The Auswine Forum

and I am late because of the Sydney Off-Line that was held last night.

I have posted a seperate topic for the off line as hopefully it will produce a reasonable amount of comment from the attendees - although the slack bastards didn't take any notes!

Now what have all of you people been drinking?

2005 GROSSET Polish Hill Riesling

Sometimes I believe...I read somewhere that this wine was awarded 98 points.
So then...it was front of me in the glass.
Grosset's 25th vintage, the first single vineyard Polish Hill.
Made from free run juice, it tastes more like a base wine for sparkling wine rather than a varietal and true riesling.
Medium bodied, lacking concentration and length, zero tannin structure.
Pleasant, simple and forgettable.
98 points?

Maybe for some. As for me, I love Riesling too much to appreciate this basic and simple version.

Cheers,
Attila

Baileys of Glenrowan 1920's Block Shiraz 2001- New Wave winemaking meets old rustic Glenrowan shiraz. Ripe shiraz flavours with sinewy tannins. Didn't deliver and I prefered these wines before the corporates took over.

Langi Shiraz 1997- Very good. Classy, complexity with atypical Langi flavour profile. Rounded and cut just a tad short.

Rockford Basket Press 1997- Initially disappointing but came alive in the decanter. Excellent.

Elderton Shiraz 1996- Starting to yield after a few closed years. Very enjoyable Barossa shiraz with more a red spectrum of fruit and malty oak. This is great wine. Probably a bargain on the auction scene.

Turkey Flat Shiraz 1998- Ripe blackfruits, redskins and cooked plums. Initially seamless, with full flavours of ripe blackfruits and milk chocolate, finishing with intensity and a whisp of strong tannins. Broke up on re-entry? I won't say the wine is falling apart however, by bottle's end, was worse for the wear! Initially delightful and will rest further judgement on other bottles.

Attila wrote:2005 GROSSET Polish Hill Riesling

Sometimes I believe...I read somewhere that this wine was awarded 98 points.
So then...it was front of me in the glass.
Grosset's 25th vintage, the first single vineyard Polish Hill.
Made from free run juice, it tastes more like a base wine for sparkling wine rather than a varietal and true riesling.
Medium bodied, lacking concentration and length, zero tannin structure.
Pleasant, simple and forgettable.
98 points?

Maybe for some. As for me, I love Riesling too much to appreciate this basic and simple version.

Cheers,
Attila

Attila, forget about the points sluts. This is a very fine riesling and I am glad I bought it! Maybe even better than than the 1996 and 2002 in time. Maybe even the best ever Grosset riesling IMO.

1996 Leeuwin Art Chardonnay Nice golden colour. Not too dark. Beautiful nose. Citrussy, honeysuckle, could almost taste the wine by sniffing it. Got even better in the glass, as it warmed a little. Smooth, harmonious palate. And so, sooooo, long. Loved it. Drank it with lightly peri-peri'd BBQ prawns and grilled snapper.

1997 Mount Mary Quintet This might be an "inferior" Quintet, but I had trouble picking it as one. What a pleasure to drink. Earth, tobacco, leather. Everything in harmony. No rough edges. Lovely to sit and sniff. Smooth and long. Went a treat with Weber-BBQ'd leg of lamb.

Attila wrote:2005 GROSSET Polish Hill Riesling

Sometimes I believe...I read somewhere that this wine was awarded 98 points.
So then...it was front of me in the glass.
Grosset's 25th vintage, the first single vineyard Polish Hill.
Made from free run juice, it tastes more like a base wine for sparkling wine rather than a varietal and true riesling.
Medium bodied, lacking concentration and length, zero tannin structure.
Pleasant, simple and forgettable.
98 points?

Maybe for some. As for me, I love Riesling too much to appreciate this basic and simple version.

Cheers,
Attila

Attila,
How much tannin do you want in your rieslings?

I've not tasted this, but bought a few anyway. (The Watervale I have tasted recently - it was very good.) Putting faith in JG that he know's what he's doing, I guess. Not that PH is particularly known as an 'ugly ducking'...

cheers,
Graeme

...with apologies to the Red Bigots out there!

Opened up a couple of whites with last night's Thai and both were superb!

Howard Park Riesling 2005
The riesling is a lesson in intensity and power. Lovely perfumed nose and the palate is very citrussy; think orange and pineapple. These intense citrus flavours are then balanced perfectly against the wine's vibrant acidity and the length of flavour in the mouth is amazing. Stunning value at $25 and while the MadFish riesling still represents great value-for-money, I can confidently say the extra tenner you'll pay for the Howard Park will be money well spent.

Howard Park Chardonnay 2004
Subtle and restrained oak on the nose is the first sign this is a class act. The wine itself is ripe, full and rounded and defined by lovely stonefruit flavours that slowly fills the mouth. Good length with hints of smoky oak on the finish. A powerful, focussed wine that combines superb fruit with judicious winemaking ability.

