The Home of Renowned Tasting

Well tonight’s little mini theme is Zinfandel (although I quickly opened a Hunter Shiraz afterwards to settle the nerves) and this is the best of the trio tasted. Our David tells me he’s a bit of a Zin enthusiast, and if pushed I’d probably admit to being more of a Primitivo man, although I think this grape is particularly sensitive to both terroir and winemaker - much like Pinot Noir and equally hard to get right - so it’s no wonder he likes it… For the record the other wines were 2007 Elderton Estate (fresh and attractive, smelling of raspberries and spice but a little herbal and dilute on the palate. 88 points) and 2007 Hentley Farm Barossa (a whopping 16.8% alcohol and as much like a Herbert Adams jam filled donut (rolled in earth and brandy) as wine, which is no bad thing if you are in the mood…. a wine for sweet-toothed pirates and dragon slayers perhaps).

A minty perfume wafts over plum pudding, spice, raspberry and Iced Vovo which leads on to a sweet and spicy medium to full bodied palate of good intensity and freshness. It’s a mix of warm cherried fruit and cool mint with light fine grained tannins, good balance and fair length of flavour. Good wine but questionable value.

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Wendy and I last visited the Bremerton cellar door about two years ago and bought this wine for about $40 but I see the latest release sold for over $75. I gather the 2004 got a couple of super reviews and its all sold out. By a coincidence, this bottle was provided by a friend at dinner, masked of course. It had a lovely pencil shavings oak on the nose and something a little funkier that merged in with the red berry aromas. The palate showed a really well crafted wine that has a good dose of tannin, rich fruit, the pencil shaving oak and a little aged character. Nice wine that went really well with lamb.

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I’d suggest buying magnums of this wine; one bottle is clearly not enough in one sitting. We tasted this over a couple of days and the last glass evoked a little tear in the eye and the sound of cash registers ringing in my ears. Ouch..but it’s Awesom-o.

This offered a remarkable array of smells and flavours over several days with brazil nuts, flowers, cocoa, blackberry, plum, roast lamb and mint being the big ticket items on its glorious olfactory shopping list. It does have some oak showing on the nose but it’s well into the background. In the mouth medium to full bodied with powerful cherry and berry fruit and a violet mouth perfume combining with more savoury roast meat flavours. It’s fresh and smooth with strong ripe tannins that melted down into an almost creamy mouth filling texture with extended breathing. Enormous length of flavour. It’s destined to become one of the greats.

Other vintages : 2003, 2003, 2002, 2002, 1997, 1995, 1991, 1986, 1976, 1971

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I worked my way through a quick flight of white tasters the other afternoon and this popped up up its hand and topped the class. Not a teacher’s pet though I assure you. A blend of 80% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc, and made by Brian Light.

A delicate and gently grassy nose, with ripe gooseberries and tropical fruits, melon, pear and a bit of banana. The palate is elusive, showing honeydew melon, hard green fruits, gooseberries and a chalkiness, particularly on the finish. Not too fruity, nicely balancing the fruity and the herbaceous elements, all with a long dry finish. Excellent short-term drinking.

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I really like the 2005 Yellowglen Vintage Perle, it’s an excellent and most stylish wine and I’ll be writing it up later, but meanwhile something not quite as excellent. Thanks to JP for pinpointing the exact sweet to use in the tasting note…

It smells of strawberry shortcake, liquorice and roses - all sweet and pretty. On the palate quite a long way off dry (to use some understatement) with strawberry shortcake, “Ï love you candy” and a little bit of citrus flavour. It has a nice fine mousse and feels soft and attractive in the mouth. Sweetness supports and lengthens the finish. Good quality upmarket tart fuel (for both sexes) but too sickly for my tastes - Rosé need not be so sweet.

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Curiously, for a well regarded ageing style, the contents of this bottle (3/4 full or 1/4 empty depending on your outlook) took on a distinct balsamic vinegar tang when re-tasted the next day. I’m not sure why that happened but thought it was worth mentioning.

Dark and beefy with fruit cake, plum, dark chocolate, mint and a certain toilet freshener like perfume. On the palate full bodied with nutty plum cake, dark chocolate and sweet and sour flavours. It has warmish alcohol and elevated acidity but good fine grained tannins on the positive side. It feels a bit dull and lifeless at the moment but there’s a very good chance that a few years rest will resuscitate it sufficiently to puff out its chest and carry the Kalimna name with pride.

Other vintages: 2005, 2004, 2003

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This is made from Touriga Nacional which is interesting. I probably dish out some highish scores to rosé, some might think, but I base the points on a number of factors including refreshment value, interest, balance, finish and whether you might want to knock over a bottle..and quite possibly how quickly you might want to do it. This, therefore, makes the cut as an Excellent wine on the old Winorama rating scale.

