The Auswine Forum

Hi Good Peoples,

Its Sunday again and time to post your weekly drinkin' reports.

Lists, vibes, impressions or full blown notes all welcome, so please tell us what you have been drinking over the past week.

Visited Rockford on Friday and had a look through the new releases.....very nice range and ended up grabbing some Vine Vale Riesling, Black Shiraz and Basket Press Shiraz.

And in the arvo had a look at some imports at a mates.

Pazo Barrentes Albarino 2006 - very nice
Michel Lynch Graves 2007 - I liked this...smoky and flinty
Michel Lynch Bordeaux SB 2006 - pretty nice..pithy citrus fruits
Mischief & Mayhem Meursault Les Poruzots 2005 - very good, peach and stonefruits, cashewy oak...good length
Louis Lequin Corton Charlemagne 2004- nice...very linear, tight and sappy.
Guy Bocard Meursault Les Narvaux 2002 - super stuff, typical Meursault baby fat, taut palate with some nice struck match complexity...super finish.
Guy Bocard Meursault-Genevrieres 1er 2004 - fairly closed aromatically, lean and mealy.
Szepsy Tokaji Furmint Szat Tamas 2005 - pretty funky stuf
Mischief & Mayhem Vosne-Romanee Les Beaux-Monts 2003 - typical Vosne Asian spices...pretty drying and charry...lacked definition a bit.
Domaine Cornu Ladoix Le Champ Pusset 2005 - stalky blackfruits....quite noice though
Louis Lequin NSG Les Brulees 2005 - pretty tight and wrapped up....bloody nice stuff though.
Domaine Prieure-Roch Le Clous 2005 - amazing stuff...pure and in your face aromatics...lovely gear
J Cacheux Vosne-Romanee Aux Reas 2005 - Tight and powerful...pretty big-boned style.
Louis Lequin Santenay 1er Clos Rousseau 2003 - jammy and a bit clumsy.
Montagne-Neire Syrah VdP d'Oc 2005 - Peppery blackberry fruits...pretty noice.
Chateau Yon-Figeac 2003 - not a fan
Chateau Yon-Figeac 2004 - Dark and pretty broody
Chateau Villa-Belair Graves 2002 - I liked this...dusty, herbaceous black fruits.
Michel Lynch Bordeaux 2006 - Pretty good
Chateau Maris Old Vine Syrah 2004 - lovely stuff
Chateau Maris La Touge Syrah 2004 - very nice
Chateau Maris Old Vine Grenache 2004 - lovely wine
Bodegas Marques de Murrieta Castillo yGay Gran Reserva Especial Cosecha 1998- lanolin, red fruits, mahogany, leathery fruit....noice
Marques de Murrieta Finca yGay Riserva 2002 - tarry and leathery...super stuff
Castillo di Monastro Chianti Classico 2005 - savoury structure...quite drying on the finish...pretty good
Coldisole Brunello di Montalcino 2003 - I like his a lot...but does it have Cabernet in it
Castillo di Monastro Chianti Classico Reserva 2003 - pretty good
Szepsy Tokaji Cuvee 2003 - full on, turbo charged intense Tokaji

Mitolo G.A.M. Shiraz 2004
A hearty monster of a wine and whilst impressive, did not show much in the way of regional character. Tasty to the last but hardly memorable.

One of my best friend's turned 50 on Thursday and 14 of us went out to a surprise dinner at the Ridge Restaurant (very good, not great, but, seemingly, always reliable).

He and his daughter came (late) without grog (prearranged) so I brought 4 bottles (as his birthday present).

