Cellar Favorites with Friends

I met up with some friends for a wonderful evening of food and wine....

2003 Keith Tulloch Semillon - Just starting to develop some toasty notes.  Good acid, good depth...This looks like it'll go quite awhile longer and I'd love to see this in five more years.

2006 De Iuliis Semillon - The acid is fading away on this...not a lot of development going on either...Maybe this will turn a bit but it isn't what I'm looking for in Semillon..

2012 Lethbridge Dr. Nadeson Riesling - I'm a big fan of these and still a big fan.  10g/L of RS and 13g/L of TA....Served a little cool which made the sugar stand out a bit more but once it got going the acidity and depth really showed..the sugar offset some of the searing acidity..I really enjoy this style...I wish more places made Riesling like this.

1996 Lakes Folly Chardonnay - I wasn't expecting much here because of the age but this had a wonderful nose and equally wonderful palate.  Reminded me a lot of an aged Champagne with some yeasty notes, lemon pith, nutty notes as well.  Acid still going strong.  Quite a revelation for everyone at the table as I think everyone expected this to be past it.

1991 Orlando Lawsons Padthaway Shiraz (Magnum) - Deep dark fruited Shiraz, big fruit, mocha notes, some secondary minty and herby characters as well...In quite a nice spot really.  Not quite the style I like but drinking fantastically well.  Really no complaints here, I'd be perfectly happy drinking this.

1998 Penfolds St. Henri - Some felt this was in a good spot, to me it was way too young.  Great structure, tannins were firm but not too aggressive but definitely there in force...Good acidity, fruit was still very young...some development but this will probably not be its best for 10+ years..at least...

1990 Wynns Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon (Black) - A bit of funk on the nose but that blew off...Acidity was quite good, redder fruits but definitely a Coonawarra feel to it.  Tannins were fully resolved....Was probably a bit past it but still a very nice drop.  Considering this was probably 5 dollars on release and was probably near the bottom of their releases, this is looking very good.

2009 Yarra Yering Dry Red No 3 - A mix of different Tourigas...I've never been a fan of this...still not much of a fan of this.  Really young bright fruit....feels a bit awkward to me...

1996 Sallys Paddock - Nice mouthfeel to this...great little bordeaux blend.  Darker fruits with some herby characters to it...Good overall structure and mouthfeel.  I haven't had a Sallys Paddock and been blown away by it..but they're always consistently pretty good...

2013 Yellow Tail Merlot (this was a bit of a joke wine) - Most people have the same response...Yellow Tail?  And a MERLOT at that?  Haha.  To me, a lot of cheap wine or a lot of wine that the winemaker is new to making have this manufactured fake red candy smell to it...as well as on the palate.  I tend to see it in wines that are 5-15 dollars.  Not everyone seems to pick this up though as I've seen plenty of wines that have this and people don't sense that.  For me, even blind I'm picking this up.  I'm not sure what it is and obviously there are tons of cheap wines I DON'T pick this up in..but a lot of them I do.  I suspect some sort of winemaking flaw but I don't know what it is.  Either way, this has it in spades.  Palate is relatively sweet too so I suspect a good amount of residual sugar...If you don't mind the fake candy, I can see why people would drink this..easy to drink, a bit sweet (even though they don't know it is)...

2006 Glen Eldon Twisted Trunk Reserve Shiraz - A big bruising Shiraz...Huge oak on the nose and palate...This probably needs more time for the oak to integrate..not sure if that'll happen but it needs more time...I'm sure this is a crowd pleaser though...

1999 Yalumba Signature - Still a young pup...Big dark fruit, very viscous on the palate.  A lot of oak but it has integrated relatively well.  Tannins are there but not overpowering....This is in a pretty good spot right now if you like them a bit young but I can see this going another 5-10 years.  Again, not the style I prefer but this was still quite nice.

2005 Rockford Cabernet Sauvignon - This fell a bit flat for me..probably needed to be served earlier in the evening.  Light for a Cabernet...this seemed to be in a bit of an awkward spot...

2004 Buller Calliope Durif - VERY viscous...Almost port like in thickness...very dark dark fruit, big big fruit on the palate...To me this seems almost sweet...I'm not sure how much residual sugar is here but I've seen stuff that suggests it is relatively high for a red...and this is also labeled 16% alcohol but it is probably closer to 17%.  That said, I wouldn't guess 17% as it isn't finishing very hot..but definitely finishes a bit hot to my palate.  This would definitely be a crowd pleaser..I can see a lot of people loving this.  For me, just too big..

2004 Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz - I've not always been happy with their Hilltops..I think they tend to be a bit awkward...but this has integrated nicely...it has a dash of Viognier and the Shiraz has really started to develop some secondary characteristics.  Very Hilltops region on the nose and exhibits some of that on the palate.  Overall a pretty good wine.