever Very Very Nice
1993 Lewuin Prelude Cab Sav -
1994 Menzies
2000 Cullen - Desert Wine - almost like orange juice
1994 Mountain Blue off the wine list

All Very Enjoyable wines