The Auswine Forum

Hi Good Peoples,

Its cold, wet and windy in my part of the world. In other words perfect weather for red wine, but who needs an excuse!

Last night I opened a Fox Creek 1998 Reserve Cabernet. Nice wine but..... It has been over extracted and the tannins are going hard and the wine is beginning to dry out. The flavour profile was also more like a Shiraz than a varietal Cab. It is dominated by loads of chocolate, mocha and oak. Still it was more than drinkable, but there is no doubt this wine was at its best in its youth.

Now what have you good peoples been drinking? Lists, vibes and Tasting notes all welcome.

Yalumba Signature 01 - disappointing- tasted like it was past it's use by date - nothing like the 98 - nice colour but tasteless

Wynns Black label 03 - a beautiful wine especially the next night - nice dark fruits and smooth - very drinkable.

Teusner Albert 05 - will have to try this wine again - atypical barossa shiraz almost elegant on the palate but seemed to finish a bit short - ticked most of my boxes for future purchases but I will have to give it another go.

cheers
Seddo

2007 Pewsey Vale Eden Valley Riesling : 'aint had one of these for a couple of years. Nice aromatic nose , citrussy and tropical fruit - nice now - perhaps not the best vintage to cellar. Good QPR.

2004 Warrabilla Reserve Durif : lost my Warrabilla " virginity " finally. I sort of knew what I was getting into here having read of these wines. 16.5% alc etc. Certainly a dry port style but in a good way. Complaining about how big this wine is would be like choosing to go to a rock gig and then complaining that it was too loud. Not my favourite style of red wine but I can taste the time and effort put in to making it.

2005 Yeringberg : One of the best Yarra Cabernets I have tried. I prefer it to Yarra Yering I must say. Great balance so although a lovely wine now it has the class to cellar well and gain those secondary characters. $65 from the mailing list. Have put the rest in the cellar - next try in about 5 years I'd say. Really impressed - quality artisan stuff - diam cork too.

seddo wrote:Yalumba Signature 01 - disappointing- tasted like it was past it's use by date - nothing like the 98 - nice colour but tasteless

Seddo,

Defective bottle.

Hi all,

One good, one bad.......

2004 Cape Mentelle Zinfandel
Not terribly familiar with this variety, but enjoyed this wine quite alot. Deep brooding purple colour, rich dark berries, and a hint of smoke on the nose. Elegant palate, medium bodied, predominantly sweet blackberries, but with interesting savoury undertones.

1998 Chapel Hill "The Vicar" Cabernet Shiraz
Dark purple in colour, with no evidence of bricking. On the nose, jammy fruit, port-like aromas, and a hint of varnish. The palate was a huge disappointment. Overcooked, currant-jam like flavours fell off precipitously, giving way to masses of chocolately oak, and an astringent finish.

Cheers,

Monghead.

TORB wrote:

seddo wrote:Yalumba Signature 01 - disappointing- tasted like it was past it's use by date - nothing like the 98 - nice colour but tasteless

Seddo,

Defective bottle.

Thanks for that - I will try another later in the year

cheers
Seddo

Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon 1983
August 01st, 2008 | Category: Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River

David Hohnen, founding father of this eminent Margaret River winery, would, surely, be massively proud of this wine.

Replicating the standard of a superior classed growth from Bordeaux of the same era, perhaps more akin to a 1982 than a 1983, this Outstanding wine displays a deep youthful ruby colour with only minimal aging revealed in the very outer edges. Upon opening the wine was all creosote, duck pond and leafy greens, but, given sufficient oxygen, transformed into what I could only describe as a classical mature Claret bouquet. Harbouring a dazzling array of nuance - cigar box, currants, herbs, capsicum, sandalwood, sweet earth, juicy black plums and umpteen other skerricks of this and that one could wax lyrical about, I could not help but to go back to the bouquet time and time again as the last vestiges of the bottle remained in the glass. To pour any more of this down the gullet was becoming increasingly difficult - for fear of allowing the incredible complexity of the nose to disappear!

If anything the palate didn’t quite scale the same height but I cannot offer any faults or criticism. Beautifully honed (sorry about the pun), nicely compact, wonderfully integrated with plenty of juicy curranty fruit, a superb herbaceous streak, terrific line, finely crafted tannin structure, particularly good acid cut, good length - what else can one ask for? If such a well-crafted and -preserved wine can be so intact after 25 years (and in this case, from someone unknown’s cellar and recently purchased for a mere 50 bucks), I wonder what our more talented winemakers could do with of our better viticultural regions and their suited grape varieties? So delighted am I in trying this great example of Australian Cabernet Sauvignon, I have no hesitation in awarding it 93 points. If all other bottles of this were of a similar standard I suggest the wine could last for another 10 years.

