Appellation Australia

A few short notes from a free tasting with Torbreck winemaker David Powell at North Sydney Cellars late last month.

These wines are favourites of the powerful American wine critic Robert Parker, hence the prices of the top wines are beyond the budget of most people. This was a good chance to taste these wines and find out what the fuss was about, without having to spend a large amount of money to do it.

There tends to be an interesting story behind the names of each of the winery and wines. The name “Torbreck” matches the name of a forest that David worked at when he was a lumberjack in Scotland. This is also the origin for the names of the two Woodcutter wines. Cuvée Juveniles was named for a friend’s winebar in France, with a similar story of the Les Amis restaurant in Singapore approaching David to make a special blend for them. A number of the other names have Scottish origins.

All wines are from the Barossa Valley in South Australia and I’ve tried to include an approximate RRP in Australian dollars with each wine.

Woodcutter’s Semillon 2004 ($22)
Nose is reasonable but overworked – some funk, butter, citrus, and some nutty oak. The palate shows harsh phenolic characters as well as alcohol and excessive acid.
81/100

Marsanne Rousanne 2005 ($40)
65% marsanne, 35% rousanne. This wine usually has a small amount of Viognier in the blend. Nose shows candy notes, some florality, orange peel and musk. Palate is hot and disjointed with alcohol influence.
81/100

“Cuvée Juveniles” Grenache Mataro Shiraz 2004 ($28)
60% grenache, 25% mataro, 15% shiraz. Some (more) heat on the nose along with smoked meats, dirt, mulch, some green characters, cherry and some licorice. Fruit sweetness on the palate. Thought that the palate was short and uninteresting. Didn’t like this at all.
80/100

“The Steading” Grenache Mataro Shiraz 2003 ($40)
60% grenache, 20% mataro, 20% shiraz. Chocolate, licorice and some cedar oak on the nose. Shows better length, depth and power on the palate than the Cuvée Juveniles, but is still lacking some interest.
86/100

“Woodcutter’s” Shiraz 2005 ($22)
Nail polish, varnish and pepper on the nose. Palate is hot, acidic and stewed.
78/100

“The Struie” Shiraz 2004 ($55)
This is a bit more like it. Spice, licorice, smoked meat and I thought some very small cheesy notes. Lovely fruit intensity on the palate. Well balanced and and drinking very well now for my tastes.
88/100

“Descendant” Shiraz/Viognier 2004 ($145)
93% shiraz, 7% viognier. Another step up in class (and price!). Floral, sweet, slightly candied nose as well as some tobacco/ashtray, mocha and just a touch of apricot. Very mouth filling and has good intensity of flavour while retaining balance and elegance. Drinking pretty well tonight, but sure to improve.
91/100

“The Factor” Shiraz 2003 ($150)
Nose is rather tight – some spicy, peppery, smoked meat characters being all that I could get. Palate has excellent structure and balance as well as very good length. Given time, I think it’ll open up and be rather good.
92/100

“RunRig” Shiraz/Viognier 2003 ($250)
98% shiraz, 2% viognier. Restrained power on the nose with some tar, dark fruits and floral notes with balanced oak in the background. Palate is elegant, balanced and focused with good texture and flavour. Drinking alright on the night, it will still be a waste of potential if you open then before another 3 or 4 years.
92/100

“The Pict” Mataro (Mouvedre) 2004 ($250)
The first vintage of this single-vineyard old vine Mataro from Torbreck. Earth, smoke and chocolate nose. Palate structure and flavour is interesting. Tannins felt like they were chewy. Good length, but very youthful and will should benefit from time in bottle.
89/100

“Les Amis” Grenache 2004 ($250)
Nose shows blackcurrant, raspberry, chocolate, tarmac, sweet fruit, a slight oxidative character and a touch of oak. Tannins are quite prominent on the palate at this stage, but apart from that it was exhibiting balance and structure with good flavour intensity.
91/100

These are some very good wines, probably some of Australia’s best when it comes to Rhone Valley blends. It is just a shame that they are out of price reach for anything other than very special occasions for most people. “The Struie” is probably the best “value” in the lineup, but other Shiraz wines at $55 can be much better.

