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A friend who has a very eclectic cellar put this up, yes masked. It opened with the nose that I associate with older Aussie dry reds, a mix of cinnamon spice, red berry and a little mushroom. On the palate it tasted more like an old shiraz that was dried out. It had no faults and pretty good colour too. The friend believes this was the original experimental planting for sparkling base that Seppelts had and is now owned by Pfeiffers. Surely the oldest Pinot Noir vines around?

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I tasted this alongside the Morris Grand Muscat as a point of reference. Same same, but different. This, if you can have such a thing with Muscat, is more nervy and much brighter - all raisin, spice and peel to the Morris’ rich coffee liqueur. I couldn’t really tell you which one I preferred because I tippled through a glass of each with equal enjoyment, and after the serious analysis was over (about 34 seconds worth) I ate a piece of 75% dark chocolate and called it a night. Happy days (or nights).

Opens with a bit of VA which lifts complex and delightful Christmas time smells of raisin, nutty plum pudding, toffee and rancio up the nose. On the palate intense and focussed with great acid cut and shape through the mouth offering flavours of chocolate, raisin, mixed peel and spice. Intense and sweet but fresh with no cloying or heaviness and a superb long finish. Grand by name, Grand by nature.

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This has been in the old box for nearly a year now but time is on its side. Yes it is.

Fresh smelling wine with raspberry, spice, a bit of licorice, some bacon bits and (attractive) creamy coconut ice cream oak. On the palate fresh and clean with high acidity and fine grained tannins. It has flavours of raspberry and blackberry, spice and creamy oak. The acidity is a bit edgy but it beds down with a bit of air. Good pippy raspberry and spice finish. A good wine with plenty of personality.

Other vintages : 2006

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Another fortified with plenty yet to come. This is a brilliant wine and it’s also a bit tricky to describe because I really have little choice but to rely on the tasting term “rancio” to relay quite how it tastes. And it’s heavy rancio here, so if you are unfamiliar with the taste, then best you try some of this to get better acquainted.

Delightfully nutty with almond, dark chocolate, old peel, vanilla, extreme rancio characters and a bit of VA lift. On the palate it’s fresh, clean and tangy with almond, butter toffee, wood, spice and rancio flavours. It really fills the mouth with flavour and has no sweet or sickly characters whatsoever. Enormous length of flavour and it’s also equally enormously satisfying. Magnificent.

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Confusingly, Morris seem to use their own nomenclature on their labels. This is falls under the Grand classification in the Rutherglen hierarchy, and as previously advised, I do believe it’s where the action starts when drinking Rutherglen fortifieds.

Complex and layered with walnut, coffee, toffee, Old Jamaica chocolate, spice and old woody rancio characters with just enough VA to lift rather than interfere. On the palate rich, thick and intense with acidity that cuts and freshens the complex flavours of nuts, peel, chocolate, Kopiko coffee candy, spice, toffee and delicious savoury rancio characters. Enormous length of flavour with a long sweet spicy finish that encourages the next exploratory sip. A top wine and a bargain for sure.

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Rutherglen. Classic. Grand. Rare. These are the stops that punctuate Australia’s other great contribution to the world of wine, namely Rutherglen Tokay and Muscat, and I think that if your want to get off, passengers on the pleasure train need to alight at Grand Central station to ensure a satisfactory ride. That being said, this is an especially good example of Rutherglen, and comes in a most fetching bottle complete with a popping glass stopper.

Lifted, light and fresh with raisin, spiced mixed peel, flowers, coffee and a touch of rancio complexity. On the palate a mix of toffee, raisin, coffee creams and bright mixed peel flavours. It’s light, sweet and fresh with a slightly cloying texture pulled back into shape by clean acidity and finishes long and sweet with an aftertaste of chocolate coffee creams. It delivers a bit more complexity than it needs to and drinks beautifully. Like revenge, serve cool for best results.

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This is one of the ‘three colours’ range from Rutherglen Estates. Pink, Red and White are the colours (obviously) although maybe options are there for Black, Blue, Purple, Glowing Yellow Green and Dreamtime Hibiscus…

Bright red colour with peppery blackberry and cherry fruit and a bit of chocolate. Medium to full bodied with firm gritty tannins and flavours of blackberry, pepper and a slightly beefy character. Quite fresh but acidity is a bit hard although all in all it drinks pretty well. It is pleasingly rustic and honest (as opposed to manufactured and contrived) and would go very well at a BBQ.