Memory vibes only on the following :

Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Auslese Riesling 1983 - still fresh and lively with a delectable core of sweet peach/nectarine/citrussy fruit and wonderful acidity to provide counterbalance. 92

Penfolds 1980 Bin 80A Cabernet/Shiraz - the visual condition was nigh-on perfect (colour, level, capsule and label). The cork disintegrated upon opening. The wine held a good colour for the age but the nose and palate were simply not a patch on the bottle I opened last year. A very good drink but that's about it (still displayed some attractive, still youthful, sweet fruit, lively acidity and melting tannin) but ohso typical of the well-documented inconsistency with this label. No more lotteries with this one for me. 87

Ch. Coutet 1981 - a real sleeper of a wine, this one. Perhaps my third bottle this year and every one has been super. Displays gorgeous aromatics, impeccable balance, wonderful line, still with plenty of reserves of fruit and acidity as well as a superb finish. Surprisingly quite a "big" wine for a Coutet (reknowned for their "elegance"). My, how well did this Barsac property do in this "unheralded" vintage! 93

Morris of Rutherglen Cellar Release Muscat - simply phenomenal. Incredibly lush with spicy jumbo raisans and Christmas cake (and many other splendid things) wrapped in a shroud of rancio, caramel oak; incredible viscosity providing a plush and decadent mouthfeel, then almost impossibly transposes to a cleansing, astringent-filled finish of enormous calibre and duration. 95

Some of the other guests let me have a sip of a couple of their wines - the 2006 Stonier's Chardonnay seemed very good with some nice barrel work on the nose and a palate that was a little flat to me but overall seemed an "ok" wine. The 1998 Orlando St. Hugo was very disappointing compared to what I remember of it in its youth (circa 92/93 points). The wonderful fruit has been replaced with an overabundance of pretty ugly oak - something that worried me (but not to the same extent as this) in the last bottle I opened some time ago. Either it's in a very bad phase or the wine is rooted. Might get 75 points if I was feeling very generous on last night's performance!

dlo wrote:The 1998 Orlando St. Hugo was very disappointing compared to what I remember of it in its youth (circa 92/93 points). The wonderful fruit has been replaced with an overabundance of pretty ugly oak - something that worried me (but not to the same extent as this) in the last bottle I opened some time ago. Either it's in a very bad phase or the wine is rooted. Might get 75 points if I was feeling very generous on last night's performance!

I hope this was an aberration, David. I've got an unopened six-pack. I will earmark it for a look in the near future.

Roscoe wrote:

dlo wrote:The 1998 Orlando St. Hugo was very disappointing compared to what I remember of it in its youth (circa 92/93 points). The wonderful fruit has been replaced with an overabundance of pretty ugly oak - something that worried me (but not to the same extent as this) in the last bottle I opened some time ago. Either it's in a very bad phase or the wine is rooted. Might get 75 points if I was feeling very generous on last night's performance!

I hope this was an aberration, David. I've got an unopened six-pack. I will earmark it for a look in the near future.

.... and I've got closer to a dozen!

Agree with David. I didn't like the way it was heading and sold mine.

Penley Phoenix Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Ch Haut-Cabut (Bordeaux- Premiere Cotes de Blaye) 2004
These were tasted together, unblinded for me, but my wife was blinded. It was a reasonable comparison, about the same price. However, the French wine is 70% merlot. The French wine was deeper in colour, with a subtle cherry aroma. The Penley had a red tinge, had a berry nose with a hint of blackcurrant. On the palate the picture was similar. The Penley had a little more fruit sweetness and fleshiness, but the French wine was reasonably generous also. Both wines had good oak integration and good supporting tannins. I found the Penley a very slightly better drink right now as did my wife (it is made for early consumption) but the French would have a better future. Both are good wines.
Clos Petit Bellane 2006 (Cotes du Rhone Rose)
I don't drink much rose. This was brought over by a friend. Interestingly it had a plastic cork- a sign I think that it is meant to be drunk ASAP. It was pleasant but lacked fruit (grenache/shiraz) character and freshness, which I think is really important in a rose. (BTW, how do you insert acutes in here). I couldn't recommend it. Maybe it should have been drunk earlier.

TORB wrote:Agree with David. I didn't like the way it was heading and sold mine.

Thanks guys, I better have a look soon.

2003 Mitchelton Print Shiraz. Quite a rich wine with plum on the nose and blackberry and plum on the palate. Nice fine tannins and a luxurious mouthfeel, all in all a very smart wine worth the money

2004 Greenock Creek Alices Shiraz
Fruity, well balanced and big in flavour, very nice.

2004 Kay Bros Hilllside Shiraz
Totally different style to the Alices, earthy, strong flavours, still very enjoyable

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dlo wrote:The 1998 Orlando St. Hugo was very disappointing compared to what I remember of it in its youth (circa 92/93 points). The wonderful fruit has been replaced with an overabundance of pretty ugly oak - something that worried me (but not to the same extent as this) in the last bottle I opened some time ago. Either it's in a very bad phase or the wine is rooted. Might get 75 points if I was feeling very generous on last night's performance!

