MP Hunter

I'm generally a fan of Meerea Park in the Hunter.  Great Sems...pretty good Chardonnays..and pretty good Shiraz as well.  The Shiraz tend to be on the bigger end of the Hunter Spectrum..with more oak and riper fruit, but they're well made and they do have some really nice wines...

Meerea Park Hell Hole Shiraz 2003.

Nose is slightly muted when I first open this...stays like that for awhile.  Hint of match stick/sulfur....On the Palate it tastes heavily reduced...Very reduced at this point and awkward on the palate..oak it sticking out...heavy match stick flavors....I wait a bit longer...

1+ hour in, still reduced but some red fruits coming across..oak is less obvious but honestly, I'm not overly enjoying this...

Day 2 - I felt this just needed a lot of air to get rid of some of the reduction...huge difference in the wine...brighter red fruits, good acid...Still a bit heavy on the oak but not too bad...Slight hints of leather, crushed rock and pepper....Good Shiraz...90 points...

I enjoy what I consider the oakier Hunter Shiraz makers (Thomas, Meerea Park, Brokenwood) because they use great overall technique and have great fruit...but I definitely wouldn't mind seeing it toned down slightly....

Lethbridge Chardonnay 2008

I'm a big fan of Lethbridge...as people have problem seen from previous posts.  They just do a great job making a wine that isn't typical of Australia (not in my opinion) and I appreciate dedication to craft and the idealism that goes into their style of wine..

Lethbridge Estate Chardonnay 2008.
A bit of reduction...actually, I think they really sulfured the heck out of this..which is good in a way because that is currently the trend..that burnt match stick is something people are looking for in wine...I'm not sure I agree that it is a great thing although it doesn't bother me that much.  I DO think they're doing it to put off all of the Premox going around in Burgundy so that "style" or "characteristic" of the wine has rubbed off on a few others.

Good fruit, slightly muted, peaches, pear...some burnt match stick or a lot of it I should say...I don't think the alcohol is high but I do get a slight bit of heat which to me is accentuated by the sulfur.  Acidity is great, as it always is from them...Maybe a tad bit heavy on the oak although I too think the sulfur accentuates that.  Overall, I do think the wine had pretty good balance with the acidity + new oak + malo...It isn't lean, it isn't fat...it has the characteristics of a good chardonnay and I think the style is really more old world than new.

One thing I did think was weird though..over 3 days, this thing has barely budged at all..relatively tight compared to other Lethbridge Chardonnays I've had...and this one isn't showing any signs of oxidation...which again lends itself to my sulfur theory.....I also don't think this has evolved too much under screw cap....there is SOME development but less than expected....So on the plus side, I think this wine will last 10+ years..on the downside...it is at a point where it will last 10+ more years...

Will I try to get more Lethbridge Chardonnay?  Without a doubt....Do I think anyone that wants a more old world style new world Chardonnay should try these?  Without a doubt...

Torbreck Les Amis

Most Torbreck stuff is pretty biggish...they do a good job though with the fruit being pure and the wine being quite clean...

They make a Grenache called Les Amis, which, when young, is quite biggish...as Grenache often is when young...I've never really had an aged version of this and really wasn't sure what to expect but..

Torbreck Les Amis 2003.

100% Grenache, when young these are quite big fruited...nearly gloppy fruited...They remind me of very big CDPs but without any funk....But this has aged quite nicely.  As Grenache can often do, it has softened quite nicely and the texture has become far lighter than the alcohol or original fruit would suggest.  Still carries very pure fruit but the darker fruits have become a bit redder and the overall mouthfeel just feels very much improved over younger versions of this...

These are still rather expensive on release (over 100 AUD) which makes it a bit questionable given the number of other wines you can get out there for that...but as far as Grenache in Australia, this has shown it can age and age for quite awhile....There are a few other Grenaches coming out in Australia that are slightly more interesting and seeing how this will impact the price of this should also prove to be interesting...but as far as wines that surprised me and have shown they're more than what they seem...this did that..

Lethbridge Riesling

So I had the chance to try a bit more Lethbridge Riesling 2011...

On the plus side, good development..a bit of toasty notes....

On the downside...a bit more VA than I was expecting...The TA for the wine is very high which I love....but the VA is a bit of a concern for the long term....It wasn't that off putting but it wasn't what I was expecting to see and would definitely limit how much this wine will age.  Have an older example I'm planning on trying soon so maybe that'll give me a better idea....