Another that I'm in the process of finishing:

Dow 1977 Vintage Port - this was opened three days ago and siphoned off into 2 x 300ml screwcap bottles, one of which is still sitting in the fridge. I was most impressed how this opened right from the start. Typically very spiritous nose with an abundance of cherrry- and almond-liquer in the nose with top notes of licorice, tomato and pepper. The palate is decidedly smooth, viscous and luscious and holding very elegant floral, cherry and licorice fruit. There's sufficient acidity and astringency to provide counterbalance and the finish is interminably long and moorish with sustained bite and grip from the spirit. Just the right thing to cheer one up in this chilly winter weather. 90 points Drink now - 2018.

A whole bunch, highlights being:

Penfolds Bin 389 1998 - note on separate thread but worth adding that it was drinking well the next day and over the night developed a fullness of palate that was otherwise missing post-opening. To characterise this with one word, I'd say "rich", whereas the for the 96, I'd be more inclined to use "finesse".

Kooyong Estate Pinot Noir 2003
Full throated, meat and earth notes with good, long finish. Very fruitful still and quite an impressive wine.

Hoddles Creek Chardonnay 2007
Clear, focussed wine, tasted against a $40ish Chablis and it killed it easily. Lovely pure fruit flavours, lifted lemony characters and long finish. A very good wine.

Shaw and Smith M3 Chardonnay 2005
A very different beast to the Hoddles, more apparent oak characters and peachy, stonefruitty notes with a creaminess that was very appealling. Textural and sculpured palate, I found this very drinkable and we demolished the bottle over the evening with room to spare.

Port Phillip Estate Chardonnay 2004 Last bottle, shared with friends. Very nice, I really like this chard. It has rich white peach with well-balanced oak treatment and a nice dry, slightly citrussy, reasonable-length finish. Colour was still light gold/dark straw and the palate still quite fresh so I think it'd last another 3-4 years or perhaps more.

Orlando St Hugo Coonawarra Cabernet 1998Another last bottle shared with friends. Some aged characters with a bit of leather. The fruit was a bit dried out and I found the oak to be more in control than I'd prefer. It was much more enjoyable at about 4yo though less than ideal cellaring may have been detrimental.

Longhop Reserve Cabernet Shiraz 2005 2nd last bottle, again shared with friends. This followed the St Hugo and was much more enjoyable. Wish I had more - I was too busy enjoying it to form any mind-notes about it other than it being a typically big-fruited, soft and all too easy-drinking offering from Dominic Torzi. Should last 10 years or so but I doubt the remaining bottle will get past 5yo.

Peter Howland Parsons Vineyard Shiraz 2005 Deepset savoury fruit, a bit meaty with black olives, ripe powdery tannins and a nice long finish.

Peter Howland Pine Lodge Vineyard Shiraz 2005 Marginally prefer this to Parsons. It also has deepset fruit though is a touch sweeter, not so meaty, tannins a bit lighter. Again, good length on the finish but perhaps a bit shorter than the Parsons.

Cheers

daz

d’Arenberg Peppermint Paddock NV Sparkling Chambourcin
I have to admit that I really like the Peppermint Paddock and when we are together with friends we often crack a bottle or two of this sparkling red (and even Campbell Mattinson seems to like it a lot). So I’m definitely not the only one who massively enjoys this bubbly. The first thing that always amazes me is the deeply purple coloured mousse on top of the almost black wine after pouring it into glasses – just beautiful. Nicely chilled, this sparkling puts a smile on your face due to its refreshing acidity. It is fully flavoured with aromas of mulberries, boysenberries, black cherries and black currants plus spicy cinnamon and cola. Then there are also earthy, herbaceous, gamey and other savoury overtones that go well with the chewy and intense tannins. The wine is actually liquored with some d’Arenberg vintage port. Great bubbly.

Marius Simpatico Shiraz 2005
What can I say…juicy and delicious plummy fruit flavours, warm rum/brandy aromas, some chocolate and cloves, a little bit of cedary oak, grippy and firm tannins, good length, highly enjoyable.

Dutschke Old Codger Fine Old Tawny Port
A very good and highly enjoyable tawny but not as complex and flavour-rich as Wayne’s gorgeous (and a little bit more expensive) premium 22 year old tawny.

Cheers,
Mario

2008 Golden Grove Sauvignon Blanc - Granite Belt, Q

In one word: Exceptional.
In two: Subtle effusion.
In three: True varietal effectation.

In a nutshell, you should all be buying this for 2-4 yr cellaring.

More seriously:

A warm-cool climate is evident in the nose with soft green apple, honeydew and unripened pine aromas, a slight grassiness and herbaceousness from the gentle cooler days that were probably experienced. Solid to the rim with pure clarity of hue this is a high quality wine and well constructed.

