The Auswine Forum

The third Auswine offline for the year was held at Soho Restaurant (73 Melbourne Street, North Adelaide). This time there were 16 attending and it was in the undercover courtyard out the back - I must make special mention of Mark, Jamie & John who were here from Brisbane, Hong Kong & Canada respectively, and managed to cram this in before heading back. I hope you enjoyed it guys!

My thanks go to Bradley & Peta and the rest of staff for looking after us so well, and for everyone there from the forum who shared some stunning and interesting wines again. The food and service were fantastic as usual, although this time our attempt to have a reasonably structured and timed tasting didn’t work as well. Thinking back, the idea of trying to time 34 wines around three courses was way too ambitious, and realistically we really needed a degustation menu and an extra couple of hours. The number of wines meant two were poured about every 20 minutes, and the extra whites & pinots at the beginning resulted in a shortage of ice buckets, plus I asked the main course to be delayed to try and time it with the last of the Cabernets/first big Shiraz. I have to take the blame for really underestimating the magnitude of this one, so my apologies folks.


1988 Croser MM Sparkling Pinot Chardonnay (magnum): A great sparkling to begin the night with while people were arriving, a little creamy and showing just a touch of bacon with strong stonefruit. Very good drinking now but still has a lot of gas left in the tank.

1991 Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz: Definite barnyard characters but not feral at all, the leathery/chocolaty, sweet raspberry fruit still singing after 16 years – I can definitely handle bottles like this one.

Rockford Sparkling Black Shiraz (2003 disg'): This let out a loud pop to let everyone know there was no problems with the cork on this one! Very young and sweet, with chocolaty red berry fruit and some obvious coffee oak – looked a bit sweet and simple compared to the SSS.

2006 Kabminye Barossa Valley Pinot Blanc: Soapy/floral nose with a hint of flint, fennel and apple; very dry, yeasty, fino-like palate, I thought this worked pretty well as a palate cleanser between the sparkling wines and following whites.

2003 Max Ferd Richter Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett: Very waxy nose with a bit of sweet honey, then kerosene and sugary biscuits; rather sweet, lightweight and simple palate of pineapple and sugar on entry, followed by a very dry, chewy finish.

2003 Petaluma Hanlin Hill Clare Valley Riesling: There’s still a little lime left on the nose but also some kerosene, spice and flint; the palate’s dry and pithy, the lemon fruit pushed in the background by the structure, finishing slightly nutty. This was in an awkward phase and isn’t very attractive, especially when some mousy characters began to appear – disappointing.

2007 Sevenhill Inigo Clare Valley Riesling: Gorgeous blossom of sweet lime, bubblegum and bathroom scents on the nose; the palate wasn’t as sweet, a spicy lemon entry followed by zesty/tingly mineral characters, finishing dry and crisp.

2006 Parish Hill Vermentino: Interesting, spicy, floral and waxy wine with just a hint of sulphur at first, then talcum powder and a little pickled capsicum. This is a very savoury style that probably needs the right food to show off it’s best, but still promising and interesting at the time.

2007 Coriole Fiano: Sweaty/over extracted wine with bitter passionfruit, pear and a little fennel; this reminded me of recent Primo Estate Colombards that I’ve equally disliked.

2003 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay: Huge amounts of sweet vanillin oak and malo characters on the nose, at one time displaying some distinctive crushed ants/formic acid characters; the palate’s just as dominated by the oak, and while there’s a good weight of melon/stonefruit underneath it looked a bit flabby and unbalanced at present compared to the other Chardonnays.

2005 Lillydale Estate Chardonnay: In contrast to the LEAS this opened with strong grapefruit characters with a hint of grass, yet tried after the Shaw & Smith some sweet/cashew oak becomes noticeable. The palate’s just as balanced and complex, with citrus, stonefruit, some mineral and supporting sweet oak; easy to see how this is such a prolific trophy winner on this form

2005 Shaw & Smith M3 Chardonnay: Tight citrus/mineral characters with some lanolin and just a hint of toasty/cashew oak in the background; the palate’s main focus seems to be elegance with the structure taking centre stage, the fruit reserved and the tight-grained/spicy oak in a supporting role. I was really surprised with this and actually marginally liked it a bit better than the Lillydale on the night, but I have to add that overall the flight of three Chardonnays was very impressive.

