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.

Roda Reserva 03 - slightly developed - bad storage? rustic albeit flavourful, long finish, rich

Roda Reserva 04 - all class, fine lined, new world in poise and quality and again full flavoured, long, rich

Tim Adams Reserve Tempranillo 2005 - all Australian - more Clare than Spain - great mouthfeel and character

And plenty of other Spanish gear, most of which I can't remember!

Elizabeth Semillon 04- $12 much more pleasing than the 03 for my palate. Will be laying some down now the museum releases come in screwcap.

Seppelt Drumborg Reisling 03- $30 still a lot of development left in this one. I've only really been drinking wine with any thought for the last 5 years and this one had me a bit stumped. Very interesting, very long...what will it do?

Trentham Estate Nebbiolo 05- at $16 I wanted to see what they could do. Quite a lot I thought. Typical brick at the edges. Quite varietal although distinctly less tannic than others. No 2002 Pizzini, but at its price I'd buy more.

Brookland Vally Verse Chardonnay 07- $16 Ridiculously good chardonnay for the price. Great grapefruit acidity, fanatsic line and length, excellent oak and well judged.

Innocent Bystander Shiraz Viognier 2005- (won a six pack) Very nice gluggable and slinky. Viognier just a touch too apparent for me (I did pick some apricot and I don't like that). Shiraz element came mostly from Giant Steps' single vineyards, including Miller, but also some McLaren Vale which semed to lend a bit of grunt.

jeremy wrote:
Trentham Estate Nebbiolo 05- at $16 I wanted to see what they could do. Quite a lot I thought. Typical brick at the edges. Quite varietal although distinctly less tannic than others. No 2002 Pizzini, but at its price I'd buy more.

It's funny but I didn't find this varietal at all, I thought it tasted more like a Tempranillo! That said, it was a very easy drink but not especially complex or compelling. A touch of sweetness and good with food.

Fair call Wayno, can see the Tempranillo thing now you mention it. I thought it had quite a bit of "neb" about it, but lacked depth, complexity etc, which is what I pay above $50 for. I'm not big on "varietal expression" anyways, but it sure drank nicely with a lamb, mushroom, rosemary and bacon braise

2007 Seppelt Jaluka Chardonnay- very nice and fruity.
2007 Lillydale Estate Chardonnay- more malo and oak, but lovely melon fruits to support.
1998 Hardy's Eileen Hardy Shiraz- Big, bold shiraz, but well balanced, with a refreshing hint of eucalypt.
1998 Penfolds Bin 128- Not too bad, and good value back in the days this was $16-18 dollars for the case buy...

Cheers,

Monghead.

monghead wrote:
1998 Penfolds Bin 128- Not too bad, and good value back in the days this was $16-18 dollars for the case buy...

Cheers,

Monghead.

I have 8 bottles of this left and am still not certain whether I like it or not, or how and where it is heading. I might just have one tonight, just for for a wee look mind.

monghead wrote:2007 Seppelt Jaluka Chardonnay- very nice and fruity.
2007 Lillydale Estate Chardonnay- more malo and oak, but lovely melon fruits to support.

Tried both of these at a meeting last week. Thought the Jaluka very smart indeed!

cheers

Carl

A few allsorts

2008 Lary Cherubino 'Whispering Hill' Riesling
A clean pristine fragrant nose of granny smith apples. A juvenile palate of bracing acidity finishing with those green apples. Great potential here. Excellent wine with japanese at a new restaurant in Subiaco.

1998 Domaine de Font Sane Cuvee Futee Gigondas
Underneath may be a great wine but avoid avoid! These were the worst two brett-affected bottles I have ever experienced. So potent it stung the eyes! Thought I would try the second and worse

After that thought I would pull out all the brett affected bottles that I have left in the cellar. Luckily the first was drinkable.

2000 Tardieu Laurent Minervois les causses
The first a few months back was undrinkable but this opened with volatile acidity but otherwise clean! Wasn't sure to decant or not and finally decided to in the hope the fruit would improve to cover the VA. After half an hour the fruit rose; wonderful! An hour later the brett started growing Drank it fast while still good. At best this was an Excellent wine (in-between the VA and the brett).

