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I have tasted this twice now, and while the second bottle is better, I still find it a very curious wine. Enigmatic certainly.

Aromas of cassis, blackberry, stewed plums flecked with vanilla, pepper, a puff from an inner-tube and the scent of a two stroke mower going over long sweet grass. A challenging yet strangely compelling mix of herbal, chemical and fruity smells. On the palate medium to full bodied with raspberry coulis, blackberry, spice and dried herb flavours. It is smooth and lush with plenty of powdery fine grained tannins and good length of flavour. It drinks really well and feels good. I like it but find it very hard to rate rationally.

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A year has passed since I wrote my note
But I should have known this right from the start

..and the message in this particular bottle is very good (cork excepted). It’s cooler and leaner than Stuart Copeland in a pair of Aviators circa 1979.

Light and delicate with green fruits, lemon, white peach, struck flint, a little butter menthol lift and fine clove spice oak. On the palate tight and refined with lime, white peach, hazelnut and a touch of butterscotch. Restrained and dry with a flinty texture and a little kiss of spicy oak. It has crisp clean acidity and a lovely sense of freshness and vibrancy. Finishes dry and crisp with a spice and crunchy green fruit aftertaste. Cool and classy.

Other vintages: 2005

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This is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 20% Carmenère from Rapel Valley, Alto Cachapoal and I spotted it hiding in a box in my office.

Strong red purple colour. Aromas of blackcurrant, sweet dried herb, spice, licorice, cedar and a whiff of ashtray. On the palate medium to full bodied with blackcurrant, licorice root and dried herb flavours backed with mocha oak. It has no shortage of extract with very firm chalky tannins and some lightly bitter phenolics. Finishes dry with blackcurrant and licorice flavours and a rasp of tannin. Perfect with fatty lamb, not so good with crackers!

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I was fortunate to have this at a dinner but I gather it is not available yet. In my humble opinion it is one of the better red wines in the Bouchards 2005 line up. The aromas are clean and start with some licorice moving on to plum. The palate is rather complex and starts with a lovely spice mix of licorice and oak that supports a strong line of plum with a little cherry on the side. The palate seems to last for quite some time. This wine is still evolving and I suspect it will take a few years to reveal its true potential.

Other vintages : 2002, 2002

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This is the first of three 2006 red releases from De Iuliis and is their ‘traditional’ Hunter shiraz offering. The fruit for this vintage is sourced from the prostigious Stevens vineyard.

Strong red purple colour. Aromas of crushed berries, spice and violets with a dusting of vanilla and chocolate and only slightly more Hunter Earth than you would scrape off a Blundstone after a gentle walk round the vineyard. This is fragrant and spotlessly clean. On the palate medium bodied with fresh berry fruit, spice, violet and a little earth and chocolate. It has light powdery tannins offering a lovely lightly chalky texture and has impeccable line through the palate. Finishes long and clean with bright fruit with a little drop of vanilla to close. It’s a beauty.

Other vintages : 2005

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What with one thing and another going on I completely forgot to do something for Winorama’s second birthday celebration. We are now into the terrible twos and I hope the site will not throw a big tanty because I forgot. Anyway, two and a half thousand odd (emphasis on the word odd) tasting notes later we are still churning away.

Aromas of stewed plum, ripe berry, eucalypt, chocolate and vanilla. It also has a slight whiff of burning leaves. On the palate medium to full bodied with a mix of plum and berry fruit, mint and twiggy flavours mingling with some chocolate and spice. It has firm grainy grippy tannins and a little bitterness on exit. A robust and enjoyable wine offering good value.

Other vintages : 2004

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This seems to have taken a little price hike along with most of the wines in the Fosters portfolio. Very tricky red vintage in WA despite what the press release says. Howard Park, for example, will only be releasing only one red from this vintage (so I am told) because they just could not get the fruit to ripen.

Aromas of green twigs, eucalyptus, red cherry and red berries and light spicy oak. I find it strangely attractive in a horticultural kind of way. On the palate medium bodied with fractionally sweet red fruit, eucalyptus and baking spice flavours. Crisp acidity and fine lightly astringent green edged tannins. Finishes with some cool red fruit and twiggy flavours. On the plus side this is fresh and medium bodied but you have to like herbal flavours.