2000 Tyrrell’s Vat 1 Semillon: A surprising and unexpected sweet burst of fresh blossom and spice, but within a few minutes it’s much more predictable tight and waxy characters take over. The palate’s tight and waxy throughout, with powerful lemon fruit and a long structure; it’s a little simple at the moment but still very young.

2004 De Bortoli Yarra Valley Pinot Noir: Sweet cherries with some caramel oak on the nose; after an initial burst of sweet cherry fruit, the lightweight palate is very dry and acidic with just a hint of stalks. After liking the Gulf Station I had high hopes for this, but it was well and truly out-gunned here.

2003 Ashton Hills Estate Pinot Noir: This had similar cherry and stalky characters to the De Bortoli, yet the fruit was a bit riper, fatter and fuller, the finish slightly grainy, mouth-filling and very long. There’s just enough funk to make this very interesting and complex, and it’s balance and poise made it the best of the three Pinots by a big margin.

2005 Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Santa Barbera Pinot Noir (cork dancer 5.1): Mark was good enough to share his only bottle of this wine famous from the movie “Sideways”, but unfortunately I found it a bit too feral for my liking; the brett’s in full swing, beef stock, peperoni, cloves & amalgam, and the palate’s featherweight in comparison to the Ashton Hills.

2000 Domaine Grand Veneur ‘Les Origines’ Chateauneuf du Pape: Gorgeous, clean, inky nose, and sweet dark cherry/raspberry and liquorice on the palate, which was medium-weight but perfectly balanced. John brought this bottle all the way from Canada this week, and for an old-world wine this was very clean, elegant, reserved and powerful, and was among my favourites of the night.

1993 Guigal Brune et Blonde Cote Rotie: Strange wine, seriously bretty and also very green and oaky, with mint/peas, smoke, hot metal, and coffee; the palate’s thin, dry, tannic, and unappealing. Not really what I was expecting.

2001 Tenuta Sette Ponti Crognolo Toscana IGT: Wheaty/toasty nose at first matched by ripe sour cherry/plum fruit, savoury, minty, then cigar box and tobacco, and finally a bit of cashew and just a little savoury meats to finish with. The palate was ripe, full bodied and velvety, it’s weight and texture excellent; this stunning Sangiovese/Merlot Super Tuscan was John’s second bottle he brought with him from Canada and WOTN for many.

1970 Chateaux Meyney Prieure des Couleys, St Estephe (magnum): Oxidised – I should have flipped this at auction when I had the chance.

1985 Chateau Canon 1er Grand Cru Classe, St-Emilion: Green nose with a hint of tomato, smoke, pepper, animal fur and green capsicum; the palate’s dry, tannic, earthy and well balanced, with tart fruit, bitter chocolate and a hint of tomato, finishing very long and grainy. The balance and length of this was great, although trying it with the Pyrus made it look a little old and foursquare; it’s a pity the Meyney turned out to be a dud, as I think it could have been a better tasting companion.

1998 Lindemans Pyrus Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc: While the lighting made it pretty difficult to judge the colour of the wines, this still looked incredibly youthful for its age. Powerful and young, tart blackcurrant fruit supported by classy nutty/biscuity oak and fine tannins, this reminded me a little of a young Wynns John Riddoch. When hard-pressed, in a close call I actually would settle on this as my WOTN.

2001 Majella Malleea Cabernet Shiraz: Dominant coconut/vanilla oak with a hint of glue on the nose; the palate’s a huge mesh of ripe cassis/blueberry/blackberry fruit and vanillin oak with hefty integrated tannins and a long coffee finish. This looked a bit oaky and clumsy at the moment against the classy Pyrus, but should sort itself out in a few years.

1999 Orlando Lawsons Padthaway Shiraz: I remember when I first tried this wine a few years ago – it had a fair amount of VA on the nose and surprisingly ripe fruit, then at the end of the night Gavin poured half of it on his lawn out the back! The wine’s changed since then, having those typically dominant Lawsons' spearmint characters, yet there’s still a good core of ripe blackberry fruit and classy nutty oak in support. I actually quite liked this, which was a bit of a surprise considering its company.

