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It smells rich and sweet with blackberries, liquorice, chocolate and vanilla nougat oak with a bit of camphor lift. On the palate it’s full bodied with good rich fruit, almost syrupy and very fluid, with flavours of blackberry, plum, root beer, chocolate and some more savoury coffee/chicory oak characters. It has ultra fine ripe tannins coupled with clean acidity and good length of flavour. It’s a really good traditional Aussie red that really satisfies.

Other vintages : 2005

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I met the two chaps from BlackJack last year for lunch..and I reckon at least one of them would have made a very handy pirate… if only he’d been born a couple of centuries earlier….arrrrr.

It has good freshness which also includes a whiff of eucalyptus/camphor over red berries, spice, smoke and coffee nougat oak. On the palate raspberry and cherry, a bit of nuttiness, spice and light coffee oak. It’s medium bodied with light grainy tannins and (as previously mentioned) a highly pleasing sense of freshness and vigour. Good length of flavour finishing with a raspberry, eucalyptus and spice aftertaste. Maybe I’d not quite walk the plank for it..but I’d bounce on the edge for a bit no worries.

Other vintages : 2005

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Now I would not normally bother writing this up if it weren’t for the distinct possibility that many might be inclined to try the new vintage based on the glories of past. And maybe you should try it too because there is also the distinct possibility that I have fluffed the review, or had an indifferent bottle.

It smells very good with violet, black and blue fruit, dusty wood, cocoa and an aniseed/ouzo lift. On the palate medium bodied with a mix of berry and cocoa, not much width and quite strong furry tannins. It starts well but much like the opening credits of Get Smart the steel doors slam shut as the wine travels along the mouth - hard, cold and final. Tasted over two days it remained closed and unforgiving, although perhaps time will be kind and unlock its charms.

Other vintages : 2004, 2003

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I didn’t think the 2005 Chalambar was much chop (although I only tasted it briefly in amongst a raft of other wines) and the 2005 Moyston I can’t recall tasting at all. This vintage looks to be back on top form mind you and tasting this over two nights I have the scores of both 92 and 93 circled on the madness that is my tasting notes book. If you have a taste for Grampians/Bendigo shiraz then I’d expect that you will be very pleased with this wine. Release date is April 1.

Opens with a little toasty oak and a slightly reduced meatiness but give it some time and a rich mix of berries, plum, pepper, spice and aniseed will be revealed. It delivers all those good things you expect in Victorian Shiraz. On the palate medium bodied with good weight and depth of ripe fruits such as plum and mixed berry but essentially it feels quite dry - certainly spicy, a little bit meaty and has some dark chocolate thrown in too. It has plenty of ripe mouth coating talc-like tannin, unobtrusive acidity and closes with very good length and a slightly bitter chocolate aftertaste. A very good Chalambar. Good news for many because if it’s a staple in your cellar then you can safely bang a few in.

Other vintages: 2005, 2004, 2004, 2003

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Well well well this is the 2500th tasting note on Winorama in just a tick over two years and tonight, as if to rise to the occasion, every wine opened has been worthy of review. I tasted this a month or so ago and like it even better again now.

Fragrant and almost overbearingly charming with aromas of plum, berry, mint, coconut and black pepper. On the palate medium to full bodied with flavours of plum, cherry, aniseed, chocolate and coconut. Cherry Bounty Bars spring to mind but this wine is certainly more than Fun Size. It has soft fine tannins, clean acidity and a dry savoury finish that pulls everything into shape. Crowd pleasing and bloody delicious.

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O.D. stands for Off Dry. This wine was made from 25 year old vines in the Harcourt Valley. This valley is uncharacteristically cool for a central Victorian wine region, principally because it is nestled between the Mount Alexander range and a large ridge, and is subject to cool mornings and then afternoon shade from the ridge. This combination results in a prolonged growing season which produces intensely flavoured fruit. Unripe tropical fruits, soft lemons, quite grapey really, with lemon curd and slice of ginger. A lovely rounded mouthfeel, a bit of citrus and lemon, soft and subdued fruits, tempered grapefruit and lemon, with a tangy and clean finish. Not overly sweet and quite elegant. Drink now in the afternoon from a chilled pint glass.

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What with one thing and another I was not concentrating a great deal when I drank a couple of glasses of this but I can say that it really hit the spot.

Aromas of berry, spice, licorice, coffee and a little mint. On the palate medium bodied with fresh berry fruit, spice, aniseed and some savoury mocha oak. It also has that vague, but very attractive, thing we call ‘minerality’ in abundance. Fine tannins, fresh acidity and a fine sense of balance throughout. Good finish. A wine with verve and class.

