The Home of Renowned Tasting

A very pleasant nose - juicy black cherries and raspberries, a whiff of leather, some savouriness, a bit of fleshy green stalks and spice. The palate is nicely balanced with red fruits and a light shake of pepper, acid, and oak somewhere in the distance. Very good length too. It is on the lighter side, but it is not thin - an honest effort.

2 Responses »

Red plums, black cherries and white pepper, in fact lots of white pepper (I almost sneezed). It also has some dry spices like star anise, and some pretty florals. But though there are lots of spices, there are also ripe and pure fruits. The palate is initially a bit backward, but it opens up to show ripe red cherries and pepper, beautiful pure fruits with oodles of sophistication and refinement.The finish is drying, with woody spices. An excellent wine, with the potential to get better.

No Responses »

Magpie Estate is a joint venture between English wine merchant Noel Young and Veritas winery in the Barossa. I have not had these wines before so and was keen to try a bottle.

This smells good. It offers up dark cherry, ripe plum, menthol, herbs and new leather. Medium to full bodied with beautiful ripe plum/cherry fruit, spice, dried herbs and leathery savoury flavours. Very fine ripe velveteen tannins. Long savoury spicy finish. This really is fabulous well balanced shiraz. Not sweet, over-oaked or hot. It’s just perfectly ripe delicious Barossan fruit doing all the talking here. Amen.

4 Responses »

The press release that accompanied this bottle says that ‘The winemaking team is working towards a complete relaunch of the brand, with the transformation due to be revealed at the end of this year.’ Sounds interesting. The fruit for this wine comes from the Kirri Billi vineyard, which was planted in 1982 on terra rossa soil. Aged for 18 months in new and used French and American oak.

Aromas of blackberry jam,blackcurrant, tobacco and toasty mocha oak. On the palate it is medium to full bodied with flavours of blackberry, mulberry, tobacco, dried herbs and toasty oak. Quite savoury really. Loose knit sandy tannins dominate the mouthfeel. Finishes with a light bitter herb flavour but has length. Much better oak treatment in this than some earlier vintages. Certainly worth a look - especially if you can find it for less than the suggested RRP.

10 Responses »

Dark colour and a brooding nose of cherry and plum. The palate is rich with obvious although not over the top oak that gives it a chocolate edge. The chocolate blends in really well with the plum notes. It has the best texture we have seen on any BC PN. A lovely wine that I suspect I am marking a little hard.

2 Responses »

I must have bought this 10 years ago, or thereabouts, and at the time I was told that this was as good as Mount Mary. Pffffftttttttttt, I believed anything back in those days. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec, and it is aged in French oak for 24 months.

A rich red, but a touch of browning. Red capsicum, red currants, leafy, richness with some opulence, earth and smoke, coffee beans. Palate shows red currants and leaf, a bit thin initially, but builds weight with time in the glass, finishing up strongly with savoury fruits and slicing steely tannins. The acid profile is excellent, and the length is very good too. Should go a few more years I reckon, but it ready now.

No Responses »

This one was rescued from the ‘to-be-auctioned’ pile last tonight. It is not that there is anything wrong with it, it is just that I have far too much wine.

The nose shows red currants and tobacco leaf, green capsicum, animal hide and some damp earth – quite interesting. The palate is predominantly red currants, with some faintly smoky leather and a pleasing texture. Now, even though it is only 8 years old, it is not particulary primary, with the secondary characters matched by some fruit freshness, riding the wave of maturity. At its peak for my palate; maybe I will save the remaining bottles from the pile.

4 Responses »

This is the best Pinot Gris we saw along the Okanagan Valley.
It is dry and has classic aromas of honey dew and straw. Rich and mouth filling with great length.

No Responses »

Cellar says we bought 18 bottles of this in March 2002. We have six bottles left. Cellar says yes! The 1998 Margaret River vintage, unlike the rest of Australia, was a bit tricky for red wines. I think Voyager and Cape Mentelle made a good job of it. Voyager Estate, dollar for dollar, make the best cabernet blends in Australia.

Aromas of cassis and plum, violets, smoke, earthy leaf litter, cedar, capsicum and a touch of mint chocolate. Quite a lot going on here. There is a bit of lift too. Like sniffing an artline texta although not as distracting. Lovely sweet ripe cassis and plum fruit with leafy earthy flavours. Fine cedary oak woven throughout. Ripe powdery tannins and fresh acid provide a solid framework. Finishes sweet and long with savoury blackcurrant flavours. This is excellent. It has brett but of the finest Bordeaux type and it adds an extra dimension to the wine. Very good now but no hurry with this one.

5 Responses »

I like durif but never seem to drink any of it.

Strong purple colour. Aromas of boysenberry,dark cherry, chocolate and sweet spicy vanilla oak. On the palate there are flavours of crushed blue and red berries, cherries dipped in chocolate and vanilla. As is the usually the case with durif the tannins are mouthcoating, grainy and not exactly in short supply. This wine has rich fruit, tannins and lots of flavour and it demands some sort of hearty slow cooked animal dish to tame the tannins. Otherwise pop it in the cellar for a year or two.

