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I’m a bit unsure of this wine at the moment. It might get better with time, certainly it will improve in the short term, not sure how it will go longer term.

Quite subdued with aromas of pear and melon, plenty of spicy vanilla nougat oak and some funky wildness and matchstick. On the palate medium bodied with a mix of pear, white peach and melon, a little creamy oatmeal and plenty of vanilla oak. It has subtle fruit squashed up against some hard oak at the moment - which should settle with bottle age. Soft acidity, a lightly creamy slippery texture and a little warm alcohol with a sweet oak finish. Too much building on not enough land at the moment but it could well be that I need to step back and view it from a distance.

Other vintages: 2005

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Saturday September 29 is a very divisive day. Do I have a look at a Victorian or South Australian winery? I have picked up a few skills from GW and decided on a win win, NSW winery but made with Victorian Pinot Noir. This is no pussy of a wine. I had not seen it before yet at a very competitive end of the market. It is a blend of three clones of Pinot Noir, 114, 115 and MV6. The colour was bright red and quite deep. The nose was ripe red fruits, morello cherry and a bit of blueberry. The palate was a pleasing set of cherry flavours that went well with food. It was a little short on palate length but had no bitterness or any other detracting characters. Not just any old Port in a storm for me.

Other vintages : 2005

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Battely must be the most widely misspelled Australian winery name after Plantagenet I would think. Admittedly, I also have a bugger of a time getting De Iuliis right too…oh and Tyrrells often misses an ‘r’.

Aromas of blackberry, raspberry liqueur, lots of cracked pepper and spice, apricot kernel and new leather. Subtle oak very much in the background. On the palate full bodied and packed with plum, raspberry, apricot kernel, spice and pepper. Intense plush fruit with savoury black olive and leather flavours. Warm and spicy with fine (deceptively) soft tannins and long fractionally hot and spicy baked fruit finish. It has a louder more robust personality that the seductive 2004 but has plenty of class nonetheless.

Other vintages reviewed : 2004, 2002

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A group of us got together to benchmark Chardonnays. All wines are served blind. This time the spotlight was on the 2005 vintage although some French wines from 2004 snuck in along with a couple of Aussie benchmarks such as the Giaconda. This wine was a highlight for me, it looked great, pity we only had a single bottle. I am aware that some winoramista are over this style, but I love it. The nose has some citrus plus a slight reduced character that I associate with solids. The palate showed these characters but the pencil shaving oak influence is high with a bit of yeast ester. Very fresh and quite long with a long future. The tasting also brought up some discussion about closures. Giaconda have not used Diam to seal their wines and this example looked perfect. Interestingly, two of us took the same benchmark, made by another producer. Both bottles were sealed under Diam, but they looked different, one bottle showing fresher fruit than the other. One of the local makers wine, also sealed under Diam did not look very good, so once it was revealed he opened another that looked fresher. The closure issue is very tricky and one thing we have not tried before is to look at multiple examples of one wine sealed under the same closure. A possible future project for the renowned GW?

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An engaging nose of lavender and stones, pink marshmellows and jelly crystals, gravelly, reminiscent of an English beach. The palate is juicy, lots of red/black fruits and lots of oak too, nougat and caramel, cloves and a twist of spearmint. This really was a wine that changed and morphed as it was swirled in the glass. Not terribly varietal, and seemed a touch boozier than 14.0%. Needs some time to settle I think, and might score better.

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Well I am hard at the pump now trying to knock out 1400 notes before the close of the new year…and seemingly the very prolific Lincoln has gone to ground! This, for the purposes of history, is note number 1398! I have three 2005 chardonnays to taste from the Brokenwood stable all hailing from different regions in Australia. Should be interesting.

Aromas of white peach, banana, nashi pear, a wisp of smoke and a good measure of malty vanillin oak. Touch of acetone. On the palate juicy nashi pear, banana, oatmeal and vanilla flavours. It is quite soft but still fresh and has a pleasant dry texture. Finishes with flavours of banana split!

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I bought this as a taster last year, and have finally got around to trying it. I don’t know why I do this, and I do it a lot, leaving a sampler so long that I will not be able to buy more even if I do like it. At least it provides some variety in the cellar.

Aromas of peach and oatmeal, green fruits, pear and honeyed lemon, a dob of butter, quite complex really, and alluring. I love being able to swirl a glass of wine and find all sorts of smells, ever changing. The palate is ripe, with lemon and oatmeal, texturally quite chewy, with soft lemony acids and sour musky fruits on the finish. A nicely balanced and elegant wine. Drink over the short term, or cellar if you are adventurous.

