The Home of Renowned Tasting

You don’t see many Merlot/Cabernet Franc blends. Wantirna Estate do one called the “Hannah”, and that is the only other one I can think of.

The nose is very pleasant, strikingly so – red currants, morello cherries, raspberries and some leaf. The palate is elegance – medium bodied with red cherries and red currants, ripe fine tannins and a fair old swag of acid. The length is good too.

Now please don’t open this and drink it straight away, because it needs a good decant to build some weight and muscle, otherwise the acid will dominant. It should also take a bit of cellaring.

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Clos Clare is in the Clare Valley (not surprisingly) and quite near the town of Watervale. Noel Kelly runs the winery and is one of the friendiest gents you will ever meet. Though in the past the wine has been contract made, he now makes most of the wine-making decisions himself.

The 2003 vintage was a hotter vintage with more extreme temperatures than 2002. The grapes for this wine come almost equally from two vineyards - one near Leasingham and the other just north of Clare. Each vineyard is around 30 years old, dry grown and hand pruned. The fruit is hand picked and the yields are around 3 tonnes per acre. The wine is aged in a 50/50 mixture of new and old American hogheads.

A lifted nose, bitumen and tar, rich fruits like red cherries and red plums, pine nuts, a splash of vanilla. The palate shows blackberries and leather, coffee and caramel, raisans and some char. The finish is drying. Despite the ripeness, there is a fair amount of acid in the wine. There also seems to be a lack of freshness which I found off-putting. A wine of quality, but perhaps a bit of an ugly duckling at the moment - leave another year and drink over the medium term.

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Huntington Estate is an excellent winery. If you already are a fan this tasting looks the goods. If you have not tried Huntingtons wines then you might well be in for a very pleasant suprise. Which reminds me - I have a few bottles of the 97 Reserves I have been meaning to open.

Click here for details

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This is the first commercial release from a vineyard in the Wild Duck Creek region of Heathcote although the first crop came off them in 1998. Production is 400 to 600 cases per year. The wines are only available by mail order.

I went round to my brothers place for dinner and knew oxtail was on the menu. This wine was an excellent choice. Robust wine for robust food.

Very deep colour. Aromas of blackberry and other dark fruits, spice, sawn oak and peppermint. On the palate a flood of black fruit and spice with masses of grainy ripe tannin. Although the wine is dark and dense there is still freshness here and the alcohol does not intrude. Finishes warm and spicy. A rich and satisfying wine.

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If you ever happen to find yourself in Stockholm this is a restaurant I would definitely recommend – even if you will absolutely identify yourself as a tourist by going there. I thought it worth making a quick note.

Fem Sma Hus (five little houses) is located in Gamla Stan (the old city) on Nygrand, a narrow alley just off Skeppsbron. It occupies a series of arched brick cellars which get lower and more atmospheric as you go deeper - some are well below water level. These date from the 17th century. This place has a really nice feeling to it.. and the service is so friendly. I have been to a few restaurants in underground cellars like this here now and I have to say I just love them.

The food is traditional Swedish and French – I can imagine some people would be rapt to see such menu options as reindeer and Port marinated carpaccio of elk served with Västerbotten cheese. My friend Malin made we wish I had also ordered this entrée..
Kalixlöjrom serveras med gräddfil, rödlök och smörstekt bröd
Bleak roe, served with sour cream, red onion and toast - 195 kronor -

The wine list started as follows:

Frankrike
Pauillac
1958 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 6400 kr
1978 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 5700 kr
1979 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 4200 kr
1980 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 3300 kr
1981 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 3600 kr
1982 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 12000 kr
1983 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 4000 kr
1984 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 3100 kr
1985 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 4900 kr
1986 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 4900 kr
1987 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 3500 kr
1988 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 4700 kr
1989 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 4500 kr
1990 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 7200 kr
1991 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 3600 kr
1992 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 3200 kr
1993 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 3600 kr
1994 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 3700 kr
1995 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 5500 kr
1996 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 4500 kr
1997 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 2800 kr
1998 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 2600 kr
1999 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 2700 kr
2000 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 8900 kr
2001 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 4100 kr
2002 Château Latour, 1:er Cru, 3500 kr

The choice (by an American !)… 1996 Lindemans St. Georges, Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, 825 kr I enjoyed this very much – the vanilla oak was quite obvious but well balanced by the richness of the fruit. It’s always a treat to have a glass of wine in Sweden and even better to share it with a great bunch of people.