Watermelon pink in colour with pretty lightly floral redcurrant and red berry aromas. On the palate fresh and feathery with bright red fruits and a little spice. A clean burst of flavour coupled with fine acidity and even a bit of textural grip add interest to this most refreshing wine. It strikes that fine balance between juicy fruit and dryness that makes this beauty an irresistible drinking proposition.

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Again, the picture shows a screwcap but my bottle was sealed under cork. A blend of fruit from the McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and Langhorne Creek. A nose of red plums and cloves, some pepper with chocolate and mint, but not in a mint slice kind of way. A strange combination of aromas but it was nuanced and very appealing. The palate showed red plums and quite a bit of red liquorice, dry spices and a dry finish. The length is very good, and the wine displays a nice richness but also had some lightness. This was drinking well on the first night (perhaps because it had a cork and not a screwcap) and rock solid on the next night - I reckon it should take some age.

Other vintages: 2004, 2003

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To the best of my knowledge there are two wines colloquially known as ‘Blackie’ of which this is one. The other comes from McGuigan and is very popular amongst certain sweet-toothed budget conscious Hunter winemakers..but never mind that right now. This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (58%), Shiraz (33%) and Malbec (9%) with the Cabernet coming from Langhorne and Barossa, the Shiraz from McLaren Vale and the Malbec from Langhorne Creek. Multi-regional blending to create the best wine they can.

Incredibly dense colour with aromas of blackberry, blackcurrant, mint, dark chocolate, liquorice and perfumed coconut oak. On the palate full bodied in the fullest sense with essence of blackberry, blackcurrant, mint, chocolate and liberal toasty coffee oak. It has enormous power and density with strong gravely tannins and completely drenches the mouth (and senses) with flavour and extract. Very long tannic finish of black fruits and mint to close. It took at least three days for the bugger to become even vaguely approachable - at which stage it began to reveal its true potential. Scary now. Great later.

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Quite a bit of Rosé comes through the door at Winorama HQ and I don’t review many of them because I don’t much like writing about them (although I like drinking them). Some are worth writing about mind you, and this one is an absolute beauty.

A pretty blush colour with equally pretty aromas of summery red fruits, violet, rose, licorice with a bit of earthiness. Fragrant but not sweet. On the palate light and crisp with red cherry, spice and slightly earthy licorice root flavours. Clean, fresh and dry with lightly grippy tannins. Great style and refreshment.

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Orlando and Jacobs Creek are knocking out some excellent wines at the moment and it is fair to say that if I plonked down $15 on the counter and came away with a wine of this quality that I’d be a pretty happy punter. I am sure I should have put some commas in that last sentence but I am in a bit of a hurry.

Aromas of plum, black fruit, mint, mocha and vanilla. Quite plump and fragrant. On the palate medium to full bodied with plum, berry and mocha with a mint and vanilla perfume. It has powdery lightly chalky tannins, balanced acidity and good texture but looks just a little thin. Finishes with a plum and vanilla aftertaste. Very nicely put together.

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It has a picture of the Sydney Harbour Bridge on the label so it must be aimed squarely at the export market (the inference being that it might piss off most people who are not from Sydney). I don’t know much else about it.

Aromas of blackberry, sweet red berries, chocolate and spice with cool minty overlay. Very inviting and quite juicy. On the palate medium to full bodied with blackberry, raspberry, mint and cedar with distinct orange juice acidity and flavours. Warm alcohol makes its presence felt. The tannins are fine and soft and it finishes with tangy acidity. Very good quality for the price.

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They make 525,600 bottles of this wine; that’s almost 44,000 cases. Mind-boggling stuff. On the nose, liquorice and plums, blackberries, dull pepper and a bit of char. The palate is fruiter and deeper than expected, full bodied, rich sweet fruits, tasty and tangy with a touch of rawness. I didn’t really expect much so though it might sound like a backhanded compliment I really did find this to be very pleasant. If I needed any more I would buy 6 bottles and hide them away. Probably needs another year and then drink over the next 5 years.

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St Henri would be in my top ten favourite shiraz. I just noticed that the RRP is now $80. Depending on how you look at it you could argue that it’s either still too cheap or just a bit too expensive. The former position being relative to its quality compared to Grange and the latter in comparison to other top shiraz available in the market place. I will continue to buy in good vintage because I love both the wine and the style. I just wish there were more like it…

Dark and brooding with aromas of blackberry, raspberry, Old Jamaica chocolate, pepper, spice and burnt wood. On the palate thick and full bodied with blackberry, raspberry, charcoal, pepper, spice and dark chocolate flavours. Significantly dry and meaty but not without some freshness. The tannins are firm and again meaty and grippy. Finishes dry and spicy with a dark chocolate and charcoal aftertaste. I think this will soften and sweeten up with further bottle age. Not a great St Henri but a good wine from a tricky vintage.