Palate is slightly less imposing than the nose on tropical fruits and sat well in the mid palate. Good acidity balanced with herbaceous tones and almost a savouriness that isn't seen often in Australian SBs.

A very well constructed wine - I give her 94pts.

Only a couple of note:
2007 Bay of Fires Chardonnay
If she was not engaged to a good bloke anyway, I would surely want to snap Fran Austin up! Boy, can she make a chardie. beautiful balance of oak, malo and fruit. Classic tassie.

2004 Witchmount Shiraz
Apparently this was voted as best in the world. I am not too fussed. Good wine. Good fruit. Good spice. Would prefer dom Portet or Star Lane as terroir driven victorian shiraz. (yes, I know different regions but am talking generally)
Overall actually good value as a case of this turned up last week as a mistake.
P

01 Lindemans Limestone ridge, I must say alot better than the 98 i had recently,fruit was alive and well with all the coonawarra characteristics like mint and herbs on the nose etc

Nice wine .....................

02 St Hallett Faith ShirazThis wine is really showing its best now, So drink up Still has a hint of purple on the glass and the tannins are none existent , Plenty of blackberries and plummy fruit in this one

02 Penfolds Bin 389took a while to open up , i opened this up as a mate offered me a 6 pack , Boy i love Shiraz/cabenet as a wine it seems to intergrate really well,

02 Rockford 1/2 bottle cabenetTainted , sad really !!!!!!!!!! Ageing well colour was good ,But tasted like a pair of old undies left out in the Garden to decompose

Regards Dazza

dazza1968 wrote:tasted like a pair of old undies left out in the Garden to decompose

I say, I say.. I don't remember that being on the flavour palate in Halliday? Lol.

Penley Estate "Phoenix" Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Very drinkable for a young cabernet, showing aromas of blackberry and ripe dark cherries. The palate is ripe, fruit forward and well balanced with a fine, approachable tannin structure and well integrated oak. Very easy drinking now and should be more interesting after 5 years in the cellar.

... and a couple of impressions:

di Lusso Sangiovese 2005
Easily summed up in two words: cherry and licorice. Very gluggable, great with pasta.

Meerea Park "The Aunts" Shiraz 2006
New release that needs some time or a few hours in a decanter, very good follow up to the 2005.

2007 Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir
Dark cherries, strawberries, some stalk, lots of citrussy acidity, and gentle, soft tannins. Medium bodied and medium length. Quaffable, but not as good as some of the sub $20 pinots around.

2005 Lilydale Estate Chardonnay
My last bottle Lovely pale gold, with aromas of roasted nuts, yellow fruit (lemon, pear, peach), very smooth and silky mouthfeel, finishes with buttery / creaminess and breadiness, and a hint of roasted cashews. Very worked, but highly enjoyable.

2005 Yalumba FDW7c Chardonnay
Not my last bottle
With a little age under the belt, this wine is becoming even more impressive, pale yellow, with a hint of green and gold. Layered fruit, crisp acid spine, a little toasty oak (background) and minerally slatiness, very long finish. The structure and fruit definition is impeccable. Will improve further over the next 5 years.

Wolf Blass Gold Label Barossa Shiraz 2003
V. nice. Big, rich, maybe a touch hot but WOTW for me. Will keep
Petaluma Chardonnay 2004
V. nice. Drink now for mine.
Leconfield Coonawarra Cab 2005
Regulation med bodied Coonawarra cab. Not bad at all.
Wynns Coonawarra Riesling 2001
This is not meant to be a keeper, but I thought it had developed nicely. Good.
Wolf Blass Yellow Label Chardonnay 2007
This won two trophies recently in Brisbane- not enough oak and too much sugar for my tastes.

deleted

Sean wrote:2007 Ingoldby Chardonnay - For a big volume wine and what I assume is McLaren Vale fruit (not highly rated for chardonnay), this was really good value. Like the Hanwood chardy perhaps, drink up and enjoy in the year it’s released. This had a bit more colour, sweet, but tangy, tropical fruit, very lightly oaked, a soft, not quite creamy, palate and honeyed on the finish, without being flabby or overly sweet.

I've had heaps of the 06 when it's been discounted to <$10, prefer it to the Hanwoods I've tried as it has a bit more complexity and is somewhat more dry. Halliday rated the 06 92/100 and although I think that's a couple of points higher than my impression, it is a very nice (and cheap) chard that was drinking nicely with a couple of years age. Could possibly go another couple of years under screwcap.

The 07 sounds quite quaffable too. I'll undoubtably end up trying it too when it's inevitably discounted.

Cheers

daz

Seddo,

I'm with TORB on the 01 Sig. A good bottle from a decent vintage is normally hitting its straps 10 - 20 years friom vintage. Recent bottles of the 86, 88 ,90 and 91 have been excellent and a 96 seemed quite youthful.