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I whipped through the 2005 release from BlackJack wines at lunch today. Very impressive. I am pushed for time so I will just throw all the notes under my favourite from the tasting…

2005 Chortles Edge Bendigo Shiraz ($18)
Attractive soft plum and berry fruit with a touch of spice and vanilla/cocoa oak. On the palate medium to full bodied with sweet plum/berry fruit, soft tannins and subtle oak. Clean light fruit with no great depth or density (by comparison) but good length and fine balance. 90 points

2005 Majors Line Shiraz ($25)
Fragrant and slightly floral with plum/berry fruit, a little pepper, mint and coconut oak. On the palate medium to full bodied with fresh berry, a little pepper, mint and sweet oak. Fresh and clean with fine soft tannins and a good finish. 91 points.

2005 Block 6 Shiraz ($35)
Ripe sweet dark fruit, licorice, chocolate and creamy oak. On the palate plush dark fruit, raspberry, blueberry, earth and chocolate flavours with a little mint. Fresh clean acidity and smooth ripe tannins. Nice balance and excellent length. 93 points

2005 Cabernet Merlot ($25)
Cassis, blackberry, mint, black licorice and smoky burnt wood smell. On the palate sweet dark fruit, mint, toast, smoke and fine tannins. Medium to full bodied. Very attractive but not sure where those smoky smells come from…or where they will go. 90 points.

2005 BlackJack Shiraz ($35)
Rich dark fruit, cherry, licorice, chocolate and creamy vanilla oak. Very seductive. On the palate plump black fruit, plum, raspberry and vanilla flavours. Impressive weight and depth but no heaviness. Very supple fine tannins and long sweet finish. 94 points.

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Shiraz, shiraz and more shiraz had me reaching for a nice bottle of Cabernet to settle the nerves. This was a wise choice. Balgownie are so hot right now.

Aromas of blackcurrant, blueberries, plum, tobacco, black jelly bean and spicy cedar oak. A very fine smelling Cabernet with just a flicker of regional mint. On the palate medium to full bodied with ripe plum, red fruits, tobacco and dark chocolate with good cedary oak in support. There are strong (but ripe) powdery tannins with clean fresh acid to balance. A firm well structured wine with good line and length. Finishes long with spicy tobacco tinged berry fruit. The rise and rise of Balgownie continues apace.

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This is a well-known label that just seems to get cheaper and cheaper; I am sure I paid more for the 1998 vintage. An interesing nose, showing milk chocolate, nuts, red plums, cinnamon quill, spice, black cherries, deeply spiced actually, and with time a bit of seaweed and oyster shell. The palate shows plums and spice, nicely scribed on an oak backboard, seeming more generous than the ‘04, a bit salty with firm acid and drying finish. Some more time in the bottle is recommended, though I am concerned this is was an atypical bottle.

Other vintages: 2004, 2004, 2003

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I am still waiting for the recent 2005 Balgownie Estate releases to arrive. *tap* *tap* *tap*. Meanwhile…

Aromas of dark fruit, licorice, spice, empty chocolate box, flowers and subtle oak. On the palate medium to full bodied with dark berry, cherry, licorice, new leather and spice flavours. Beautiful smooth supple texture with fine milk chocolate tannins and a long spicy savoury finish. This is how it should be done. The effect of the viognier is largely textural with only a little lift to the aromatics showing. Delicious and ready to go.

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Well butter me both sides! This is smashing value for under twenty dollars. It is a cellar door only jobby and can be had for as little as $17 if you are a member (I know quite a few people who are members..). Not sure of the gold label bit though. It looks a bit too winning ticket from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” but never mind because it is quite chocolaty..and quite winning.

Aromas of cassis, plum, milk chocolate, mint and cigar box. Plush and ripe. On the palate medium to full bodied with plum, cassis, choc-mint, tobacco and vanilla. Lovely ripe fruit with some savoury complexity. It has smooth fine tannins, a most attractive supple texture and a lip smacking chocolate and tobacco finish. I’m still trying to think of a better Cabernet blend for under $20…

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I remember tasting this as a barrel sample at the winery in 2004 alongside the St Peters and it was monstrously tannic so I opened this up on saturday afternoon, decanted it for a while, plopped it back in the bottle, went out and enjoyed myself, and then came back to it a day later. I did sneak a little glass before going out and found the wine to be unyielding and very tannic.

Vivid purple red. Aromas of dark cherry, blueberry, licorice, pepper, five spice (heavy on the cloves) and cedar oak. On the palate medium to full bodied with flavours blueberry, dark cherry, meat and pepper. Huge amounts of dry grainy tannins dominate the palate at this stage and the acidity is a little spiky. Finishes dry with a mass of tannin. This could turn out to be a beauty if the tannins integrate and settle but at the moment it is very hard going.