Other vintages : 2005

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I was having a little read of Max Allen’s website on Biodynamic wines the other day and did not realise that Paxton are a ‘Biodynamic practice, not certified’ vineyard. I don’t know if I am sold on all the bits of Biodynamism (it seems too pseudo-science for me) but do know that the proof is in the pudding. So while I am not totally convinced by the theory (at least until some real science is put behind it), I do think the end result is great. I suspect that the results may be down to extra care and attention to detail as much as anything else though.

Aromas of cherry, fresh berries and chocolate with meat and mineral characters. It smells as much like Spanish wine as Australian and has a barely perceptible oak influence. On the palate medium bodied with lively raspberry and black cherry fruit and a rich choc-licorice flavour. It has a most attractive mineral and earthy aspect too. There are smooth fine grained tannins contributing to a supple and generous mouthfeel and a persistent savoury choc-licorice aftertaste that makes you fancy another taste. It looks very young at the moment so give it a good splash round if you drink it now. A big buy recommendation from me.

Other vintages : 2005

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As much as I love Yarra Valley (and Adelaide Hills for that matter) chardonnay I still find it hard to go past Margaret River for mid-palate power, intensity and overall quality. To my mind it still produces the best chardonnay in the Southern Hemisphere. Fo shizzle..and this one has the real sizzle.

Complex and powerful with a range of heady smells including melon, nectarine, lime rind, oatmeal, yeast and clove and vanilla oak. On the palate intense and focussed with bright fruit of the melon and grapefruit kind backed with clove spice oak and biscuitty oatmeal flavours. It has tastefully applied savoury wine maker inputs that highlight (rather than smother) the wonderfully pure fruit. Fine minerally acidity and a light chalkiness provide textural highlights. Finishes dry and savoury with exceptional length. Awesome.

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The 2006 vintage for Margaret River will most likely be very disappointing for reds (it was the coolest in hmmm 50 years I think) but the chardonnays look awesome.

Aromas of white peach, nectarine, almond paste, fine spicy oak and some yeasty savoury characters. On the palate very fine and perfectly poised with nectarine, grapefruit, almond meal and spicy oak flavours. Clear and direct with a light flinty texture and excellent length of flavour. It combines delicacy and finesse with the power and intensity of Margaret River fruit. The best of both worlds. This is a great Australian chardonnay.

Other vintages : 2004

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This is not a cleanskin in the traditional sense. It was commissioned by the store to be made from two tonne of fruit purchased from an established Hunter Valley Vineyard. In case you are wondering, two tonne would normally make about 150 dozen cases.

Aromas of lemon, dried herbs and a bit of free sulphur. Restrained but typical and varietal. On the palate flavours of lemon, tart orange and dried herbs. It has a dry flinty texture with balanced (but slightly coarse) acidity and a good dry lemony finish. A good solid wine, especially at the price, and will also take a bit of cellaring to show further improvement.

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I asked Delirious if he could send down a Verdelho and received a bonus Semillon as well. Now I am just waiting for him to send me a better bottle image..

Aromas of lemon, mango sorbet, a handful of herbs and a bit of free sulphur. On the palate a fair explosion of flavour with lemon sorbet, fresh lemon and mineral. Tightly coiled with a lightly chalky texture and plenty of drive through the palate. Finishes with a grassy lemony aftertaste. Good now, good later and most certainly good value.

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Whipping through a few more 2007 Hunter sems this afternoon and one gem I can offer is not to eat crisps in-between tasting. It really stuffs things up. Anyway, I digress, this comes from fruit hand picked off the Drayton’s Bellevue Vineyard which was first planted in 1984.

Aromas of sweet lemon and lime with a little blossom and vanilla. On the palate fresh, with a light spritz, and juicy lime and lemon fruit. It has a lovely dry texture with squeeky acid and it drives through the palate very nicely. Finishes fresh and long with lime and lemon pith flavours. Really like this.

