Sth Oz Trip

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Mon May 03, 2004 10:54 am

Hi,

Just got back from a week and a half in Sth OZ,a combination of golf and wine-ing! Many,many notes to post,I think I'll do them by region as they'll just get a bit confused otherwise.

Brief Impressions.

There is a lot of good wine out there. It was quite hard to find a truly objectionable wine,you just can't do business these days trying to sell sub-standard juice. I was really impressed with the quality and elegance of some of the newer cool climate offerings,and it is becoming increasingly apparent that cabernet is the new "value" grape variety to be drinking. The recent obsession with shiraz seems to have made cabernet the forgotten poor cousin,yet the quality has never been higher. Prices have plateaued for this variety, and there are some superb value for money offerings in the $18-$25 range.
One winemaker was telling me that Yellowtail are now using Langhorne Creek and Coonawarra Cabernet in their label,being able to buy it at the giveaway price of around $300 a tonne,prices that were usually associated with Riverland fruit.

Anyway,I'll just post the few extra's I had along the way and start with the Clare next post.

PENFOLDS BIN 707 1998

Dense,closed,full bodied leviathan cabernet. This label needs so much time to be ready for drinking; a recent tasting of the 94 suggested that another 10 years wouldn't go astray. Powerful wine that opened up after a while to show traces of coffee and blackcurrant with fine but still quite forceful tannins. Great potential but at this stage it should stay under lock and key. Will be a classic 707 in time.

PIAN DELLE VIGNE (ANTINORI) Brunello di Montalcino 1997

Really lovely wine, its attractiveness exacerbated by the delicious ,rustic food it was served with( Italian sausages with slow cooked tomato ragout). Further proof to me that such wines need to be drunk with food to fully appreciate their quality. They just are not an aperitif style. Still youthful but with impressive power and savouriness,this was one of the best Italian wines I have tried and brings home the superb nature of the 97 vintage in the region.

PIKE AND JOYCE PINOT NOIR 2003 (Adelaide Hills)

Impressive offering from Clare Valley winemaker Neil Pike. Still very youthful but announces its class very early. Aromas of cherry and forest floor ( Neil notes stewed strawberries,but you get the drift),but I loved the palate,very balanced and flavoursome,not particularly powerful but that may build with some time in bottle. One of the better Adelaide Hills pinot's I have tried. The Pinot Gris is also very good.

PETALUMA COONAWARRA 1998

This is an outstanding Oz cabernet. Years and years in front of it,it has hardly moved since the last time I tried it three years ago. It is still as tight as a drum, but has pure class stamped all over it. Restrained nose of cassis/mulberry with pure,primary cassis fruit on the palate backed up by fine,ripe,multi-directional tannins . It is very linear like all great cabernets and I think it deserves considerable attention. Leave it in the cellar for at least five more years.

More to come

Cheers

Mike Hawkins · Post by **Mike Hawkins** » Mon May 03, 2004 1:00 pm

I was also in the Barossa recently and couldn't help but be impressed with the '02 shiraz's just coming out. There are some outstanding new labels - Kalleske, Schubert estate, as well as others such as Beer Brothers and William Randell (Thorne Clarke) that I had not tried before.

Wizz · Post by **Wizz** » Mon May 03, 2004 1:28 pm

Looking forward to the notes Grant. I'm overweight in Shiraz and underweight in Cabernet, I'm particularly interested to see what you thought was good, labels, regions vintages etc,

AB

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Mon May 03, 2004 3:30 pm

Wizz,

There are a couple of ex winemakers from some big companies who have gone out on their own making small quantity,high quality wines that won't cost the earth. No label names yet but the barrel samples were delicious and some of the wines should be on the market later this year.

Also keep an eye on Chapel Hill now that Michael Fragos(ex Tatachilla chief winemaker) is in charge of things. I didn't get around to trying any barrel samples but expectation is high.

Cheers

n4sir · Post by **n4sir** » Mon May 03, 2004 8:30 pm

Also keep an eye on Chapel Hill now that Michael Fragos(ex Tatachilla chief winemaker) is in charge of things. I didn't get around to trying any barrel samples but expectation is high

When I was at Chapel Hill last March, I found the whites were strong, but the reds were disappointing; the 2001 Vicar was a backward step from the superb 1998, the 1999 and 2000 Shirazes were hot and green, and the 2001 Cabernet was thin and watery compared to the 2000 vintage, let alone the 1999 or 1998.

I've heard there have been some major problems of late, and as a fan of the label I can only hope for the improvements you expect.

Cheers
Ian

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Mon May 03, 2004 9:24 pm

Ian,

It was significant to me that they were still trying to sell the 99 reds,which didn't really get me too excited either. The wines are just not moving at present. My references re the future were a couple of other producers who suggested that there were positive moves afoot and that they had a high opinion of Michael's abilities. Time will tell.

Cheers