2007 Picardy Chardonnay
Still to young but it just was too close to hand when looking for a white. A worked palate yet balanced with a mealy finish. Rebecca said the finish was weetbix so wheat bran it is I truly think Picardy is on the second echelon of Ausralian chardonnays and as such a bargain.

2006 Picardy Merlot-Cabernet
Sold off at $10 a bottle as not up to scratch due to the cool year. Was very lean when I tried it at their tasting a few months ago but no green characters. It has fleshed out partly now so while still lean and fragrant it now has some complexity and roundness. Looking forward to trying these in a couple of years as I think they will blossom. Fantastic value.

cheers

Carl

98 Te Mata Awatea. Superb!!! Plush, soft and sensual
04 Craggy Block 14 Syrah. Not bad, tasty. Could do with some more cellar time.
07 Church Rd Reserve Syrah. Just a sensation at $35. Deserves its accolades.

Someone kick me when I'm considering buying Rosemount again.

Disappointment again with this crappy label. Bought 3 bottles of the 1996 Show Reserve Coonawarra Cabernet from auction. Bottles in good condition and from reliable cellar. First bottle was all oak and fast disappearing fruit. Same again with 2nd on Saturday night. What do I do with the third? Anyone for a good oaked pasta!

Other wines this weekend (both Cassagrain) were just as bad. So today I'm having an AFD. Roll on Tuesday night for something (hopefully) better.

Chuck

Highlight of the week was Wynns BL Cabernet Sauvignon 1991
I'm not sure if this or the 86 is my favourite BL. It is a few years since I last had an 86 so any judgement would be unreliable. Suffice to say that I have always enjoyed the 91 more than the 90. Drinking beautifully now, but is likely to hang on for minimum 5yrs.
Lake Breeze Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Started off being dominated by the firm tannins and alcohol (14.5). The fruit started to blossom afer 1-2 days but I have reservations about its balance. A good wine but probably won't be a cellar buy.

Lake Breeze Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
Plenty of fruit, tannins have only softened slightly, quite peppery - I enjoyed it more than the rest of our small gathering who did not return for a second glass... read into it what you will.

A few 1991s for my daughter's 18th birthday.

1991 Lindemans Limestone Ridge Shiraz Cabernet - Very nice, probably just past it's prime but still a wonderful wine.

1991 Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon (Magnum) - An amazing wine, well balanced, plenty of fruit, acid and tannin but well integrated. I know it's only February but this is my wine of the year so far. I will be very pleased if I drink anything better than this for the rest of the year.

1991 Lindemans St George Cabernet Sauvignon - Lacked a bit of fruit after the Mentelle but had such a wonderful mouthfeel and long finish. Some people said they preferred this, but I thought it lacked the ballance and finesse. On any other night this probably would have been the stand-out wine, but not tonight.

So after the '91s we followed up with a couple of bottles of 2007 Tar & Roses Shiraz. This wine seems to get good reviews on this forum so I bought a six pack on special last week. I can see why everyone rates this as high QPR. Very drinkable and went down well after the previous aged wines.

Wayno wrote:Roda Reserva 03 - slightly developed - bad storage? rustic albeit flavourful, long finish, rich

Had this on Friday and thought much the same thing. Very much like an old school Rioja and distinctly lacking in freshness. Was disappointed.

Sharkey wrote:A few 1991s for my daughter's 18th birthday.

1991 Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon (Magnum) - An amazing wine, well balanced, plenty of fruit, acid and tannin but well integrated. I know it's only February but this is my wine of the year so far. I will be very pleased if I drink anything better than this for the rest of the year.

Great to hear. I have a magnum of this as well that has been sitting very patently for quite a while. It has been hand picked for consumption many times but has lived to fight another day. By the sounds of it (fruit, acid and tannin) there is a few more years left then. Thanks for the notes…….

