Its the long weekend Sunday......

[TORB]

Time for your weekly booze consumption reports.

I have had a good week. Dinner at Eschalot (Brian and Craig we must arrange a dinner) on Thursday. Started off with Seppelt Silverband and was very impressed. Not as good as the Show Reserve but bloody noice, finishes dry, clean and long. Also great value at $30 a bottle. I need to buy a case. That was followed by a bottle of Houghton Show Reserve. That was singing! Its in its prime but will last many years so there is no hurry to drink them. Incredibly complex and will go to Outstanding soon. That was followed by a 96 Mentor - just into it's window. With 'death by chocolate' my last bottle of Campbells Gold Top Tokay.

Last night celebrated by sister's 60th. As it was at a Chinese I figured it may be an AFD so Marion opened a Rockford 99 Cab. Superb! Lots of chocolate but also varietal Cab characters. Finishes long and will continue to improve.

Dinner was at Lee's Forturna Court in Crows Nest. The food was bloody fantastic (much to my surprise) and the ---- gulp ---- I hate to admit it ---- c-through Croser 2004 Bubbles was very drinkable with the food. Not bad quality and surprising French in style, but also elegant.

Now what have you guys and girls been drinking.

[Attila]

2004 HENSCHKE Mount Edelstone-Eden Valley

100% Shiraz hand picked from old vines.
Fragrant, aromatic cherries and red fruits on the nose. High class, focussed juicy rich fruit on the palate. Plums, blackberries and some exotic spice, beautifully sweet. Complex and promising, it needs time to fully come together as it is made for the long haul. Very smooth and very well made serious Shiraz that will shine in 12+ years time. Not cheap (AUD $85-100) but classy stuff, put in the cellar next to your Wendouree’s.
93 points.

Cheers,
Attila

[Red Bigot]

A couple of 97's that didn't impress too much, the Wirra Wirra RSW 97 was tiring badly and most of it went down the sink. Then opened a Balgownie Shiraz 97 that looked a lot better, but showing some maturity and not quite as good as I expected for this one, maybe just the vagaries of cork.

A couple of 98's that did impress though, Grossett Gaia 98 is a massive wine for this line, classy, only just drinkable now with food, it still needs a few more years to get into peak drinking. The last really good Rosemount Balmoral Syrah was the 98 IMO, this one didn't disappoint, big and rich and perfectly ripe, firmly structured, a great wine just entering its drinking window and will outlive all its successors released since.

For the "posting competition" entrants, Ric and I are still exactly the same number of posts apart as when it started. I think it's time a few of you with early dates threw some nicely baited hooks into the pool to see if anyone bites.

[Ian S]

A 1998 Monte Bernardi 'Paris' Chianti, that was more typically chianti than the previous bottles from the case (the tendency for this producer is to go for a bigger wine, so this bottle was a surprise - or was it my tastebuds?)

Tonight a 2000 Masi Toar, which would make a really great 'bistro' wine, though on it's own doesn't stand out.

regards

Ian

[Pelican]

Wine and getting flogged by 119 points in the Grand final is what Life is all about...........

2007 Innocent Bystander Pink Moscato Victoria ( $9 ) : pleasant petillant pink Moscato style in a 375ml crown sealed bottle.

2004 Geoff Merrill McLaren Vale Cabernet Shiraz ( $17 ) : I found this hard to drink. Too sweet , cloying and oaky. The worst '04 I've had.

2004 Penfolds Bin 28 Shiraz ( $25 ) : stelvin. Seemed quite drinkable compared to the Merrill above.

2005 Mas des Bressades Rose Costieres de Nimes ( $21 ) : excellent rose , was good match with BBQ'd prawn and chorizo skewers.


Picked up a few hopefully nice older wines at Auction to have later in October - especially a magnum of 1985 Lakes Folly...there's always something to look forward to...

