More Hunter Valley

Had the chance to visit the Hunter awhile back (again :)) but didn't have a chance to post about it..

On this trip we went to see a few different places plus some of the same..

Lakes Folly
Piggs Peake
Bimbadgen
Meerea Park
Pepper Tree

Lakes Folly Cabernet 2010
I remember this standing out to me because it was a very nice medium bodied, high acid Cabernet that didn't strike me as a Cabernet..it was quite nice.   I can see why some people might not like this but I thought it was quite good.  Nice wonderful red fruit with enough tannins for structure but just this really nice mouthfeel because of the fresh acid....This is very much a Cabernet made like a Hunter Shiraz...it's good.

Piggs Peake Cabernet 2009
Huge alcohol big brooding Cab that is almost borderline sweet.  Not overly tannic, relatively good acid...nice bright fruit..but I think what stands out is you can tell the wine is highish alcohol but it doesn't come across as hot....the alcohol does give it a fair bit of weight but you can see why this would be a crowd pleaser...They say it'll age, I'm not sure as I don't have enough experience with Piggs Peake to know...but really, the way it is right now I'm not sure you want it to age...

Meerea Park Terracotta Semillon 2006
I'm not sure why I didn't buy some of this..I always tell myself to buy some...maybe it is because I have a relatively good stash of Semillon and I have very few people to share it with (actually I know this is it).  Either way, my not buying it shouldn't reflect how good this is...it is very good.  Wonderful acid that is still going strong...Wonderful development with Honey and Toasty notes....close to the Stevens Vineyard is what I'm told...I'm glad this wine is getting the recent recognition it deserves as it has, to me, been the pick of their Semillon...And unlike the Alexander Munro, the acid is still right there...great buy...

Ferraris Shiraz 2010
I really do wish the Boutique Winemakers Centre was still there rather than just Meerea Park...They had Ferraris, Glenguin, Chateau Pato...a lot of good stuff...In any case, Ferraris is now being carried by the Pokolbin Winemakers Outlet.  The last vintage I had of this was 2007 and I thought back then it was very good value.  The 2010 is no different...Very nice Red fruits...medium bodied, good acid..very Hunterish but not too Hunterish..I can see this appealing to a much larger scope of people as it lacked the really strong leather and sweat but still, this was definitely a Hunter Shiraz...I forget how much I paid but it was either 20 or 22 or something like that..Great value...

Of course there were quite a few other wines I had on this trip but these are the only ones I've bothered to mention....I think the biggest disappointment for me was Pepper Tree...it didn't have anything to do w/ the quality of their wines but the selection available for tasting was basically nothing...All of the wines I would have loved to taste weren't available..and what was really wasn't a good representation of their winery...