1996 Penfolds 389 - This was not my best bottle of this, lack of any fruit depth, no overt signs of TCA - Good to very good but previous bottles have been Excellent+ 88pts

1993 Xanadu Cab Sauv, It is a pity recent Xanadu vintages i have tried are not up to this standard, Classic MR cabernet, plenty of fruit depth, all in balance, thought it would be a bit past it, but 94pts

2003 Woodlands Ivy Kathleen Cab Sauv (+ 5%malbec) Great fruit and very balanced - the Woodlands premier wines are only regularly challenged by Moss Wood and maybe Cullen and in many years I think surpass them 95pts maybe more as the wine matures - will last a long time based on this bottle

2004 JC St Hugo Cab Sauv - good fruit and not i the same class as the Woodlands, but still very enjoyable - 91pts

Also a couple of Spanish wines at the excellent Tapas restaurant Duende in Leederville in Perth -
2004 Mugas Reserva Rioja - Nice Temperanillo, Very good 90pts
2005 Las Rocas Vinas Viejas Garnacha Catalanya - Very Good plus 91pts

Pewsey Vale Riesling 2008
An excellent QPR wine; when one finds this for $13 a bottle, one should not complain, it really delivers well and no doubt will prosper with age. Limes, lemons, a touch of sweetness beyond the fruit and as such not terribly austere, there's a lovely textural mouthfeel and volume to it.

Seppelt Moyston Cabernet Merlot 2004
Richness - chocolate, mint, plushly velvet lined bookshelves filled with Readers Digest hardcover editions. Some good tobacoey qualities too, so maybe there's an old bloke asleep with a copy of Great Expectations across his girth. Expectations fulfilled, I like this wine and it will age in style.

from the last month

Annie's Lane Copper Trail Shiraz 2001 Excellent, needed some time to open up as was under screwcap, but this was a great example of how well wine goes under the screwie

Orlando Lawson's Shiraz 1998 Great wine, in its window, excellent length, and outshined the next wine we put it up against

Penfolds Bin389 1998 while still a very good wine, lacked the nose and punch of the lawson's

Brokenwood Mistress Block 2003 A great hunter, but a touch drying on the finish.... drink up and enjoy the primary??

Sandalford Estate shiraz 2005 nice change up on the previous vintage 2004 oak monster, this is restrained.... years ahead of it

Johns Blend Margarete's Blend Shiraz 2002 Mostly Langhorne ck Shiraz, big sweet mocha style, drinking now

Gaint Steps Shiraz 2005 Beautiful savory style yarra yalley, great finish and no rush on this one

Barwang shiraz 2007 went looking for the 06 Cab but sold out so got this to try, and.... very good. needed a couple of hours but a very nice VFM wine

a couple of whites

Morningtion Estate Chardie 2005 excellent white for the red drinker this... less than $20 and a little bottle age too

I did have the chance at work to try a large sample of
Giaconda Chardie 2004 well this was the greatest white i ever had... the nose of 'caramel' and melons, the softness of the finish that lingered...... brillant wine

good drinking all

First up St Hallet Blackwell Barossa Shiraz 1998. To get the wine ready, I brought it up to the house the day before and opened it around mid morning. I firmly believe the wines I bring out of the emergency wine fridge in the garage the day before and then open early morning are definitely more open, settled and enjoyable than wines I bring up a couple of hours before dinner.

Anyhow back to the Blackwell, the colour whilst still dense has started to lose that deep purple hue in favour of a slight redding up and bricking around the edges. I forgot to make notes on the nose but the wine opens on the palate with sweet/off dry fruit supported by mocca/almost bitter chocolate after taste and a lovely complexity. Medium bodied, the tannins are soft and now integrated with the fruit. Whilst the finish does not go on forever, overall it is still a very moorish wine and fantastic value when one considers it cost me around $22 pb at the time of purchase. As 2006 has been given 10/10 for the Barossa vintage, I think I may sneak another 6 pack of the Blackwell down for another BBQ in 10 years time.

The other South Australian shiraz I enjoyed this month was the Brokenwood Rayner 2002. A lovely multilayered wine with excellent length all the way through the palate and approachable at a much earlier age than the previous wine. From McLaren Vale it has slightly more savoury earthy fruit, also finishing off with mocca/sweetish vanilla undertones. Again very moorish and great with a steak.

Neither of the wines are what I would consider an Aussie fruit bomb but then perhaps waiting that extra amount of time has allowed the wine to come into balance and take on more complexity.

I wish I had the time to keep up with writing notes for the the wines I drink, but I can always attempt to write about tonight's wines.

I have the 2006 De Bortoli Reserve Release Syrah and 2005 De Bortoli Reserve Release Syrah open right now. They were opened yesterday afternoon and refrigerated overnight, so I maybe have the best of them. Knowing their price and being a follower of Steve Webber, usually at the Estate level, I was expecting them to be good, but I didn't expect them to captivate me so much.

