The Auswine Forum

Hi Good Peoples,

You know the drill! Tasting notes, vibes, impressions and lists welcome.

Time to let us know what you have been drinking.

Elderton Barossa Shiraz 02 -still a deep red/purple colour - abit closed at first but opened up after 2 hours with berry and spice on the palate, not bad

cheers
Seddo

Down to the cellar and found a Pirramimma Cabernet bought many years ago and remember it as pleasurable drinking over the years. This one had escaped my gaze and was the last one left.
Opened with a herbal, iced tea character which was pleasant. Then I looked at the vintage 1984. No wonder the rim showed browning and was drinking fully mature, cool vintage for McLaren Vale and 12% alc for this wine. Who says low alc Aussie wines don't age well.

Went with Davo, brief visit from Perth,to Alio in Redfern and had the degustation. It was really very enjoyable.
Washed the food down with a couple of '94 reds. A Thomas Hardy CS. which Davo said was really singing and I had to agree the fat lady was in good voice.
The other, Dalwhinnie Shiraz, was very tight to start with but loosened up and also became very enjoyable. As good as it was, we both agreed the the T.H. was more enjoyable.
Davo forced me to suffer through some swill he smuggled in from WA, a Muscat by a maker I can not remember. It was passably good, alright it was extremely good. I just do not want to boost his already huge ego.
An excellent night, even if I did have to put up with Davo.
Mike.

Mesh 07 Riesling
I liked this a lot - loads of fruit in the mix, reminiscent of the 07 Petaluma a bit for me. Disappeared quickly....

Wayno wrote:Mesh 07 Riesling
I liked this a lot - loads of fruit in the mix, reminiscent of the 07 Petaluma a bit for me. Disappeared quickly....

Had this by the glass last week at Little Creatures in Freo (don't worry; beer was consumed as well). Found this a lot crisper than the Petaluma but I agree that it had plenty of fruit. I liked it a lot actually (more than previous releases).

cheers

Carl

07 St Clair Sauvignon Blanc. Seems a little fat and not the focus of the higher tiers. Not a gold medal to me tonight
07 Sugar loaf Sauvignon Blanc. Didnt seem as focused tonight as usual. A little muddled. Usually brilliant
04 Penfolds Bin 28. Not bad. A nice drop to drink slowly over a night.
02 Selaks Ice Wine. Interesting but never was great, and a bit past it. balance not so great
05 Fromm La Strada Spatlese Riesling. Brings tears to the eyes. Its brilliant. Magnicient head turner
06 Corbans PB Gewurz. Good spicy food wine. i enjoyed this, not overblown and enough edge to cut the food well.
Talisker 18yo. Nice stuff. not as smoky and peaty as the 10yo, easier going, smoother and seamless.

Turkey Flat 2005 Shiraz - Excellent cling to the glass. Blackberry and spice on the nose. The palate structure is good with flavours of liquorice stewed fruit, and vanilla. Fine dry tannins and an aftertaste of liquorice and plum.

I was a tad dissappointed with this wine and I believe it needs a few more years in correct cellaring conditions to reach its peak.

Cheers
Leigh

1998 Yalumba "The Reserve" Cab Shiraz: Only released in top vintages, I expected a lot from this true reserve wine. Full on and full bodied, the wine is rich with cassis like fruit and chocolaty and coffeed oak. Velvety tannins provide the frame needed for this opulent wine. Very much cabernet dominant. Quite excellent in its style. Got better with time in the glass and I think there is improvement in the wine for the next 5 years at least.

2005 Woodlands "Margaret" Reserve Cabernet Merlot: This looked a little oakier and a touch more herbal than the last time I tried this wine but was still good. Excellent tannins. Needs time.

2005 Ngeringa J.E Pinot Noir: Classy wine. Beautiful balance between cherried fruit, spice, earthiness and fine tannins. For $25 this pinot is ridiculously good. I would easily pay another $25 more for it.

2005 Ngeringa Syrah: Excellent wine. I stated a few months ago that I thought the 2005 Shaw and Smith Shiraz was the best Adelaide Hills Shiraz I had tried and this wine competes with it. Awesome expressive bouquet: earthy, sweet spice and hints of lavender. Great oak handling and complex dried herbs and earthiness interplay with the sweet fruit. Very impressive.

Leigh wrote:Turkey Flat 2005 Shiraz - Excellent cling to the glass. Blackberry and spice on the nose. The palate structure is good with flavours of liquorice stewed fruit, and vanilla. Fine dry tannins and an aftertaste of liquorice and plum.

I was a tad dissappointed with this wine and I believe it needs a few more years in correct cellaring conditions to reach its peak.