Other vintages: 2005

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If you have super duper eyes you may see my note on the label of this wine that it was to be consumed in 1990. It was another of the cellar discoveries. The idea was for 4 couples to each bring 6 to 12 bottles of ancient stuff to dinner. If there was a great discovery then you had a witness and others to share it with. This wine was something we all enjoyed with lamb. The nose has that aged woody character with a bit of cabernet green pepper character. The palate follows on with soft tannins and nice flavours that were quite a delight to experience. I have consumed Bordeaux of this age from my cellar and they usually show greater levels of green pepper and sometimes levels of Brett that I don’t like. I mention this because it was not expensive but I saved it because I thought the fruit was good but the tannin was high when I bought it. Yes, the muck in the bottle and the grotty outside are as it appeared out of the cellar.

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I know I have reviewed this before but I am doing so again, without looking at the previous note. Just because I like to self-calibrate, and as this wine is a blend I do wonder if the blend is changing, for better or worse (and I have heard some gumblings that it is the latter).

An unctuous nose, pretty florals, liquefied sultanas, wood spices, prunes in Armagnac and a bit of rancio. The palate is impressive, showing a depth of flavour, with rounded raisins and Christmas cake, a bit of peel, viscous, thoughtful and contemplative, creamy, and though the sweetness dominates the palate, some underlying liquour characters are also evident. A powerful finish, with a taste that just lingers, much like I imagined a kiss from Isabelle Adjani would have 20 years ago.

Other tastings: Here

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What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet

“The connection between Petit Sirah (or Petite Syrah as it is also known) and Durif has long been a bone of contention as has the relationship between Petit Sirah and Syrah (or Shiraz). In 1999 it was decided once and for all the Petite Sirah and Durif were one and the same and both are a crossing of the obscure French variety of Peloursin with Syrah.”

I copied that directly from the press release, partly to clear things up, but mainly because I am feeling quite lazy today. I quoted Shakespeare at the start to make you think I am clever (and I needed to make better use of the tights I am currently wearing). Anyway this is the second time I have tasted this wine and I like it even better now. That is always a good sign.

Aromas of blackberry, milk chocolate, licorice, spice, a light earthiness and plenty of sexy creamy vanilla oak. Like a walk through the rose garden outside a Darryl Lea perhaps. On the palate full bodied with plum, red and black berries, chocolate bullets and creamy vanilla oak. Balanced and fresh with a mass of powdery (and very well managed) mouthcoating tannins and a long grainy tannin and milk chocolate finish. Very good this is. Durif tamed and polished and turned out as Petit Sirah.

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Every year a bunch of non wine industry mates, Wendy and myself have a Zin Din. A bit of special planning went into this years. Heather arranged for a colleague to bring back a Zin from Croatia, I brought some back from the USA, Heather found something special in Rutherglen, Monsieur l’Eveque brought one from Langhorne Creek and I obtained one via mail order, Wood Park. Good Zin needs ripeness and a warm climate and it seems to produce the best fruit when dry grown and at lower cropping levels. This wine is, to quote Gary, from the Top End Big Pants range made by Rutherglen Estates. It had the right mix of fruit aromas and a lovely fruit concentration. It also has young estery/confection bits associated with a relatively young red wine. Very clean with nice floral aromas. The palate has a bit of licorice and a bit of bacon with great raspberry flavours. It seems to have relatively high acid but it should last a few years as it fills out. We had it with slow cooked lamb and it was a great match.

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Renaissance is the new top end big pants range (they call it Iconic in the press release but I prefer my own definition) from Rutherglen Estates. It includes a Petit Sirah (Durif), Zinfandel and this white Rhone blend of Viognier (45%), Roussane (35%) and Marsanne (20%). It’s pretty tricky to get this sort of blend right as they tend to be too heavy or too edgy or whatnot. Hard to get the balance right anyway.

Aromas of apple, lemon, apricot kernel, candle wax, creamed honey and spicy oak. It’s a bit smoky and floral too. Layered and complex. On the palate full bodied with apple, lemon, white peach, spice, some light honey flavours and savoury smoky barrel ferment characters. Good weight and texture, crunchy acidity and fine balance through the length of the palate. Finishes with spicy lemon flavours. It’s different and interesting and as Borat would say “Is very nice!”

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Rutherglen Estates are doing some good things at the moment with Rhone varietals. Stay tuned for some reviews on their interesting new premium range (I forget the name) which includes a Petit Sirah, Zinfandel and a Viognier/Marsanne.