2004 Winter Creek Barossa Shiraz: Sweet blackberries and a hint of black pepper, then nutty/dark chocolate; the palate’s medium weight and just as clean and well balanced, with a long elegant finish. A classic but understated Barossa Shiraz that will live a long time, and put a lot of bigger names to shame.

2004 Algy Bros Cotes Du Roussillon Carignan Syrah Grenache: While the previous wine was squeaky clean this wasn’t - it’s sweet, funky, spicy, stinky, nutty and feral; mid-weight palate with good fruit sweetness, but the wine’s just too dirty for my liking (with the surrounding wines anyway – maybe it should have been poured after the Pinots).

1999 Jasper Hill Georgia’s Paddock Shiraz: Ripe, slightly stewed blackberry on the nose with just a little hint of spirit; medium-to-full weight palate of clean blackberry fruit and just a hint of mint, the tannins very obvious in true Heathcote style.

2000 Red Edge Shiraz: Porty nose of liquorice, then formic acid, something looking maybe a little over-extracted; in contrast the palate’s simple and amazingly short, pretty much a boring wine with nothing going for it.

2002 Jeanneret Denis Clare Valley Shiraz: Slightly cooler fruit here, with blackberry/raspberry and a hint of green/mint; the palate’s typical of Clare, on the very dry side with tart/slender fruit in comparison with the surrounding Shiraz, elegant but a little austere. Should age well though.

2005 Coates The Gimp McLaren Vale Shiraz: Sweet blackberries and equally sweet oak, this takes no prisoners and is really one for the hedonists (so to speak).

2002 Charles Melton Barossa Shiraz: I think this stayed down the other end of the table and I didn't try it – if I did I was slack and didn’t write anything.

2003 Dragon Seal Syrah Cabernet Sauvignon: Unusual nose of sweet plum, blue metal, kalamata olives and rubber/smoke; the palate’s not pretty, thin, tannic, smoky, metallic and whatever fruit’s sickly sweet, finishing with salami, amalgam and cashew nut. I doubt this will be a cheap Chinese import our producers will be too worried about.

2005 Kracher Beerenauslese Cuvee (375ml): Quince with a touch of pineapple, honey and coconut; well-balanced palate, refreshing with quince & pineapple/orange juice and a little wax, finishing with some lemon zest.

1972 Stonyfell Metala Vintage Port: Dark prunes, classy leather, earthy chocolate/toffee and espresso, and just a little sweet liquorice, this is in great shape for a 35 year old, relatively unheralded VP. Considering what else we drank it was a little surprising to see the majority of this lapped up at the end of the night – actually there wasn’t much left of any of the reds except the Dragon Seal!


Cheers
Ian

Many thanks Ian, your efforts are very much appreciated, and we thought the evening flowed very well.

Great company, superb wines, and impeccable food in a very nice setting.

Highlights for me were the Croser, the THREE world class Chardonnays, The Crognol superTuscan, the SSS, Pyrus and Lawsons (I might be biased though).

I thought the Winter Creek deserves a special mention too, for its purity and Barossan charm.

Some things heard during the evening

"I prefer Clare Valley Riesling to the Petaluma"

"This Metala red tastes very Porty"

"The Kabminye Pinot Blanc tastes just like our home tap water"


My apologies to anyone I might have offended.

n4sir wrote:Thinking back, the idea of trying to time 34 wines around three courses was way too ambitious,

Agreed; when you have that many people, its better if you arrange to have two of every wine, so there would have (only- sic) been 17 wines to try.

not that i have never been guilty, but sometimes i think 'offlines' and similar become wasteful exercises.

last week we did 10 wines between 16 people and that seemed about right. When you have a good half a glass of 10 wines, getting an objective and appreciative handle on the last wine's merits is marginal.

TORB wrote:

n4sir wrote:Thinking back, the idea of trying to time 34 wines around three courses was way too ambitious,

Agreed; when you have that many people, its better if you arrange to have two of every wine, so there would have (only- sic) been 17 wines to try.

Yeah, that's one of the things I thought of afterwards, and Blacktongues do exactly that with the big dinners so they 'only' end up with about 20 wines for the occasion.