[n4sir]

I tried a bit of Glaetzer's stuff at an instore yesterday, and had these impressions:

2006 Heartland Viognier Pinot Gris: Despite being a minority of the blend the PG contributed some beautiful floral characters to the impressive nose. I wasn't as taken by the palate where the Viognier is much more dominant, but overall I thought this was very interesting, maybe the start of better things to come?

2005 Heartland Cabernet Sauvignon: This is looking really smart right now, with solid cherry/blackcurrant fruit and an excellent chewy finish.

2006 Heartland Shiraz: I haven't been a fan of this in the past finding the nose too stinky, but this vintage has sweeter oak and less pong. The palate's a little on the lean side though and a little warm on the finish.

2006 Heartland Directors Cut Shiraz: This one's the real deal - very complex nutty/tobacco characters with sweet fruit, the palate a very significant step up in concentration, balance and length. Excellent wine.

2006 Glaetzer Wallace Shiraz Grenache: Very sweet, fruity wine with the 30% Grenache being very obvious right now - a great short-term wine.

2006 Glaetzer Bishop Shiraz: Very ripe, oaky and a tad hot for my liking.

2006 Glaetzer Anaperenna (formerly Godolphin) Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon: Outstanding - top weight, complexity and length in this group without any sign of heat.

2006 Galetzer Amon-Ra Shiraz: This looked a bit ripe and raisiny after the Anaperenna, still an excellent wine but not quite as polished.


I then went straight to a pub in town with a few mates to watch Geelong dish out the 119 point flogging to Port Power (you beauty!), between us consuming a few jugs of Coopers Pale Ale and three bottles of 2005 Schild Estate Barossa Shiraz which is still looking very smart.

Cheers,
Ian

[n4sir]

Picked up a few hopefully nice older wines at Auction to have later in October - especially a magnum of 1985 Lakes Folly...there's always something to look forward to...

So you outbid me on the 1985 magnum - did you get the 1983 too?

I think it will be an interesting one, so I hope you enjoy it.

[rednut]

Had to wet the babies head on Friday night I cracked a couple of magnums....

1996 Eileen Hardy Shiraz

Starting to seep through the cork just so more than ready to drink. Had a lot of sediment this wine and was smooth to drink with refined tannins but didnt really blow my socks off.

2005 Kalleske's Greenock Shiraz
This wine was sweet, fruity and well balanced. Lovely chocolate, vanilla and lots of plum. Smooth as the preverbial and a lovely long aftertaste. Wish I had more but oh well what better occasion than this to drink it.

Also cracked a bottle of Glenmorangie 10 yr old Single Malt Scotch Whisky I had been saving in the cupboard for the last 20 years!
This was well worth the wait and the hangover the next day...

[Daryl Douglas]

Teusner Joshua 2005 Simply delicious, juicy GSM with some cuddly alcohol warmth on the finish and ripe, soft tannins. Have a look at Campbell's TN on the winery's site, I can't describe it any differently. 4 bottles drunk since Wednesday, 1 given to a work-mate and 3 left - for $4.99/btl

Zema Cabernet 2004 Had to follow up the surfeit of Josh with something equally as good. I really like this wine and enough has been said about it, including by Brian and/or Ric and Attila. I've a few of the Family Reserve 04 but am reluctant to open a bottle in case it disappoints after the maroon label.

Cheers

daz

[Wayno]

Some decent drops over an extended weekend away.

What I can remember... more or less basic impressions.

Rockford Basket Press 2004
Young, primary, robust, loaded with tannins and fruit, lovely and bursting with flavour but a bit too much at this stage of it's life. Will last for ages and improve considerably.

Shaw and Smith Merlot 2002
Huge nose of fruitcake, spice and berries but with a prominent palate of nettley green herbaceous character. A bit green and tannic for me but nice.

Henschke Keyneton Estate 1996
In great shape, drinking more or less at it's peak. Lovely rounded leathery notes although still quite a lot of primary fruit hanging around. Really good.

Spinifex Papillon 2006
Very nice, characterful midweight wine, with obvious grenache to the fore. Afternoon wine of high distinction. Very gluggable.

