Yes yes fish again-local line caught snapper- fresh squeezed lime juice from our tree & the obligatory chard.
I will say it again- New World chardonnay has gone ahead leaps & bounds the last few years.
Complex barrel ferment integrated harmoniously with lemon/stonefruit and oak. Linear acid structure – perhaps a touch young & raw – but this is brilliant – leave another 6-12 months and it will be as up beat and complex as New Order’s Bizarre Love Triangle.
89.5- 93

En magnum. And I have to say that I have too many magnums. It was a fetish for a number of years, until I realised that opportunities to drink them are few and far between. But last weekend we hosted a “Christmas in July” with friends, and I jumped at the chance of opening one.

A lovely nose, with leaf, mocha, red currants and black fruits backed up by some creamy oak. The palate was a bit on the dry side, with savoury fruits and nutty spices, finishing sour and dry. Good balance and okay length. Pleasant with food, but I was expecting more. Perhaps not the representative bottle. 88 points. Drink now.

Universally praised, and I can see why. Top quality fruit matched with top quality oak, combined to display harmony and balance. Opened on Saturday night and finished last (Monday) night, showing poise and power at all times. Dark fruits, cedar, spice, tobacco leaf and a touch of creaminess on the nose and on the palate, super tannins and excellent length. Elegant without a hint of greenness, ripe without any syrup or rum & raisin characters. Labelled as 14.0% abv, and probably retailed around the $90 mark. Sealed under screwcap. Too young for me by a long way. Drink 2018+. 95 points.

I found three bottles of this in an unmarked box in the cellar the other week, and given my experience with the 1999 version have promptly consumed 2 bottles. And most delicious they were.

Waves of curranty goodness with leaf, gravel and some savoury mint, almost like Vietnamese mint. The palate showed bright fruit backed by savoury stones, with rich and minerally red cherries and red currants. Super tannins, super length and really very enjoyable. Drink now, or cellar for another 5 years or so.

Rated : 93 Points
Tasted : Jul09
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : $35
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2009-2014
Source : Cellar
Website : Devil’s Lair

I have heard on the grapevine that this wine in a decline, so I thought it was time to try one of my magnums. Lots of pencilly oak, with black olives, black fruits, tapenade, milk chocolate, red cherries, a touch of tobacco, but not a lot though. The palate is dry and on the short side, with some tangy fruits, dark cherry fruits and some pleasant tannins. It is not exactly fruity, and that which remains will not improve from here. Oaky and okay. Has some charm, but not entirely likeable. Drink up.

Rated : 86 Points
Tasted : Jul09
Alcohol : 13.8%
Price : $90
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2009-2012
Source : Cellar
Website : Devil’s Lair

A solid red, but with a touch of browning. Milk chocolate, tobacco leaf, black olives and cedar, but also something sinister lurking in the shadows. A lovely palate, red currants, tobacco, cedar, beautiful tannins and a grippy dryness. Sounds okay, eh? But with time I realised I’d been fooling myself, and perhaps if it had been a cheaper bottle of wine I would have declared it sooner. The bugger was corked! And as soon as this spoken, the game was over and I chucked the rest of the bottle. Perhaps I should have consumed it faster?

Rated : n/a
Tasted : Jul09
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : $53.50
Closure : Cork
Drink : ?
Source : Cellar
Website : Cullen

Last bottle from a six pack. Red currants, red berries, leather, gravel and a touch of horse hair. The palate was quite big and meaty, showing strong tannins with creamy red cherries and red currants, milk chocolate, cedar and minerally dryness. The tannins are still quite firm and chunky, not quite resolved, but I don’t think the wine is going to get any better from here, because with the fruit fading it is only going to get hollow and seem unbalanced. Regardless, quite satisfying to drink.

Rated : 90 Points
Tasted : May09
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : $45
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2009-2014
Source : Cellar
Website : Cape Mentelle

I was in the Margaret River last week and took the opportunity to visit a couple of cellar doors. I made the mistake of trying to go to Moss Brothers late one afternoon and found myself arriving just after a couple of minvans. So I decided to get to Cape Clairault first thing in the morning to avoid the rush. Unfortunately all the whites and a couple of the reds had been opened since the previous day and seemed quite oxidised to me. On the up-side, this wine and the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon were freshly opened and I think they showed quite well. The straight Cabernet was much more tannic than the blend, so it was a bottle of the latter that was purchased and consumed while watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean, out of smallish glasses. The wine was quite fragrant, with aromas of blackberries, cocoa, milk chocolate and a touch of leafy goodness. The palate is plush and soft, blackberries, plums, dried herbs and leaf propped up by sweet oak. Smooth and satisfying, fine tannins without any astringency, and really quite delicious.

Rated : 89 Points
Tasted : May09
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : $24
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2009-2013
Source : Cellar Door
Website : Cape Clairault

No relation to the Margaret River winery, but it is a brilliant painting. Quite a reserved nose, showing whiffs of cigar box, stalks and faintly smoky. The palate is lean, with a touch of red currants, cedary and pencilly, and a dry woodiness that dominants. Some would call it thin, and though it is slightly built, there are occasions when it would show quite well; it needs to be drunk in the right context. I think I liked the last bottle better, so perhaps it was not the best example.

Rated : 85 Points
Tasted : Apr09
Alcohol : 12.7%
Price : $19.99
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2009-2012
Source : Cellar
Website : Blue Poles

The last vintage of Cape Mentelle Cabernet that I bought. After that, I sort of lost interest.

Raisins, nougat, stewed cherries, liqueured plums and a blackness reminiscent of tar. On the palate, red fruits and confection, not terribly varietal, but looking more like a lumpy dry red. Alcohol through the palate and heat on the finish. I think they really lost the plot with this wine. Not special, when, by all rights it should be a very good wine.

Rated : 85 Points
Tasted : Nov08
Alcohol : 15%
Price : $50
Closure : Cork
Drink : 2008-2011
Source : Cellar
Website : Cape Mentelle