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...
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Tyrrells Vat 9 1997
Tyrrells Vat 9 1997
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..
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..
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Tyrrells and others
Sorry for not posting for awhile..a lot of stuff going on personally but anyways...
Tyrells Vat 1 1999.
One of my favorite semillons ever...this and the 1998 are both really fantastic. Looked good through the bottle so from an oxidation standpoint it was looking good. Popped it, sniffed it, took a sip...perfect. Still really young with very vibrant acidity...Too young maybe? I don't know but it had fantastic depth, toasty notes..honey and just really fantastic acid. There was some left near the end of the night and it was still singing..these are so good it is a shame they're under cork though.
Eileen Hardy Chardonnay 2008
A lot of really nice Chardonnay out of Australia...Really good acidity, good depth, a bit too much oak at this stage, I really want to see this in 5 years or so..but this is drinking really nicely now. I really like when Chardonnays have some fatness to them (oak, malo, etc) but still have that acidity to balance that out. It makes for a very complex, very complete wine.
Kumeu River Mate's Chardonnay 2008
Very similar to the Eileen Hardy but maybe a bit less obvious oak. New Zealand has a lot of great stuff as well..Kumeu is consistently great and one of the best. It is also really easy to find in the US making it a quality drop at a pretty reasonable price. 40ish dollars for a complex Chardonnay with good acidity.
Penfolds St. Henri 1998
A few months back I had the 1993 which wasn't a great vintage but it was fantastic. 1998 was a really good year so I had really high expectations. What we got was both good and bad. On the good side, the structure was fantastic, I think this wine will last another 15+ years. It was pretty typical of a lot of St. Henris which take a lot of time to come around...on the bad, it was just too too tight considering this wine was 15-16 years from vintage...I want to see this in 10 years..not sure if I'll have the chance but I think it'll be great.
Felton Road Block 5 2008.
I generally like most of the stuff from Felton Road..their Pinots tend to be very nice...I think this one we caught at a funny stage.. a bit hot even? I didn't check the % but it seemed a little on the hot side...I've had some of these before but with more age and this just didn't do it for me. I can see the structure, the fruit, the acidity was good as well..nose was nice but not giving away too much. It needs quite a bit more time...
Tyrells Vat 1 1999.
One of my favorite semillons ever...this and the 1998 are both really fantastic. Looked good through the bottle so from an oxidation standpoint it was looking good. Popped it, sniffed it, took a sip...perfect. Still really young with very vibrant acidity...Too young maybe? I don't know but it had fantastic depth, toasty notes..honey and just really fantastic acid. There was some left near the end of the night and it was still singing..these are so good it is a shame they're under cork though.
Eileen Hardy Chardonnay 2008
A lot of really nice Chardonnay out of Australia...Really good acidity, good depth, a bit too much oak at this stage, I really want to see this in 5 years or so..but this is drinking really nicely now. I really like when Chardonnays have some fatness to them (oak, malo, etc) but still have that acidity to balance that out. It makes for a very complex, very complete wine.
Kumeu River Mate's Chardonnay 2008
Very similar to the Eileen Hardy but maybe a bit less obvious oak. New Zealand has a lot of great stuff as well..Kumeu is consistently great and one of the best. It is also really easy to find in the US making it a quality drop at a pretty reasonable price. 40ish dollars for a complex Chardonnay with good acidity.
Penfolds St. Henri 1998
A few months back I had the 1993 which wasn't a great vintage but it was fantastic. 1998 was a really good year so I had really high expectations. What we got was both good and bad. On the good side, the structure was fantastic, I think this wine will last another 15+ years. It was pretty typical of a lot of St. Henris which take a lot of time to come around...on the bad, it was just too too tight considering this wine was 15-16 years from vintage...I want to see this in 10 years..not sure if I'll have the chance but I think it'll be great.
Felton Road Block 5 2008.
I generally like most of the stuff from Felton Road..their Pinots tend to be very nice...I think this one we caught at a funny stage.. a bit hot even? I didn't check the % but it seemed a little on the hot side...I've had some of these before but with more age and this just didn't do it for me. I can see the structure, the fruit, the acidity was good as well..nose was nice but not giving away too much. It needs quite a bit more time...
