The Auswine Forum

Hi Good Peoples,

A delightful summers day yesterday and now its blowing a gale, cold and wet. From perfect FRS weather to classic big red by the fire weather in the space of a day, so what have you guys and gals been guzzling over the last week. Lists, vibes or tasting notes welcome (especially from wind up merchants. )

Majella Cabernet 01 - youthfull colour beautiful palate of blackcurrants WOTW.

Yalumba Barossa Shiraz 02 - nice rich shiraz without being OTT - great wine.

Houghtons Margaret River Cab 01- first thing that was noticed when tasting this wine was a capscium flavour which was not bad but dissapated after some airing.

Pirramimma Petit verdot 03 - appeared very aged in colour and flavour - drink up.

cheers
Seddo

2007 Seven Terraces Sauvignon Blanc-Marlborough

One of the better NZ sauvignons under $20. Crisp, balanced and flavourful. Quite delicious drinking. Yesterday's pre summer weather fooled me into opening one.
Probably back to a full bodied red today.
Cheers,
Attila

It didnt look that cold at suncorp stadium, brisbane last night

nothing but cheapies this weekend for me. 07 selaks premium sauvignon blanc last night at a function wasnt too shabby for a $10 white

2003 Rockford Basket Press
I know this was not a great vintage but I really enjoyed this wine. Decanted for 3 hours - no sediment at all. Wonderful dark fruit, quite tight with a lovely spread of fine tannin. I suggest this wine has years to go

Kalleske 2006 Late harvest Semillon
Luscious,sweet wine full of flavour. Very pale color. Not at all heavy like a Nobel one. I'll probably drink the rest as I do not think it will age.

Graham

graham wrote:2003 Rockford Basket Press
I know this was not a great vintage but I really enjoyed this wine. Decanted for 3 hours - no sediment at all. Wonderful dark fruit, quite tight with a lovely spread of fine tannin. I suggest this wine has years to go

Had this a couple of weeks back and really enjoyed it. I agree, it has some time to go as well but very drinkable now as well. When last I had this, a couple of years ago, I found it very hot and angular but time has been kind to it.

you guys drink over a bottle of wine a week?

thats about $50 a week on wine!

there are plenty of other hobbies i would rather invest $30 a week on to be honest, do you guys drink that much?

you guys drink over a bottle of wine a week?

thats about $50 a week on wine!

there are plenty of other hobbies i would rather invest $30 a week on to be honest, do you guys drink that much?

I'd think that is a very small amount.
I have 4 bottles a week that range from 20 to 70. Life is too short for crap wine.....
Lordson.....are you serious about your wine? You get what you pay for.

lordson wrote:you guys drink over a bottle of wine a week?

thats about $50 a week on wine!

there are plenty of other hobbies i would rather invest $30 a week on to be honest, do you guys drink that much?

Only if there is ample nutmeg in evidence. If not we only have the 1 bottle a night.

lordson wrote:you guys drink over a bottle of wine a week?

thats about $50 a week on wine!

there are plenty of other hobbies i would rather invest $30 a week on to be honest, do you guys drink that much?

haha, maybe you need to understand that most people here that drink many wines a week can afford the luxury of such a hobby. im guessing they arent on your average $400 a fortnight centrelink hand out...

A quite week thanks to the cold.

Setanta 05 Shiraz, very nice in a fruit forward way. Just what was needed to break the cold enforced drought

Rockford Rifle Range Cab 05, violets and heaps of black fruit, good balance and acidity, a lovely wine despite the lack of nutmeg.

Friday morning was spent at the awards breakfast and exhibitors tasting at the Perth Royal Wine Show. Standouts were ... for me to know until I have sourced and bought them. The red of the show was the Leasingham Bin 61 2006. I am not sure what the judges were on to be honest. It was a fine wine with excellent fruit and balance, and quite probably a gold medal in its class, but seemed a touch simple and "commercial" to me to be awarded the trophy, whereas some wines which were given bronze medals seemed head and shoulders above it. Probably why I am not a judge.

Kay Brothers Hillside 2005 Shiraz, everything you would want and then some, with years ahead of it, but I am having difficulty keeping them as they scream out "drink me, drink me" every time I walk past them.

Ata Rangi 2005 Pinot Noir
Cherries, both red and dark, mushrooms, earthiness, crisp acidity, and softening tannins, with background cedary oak.
Very nice drinking now, a little age has served it well.

Excellent.