Cheers
Leigh

I tried a range of Turkey Flat wines at an instore yesterday (the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon wasn't there unfortunately):

2006 Butchers Block White: slightly grassy and herbal with subtle nutty characters, but also a tingly/warm finish.

2007 Rose: Consistently good, year in year out - this one's no exception.

2006 Grenache: The nose smelled porty/spirity, but the palate was much more refined/reserved and well balanced.

2005 Butchers Block Red: Chocolaty/meaty and bold raspberry fruit with black pepper, very good drinking and keenly priced.

2005 Mourvedre: My favourite of the day, perfumed nose with tomato skin characters matched to chocolaty/leathery fruit; excellent mouthfeel & length.

2005 Shiraz: Reserved/perfumed nose with dusty black fruits; ripe bang of fruit on the palate entry but then it just disappears! This didn't have the ripeness or length of the 2004 which came as a real shock - I tried a sample from a fresh bottle and it was just as disappointing.

Cheers,
Ian

I am sitting down eating a bottle of Willow Bridge 01 Black shiraz , We did not have it at the Perth offline so i amhaving it now. To start with alot of mint ,Blackcurrent on the nose and alot of oak started to open up , the 16 % achohol was very up front to start with and as time moved on the fruit and oak over took it , for a big wine it has softened right out into a real masterpiece Rob Bowen is the wine maker and he needs to realize just how great this wine is I am really pleased i have a few more

Craig(NZ) wrote:Talisker 18yo. Nice stuff. not as smoky and peaty as the 10yo, easier going, smoother and seamless.

Yeah, the Talisker 10yo I have in the cupboard is rather peaty/iodiney though not as much so the Lagavulin 16yo or the Bowmore Legend (8yo) I've had 2 or 3 bottles of.

To keep my TWS membership active I recently got a couple of 1ltr bottles of the Pure (blended/vatted) Malt that surprised by it's much more peaty character than I've found in it in the past. Nice though and good value for $47/ltr (incl freight).

With the hotter weather, more chard, Ingoldby and Port Phillip Estate, the latter showing more refinement. To balance the chards, Faith Shiraz 05 and Tahbilk 03, both very good but I think I favour the latter, it just seems less worked in the winery - think acid.

02 Turkey Flat shiraz
Just brilliant. Quite a surprise, as it was my first bottle.

02 Grant Burge Filsell shiraz
This was alright.

99 Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz
Good aged wine, a little bit too much oak

04 Schubert Gooseyard Block shiraz
drinking ok. bit simple

02 Mr Riggs shiraz
Silky and damn good

02 Magpie Estate Election shiraz
I love this wine. (first bottle corked)

02 Rolf Binder Hanisch
A class up from the Magpie. Needs time, bit closed, but good.

04 Magpie Election
Really ripe, but not overcooked. Good follow up to the 02

02 Fox creek reserve shiraz
This is good.

02 Charles Melton shiraz
This is ok, but not worth the money

05 Wayne Thomas shiraz
I have opened 4 bottles of this, 3 have been crap, and the other tasted like what it should, as it won best wine at 06 McLaren show.

05 Koltz Pagan shiraz
I love this wine, sweet, great for slurping.

Bruce

2005 Dalrymple Vineyards Pinor Noir (Tasmania)

An intoxicating nose of ripe fruits, dense black cherries, ripe raspberry and hint of oak. I could not stop swirling and getting a good ‘sniff’ of this wine. Medium bodied, great colour. The palate delivers a brilliant structure, oak integration and tannin that definitely livens the senses. Dark cherries, plum, spice, raspberry, a touch of earthiness on the palate, with a long lingering finish, this is great stuff indeed. The wine is very well balanced, the oak treatment very well judged, this should keep improving in the short to medium term. I thought this was an exceptional wine from the first glass to the last. Wish I had of bought more!!

2005 Taylors 80 Acres Shiraz Viognier

For $12, this delivers a well structured and integrated wine, with perhaps a bit too much oak though. This was consumed towards the end of the night; hence detailed memory of this wine is a little hazy. The one thing that still stands out is the long drying finish and tannin. It certainly makes your mouth ‘pucker’. I did a search for other notes on this wine and this seems to be the theme. Overall a good wine that delivers at this price point, very enjoyable. Will be interesting to look at this wine in another 12 months.


2002 St Hallet Faith Shiraz

The best ‘Faith’ I have tried, drinking very well; lovely plum fruit, velvet like structure and finish. This highlights you do not need to spend a fortune to age wine. Drink up

2005 Woodstock Cabernet Sauvignon

On opening this seemed quite dull. After 30 mins or so it started to show some red fruits, carob chocolate, cassis and reasonable oak treatment. Not overly varietal in my opinion. The structure is fine and the finish quiet reasonable. I expected a little more from this wine. By no means a bad wine, did not have a ‘wow’ factor.

2005 Woodstock Shiraz

I had a bottle of this a month or so ago that was a lot better. This seemed reductive and the oak treatment stuck out a bit too much. Although still a nice wine and a style that I enjoyed, the mouth feel of the wine is fantastic. Nice ripe fruit, pepper, touch of chocolate. Good but not great.