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I love St Henri; in a good year I will buy a six-pack, in a great year I will buy a dozen, plus a few magnums. So I approached this bottle with some high expectations, despite the vintage.

This showed a pleasantly lifted and forward nose; raspberry, mocha, nutmeg, some raisined fruit and a bit of black fruits and char. The palate was quite delicious, with raspberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, black cherries and raisins (again), and a bit of char; or is this more like a burnt fruit character? It certainly shows some ripe fruits, and the alcohol pokes out at times, but these are ably balanced by some rapspberry acid. A very good wine, but the baked/raisiny character just doesn’t sit quite right with me. Drink over the medium term.

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I see old RB has this listed as being available from one major retail chain for just under $25 so I grabbed a bottle out of the tasting pile to have a look. Fosters is making a mockery of the suggested RRP again. I might need to replace the price listed below with a click to spin ‘wheel of fortune’ instead …click click click..$25!

Aromas of sweet dark fruit, plum, menthol and toasty vanilla/coconut oak. Attractive and promising. On the palate full bodied with flavours of dark berry, menthol and toasty savoury oak. Plenty of assertive stalky gritty tannins coat the palate and the wine looks somewhat angular and lacking in width. Finishes with grainy tannin and toasty flavours. Could just need a few more years in bottle to come round but at the moment fairly tough going.

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I tried this over 2 nights, and I think it certainly looked better on the second night - if you want to try a bottle now then give it some air time. Smells like a classic Cabernet to me; none of this warm climate dry red masquerading as a Cabernet. Leaf, tobacco, a bit of tomato leaf, red currants, red capsicum, cedar, coffee beans and even some blackberries too. The palate is refined, with the fruit richness snuggled comfortably next to some savouriness. A nicely balanced wine that displayed some pretty good length too. I am glad to have a 6-pack (oh, a 5-pack now) tucked away. Cellar over the medium term, maybe longer.

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One of the many hard questions I had to ask myself tonight was ‘Do I drink this from a Bordeaux or shiraz glass?’. The blend is 53 percent cabernet and 47 percent shiraz so I plumped for Bordeaux. Interestingly that this has no McLaren Vale or Barossa fruit in it which probably accounts for the increased (but pleasant) mintiness. This vintage represents a welcome return to form for an Australian classic.

Aromas of berry, plum, licorice, peppercorn, meat, mint and spicy cedar vanilla oak. On the palate full bodied and very intense with flavours of berry, licorice, tobacco, mint and vanilla oak. The tannins are firm and grainy; authoritative, confident and sitting very comfortably within the wine. Tannins you can trust. Finishes dry and savoury with excellent length of flavour. A vintage that hoists the flag back to full mast for the archetypal Australian blend.

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Kalimna has always been a favourite of mine. I even persist in calling it Kalimna (R) which is now apparently a trademark! Now that it comes with a stylish embossed screwcap the urge to buy and cellar is even stronger. That being said the last vintage I stashed away was the 1998…but this is certainly a contender..although the outstanding 407 may consume the Penfolds budget for this year. That being said (again), I have not tasted the 389 as yet….that is a job for tomorrow.

Aromas of blackberry, raspberry, plum, chocolate, meat and light pencilly vanilla oak. Fairly charry on opening. On the palate rich and slightly cakey with blackberry, plum, chocolate and meaty spicy vanilla oak. No shortage of flavour. It feels soft and supple but the luxurious quality of the fruit masks plenty of ripe dry chewy tannins. Finishes with chocolate and plum flavours. An very good but perhaps not great Kalimna.

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I have been drinking quite a lot of 1996 Penfolds 407 recently and maybe that colours my impression of this wine, but I drank it young and loved it, and now I like it even better. An outstanding wine with plenty of years to go. I don’t taste wines blind generally and I don’t care to. I sometimes even read other people’s tasting notes before reviewing but I still manage to form my own opinion. I could give you a dozen reasons for not tasting blind and I am sure advocates of blind tasting could give me a dozen reasons why I should! Be that as it may I’ll stick to my guns for now. ‘That’s me in the corner.That’s me in the spotlight…I thought that I heard you laughing.’ I already know I am out of step with many on this wine but so be it. This took a day to really open up so you do need to be patient with this wine.

Full red purple. Aromas of blackcurrant pastille, licorice, tobacco, dried herbs, mint and delicate spicy cedar vanilla oak. On the palate medium to full bodied with blackcurrant, tobacco, star anise, coffee and some gamey earthy flavours. Tight and compact with firm fine grained tannins and clean fresh acidity. Finishes dry and long with blackcurrant and tobacco flavours. A brilliant wine, one for the long haul, and one I am most certainly going to purchase for the cellar.

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