At one stage during the offline a few of us were a bit shocked to see how many wines were still there, I was worried we'd be through all the food with half of them still to go (a big half at that), and at the very end I was wondering why I was feeling pretty burnt-out. The following day when I had a good think about it, 34 wines over 4-5 hours really is biting off way, way too much for such an occasion - that said, it was still a bit of fun to find this out the hard way.

Cheers,
Ian

Really like that 98 Pyrus too. Very classy wine.
That 2001 Majella has always seen extra-ordinarily oaky comparared to other releases. Not sure why. Did they throw more at it does anyone know?
I am not sure the LEAS has anything more than a small percentage of MLF - about 20% some years at most from memory.
GW

Couldn't have asked for a finer final offline.

Lots of great wines, great people and great conversation. Especially, it was fantastic to to catch up with Rudy (Mark) again, and to meet John (JSDS, or something like that) and Jamie (albeit briefly)

The starting line was fairly intimidating, but I think we came through very well (though I had to sneak out and grab a Palate Cleansing Ale at one point in the evening)

Thanks, to Ian for posting the notes so quickly.

My take on some of the wines:

1988 Croser MM Sparkling Pinot Chardonnay (magnum): How old? Here was me convinced that it was made in 2000, and was looking very young. Would love to see how this develops.

1991 Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz: Beautiful; had to have seconds

Rockford Sparkling Black Shiraz (2003 disg'): Agree this was sweet, simple and pure. Had to go back for seconds of the Seppelt after this one.

2006 Kabminye Barossa Valley Pinot Blanc: Light, elegant wine. Some hints of petrichor on the nose. Varietally correct, if not exciting.

2003 Petaluma Hanlin Hill Clare Valley Riesling: Wasn't impressed with this at all. Should probably have been consumed within a couple of years of vintage when still in its first flurry of youth.

2007 Sevenhill Inigo Clare Valley Riesling: What a lovely little wine. Beautifully lifted floral feminine nose. Nice work Liz!

2006 Parish Hill Vermentino: I enjoyed this (as much as one can usually enjoy Vermentinos). Varietally correct down to acid profile and that kind of mustard cress finish.

2007 Coriole Fiano: I think Ian is being intolerant here
Went well with the starter. Never tried a Fiano before Thursday and have had three bottles since. Weighty wine.

2003 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay: Still don't know what the fuss about these wines is. Overworked, over oaked, overly alcoholic. Not pleasant.

2005 Lillydale Estate Chardonnay: There is a certain characteristic in some Chardonnays that makes me feel ill. Still haven't managed to figure out what it is or why. Anyway this wine had it, and I could not get past it.

2005 Shaw & Smith M3 Chardonnay: Definitely seems to be a step on on recent M3s. Great structure. Should be a medium term ager.

2004 De Bortoli Yarra Valley Pinot Noir: Too sweet and forward for my tastes.

2003 Ashton Hills Estate Pinot Noir: Agree with Ian's notes here, though should also say that this also has a lovely perfume to it.

2005 Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Santa Barbera Pinot Noir (cork dancer 5.1): I appreciated this wine as it had so much going on. Not sure I really enjoyed it though.

1993 Guigal Brune et Blonde Cote Rotie: This seemed quite thin and dried out. Not anything like the 95s I'm drinking at the moment.

2001 Grognolo Toscana: This rocked. Must find me some.

1970 Chateaux Meyney Prieure des Couleys, St Estephe (magnum): Buggered. Shame because the 61 I had was in very good condition.

1985 Chateau Canon 1er Grand Cru Classe, St-Emilion: I love old Bordeaux; and this wasn't an exception. Possible a little dried out, but enjoyable nonetheless.

2004 Winter Creek Barossa Shiraz: For me the antithesis of a Barossan Shiraz in that it is elegant, gracefully oaked, beautifully structured and well balanced. Lovely wine, and might have been my wine of the night had it not been for the Old World ring-ins.

2004 Agly Bros Cotes Du Roussillon Carignan Syrah Grenache: I brought this one, and thought it was very good, though I think I just ended up drinking and enjoying this one rather than taking much notice of it. Must grab another bottle to take more seriously next time.

