The Auswine Forum

Time for your weekly drinking reports. Please let us all know what you have been drinking over the last week.

Tasting notes, impressions, vibes and lists welcome.

First in..

Poonawatta Estate 'The Eden' Eden Valley Riesling 2006, SA
$22, #2623/3900. Cropped at under 3 tonne/acre, 12.0%alc, pale golden yellow colour with clean, crisp aromas of white peach, flint stone and a hint of kerosene. Lime flavours and sweet stone fruit are firmly held together with a decent acidity, but maybe just a touch too much sweetness.

O'Leary Walker Watervale Riesling 2007, SA
$19 From 45-year old vines, this has a canola gold colour with lean notes of butter sautéed lemon slices. Astute tight structure with flavours of lime and lemon, this one is suited for Asian cuisine. Drink over 3 years.

Peter Lehmann Eden Valley Riesling 2007, SA
$12 Fresh straw-golden yellow, fruity aromas of lime and unripe, white stone fruit. A light weight, good clean fruity flavours with a firm finish. Nice with an ice-cold prawn salad with basil leaves. Drink over next 3 years.

Pewsey Vale Eden Valley Riesling 2007, SA
$19 Pale sunflower gold colour. Notes of cold rock and sweet orange blossom. Straight forward, fruit-centric wine with flavours of guava and strong slate minerals. Palate is tight, but maybe acidity a touch too high? Drink over the next 5 years.

Saint Clair Sauvignon Blanc Wairau Reserve 2007, Mbrgh NZ
$33, Clean, light golden colour. Vibrant notes of gooseberry, passionfruit and hint of blackcurrants. Rich sweet fruity flavours and ends with a good lingering feel. Good with seared salmon and grilled scallops with a side of sweet pea, yellow capsicum and baby carrot salad tossed in a generous portion of olive oil. This isn't a wine to knock your socks off, but the depth in flavours that you are getting for this price, absolutely worth it! I've bought a case of this already.

Another gem from 1996, the year that Penfolds, it seemed could do little wrong...

Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz
Still purple with hints of red, the nose is singing with Ribena blackcurrant and just the right proportion of oak, very pleasant and lifted... the palate is still on the right side of grippy with lovely fruit and some slight leathery qualities but this tastes so much younger than it is. A classic Australian wine and holds its own with it's heavily lauded cousin, 389 from the same vintage.

Had the privilege of attending NZ In a Glass at Sofitel Hotel today. Trade show, mostly sauv blancs and pinots (go figure) - most were very good, but only a few really stood out. All '05 Marlborough pinot noirs seemed to be the pick for me. I did, however, try an awesome blanc de noir - by Te Mania. I was surprised, it wasn't sweet or too hasty in developing. Very well done!

On that note, too much wine today, and not enough spitting has left me with a rather serious headache so off to bed!

Adieu!

Peter Lehmann Shiraz Muscadelle 2002
Showing remarkable liveliness and youth for it's age, nice bubble gum and sweet vanilla oak characters. Tasty.

Grant Burge Filsell Shiraz 2003
Quite similar in style, long finish, sweet fruits, fresh with just a hint of rusticity.

Tahbilk Shiraz 2002 This seems to be in a bit of a transition phase. It's more savoury than I remember the first bottle I tasted perhaps 18 months ago. Still has some plummy fruit with a good whack of licorice, plenty of fine tannins that still need time to fully resolve. There's also some vanillin younger american oak and older cedary oak yet to be fully integrated but that adds character at present. There's a bit of acid that prolongs the medium finish. Dunno if it's been a bit heat-affected while it's been in storage at Hedley=>Coles for a couple of years or so but it doesn't seem so and for $8 from the barn's clearance shelves.... I'll keep a couple to see how it develops.

Cheers

daz

Coriole Lloyd Shiraz 2000
Soon after purchasing this wine in 2002 I picked it as one of the better performers from a tough vintage. Back then it had a lovely, velvety mouthfeel and some good sweet, if slightly stewed fruit. Now I'm thinking that what made it appear so pleasant at the time was its attractive oak. It's pretty good but is developing a distinct soy note, with dry earthiness and not very attractive fruit. It's a bit lifeless really. It'll live for a while yet but I can only imagine that soupy soy character becoming more overt.

Orlando Jacobs Creek Limited Release Shiraz/Cabernet 1996
Did not know what to expect of this wine as I have not come across too many comments. I must admit I have not sought them out either. I noticed a six pack in amongst some of my stacks of boxed wines after a long overdue stock take. Upon opening the bottle there was very little by way of smell and the first intial taste indicated a need for some decanting and time. After approximately 45 mins this wine started to sing like a fine baritone. The wine is spectacular ! Great structure, long finish, slightly earthy but plenty of fruit and all in perfect harmony. Highly Recommended. IMO possibly just hitting it's drinking window. Can sleep for at least another 5 years but absolutely glugable at the moment.

1999 St Hallet Old Block Shiraz
A bit disappointed, as i was expecting a bit more from this wine. Sweet, stewed fruit and creamy mouth feel with soft tanin, still have a few more years to go i reckon.

