for 2

1)selbach-oster zeltinger schlossberg riesling spatlese 2008 (mosel



2)deTrafford shiraz 2007

later

tired

1)bouchard finlayson missionvale chardonnay 2008

nice BANG!(-) ... but a little pricey here

2)loosen graacher himmelreich kabinett 2007

later

south south

bouchard finlayson galpin peak pinot noir 2008

ruby; floral (violets?),



fox creek reserve shiraz 2002 [mclaren vale]

goood

rustenberg peter barlow cab sav 2005

can you say st julien?

BANG! (-) a little pricey though.

later

it's a nice new world

1)hardy's thomas hardy coonawarra cab sav 1994

2)vergelegen chardonnay reserve 2007
prefer the fresher tasting basic bottle ...

with some regular stuff in support

3)brunely vacqueyras 2003

earlier

4)lucien barrot CDP 2005

later

nelson rides again

hamilton russel pinot noir 2007 [hemel-en-aarde valley]

ruby (pale); cherry nose, slightly funky ... hint of damp earth and game, bit of oak there; aforesaid cherry ... dark and nicely ripe, a little beet?; fine grippy tannins; juicy acid; medium bodied; long; great mouthfeel ...; quite elegant but with meat on the bones; doesn't sound like much but it's a really really good package, BANG!

slim pickins

1)clos mogador 2003 priorat [garnacha based]

dark purplish red; ripe cherry, alcohol (kirsch), prune, fruitcake?,spice/cedar, vanilla; almost sweet on entry, ripe cherry and plum, cedar, licorice?; big, rich, plush; heaps of tannin (to be expected given it's age) and acid which attempt to counterbalance the fruit; 14.5%; long ...hint of raisins at the very end; a struggle to drink now or when you're tired as i was ... half bottle still in the fridge. maybe in five or ten or then again, maybe never. POP!(-) big bob fave?

2)drouhin chablis vaudesir g cru 1999

sample was way over the hill ... sigh

3)fairbank shiraz 2004 (99%shiraz 1%voignier) [mount alexander]

garnet, dark; spicy, cherry, berries, floral?; ripe cherry, bit o cinnamon, clean, mineral, a little fruity, quite lush and soft mouthfeel; very nice furry tannins and juicy acid; medium/big bodied; longish; BANG!(-) that mineral bit was nice for an oz drop but it's a little pricey

4)vergelegen stellenbosch chardonnay 2008

straw; cream/vanilla?, apple, oak hint, yeast/toast hint, someone said citrus ... didn't get none; red delicious, dried pear?, mineral ... yay, a little oak ... yay; juicy acid .. yay; light/medium bodied; longish appley and slightly savoury finish. BANG! good one, especially well priced. not yo typical overblown new world supermarket special.
5)michel colin-deleger chassagne montrachet les vergers 1er cru 2000

light gold; citrus, stone fruit, buttery/vanilla hint, subdued nose ... never really opened up; lime/lemon?, peach, butterscotsh hint, red delicious, mineral; just enough acid left to keep things a little lively; light medium bodied; longish with a slighty woody and appley finish; 13.5%; subtle wine ... this pleb thought it would be a little richer; POP!(+) too pricey.6)furano ... non vintage red, hokkaido

friend brought some back. gave it a go ... overripe/oxidised fruit, could not tell what it was ... errr ... subarus are nice cars. notice the word "experiment" on the label. next!

7)st cosme cdr les deux albion 2006

much much nicer than the last sample ... similar notes to an earlier drop

8)cloudy bay sauvignon blanc 2008

did they dumb down the "in yer face" fruit? ... hmmm ... nice

here's to nelson

de trafford shiraz 2006 (stellenbosch)
[young vines, high altitude NW facing slopes, handpicked, gentle crush, wild yeast, blah, blah, blah ...]
dark ruby; berries, plum, whiff of spice, pepper?, hint of chocolate and some wood; ripe plum, blackberries, spice, clean no funk, mineral; nice fine tannins and juicy acid; great fuit but not a bomb; like the balance now; refreshing; enough of everything to develop further but why wait; long; medium bodied; 15.5% but carries it very well; BANG! enjoyed this one a lot ... be afraid oz, be very afraid ...