Joseph Angels Gully Shiraz 2001
Hit the spot - loaded with honest shiraz character and not overbearing in any way. Great balance, flavour and length. Memorable and one of the wines of the weekend.

Henschke Julius Riesling 2006
Sculpted, dry and lemony, nice length and poise. Worked well with oysters!

Tatachilla Keystone Shiraz Viognier 2005
Lacking balance, quite stewy and cloying.

Wynns Cab Shiraz Merlot 2005
Too much greenery! Rigid, tannic and unpleasant.

Yarrabank 2001 Cuvee
Lemons, limes and crispness, with some pleasing secondary characters but really quite fresh and lively.

Grant Burge 2003 Filsell Barossa Shiraz
All blackberries and vanilla ice cream. Robust, assertive and inky Barossa characters, quite a lot of oak obvious. Great wine and will improve.

Golding Pinot Noir 2002
Developing savoury, herbal secondary characters, drinking quite nicely and good with lunch under the sun.

Majella Shiraz 2004
Spicy fruitcake nose, a bit drunk to remember too much more which is a great shame. Shone through the haziness though.

Orlando Steingarten Riesling 2002
This is improving with every bottle, lovely toasty, honeyed characters filling the palate. A fantastic, structured, composed wine.

[Jay60A]

Back in London ... few aussies this week ...

Ch. Reynella Basket Press Shiraz 2004
Classic McLaren Vale velvety shiraz with a twist of lime/lifted taste I always seem to pickup - a slightly more restrained version of the RSW 2002 with less oak, and that makes for a nice wine indeed. Drinking well now but certainly has the structure to age. Throws a fair sediment too. Haven't seen this in NZ for years but will buy more.

St Hallett Blackwell Shiraz 2004
Well I enjoyed the 2002 but this one less. Lovely nose of charcoal, licorice and plums. On the palate some nice blackberry fruit with a savoury touch but lots of acid and tannin sticking out as well. I have 4 bottles left and I'm not sure whether to tuck them away for 5-8 years and hope it's in a bad phase or just take them back?

Wolf Blass Platinum 2001 Shiraz
Well now! this is simply the dogs b*llocks. Mouthfilling, balanced and very very long. No TNs but the only even slight quibble for me was a hint (and really just a hint) of that 2001 roasted character. Class act indeed.

Cheers -- Jay

[Gary W]

06 Marius Symposium - Excellent wine. McLaren meets Priorat.
05 The Story Wines Grampians Shiraz - I like it better than 05 St Peters at less than 1/3 the price....
04 Isole e Olena Chianti Classico - Perfect for when you need a break from all that sweet fruit...

GW

[monghead]

1996 Eileen Hardy Shiraz

Starting to seep through the cork just so more than ready to drink. Had a lot of sediment this wine and was smooth to drink with refined tannins but didnt really blow my socks off.

Rednut, this is a little disapointing, as I was kinda saving this for a special occasion in years to come.... Do you think it was corked??? Any other comments from others who may have tried this recently?

Cheers,

Monghead.[/quote]

[rednut]

1996 Eileen Hardy Shiraz

Starting to seep through the cork just so more than ready to drink. Had a lot of sediment this wine and was smooth to drink with refined tannins but didnt really blow my socks off.

Rednut, this is a little disapointing, as I was kinda saving this for a special occasion in years to come.... Do you think it was corked??? Any other comments from others who may have tried this recently?

Cheers,

Monghead.

Mongy,
I'd be drinking it mate. Mine was stored correctly since purchse from Hardys so is well and truly ready to go.
We had my brothers 1 year ago and his was creeping up the cork back then.
I still have the 97 and 98 Magnums to go though...

[Santa]

1996 Eileen Hardy Shiraz

Starting to seep through the cork just so more than ready to drink. Had a lot of sediment this wine and was smooth to drink with refined tannins but didnt really blow my socks off.

