The Auswine Forum

I want to like these wines. I really do. After all, we are talking about a boutique maker who can tell you aboit all his wines, most of his vineyards, and recognises peoples names cos they are on his mailing list. What’s more the winemaker is a great bloke wity stories to tell and a genuine interest in his customers. His wife is the same. I bet his youngest child is too, and I reckon his dog would greet you and make you coffee if it had an opposable thumb.

But alas, I’m struggling with the Dutschke range. They are good quality Barossa reds. But they are 15% alcohol as a rule, and they have seen a fair bit of Oak. French Oak mind you (I think), but it is there.

This is what we saw at the tasting at Wineaway last night. This was an informal standup event, so the notes are one-liners.

Please remember world scale points here, no Halliday style encouragement awards.

06 Moscato Slightly spritz, fresh green apple and pineapple rind. Simple and fun. Too sweet on the finish for me, but well liked across the room. 83/100.

04 Willowbend: Confected red fruit and oak nose. Plum, cherry and bitter chocolate, young and tight. Chewy and dense, softish tannins. If this opens out it will be a nice drink over the next few years 85/100 now.

02 Willowbend: Nice wine. Lighter than the 02, showing some VA on the nose. Chocolate, briar, plum, and a slick of coconut oil. Brries and plums n the mouth and a dusting of coconut again. Good length, soft and round. Drink now to 4 years. 88/100

04 St Jakobi: Glowing purple in the glass. Red and black currants on the nose. Luscious mouthfeel berries and pencil shaving oak is present but not overbearing. Long and lush. Good. 87/100 To be fair there was a bit of bottle variation at play on the night, and a tast from another bottle was much fuller and rounder in the mid palate, and warranted a couple more points.

02 St Jakobi: VA on the nose again (but it blew off) Lus, sweet berry and plum, joined by some mocha on the palate. Good length and still plenty of acid, perhaps a bit hot. 87/100

04 Oscar Semmler: Dense, dark colour and an unyielding nose. Big chocolatey, mocha palate, dark fruit. Spot on with the ripeness and finishing with some fine gritty tannin. Nice wine. 89/100

02 Oscar Semmler: mentholated and cola like ripeness on the nose. Big and ripe, and nicely balanced within its size. Very good wine. 90/100. Glad I have some.

The Muscat: Ooh, this is too sweet and simple for me. Spirity raisins. Viscous and sweet.

The Tokay: Sweet and simple as well. Almond, rancio, orange peel (my tasting neighbour thought crème caramel – fair call). More lift and volatility than the Muscat

The Tawny: Hessiany rancio and almonds. Sweeter style palate, drying finish I can see why Parker liked this, but I don’t really enjoy oxidative styles like this.

The Sundried Shiraz: This is a dead ringer for a jar of Rosella Jam sitting next to the old raisin tin in grandma’s kitchen and an open jar of tealeaves. Very sweet, reminds me of some fruit liqueurs I tasted yonks ago in the Granite Belt. I kind of like this, but don’t know what I’d do with it apart from pour it over ice cream.

What would I buy? If you have faith the Willowbend will go the way of the 02, buy some. I might. The 04 Oscar is also worth a throw.

Cheers

Andrew

Wizz - agree with you - a lovely family. I'm going to buy the usual yearly purchases - muscat, OS and Single Barrel

Also went to the Dutschke tasting at Wineaway. This was my first tasting of the Dutschke wines, so it was good to see a couple of vintages of each. Quick notes follow.

2006 Moscato
Passionfruit and lychees, then a bit of musk after time in the glass. Quite sweet and a bit flabby, lacking acid that would give better structure. Simple. OK aperitif wine that, to be honest, was an enjoyable way to start the evening.

2004 Willowbend
Perfumed nose with the Cab and merlot dominating. Abundant acidity, a fair dose of oak, and dusty, drying tannins. Pretty good VFM.

2002 Willowbend
More earthy than 2004, with heaps of red berry fruit. Lighter in mouth, greater complexity, longer finish and fine tannins. Classy wine for the money with plenty of interest. I’d like to see it with a few more years. Excellent VFM.

2004 St Jakobi
Deep dense colour, with dark fruits dominating. Well integrated oak playing a supportive role. Lush palate. Too young to call, but probably a safe cellaring bet if the next wine is indicative.

2002 St Jakobi
More composed on the nose (than 2004). Intense fruit and spice. Better integrated than 04, still needs lots of time to soften though. Has the fruit to handle it. Excellent length. Very good wine.

2004 Oscar Semmler
Restrained on nose compared with St Jak. Closed up tight. Managed to get some dense dark fruit flavours on palate. Gritty tannins. Way too young to be drinking this wine. Not a lot of enjoyment at this stage.

2002 Oscar Semmler
Still a little closed on nose though with some alcohol showing through. Solid oak usage. Huge, dark fruits with imposing tannins. Will last quite a while. Very good wine.

NV Muscat
Light sultana fruitiness on nose akin to Morris classic, but with intensity of sweetness and darker/charry flavours. Some rancio here. Quite good for the money, but I didn’t see what all the fuss was about.

NV Tokay
Rich fruitcake, raisin and Darjeeling tea-leaf on nose. Quite spiritous on palate which allowed it to finish very cleanly. Excellent length. A better example of tokay than the muscat was of the muscat variety. Very good value for money, but again, didn’t blow me away.

NV Tawny
I wanted to like this but couldn’t really get into it. Quite a lot of brandy spirit and caramel on nose with butterscotch and biscuit. Similar on palate with heaps of rancio nuttiness. Good value for money.

NV Sun-raisined Shiraz
Weird, funky nose of raisins and spice akin to muscat but without the same fruit sweetness. Palate was much more friendly, and fairly complex. I just don’t know on what occasion you would drink it!


Summary:
The willowbends offer good value for money drinking in the short-medium term with tons more interest than a $20 Penfolds wine. The St Jaks were a level up in intensity but I’m not necessarily sure whether than means a longer cellaring potential. The 02 was the standout – a very good wine. The Oscars were denser, and heavier again (with a price to match) but are built to handle a long quiet sleep. The 04 was closed, and the 02 a lovely wine needing more time. The fortifieds were good without being special. The tokay was the most enjoyable for me, though the sun-dried would be good for options games!


Gavin, what did you think of the reds?
Tyson, what was your opinion?