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Penfolds
Been a pretty crazy couple of months so my apologies for not posting here recently...
I've been pretty anti Penfolds lately...with their huge price hikes in the last few years, they've gone from being pretty good value in their bin series to really poor value in their bin series. I can only assume they've been so popular in China that they have been able to get away with their ridiculous price hikes...more power to them if they can keep it up...
I've been rather unimpressed by most of the bin series lately at their price points...with maybe the exception being the 2010 Bin 389 which, while overpriced, was still a pretty good wine.
All that aside, I recently had two older Penfolds that were definitely shining...
Penfolds St. Henri 1993. St. Henri has always been a favorite of mine...No new oak...High quality fruit...It used to be right there with the Grange but less understood and a bit more quirky....To be honest, I'm a bit surprised they still make this and seeing how recent ones have been, it is almost a shame what they've done with it..but that said, THIS St Henri was absolutely fantastic. Because it was a lesser vintage, I think the expectations were pretty low but once I got a sniff I knew this would be good. Strawberries, mocha, pepper and spice...on the palate this still had some bright red fruit, but layers of mocha and herbs..some meaty characters coming through. One of the guys I was with commented this is what the Grange he opened for his birthday should have been. Fully resolved tannins, good acidity, great complexity, fantastic mouthfeel. I'm a bit of a fan of trying to get off vintages..I think they offer better value and the wines often really surprise people. Maybe the structure isn't quite as good as it would be in a great year but sometimes that ends up being a really good thing. This is a great example of that. Fantastic wine, punching way above its weight but I'd probably drink up now if I had any left.
Penfolds Bin 389 1998. A great year in South Australia so the wines all had great fruit..a lot were made with really good structure and were expected to hold up. Bin 389s were always really great values...VERY VERY cellarable and not too long ago you were buying them in the 20s. With fewer labels to split fruit with, the 389 still got some really high quality fruit, used barrels from the previous year's Grange and was made in a similar fashion. This is a fantastic example of that. Dark fruits, mocha, vanilla and herbs on the nose. Great complexity on the palate. Very similar to the St. Henri but most definitely younger. Penfolds has a very "clean" profile to me..they're generally well made, no flaws and this is showing that very well. To me the St. Henri was showing better (although only slightly) but the St. Henri was probably on its last few years...This 389 is going to outlast it and will easily go another 10+ years. If I knew the 2010 bin 389 would end up like this, 60ish dollars wouldn't seem too bad and coming from someone that has pretty much bashed Penfolds the last 4 years, that is saying a lot about how good this wine was.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
How do I know what I'm drinking?
I've seen this question pop up quite a few times...how do I know what I'm drinking? Are there any characteristics that tell you what you're drinking if you're drinking it blind?
Yes and no...
Sometimes you'll find wine that fits into a nice box and sometimes you don't....Even the best at doing it, which IMO is probably Master Sommeliers, make mistakes (A lot)....I think watching blind tasting by very qualified professionals is extremely interesting and you'd be shocked to see how often they get the variety, region, etc, all wrong....Other people might not feel it is interesting at all but to me, I enjoy watching how they break down certain characteristics and come up with a good guess...
So rather than trying to identify a particular varietal of a wine...I think it is easier to start off w/ identifying the basics...
Acid
Tannin
Oak
Residual Sugar
Alcohol
Then move on to:
Malolactic Fermentation
Stems
Skin Contact (for whites)
Lees contact
I'm sure I'm missing some stuff...but these things are relatively objective characteristics of a wine...You can then move on to particular flavor characteristics along w/ the base information to help lead you to a grape variety and/or region....
It is still really really tough though....Even slight hints from other people can easily throw you off....
For me personally, my best blind tastings have been when I'm totally distracted and not listening to anything anyone else is saying...My worst have been when I'm already guessing the wine prior to even tasting it..
Yes and no...
Sometimes you'll find wine that fits into a nice box and sometimes you don't....Even the best at doing it, which IMO is probably Master Sommeliers, make mistakes (A lot)....I think watching blind tasting by very qualified professionals is extremely interesting and you'd be shocked to see how often they get the variety, region, etc, all wrong....Other people might not feel it is interesting at all but to me, I enjoy watching how they break down certain characteristics and come up with a good guess...
