Brisbane Book Club » Varietal/Style

2010 Mayford Tempranillo

Andrew — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 07:34:13 +0000

How good is this? Pours bright purple. Juicy blueberries and ribena fruits, bursting out of the glass. Touched by some brown spices, and a lick of spicy new oak. Moderate chewy tannins round out an effusive appealing package. Cellar if you want to find out what happens next, or just drink it for the joy of its youth. Joyful and still appealing if you’re looking something to contemplate. 91/100.

Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin 2008

Lincoln — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:40:49 +0000

Picked a bottle of this up this week. Initially a bit weedy, but with time it showed some lovely balance. A touch of animal hide, red cherries, light custard & nutmeg oak, iron filings. A light palate, cherries and a touch of hide. Good length. No great complexity but it does have purity. Tight now, but may develop. Maybe not. A very easy drink. Sealed under cork. 13.5% abv. Drink 2012-2015+. 87-88 points

Meerea Park Shiraz 2010

Lincoln — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:44:41 +0000

An entry level wine for Meerea Park, and a blend of 80% Hilltops fruit and 20% Hunter Valley fruit. Good strong red in colour. Bright red cherries, plums, raspberries, clean earth and a touch of spice. Medium weight, just, red fruits and a soft peppery spice. Unobtrusive tannins and solid value. Sealed under screwcap. 14.0% abv. 87 points. Drink 2012-2015

Hentley Farm Dirty Bliss Grenache Shiraz 2009

Lincoln — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 03:39:55 +0000

A short note on this one. A pleasant nose, cherried fruits and spice, but the palate, despite having dark cherry fruits with plums and some lovely spices, is too hot, with the alcohol slicing through the palate and wrecking the balance. Think Darth Vader, a light sabre and Luke Skywalker. A tough wine to drink. $20ish. 15.0% abv, but tastes like more. Drink now. 82-84 points.

Cavallotto Barbera d’Alba Bricco Boschis Vigna del Cuculo 2004

Lincoln — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 03:22:27 +0000

This has been sitting in the cellar for a few years. And since I have high humidity it was covered with all sorts of growths. God knows what they are. A bit of stink, which ebbed with time. Earthy cherries on the nose, with some old leathery undertones. The palate is savoury, dark cherries, strong tannins and acid, with a drying finish. Not any spice or anything much else going on, but satisfying for the fruits and the structure. Good with some wood smoked knackwurst and a green salad. Sealed under cork. 13.5% abv. Was $49 from Festival Cellars. Drink now. 90 points.

Miscellany 3: Christmas day 2011

Andrew — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 19:51:36 +0000

My Christmas Day selections:

Ployez Jacquemart Selection Rose: Lovely – just right, and its pinkness was Christmas-appropriate. And it won over a non champagne crowd with its delicate strawberry and lemon notes.
Ployez Jacquemart Brut 2000: Served too warm – tasty nonetheless for being Christmas day. Another bottle will get consumed very shortly.
Auburn Lowburn Riesling 2010: Improving out if sight with a year’s age (personal interest disclaimer on this label).
Joseph Sparkling Red 2010 disg: My favourite disgorgement of this wine so far. Sweeter and fruit-fresher than earlier versions, although the alcohol seems to stick out a little more these days. Like it a lot.
Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Auslese 1993: A cellar release from 2010. Best bottle so far out of a sixpack. Shows its pradikat through weight rather than sweetness, with juicy acidity balance perfectly by racy green pineapple and lemon fruit which is nly now showing signs of its 18 years of age.

2004 Comte de Vogue Chambolle Musigny

Andrew — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:29:45 +0000

Its an 04. Friend or foe? Well this is definitely friend…Colour a little cloudy and browning slightly. Nose is kid leather and mint. Palate is sweet and generous – nothing of the 04 green streak. Leather, cedar, raspberry and rhubarb mellowing to gentle blackcurrant juice. Lovely presence and intensity, and justifies its price as a relatively expensive village wine. In a nice spot – drink now. 90/100

Hentley Farm Shiraz 2010

Lincoln — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 07:50:55 +0000

Had a glass of this last night with some brie, and it was then into the fridge. Today it is out on the stage again, and I cannot believe I’m saying this, but this one is a real glass stainer. An inky purple red in colour. A youthful nose; yeasty red fruits, vanilla, red cherries and black cherries, interlaced with warm summery spices and a bit of earth and minerals. Good length. Quite acid dominant really. Dusty dry tannins and dried mushrooms on the finish. Very similar flavour profile to the GSZ I tasted recently. Sealed under screwcap. $32 from the cellar door. 14.7% abv. 91 points.

Stonier Pinot Noir 2010

michel — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 23:22:09 +0000

Year in year out I eagerly anticipate this release – I recall at a 10 year vertical where the regular wines out performed the reserves and are half the price. The 09′s were tidy but the 2010′s have ramped up the intensity & complexity.

Spicy morello cherries perfumes up – fruit driven medium bodied a touch of plum – raspberries……
Hard to beat this as a VFM pinot full stop.
88

Cape Mentelle Margaret River Chardonnay 2010

michel — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 03:45:17 +0000

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