Archive for the ‘McLaren Vale’ Category
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
I have been re-organising the cellar and found a lone bottle of this wine. 2000 was a difficult vintage in South Australia, wasn’t it? Or maybe that was just in the Barossa Valley. Anyway, I decided that this wine’s number was up. Oh, I should mention I also discovered a small enclave of 1996 and 2001 Magill Estate Shiraz – I am planning to cook something nice on the weekend and will crack a bottle or two. But I digress. With the wine swirling in the glass, I see it has a dull red colour, with perhaps a touch of bricking. On the nose, blackberries, milk chocolate, old pepper spices, a sweet confection, with a touch of earthy compost and smoke. The palate is still showing some fruit sweetness, with bouncy black and red fruits, blackberries and raspberries, leathery complexity and a touch of stalkiness; still brightly acidic. No hard or firm tannins; it seems pretty well integrated. Not a classic 389, but still enjoyable. 13.5% abv. 88 points. Drink now to 2014.
Posted in $20 to $50, Australia, Barossa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Notes, Padthaway, Price, Varietal/Style | 2 Comments »
Friday, March 5th, 2010
It’s that time of the year again, the time when Penfolds release their “Bin” range of wines. I have read that this is probably the pick of the new red wines, so I bought myself a bottle. I also bought singles of the Bin 128, Bin 138 and Bin 389, and will have look at these in the coming weeks. I would also like to try the Bin 23 Pinot Noir, but haven’t seen it around yet. Anyway, this wine was a vibrant dark red in colour. A solid nose, showing coffee beans and mocha, black olives and juicy red berries, spice, and with time, some milkyness and almonds. The palate is tight and savoury, even after 5 hours in a decanter, with berry fruits, hard dry spices, nutmeg and coffee dryness. Good length, though there is a little bit of heat on the finish, but only a touch. Still quite youthful – I would like to see this again in a couple of years. Bottled under screwcap. 14.5% abv. Currently $19.80 from Dan Murphys in a six bottle purchase, but expect to pay around $25 for it from other retailers. Drink 2012-2017+. 89 points.
Posted in Adelaide, Australia, Barossa Valley, Langhorne Creek, Limestone Coast, McLaren Vale, Notes, Price, Shiraz, Varietal/Style, up to $20 | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
I popped into Stewarts Wine Co at the Barracks complex on Petrie Terrace on the weekend, and can recommend it for a good range of both local and imported wines, and for knowlegdeable and enthusiastic service. Anyway, this wine was pushed my way and I decided to give it a spin round the decanter on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Quite an intense and complex nose, showing dried meats, raspberry fruits, eucalyptus, milk chocolate, coconut and some spices. The palate is quite big at the moment, meaty and textured, with black plums, chocolate and cloves. Excellent length, impressive balance, concentration without any heat, and a lovely dry finish. Drink 2012-2017. 14.5% abv. Sealed under screwcap. RRP $46. 92 points.
Posted in $20 to $50, Australia, McLaren Vale, Notes, Price, Tempranillo, Varietal/Style | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
A blend of 85% Shiraz and 15% Sangiovese. Consumed over 3 days and was one of those wines that got better and softened with time. In fact, I found it almost painful to drink on the first night, so most of it was consumed over the two succeeding days. A bulky nose, with rich red fruits, cola, plums, mulberries and spices; packed with fruits and flavours and goodness. The palate is also plummy, but also showed red cherry, black cherry, raspberries, peppery spices and acid. Tannins are ripe but big and plentiful. Should easily take a few years of cellaring.
Other vintages: 2007
Rated : 90 Points
Tasted : Dec09
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : $19
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2012-2016
Source : Cellar Door
Website : Primo Estate
Posted in Australia, McLaren Vale, Notes, Price, Shiraz, Varietal/Style, up to $20 | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
In general, I am not a great fan of this marque, but I quite enjoyed this one. Floral, black fruit, warm tar, liquorice, some confection, earthy and spicy too. The palate showed soft tannins, red fruits, plums and olives, raspberries, a touch of acid on the finish. Very pleasant and really quite complex. Very good value too.