So rather than trying to identify a particular varietal of a wine...I think it is easier to start off w/ identifying the basics...
Acid
Tannin
Oak
Residual Sugar
Alcohol
Then move on to:
Malolactic Fermentation
Stems
Skin Contact (for whites)
Lees contact
I'm sure I'm missing some stuff...but these things are relatively objective characteristics of a wine...You can then move on to particular flavor characteristics along w/ the base information to help lead you to a grape variety and/or region....
It is still really really tough though....Even slight hints from other people can easily throw you off....
For me personally, my best blind tastings have been when I'm totally distracted and not listening to anything anyone else is saying...My worst have been when I'm already guessing the wine prior to even tasting it..
Monday, September 2, 2013
Australia Pinot Day
Not a big fan of Australian Pinot Noir but I know there are some pretty decent wines out there so I attended this event with the aim to try to find some...
What I found was a few producers I hadn't seen...and a few more good BIG Australian Pinots...and a few other Pinots that I thought were really interesting....
Curly Flat "The Curly" 2010
Well known Pinot Noir in Australia...very good structure, decent acidity, but really quite a big fruity Pinot Noir. Well made, good fruit...but I'm not sure I like this style. I had this at an offline and I had the same impression...Good wine, not what I'd buy..
Hillcrest Estate Pinot Noir 2010
Good acid but a bit of a fruity Pinot. Well made. Another relatively big Pinot. I can see what people are trying to do...and yes, this is an enjoyable style...I'm not sure it is what I'm looking for but still well made.
Hillcrest Premium Pinot Noir 2011
I've had the 2010..this was a bit lighter. In general, I think their Pinots are BIG fruit, high acid which gives them the impression they're more medium bodied. They're quite enjoyable...the Premium being a step up in fruit and a step up in acidity and balance as well as complexity.
William Downie Gippsland 2011
Very well balanced Pinot with earthy tones, red fruits, a much more medium bodied but still a little bit on the fuller side. Really nice acidity...This was one of my favorites for the night. Pretty good buy but I they're fairly hard to find as well.
Marchand & Burch "Mt Barrow" 2010
A label made with a Frenchmen bringing Burgundy to WA...they also make a number of Burgundies they bring into Australia. I was a bit surprised as I hadn't had too many Great Southern Pinots..but they're actually quite nice and this is a region to look out for. Really nice complexity, mouthfeel and balance. I bit heavy on the oak but overall, quite nice.
They also had Bannockburn, Lethbridge and a few others...but since I've covered those already I won't cover them here...
On the WEIRD side...
Moss Wood Margaret River Pinot 2009
I have no idea what this is. BIG BIG Fruit, BIG BIG OAK. Medium minus to low acidity...I have no idea what they're doing here...It is a really weird style. The wine is well made in that there aren't any weird flaws..but the style is really odd....I wouldn't call it a Pinot...it is something...
Moss Wood Mornington Peninsula 2010
I'm getting a bit more acid from this but not really....It could be because it isn't quite as big as the MR one...either way, these are really odd wines...They're for people that don't like Pinot Noir and want a big Cab instead......Actually, I'm not sure what the point of these wines are...experimental? I have no idea....
On this night these two out Domaine A'd the Domaine A Pinot..partially cause the Domaine A was probably a little bit corked or something was stripping out some of the fruit...either way....If you like that style of Pinot, there you go...
What I found was a few producers I hadn't seen...and a few more good BIG Australian Pinots...and a few other Pinots that I thought were really interesting....
Curly Flat "The Curly" 2010
Well known Pinot Noir in Australia...very good structure, decent acidity, but really quite a big fruity Pinot Noir. Well made, good fruit...but I'm not sure I like this style. I had this at an offline and I had the same impression...Good wine, not what I'd buy..
Hillcrest Estate Pinot Noir 2010
Good acid but a bit of a fruity Pinot. Well made. Another relatively big Pinot. I can see what people are trying to do...and yes, this is an enjoyable style...I'm not sure it is what I'm looking for but still well made.
