What do I like to drink?

Someone asked me what do I like to drink?

Besides everything....but limiting this to Australian wines and trying to hit a bunch of different regions.

Semillon:
Tyrrells Vat 1 Semillon
Lovedale Semillon
Meerea Park Terracotta Semillon
Thomas Braemore Semillon
Most of the other Tyrrells Semillons (Stevens, HVD, Belford, Johnnos)
I'd probably say a large chunk of Hunter Semillons with age will be pretty good as long as they have acid...with 5-10 years, as long as they're not totally flat, will probably be pretty good but the above are probably my favorites).


Shiraz:
Tyrells Four Acres Shiraz
Tyrells Old Patch Shiraz
Tyrrells Johnno's Shiraz
Tyrrells Vat 9
Meerea Park Hell Hole
Wendouree Shiraz (as well as their Shiraz Mataro and Shiraz Malbec)
Marius Symphony
Rockford Basket Press
Seppelt St. Peters
Lethbridge Indra Shiraz

Riesling:
Lethbridge Riesling
Pikes The Merle Riesling
Leo Buring Leonay
Peter Lehmman Wigan Riesling
There are actually a lot of really good Rieslings that I haven't listed..maybe something like Tertini as well...but the above I think are consistent and a really good representation of the style of AU Riesling I like to drink).

Chardonnay:
Giaconda Chardonnay (high acid years)
Xanadu Reserve Chardonnay
Lethbridge Allegra Chardonnay
Bannockburn SRH Chardonnay
There are probably quite a few others..but this is a good representation of the style I like....Mistletoe has had a few good runs...Tyrrells makes a good Chardonnay as well)

Cabernet Sauvignon:
Fraser Gallop Parterre Cabernet Sauvignon
Lakes Folly Cabernet Sauvignon
Wendouree Cabernet Malbec
A lot of pretty good Cabs from Margaret River and Clare Valley.  Some pretty good ones from Coonawarra as well but most of them are probably not in my wheelhouse right now).

Pinot Noir - Not a big AU Pinot fan but.
Lethbridge Mietta Pinot Noir
Bannockburn Serre Pinot Noir
Hillcrest Reserve Pinot
William Downie (a bunch of them from here)
Bass Phillip (a bunch from here)
Marchand and Burch (They have a lot of different ones)

Oddball blends or varietals:
Ruggabellus GSM, MSG, SGM blends
John Duval Plexus
Wendouree Malbec

Australian and others

Wendouree Cabernet Malbec 1993
Great nose of red fruits, a bit of mint and menthol, some meaty characters...really very nice.  Great acidity on the palate, tannins are there but definitely resolved a bit.  This is a lot younger than the 90 I had last year and it has a LOT of life left.  Still has that Wendouree grip but not enough to put off people that aren't used to it.  Lovely mouthfeel.  Not a heralded vintage but a very good wine.

Mayer Doktor Pinot Noir 2012
Very Australian Pinot with deep dark fruit but at the same time, it didn't feel out of place or forced like many Australian Pinots do...This is much more Bass Phillip so in that sense, a really good example of Australian Pinot.  Reasonably good acidity, good fruit, good overall structure..maybe just a bit too big though.  I'd still be happy drinking this.

Noble One 2002
I'm generally not an Australian dessert wine fan.  The Botrytis Semillons they have lack some depth that I'm looking for.  Reasonably good acidity but not what I'm really looking for here.  Better depth and complexity than most Australian Botrytis Semillons but I'm just ok with this.  You can buy great Sauternes so not sure I'd bother.  If I compared this to the Botrytis Riesling from Lethbridge..the Lethbridge is a lot better..

Meerea Park Hell Hole Shiraz 2006
This is always really consistent for me..on this night it was a bit more tannic than I remember and seemed a bit more fuller in the mouth...Still very good though..medium bodied although this felt a bit bigger to me than I remember...Leather, red fruits, a reasonable amount of oak coming through...really quite a clean tasting Hunter Shiraz...good but less interesting than I remember...

Tahbilk Cabernet Sauvignon 1977
A big surprise here.  I really expected this to be dead but it definitely wasn't.  The fruit was still there and singing..this could've been 1997 easily...Structure was still good, some tannins, good acidity, nice mouthfeel...Red fruits, herbs, some five spice...Tahbilk apparently made some really ageworth wines in the 70s and this one is no joke...

Rockford Riesling 2008
This is just eh...Not enough acidity but it has aged a bit so at least the wine is showing some depth...for me this is just ok.  It isn't the style of Riesling I like so it feels really flat.

Baudry Le Clos Guillot 2009
A great example of why Chinon is so underrated.  Great red fruits, good structure and fantastic acidity.  A bit of green here coming through as bell peppers and herbs but the mouthfeel is fantastic.  This is going to age well but is drinking fine right now.  When younger this was a bit more tannic so it is good to see that it is coming around....Probably my favorite wine of this night...

Tyrrells Vat 9 1997

Tyrrells Vat 9 1997

I was a bit skeptical about this because I've read a few things in the past that made me think this would be well past it...but Tyrrells has been making great wines for a long time (although a slight change in style 10 years or so ago) so I had some hope.

Really surprised with this one...quite a bit darker in the glass than I was expecting...Acidity is quite high which is what I expected for an aged Hunter.  Tannins were still there as well..the fruit was still showing and the nose was quite nice.  Showed a lot younger than what I was originally expecting and the wine ended up being really quite nice.  

Leather, red fruits a bit of earth.  Some slight forest floor characters as well...Still some nice grip on the wine and really nice mouthfeel.  I'm not sure I'd expect this to go longer although the structure seems to suggest it might..I'd probably say drink it now if you have it.

update:  I had another bottle of this that was corked and Tyrrells kindly replaced it with a 2009 Vat 9....What can I say, great wine across the board...great service....A big shop with some really boutique releases...One of my favorites in Australia and I don't see that changing..