1999 Jasper Hill Georgia’s Paddock Shiraz: I didn't really think this looked Heathcote-esque due to its porty characteristics. Not sure if this was an off vintage, or an off bottle as it was very different in character than Georgia's I've had from other vintages.

2007 Cooper's Pale Ale Light amber colour, noticeable haziness. Slight green banana nose. On the palate touch yeasty and light citrus. Only gentle carbonation. Very refreshing beer.

Nayan wrote:
Rockford Sparkling Black Shiraz (2003 disg'): Agree this was sweet, simple and pure. Had to go back for seconds of the Seppelt after this one.

As I've previously suggested, I reckon these need time to be at their best, oddly enough given time seems to soak the corks more readily than many other sparklings.... but then that's a whole 'nother thread... Beginning to wonder what the fuss is about this wine, especially after recently enjoying a Primo Joseph which impressed me a lot more.

Just my two bob's worth (and this is from someone who's not yet been to one) but the wine selections for the offlines seem dramatically varied. This, I suppose, is excellent for choice and interest however I can't help but wonder whether a more focussed theme for each dinner would be more appropriate? Given the range of budgets on offer here, this would probably best not be "mid 80s Bordeaux" or "grand cru Burgundies" for example but it might be something to consider.

Forgive my humble suggestion, I'm raring for the next one with any diarising luck.

Wayno wrote:Just my two bob's worth (and this is from someone who's not yet been to one) but the wine selections for the offlines seem dramatically varied. This, I suppose, is excellent for choice and interest however I can't help but wonder whether a more focussed theme for each dinner would be more appropriate? Given the range of budgets on offer here, this would probably best not be "mid 80s Bordeaux" or "grand cru Burgundies" for example but it might be something to consider.

Forgive my humble suggestion, I'm raring for the next one with any diarising luck.

Fair suggestion, I reckon.

Fancy organising the next one?

Sadly Nayan, even if Wanyno organises one (and I hope you do, Wayno), we'll have to miss your company at the next. Please keep in touch via the forum and let us know your movements overseas. Thanks for the comments, direction and entertainment. Your participation will be sorely missed.

Cheers,

Mark

Debut organizing might be a stretch. I'll take the easy option at least for the first couple to get the feel...

Great night of many, many wines. Good to see those I had met previously again and meet some new offline junkies. Already looking forward to the next ones

Croser MM Sparkling Pinot Chardonnay (magnum)

This was a fantastic way to start. Looked very youthful with a fine bead, toasted bread characters, grilled nuts and some stonefruit with a citrus-lime finish. Lots of acid left, making for a refreshing vigorous style.

1991 Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz

Quite a meaty and rustic sparkling Shiraz with a touch of mousiness to it. Plummy fruit with notes of cassis and raspberries. The fruit sweetness is tempered by savoury meatiness and a touch of spice. Pretty good if you like the style with a little feral element which I didn’t mind.

Rockford Sparkling Black Shiraz (2003 disg)

A lot cleaner than the Seppelts. I think Black Shiraz needs a few years for the fresher fruit material and the liqueur to integrate. This bottle was a good example of this. Lots of fresh sweet Shiraz fruit with notes of licorice and chocolate. Good stuff but needs more development to compete with the Seppelts.

2005 Kabminye Pinot Blanc

There wasn’t much interest here for me. Dry palate which seemed quite boring with a touch of melon and waxy characters. Next please.

2003 Max Ferd Richter Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett
Candied fruit, musk and sugar syrup on the nose. The palate showed a little apple and pear and a lot of mid palate sweetness and finished with drying acidity. Enjoyable but too simple.

2003 Petaluma Riesling
Developed nose of wax and a bit of kerosene. The palate showed lemon pith, some subdued pear and a waxy, kero character – it seems to appearing early in this wine. Structured but the palate seems overly developed for a 4 year old wine. Ok only.

2007 Sevenhills Indigo Riesling
Talcum powder and lavender dominate a very floral bouquet that showed a character that reminded me of juicyfruit. The palate showed a good depth of flavour with preserved lemons, passionfruit and a mineraly finish. Very enjoyable.

