3 x 16%!!!

Somehow I ended up trying three different 16% alcohol wines in a week…
2005 Noon Eclipse. Noon Winery basically sells out of their wines in the first few weeks/month their cellar door is open. Their mailing list has a huge waiting list and everything that gets sold overseas goes for about 1.5-2+ times their release price. They also tend to find their way to the wine auction sites right away for a quick flip. This is a Grenache/Shiraz blend with 2005 having a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon. Nose has really nice red fruit and dark chocolate…but I’m also picking up a good amount of alcohol. I know these tend to be very good while young but apparently they can age very well. I’m a bit worried before I even have a taste. Definitely a full bodied wine…Starts off with fairly bright fruit but a bit subdued..a bit of blueberry, raspberry…mid palate is there but something is missing. It finishes with a bit of heat….I’m sad. I don’t know if the wine is asleep at this point or if heat has killed it..it’s not stewed so I don’t think so. Crossing my fingers for it to be asleep. Not a bad wine and if the fruit comes back a bit then we’re looking good…but sadly disappointed for now. Goes for about 60-90USD. I’m glad I didn’t pay anywhere near that..
2007 Piggs Peake House of Bricks Shiraz. Located in the Hunter Valley but doesn’t grow its own grapes and doesn’t even source their fruit from there. This is their normal flagship wine (House of Straw, Sticks, Bricks). Made from Shiraz sourced from Lucknow, Orange and Adelaide Hills with a little bit of Merlot and Viognier. Big dark fruits on the nose with a hint of vanilla, mocha and spice. A deep dark purple in color… I’m preparing myself for a really gigantic mouthcoating jammy wine. Starts with a lot of dark fruit..blueberry, blackberry…Not getting any sweetness and jamminess. Hmmm… A bit of pepper, a bit of vanilla, chocolate…good acidity…nice fine tannins. Definitely a full bodied wine and I can tell the alcohol is high but no heat…Really balanced…I’m shocked. I haven’t been to Piggs Peake yet but it’s on my list to try. This sells for 55 AUD and they only export to Denmark.
2005 Greenock Creek Cornerstone Grenache. I had expected a fairly big wine at 16%. Something really dark in color and big fruit….Out pours this very light/medium red wine that reminds me of an aged Shiraz or Cab. Nose has some nice red fruit, cherries, red raspberry, a bit of strawberry and not a hint of high alcohol. I give it a try, hoping for the best…I can’t believe this is 16%. Medium bodied at most, nice bright red fruit, not overly tannic (which I wouldn’t expect anyways), and good acidity which is a nice surprise considering it is Grenache. Great overall balance and I feel like I can drink this all day. It tastes/feels like it is 12% and no way I’m guessing this is Grenache. Sells for 40-60 USD.

Tasmania tasting

There have been a number of regional tastings in the Sydney area and I definitely think it is an excellent idea. There are a number of wineries where I just would not have tried their stuff without these types of events and I'm sure they have gained other customers as well in this manner. From my own personal standpoint, it saves me a bit of a trip to that region or at least opens my eyes to a few other places to try.

Let me start off by saying, I'm not a Tasmania Pinot fan...They have some decent Pinot..but when faced with buying Central Otago or Burgundy...Tasmania just doesn't do it for me...There are a handful of good pinots in Australia...and the rest, I don't know.

I think the same goes for most Australian Sparking..there were a few reasonably good Sparklers there...but for most part, they're just not very good...

I would say that the main highlights for this tasting were:
Dalrymple Estate Pinot 2009. Really nice balance, red fruit, decent acidity and soft tannins. Reasonably priced for a decent pinot but I'm not fussed enough to try to source some. There are just better options out there.
Moorilla Syrah - I think this was the Muse series, 2007...but not 100% sure because it wasn't on their normal tasting list. Really nice cool weather shiraz. Dark fruits, pepper, sweet tannins, decent acidity...Nice balance. My friend was really looking forward to Moorilla, everything we had there was really a bit of a disappointment except for this.
Coal Valley Riesling - Both the 2008 and 2009 were excellent. Really what I'm looking for in a good Australian Riesling. Really good acidity, not as much petrol on the nose...Nice bright fruit and a clean finish...
Heemskerk bottles - They have really sexy bottles...that is the best way to describe them. They look fantastic. I'm not sure how they'll fit in most wine fridges, racks or boxes..but they look damn good. Their wine is fairly good but their pricing is truly ambitious. Would be reasonable in the 20-40 dollar range...but their decent stuff was several times that..There is just no way it was worth it, not even remotely. I actually think it was the most overpriced I've seen any wines in Australia....