Rednut, this is a little disapointing, as I was kinda saving this for a special occasion in years to come.... Do you think it was corked??? Any other comments from others who may have tried this recently?

Cheers,

Monghead.

Mongy,
I'd be drinking it mate. Mine was stored correctly since purchse fro Hardys so is well and truly ready to go.
We had my brothers 1 year ago and his was creeping up the cork back then.
I still have the 97 and 98 Magnums to go though...

Thanks Rednut. I was also saving mine a little longer, but will now drink it this year.

Maria

[Brucer]

Yes, drink it.
My oldest Eileen is 98.
Most since 90, have aged poorly I think.

[bacchaebabe]

Birthday weekend - 29 again. It's amazing just how many times you can be 29!

Out with a few friends for dinner and I supplied the wines. As there was 12 of us, I brought three of each wine. Didn't notice any bottle variation in any of them which is something.

01 Seppelt Salinger Nice solid sparkler with honey notes. Everyone enjoyed this.

00 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz After seeing some notes over at winestar on this thought it might be good to start drinking so we demolished half the six pack. Restaurant was too dark to see the colour but this was just singing. Lovely round plums and sweet blackberries. Full bodied but no noticable tannins. Great length and really at its peak. Interestingly the wine had soaked through on all the corks just millimeters off the top. Didn't seem to affect anything though and this was a great wine - loved it.

98 Wynns Cabernet Savignon Much more linear and restrained. More in the blackcurrent profile with dusty tannins, chocolate and a bit more spice. Really just entering its drinking window and could have done with a decant but that was all a bit tricky with three bottles. The corks on all these were a lot tighter to get get out and there was no seepage at all. However the bottoms of each cork were black. Complete contrast to the Rockfords. Very good wine but stil needs a bit more time and not quite as cuddly and drinkable in comparison to the basket press. Still a very good wine though.

We didn't get to the 02 Noble One as we just couldn't face dessert or any more wine.

The rest of the weekend involved too many beers, much Sleazey behaviour and very little sleep.

[Nick]

Haven't really been keeping notes, so a few random recollections:
2006 Freycinet Riesling - superb, luscious style, made me want to drink more Tassie Riesling
2002 Torbreck The Steading - really pongy, chemical smell that didn't ever blow off, the fruit was in there somewhere, but ended up in the sink. Bought from auction, maybe storage issues...
1994 Hollick Ravenswood - sensational auction bargain, still quite primary with just some mild browning and tertiary characteristics, stood up well throughout the bottle
2000 Majella Cabernet - tannins have started to mellow out a little, maybe a touch too green for my palate but others really enjoyed it, plenty of fruit, probably good for a few more years
2002 Majella Cabernet - even greener & lacking the fruit intensity of the previous wine, still a good wine but paled in comparison
2004 Majella Cabernet - the pick of the three Majellas, beautiful blackcurrant fruit, already really approachable, seems to have a little more oak influence than the previous two but that's actually for the better, stunning wine
1990 Haselgrove Futures Shiraz - my folks brought this along expecting it to be past it & to use it for cooking. Instead, we got a perfect aged McLaren Vale Shiraz, beautiful leathery, almost caramel aromas, a delight to drink
2000 Kay's Block 6 Shiraz - really enjoyable considering the vintage, a fair whack of oak but not to its detriment, fruit starting to fade, glad I drank it now
1997 Kay's Block 6 Shiraz - not much primary fruit left, some interest from the tertiary flavours but not going anywhere, I'd guess a product of the vintage
2005 Ashton Hills Reserve Pinot - best Pinot I've had in a while, oozes fruit intensity, sensational long finish, fantastic
2002 Bouchard Pere et Fils Beaune 'L'Enfant Jesus' - a little more earthiness and forest floor than the Ashton Hills, still with lovely fruit intensity, had this to wet my son's head & it didn't disappoint, will need to find a good excuse to cellar the rest instead of drinking them soon
2005 PHI Pinot - this lacked the sensational primary fruit of the previous two but had the most pronounced sappiness of the three. I haven't had enough older pinot to know how this will develop, but for instant pleasure it lacked the excitement of the Ashton & the Bouchard
2002 Cascabel Shiraz - two consecutive bottles opened up with aromas of pork and deli meats which never went away. Couldn't get past it, down the sink
2000 Murdock Cabernet - still singing & quite primary, could probably go 5 more years with ease but won't last that long in this house
2005 Murdock Tempranillo Grenache - fairly enjoyable without being exciting
2004 Isole e Olena Chianti Classico - opened this over some pasta with Italian sausage & the first half of the bottle was divine, beautiful floral aromas and light fruit on the palate. Once the food was finished, much of the excitement was gone & it seemed a little flat
2003 Chain of Ponds The Ledge Shiraz - a little formulaic, heaps of fruit, heaps of sweet oak, but for all that was actually quite pleasant, found myself heading back for a second glass
2005 Adelina Shiraz - I love this stuff, have gone through 3 bottles in the last month, seems to peak after about an hour in the decanter, really seductive wine