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The 2004 vintage was a very difficult vintage in Central Otago, with frosts at both ends of the growing season. I approached this wine with some trepidation and was greeted by red cherries and plums, wood smoke, slightly underripe rhubarb, some leafy underbrush, earth, and something elusive, like green twigs. A wine to contemplate, so I did…

The palate is lightly bodied, lithe, with elegant light red cherries and raspberries, a charriness; what it lacks in weight it makes up for with charm. The acid is bit spiky and aggressive on opening, so slap it in the decanter for a couple of hours, or leave it for a wee kip – one year should do. Finishes with sap and some pippy greenness. A very good result. I must admit that rating this wine was very difficult, and its score oscillated over the 4 or 5 hours it took to consume the bottle, and in a strange way I actually liked it for some of its faults.

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Full details here

Sydney
Thursday 30 March, commencing 5.30pm till 9pm, at the Royal Automobile Club, 89 Macquarie Street, Sydney.

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I don’t normally do news but this is extra-ordinary. I was hoping to see more Spanish wine under screwcap….the nice Torres Sangre de Torro is sold locally under screwcap. I guess that is the end of that!
Click here for the article
Here for the press release

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Winemaker Tasting No. 3 for 2006:

Torbreck - With winemaker Dave Powell

When: Wednesday 29 March
Time: 6.30pm SHARP until 7.30pm
Where: North Sydney Cellars, Shop 4, 105 Miller street North Sydney
RSVP: essential, by phone 02 9954 0090 or email North Sydney Cellars
Cost: free

We will have very special prices available on these wines until 11am Thursday 30 March 2006. If you are unable to make the tasting, please email me for a copy of the price list.

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Full details here

Brisbane
Wednesday 29 March, commencing 6pm till 9pm, at the Rendezvous Hotel, 255 Ann Street, Brisbane.

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A nose of sweet florals and power - musky stewed apricots, frangipani, a hint of rose and orange blossom. The palate is open and inviting - ripe stonefruits and lychees with a hint of spice, texturally smooth and slippery, on the sweeter side but has nice acidity to balance. It is mouth filling, rich and generous, and finishes dryly - perhaps too much alcohol, not that you notice it on the palate, so best to share the bottle with a friend.

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100% Mataro. Very dark red, verging on black. A nose of blackness too: black fruits, black spices and molasses. The palate is juicy and malty, with blackberries and muscular fruits, chewy and textured; new leather, baked spices and black earth. It is really quite complex already, and though it is sweet, it is balanced by spice and a drying savoury finish. Dense and beautifully textured with terrific length. Needs 5+ years. A special wine - I am getting a six-pack of this one.

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A vivid purple, rich blackcurrants and black plums, tar and spice and a coffee dryness. The palate is big and ripe, black fruits, sweet but with an underlying spice base, finishing with a drying dustiness and clean as a whistle. Larger than life at the moment - this will certainly put hairs on your chest, if that’s what you want - top notch Australian shiraz. Needs a couple of years to settle, and my apologies for the large drinking window, but I reckon this could go a mile.

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The site has been a bit slow for the past few days. Not much drinking going on at the moment and I have a bit of a cold as well. I thought this wine might fit the bill as a bit of a test palate jobby. I remember tasting it at Vic Wine Week and remember liking it. I recalled that it was medium bodied, stylish and a bit savoury so I was very happy (and suprised) to see it in the bargain bin at North Sydney Cellars. Happy for me that is, not happy for the wine or winemaker as it deserves better.

