not yet ...

best's great western shiraz bin 0 2001

later

realife

yarra yering dry red no.2 1998

mischief & mayhem chablis premier cru 2006

good weekend this

same fruit

1)stonier reserve chardonnay 2005 [mornington peninsula]
straw; peach, wood ... vanilla, citrus; rich entry, barely enough acid, cashew?; surprisingly short with slightly woody finish...; alcoholic; POP!

2)mischief & mayhem chablis 1er cru 2006
straw; lemon/lime, mineral, pear?; similar on the palate, somehow confectionary ... lolly; some nice juicy acid ... would have like more; not very long; quite refreshing; BANG!(-) nonetheless

gratis

yarra yering dry red no. 2 2002 [yarra valley]

very nice smooth drop BANG!

later

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

quintet

1)chateau cantemerle 2004 (haut-medoc)
ruby; spice ... cinnamon, cardamom?, vanilla hint; blackcurrent, plum, leafy; fruit, a little chalky/mineral, lean; some structure ... furry tannins and acid; medium bodied and length; with food; POP!(-) ... maybe in a coupla years but i'll pass.

2)chateau vilhars 2005 (fronsac)
ruby; dusty spicy nose, cherry?, plum, oak hint; aforesaid fruits and berries?, mineral, spice, dried orange peel?; nicely balanced by soft tannins and juicy acid; light/medium bodied; medium length; BANG!(-) ... thought it was a nice light rhone in a blind some time ago ;-P ... but what do i know? ...

3)domaine dugat-py gevrey chanbertin les evocelles 2007
ruby, purplish tint; blueberries, hint strawb, floral, damp earth; aforesaid berries, mineral/chalky; tannins firm, acid a little tart; light/medium bodied; ...bit lean ... not really ready? POP! expensive

4)yarra yering dry red no.1 1999

5)st cosme cote du rhone les duex albion 2006
this sample had a very "medicinal" sour nose initially ... someone said paracetamol(?!)... ow ...blew away somewhat after 30 mins, but this sample was still a little too funkeee (see earlier sample)... methinks that the said sour note was an extention of chinese spices and the "cow pat" on the palate ... yes, bull doo doo ... an extreme incarnation of wet clay. not a very pleasent bottle this.

t2

forsaken by all and sundry ... had no. 1 on my own ...

1)nicolas potel chablis 1er cru mont de milieu 2002
light gold; nectarine, apples; follows onto palate, granny smith, chalky; juicy acidity; bit of age, smooth and of medium length; very nice; BANG!

2)by farr chardonnay 2001 [geelong]
consistent with the earlier bottle but less overdeveloped and all the better for it; BANG!

revisit

found this while scrounging around a friend's place. last bottle shared a couple of years back.

yarra yering dry red no. 2 1998 (shiraz plus a bit of voignier and marsanne) [yarra valley]

decanted ... 15 mins; ruby/garnet, a little bricking, thrown a crust; floral, plum, blackcurrent, bit of mushroom and herb, bit of cedar, warm and round; a little alcohal burn down the gullet, almost sweet fruit ... plum, spice, secondary; just enough very fine tannins and juicy acid remain and are all melded with the fruit; beautifully balanced; medium bodied; looong; 14.9% ...; BANG! extremely good one, you just keep tossing it down.**winemaker bailey corrodus passed on recently in september.

that's farr enough

at my friend's, he had a rather tiring weekend and suggested the following ... who am i to refuse the host.
ozzy chard, 7 years ... hmmm ... a little worried there cos many of these things just curl up and die with age. host and i had a rather painful experience some time ago with a dozen bannockburn chards ('01s which we obtained at a very nice price, or so we thought at the time). 7 were over the hill and/or oxidised. that stuff was also made by the same guy, gary farr who knocks out some really nice stuff in geelong ......:-0

by farr chardonnay 2001 [geelong]

cork looks ok ...
gold (at least its not brown and cloudy); apples, wet oak, butterscotch, all subtle now, secondary; flavours have melded; medium rich, soft, smooth and mellow mouthfeel; a little fine tannins with some acid thankfully still nice and juicy (would have liked a little more of both); medium bodied but a little short at first, lengthened a little with time, some golden delicious at the very end; feel that this is as far as it can go before going downhill; drank it fast cos we figured it might just shrivel up in the glass;13.5%; POP!(+) i suppose.

hen's teeth

looking for some party wine for a friend's 80th birthday do, about 130 pax. finding stuff that's good and reasonably priced in this place is hard, to say the least. fingers crossed.

update: drinking above their price, nice:
best's victorian shiraz 2003 and grant burge barossa vines chardonnay 2006. BANG! BANG!