Alright, that's all I can remember for now, I'll have to do this more regularly!

Cheers
Nick

[Wayno]

Nick

That 02 Baby Jesus is a ripper. Got me one left and won't be touching it for a little while yet.

[Jay60A]

Back in London ... few aussies this week ...

St Hallett Blackwell Shiraz 2004
Well I enjoyed the 2002 but this one less. Lovely nose of charcoal, licorice and plums. On the palate some nice blackberry fruit with a savoury touch but lots of acid and tannin sticking out as well. I have 4 bottles left and I'm not sure whether to tuck them away for 5-8 years and hope it's in a bad phase or just take them back?

Opened another bottle last night of this. MUCH better, and what I would have expected from a Blackwell. The nose was the same. Seems too extreme for bottle variation?

What type of fault would leave the wine smelling gorgeous but strip out the fruit appreciably leaving it very imbalanced? It did not seem "cooked" in any way.

Cheers -- Jay

[Jordan]

2002 Torbreck The Steading - really pongy, chemical smell that didn't ever blow off, the fruit was in there somewhere, but ended up in the sink. Bought from auction, maybe storage issues..

Nick,

I think you may gave struck a bit of a dud bottle or you might be right about storage issues. I hvae a few bottles over the last few years and though the 2002 Steading was a very good wine.

My last bottle in May saw me write this note:

Torbreck 'The Steading' GSM 2002: with a few years in the cellar, this was looking very good. Aromas of salami, cloves, stewed plums and blackberry jam smelled fantastic in the glass. Full bodied with that Torbreck slickness and depth of flavour the palate revealed raspberry licorice, plums, blackberries, dried herbs, a little dark chocolate and espresso. Good length finishing with an earthy, stone-like savoury quality. Great Barossa GSM.

Also, enjoyed a bottle of 2006 Hoddles Creek Pinot Noir recently. This wine is ridiculous - excellent value Pinot Noir. At $20 I don't think there are an other Pinot Noirs which get near it for drinking value, especially with the amount of "pinosity" it offers. Red cherries, sappyness, spice and fine tannins all for a lobster. Excellent stuff.

[Nick]

Jordan,
Very little doubt in my mind that there was something wrong with my bottle of the 02 Steading. I've tasted the recent models at cellar door, loved them & bought them. The nose on this bottle was unlike anything I've ever come across, very year 12 Chemistry, couldn't quite work it out.

Have bought a few of the 2006 Hoddles Creek Pinot having tasted it in-store, fantastic gear even before you consider the price. Looking forward to trying them over the next few years.

On a separate note, just spent the evening with a bottle of 2004 Deisen 'Autumn Song' Grenache. This was the one of the most enjoyable and fascinating bottles of wine I've had in a while, just got better & better throughout. Quite light from a colour and viscosity point of view, it has incredible intensity of flavour & palate-wise was somewhere between a grenache & a sangiovese. In summary, absolutely delicious, will be seeking out more in a minute!

Cheers
Nick