Aromas of raspberry, spice and some aniseed. Nice subtle oak treatment. On the palate medium bodied and fruity but not sweet. Appropriately dry and savoury - both stylish and fine. It has fresh raspberry and spice flavours and a bit of meaty interest. Fine grainy tannins. Dry finish of good length. It would be good value at $30 let alone this crazy low price. I’ll pop in and snaffle a few more tomorrow if they are still there.

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It is not often you can pop into a wine store and buy a bottle of wine that is almost 30 years old and still pay less than $50. After my success with the ’83, I bought this one, and ’84 too.

Tawny rancio characters, old barrels, history, a Palm-lined road in Seppeltsfield, acetone and dried raisins, a soft nuttiness and a bit of spirit. The palate is sweet, but not too sweet, varnishy, with terrific length, but it is perhaps a bit too volatile. It finishes with peat and spirit. This is an excellent wine, but having had the ’83 recently, it pales in comparison – it just does not have the complexity or vivacity. Perhaps it lacks some freshness, perhaps the ’83 was just a stunning vintage. Drink now I think.

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Well this is another wine from the Hunter for me, and from the 2003 vintage as well – I’ve been drinking a few of these recently – and the more I have the more impressed I am. This one is a blend of Shiraz and Tannat. Tannat is best known as the dominant grape variety in Madiran in southwest France.

It has a nose that is dusty and savoury, warmed earth, black cherries and red cherries, homely spices. The palate is smooth, medium bodied with savoury fruits and a sprinkle of spice. Good acid to balance, and has a drying finish. This is a quite a welcome change from all the fruit bombs on the market, and as you would expect, it is very good with food.

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From the back label, it says that this is a special late harvest, and at 15.5% abv I believe this is true.

Big, fat and ripe - blackberry liqueur, cola and sweet juicy fruits. Now I have read claims from a Melbourne retailer that this is more like Châteauneuf-du-Pape than Barossa, and this is complete bunk - there are no herbs de Provence, no river stones and no lavender florals; it is not even close. Am I a grump? The palate is sweet rich blackberries, some dark spices like cardamom and cinnamon bark, some maltiness, soft and smooth tannins, length like a contented sigh. Excellent drinking now, but perhaps some time will see it show better, so buy a bottle now and forget about it for a year or two.

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Right then. First thing is that it is nice to see they have started the bin numbering system again with the vintage as the first two digits…the old system was highly confusing. You needed a Lindemans Hunter Valley slide rule to work out the old numbering system. The second three digits mean the following - 00 reserve bin, 10 special brew, 03 standard brew. This one was popped in a mixed dozen by old Bert Woewodin, proprietor of WineStar, because he thought we might appreciate it. Too right. Glad to see it has come back home to NSW from the vinous wasteland that is Victoria.

Nice bright red purple. Aromas of cherry,dried cranberry,dried herbs,tar and earth. Minimal oak influence - just a hint of spice and vanilla. Medium bodied with earth, licorice and sour cherry/cranberry fruit. Fresh acidity. Notable rustic grainy tannins. Grippy exit with dried herb flavours. Just the sort of wine I like drinking midweek - not flash but really enjoyable.

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Ah ha ha ha ha. Another one of my very favourite wines. The 1998 Vat 9.

Good colour but chucking a bit of sediment about. Aromas of red berry, mulberry, new leather and licorice. Touch of walnut. Clean wine. Medium bodied palate with red berry, walnut and leather flavours. Good fruit sweetness but appropriately savoury. Fresh acidity. Powdery tannins. Good length with some cherry pie flavours to close. Delicious. I think I will drink a couple more over the next few years and leave a couple to develop further - although it is very good drinking right now.

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Looking younger and oakier than expected, especially as wines from the 2000 vintage are looking pretty good at the moment. The oak is quite pervasive, but not bad in a caramel or vanilla kind-of-way. There are some nice florals, a pinkness, bright and tight, with some sauvage and spice. The palate is tight too, with precision and minerality, marzipan, more spice, lots of acid and some sour jubey fruits. It really needs more time, but it has a truckload of structure so you should be quite confident in letting it rest a while longer.

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