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Back from the NZ now. Cleared my desk of tasters and no sooner had I settled and sat down than I get ‘I need a nice red for tonight’..so I opened this.

Aromas of blackcurrant pastille, cherry, mint, licorice, spice and smoky earthy overtones. Nice amount of toasty coconut oak. On the palate a slippery medium bodied wine with spicy earthy flavours, dark chocolate, mint and sweet dark cherry fruit. Soft ripe tannins. Earthy finish. Interesting wine with lots going on. It is sort of a McLaren and Padthaway goes on holiday to Chianti via the Hunter Valley sort of wine. That may make some sort of sense if you drink a bottle.

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My winner in this evenings 2006 Gris-a-thon is this wine from Beechworth.

Intense and floral with aromas of apricot, musk, lemon and spice. On the palate rich but not overdone with flavours of peach, lemon, tropical fruit and musk stick. It is lightly slippery and has weight from alcohol but runs through the palate without snagging the tongue on any phenolic edges. Spicy peach and pear finish. A very good example.

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Clear red colour. Aromas of sour cherry, sweet herbs, aniseed and flowers. On the palate a lively medium bodied wine with fairily high acidity and dry sandy tannins but enough fruit to provide balance with flavours of cherry, cranberry and dried herb. Dry refreshing finish. Showed no sign of tiring after being open for over a day. A lovely wine and a perfect food style - and I mean for you to take this in it’s best possible context.

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The fruit is from young vines with the first crop in 2002. If you are into these sorts of things I might mention that this undergoes a cold soak with about 10% whole bunches. No post ferment maceration. Oak maturation in mainly old French. Clones are 114, 115 and MV6. My problem is that when I think of Beechworth these days (as I often don’t) I usually find myself thinking of shiraz.

Full red colour. Aromas of dark cherry/plum, cola, earth and a touch of spicy cinnamon/vanilla oak. Attractive smelling wine - a bit like a lighter Central Otago number. On the palate medium bodied with dark cherry, spice and warm brandy snap flavours. Loose knit lightly sandy tannins and good length of flavour. This is a good wine and I like it a lot but in the increasingly crowded “I’ve got twenty bucks to spend and I want a good pinot” market it faces some pretty stiff competition.

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Last Monday we had a nice dinner at Marque restaurant in Surry Hills and I scribbled down a few of my thoughts for posterity…well at least for as long as this website keeps running anyway.

1996 Egly Ouriet - The unusually developed colour had me a bit worried. On the nose oxidative sherry-like tones, citrus, red fruits, biscuit and spice. On the palate citrus and red fruits, hint of peach and lots of spice. Fine bubbles. Long citrus finish. I wonder if the development is typical? 92 points.
1996 Dom Perignon - Light colour. Nice fine bead. Fresh citrus, green apple, minerals. Light yeasty characters. Some sulphides. Fine tight palate with fresh dry mineral and citrus flavours. Lovely dry finish. I have had bottles that really sing and some that are just excellent. This is just excellent. 94 points.
2002 Giaconda Chardonnay - Caramel and ginger spice oak, banana, oatmeal and stonefruit. Warm alcohol, oak and buttery texture with peachy slightly stony chardonnay fruit. Lots of oak and not enough intensity. It needs time but on the night I was not in the mood for this sort of wine. None of us bothered with it much. A generous 89 points.
1971 Penfolds St Henri - Strong colour. Aromas of raspberry, licorice, leather, spice and earth. Utterly captivating smell. On the palate smooth red fruits, earth, leather. Still holding great fruit. Perfect harmony. Beautifully long. A magnificent bottle. St Henri is the king of Australian shiraz. 98 points
1976 Penfolds St Henri - Really strong colour. Aromas of seaweed, whiffy bottom, licorice, leather, pepper and sweet fruit. Strong rich earth and berry flavours on the palate with plenty of tannin and impact. This is a brooding solid wine with plenty of time to go. It looked heavy after the beautiful ‘71 but on any other night it would be a champion. 95 points.
1974 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon - A legendary wine. Aromas of blackcurrant, peppermint/eucalypt, aniseed, leather and cigar box. It smells much like a classic old Coonawarra. Smooth and gentle on the palate with sweet fruit and complex old cabernet flavours. Still some fine tannin floating around here too. Long finish. A beautiful medium bodied wine of great grace and sophistication. I think about 97 points if you insist.
1998 Zilliken Saarbueger Rausche Eiswein - I got chatting to the table next to us and arranged a little sweety swap meet. Only had a small glass and don’t have much of a note but can tell you this had lovely slightly sweaty cumquat aromas and a very fine palate where the balance of biting acidity and sweet fruit was nearly spot on. Quite delicate and very delicious. 95 points.
1967 Chateau d’Yquem - A very dark burnt orange colour. Toffee, creme brulee nose, honey, apricot. Toffee and apricot flavours on the palate. A bit dried out. I can’t help but think this wine was too developed.
1955 Sigalas Rabaud Sauternes - A little lighter in colour than d’Yquem but fresher on the palate. Not as intense but still kicking along pretty well. Very nice old wine.

