My TOP TEN and why

[Attila]

Happy New Year to all at Auswine and elsewhere.
Now that the year is truly over, I selected the top 10 bottles I enjoyed the most in 2003. Those of you wanting to list their top 1 or top 5 etc. and haven't done it until now, please go ahead here.

1.ROBERT CHEVILLON Nuits-Saint-Georges 'Les Vaucrains' 1989
Mighty red burgundy, simply amazing.

2.PENFOLDS Magill Estate 1998
Top single vineyard Shiraz.

3.PENFOLDS Grange Bin 95 1996
Aristocratic, classy Shiraz-Cabernet blend. Superb.

4.CHATEAU CALON SEGUR St.Estephe 1996
Grand Medoc wine, simply outstanding.

5.TYRREL'S Vat 1 Semillon 1989
World class, breathtaking Australian white.

6.DOMAINE LA SOUMANDE Cuvee Confiance 1999
Stunning Cote Du Rhone Villages wine.

7.GYORGYKOVACS IMRE Barrique Furmint 2001
A monumental dry white wine from Hungary. Top stuff.

8.VINCENT GIRARDIN Puligny Montrachet 1er CRu 'Les Folatieres' 1998
Great chardonnay. Amazing.

9.TE MATA Elston Chardonnay 2002
Quite unbelievable and great quality from New Zealand.

10.DOMAINE DE L'EGLANTIERE Chablis Premier Cru 'Montee De Tonnerre' 1998
Exciting chardonnay with superb minerality.

These were the wines, among others that made my heart beat faster last year. May the New Year bring even greater pleasures.
Cheers,
Attila

[David Lole]

Nice line-up Attila,

I've got Girardin's '98 V-R Suchots and Echezeaux in the cellar. Have you had any experience with his red Burgundy's?

TIA,

[Grant Dodd]

Attila,

I was going to post something similar the other day,seemes like a good idea with the New Year now upon us.

Havn't tried many of your top ten,but I concur with the 96 Grange,wonderful wine.

My top wines,by variety.....


Best Shiraz- Houghtons Show Reserve 1995

Had it again this year and it keeps getting better. Decades to go.

Best Cabernet- Moss Wood 2000

Great wine,massive potential

Best Merlot or Bordeaux blend- Chateau Trotanoy 1990

Pure class,amazing length,very graceful

Best Pinot Noir- Merricks Creek "Nick Farr" 2001

Exciting new winery from Mornington

Best Chardonnay- Leeuwin AS 1987

What other Oz chardy lasts like this,with time still in front of it?

Best Fortified- Chambers Rare Muscat

Unctious,glorious,hedonistic,very special



BEST VALUE- Plenty to pick from,but two stand out


Seppelt Grand Muscat DP 57 (750 ml)

Awesome value ,a steal at $25 and less on discount.


Rosemount Giants Creek Chardonnay 2001

I seem to recall someone giving this wine a raspberry on this forum. Diversity of opinion is great,long may it live. However,this wine undoubtedly represents superb value for money at $15. It is very clever and stylish winemaking and Rosemount should be quite chuffed about putting out a large volume wine that has a touch of class about it. Don't know how they do it,to be fair. If you like chardonnay,give this one a try.



Cheers

[Adair]

I seem to recall someone giving this wine a raspberry on this forum. Diversity of opinion is great,long may it live. However,this wine undoubtedly represents superb value for money at $15. It is very clever and stylish winemaking and Rosemount should be quite chuffed about putting out a large volume wine that has a touch of class about it. Don't know how they do it,to be fair. If you like chardonnay,give this one a try.

Hello Grant,

I am the raspberry giver of this wine (2001 Rosemount Giants Creek Chardonnay). I just did not get it. I think it tried to be restrained in a Chablis style, due to its very subsued fruit, but it did not have the structure/acid to provide interest to my palate which made the fruit seem bland and one-dimensional. But as you say, each to their own. (However, let me be the one to argue that it does not represent superb value for money !)

If we ever catch up at an offline, be sure top bring a bottle of the stuff so that me can discuss further over the same bottle. I bought my bottles from Dan Murphy's and always have in the back of my mind that batches of the same large-volume wine may be different.

