My support of the smaller wineries continues. Fresh off the truck from Stephen George at Ashton Hills. Delivered yesterday and opened within 6 hours. I hope I haven’t been premature. Incidentally, a museum release; a mixed dozen of 2000-2002 Shiraz and Cabernet based wines from vineyards in the Clare Valley. Initially muted. Mint, eucalypt, tannins and mossy stones. Light to medium bodied on the first night but with firm tannins (??), and then it showed more body and better backbone on the second night. It has tannins; let there be no mistake. And actually, these looked better with a rest too. Pretty good, but you have to like the eucalypty and minty characters. $20 from the cellar door. 13.5% abv. 86 points. Drink now-2016.

A blend of Clare Valley and McLaren Vale fruit. Plum jam, mocha and vanilla. Quite domineering really. On the palate, plums and coconut oak, mint, and tangy raspberry acid. To be honest, almost painfully rich on the palate. Finishes with some rawness and burnt characters. Would be nice with a big oily pizza, like a Domino’s Pepperoni, though $30 seems a bit too much. 14.5% abv. Sealed under screwcap. RRP $29.95. A distributor sample. Needs some time to settle down. Drink 2014+, 87 points.

On the second night, the rawness on the finish has gone, but the palate seems a bit hollow. That said, I’ve seen it for $20 at Dans, which isn’t a bad price. 86 points.

A quick note for this one. From the Polish Hill River district in the Clare Valley. Mint, black cherries, nougat, cherries, a bit of eucalypt. On the palate, pleasant red fruits, plums, pepper and spice. Some minty goodness too. Medium bodied. Sealed under screwcap. Labelled as 14.5% abv, but 15% abv on their website. Also noticed when I was there that it has garnered a Gold Medal at the NZ International Wine Show 2010, and 94 points from James Halliday in his 2012 Wine Companion. Retails around the $17-$20 mark. Drink 2011-2015. 87 points from me; perhaps I’m missing something (again).

I have had this trio of 2010 Taylor Promised Land samples on the bench since May – the Shiraz, the Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Merlot – so decided to open them all together, to contrast and compare. And maybe even do a little bit of blending. All wines sealed under screwcap, decanted for an hour and served blind by my helpful assistant.

Wine #1: aromatically strong, with mint, spearmint, cherries, confection, marzipan and nutty spices. Full bodied palate with a nutty and creamy sweetness, spices and acid, some char and a broad mouthfeel. Relatively simple and inoffensive. Okay length and okay quality. 82 points.

Wine #2: a different nose: a bit vegetal, mulchy and stalky, with mushrooms and old peppercorns. A softer but drier palate, with a touch of leaf and mulch – not in an unpleasant kind of way – that countered any over-sweet characters. Aromatics disappeared after 4 or 5 hours. Nice enough, but ultimately still a straight-forward drink. 84 points

Wine #3: initially backward, with red cherries, smoky black fruits, coffee beans and vanilla. Plums on the palate, with red currants and red cherries, spice and just a touch of bitterness/char. At times it seemed reserved and at others it showed some strength and body in the mid-palate. The pick of the three wines for me. 85 points.

And the identities were: #1 Shiraz, #2 Cabernet Sauvignon and #3 Merlot. All 13.5% abv and all with a RRP of $13.95.

From the Clare Valley. Intensely aromatic: black and red currants, cassis, mint, plums and raspberries, all with a touch of lift. A pleasant palate: sweet fruits, red more than black, with some cedary oak, and though it initially does seem a bit hollow and short, the palate builds a bit with time and the length improves. The finish is dusty. Acid and alcohol are in-check, but the lasting impression is of sweetness. It is young, so I’d like to see it in a couple of years. 85 points at the moment, but it might score better with time. 14.5% abv. RRP around $16 I think, but a quick online search found it for $12 per bottle, which I suppose isn’t bad value at all.

We used to have a dog called Fergus, which is kind of apposite because this looks like one of his breakfasts: a blend of Grenache, Shiraz, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Mataro. Three classic blends in one. A cheapie from Dans – about $18 from memory. I did have the choice of 2006 and 2007, but favoured the latter because if it did prove to be a good wine I would be more likely to be able to buy more. In the end, it didn’t turn out to be a problem. Sweetly spiced, with nougat and cherry liqueur. The palate is sweet too, cherry fruits wrapped in cuddly tannins, and a confectionery edge. The flavours fade very quickly, and it is a bit chemically, raw and hard on the finish. Cannot say this one grabbed me. 14.0% abv. 80 points.

Again, a confected nose, with liquorice and caramel allsorts, cherry fruits, warm spices, blueberries and cinnamon. There are also sweet fruits on the palate, cuddly, with Christmas spices, and a warming finish. Pleasant tannins. Overnight it held its line, broadening a touch and softening. A nice wine.

Rated : 87 Points
Tasted : Jun09
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : $22
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2009-2012
Source : Cellar
Website : Tim Adams

This is a review from May 2007. It is relevant because I am at the moment tasting the 2005 St Henri.

I love St Henri; in a good year I will buy a six-pack, in a great year I will buy a dozen, plus a few magnums. So I approached this bottle with some high expectations, despite the vintage. This showed a pleasantly lifted and forward nose; raspberry, mocha, nutmeg, some raisined fruit and a bit of black fruits and char. The palate was quite delicious, with raspberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, black cherries and raisins (again), and a bit of char; or is this more like a burnt fruit character? It certainly shows some ripe fruits, and the alcohol pokes out at times, but these are ably balanced by some rapspberry acid. A very good wine, but the baked/raisiny character just doesn’t sit quite right with me. Drink over the medium term.

Rated : 89 Points
Tasted : May07
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : $80
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2010 – 2015
Source : The Wine Emporium
Website : Penfolds

I think I bought over a dozen bottles of this wine, plus a few magnums. It is one of my son’s birth year wines, and as it is now 10 years old, and it is time to try a bottle. Dark cherries, raspberries, coffee grounds, graphite, black earth, maybe even some tar. The palate is tightly wound, concentrated fruits, raspberries and plums, coffee grounds, painfully young – could easily be mistaken for a two or three year old wine. Still too young, but has super potential.

Other vintages: 1997

Rated : 91+ Points
Tasted : Jan09
Alcohol : 14%
Price : $45
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2014-2020+
Source : Cellar
Website : Penfolds

A cheapie; last bottle I think. Initially a bit closed, but eventually showed lots of black currants, so much in fact that they dominated to the exclusion of all else. The palate showed blackcurrants, black plums and black liquorice, straight-forward and tangy, with average length and a bit of abrasion through the mid-palate. I used to be a big buyer of this wine, and the Bin 56 for that matter, but either I’ve moved on or BRL aren’t putting the same fruit and effort into the wine.

Rated : 82 Points
Tasted : Sep08
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : $18
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2008-2010
Source : Cellar
Website : Leasingham