3 Responses »

The fruit is sourced from the Clare Valley

Aromas of dark cherry, plum jam, tar and spicy oak. On the palate it has juicy dark cherry, plum, black pepper, choc-toffee and earthy flavours. Big rustic loose knit tannins. Warm alcohol. Good chocolatey finish. Plenty of flavour and not short of personality. I’d give it another year to settle down. I like it a lot but I don’t think I would pick it as sangiovese in a pink fit.

One Response »

This is lovely smelling viognier. It has apricot, spiced pear, florals, honey and candied citrus fruit. Clearly varietal. On the palate it is slippery and viscous with acidity that provides balance and freshness but also makes it look a bit clunky. There are flavours of ripe pear, spice, oranges and apricot backed with warm alcohol. Some pastis like flavours. Warm to hot spicy finish showing some coarseness. It needs to be served quite cool to subdue the alcohol - but then again I find this a problem with most viogniers. They smell good but they pack too much heat. This is a tasty varietal wine at a fair price.

No Responses »

Aromas of apple, honeysuckle, spice and wool jumper/sulphur. On the palate there are flavours of apple, pineapple, pears and spice of some delicacy. The acidity is quite hard and squeeky though and it tastes (suprisingly) tannic. Finishes with spicy apple flavours and some phenolics. The flavours are good but the acid puts me off. Of course, it would be much better with food as is the intention of the wine, but this is how I find it at the tasting bench.

No Responses »

A big reductive and spirity on opening, but a few hours later it showed raspberry fruits, new red leather boots, a bit of vanilla and cinnamon, with spice, brandy and sarsaparilla root. The palate shows sweet red fruits and spice, savouriness and some slippery alcohol. The wine has charm and is pretty good value at $12 (or thereabouts). The product code for this one is KHL 5858.

8 Responses »

It is my strong belief that every wine region needs a smart restaurant/wine bar. THE BEST that I have experienced is the Ponzi wine bar in Dundee, Oregon. However, Toasted Oak in Oliver is almost as good. It had the same kind of “Buzz” about it and the food was very,very good. They only have local wines and the General Manager, Jay Drysdale, really knows his stuff.It was so good that we felt that we had to dine there two nights in a row.

They also have many wines by the glass and on some occasions do flights which we believe is a key marketing point for the region. The food was smart modern style covering great Duck thru to a burger style. Jay suggested several excellent wines, Kettle Valley and Twisted Tree PN 04’s that were excellent and a Chard that was bloody good but I forgot to record.

No Responses »

In a hole, falling apart, no good. That is what many people have been saying of the ‘98 Wynn’s Cabernet. Bollocks is what I say. I can’t account for so many disappointments elsewhere. The wine is a big make but every bottle I have had has been very good. Maybe some have been cellared badly. Don’t know. Not sure I care as long as all our bottles continue to be excellent.

Strong deep red colour. Aromas of cassis, cherry, tobacco, mint/menthol and coconut/vanilla oak. On the palate flavours of blackcurrant, cherry, tobacco, a touch of chocolate and some vanilla oak. Plenty of strong grippy tannin and good ripe fruit. Savoury blackcurrant finish of good length. This is very good Coonawarra cabernet. It is looking young, strong and very vigorous.

4 Responses »

Lincoln reviewed this wine a few months ago here. My turn now.

Aromas of stonefruit, lemon curd, milk, nuts and a wisp of smokiness. On the palate stonefruit, melon and lemon with oatmeal and a little spice. Lovely texture - it is a bit slippery and viscous but not in anyway fat. Finishes with peach and lemon curd flavours. Splendid chardonnay.

8 Responses »

I very much like Margaret river semillon/sauvignon blancs. Much better than a cheap chardonnay and very refreshing. This one is semillon dominant (59%) and also has a splash of chardonnay (9%) which works very well.

Pale colour. Aromas of lime/lemon, fresh pineapple, grass, fennel and dried herbs. It has a crisp fresh palate with a hint of sweetness. There are flavours of lemon, lime, kiwifruit and pineapple and a bit of grass and herb to provide balance in the flavour spectrum. Clean fresh finish. A marvellous and inexpensive example of the classic dry white blend.

No Responses »

A few people have commented that things move off the page quite quickly round here and as a result they often miss one of our renowned little tasting notes. So if you care to look up at the menu bar above you will see an option called ‘Digest’. It is a bit of a funny name I suppose but I am a funny guy. Pressing it will provide you with a list of the last 30 posts, 20 comments and the 20 most commented on topics. Things that you have looked at already will be presented in grey and those you have not in a our rather fetching Winorama shade of tan. You could use the link as a bookmark for the ‘at a glance’ summary rather than loading the homepage.

I have also included the price and points rating in the index listing of all tasting notes and refreshed the layout. Shortly I will include some sort options such as order by rating/price, producer, vintage etc. In the meantime I had better get cracking and do some tasting rather than programming. I know which is more fun.

One Response »

This wine is tight, lean and I believe, in the mold of the greats from Alsace. It has citrus and lime aromas that tantalize without being strong. We tasted this at Fairview cellars. A huge pickup came in and a guy came in with a box of wine, spoke to Bill, the owner and was about to be introduced to me when he said “David and Wendy Lloyd”. Matt used to work at Dromana Estate near us. He has moved here and seems very happy. The wine had some sugar but the acid was in super balance so having the luxury of the winemaker present I asked, 12g/l of sugar and acid. Once again the lime flavours had great length.

One Response »