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What a lovely easy to drink surprise this was. I reviewed an ancient one (1982) some months ago so was happy to grab a bottle of this. It was essentially cellar door release only. The colour was mid red and the nose has good varietal typicity with some rich cherry and candied fruit. The palate was soft and fruity without any oak intruding upon this very nice fruit. The finish is medium length and definitely what I describe as warm climate PN rather than the tighter/leaner cool climate style. Well made and almost enough to tempt me to sign up for their wine club to get some more.

Other vintages reviewed: 1982

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I have tasted this wine three times now so you can’t say I am not thorough. The bottle that was sent up from the winery was really very reduced so I went out and bought a second bottle because it conflicted with the initial tasting I did in-store at North Sydney Cellars. The bottle on the bench now shows no such problems. Strange but true. This is a lovely wine but I reckon the excellent 2004 cabernet has the edge.

Aromas of blackberry/raspberry, spice, smoke, aniseed, a sprig of mint and some creamy toasty oak. Marvellous smelling really. On the palate pippy raspberry, plum, bitter chocolate, spice and some leafy flavours. Attractive earthy savoury overtones. Medium to full bodied and quite fresh - just a hint of almost apricotty white wine flavour that dilutes the mid palate a little. Fine dry lightly sandy tannins. Dry savoury finish. Drinks beautifully but I would like a little more oomph on the palate for top points. Maybe a little more time may see it flesh out?

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Balgownie Estate make some terrific, modestly priced and very ageworthy red wines. An industry insider (I’ll call him Mr X) gave me the hot tip about a month ago and suggested I look at the 2004 vintage. So I did.

Aromas of blackcurrant, tobacco, five spice, vanilla and just a little drop of eucalypt. On the palate lovely sweet and savoury flavours of blackcurrant, tobacco and vanilla. Firm fine ripe grippy tannins. Everthing present and correct. It tastes like cabernet too. Long earthy finish. A beautiful wine and smashing value. You would be very wise to introduce a six pack to your cellar. It might go something like
‘Hello cellar’
‘ooooo hello Balgownie..what a lovely suprise!’

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First things first: this needs a decant. This done, the nose is complex and alluring: red currants and red cherries mixed with black fruits, milk chocolate and some smokiness. The palate is full and delicious, beautiful fruits matched with quality oak and ripe medium-grained tannins. A super wine with years ahead of it - it is hard to believe it was priced around $20.

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Dinner at friends with the usual masked wines. When asked old world or new I responded with “Penfolds oak plus fennel and tobacco at 10 yrs+”. That sets the scene. I remember this wine from cask when shown by Stuart 24 years ago and from when I got my 3 bottle allocation. Alas my last had crumbly cork problem. This wine was brownish but in great condition. If you remember Balgownie before Stuart used imported oak with in ya face ripe/sweet fruit… this is it. The oak used to be strong. Now it is like a cross between a Penfolds and a Rhone with its fennel and spice. No varietal typicity but very nice. I can’t score it because it is a no win situation. It is nothing like a Pinot but it was bloody good and at 24 years!!! Much better than the Cab or Shiraz from 1982 which I still have. This had in ya face oak when young and was grown in a place that is generally thought of as being too warm for great PN but at 24 years it is sound and most enjoyable, even if not recognizable as Pinot. Note the alcohol.

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Aromas of cassis, cherries dipped in chocolate, spice, sweet herbs, eucalypt and vanilla cigar box oak. A very intense smelling wine. On the palate it is full bodied and packed with cassis, choc cherry and spicy cigar box flavours. Not fat and fruity though - a very tight condensed linear palate. Packed with grainy dry (ripe) tannins and glistening with fresh acidity this is a wine that needs a long sentence (did I just write one?) in order to reveal its full potential. Dry tannic choc cherry finish. Absolutely top shelf Victorian cabernet.

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Righto then. I have the 04 Chalambar on the right in a Riedel shiraz stem and the 04 Moyston on the left in a Bordeaux stem. In the middle is a pretty happy little taster.

Aromas of berry, milk chocolate, mint, black pepper, spice, roses and rosemary. There is plenty of lovely sweet vanilla oak here too but beautifully applied. A prostigious smelling wine! On the palate it is medium bodied. Fine and tight. There are flavours of blueberry and red fruits, spice, pepper and cigar box oak. Dry fine tannins and a long (very) dry savoury finish. This, to my tastes, is a vastly superior wine to the 2003. It is fresh, balanced and very refined. Outstanding.

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