September 1st, 2010
I have had a few bottles of this wine over the year, and it continues to improve. It might even be peaking now, because I have seen some small drinking windows on it. Two or three years. All academic to me as my six remaining bottles will be lucky to see the end of the year. A bit of lift on the nose, with raspberries and old leather with a touch of sweet red confection. The palate is beautifully integrated, savoury and juicy, old raspberries, cherries, river stones, heaps of length and a dry finish. There is a lovely balance to the wine, and it is refreshingly low in alcohol. 12.5% abv. Retails in the low $20s I think. 88 points. Drink 2010-2012. Sourced from Eurocentric Wine, and even though the 2008 is sold out, I believe there is some from the highly regarded 2009 vintage still left. Maybe.
Posted in $20 to $50, Beaujolais, France, Gamay, Notes, Price, Varietal/Style | 1 Comment »
August 30th, 2010
A quiet week compared to Odds and Ends I. Wines that slipped through the tasting note net include:
- Benevelli Dolcetto d’Alba “Bric du Succ” 2008: a very nice wine, but I still think I prefer the Langhe Nebbiolo for drinking now. Savoury and floral, leathery, cherries, pleasantly tart with a dry finish. Certainly looked better on the 2nd night, which is odd because I was under the impression that Dolcetto was a drink now proposition. I should do a proper note on this one.
- Craggy Range Block 14 Syrah 2002: still quite oaky. Nice fleshy palate, resolved and drinking nicely, but man you gotta love oak
- Turkey Flat Butcher’s Block White 2009: a blend of Marsanne, Viognier and Roussanne, showing citrus fruits and apricots and musky fruits on the palate. Pretty good.
- Hoddles Creek Pinot Noir 2008: didn’t grab me at all this time. Dunno why because it has been a house favourite for a while. Perhaps it was over-awed by the 10 minutes by Tractor wine.
- Meerea Park “Alexander Munro” Shiraz 1999: raspberries and liquorice, and some feral undertones, mellow tannins. Will do a proper note during the week
- Kooyong Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir 2005: okay, but no real charm. A shame, but it just didn’t do much for me
- Mountain X Hunter Shiraz 2007: solid wine. Got half a bottle on the sideboard, so will see how it has evolved tonight.
Posted in Notes, Waffle | No Comments »
August 29th, 2010
My sister was down from the Sunshine Coast this weekend for the Bridge to Brisbane 10k run, so her husband brought this to have with last night’s meal.
A lifted nose, blackberries and warm spices, cloves, dusty oak and black pepper. On the palate, glossy black fruits, slippery plums, star anise, with spice and some sweetness on the finish. Medium weight with lovely silky tannins. Drink over the medium term, now to 2015. RRP $30. Sealed under screwcap. 14.5% abv. 91 points.
Posted in $20 to $50, Australia, Mornington Peninsula, Notes, Price, Shiraz, Varietal/Style | No Comments »
August 26th, 2010
One of the three single vineyard wines offered by this Mornington Peninsula producer. A lovely nose. Cherries, spice, minerals, lightly stewed rhubarb and just a whiff of the camp fire. A similarly impressive palate, fruit driven with a touch of minerals and earth, tangy and perhaps a little sweet. Youthful but displaying lovely texture and great length. This was my second bottle of this wine in the past few months; the first had a bit of a soapy finish, but this one was fine. Sealed under screwcap. 13.5% abv. RRP $70. Drink 2010-2015. 92 points based upon this bottle.
Posted in $50 to $100, Australia, Mornington Peninsula, Notes, Pinot Noir, Price, Varietal/Style | No Comments »
August 25th, 2010
Picked a bottle of something I hadn’t ever tried before from the racks last night, and as I was extracting a long and high quality cork from the neck of it, I prayed I wasn’t committing vinocide. An intriguing nose: savoury, dried meats and spice, with cherries, stones, vanilla, nuts and black earth, and a touch of caramel. The palate was beautifully textured and structured, dark cherries and plums, tobacco, earth and meats. Great length with perhaps the acid showing a bit on the finish. Probably cost in the mid $80s. Drink 2010-2019. 92 points
Posted in $50 to $100, Italy, Notes, Price, Sangiovese, Tuscany, Varietal/Style | 4 Comments »
August 24th, 2010
Some assessments are easier than others. This one went like this. Half the bottle on Sunday night. A quarter last night. And the remainder now. The wine was left on the sideboard and not refrigerated, or vac-u-vined, or anything else. Just left there, and it is amazing how it didn’t really suffer for it.
A vivid purple/red colour. An engaging nose, showing blackberries, cinnamon, coffee beans, plums, vanilla and some creamy oak. The palate was initially quite disappointing because even though it showed some intense black fruits with toasty notes, it suffered a triumvirate of faults: thin, narrow (across the palate) and hot. And this was the main reason it was left for a further two days. I mean, you could easily drink it but if you focused on it you could see all its problems. Anyway, the palate has now broadened with blackcurrants, spice and mocha, and the heat is not as obvious, but the fruits still don’t have a lot of depth and remain unconvincing. Perhaps some cellaring will see it present better, especially since 2008 was generally a good vintage in the Barossa, but I would go small; 3 bottles max. $35 RRP, but I got a bottle for $24.90 from Dans. Sealed under cork (!). Drink 2015+. 85 points.