2007 Coriole Fiano
Tropical fruits, a bit of lime pith and a little grassiness and herbaceous character. A drying finish. A bit rustic and feral but I liked it.

2006 Parish Hill Vermintino
Earthy, waxy nose with a dry palate showing dried herbs and grass. Also a little spice. Interesting but not a style I would pursue for my drinking.

The following bracket of Australian chardonnays was very good with the Shaw and Smith being my favourite on the night.

LEAS Chardonnay 2003

I found the nose a bit closed but managed to coax some melon, peaches and vanilla and butterscotch. The palate showed a lot of sweet oak and butterscotch character as well as a good depth of melon and stonefruit. Very generous in flavour and power of fruit but a little broad and unrefined.

2005 Lillydale Estate Chardonnay

Cashews, oatmeal, peach and grapefruit bouquet. The palate reflected the oaky aromas but matched the oak with a good depth of melon and stonefruit. Well balanced with some mineral characters and defining acidity. This bottle lived up to the wine’s reputation.

2005 Shaw & Smith Chardonnay

This wine appeared more restrained and elegant in style compare to the other two chardonnays. Less oak influence on the nose and palate with nectarine and peach flavours combining with taut minerals and acidity. There is some spicy oak lingering behind the fruit. Really liked the elegant style. Favourite of the three.

2000 Tyrell’s Vat 1 Semillon

Classic waxy nose, with hints of melted plastic and cut grass. The palate was full of lemony fruit and tight racy acidity. The burst of acid was great in preparing the palate for the onslaught of reds to come.

The set of three pinot noirs showed an interesting contrast in styles from three different pinot regions. Liked the Ashton Hills a lot.

2005 Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Santa Barbera Pinot Noir (cork dancer 5.1)
The nose was particularly earthy and leathery with only a hint of rhubarb like fruit lurking in the bouquet. The palate was savoury tending towards a leathery spectrum with decaying leaf matter, roasted meats and sour red fruits. Seemed more rhoney than pinot like. Interesting drink but not what I want from a pinot.

Ashton Hills Estate Pinot Noir

Sour cherry and toasty charred oak on the nose. The palate showed good depth of flavour with sour cherry, undergrowth and spice. Good length and enough acid to finish refreshing. Good complexity.
2004 De Bortoli Yarra Valley Pinot Noir

Nose showed caramel oak and sour cherry. The palate saw a nice amount of spice, red berries and cherry and a little stalkiness. Barest hints of earthy undergrowth appeared. Good acidity and length. Good but not as interesting as the Ashton Hills.

2001 Crogonolo Toscano

A bit of swirling in the glass got the nose to show dried herbs, tomato leaf, plummy fruit, sweet tobacco (or was that Nayan rolling durries next to me?) and some grilled meats. The palate showed generous ripe fruit in a full bodied style but with a taut structure that gave the wine fantastic balance. Ripe yet finishing savoury with a touch of a gamey element. Excellent wine and up there close to WOTN for me.

2000 Domaine Grand Veneur ‘Les Origines’ CNDP

Strong aniseed aroma mixed with breaths of sweet raspberry – smelled fantastic. The palate was mid-weight and showed a great depth of pristine raspberry fruit with licorice, spice and earthiness. A very clean Rhone ranger but a good one at that.

1993 Guigal Brune et Blonde

A bouquet of sweet, earthy tobacco/cigar box with dried straw and leather. The leather and straw elements stood out as the wine breathed more – bretty? Medium bodied, earthy red berried fruit, a touch of milk chocolate, leather. A little thin and tannic.

1985 Chateau Canon 1er Grand Cru Classe, St-Emilion

Great expressive nose of cedar, earth, some herbs and a touch of tomato. Palate was medium bodied and appeared on the side of a little too dry but showed plenty of brambly fruit with tertiary tobacco, cedar and earth. Balanced and elegant as aged Bordeaux should be.

1998 Lindemans Pyrus Cabernets

Classic Coonawarra nose of blackberry jam, cedar, earth and a little wet grass. Great depth of fruit flavour with sweet-sour blackberry dominant with a fair bit of cedary oak which was in balance with the fruit. Some earthy and herbaceous notes too. Good balance but the tannins poke out a little on the finish at the moment. Very good.