I shared my last bottle some months ago - found it much as you describe.

daz

Great lifted punchy varietal aromas, heading into the tropical spectrum of peach and mango, with some yeasty esters as well. Just a hint of free SO2, but to be expected in a young wine like this.Lovely ripe and dense palate, with nice pulpy fruit extract. Not obviously tricked up with any freshening acid like citric or malic, but really fresh and lively all the same. The finish is dry-ish and not cloying with retained RS which has been my problem with NZ Savvy on a commercial level.Definitely to be drunk in the short term, and a pleasant finish to the weekend...

Apart from quite a few wines I've posted notes on before (it was nice to see the Woodside Estate Le Bas Chardonnay again), there's only one new one:

Hidden River Chardonnay 2005 Purchased at the winery in late 2006 before they were 'officially' released. Lovely then, and travelling OK now, without gaining much inthe way of richness and complexity. Grapefruit was the major component, with oak there but subservient to the citrus. An enjoyable wine, but not what I remember it to be (admittedly, it was following another very good chardonnay, and I've tried not to let that influence my note). Maybe just another reminder to me that Aussie Chardonnay generally does not age well.

Cheers
Allan

Late coming in...

Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz 2006, Grampians & Bendigo
14.0% alc, it has a nice black crimson colour, astute nose of cedar wood, dark berries and red fruit. A medium-bodied drink of dark berries, plum and a touch of spice, this is still a bit on the soft side for me.

Seppelt Benno Shiraz 2005, Bendigo
It is black red colour, aromas of hedge fruit, violets, blackberry, clove? and sweet spice. At 13.5% alc, tannins feel a touch dry but backed up by good plum fruit flavours. Again, the tannins are probably a tad young right now, and this should show off even better with maturity.

Seppelt St Peter's Shiraz 2005, Grampians
Dark crimson colour appeals to the dark fruit aromas along with hints of pepper and spice. A medium-bodied drink, flavours of mulberry and blueberry, a load of pepper spiciness with the finish. Fine tannins, satisfying finish.

Wynns 2001 Harold Vineyard Cabernet Very elegant, long, with firm tannins. Drinking beautifully now, with more to come in the next 5 years. 95

Henschke 2003 Tappa Pass Shiraz Powerful wine that manages to carry it's high alcohol. Very nice, but don't think this will last too long though. 92

Rockford 1998 Basket Press Starting to get bricky in colour. Slightly leathery and rustic but very interesting and well balanced. 95

Kaesler Old Vine Shiraz 02- yummo found it a bit more elegant than a lot of Barossan shiraz I have drunk recently and this is so refreshing - spice cloves etc it was all there 2 thumbs up

Vasse Felix Cab Sauv 05 the more I consume the more I enjoy, I love MR cab

Ravensworth Sangiovese 07 - dragged this straight out of the cellar and started to consumme instantly but it was way too cold. It did have a wonderfull morello cherry aspect to it - great gear for the price

cheers
Seddo

wolf wrote:Wynns 2001 Harold Vineyard Cabernet Very elegant, long, with firm tannins. Drinking beautifully now, with more to come in the next 5 years. 95

Nice to read. I drank three of these young, dumb-ass that I am. I'd give it 10 btw. Coonawarra rocks.

DaveB wrote:Visited Rockford on Friday and had a look through the new releases.....very nice range and ended up grabbing some Vine Vale Riesling, Black Shiraz and Basket Press Shiraz.

And in the arvo had a look at some imports at a mates.