Aromas of berries, pepper, apricot kernel and chary meaty characters. On the palate full bodied with blackberry, dark cherry, pepper and charry flavours. It has gritty tannins and slightly edgy acidity. Finishes dry and peppery. Quite a big wine that needs either some more time to soften and settle or a nice big juicy steak.

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A juicy nose, with apricots at the fore, ably supported by grapey aromas, sweet lemon sherbet, honeysuckle and a squeeze of oranges. The palate is full of luving, with sweet melony fruit, lychees, candied lemons and tropical fruits. I think I can see myself lounging by a resort pool under an umbrella slurping a glass of this. Perhaps 2 or 3 in fact. The wine also possesses a certain softness, full and rounded and really quite endearing. Drink now.

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I drank a bottle of this over a period of about a week. Initially it was bursting from the bottle with enthusiasm of 6 year old on the Christmas bicycle, painfully primary, red leather and spices and such concentrated fruits that I just couldn’t stomach more than a glass. So back goes the cork and it’s in the fridge. After a couple of days, it had settled, with sweaty leather, sweet liquorice, cardamom, brown spices, blackcurrants, sarsaparilla, aniseed and gallano, sweet orange peel and also a savoury dryness. But for all the richness and diversity of the palate, the finish was a bit disappointing, with some bitterness and a strange greenness. A bad bottle or just too young or not up to scratch? I am not sure.

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I have a soft spot for Durif even though I don’t drink much of it. A grape that is named after a ‘Dr. Durif’ has to be good. I always think it sounds like a villain in a 60’s science fiction book…anyway, I snapped the top off this last night, poured a glass, and then tipped it down the sink. It was so backwards I thought it might come splashing back up the drain pipe at me. A day later it has settled a good deal.

Aromas of sweet berries, milk chocolate, licorice, violet and vanilla. It has a bit of a geranium/sorbic acid (I think) character about it, that while lessening, is still a little distracting. On the palate full bodied with rich berry/cherry, milk chocolate and vanilla oak flavours but with that geranium character intruding again. Firm grippy tannins and a choc berry finish. Really like the wine but this unusual flavour puts me off (I am not a technical taster). I have seen this character in some other young red wines and find it often cleans itself up with time (winemakers please feel free to chip in). I have another bottle so I will report back and rate the wine on the next tasting.

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I very much enjoyed the 2005 vintage of this wine, and although this is a good follow-up, it is not quite up to the standard of that excellent vintage. It is 70% marsanne and 30% viognier.

Aromas of lemon lolly, honeysuckle, apple, cream and a little spice. On the palate full bodied and thick with fruity flavours of spiced apple, lemon and apricot kernel. Lightly grainy phenolics. Some warmth from alcohol and a spicy apple finish. A good flavoursome rustic white to enjoy with food.

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As you might know, I always like to have a bottle of dessert wine or fortified open in the fridge for a nightcap. This one has been open for over 2 weeks now and when I checked it last night it was on its last legs. A promising nose: crème caramel, raisins and sultanas, malt, orange peel and some woody spices. The palate was underwhelming, sweet and non descript, with some sweet warm spices, but the sweetness was too sickly and syrupy, and there was no complexity. Pretty ordinary for the money.

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At a special meal with some great wine people this wine was decanted and served blind, with a cheese course. It had a soft nose with some jam and lovely heady spirit. The palate had the same lovely spirit but the flavour had sufficient raisin aspects as to suggest a tokay. Eventually I decided it had the characteristics of an older VP but it seemed fresher. Lovely companion with the cheese and when it was revealed the confusing messages of age yet freshness became clear, it was from a magnum. I used to buy a lot of VP especially Rutherglen but as I get older it seems to push me over the edge so it is not a style consumed very often. A pity as this showed why it is rewarding to cellar such wines.

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The ’sherry style’ theme continues and we now move up-market. Amontillado is about as sweet as I really like to get with fortified wines. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. Unlike Lincoln who seems to be into all sorts of Ports and sticky things..

Lovely burnt orange colour. Aromas of chocolate biscuit, leather, rancio, orange peel and vanilla. Lovely smelling wine. On the palate just off dry with rancio, nuts, vanilla, bitter orange and chocolate flavours. It has a nice sea salt tang and yeast character too. It does have a bit of sweetness but beautifully balanced by those savoury leathery flavours. Dry tangy saltry finish with a faint suggestion of golden syrup to close. Marvellous stuff.

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