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I’d argue that this wine would be significantly better with a whole lot less oak as the fruit is beautiful and needs to be heard more clearly. Nevertheless, after four days of being open it showed no sign of tiring, and the oak slunk off into the background like a noisy bore at a party that finally gets the message, which surely augurs well for future festivities.

Fresh and minty with a mix of black and blue fruits, aniseed and a double shot of toasty espresso oak. On the palate blue fruits, Barossa coal, spice, milk chocolate, aniseed and plenty of toasty savoury coffee oak - sweet fruit and savoury oak. It has magnificent ultra fine tannins married to fruit of outstanding purity and freshness that’s currently submerged under a blanket of toasty oak. Very long finish. It needs a lot of time to come together and the points are for then, not now.

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I don’t cellar Semillon; I would much rather buy a good mature one, and in this regard I am very thankful to be able to purchase one like this. Now I say mature, but I reckon this could easily go another 10 years, if that is what you wanted.

Some yellowing. Aromas of glossy lemons, golden fruits, citrus peel, herbs and a little nutty. The palate is toasty and full bodied, having a waxy texture, with lemon, peel, and old nuts. Some secondary development is evident, but the wine is still quite youthful and fresh, balancing the old and the new. Superb length and a lovely dry finish.

Other vintages: 2004

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Well I tasted this on a coolish Sydney late Autumn night, and it’s just the right sort of wine for that of thing, but while you are reading this and quite possibly shivering, most likely I’ll be sunning myself and sipping a gin and tonic..or perhaps a dry Martini (stirred, not shaken) on a tropical island somewhere in the Pacific…

Lots of interesting things to smell here - bramble fruit, gum leaf, boot polish, pepper, nougat and toasty oak being the main ones (real or imagined). It’s nice and dry on the palate with attractive chunky tannins and briar, pepper and mixed berry fruit flavours. Just above medium bodied with good freshness and drinkability although not especially deep. It could easily take a bit of bottle age to gain further complexity too. Very nice wine and one of good value and authenticity.

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If you happen to have a child born in 2007 (as I do) then I’d suggest this may well be one of the better local bets to snap open at a 21st. The little buggers probably won’t appreciate a twenty one year old Clare Riesling mind you, so I’d suggest you drink this quietly in the corner as a warm up, before tucking into a bevy of Hunter and Margaret River reds of the same vintage. I had this open in the fridge for, I think, about 5 days and it hardly budged at all.

It’s clean, pristine and precise with lemon, grapefruit and mineral flavours on a fine boned flint-edged palate. Tight, refined and ultra-dry it’s beautifully balanced and very long but not for drinking now unless you are an acid freak. A great wine where patience should be richly rewarded.

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Well I reviewed this nearly a year ago and gave it an 89+, tasted a second bottle a few months ago and thought it much better, and this third bottle I thought better again. Good old plus sign eh. Get out of gaol free. I tasted this alongside the 2006 Reserve Pinot, and while the Reserve has greater intensity and focus, there’s certainly not a huge gulf between their relative stations. I’d also add that I poured off a glass out of each bottle and left them in the fridge until the next day. They looked all the better for it too.

A mix of rich cherry, spice, Autumn leaves and toasty caramel oak lead on to a medium to full bodied palate with plenty of flavour that’s full of ripe cherry and plum, earth and spice - sweet and savoury at once. It has bright clean acidity and fine grained textured tannins providing firm structure. Excellent length of flavour finishing spicy and dry. Still needs more time.

Other vintages : 2006, 2006, 2005, 2004

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I don’t know too much about this wine but I do know it won the trophy at the McLaren Vale show as best red under $20. Fair enough too, you’re certainly getting a lot of bang for your buck here!

Opens a little charry and then comes chocolate, black plum and cherry brandy. On the palate full bodied with saturating long smooth tannins and flavours of chocolate, earth and plums. On the first day’s tasting no hint of alcohol warmth - it’s all neatly folded and hidden in the velvet folds but on the second day the heat was on so I’d suggest drinking young rather than cellaring. Points are for drinking now..and at cool cellar temperature rather than room temperature.

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The trade label on the back says $20 which seems not only awfully cheap, but also a considerable reduction in price from last years model. It’s a cellar door and on-premise only jobby but well worth seeking out.

It smells of cassis, berries and liquorice but it’s also nice and meaty rather than sweet - the Viognier having been taken up beautifully and adding floral interest rather than overt apricotiness. Full bodied with firmish tannins but oh so smooth and well balanced. It has flavours of meat juices and juicy berries and presents as a sumptuous, classy and thoroughly delicious wine. Long too…and if the price is right..then come on down.