2004 Petaluma Coonawarra
Loved this on release and bought a few for the makeshift cellar. The local had it on special for 15 quid so I thought I'd take a look...
Intense nose of menthol and cassis which continues onto the very concentrated palate, gravelly tannins, good acidity, decent length. Bit disjointed and not ready yet but could be something special in a few more years.

lordson wrote:you guys drink over a bottle of wine a week?

thats about $50 a week on wine!

there are plenty of other hobbies i would rather invest $30 a week on to be honest, do you guys drink that much?

he he he.

I don't know if newbie here realises that sometimes, some of us drink only one bottle of wine a week, but it could have cost us more than $500 a bottle!

Keep reading, and enjoy, lordson

2000 Evan's Family Howard Shiraz- Medium bodied, savoury, delicious.
2001 Wantirna Amelia Cabernet Sauvignon- Rich, deep, juicy, full, delectable.
2007 Craggy Range Sauvignon Blanc- A little heavy and viscous for my liking.

Cheers,

Monghead.

Over the last week I believe I had only had one wine I'd not tasted nor posted about before:

The Story Westgate Vineyard Grampians Shiraz 2006 Don't really remember the colour but it was definitely that of a red wine . The nose held red and black cherries with spicy, mildly cedary oak. The medium-bodied palate showed the red and black cherries presaged by the nose, some ripe red plum well-integrated with subliminal fine oak spice (cinnamon and nutmeg ) and really fine tannins. The palate is linear from start to finish, the latter of very good length, a lovely elegant wine.

It stretches my price envelope at $38-$40 but is certainly worth that or more. This was my taster bottle, the other two will be held over for another five plus years before I try another.

Cheers

daz

lordson wrote:you guys drink over a bottle of wine a week?

thats about $50 a week on wine!

there are plenty of other hobbies i would rather invest $30 a week on to be honest, do you guys drink that much?

Oh it happens - 6 of us plus partners got together last Saturday for a 40th Birthday. Special bottles. The partners didn't drink much, and we downed about $2,000 worth of wine. 13 bottles and one magnum.

My $50 dollar a week hobby (addiction, and its a little more than $50 a week)

Port Phillip Estate Shiraz 2004
Under Diam, nice cool climate shiraz this, white pepper and dark berry fruit cake nose, perhaps a little alcohol heat as well... but a lovely mouth feel, and long lush finsh, just rolling over the tongue. maybe needs a couple of years.

Cheers all

My pick of this week's tastings was the 2008 Manawa Sauv Blanc from Marlborough, NZ.

At around $13 LUC it was a solid wine, with good tropical notes, but lacking the herbaceousness I expected, albeit with a shorter finish than I would have liked.

A solid 88 points and a good buy for a standard drinking wine (without food).

oakboy wrote:My $50 dollar a week hobby (addiction, and its a little more than $50 a week)

Port Phillip Estate Shiraz 2004
Under Diam, nice cool climate shiraz this, white pepper and dark berry fruit cake nose, perhaps a little alcohol heat as well... but a lovely mouth feel, and long lush finsh, just rolling over the tongue. maybe needs a couple of years.

Cheers all

Mine is substantially more than $150/wk, even drinking mostly $15-$20 wines. I think I'm saving money when I find wines I really enjoy for <$15 or even, occasionally <$10.

But after enjoying a few bottles of PPE chard 04 (bought quite cheap) the shiraz is one of those I'd like to try from the Mornington Peninsula.

Cheers

daz

2005 Lazy Ballerina Shiraz Viognier Drank over 3 hours and it was getting better each time I fill up my glass. Viognier wasn't so obvious compare to 2001 Laughing MP I had.

Palliser Estate Sauvignon Blanc 07 - tasty, quite long - a nice rich sav. This is currently being sold off very cheaply in Auckland, and I couldn't resist picking some up. I felt Palliser had dropped back in the pecking order of NZ sav bl. producers in recent years, but Bob Campbell rated it very highly so I took the (small) risk. Glad I did now. Its interesting that wineries have big clear out sales of one sauv bl vintage when the next is about to come out, as I think they are often pretty good at a year old.

there are plenty of other hobbies i would rather invest $30 a week on to be honest, do you guys drink that much?

yes i spend more on wine than the average person (but no where as much as some). people like that make the world an interesting place. Where would photography be if we all used kodak disposable cameras? where would cars be if we all drove ford fiesta's?

a bit of obsession, a bit of spending a bit more than the norm drives excellence in any field and makes the world more colourful.

