Hi everyone,
Just back from a brief trip to Oz to catch up with family and close friends - the annual "early christmas" trip. Polished off a few bottles whilst there:
NV Primo Estate Joseph sparkling shiraz (McLaren Vale) - unsure of the disgorgement however this was of the usual high standard, and absolutely delicious. The cork snapped off and had to ultimately be removed with a waiter's friend, however there were no problems with the wine. This bottle a little less sweet than previous examples, and appreciated for it. I'm not sure whether the slightly more savoury/earthy characters were due to bottle age, or this disgorgement.
1986 Hay River cabernet sauvignon (Margaret River) - a very pleasant aged cabernet from WA. Slightly green characters but nicely varietal, and not "deliberately" green in the style of Coonawarra cabernets of the 80's. Decent acid structure, and sufficient fruit for the structure made for a pleasant wine drinking at peak. Not a bad wine for the price I paid at auction, and it goes to show that some of the best QPRs can be had from lesser-known wineries in the low $10-20 bracket at the secondary market.
1996 Tatachilla cabernet sauvignon (McLaren Vale) - not my style of wine, but it drank very smoothly. No rough edges, no palate hole. Now in its drinking plateau IMO, and enjoyable for those who like seamless, fleshy, full-bodied reds in the recently-typical aussie mold. It wasn't overly varietal - plush tannins, sweet and with obvious yet integrated oak, - these qualities are not what I look for in a wine, however others enjoyed it more than I did and I think it is indeed a crowd pleaser.
1996 Leasingham Classic Clare shiraz - corked, but only mildly. Sometimes I prefer a wine to be extremely corked so it doesn't torment you with what is obviously just below the surface.
1997 Crofters cabernet merlot - a pleasant enough drink with solid, focused berry fruit. Acid seemed to become prominent after time in the decanter however. A wine that would be better with food.
1998 The Green Vineyards chardonnay (Yarra Valley) - made by Sergio Carlei, and indeed one bottle had his metal capsule on it, rather than the green wax common to the rest of the 6pack. Absolutely superb chardonnay - balanced, fine and integrated acid, complex yet subtle flavours. Perfect both with food or without, and in its drinking plateau now with a few years still to go. A wonderful surprise, especially for the pittance (around the $10 mark?) I paid for it at auction. One to seek out, and a wonderful contrast to the full-bore style of chardonnay one often gets in oz.
2001 Heritage Wines cabernet sauvignon - enjoyable. Quality fruit with well-handled oak. I preferred the 1999, but this 2001 disappeared quickly too.
Irvine sparkling merlot (disgorgement 900) - can anyone confirm whether this is a 1990 bottling/vintage? Confirms its place in my list of favourite sparkling reds. Surprisingly similar to a sparkling shiraz (a good ringer for an options game?), with developed leather and earth flavours layered over a spicy and fruit-driven base. Complex, satisfying, delicious.
1976 Ch Lynch Bages - didn't have high expectations given the vintage and the bottle (label missing, but high shoulder fill), but what a wine this turned out to be. Drinking at peak and with no signs of decay - still a year or two of life in this bottle. Rich, earthy cassis over satin-like tannins and perfectly balanced acid. Poured straight from the bottle and enjoyed over a couple of hours. Superb.
1982 Ch Pavie - Bottle in top nick, but I believe this was corked. Not in an overly repulsive manner, but enough to give the wine an odd streak. It was as though the contamination had preserved precisely one aspect of the flavour, and all others were muted. Meaty, rich fruit underneath the contamination. Hope the last remaining bottle of this I have is okay. Thankfully the Lynch Bages was superb, and the following wine also helped ease the pain.
1987 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay (from magnum) - a wonderful wine. I decanted half of the mag into a 750 and recorked the smaller bottle to share with friends the following night. This wine kept opening in the glass. What appeared to be slightly oxidative elements on opening soon opened up to be delicious honeyed nectar characters, but the superbly balanced acid meant that it was not syrupy in any way. Excellent palate weight, and the citrus nuances common to Leeuwin chardonnays provided a woderful complexity. On the following day the decanted 750 was just as good. What luck to find a bottle in such fantastic condition, and a reassurance that some Australian chardonnays can indeed age. This, the Green Vineyards, and a previously enjoyed 1992 Diamond Valley estate chardonnay are some of the nicest Australian chardonnays I've had to date.
Interestingly, I wonder if the recent top vintages of Leeuwin will develop into a similar wine. The 1995 to me has a lovely bran/meal character to it, however it seems like there is slightly less acid than say the 1997 or 1999. Comments welcome.
Tempus Two sparkling chardonnay - a superb bottle of Oz sparkling white. A more rounded wine than many of the Oz sparklers I tried, without any of the pukey acid flavours so many have. Worth the $$ - I think I paid about $17 for it. FWIW I've also previously enjoyed Mountadam's sparkling (though it's much pricier) - I'd like to try the two side by side.
Also tried several beers that I'd seen discussed here - ended up really liking the Little Creatures - reminded me a bit of Red Hook (the Seattle beer).
That's all I can remember for now - more to come soon. Cheers,
S.