not yet ...

best's great western shiraz bin 0 2001

later

all together

rosemount balmoral shiraz 1997

later

82 not out

a drink with a friend celebrating her 82nd birthday.

grant burge shadrach 1993 (cab sav) [barossa]

disintegrating cork ... crusty ... still alive ... nice enough but that polished teak on the nose really bugs me ... never really goes away ...

the last sample of this was about 3-4 years back ... memory sez it was mocha mocha mocha ...!? absolutely nothing like that here.

with food

heartland dolcetto lagrein 2007 [langhorn creek]

had a glass only with dinner ... definately a great food wine ... great value. earlier

smooth operator

wirra wirra shiraz RSW 1998 [mclaren vale]

ruby ... still dark; spicy, floral, blackcurrant, plum, cedar, but mostly intergrated/ secondary, very nice; ripe plum, pepper?, again well intergrated; slightly rich mouthfeel; very fine tannins and enough acid to balance things out; long; medium bodied; BANG!

cat dragged in

1)pascal jolivet sancerre 2008

2)wynn's coonawarra micheal shiraz 1994 [er ... coonawarra]

bit worried considering the age and that label ... pulled, sniffed ... everything's in order.

ruby wth a rusty rim, thrown a crust, decanted ... 30 minutes and we're off; some plummy ripe fruit, some white pepper, spice, hint of vanilla, bit of smoke, secondary; fruit, wood melded; complex; lush without being bloated or jammy; balanced and loong; BANG! good'un

italian down under

heartland dolcetto lagrein 2007 [langhorn creek]

ruby ... purple tinge; floral, chalky, blackcurrant, sour cherry, plum; cherry, mineral, sarspirilla, some green stalky flavours; very fine tannins and some nice tart acidity ... brings on the appetite; medium length ... savoury finish; medium bodied; great with food ... chianti alternative; BANG!

south south

bouchard finlayson galpin peak pinot noir 2008

ruby; floral (violets?),



fox creek reserve shiraz 2002 [mclaren vale]

14 have passed

had some with a buddy of mine on his birthday

annie's lane coppertrail shiraz 1996 [clare]

garnet with a rusty rim; rich, warm, mellow and intergrated nose; fully intergrated on the palate; wine not fruit juice; medium bodied; long; BANG!

infanticide 1

at the hole, met 3 friends with whom i have never partaken ... a decantered red at their table ... pulled a glass ... poured one ... great nose ... fella said, grange 2004 ... hmmm, doin babies now, are we? ...last time i saw one (albeit a teener) was when kylie's " i should be so lucky" was a hit...

penfolds grange 2004 [barossa]

dark almost purple; big hit of (perfectly) ripe plum, cherry, hint of vanilla, very primary as to be expected, rocky road?; off dry entry, plum ... again beautifully ripened, bit nutty?/wood/cocoa?, structured and plush all at once ; firm but fine ripe tannins ... the silky rich fruit just shades this aspect at the moment; big bodied; luxurious but not in the overblown sense... everything's so well balanced; very drinkable now but can almost imagine what it'd be like given some age when it picks up more complexity......

bang for the buck? are you joking? have you seen the entry price lately?!!! ZILTCH!
lovely stuff to be sure but more a statement than a wine nowadays, jeeez.

see another one anytime soon? ... i should be so lucky ... lucky, lucky, lucky ...

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

decent 10 days work

1)spring vale pinot noir 20052) chateau malescot st-exupéry 1998

3)domaine santa duc gigondas des hautes garrigues 2003

4)brunely vacqueyras 2003

earlier

5)leasingham clare classic shiraz 1996

6)puygeraude 2000

7)mischief and mayhem chablis 2005

8)mischief and mayhem pugliny montrachet 2005

later

oldie but a goodie

yalumba the menzies coonawarra cab sauv 1997

sample still very drinkable BANG!

later

nice half doz

1)loosen L 2008
BANG! great great value

2)domaine de la brunely vacqueyras 2003

ruby; kirsch, chinese herbs, long pepper, wet clay; cherry, plum, herbal, said pepper, bit of soy, slight chalkiness; ripe tannins; juicy acid; a bit rustic?; medium bodied; long; BANG!; courtesy of the contrarian.

3)henschke lenswood abbott's prayer 1997
BANG!(-)

4)lucien barrot CDP 2005
er, ...



5)loosen urziger wurtzgarten spatlese 2007
BANG!

6)cloudy bay sauvignon blanc 2008
a friend's rather nice housewine ...

details later

fish & chips

shaw & smith m3 chardonnay 2007 [adelaide hills]

richer mouthfeel, way less mineral, more oak (smoky, buttery), and a slightly woody finish ... compared to the 05. ordinary ... a little disappointing this time. POP!

suspects gather

1) castello di querceto chianti classico reserva 1990

aged stuff, see earlier sample, less dried out than the earlier sample but faded badly in the glass after about 30 mins.; methinks this one has flatlined ...