The more the better wrote:Orlando Jacobs Creek Limited Release Shiraz/Cabernet 1996
Did not know what to expect of this wine as I have not come across too many comments. I must admit I have not sought them out either. I noticed a six pack in amongst some of my stacks of boxed wines after a long overdue stock take. Upon opening the bottle there was very little by way of smell and the first intial taste indicated a need for some decanting and time. After approximately 45 mins this wine started to sing like a fine baritone. The wine is spectacular ! Great structure, long finish, slightly earthy but plenty of fruit and all in perfect harmony. Highly Recommended. IMO possibly just hitting it's drinking window. Can sleep for at least another 5 years but absolutely glugable at the moment.

This is a great wine... I've had 3 bottles now and they've all been different and excellent. Wish I could get some more.

Never tried any of the JC Ltds but from the 96 vintage in particular, and I think 98 as well, I've seen many very positive reports.

The more the better wrote:Orlando Jacobs Creek Limited Release Shiraz/Cabernet 1996
Did not know what to expect of this wine as I have not come across too many comments. I must admit I have not sought them out either. I noticed a six pack in amongst some of my stacks of boxed wines after a long overdue stock take. Upon opening the bottle there was very little by way of smell and the first intial taste indicated a need for some decanting and time. After approximately 45 mins this wine started to sing like a fine baritone. The wine is spectacular ! Great structure, long finish, slightly earthy but plenty of fruit and all in perfect harmony. Highly Recommended. IMO possibly just hitting it's drinking window. Can sleep for at least another 5 years but absolutely glugable at the moment.

While we're on the subject ...
bass = amon ra?
bass-baritone = moss wood?
baritone = jc limited
tenor = castagna genesis? aka rangi pinot noir?
countertenor = supple pinot?

Agree btw. Nice wine - I have no more 96 but a six-pack of the 98 resting (97 tasted last year was gone). 96 is very lovely. You might want to watch out for the JC Johann 2002 although I suspect it may be a bigger style.

Cheers -- Jay

A day late for the thread, but I had a nice lunch yesterday at White, in the Hilton. Started off with Moet NV, and with the meal I had a couple of glasses of Puriri Hills Estate 05. This was the first time I'd had any Puriri Hills, and although this was the third tier claret they make, I was very impressed. Beautiful wine - certainly a worthy rival to Te Mata Awatea at a similar price point. Went very well with herb-crusted eye fillet. Now I'll have to save some pennies to try the reserve I've heard so much about.

tpang wrote:Pewsey Vale Eden Valley Riesling 2007, SA
$19 Pale sunflower gold colour. Notes of cold rock and sweet orange blossom. Straight forward, fruit-centric wine with flavours of guava and strong slate minerals. Palate is tight, but maybe acidity a touch too high? Drink over the next 5 years.

I had this the other night - I found it very enjoyable, one of the better 07 rieslings I have tried. Great with Thai Food.

2005 Kaesler Stonehorse Shiraz - loved this wine, great fruit depth and balance, very good lingering finish.

Sunday I took an overseas guest to THE LANE at Hahndorf , which was very good. Excellent cellar door and views. The place was packed with a lunch crowd, but the staff delivered an excellent tasting. The wines across the board were okay although I thought a little pricey, but the stand outs for me were the 2006 Ravenswood Lane Pinot Gris and 2003 The Lane Cabernet Sauvignon. A great place to sit on the deck and enjoy a relaxing sunday. I think a 'must do' on the Adelaide Hills tasting experience.

This was followed by great arvo at HOWARD VINEYARD. These guys are doing food and live music just about every sunday. A bottle of 2007 Riesling and 2007 Sauvignon Blanc were consumed very quickly on a lovely sunday afternoon on the lawns. The hospiality of the staff was outstanding. Get along on Sunday 9th March or Monday 10th March if you are in the area, got some good things planned. Next sunday is Greek Food and Music experience.

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A day late for the thread, but I had a nice lunch yesterday at White, in the Hilton. Started off with Moet NV, and with the meal I had a couple of glasses of Puriri Hills Estate 05. This was the first time I'd had any Puriri Hills, and although this was the third tier claret they make, I was very impressed. Beautiful wine - certainly a worthy rival to Te Mata Awatea at a similar price point. Went very well with herb-crusted eye fillet. Now I'll have to save some pennies to try the reserve I've heard so much about.

Don't wait too long. A month ago I was told by Katie at the Cellar Door that they have stopped supplying restaurants, and distributors with the 05 Reserve as it is nearly sold out. To me the reserve is a huge step up on the estate and a worthy rival to Te Mata Coleraine. (for a mo throw aside the 'small detail' that Te Mata has a mere 25 years of pedigree vs Puriri Hills one real 'year in the sun')

1999 Greenock Creek Creek Block Shiraz
Like a meal in a bottle is the best way to describe this wine. Deep, strong flavour. Very smooth with vanilla and rich liqorice tones. We loved it....