1999 Orlando Lawsons

Dominant mint on nose and palate. Plummy fruit dominated by mint. Too much mint/greenness for me.

Majella Mallea Cab Shiraz 2001

Dense flavours of blackberry jam, blackcurrants and plums. Lots of oak. Needs time to find balance between the huge amount of fruit and oak. I would like to see this wine again in 2010 – could be very good.

2004 Agly Brothers Carignan blend

I really like this. Lots going on. Quite full bodied but probably leaning more to mid-weight in an Australian context. Firm tannins. Red berry fruit, plums and a heap of spice earthiness, and gamey characters. I hope my palate was in good form because I went and bought 3 bottles to check this out over he next years on Saturday morning.

2004 Winter Creek Barossa Shiraz

Fantastic Barossa shiraz. Elegant and restrained medium bodied palate showing blackberry, plums, chocolate and a little licorice. Great balance between oak and fruit and fine tannins. Finishes long with finesse.

2000 Red Edge Shiraz

Lots of aniseed and mint on the nose. Palate was full bodied with stewy plums, licorice and dark chocolate. A bit too porty and short.

1999 Jasper Hill Georgia’s Paddock Shiraz

Similar to the Red Edge, an aniseed/licorice dominant bouquet. Deep blackberry and plums in a full bodied style with minty dark chocolate. Warm and generous but maybe not quite enough structure.

2002 Jeanneret Denis

Typical Clare Shiraz with blackberry and plums, a little pepper and menthol. Some elegance and firm tannins. Should improve with time. Needs a little more complexity.

2002 Hahn Catharina Shiraz

Barossa Shiraz nose of sweet confected raspberry and plum with vanilla overtones. Supple palate with generous plummy fruit and lots of sweet vanilla, mocha oak. Very easy to drink if you like the style. Needs a little more freshness and structure.

2002 Charles Melton Shiraz

More savoury and balanced in comparison to the Hahn Catharina. Vanilla and coffee oak support a good depth of blackberry, plum driven fruit. A fine tannin and earthy mineral spine supports the fruit. I like the style but probably came at the wrong end of the night.

2005 Coates The Gimp Shiraz

Generous and big in all aspects. Lots of sweet oak and plummy, blackberried fruit. Easy to drink.

2005 Kracher Beerenauslese Cuvee

Medium weight sticky with sweet tropical fruit, honey and a little spice. Good balance between sweetness and acidity. Needs more concentration.

1972 Stonyfell Metala Vintage Port

This was great – toffee, coffee, chocolate overlaying sweet stewed fruits and dried grape flavours. Great flavours to finish the night off.

Jordan wrote: 2002 Hahn Catharina Shiraz

Barossa Shiraz nose of sweet confected raspberry and plum with vanilla overtones. Supple palate with generous plummy fruit and lots of sweet vanilla, mocha oak. Very easy to drink if you like the style. Needs a little more freshness and structure.

I knew I missed another one - I think this and the Charles Melton stayed at the other end of the table and I didn't get a peek at either.

Cheers,
Ian

Jordan - you are safe with the Agly Brothers blend.

Susan and I enjoyed a bottle a few days before the offline.

Make sure you let it breath well to get rid of a little "French stink".
A lovely savoury, gamey / meaty, leathery red. Balanced roastiness, soft tannins, subdued oak. But definitely a short-term drinker.

Hi all,

Firstly thanks to those who organised dinner last Friday, in particular Ian. As always at these events, it was great to meet new faces ! Thanks also to everyone for bringing such a wide variety of wines.

Wayno wrote:

Nayan wrote:
Rockford Sparkling Black Shiraz (2003 disg'): Agree this was sweet, simple and pure. Had to go back for seconds of the Seppelt after this one.

As I've previously suggested, I reckon these need time to be at their best, oddly enough given time seems to soak the corks more readily than many other sparklings.... but then that's a whole 'nother thread... Beginning to wonder what the fuss is about this wine, especially after recently enjoying a Primo Joseph which impressed me a lot more.