Posted in $20 to $50, Australia, Barossa Valley, Notes, Price, Shiraz, Varietal/Style | No Comments »
August 23rd, 2010
You might be surprised to know that I don’t review everything I taste, or drink for that matter. The cause of this is normally laziness on my part, but sometimes it is just inopportune timing; I mean I do have trouble talking and writing notes at the same time. So if we are out and about, or entertaining at home I don’t lift a pen. Oh, I also don’t like writing reviews based upon in-store tastings, situations where you get a thimble full of wine and 1 minute to make an assessment. Anyway, the idea for odds and ends to do give a brief impression of wines tasted over the past week that didn’t get a full review. Not sure if this will be interesting or relevant or useful, but I’ll give it a go for a while and see if it floats.
I got a case of the Jack Mattinson’s Deluxe Dry Red 2009 from the Mountain X website for $150, and the first bottle was a honest Shiraz Cabernet blend, medium bodied and quite tidy, but really needs another 6 months in the bottle. I also have a bottle of Seppelt Grand Muscat on the kitchen bench that I occassionally get a sip from. Quite a nice wine, but perhaps a little syrupy. I also just finished my case of Meerea Park “The Aunts” Shiraz 2003, and after worrying that it was falling over a bit, the last bottle turned out to be a cracker. Such are the vagaries of cork. During the week, I also snuck in a bottle of the Louis Tete Beaujolais Fleurie “La Bonne Dame” 2005 that was a bit stinky on the nose, with strawberries, a touch of bubblegum, and a light palate that looked a bit bleak without food.
The week also presented the opportunity to taste the new Balnaves wines, with Doug Balnaves in attendence. I thought it was a solid range of wines, perhaps reflecting a strong vintage in the Coonawarra for 2008. As you would expect, the Tally was a very big and high quality wine, but I don’t think the cheaper wines should be ignored by any means, particularly the Blend. I also asked Doug about the absence of a Shiraz/Cabernet blend in the range, and he said it was never something that they’d considered making.
The weekend presented a swag of good wines, the highlights being Bouchard Pere et Fils Meursault “Les Perrieres” 1er cru 2006 which was stunning with delicious fruits and concentration and finesse, a Vietti Barolo Castiglione 2006 that showed ferocious tannins initially, but settled somewhat after 3 or 4 hours in a decanter. Tough work now but showing promise. Next was a bottle of the Bouchard Pere et Fils Beaune “Greves – Vigne de l’Enfant Jesus” 1er cru 2004 which was an excellent wine, and particularly surprising considering the ill regard for the 2004 vineyard in Burgundy. Lastly, a bottle of Wendouree Shiraz Mataro 1998 which was youthful and powerful, but showed that menthol/camphor/eucalypt character I don’t particularly like. Oh, there was also a particularly nice bottle of Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but I cannot remember the vintage.
Posted in Notes, Waffle | 13 Comments »
August 21st, 2010
A long week and I am tired; but here we go. I bought a couple of bottles of this two weeks ago, and I really liked the first bottle. Anyway, I procrastinated and when I went back to buy some more it was all gone. So I tried a couple of other sources, but ended up going to the dark side to procure a six pack. $35 per bottle. Still not a bad investment.
A dense nose, black fruits and olives, with notes of chocolate, vanilla and cream. The palate is fine, firm tannins with balanced fruits, neither Cabernet nor Shiraz dominating (apparently two thirds of the former and one third of the latter), chock full of silky black fruits, tapenade, nutmeg, a touch of leaf (or is that just me just expecting that of a Coonawarra Cabernet). A lovely blend – I am glad to have a few bottles in the cellar. Fingers crossed it will age well. 13.5% abv. Drink 2013-2023. 93 points.
Posted in $20 to $50, Australia, Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, Notes, Price, Varietal/Style | 1 Comment »
August 20th, 2010
A blend of 52% Shiraz, 24% Grenache and 24% Mourvédre, vinified separately in open fermenters and subsequently aged in both hogsheads and larger format French oak for approximately 18 months. Sealed under screwcap and 14.5% abv. Apparently. $22.50 from the cellar door, and a snip over $20 if you buy a case.
A spicy nose, red plums, blackcurrants, Asian spices (a bit of old black pepper and five spice) and an odd floral element, almost like stalks. The palate is supple, spiced plums, clean earth, blackcurrants, sweetish and juicy, and a little bit slippery. It wouldn’t surprise me if it were more than the stated alcohol. 88 points. Drink now to 2018, but I would personally leave it a year before trying another bottle.
Posted in $20 to $50, Australia, Barossa Valley, Notes, Price, Shiraz, Varietal/Style | No Comments »
August 19th, 2010
I am slowly finishing off all my Tahbilks. Very slowly. I think I like the idea of them more than the actual drinking. You know, the old skool label, the tradition, low-ish alcohol levels, no fancy oak treatments, no silly names like the Swamp Frog Cabernet, or the Masked Egret Shiraz. All that kind of stuff. Though apparently with the recent releases there have been some changes and the wines themselves are crackers, so perhaps I should re-assess. This one was consumed over 2 nights. Initially, a nose showing bacon fat, eucalypt, savoury cherry and plummy fruits, followed by a truly weird palate: raspberries and an intense confection like those old Allens Redskin sticks I used to scoff waiting for the 160 bus to take me home after school. Also showed quite a bit of acid, and certainly looked a lot better with food. Much in the same way a Beaujolais does. After a while it cleaned up a bit, showing black cherries, mint and eucalypt with a lick of liquorice, but it still had that confected edge. 85 points is about right I think. 13.0% abv. Sealed under cork. Drink now, but should hold a while.
Posted in Australia, Cabernet Sauvignon, Nagambie Lakes, Notes, Price, Varietal/Style, up to $20 | 3 Comments »