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This one is fresh off the truck. An engaging nose: sweet spicy fruit, deep fruit, black cherries and currants, cinnamon spice and chalk, and even some caramel oak (but not a lot really). Oh, and there are some dried apricots too, but perhaps this is just the power of suggestion. The palate shows dry coffee beans, red cherry fruits, dry woody spices, and creamy oak. This really is some quality fruit here, and some quality oak too. An excellent cool climate wine, and it should get better with time.

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Interestingly the Cabernet is the Giaconda wine we have most of in the cellar, but after tasting the 2002 Shiraz last year I decided to change the order from cabernet to shiraz this year. So here it is.

Strong red purple. Aromas of char grilled meat, black cherry/blackberry/blackcurrant, white flowers and pepper with a touch of vanilla and licorice. It is a distinctly Northern Rhone smelling wine. On the palate it is fresh and medium to full bodied with flavours of blackcurrant/blackberry, grilled meat and spice. It coats the mouth with the finest ripest tannins in the most seductive manner. Ripe but not sweet. Power without aggression. Finishes long with a delicious roast meat and black fruit finish. I don’t think I have ever had a better young Australian shiraz.

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Screwcappie at last. Yay! We ordered both the chardonnay and the shiraz from the 2004 vintage under the superior closure.

Straw yellow. Aromas of ginger, spice, cashew, melon, grapefruit and earth. A fine stony palate with flavours of ginger, grapefruit, melon and earth with some savoury slightly cheesy lees characters. Long earthy spicy finish. A liberal application of very high quality oak over fruit of outstanding purity and freshness. At this point in time the oak dominates but all the components are here - they just need time to come together.

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A blend of 95% Shiraz and 5% Viognier, all from young vines. An odd nose and a bit elusive, so let me dance around the subject: dried apricots, green tea, red ripe cherries and stalk, an old campfire and green dewy grass, beetroot and red liquorice, a bit of mulch – you get the idea?

The palate shows red fruits with some sweetness, but also has a dry herbal character and some savoury notes. There is a disturbing green vegetative edge too, like asparagus stalks. The tannins are fine. Not mainstream by any means, but a very interesting wine.

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Outrageously floral - lavender, violets, white flowers then roast meat, spices, dark cherry, blackberry liqueur, apricot, stalk and creamy French oak. On the palate medium to full bodied with a gorgeous silky texture. Cool (mentholated) flavours of dark cherry and bramble fruit, sweet roast meat, spices and attractive stalky characters. The tannins are slinky and ripe with acidity that adds freshness and leaves the palate refreshed and cleansed - ready for another big sip. Outstanding length. This is scented, balanced and a textural marvel. This is the real deal.

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I popped into the Victorian Winemakers Exhibition last night and met up with none other than world famous Ninja of Wine Dave Brookes . The first stand I visited was Savaterre. This being based on the theory that you should start with the best and work your way down to the bottom. And we certainly went right down to the bottom with some wines…but that is another story. Normally I don’t do points based on trade tastings, small glasses of wine etc.. but this was the second wine I tried on the day..so I can be fairly confident that my tasting gear was in reasonable working order. The Les Enfants is a new wine from 5-6 year old vines, older oak and whole bunch fermentation.

Nice pinot red colour. Aromas of cherry, rose petal, smoke - only lightly foresty considering the whole bunch treatment. On the palate it is middle weight and strikes a good balance between fruit and savoury i.e. more on the savoury side. This is a dry wine and it reminds me of a good village level Burgundy. I think this is an important point as far too many ANZ pinots are quite sweet and fruity. I wish there were more wines made in this style. Light dry tannins refresh the palate and extend the finish. This wine has buckets of style.

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