Pazo Barrentes Albarino 2006 - very nice
Michel Lynch Graves 2007 - I liked this...smoky and flinty
Michel Lynch Bordeaux SB 2006 - pretty nice..pithy citrus fruits
Mischief & Mayhem Meursault Les Poruzots 2005 - very good, peach and stonefruits, cashewy oak...good length
Louis Lequin Corton Charlemagne 2004- nice...very linear, tight and sappy.
Guy Bocard Meursault Les Narvaux 2002 - super stuff, typical Meursault baby fat, taut palate with some nice struck match complexity...super finish.
Guy Bocard Meursault-Genevrieres 1er 2004 - fairly closed aromatically, lean and mealy.
Szepsy Tokaji Furmint Szat Tamas 2005 - pretty funky stuf
Mischief & Mayhem Vosne-Romanee Les Beaux-Monts 2003 - typical Vosne Asian spices...pretty drying and charry...lacked definition a bit.
Domaine Cornu Ladoix Le Champ Pusset 2005 - stalky blackfruits....quite noice though
Louis Lequin NSG Les Brulees 2005 - pretty tight and wrapped up....bloody nice stuff though.
Domaine Prieure-Roch Le Clous 2005 - amazing stuff...pure and in your face aromatics...lovely gear
J Cacheux Vosne-Romanee Aux Reas 2005 - Tight and powerful...pretty big-boned style.
Louis Lequin Santenay 1er Clos Rousseau 2003 - jammy and a bit clumsy.
Montagne-Neire Syrah VdP d'Oc 2005 - Peppery blackberry fruits...pretty noice.
Chateau Yon-Figeac 2003 - not a fan
Chateau Yon-Figeac 2004 - Dark and pretty broody
Chateau Villa-Belair Graves 2002 - I liked this...dusty, herbaceous black fruits.
Michel Lynch Bordeaux 2006 - Pretty good
Chateau Maris Old Vine Syrah 2004 - lovely stuff
Chateau Maris La Touge Syrah 2004 - very nice
Chateau Maris Old Vine Grenache 2004 - lovely wine
Bodegas Marques de Murrieta Castillo yGay Gran Reserva Especial Cosecha 1998- lanolin, red fruits, mahogany, leathery fruit....noice
Marques de Murrieta Finca yGay Riserva 2002 - tarry and leathery...super stuff
Castillo di Monastro Chianti Classico 2005 - savoury structure...quite drying on the finish...pretty good
Coldisole Brunello di Montalcino 2003 - I like his a lot...but does it have Cabernet in it
Castillo di Monastro Chianti Classico Reserva 2003 - pretty good
Szepsy Tokaji Cuvee 2003 - full on, turbo charged intense Tokaji

If you drank all of this on Friday, I don't know how you were able to come up with any notes at all by the end of it, and certainly not by Sunday!

You didn't spit all of these lovely wines out, I hope!

Orlando Jacaranda Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon 1999
Very impressive, a great wine at full voice - very varietal, some leafiness, long finish. All the goodies.

Hoddles Creek Chardonnay 2007
Also superb - fine drinking, very tidy wine, punches well above it's weight, to borrow a much eroded cliche.

Petaluma Shiraz 2003
Disappointingly CORKED.

EDIT: Excellent service from Petaluma, current replacement vintage being sent to me tomorrow.

Westfield 87 Cab
Classic cab nose, colour showing it's age, still showing fruit characters on the nose, The flavour on the palate was a bit flat, it may not have been stored carefully enough. 88

Shadrach 94 Cab
Colour was showing the wines age.soft sweet fruit, nice touch of acid, opened up the longer it breathed. Really enjoyed the wine, possibly at it's peak, drink in the next couple of years. 94

Wynns 91 Black Label
Really dark colour not showing any signs of fatigue. This wine needed at least a couple of hours to breath. And came on beutifully. 96

Mt Mary's 91
Opend up pongey, which did disapate. Long palate with sweet fruit. 85

Xanadu 19 Reserve
nose full of fruit and leafy cab characters, palate didn't match the nose and the tanins and acid seemed to have dominated 90

I've just had a huge week what with the ARIAs, the noodle markets, Pink at the metro, Meeting the Veronicas and Ruby Rose at Cargo Bar then then topped it off with an evening with the ever sprightly Margaret Fulton followed by two BBQs on the weekend. There was a lot of drinking, mostly beer and cocktails, but not too much wine. Did get to:

08 Grant Burge Moscato Interesting new bottle which got quite a few comments. Nice spritz, quite sweet. Possibly just on the borderline for being a tad too sweet. Still not bad in the sun though.