These two wines will no doubt found their way into my writing - looking very forward to trying the 2002 Cabernet and new 2005 Sauv Blanc.

Max wrote:...with apologies to the Red Bigots out there!

Opened up a couple of whites with last night's Thai and both were superb!

Howard Park Riesling 2005
The riesling is a lesson in intensity and power. Lovely perfumed nose and the palate is very citrussy; think orange and pineapple. These intense citrus flavours are then balanced perfectly against the wine's vibrant acidity and the length of flavour in the mouth is amazing. Stunning value at $25 and while the MadFish riesling still represents great value-for-money, I can confidently say the extra tenner you'll pay for the Howard Park will be money well spent.

Howard Park Chardonnay 2004
Subtle and restrained oak on the nose is the first sign this is a class act. The wine itself is ripe, full and rounded and defined by lovely stonefruit flavours that slowly fills the mouth. Good length with hints of smoky oak on the finish. A powerful, focussed wine that combines superb fruit with judicious winemaking ability.

These two wines will no doubt found their way into my writing - looking very forward to trying the 2002 Cabernet and new 2005 Sauv Blanc.

Not tried the Howard Park Rizza, but the 2005 Madfish Bay Riesling is terrific, seriously outperforms its price point!!

Gavin Trott wrote:Not tried the Howard Park Rizza, but the 2005 Madfish Bay Riesling is terrific, seriously outperforms its price point!!

Agreed! I've reviewed both the 2004 and 2005 and deemed both were five-star quality. The HP Riesling may require a little more legwork to locate outside of WA, but I reckon the extra $10 is justifiable!

I may have to get the MadFish riesling and line it up with its slightly dearer HP riesling and taste them blind..

2005 Grosset Polish Hill Rielsing
From my perspective a lovely wine in the wine making with all the hallmarks of top Clare gear. It seemed very tight to me even after an hour or so in the glass

2001 Tollot Beaut Chory Les Beaune
This is usually a favourite lower end burg. This time didn't really do that much for me as it seemed simple. Had a bottle of '93 a few years which was sensational...

2003 Bouchard Finlayson Missionvale Chardonnay
This is from Walker Bay in South Africa, from what I know is the coolest part of Sth African wine areas. This wine is creamy, almond and grapefruit, quite cool climate in style and for A$20 pretty good.

Tried both the 2004 Unison Hawkes Bay Syrah and the 2003 Seppelt Grampians Shiraz side by side on saturday

I had already bought both, but I think im gonna take (at least some of) the seppelt back and swap it for more unison - far more stylish wine.

The Unison was surprisingly approachable, a step up on the 2003, but not as massively structured as the 2002. Fantastic balance and velvety texture. Inky in colour and very stylish.

I am starting to think 2004 in Hawkes Bay may be the best vintage since 2000, early days but good signs so far.

The Seppelt was more intense but didnt have the same breadth and depth on a palate, lovely nose though. Wasnt as impressed as I was with the 02 version.

C

Sorting throgh cellar at the moment and working out drinking windows.

Grant Burge Filsell Shiraz 98 - Medium red colour. Barossa nose slightly lifted. Nice fruit on the palate with chocolate but a little volatile for me. May be a slightly oxidised bottle. Have to try another soon. Volatility worked perfectly when having spicy chinese though

Leasingham Bin 61 Shiraz 99 - Deep red colour to the rim. Slight Mint on the nose with recurrant. Red berries in the dense palate. Some secondary flavour on the finish. Slightly chewy with alcohol at the high end of my tolerance spectrum to be critical. Nice wine. Will try another next year.

Craig(NZ) wrote:2003 Seppelt Grampians Shiraz

is that the st.petes?
c

Busy week for us last week with a few dinners with friends and a few new wines tried from the cellar.

2004 Whistling Eagle Shiraz Eagle's Blood

Heathcote winery that is on the Parker radar. Had not heard of it until our friend Christo alerted me to this wine. The presentation of the wine is immaculate, with each bottle individually wrapped in paper and a nice little write up about the winery included in the box. Also another thing which impressed me about this wine even before I tried it was that Ian Rathjen the owner personally delivered my order on his Sydney delivery run! Probably opened this wine way too early but was iching to try it. Deep, dark purple/black in colour. Opened and decantered for over an hour and it was still opening up after this! Plenty of upfront fruit on the palate with smooth, soft tannins on the finish. Currently a very tight wine but a few years in the cellar will fix that. My first experience of the Eagle's Blood shiraz and I must say I walk away very impressed. Great wine and has plenty of life ahead of it.