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A Hunter Semillon from a Canberra region producer. The fruit is sourced from the McKelvey Vineyard on Deasy’s Road, Pokolbin.

Plenty of stinky sulphurous smells over subdued grassy lemon fruit. On the palate austere with searingly intense lemon fruit, grass and murky sulphur flavours. Very tight and dry with sour lemon to finish. It could just need plenty of time but certainly not for drinking now.

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I hear William Downie is leaving (or maybe has already left) De Bortoli, and is heading off to Gippsland to do his own thing. I certainly hope he can continue to make wines as good as this. A sexy nose, gorgeous red fruits and briar, intermingled with some minerals and a whiff of smokiness. The palate is refined and elegant, quite tight and yet also fruity in an underlying kind of way. There is a richness but also lots of restraint, pure red fruits, lightly earthy and sappy, also with a touch of sappy minerals on the finish. The persistence is terrific too; a wine (and winemaker) of great promise.

Other vintages: 2005

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Only 150 dozen half bottles of this were made which is only really a paltry 75 dozen when you convert to 750ml.

Aromas of orange marmalade, cumquat, vanilla, cinnamon and some flowery honeyed notes. Fresh, light and spicy. On the palate suitably luscious and glossy, but with a good sense of freshness, it offers flavours of tangerine, apricot and spicy vanilla oak. It has an appropriate cut of acid and a little bit of oak tannin adding grip and texture. Finishes clean with a lick of spicy oak and excellent length of flavour. A delightful sticky.

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I never seem to get round to tasting the stickies but I do like them. Last night I made the effort and opened a few up after dinner with a bit of fresh fruit. Oh I should add that we preceded this with an excellent ‘96 Penfolds 389 and ‘96 Wynns Black Label Cabernet and a bottle of minty but fairly nice ‘93 Limestone Ridge. Old school.

Intense and rich aromas of dried apricot, pineapple, honey and some light gamey characters. The palate has a nice fat unctuous texture with apricot jam, pineapple, honey and a little spice from oak. Soft but balanced acidity and (of course) it has a long honeyed finish. An excellent thicker style with plenty of flavour.

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I tasted this 18 months ago and gave it 92 points with a + on the end. The plus sign, in case you were wondering, denotes that I think the wine has some ‘X factor’ that may come into play with further bottle age. As per usual, I always enjoy it immensely when I am right… This has 33% new oak, 33% one year old and 33% two year old oak (presumably the missing 1% is the X factor) and does not go through malolactic fermentation.

Light golden colour. Aromas of white peach, grapefruit, matchstick and light spicy oak. I also find it smells a bit like a ‘lime spider’ with its sweet lime and vanilla overtones. On the palate fine and fresh with flavours of white peach, grapefruit, sweet lime, matchstick and spice. A pleasing and well balanced combination of zippy sweet fruit, a little sulphide complexity and fine spicy oak. It is nice and minerally with tangy crisp acidity and a light chalky texture. Finishes long and flinty with citrus, smoke and spice aftertaste. A beautiful wine.

Other vintages: 2005, 2003, 2002, 1998

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I have to really get cracking with the notes. Less of the Jibba Jabba and more of the tasting. Tonight a quick blast through of some 2007 Hunter semillons.

Aromas of sweet apple, pine-lime and herbs. Juicy and forward. On the palate it has plenty of impact with crisp green apple, green melon and lime flavours. Slightly brazen crunchy green apple acidity with a rounded mouthfeel. Finishes with a spiced apple aftertaste. An attractive and refreshing summer white.

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I am told by unreliable sources that Thommo was spotted recently going about the thankless task of trying to convert Victorian heathens into enlightened Hunterva Semillon drinkers. Tough job but someone has to do it.

Lively and inviting with zesty lemon, passionfruit, Thai spice and a bit of grassiness. On the palate it has punchy passionfruit, orange, lemon and lemongrass flavours. It is dry and minerally with mouthwatering fine acidity and finishes dry and flinty with excellent length. Drinking very well now and makes a fine (and to my mind superior) alternative to pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc.

Other vintages : 2007, 2006

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