I have not had enough top Northern Rhone to give intelligent comparison, but the depth of blue and black fruits on the nose of the 2006 De Bortoli Reserve Release Syrah with its nearly bubblegum purity and top-notch French oak is reminiscent of excellent Cru Burgundy, but its sweet meats and cinnamon spices hint to elsewhere. The palate is sumptuous and controlled, with prominent purple and red floral aspects with masses rose petal-silky tannins that carry the flavours seamlessly and even provide a little burst of caramel on the finish. This mouthfeel along with its great depth yet only medium-medium/full body is what I have only experienced from the best of Clonakilla. This velvet sumptuousness and control extends the expanse of the back palate. Anyone at any level of wine maturity will enjoy this wine. Quite sensational. 95/100, and probably at its most profound in 2015+.

The 2005 De Bortoli Reserve Release Syrah is a slightly different thoroughbred, although from the same stable, and at the moment just as sensational but more so to a mature wine lover. Red, black and blue fruits underpin the wine with similarly admirable purity but the depth of the wine on its middle palate is quickly dried up by very focused, fine, fuzzy and controlling tannins. This is balanced by wonderful complexity in both flavour and texture. Rhonish liquorice and tar characters combine with stalky herbaceous flavour and woody textural characters to make a very multifaceted wine. Sweet, caramel oak aids the wine but, although it is breathtaking as the 2006 upon opening, breathing time unveils the truth. I would be most satisfied to drink this on any other night, but with the 2006 next to it, 93/100.

I have no idea or experience with Mahi wines from Marlborough but I also have the 2007 Mahi Pinot Noir and 2008 Mahi Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough open. Both are also lovely wines. The Pinot Noir has excellent sweet rhubarb and strawberry depth with ripe, talc tannins giving way to an extra dimension of length from fine, integrated natural acidity. 90/100. The 2008 Mahi Sauvignon Blanc is a step up in class. Traditional, ripe Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc flavours of passionfruit and pineapple with intricate green pea and grassy notes are on the front and middle of excellent depth, at which time the wine can go "cheap" or "quality". Fortunately it goes quality by displaying great wine and winemaking with ripe mineral acids tamed by superbly judged oak handling that makes pouring the next glass sheer joy with a rounded, smooth finish. 92/100.

Lovely night.

Adair

Brief impressions from an instore last Saturday showing McGuigan Wines:

2008 McGuigan Bin 9000 Hunter Semillon (screwcap): A little fishy/tuna-like with some sulphur; decent palate, some lemon and grass and a slightly nutty finish, but this is still a little bottle shocked.

2005 McGuigan Earth’s Portrait Eden Valley Riesling (screwcap): Won the best wine at last years Adelaide Wine Show, and I’m buggered if I can see why; overly developed in all facets with lots of petrol/toast characters, fairly pleasant but too forward and short.

2004 McGuigan Earth’s Portrait Eden Valley Riesling (screwcap): Like the 2005, just a fraction more grassy/mineraly but leaner and even shorter.

2007 McGuigan Adelaide Hills Chardonnay (screwcap): Lots of fiery/toasty oak matched to peachy fruit, yet it’s also a little rubbery – again palate weight and length aren’t its strong points.

2006 McGuigan Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon (screwcap): Medium red. Attractive nose with complex, tarry and minty/muddy characters matched to sweet velvety fruit; the entry of the palate’s just as impressive, but again it’s short with an unusual brine-like finish.

2006 McGuigan Barossa Shiraz (screwcap): Medium red with a purple tinge. Raisiny and over-ripe at first with pruney/chocolaty fruit, followed by tomato leaf and other cool minty scents. The palate’s hot, with minty alcohol dominating the finish. An ordinary end to a rather ordinary bunch.

Cheers,
Ian

n4sir wrote:Brief impressions from an instore last Saturday showing McGuigan Wines

I haven't bothered tasting a wine from McGuigan for a very long time and your notes are confirmation that my prejudice again this maker is still well founded. Thank you.
Adair

You're not the only one who has prejudicial feelings towards McGuigan Adair. The wines and the philosophies are not appealing to me in the least. Having said that, I haven't tried one in ages. I'll even admit that I felt a certain sadistic joy in reading n4sir's notes.