98 Vertias Christa Rolf Shiraz Grenache Lovely nose on this. Particualrly after the moscato. Nice depth and complexity. Slightly sweet vanilla and mulberry and plums and dare I say it, a bit grapey. Nice viscosity but also quite opaque and murky. Enjoyed it a lot.

04 Saltram Mamre Brook Cabernet Savignon Shiraz blend from magnum. Managed to drink most of this by myself so don't remember too much Can't have been too offensive though.

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Orpheus.....yes I was unfortunately spitting them out...actually I went back for seconds on a Guy Bocard Meursaut's and thirds on the Prieure-Roch Le Clous.....spitting those out would be a crime.

96 Salitage Pemberton.
Awesomely funky, soily, truffle nose opening up with hints of bush honey. The fruit and acid had calmed down but held a luxurious mouth feel, with a hint of wet wood and very fine tannins. A great wine, well aged just about spot on now...

Ok wish me luck, I'm going in for my first ever TN.

Penfolds Koonunga Hill "Seventy-Six" Shiraz Cabernet 2006
Picked up on the Barossa trip, based on a good impression and of course the limited availibility cache. I get a lot of strawberry on the nose, followed by eucalyptus/menthol. Starts with a fair amount of berry, then overtaken by oakiness, almost bitter on the finish. Seems to hold together quite well though a bit tight, improved after an hour or so open. I guess more time needed but I will never know now as that was the last of three. For mine definitely a good price at about $17.

Sean wrote:I went to a Champagne tasting on the weekend. Good fun and if I only got the names right, maybe some of you could offer a more experienced opinion on any of these wines??

Jacquesson Brut NV - A Reims house. Rich, bready aromas, but tight and very dry.

Moet & Chandon Brut Grand Vintage 2000 - One of the big Epernay houses. Fresh appley aroma, toasty and yeasty in the mouth, a fuller style.

Veuve Clicquot Brut 2002 - A Reims house. Floral and complex aromas, which follows on the palate, flavoursome, but controlled.

Chandon Brut Rose 2004 - Some nice pinot in there, fresh tasting and interesting as well.

Chandon Cuvee Riche - Light colour and more sugary sweet than when I last had this. I know why this has extra dosage, but I don’t think this one will develop in the btl as well.

Yarrabank Brut Cuvee 2004 - A bit funky, but the palate is clean, elegant and minerally.

Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires NV - A Reims house. Pongy and complex, with all sorts of flavours and nuances.

Blue Pyrenees Estate Midnight Cuvee 2001 - Not as rich as the 2000 perhaps, but tight and citrusy.

Louis Roederer Brut Premier NV - A Reims house. Clean, dry, but dull and too simple.

Hanging Rock Macedon NV - Fresh citrusy aroma, balancing sugar and acidity nicely compared with the previous wine.

Hanging Rock Macedon Brut Rose NV - Light, some cherry fruit, a bit broad, too warm perhaps.

Hanging Rock NV Brut Cuvee 7 - I thought I was standing too close to the spit bucket, but it was this.

Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne NV - Some armpit pong, very minerally, good acidity, but one dimensional.

Bollinger Special Cuvee Brut NV - The outsider from Ay? Noted that this is 65% pinot noir. Very aromatic, complex and some power in this. (This or the Veuve my pick of the French ones.)

Clover Hill 2004 - I’m on familiar ground with this wine and so probably a benchmark for me. Floral and punchy, yet to develop complexity. (My pick of the local ones.)

Croser 2005 - Clean and fresh in the mouth, but much too simple even compared with the Clover Hill.

Did you get there late and miss the Krug?

Depends what time he got there too, whether he got the good first bottle or the horribly oxidised second one.

Was very dissapointed to hear that the chap presenting those wines was completely disinterested when this was pointed out to him.

Wayno wrote:Mitolo G.A.M. Shiraz 2004
A hearty monster of a wine and whilst impressive, did not show much in the way of regional character. Tasty to the last but hardly memorable.

You should try The Savitar from the same vintage