Petaluma Coonawarra 1996 – started quite flat and lifeless (after 1.5 hours in decanter) and thought it had past the mark. After opening further in the glass (Boudreaux style glasses) it seemed to pick up a bit more character and come alive. Perhaps a bit too much merlot coming out for me. Very balanced quite clean palette and good for those who prefer a very elegant style aged wine. I have a couple more of these and will try again soon. Suspect it is near its final stages. Was hopping for a lot more. We have a double magnum of 1991 Coonawarra that we are taking down for a cards trip this weekend hope it has more oomph.

Mildara Jamison’s Run reserve cab sav 1998 – not decanted. Started rich and exciting from word go. It then opened up into a delicious medium to full bodied cabernet that is in its peak period (but still a lot left). Great fruit depth and not bad length. Unfortunately my last bottle.

Where are WE PLAYING CARDS

BVE E&E Black Pepper 2000
A blockbuster de luxe! I still love my E&E, although it's getting some serious competition these days. The mouthfeel of this wine just massive ,with a finish that lasts and lasts. My only cons for this wine is the aroma, which is a bit too “sweet”. At one stage I was thinking “strawberry jam??”.

Torzi Mattews Frostdodger Shiraz 2005
This shiraz is very seriously competing for my first plaze in Australian shirazes. However, since it's made like an Amarone, it's kind of cheating. I love Amarones and I loved this wine. I was almost a bit annoyed that we had guest for dinner who also loved it . I'll definitely buy more of this. The aromas were beautiful; abundance plum and a hint of choclate. The flavours were superconcentrated, dominated by dark fruit. Fantastic mouthfeel and lingering aftertaste. And so good to the lamb roast!


I also visited Scarpantion Estate Wines where I tasted most of their selection. My favourites were:

Brothers Block Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
Intense varietal aromas with a nice touch of oak. Quite similar flavour characteristics; black currant and a hint of mint. Good structure, but still pretty though tannins. One of my favourite Cab Savs so far in Australia.

Blanche Point Maslin Beach Vineyard 2001
This is a Cabernet S, shiraz and Merlot blend. My favourite of their selection. The focus of the aromas and flavours are driven by the Cab Sav: blackcurrant and mint. The blending in of shiraz and merlot gives it another dimension of fruit flavours, as well as a fantastic richness. Tannins still very present. Long aftertaste. Bought three bottles.

Riesling & Chenin Blanc Botritys 1997
Dark amber in colour, intens aromas of honey and dried fruit. Rich and sweet palate with flavours of dried apricot lasting for ages. Very nice! The owners thought it only had a year left in it and had therefore reduced the price by 50%. I picked up three bottles.

fivewells wrote:Torb,

An interesting end to a week - to celebrate the last school exam ever of our first, after 18 + years, we opened a special 1 of 3 1989 Penfolds Grange, i.e. my daughters birth year.

Decanted, and then back in bottle after 4 hrs, ..... wonderful cedar nose, dusty overtones, ... then the old cassis, tannins evident, some rum, very smooth chocolate after taste, little other fruit, - .... not that impressed!!! - Was it me or the wine ?

My other kids - birth dates: 1991, and 1996 - I as well look forward to these.

Regards Geoff

1989 was one of the weaker Granges - I wouldn't give it four hours in the decanter, may be one or two - better to let it open in the glass than fall over. St Henri was possibley the pick of the Penfolds 89s. It started to fade about 5 years ago and I drank my last 3 years ago. 1991 and 1996 are much better years.

dazza1968 wrote

Where are WE PLAYING CARDS

Hey dazz, Mandurah somewhere (mates holiday house). Getting away from the girls for a blokes weekend of cards and booze .

A bit of a mixed bag from memory:

Cantina Oliena, Nepente di Oliena, Cannonau di Sardegna, 2005: very dark, inky wine, with deep plummy nose. Spicy, with sour black cherry and bitter licorice and quite tannic initially. Tannins softended by day 2 and the whole became much smoother. Quite liked this.

Cambon La Pelouse, Haut Medoc, 2004: Quite approachable now, mint and blackcurrant, very soft tannins; by day 2, soft choclatey flavours and dusty light tannins. Reasonable length and quite pleasurable.

Marques de Riscal Limousin, Rueda, 2005: An oak aged verdejo and the first I have had so no reference point really. Gentle citrussy nose, lovely clean, rapier like lemony fruit dominating with just a touch of creamy vanilla and great cleansing acidity. Really well handled gentle oak and summat some Aussie winemakers could learn a lot from. Know the importer well by the way!

Galafrey Rhine Riesling, Mount Barker, 2002: Under cork, golden yellow and lovely honeyed nose. honey, toasty but retaining loads of citrus and acidity and drinking really well right now with a toasted chicken sandwich!

Cheers

Dave