2) alain graillot croze hemitage 2007

nice as it ever was

3) mitchell sevenhill cabernet sauvignon 1999 (clare)

ruby; restrained, plum, blackcurrent, oak (hint) , nicely intergrated; fruit and wood intergrated as expected, bit of mineral/chalk; tannins fine with enough acid to balance things out; longish; light/ medium bodied; BANG!; good drop.

4) ornellaia le volte 2007

see earlier notes ... consistent

5) lucien barrot CDP 2005

never disappoints ...

a good evening ... bit hazy though.

one hot afternoon

two hands clare riesling the wolf 2005

straw; lemon/lime rind, whiff of kero; aforesaid citrus flavours, apple, some powdery mineral nuances (talc?8-P); juicy acid; longish appley finish; BANG!

weekend past

1)grand corbin despagne 2005 (75% merlot, 24% cab franc, 1% malbec) [st emilion]
young, almost purple; plum, blackcurrant, smoke, a little vanilla, cedar, mushroom/earth, hint of musk/violets?; follows onto palate, mineral/stones; lots of furry chalky tannins and acid... said young didn't i, and with the fruit it will keep, i happen to like the tannins here; lean kind of feel now; medium bodied and length; 13.5%; BANG!(-)

2)basel cellars cab sav 2002 [walla walla ... i kid you not, washington state]
fruit from 4 different parcels, vinified separately ... blah, blah, blah ...
ruby; plum, blackcurrant, cedar, bit of vanilla, earth/ mushroom, a little funky ... old world like?; clean flavours, ripe fruit on the palate; fine tannins, acid to back that up; medium bodied, longish; 14.5%; BANG!(-); supposedly 100% new wood but pleasently surprised it's not fruit and wood monster.

3)godolphin 2005 (shiraz 80%/ cab 20%) [barossa]
speaking of fruit bombs ...
reddish purple; plum, blackcurrant, cedar, vanilla, hint of cocoa, someone said butterscotch/toffee; cherry, sweet ripe plummy jammy fruit (hmm... 4 adjectives); lotsa fine tannins; acid AWOL; smooth, plump and lush?; medium/heavy bodied with a longish ripe/jammy fruit finish; 14.5%; did i mention ripe? POP! didn't think much of it but others begged to differ. am told this is a big bob fave ... and as a friend would say, hmmm.

4)gunderloch jean baptiste kabinett 2007 [rhinehessen]
straw; lime, bit of peach; off dry, bit lean, mineral; nice sharp acidity; short; 7.5%; ho hum; POP!

5)delas freres crozes hermitage tour d'albon 2005
ruby, purple tinge; initial whiff was really herbal and spicy (long pepper/ green peppercorn very obvious), cherry, grilled meat, sweet; cherry, herbal, meat, someone said bread and butter pudding and apple cider?, clove, balsamic, chalk/mineral/ stone; lot of fine tannins with nice juicy acidity; overall, a wee bit hard now; medium bodied and length, nice herbal finish; 12.5%; nice one; BANG!(+) extremely well priced. remember "cheap wine"?

bits and pieces

1)nicolas potel chablis 1er cru montmains 2006
straw; citrus (lime/grapefruit?), slightly floral, nectarine; follows onto palate, a little ripe?, bit rich for a chablis; lotsa minerals/chalk and acid (suck on some lemon rind); longish finish with the aforesaid lemon bits; BANG!

2)carlos serres onomastica 1995 (rioja reserva)
ruby, still dark; cherry, plum, vanilla/wood, spicy; quite rich with dark fruit, woody vanilla; lots of fine tannins with just enough acid so i didn't gag; it don't taste like a rioja, almost like some medium weight barossa!?; medium/big bodied; medium length; 13.5%; POP! ... but for the price, maybe POOP!



3)dr loosen bernkasteler lay kabinett 2007
straw; lime, peach, grape!; more than off dry almost sweet (but no where near the 06), lime, grapefruit, oats, red delicious, underlying chalk and stone, fleshy kind of feel; very nice juicy mouthwatering acid; long; you keep wanting to fill the glass; 8%; BANG! woud be nice to see it in a coupla years.

4)pikes clare riesling reserve 2002
deep straw/ gold; lime, cumquat, stone, dried apricots; follows onto palate, maybe some golden delicious?, hint of kero; has softened ... aging and mellowing nicely; acid still there to keep things fresh though; longish said dried apricot/citrus rind finish; BANG!

no markup

went for chinese with the oldies who came down. this thing was going cheap. been seeing kids downing bottles of this stuff so gave it a go.

torbreck woodcutter's shiraz 2007 [barossa]
ruby/purple tint; blackcurrent; blackcurrent, cherry, a little wood, off dry?; little fine tannins; juicy acidity; clean fruit without the huge slab of wood; 14%, bit alcoholic, couldn't take much; nice straightforward style for early drinking; roasted suckling piglet and assorted bits of cured pork. POP!