Kind regards,
Adair

[Adair]

The wines I tasted in 2003 that reached the absolute highest level (Outstanding/Ultimate) were:

1) 1973 Leroy La Piéce-sous-le-Bois Meursault (White)
2) 1986 Tyrrells Vat 1
3) 1989 Robert Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Vaucrains 1er Cru
4) 1982 Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon (1 of 3 bottles)
5) 1990 Penfolds Bin 90A (2 from 2 bottles)
6) 1997 Rene MureÂ’ Clos St. Landelin Grand Cru Vorbourg Riesling
7) 1994 Howard Park Cabernet (1 from 2 bottles)


Wines that I would drink anytime on any day (Excellent/Outstanding) include, in no particular order (I will probably add to this list as I think further about the previous 12 months):

1990 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame
NV Gosset Grande Reserve Brut (1 from 2 bottles)
1976 Penfolds Grange
1997 Rockford Hoffmann Shiraz
1997 Cape Mentelle Zinfandel
1998 dÂ’Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz (1 from 2 bottles)
2001 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier
1978 Pio Cesare Barolo
1999 Pio Cesare Barbera d'Alba "Fides"
1975 Chateau Rieussec (Sauternes)
1999 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay
1971 Mouton Rothschild
2002 Kilikanoon Mort's Block Riesling
2001 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz

I will reveal my “retail” bargain of 2003 on Monday 19th Januray 2004!

Adair

[Murray]

Attila,

Here is my addition to the list of 10 Best's:

Best Sparkling
Best's Concongella Brut Vintage

Best Riesling
Best's Victorian Riesling 2003

Best Chardonnay
Best's Great Western Chardonnay 2002

Best Pinot Noir
Best's Great Western Pinot Noir 2001

Best Cabernet Sauvignon
Best's Great Western Cabernet 2000

Best Shiraz (tie)
Best Bin 0 Shiraz 2001
Bests Great Western "Thompson Reserve" Shiraz 2000

Best Tokay
Best's Tokay

Best Muscat
Best's Muscat

Best port Syle
Best's Tawny

[Adair]

The wines I tasted in 2003 that reached the absolute highest level (Outstanding/Ultimate) were, and the short reasons why:

1) 1973 Leroy La Piéce-sous-le-Bois Meursault (White)
Complex and long but most amazingly, it was balanced to be ageless.

2) 1989 Robert Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Vaucrains 1er Cru
The complete Pinot Noir. It had complexity and structure that all others before and since have lacked.

3) 1986 Tyrrells Vat 1
As (1) but with probably a little less complexity but it has time on its side as well.

4) 1982 Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon (1 of 3 bottles)
The greatest Coonawarra Cabernet of them all, if you get a good bottle! All 3 bottles tried this past year had developed a sweet core of red fruits, instead of savouriness, bolstered by excellent oak. This particular bottle combined this huge core of flavour with amazing structure to have many years ahead of it. To his credit, TORB guessed this blind as the 1990 John Riddoch.

5) 1990 Penfolds Bin 90A (2 from 2 bottles)
Huge power with the Penfolds stamp all over it, bridled by a massive structure. Is this the greatest Penfolds wine of the 1990s?

6) 1997 Rene MureÂ’ Clos St. Landelin Grand Cru Vorbourg Riesling
The balance of powerful fruit, residual sugar and acid has places this above other European Rieslings into this league – maybe because it was drier than most others.

7) 1994 Howard Park Cabernet (1 from 2 bottles)
Sneaks in here as the most complete Margaret River Cabernet I have tasted. It resisting all temptation to go savoury unlike most/all other aged examples I have had.

Simply, I could not fault anyone of these wines for the style they were trying to achieve.

Wines that I had in 2003 that I would drink anytime on any day (Excellent/Outstanding) are as follows, in no particular order. I was able to find something lacking, although some might think ridicolously pedantic, with these wines. However, in time, some of these will probably be upgraded to the above category and some undoubtedly will go the opposite way:

1990 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame
NV Gosset Grande Reserve Brut (1 from 2 bottles)
1976 Penfolds Grange
1997 Rockford Hoffmann Shiraz
1997 Cape Mentelle Zinfandel
1998 dÂ’Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz (1 from 2 bottles)
2001 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier
1978 Pio Cesare Barolo
1999 Pio Cesare Barbera d'Alba "Fides"
1975 Chateau Rieussec (Sauternes)
1999 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay
1971 Mouton Rothschild
2002 Kilikanoon Mort's Block Riesling
2001 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz[/quote]

The 1998 dÂ’Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz (powerful McLaren Vale fruit that is currently very tightly knit), the 2001 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier (could bloom even more once the Viognier settles and the Shiraz develops from 2006), the 1999 Pio Cesare Barbera d'Alba "Fides" (another tight wine with exceptionally complex Italian fruit) and the 1999 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay (power and structure but not tightly held enough to give me supreme confidence over its future) could be extraordinary in a few years.

Kind regards,
Adair

[Grant Dodd]

Hi Adair,


It seems we have very similar tastes on that list of your best,despite our difference of opinion on the Rosemount. A friend bought a couple of bottles along to News Years Eve this year,and I had another good look at it. I didn't find it lacking in fruit or austere in any way. I get your take on the matter of acid,but I don't think this wine was designed to be a long ager. Anyway,we are not destined to find much middle ground given our relative stances on the matter,and thats fine. It would be a pretty boring world if we all liked the same stuff. I look forward to catching up sometime over a bottle or two.


Cheers