Mike

Mike Hawkins wrote:Seddo,

I'm with TORB on the 01 Sig. A good bottle from a decent vintage is normally hitting its straps 10 - 20 years friom vintage. Recent bottles of the 86, 88 ,90 and 91 have been excellent and a 96 seemed quite youthful.

Mike

Yeah Mike
I will give it another try later - had a bottle of the 98 a couple of months ago and it was superb - stupidly drank all my 96 way to young

cheers
Seddo

You know how you're on a mailing list for years and every year the mailer comes out and you put down what you want, add it all up, it comes to hundreds and what with rising mortgages, petrol and food prices, you start thinking, is it all worth it? Should I really be buying this wine? As per usual, I think bugger it, stick in the credit card details and send it off and wait for the wine to arrive to stick it in the depths of the cellar.

So all that happened recently with the Wild Duck Creek order but I'm still waiting on delivery as Dave has to fire up his plane and fly it all over the country side. So what with a bank holiday weekend and a ski trip planned, I pulled out a 2000 Wild Duck Creek The Blend. It's a cab merlot blend. We opened this on Saturday night to be consumed with a gourmet pizza with temperatures outside of about 2 degrees at Jindabyne.

The best way to describe this is absolutely bloody delicious. Still a deep purple hue with a nose to die for. Lashings of gorgeous blackcurrent and spice with a deep anise finish follow from nose to palate. So fresh and bursting with flavour after 8 years, it instills supreme confidence in my coming order and I am very happy to have invested once more in Wild Duck Creek.

Nice TN Kris, had a 00' WDC Cab, & 00' WDC Reserve Merlot recently OMG, juicest wines ever, absolutley sensational, but needed a bloody long decant (2hrs). Who said aussie wine will not age?!..

bacchaebabe wrote:You know how you're on a mailing list for years and every year the mailer comes out and you put down what you want, add it all up, it comes to hundreds and what with rising mortgages, petrol and food prices, you start thinking, is it all worth it? Should I really be buying this wine?

I hear ya with this, should i or shouldn't i?? but no hesitation with WDC, worth every cent!! Ive pulled out an 02' Springflat for Thursday/Friday drinking, and cannot keep my hands off the VP.. only a couple of btls left.

c

PS: see you at the tasting if there is one.
c

Yeah, I've been waiting to hear. Let me know if you hear about it and vice versa.

Actually here it is quite hot (around 30 degrees):

Failla Jordan Syrah Que Vineyard 2000
Dark colour, notes of herbs, earthy and oily. Very long finish but not everybodies taste - Good.

D'Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz 1999
Powerful and rich, blackberry and blackcurrent. Smooth and velvet, excellent finish, was opening up with time - very good.

Yarra Yering Underhill Shiraz 1990
The highlight of the evening. Stunning wine at this age. Still a dark colour, perfect fruit, silkiest texture and long, long finish - perfect.

Chateau de Chambert Orphee 2001 (Cahors)
Earthy, good fruit, quite a difference to the Australian wines - good.

Ferri Arnaud La Clape Terre D'Ammonite 2005 (Languedoc)
Dark, spices and herbes, good textures, needs time - very good.

Heymann Löwenstein Riesling Auslese Winningen Uhlen 1998
Generous sweetness, good acidity and crisp minerals with super-ripe fruits - excellent.

Cheers and happy drinking......

Yarra Yering Underhill Shiraz 1990
The highlight of the evening. Stunning wine at this age. Still a dark colour, perfect fruit, silkiest texture and long, long finish - perfect.

This wine was brilliant and i have none left so sob sob ...

dazza1968 wrote:

Yarra Yering Underhill Shiraz 1990
The highlight of the evening. Stunning wine at this age. Still a dark colour, perfect fruit, silkiest texture and long, long finish - perfect.

This wine was brilliant and i have none left so sob sob ...

Luckily, I have still one bottle left.....

redwine wrote:

dazza1968 wrote:

Yarra Yering Underhill Shiraz 1990
The highlight of the evening. Stunning wine at this age. Still a dark colour, perfect fruit, silkiest texture and long, long finish - perfect.

This wine was brilliant and i have none left so sob sob ...

Luckily, I have still one bottle left.....

i will be available when ever you are lol enjoy

Sadly its no longer Sunday but it seemed like a good opportunity to try...

2005 Rockford BP Shiraz
Just a short note to tell everyone just how forward this is.
Luscious nose of thick, ripe Barossa red fruit, some bacon fat, some vanilla coke and earth, a trace of pepper.
Soft, very ripe fruit, very soft tannins, and barely a trace of oak. Lovely medium long finish, but this is surely NOT a long-term cellar proposition at this stage. Very good, but I think drink within 1-4 years.