Hillcrest Premium Pinot Noir 2011
I've had the 2010..this was a bit lighter. In general, I think their Pinots are BIG fruit, high acid which gives them the impression they're more medium bodied. They're quite enjoyable...the Premium being a step up in fruit and a step up in acidity and balance as well as complexity.
William Downie Gippsland 2011
Very well balanced Pinot with earthy tones, red fruits, a much more medium bodied but still a little bit on the fuller side. Really nice acidity...This was one of my favorites for the night. Pretty good buy but I they're fairly hard to find as well.
Marchand & Burch "Mt Barrow" 2010
A label made with a Frenchmen bringing Burgundy to WA...they also make a number of Burgundies they bring into Australia. I was a bit surprised as I hadn't had too many Great Southern Pinots..but they're actually quite nice and this is a region to look out for. Really nice complexity, mouthfeel and balance. I bit heavy on the oak but overall, quite nice.
They also had Bannockburn, Lethbridge and a few others...but since I've covered those already I won't cover them here...
On the WEIRD side...
Moss Wood Margaret River Pinot 2009
I have no idea what this is. BIG BIG Fruit, BIG BIG OAK. Medium minus to low acidity...I have no idea what they're doing here...It is a really weird style. The wine is well made in that there aren't any weird flaws..but the style is really odd....I wouldn't call it a Pinot...it is something...
Moss Wood Mornington Peninsula 2010
I'm getting a bit more acid from this but not really....It could be because it isn't quite as big as the MR one...either way, these are really odd wines...They're for people that don't like Pinot Noir and want a big Cab instead......Actually, I'm not sure what the point of these wines are...experimental? I have no idea....
On this night these two out Domaine A'd the Domaine A Pinot..partially cause the Domaine A was probably a little bit corked or something was stripping out some of the fruit...either way....If you like that style of Pinot, there you go...
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Central Otago 2013
A store called NZwinesonline hosts a Central Otago show each year....expecting 15+ wineries and 80+ wines....so it is a bit disappointing when they have 13 wineries and 56 wines (I think it was actually less)...not to mention it was one of the more expensive events to attend....Even compared to previous ones, this one was a bit of a stinker and pretty much a waste of time...
Valli Gibbston Vineyard Pinot Noir 2011
On the plus side I did find a new winery called Valli....
They had three pretty good Pinots available...they actually have more based on their website.
Valli Gibbston Vineyard Pinot Noir 2011
Really good acidity (best of the three), clean red fruit, some herbs, slight minerality...very good texture and depth....Lighter in mouthfeel than the other two and my favorite of the three.
Valli Bannockburn Vineyard Pinot Noir 2011
Slightly fuller mouthfeel than the Gibbston...good acidity, not quite as good as the Gibbston...bit bigger fruit and a bit more tannin structure...although they're relatively soft...Good overall Pinot...
Valli Bendigo Vineyard Pinot Noir 2011
Similar mouthfeel to the Bannockburn Vineyard....good acidity although less than the Bannockburn...Bigger fruit than the other two...Bigger tannins than the other two...It actually had some Aussie PN flavors to it...My least favorite of the three but still pretty decent overall.
Pretty good set of Pinots and according to their website they have a Waitaki which sounds like it something I would like to try. The downside? At 60 it is in territory where there are some other pretty good alternatives....although not many...
Wooing Tree Sandstorm Reserve Pinot Noir 2009
I tried this probably six months back and it was a bit of a monster. Really big harsh tannins...you could sense a pretty good wine underneath but the tannins were ripping my face off. To my surprise, this has really softened quite a bit since then and it was looking really really good. Biggish red fruit but with a lot of different things going on...really good acidity...with the softer tannins the wine had really good texture...fantastic complexity...Cranberries, sour cherry, some herbs...hints of dark chocolate...It is good to see this wine come around....Overall probably the best wine of the show...but at 100+AUD...it is probably a bit overpriced...
Probably the biggest disappointment at the show (for me) was Mt. Difficulty...I haven't really liked any of their stuff in awhile...but they have an overall good reputation....but the best way to describe where they're going is looking at their reserves...Pipeclay and Long Gully....Both were really quite sweet....good complexity...but really, a fruit bomb of a Pinot Noir...it was really quite meh with lowish acidity....Apparently there is no residual sugar...I find that almost impossible to believe..
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