weird white

sequillo 2007 (swartland ... supposedly grenache blanc,chenin blanc, voignier,rousanne) [a sadie family white]
light gold; nectarine, quince, nutty?/almond?, restrained; rich, glycolic?/oily? (like an islay whisky), nutty, nectarine, mineral; some nice acid does make an appearance after you get over the moreish mouthfeel; longish; POP! for me.

chateaux pibran 2003 (pauillac)
dark ruby; berries (black/blue?), spice, musk???, something floral, whiff of wood; them berries, casis, pepper, mineral/chalky, bit lean initally and did not broaden much over time; fine tannins and balancing acid; longish; POP (-)!

hard labour day

1)ricasoli rocca guicciarda chianti classico riserva 2005
ruby; plum, cherry, violet?; cherry, raspberry, plum, bright?; fine tannins and very nice refreshing acidity; medium bodied; longish; 13.5%; BANG!

2)st cosme cote du rhone les duex albion 2006
consistent with earlier notes

3)morgenhof premier selection 2001
consistent with earlier notes

4)loosen graacher himmelreich kabinett 2007
consistent with earlier notes

... ok.... i'm just lazy today

nothing new but still nice plonk and nice company ... BANG!

dry birthday party

pal had a little do, it was at a middle eastern joint ... no alcohol served and you can't byo either. bummer as the food was great especially the roast lamb.

tried to make up for that back at his place.

yarra yering dry red no.2 1998 ... notes consistent with earlier sample, maybe not so long. great drop.

morgenhof premier selection 2001 (stellenbosch) [cab sav 60%, merlot, cab franc and a little malbec]
dark ruby; blackcurrant, plum, kirsch, cedar, cocoa, some mushroom/funk over time, some vanilla but not too irritating here; rich fruit (but not overripe), mineral; still heaps of grippy tannins; acid to balance things out; medium/big bodied; medium length; 14.5% :-0; nice now but definately has the structure to go on; BANG! old world from the new?

trial and errors on friday

1)columella 2005 (shiraz:mourvedre, 4:1) [swartland]

supposedly a cult drop by some whizkid/guru...eg. fruit from 7 tiny parcels with different soil conditions, individual berries hand sorted, open wooden fermenters, longish fermentation, basket pressed, long aging in french oak, blah, blah, blah. the label is in latin, for goodness sake; normally, "cult" is synonymous with "w*nker"; bottle was recommended by a denizen of the establishment, with good intentions i might add, but alas . . .

purple (think goober grape); cork out and you are hit by a musk and sandalwood shockwave ... and i mean a blast not just a whiff, extreme like some perfume ... characteristic of the big M? ...urgh, most of this blows away after about 20 mins. but still very apparent and too overt, sarsaparilla, plum, cherry, damp earth, mushroom and alcohol on the nose; cherry, dark fruits, alcohol, gravel/stone, lots of fine tannins apleasant acid, balanced but very lean palate; short drying finish; slightly bitter aftertaste; medium bodied; angular?; 14.5%; too young now. and too expensive ... it's in decent barolo territory. FIZZLE!

complex, but so's a trainwreck.

3 out of 4 present could not "get" this wine. the fourth was his usual contrarian self (someone's got to be one ... be bleeding boring otherwise) and found some interest, he even guessed correctly that it was a dry vintage. but all felt the nose did not reflect the palate ... like from 2 different wines.

this thing has got so many good reviews from camps you do not expect to agree, from ws to the brits.

this punter will still pass on it.

had to have something less stressful and challenging, so

2)alkoomi jarrah franklin river shiraz 2001

ruby; plummy nose; cranberry, red plum, furry tannins (still lots), acid pleasant, medium bodied and length; 14%; boring ... another inspired choice by yours truly. FIZZLE!

crappy strike rate, so had to get out of there ...

drinks

had to pay up on the wager i lost, had the barolo de highbury over the weekend. a gianni gagliardo preve 2001,decanted for 1 hour.

translucent ruby colour; violets(?), plums, cedar and tobacco on the nose; latter 3 follow through on the palate together with fine tannins and refreshing acidity (no puckering here); medium bodied; balanced; long finish; very very nice indeed, could go another 5 years easy. BANG!

supportig cast of the simonsig tiara 2003, a south african bordeaux blend, provided a big oaky bang for the buck as usual while the chateau potensac 1998 medoc was good (the others did not think much of it) but rather overpriced here. BANG! and POP!

very agreeable few hours with friends ... would have been better if the goners weren't firing blanks ... sigh ... theres always next season.