Just to make it clear, the VA wasn't that obvious when it was younger...

A bunch of stuff with friends

Clonakilla Riesling 2014 - This is proof to me that most Australian riesling needs age on it...There are some that have some added complexity right away but to me this was basically dead.  Acid, some fruit, no depth....I know this will be better in 5 or so years....it just isn't very good right now.

Tyrrells Futures Semillon 1998
Slightly oxidized but still a very good wine underneath.  Good acidity, good depth and complexity... a lot of honey and toasty notes.  This doesn't hit the depths of their Vat 1 but no other semillon does.

Margan Semillon 1999
A bit of residual sugar on the nose and noticeably lighter in color than the Tyrrells.  Slightly less acid and less depth than the Tyrrells but still doing very well and can definitely age a bit more.  I don't mind some residual sugar in certain wines but this one is throwing me off a bit...It doesn't seem to go right with the toasty notes I get from aged Semillon but overall this is quite nice.

Wynns Centenary 1991
This is a freak of a wine.  They're generally all really good.  It doesn't have the depth or structure of some of the other Centenary's I've had but still, pretty good wine overall.  Started to fall off near the end of the evening but my initial gut was this could have gone longer in the cellar.  Brighter than most Connawarras, tannins were fine, overall depth was good.

Bowen Cabernet Sauvignon 1991
This was definitely a bit "older" than the Wynns...a lot more leathery characteristics...Tannins were fully resolved..the wine overall was drinking very nicely.  At first I would've put the Wynns over it..near the end of the evening the Bowen was getting better with sufficient acidity to carry it, ample grip and a lot of savory characteristics that just made it enjoyable to drink.  Definitely drink NOW though...

Wine lists

So what do you look for in a wine list?  Do you look for the big names?  The wines you recognize?  Or maybe your favorite region?

Everyone's answer is going to be different and it really just depends on what wines you like to drink and how comfortable you are with going out of your comfort zone...

My personal opinion is, I want a wine list where you can see there is actual effort put into the list.  A variety of different styles, producers, regions, varieties and price points.  At a minimum, every single wine should be well made (which isn't always the case).  I'd like a mix of well known names and some hidden gems.  I want some where they might be popular in certain wine geek circles but not necessarily well known wines.  I want wines where if I want a known quantity, I can easily go with that.  I want different styles so I can pick a wine based on the preferences on the table...I want something a bit different but safe..I want something really different and not.

At a lot of well known restaurants, you might often see a very large, very nice but incredibly boring list that has absolutely no effort.  Making a book full of Bordeaux 1st Growths, 2nd Growths, Burg GCs, 1er Crus (all well known names), the most famous wines of each region..multiple vintages..I can't think of anything more boring than that.  To top it all off, you pay a super premium to buy one of these no brainer wines...Snooze...

At the same time, a big trend right now is sommeliers picking a lot very oddball wines....So the list, while it might appeal to some wine geeks, is packed full of lesser known producers, very acid driven in style and they seem to have it in their head that they're trying to teach their customers about wine.

Now, out of the two there, I'd rather see the latter...just because for my personal tastes that is gong to be what I want to drink...but I don't think most people fall into that category..I also think the Somm has failed in what they're supposed to be doing here.  You can have your geeky wines but still have stuff that will be in a style THEY might not want but that their customers might prefer.  Or in the least, go with something that will have mass appeal but might be slightly different....You'll still be surprised how many people would be willing to try something different but why limit your list to your own personal preference.  If you can't honestly evaluate wines of a different style to what you prefer, maybe a job that requires you to think about the palate of others is not the right profession....

Seppelt Great Western

Seppelt Great Western Reserve Shiraz 1998
Seppelt St Peters Shiraz used to be called the Seppelt Great Western Shiraz.  For a few years they had a barrel selection of the Great Western Shiraz that was to spend some additional time in barrel.  Those were released as the Great Western Reserve Shiraz...
I've always been a big fan of this wine, it is a great example of what Australian wine can be but often isn't.

Medium body, good acidity, and tannins still present...Great complexity and texture...Maybe a little too much oak but I don't think it detracted from the wine...it also had a bit eucalyptus component as well...

I think some may think this a bit on the milkshakey style of wine and I'd partially agree...but the palate has great balance and great depth and really doesn't feel like it is forcing anything....So that combined with the good acidity and medium body really just make this a joy to drink...92 points