Other vintages : 2005

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I’d say the packaging of these wines really detracts from what’s inside the bottle, which so far has been really pretty good. Then again I’m not in marketing, or more specifically targeting a specific market, although I guess delivering a good product is ultimately what’s most important. This is made by Neil Pike from fruit coming out of the Sevenhill sub-region of the Clare Valley.

Sweet fresh limes, a little toasty development, herbs and mineral make for a very attractive smelling wine. It offers juicy limes, toast and mineral flavours with a good clean acid cut that’s also not without a certain approachable-drink-me-now-and-quickly softness and sweetness. Fine balance and flow throughout closing with a long sweet limey finish. Very tasty and probably at it’s best right now.

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I’m going on holiday tomorrow for a week and have about 40 notes I’d like to write up..but that’s not going to happen tonight. I’ll aim to knock up about six or seven and have them magically pop up each day in my absence….which may or may not make your little hearts grow fonder.

There’s a bit of spicy clove oak here but it sits comfortably on a bead of cream, lime/citrus and figs. It feels medium to full bodied and has a creamy yeasty texture with fine acidity pulling it into shape, freshening and lengthening the palate. Citrus, figs, spice and savoury lees are the main flavours and the finish is long, creamy and spicy but not without a bit of controlled flinty grip on exit. A top Chardonnay of complexity and sophistication that’s ready to go now.

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North Sydney Cellars “Meet The Maker” Tasting:

South Africa With Tiaan Strauss

¨ When: Wednesday May 14
¨ Time: 6.15pm SHARP until 7.30pm
¨ Where: North Sydney Cellars, 189 Miller Street North Sydney (cnr. Berry Street)
¨ RSVP: Essential – email shop@northsydneycellars.com or phone 02 9960 5828
¨ Cost: FREE!
¨ Why?: Read on…

(more…)

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This is from a total production of 64 dozen and as at yesterday I believe there are about six or ten cases left at the winery (I forget which but I’m sure the number is nearly as fluid as the wine).

Perfumed and crammed with Chinese five spice, sour cherry jam, blueberry and subtle creamy oak this smells immediately appealing. On the palate just medium bodied with a fine sense of freshness and elegance - it fans out and spreads flavour though the mouth in the most delightfully gracious manner. It tastes of sour cherry jam (but not too sweet), tart blueberries and plenty of exotic spice - all light and fresh with fine feathery tannins and a long spicy finish. Marvellous wine. A Shiraz for Pinot fanciers perhaps?

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The Chardonnay of the same vintage is a pretty good wine, smoky mind you, but otherwise excellent. I’ll review it later. This on the other hand, should most likely not have been released. I don’t normally review lesser wines but this is fully priced, and from a company not lacking in resources.

It smells good with dark cherry, peat smoke and spice - rich and inviting. On the palate medium to full bodied with black cherries, Chinese plum sauce, spice and some peaty smoke flavours (think Talisker) but texturally it feels distinctly odd - shapeless, denatured, acrid and rubbery. Most unnatural, it holds a sort of car crash fascination, and while drinkable affords little pleasure.

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This is a new line from Seppelts (hence the review) that came along with a 2006 Heathcote Shiraz. It’s yet another wine from the 2007 Victorian vintage that I reckon is showing smoke taint characters. I think I’m either looking for it too closely or just getting too sensitive to the smell and taste of it (and it’s mainly the taste that presents the problem) because it keeps cropping up over and over again, and while this is not nearly as bad as some, it’s enough to knock a couple of points off and shorten the drinking window.

It smells of nectarine, yeast, smoke, aniseed (or is that Bonjella on my finger?), orange and cardamom spice. Nice and tight on the palate with fine clean acidity and good balance throughout. It’s medium weight with attractive citrus and nectarine flavour that’s marred by a slightly acrid character that carries through to the finish. A promising debut but a tricky wine to score, all things considered.

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No introduction, I am in a rush and Blackboard is telling me to “hurry up”.

Glacé cherries, a roundedness, stalk and pepper, soda water, mint tea and a touch of dried meat. The palate showed red fruits, dried stalks through the mid palate and fleshed out on a finish that included a touch of sap too. There was some sweetness of fruit, with some game and dried meat characters, but there was also an underlying stalkiness that might disconcert some people. A lovely light mouthfeel, good length, dry and perhaps a bit shy, lightly weighted with a feminine edge. Short term drinking I would guess.

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Hmmm well I think I like this one a little more than the 2005 vintage (more length) so logically I need to give it a slightly higher score, even though I have both 92 and 93 written on my pad (a trend you might begin to notice). I’d need to taste them side by side to be absolutely sure, rather than many months apart, but I’m as confident as you can ever be when dealing in absolutes. Well that’s my story anyway, and I’m sticking to it.

