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....