Rated : 90 Points
Tasted : May09
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : $18
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2010-2014
Source : Dan Murphys
Website : d’Arenberg
Posted in Australia, Grenache, McLaren Vale, Notes, Price, Varietal/Style, up to $20 | 2 Comments »
Saturday, May 16th, 2009
I’m in the middle of a bit of a Shiraz-a-thon, or would that be in the midst of a Shiraz-o-rama, or dancing at a Shiraz-a-palooza. A lifted nose, blackberries and black plums, jubes, acid and spice. The palate is friendly and jovial, blackberries and spice, with cleansing acid on the palate, and a slightly prickly finish. With time, it seems a bit hollow. Drink over the next few years.
Rated : 87 Points
Tasted : Apr09
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : $18.90
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2009 – 2013
Source : Dan Murphys
Website : Mitolo Wines
Posted in Australia, McLaren Vale, Notes, Price, Shiraz, Varietal/Style, up to $20 | No Comments »
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009
This is a review from May 2007. It is relevant because I am at the moment tasting the 2005 St Henri.
I love St Henri; in a good year I will buy a six-pack, in a great year I will buy a dozen, plus a few magnums. So I approached this bottle with some high expectations, despite the vintage. This showed a pleasantly lifted and forward nose; raspberry, mocha, nutmeg, some raisined fruit and a bit of black fruits and char. The palate was quite delicious, with raspberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, black cherries and raisins (again), and a bit of char; or is this more like a burnt fruit character? It certainly shows some ripe fruits, and the alcohol pokes out at times, but these are ably balanced by some rapspberry acid. A very good wine, but the baked/raisiny character just doesn’t sit quite right with me. Drink over the medium term.
Rated : 89 Points
Tasted : May07
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : $80
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2010 – 2015
Source : The Wine Emporium
Website : Penfolds
Posted in $50 to $100, Australia, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale, Notes, Price, Shiraz, Varietal/Style | No Comments »
Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
At ten years of age, this seemed like a good time to try this wine. I have no memory of the previous bottles consumed, and being the last from this vintage that I have, it will not serve as a guide for the future. So it goes. Initially a bit oaky, and oaky in a way that you come to expect from a Penfolds red; this just shouts their house style. Pleasant aromas wafted up from the glass: dark berries and spices, chocolate, quite luscious, warm earth and some savouriness. The palate was solidly constructed, dark fruited and nicely tannined, but here my notes stopped, because you know, it was just a bit boring. Perhaps I wasn’t in the right mood. Perhaps it should have got a good decant. Solid as Geoff Boycott, when I wanted a bit of Ian Botham flair.
Tasted : Apr09
Alcohol : 14%
Price : $30
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2009-2012
Source : Cellar
Website : Penfolds
Posted in $20 to $50, Australia, Barossa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Notes, Padthaway, Price, Shiraz, Varietal/Style | No Comments »
Monday, January 19th, 2009
I think I bought over a dozen bottles of this wine, plus a few magnums. It is one of my son’s birth year wines, and as it is now 10 years old, and it is time to try a bottle. Dark cherries, raspberries, coffee grounds, graphite, black earth, maybe even some tar. The palate is tightly wound, concentrated fruits, raspberries and plums, coffee grounds, painfully young – could easily be mistaken for a two or three year old wine. Still too young, but has super potential.
Other vintages: 1997
Rated : 91+ Points
Tasted : Jan09
Alcohol : 14%
Price : $45
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2014-2020+
Source : Cellar
Website : Penfolds
Posted in $20 to $50, Australia, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Notes, Padthaway, Price, Shiraz, Varietal/Style | 2 Comments »
Thursday, January 15th, 2009
I thought I had finished all of my 97s, but apparently there was one left. A pleasant nose of raspberries and spice, black tea and dried meats, and quite a bit of leathery secondary development. The palate showed sweet fruits, rounded and supple, perhaps a bit of chocolate (which is something I don’t normally see), warm spice and earth, and some woody spices. Good length and quite appealing. Didn’t fade in the glass like the last bottle, so perhaps it has a few more years in it yet.
Rated : 88 Points
Tasted : Jan09
Alcohol : 14%
Price : $35
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2009-2010
Source : Cellar
Website : Penfolds
Posted in $20 to $50, Adelaide Hills, Australia, Barossa Valley, Eden Valley, McLaren Vale, Notes, Padthaway, Price, Shiraz, Varietal/Style | No Comments »