Over the last week ro so I've had '91, '00 and '03 disgorgements and preferred them in order of '00, '91 and '03. I like the forest floor and mushroom type characters that develop in this wine over time, and wonder whether the inherent sweetness up front is due to the amount of VP used for dosage. The '00 for me was spot on, with a good balance of developed flavours, acid, sweetness and fruit, whereas the '91 was rather tertiary (in a good way) and the '03 very primary.

What concerns me is that with the history of the corks and this wine that some may not make it that far. The '91s (at a Rockford lunch) each had to have the corks removed by corkscrew, and both the '00 and '03 showed signs that the corks were wet up their sides. I much prefer the wine with 5 years post disgorgement before opening, and at this age put them ahead of its competition. Anything younger than 5 years and the wine can appear relatively simple.

Wayno wrote:Just my two bob's worth (and this is from someone who's not yet been to one) but the wine selections for the offlines seem dramatically varied. This, I suppose, is excellent for choice and interest however I can't help but wonder whether a more focussed theme for each dinner would be more appropriate? Given the range of budgets on offer here, this would probably best not be "mid 80s Bordeaux" or "grand cru Burgundies" for example but it might be something to consider.

Not sure I agree here - we had a lot of wines on Friday night, and I really enjoyed the ability to taste such a wide variety of wines. In particular, almost all the wines had a "story" that was brought from each donater.

Cheers Mark

Great evening!

Thanks to participants and those who organised the offline- Ian.

I took the Max- German home and had it with lunch the next day. Thought it showed a bit better. Vastly different to what I expected of 03.

Quite sentimental for me the 03 Mosel vintage. I would escape the Middle East that year- and have pork, riesling and other forbidden excesses on 4 day getaways to the middel Mosel!

silkwood should get all the credit and our thanks for organising this one - he hunted around & booked a venue, then negotiated a menu and set price.

Thanks again Mark,
Ian

What a night! It was good to see everyone again, and meet a bunch more people. Good food, good company, and loads of good wine...!

Highlights for me were the Croser (It was ten years older than I thought, and bloody good), the Stonyfell Metala, and the Pyrus, although the Toscana was bloody good and the Sevenhill riesling was a pleasant surprise.

Thanks to Mark for the organising, Ian for the wine distribution and comprehensive notes, and the staff of Soho who put up with us until very early in the morning

Just got back from Oz, my head still a little foggy from the jetlag, but I wanted to thank everyone for making me feel so welcome at the offline. I didn't get to talk to as many people as I would have liked, but many thanks to the organizers, and for everyone else for attending!

It was quite a different set-up than I'm used to for offlines, when we usually have a limit of 10-12 people, one bottle each, one region to focus on, and blinded: this allows us to really have time with each wine. That said, 'different' is not necessarily 'better'! I really enjoyed being able to taste all these wines, and meeting so many people. I reckon a rangle of offline styles is the way to go: some smaller and more focused (e.g., particular regions and/or vintages) and some more a 'free for all'. Vive la difference!

The 1988 Croser was my favourite of the sparklers - still in prime shape! I also thought the 1991 Seppelt made the Rockford look simple and sweet. I was interested to hear your comments on the MF Richter riesling: I thought it the best riesling, but then again I'm much more used to the German riesling style rather than the Oz styles (sweeping generalization, I know) which tends to be too austere and acidic for my tastes. But I did enjoy the Sevenhill riesling as well. But I think it just shows the impact of experience on taste: what you drink really defines your palate in ways that are very difficult to notice.

The two Italian whites a la Oz were both quite well done, I thought. The Coriole Fiano I would have pegged for an Old World wine. I'm not a big fan of New World chard, but enjoyed all three Oz versions, but thought all had too much oak. I liked the Ashton Hills pinot the most - my favourite pinot producer in Oz.

Of the shiraz, I too enjoyed the Winter Creek a lot: a lovely, restrained style.

I was releived both my wines weren't corked! Perhaps a little bottle shock on both, but maybe I'm too paranoid. I was glad to hear many enjoyed the Tenuta Sette Ponti Crognolo 2001: I agree, this was drinking very nicely now, with great balance. The Grand Veneur tasted very young still, but was a tasty grenache-fest.

Thanks again, and sorry I didn't get to chat with more of you. I had an awesome time, and loved my first Auswine offline! Sorry I can't make the next ones!