In order of preference:
* 2006 Wendouree Shiraz: 95/100 (drank over 7 days)
* 1998 Hardy's Tintara Shiraz: 94/100 (wow, didn't expect to like this as much - long, ripe and elegant)
* 1999 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet/Shiraz: 93/100 (smooth)
* 2006 Wendouree Malbec: 92/100
* 2003 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz: 91/100

I love symmetry.

Opps, that is more than $50 for the week. (lordson, how much are your car repayments?:-))

Adair

Adair wrote:In order of preference:
*
* 1998 Hardy's Tintara Shiraz: 94/100 (wow, didn't expect to like this as much - long, ripe and elegant)

Adair

Agree Adair - this went through a particularly sulky period but at last it is beginning to come out the other end - will only get better over the next decade.

cheers

paul

A weekend where every team I backed lost (Swans, Collingwood) and don't mention the Wallabies. A few great wines though

Wynns Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 This vintage is undoubtedly a product of a tough year in Coonawarra, though it is one absolutely technically correct Coonawarra Cabernet. A dense, dark red colour with evidence of some bricking around the edges. On the noes its textbook maturing Cabernet with dusty, cedary blackcurrant, roast beef and cocoa. The palate is a very typical lean Cabernet - the acid sticks out a little too much, the redcurrant fruit seems artificially sweetened and there are two massive holes in the palate. The first hole is at the front of the palate with another big hole near the end before prominent tannins take over.

All in all its not a bad wine, quit refreshing in a claret like mould and I firmly believe that in time it will flesh out more, but the challenge of the season has given it a leanness and hardness through the palate. Best drink it now with a decent decant or stick it away for another 12 months or so. 16.5

Jansz NV Rose A great value Pink. Salmon in colour, it has more of a standard Pinot Chardonnay nose, with slatey, grapefruit aromatics & just a hint of strawberry, moving on to a cosseting soft, strawberry and (faintly) peach flavoured palate. The finish is dry, clean and well mannered, leaving just the slightest stalkiness as an aftertaste. Overall it is impressively soft, yet also built like a proper, grown up sparkling wine, with no bullshit attempts at being anything less than likeable.

Great stuff, great value, well done all involved. 18.3

Orlando Steingarten Riesling 2001 Its a near perfect example of aged Australian Riesling, drinking magnificently, but a wine that most people will never really 'get' (aged Riesling that is).

The colour is a youthful light straw, the nose a complex and delightful amalgam of Eden Valley Slate, voilets, toast, a little petrol and then heaps of lemon lime. The palate follows this nicely, but seems even cleaner and more defined than the nose, its acidity so fresh, precise and pure that this wines future is well assured. The limey palate is just so deliciously dry and when coupled with the slightly sweet toasty characters on the nose makes for an inspired food wine of real character.

Classic stuff. 19

Junior

Thanks to advice from some of you on this forum, I've tried this week to really taste my wine rather than just swill it. the interesting thing has been that I'm exhausted after just one or two glasses but I have enjoyed the process immensely. Here goes:
Classic McLaren la Test Blend 2003 (Shiraz/Grenache and Cabernet)
Clear brick red, persistent long legs. A nose of licorice, black olive, tar and soy. Rich, balanced, velvety cigar box mouthfeel with complex, strong, jammy blackcurrant, licorice and aniseed flavours that explode in the mouth. An aftertaste of chocolate and berries leaves the taster wanting more. Four and a half stars

Tarrawarra Pinot Nois 2002
Clear plumb red softening to terracoota on the rim. A warm, balanced wine with a nose redolent of rhubarb, plumb, violet - some gamey and peaty overtones. Although thin at first became supple and silky with exposure in the glass. Harmonious and smooth. Three and a half stars.

2008 Innocent Bystander pink moscato

I'm going to put out a plug for this delightful little drop of bubbles. Deliciously fruity fun in a bottle that has me yearning for summer afternoons by the pool... i don't usually enjoy sparkling wines like this (mclaren vale shiraz being my typical fav) but this is great stuff.

[quote="Adair"]In order of preference:
* 2006 Wendouree Shiraz: 95/100 (drank over 7 days)
* 1998 Hardy's Tintara Shiraz: 94/100 (wow, didn't expect to like this as much - long, ripe and elegant)
* 1999 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet/Shiraz: 93/100 (smooth)
* 2006 Wendouree Malbec: 92/100
* 2003 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz: 91/100

Adair

When were the Wendouree's drinking at their peak / how did you treat them?

i suppose its not that much money when put in context

my income atm is about $250 a week thats why

but when i start working should go up alot