1997 St. Francis Cabernet Franc McCoy Vineyard

Some here will recognise this wine from the Adelaide Off-line we had last month. This was the second and final bottle we bought at the winery and I thought I would be adventurous and open it to see if the the first bottle was a true indication of this wine. Decantered this for 3 hours. Initially had that very very funky nose again, very similiar to the first bottle we tried in Adelaide! But unlike that bottle, this soon blew off. Definitely better than the previous bottle but again this wine did nothing for me. Although nothing technically wrong with it, I am still wondering what was special about this wine when I tasted it at the winery to make me buy it in the first place. At US$45 per bottle there are definitely better bargains out there in the market place. IMHO at it's peak and I cannot see it getting any better so if you are unlucky to have any of these in the cellar ... drink up or give away as Chrissie presents.

2004 Schubert Shiraz M.R.S.

Better known for their Goose-yard Block shiraz, this is in effect their cleanskin version. MRS stands for "Mates Rate Shiraz" - pretty cool name I think! Anyway, screw capped and at $15 per bottle an absolute steal. Not as much upfront fruit as the Goose-yard block but a very good wine none the less. Definitely delivers above it's price point. Goes great with food and will probably improve a little bit, but is more of an early drinking style.

1996 Seppelt Shiraz Original Sparkling

Seppelt's budget sparkler and a wonderful example of an aged sparkling shiraz. Definitely not up with the Show, but very good. Very smooth, with no bite. Not a strong nose, but hints of black fruits and licorice rise with the bubbles. It will not get any better, but will hold for a few more years yet I feel. For a sub $20 bottle this is great value for money and with nearly 10 years of age under it's belt, probably one of the cheapest sparklers you will consistently find that gets better with age. Well done Seppelt!

1996 Peter Lehmann Shiraz Black Queen

Haven't had this one for a while. More creamier and fuller bodied than the Seppelt and quiet a bit sweeter as well. Lots more up front black fruit and some licorice in the background. Definitely a step up on the 1997 which is avaliable now at cellar door. This is one of my wife's favourite sparklers and I must agree that it is quality stuff. Liked it a lot and I think we may end up drinking a fair bit more of this as summer continues. Drinking well now but definitely has a few more years yet in it.

1998 Leasingham Shiraz Bin 61

From memory made Wine Spectator's Top 100 wines in it's year of release. Travelling quiet nicely and still has a few years in front of it. Very dark in the glass. Aroma's of black plum, berries, licorice and vanillia filled the nostils. Very balanced wine with silky tannins and a great mouth feel, but not overly complex. This is one budget 1998 wine that is not falling over!

G'day Andrew

You revisited the St Francis. Remind me not to be on your X-Mas list.

It's a shame really. But did appreciate someone bringing a Californian to an offline. Just don't see much of them.

Jamie,

Hopefully next time I will bring one that we can at least drink!

96 Duval Leroy (Champagne) - not sure but it may be a zero dosage, as it was certainly quite dry. Lots of leesy notes and a touch of toastiness. Decent wine.

96 Lanson Gold Label (Champagne) - much richer, and a bit longer than the Duval Leroy. I really like this one, and so grabbed another case. These will sleep for a few years.

04 Three Rings Shiraz - a Chris Ringland / Dan Phillips number, marketed for Parker Lemmings - syrupy, fruit bomb. I didn't mind it (perhaps I'm a a lemming too !) Excellent QPR if you like the style.

96 Chateau Gloria - about what you'd expect from a mid/low level Bordeaux. Fruit was a bit lacking - drink up.

95 Bollinger RD (Champagne) - someone else mentioned yeastiness in a post, and I certainly concur. Fine, persistent bead with acidity bordering on aggressive - perhaps racy is a better term. Leave for a few years.

86 Henschke Mt Edelstone - this is a superb wine. Unfortunately only one left in the US. Earth, meat and leather on the nose, yet the palate is far more youthful and fruity than the nose would indicate. Great length, sensational mouthfeel.

01 Devils Lair Cab - had three bottles of this and all were virtually identical. (Good to see no variation for a change). Quintessential MR cab. While its probably a keeper, its so cheap here that it has become a house quaffer (its USD 4 cheaper per bottle than Bin 28 !).

01 Hares Chase Barossa Valley Shiraz - a fair dollop of vanilla and caramel on the nose. Lovely rich, sweet fruit, medium weight and nice length. Needs a few more years, but a highly enjoyable wine, especially after 3 hour's air.

95 Chateau Lagrange - corked

96 Pichon Baron - suepct this may have been corked too. Fruit was muted in comparison to the bottle I had a few weeks back.

1994 Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron (Paulliac)
A lovely brick red colour, with a little lightening at the rim. Wonderful developed nose of brambles, leather, aged cassis & oh-so-typical cigar box. The palate shows these developed notes, with soft fine tannins and a lovely even balance all across the palate (OK, the back palate is a little soft). It's a mid-weight wine only, but the finish remains very persistent. Wonderfully drinkable now, though may hold for a few more years. A pretty good save from a mostly mediocre vintage. A very satisfying drink -I reckon there's way more interest in chasing wines like these at auction than the latest blockbuster Barossa shiraz at $100+...

cheers,
Graeme