It’s fragrant and creamy with spice and pepper over dark cherry and fresh blackberry and a bit of the old liquorice coming up with air. It feels medium bodied in the mouth with excellent flow and nice fine smooth tannins, acidity perhaps a little unsettled at this early age, but set for a long future. There’s no heat or over-ripeness - just beautiful blackberry/dark cherry fruit seasoned with pepper, spice and subtle creamy oak running onto a good long finish. A boastful advertisement for stylish Grampians Shiraz at a painfully modest price.

Other vintages : 2005

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Rose of Virginia turns 21 this vintage and I’d say it’s still about my favourite local rosé. It walks with style that fine line between being juicy, fresh and flavoursome without wobbling over to the sweet or sickly side. This year’s model is Grenache 44%, Cabernet 29%, Pinot Meunier 14.4% and Shiraz 12.6%.

As pretty as ever with the scent of rose petal and musk over clean raspberry and cranberry fruit. On the palate fine balance between the sweeter raspberry flavours and those of the fresh dry cranberry juice - it comes across as being juicy and vibrant rather than sweet. Lots of flavour and refreshment but showing slightly edgy acidity at this youthful stage which should settle down with few more months in bottle (just in time for Spring). Dry finish of good length. Still a firm favourite and one of the rosés I’m always up for drinking.

Other vintages : 2007, 2006

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I’m having a couple of major problems with all these 2005 Margaret River Cabernets, namely those of limited funds and finite capacity. This year’s Heytesbury is all Margaret River with just a sneaky little addition of 5% Shiraz and is a barrel selection rather than a single vineyard wine (as per usual). There won’t be a 2006 vintage release so the intention is to stretch this out until the 2007 Heytesbury becomes available.

Flamboyant, complex and highly aromatic with a mix of ripe cherry and cassis, violet, dark chocolate and spice tempered by more herbal influences of peppermint, gum leaf and snapped green twigs. It’s also appropriately gravelly and earthy as is the way with the best Margaret River Cabernets. On the palate full bodied and flooded with ripe cassis and cherry fruit, dried herbs and mocha flavours - a wine of considerable impact, depth and drama. It has strong ripe chalky tannins, superb balance and a long dry finish. A wine that resonates in the memory long after tasting.

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I know what you’re thinking, here goes Lincoln with that weird descriptor, but this does smell like sausage meat. It does. I might be odd but I hope I am consistently so. There are also aromas of red fruits, spices and smoke, but all this is dominated by spicy tomato sauce and sausages. The palate is, to be honest, a bit feral, with plums and red cherries, minerals, hints of meats and stalks, and wild sauvage character. The finish is little warm and metallic. Very odd indeed, though good persistence through the palate, with some creaminess, but the sweet tomato sauce confection pushes the wine well to the left of field. A tough one to rate.

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A new label for the 2005 vintage (of which you can read more about in the excellent Moss Wood newsletter here), and while I miss the old one, the contents of the bottle more than adequately compensate for the loss of gold trim; this is easily the best since the mighty 2001 vintage. The oak is less obvious and it’s more refined and balanced (and less warm and chocolaty) than some of the more recent vintages. I tasted it alongside the soon to be released Vasse Felix Heytesbury of the same year, and while they are quite different wines and hard to separate qualitatively, it was the svelte charm of the Moss Wood that tipped the scale. A style preference in more ways than one.

A gorgeous smelling wine that immediately pulls at the purse strings of the Cabernet enthusiast - it offers mulberry and dark fruit, a violet perfume, spice, fine cedar oak and that gravel and wet cement aromatic that is so typical of the region (at least for me). In the mouth quiet authority and grace is the order of the day with ultra fine mouth coating tannins, ripe fruit, oak and alcohol all in perfect balance. It’s appropriately dry and savoury but not at the expense of bright fresh Cabernet fruit flavours. Long and satisfying this is a wine of rare balance and significant ageing potential. Certainly one of the finest Moss Wood releases to date.

Other vintages : 2001, 1999

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Greenvale is near the Melbourne airport, so I’ve plopped this wine in the Sunbury region. The vineyard is dry grown and the wine was made by Antonio Nania, Bruno D’Anna and Franco D’Anna using natural yeast, no filtration or pumping, and gravity feeds. This is the inaugural release.

A lovely nose, with the aromas oscillating between black cherries, red currants and black currants, with some vanilla pod, spice, and a matchstickiness. The palate is soft, red fruits, blackcurrants, liquorice, old black pepper and some matchstick on the finish. On the lighter side of medium bodied, with soft tannins and highly drinkable.

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