Nice aromatics: lemon and pear, apple, some stonefruit characters without any overripeness, maybe a touch of passionfruit too. Palate is lean and clean, hard pears and apples, some spice, texturally pleasing, with some crisp acidicity and good length. A bit tough by itself (or perhaps I had it over-chilled), but looked much better with food. Winery sample. 12.5% abv. $22 RRP. Drink now. Screwcap. 88 points.
The current release. Made by Scott Heidrich in the McLaren Vale. Spices on the nose; white pepper, a bit of Szechuan and dark fruits. Sweet blackberries, blueberries, liquorice, mulberries and some tanginess on the palate. Supple tannins. Quite elemental, even at 5 years of age. Softened and showed some more savoury characters sitting in the cellar overnight. Winery sample. $25. 14.0% abv. Screwcap. Drink 2015. 88+ points.
Veuve forny champagne nv -88 have been cellar door – bizarre family story- source ross duke- very stylish champagne
Vasse felix heytsbury chardonnay 2009 -87- too cold to assess but remarkably they have dropped their oak – worth trying
Curly flat chardonnay 2009 -89- fruit driven stylish- i rate cf wines
Yarra yering dry red # 1 2004 -90
Must stop drinking cab- because i dont like it- brilliant less is more cassis cigar box- still young
Rymill coonawarra cabernet 1990 -87 my companion tells me it is too young & needs to be had without food when you havent eaten allday- i kid you not
Fluus barossa 2009. – 88 gluggable very young not barossa like
Pizza is ideal
Bosquet de papes chateau de papes a la gloire de mon grand pere 2009. -90
Tad young- roasted nut garrigue in spades good deal@55 bucks
I have liked recent reds from Mount Langi, and this one continues the trend. A bit reduced to start with, but was fine on the second night. An interesting nose. Black cherries, spice, vanilla pod, stalk, charcoal and gunsmoke. Quite oaky really. The palate showed cherries, menthol, coffee and a lovely richness. A nice body and great tannins. Some green sappy characters expanding on the finish. Not bad though. Needs a couple of years. Drink 2013+. Winery sample. Screwcap. 14.5% abv. 91 or 92 points; I cannot decide. Great value for money. A good option if you don’t want to buy their top end wines.
Egly ouriet vv village – serious mouthfeel- burgundy drinkers wine
Egly ouriet 2002 – brilliant
2002 didier dagenau silex – mouthfeel stuns exceeds my sav blanc expectations
2007 cullen keith john chardonnay – pretty much one of the better aus chardonnays ever when young- drink now while still well structured
2007 Leflaive Batard Montrachet- not imported to australia by stupid assigning of wines to continents- too young – if the cork lasts – 20yrs- leflaive make structured signature whites
2009 pyramid valley field of fires – glimpses of brilliance- offers potential – ph intrigues me
2007 bouchard chevalier montrachet- white citrus flowers – youth – 07 whites are outstanding- bouchard whites in great corks would transcend life itself
2004 la tache – complex shedding 04 character
2004 bindi block 5 pinot -i have never liked bindi- just dont get them- this is damn good- life is full of surprises
I tried a few Bernsteins after release of 07 & just didnt rate them- but now the 07′s sing more than the 08′s- the 07′s exceed the vogue & mugniers of the same year. All the Bernsteins like the Bernsteins Bears Rock big time.
Bernstein 07 charmes
Bernstein 08 charmes
Bernstein 07 mazy.
Bernstein 08 mazy
Grand puy lacoste 1990
Calon segur 1996
Sieppe 2000
Bond estate 2006
Bond Estate 2007
Harlen was a mystery to me & I always thought they were Mt Harlen that make stupendous pinots- but these were expressive and did I tell you I hate cabernet- Harlen is a new word in my vocabulary
Harlen estate pluribus 2006
Harlen estate quella 2007
This will not be a long review. I suppose that’s an indication of the magnitude of the associated “score”. Which is fair enough, because great wines will make you effuse. Either that or leave you speechless. Anyways, after a quick flick of the wrist we were there. Spice and cinnamon and red fruits. The palate showed sweet fruits, plums and cherries, but not too sweet. Nice body with quite sweet length. Undistinguished. Not bad, pretty much what you’d expect from some of the larger producers. A decent BBQ wine. RPP $14 but can surely be found cheaper. Winery sample. Drink now. 82 points.
Chard Farm dont seem to get the publicity that a lot of Central Otago producers do. They aren’t a Felton Road or Mt Difficulty in that regard. But they have been there a long time, with the Hay family arriving in Gibbston not long after Alan Brady. Nowadays their portfolio of vineyards spreads well beyond th spectcular Gibbston Valley cellar door location, and this wine comes from a location in Lowburn, about 40 kilometres east.
The small black berries that this subregion can show are apparent in this wine, but it needs 24 hours to open and really see this integrate from something elemental and disjointed into something very intriguing. Forest floor and brambly berry nose, with hints of white pepper and spice here too. Like the texture here – silky and slippery, this is redskins and dense blackberry fruit on the front palate with lovely spice and pinot sap left to linger as the fruit washes by. Musky in an “inner mouth perfume” kind of way. This is an expression of Central Otago Pinot I like – restrained but still purposeful. Stately but energetic. 90/100
Second bottle, and worthy of a note because it was sooooo different. Firstly I can see why people think it is often corked; it has that Mourvedre reduced animal hide character and stinkiness which does seem to resemble a corked wine. Anyway, the wine. On the nose, a bit floral, but dominated by the broader earthy and leathery characters, and some iron filings too. Balanced on the palate, though a bit acidic and somewhat hollow, lacking the weight. Not tannic per-se, but not terribly giving, if you know what I mean. Dry extract around the edge of the palate. Not sure if the mid-palate will ever appear. Not a bad Beaucastel, but unlikely to be a great one. Needs more time; you never know. 90 points. $Lots.
Everyone has an opinion on 2004 red burgs & I reckon they are negative- I have a small collection of 04′s & have decided to have a look. Those that picked late & triaged well have expressive edgy classic pinot with decent fruit but more lighter bodied in a good way. Those that picked early – well how do I say this-suck. Generalisation statement finished.
Rousseau clos de la roche -pretty & violets – had this wine a lot as it has been quite cheap – classic I like it
Rousseau charmes chambertin – the least GC of all the Rousseau – lovely mouthfeel slight peacock as well – exceeded my expectation
Louis Jadot Lavaux st jacques – green& brown – not drinkable- lavaux tucked around from clos st jacques really suffers in marginal years imo – probably faulty bottle – drink lavaux in warm years
Fourier gevrey les guolots – presented double blind to burgundy drinkers- deep ethereal nose- ripe with poise – palate with nuance & spice – no one guessed the year – now i know why i bought up on these at 55 dollars aus.
Mugnier chambolle musigny – lean mean green – can they really sell this – did i really buy this – will i ever attain zen in my life ??
Serrat yarra valley chardonnay 2009- vineyard Fire ravished- this is all chipped in grapes- stonefruity melons big tick
Grosset pinot 2009 400 cases – my last of three – fruit driven with brambley pinosity – his best ever imo
Grosset chardonnay 2009 lean long persistent fruit low oak- big tick
The Lane block 2 pinot gris 2011 leaner than 2010 Very good indeed with asian marinated chicken