Still, it raises a question that often results in a heated debate – RunRig was originally released at $36 and as the reviews got better, the wine has risen in price to its current level. People say that this is “too expensive” but the economist in me says that the winery should release the wine at the price that people are willing to pay. This also stops the problem of people getting their allocation of wine and then selling it straight away at auction, making 5 or 10 times what they paid for it – when the people who should be making the profits are the people who put in the hard work (the winery).

So, are these wines “too expensive” if that is what people are willing to pay for them? Should wineries follow the lead of some of the old fashioned places (Wendouree, Wild Duck Creek etc) and sell to loyal customers at prices well below auction prices? I would be interested to hear my readers thoughts.

Either way – thank you to David Powell and North Sydney Cellars for giving people a chance to taste these wines and make up their own mind about them.

To balance the night of French legends that I spoke of in the last post – it was decided that we should come together again in early April to have a dinner that would be a tribute to some great Australian wines.

We gathered at Restaurant Atelier at Glebe – another restaurant with an excellent reputation.

We again selected the degustation menu as we find that it is best to space out the amount of time that you spend with each wine, and this is easier to do with multiple small courses of food.

The degustation menu is decided two days prior to the booking, to take into account what fresh produce can be obtained and it consisted of the following courses;

Sourdough Bread, EVOO, Balsamic & Tapenade, Échiré Butter
Chilled Spiced Lentil Soup & Roquette Oil
Duck Egg ‘ATELIER’ w Goat Curd Soubise, Unpasteurised Ocean Trout Roe
House-Made Black Pudding with Foie Gras, Seared Scallops and Parsnip Puree
Zucchini Flower filled with Prawn, Crab and Bill, Fillet of King George Whiting, Sauce Vierge
Rare-Roasted Gauler River Pigeon, Confit Cabbage, King Mushrooms
Seasonal Selection of Cheeses, House-Made Lavosh, Sourdough.
Sauterne Custard with Lychee Gastrique
Caramelised Almond & Praline Soufflé

It was interesting to note the similarity in some dishes to the menu at Marque (the Egg, Black Pudding, Rare Pigeon and Sauterne Custard) – but while they sound similar, the difference in flavour profile was quite pronounced for some of them.

I would say that if I were to cast a critical eye on the food (and I guess I am), it was of excellent quality and taste – but it probably didn’t quite have the depth of flavour or excitement that the food at Marque did. Some members of the party were not impressed with the Pigeon dish saying it was too rare. It is very rare and that gives a certain texture to it that you may or may not like, but for my tastes it was fine.

The service was smooth and well executed and Julian the sommelier was right on top of things when handling our wines. The glasses were alright but not great (bring your own if you are bringing special wines) and the number of decanters provided was good. The chef (Darren Templeman) was also able to produce some good looking (and apparently tasting) dishes for a member of our party who has a very long list of foods that he is unable to eat.

And the bill? $110 total per person including the 7 courses ($75), bread, cheese ($8), corkage ($8 per bottle), coffee ($5) and gratuity. I think for a degustation of this quality, you would have a hard time doing much better than that.

I think that Atelier is among the top level of restaurants in Sydney and if I were to rate it, I would give it 94 points including a couple of extra points for the value.

So, with that out of the way – let’s talk about the wines. 19 bottles opened and each one a classic wine from mostly classic vintages. Our 19 bottles were from 11 different wine regions in Australia, showing that regions outside those two or three that are currently in fashion can still make great wines. They performed as follows -

Grosset Polish Hill Riesling 1996 – (Clare Valley, South Australia):
A mid-gold colour. Nose is comprised of butterscotch and lemon meringue, as well as some honey characters after some time in the glass. Length was good, but some overt acid on the palate disrupts the balance. Seemed a bit over developed, holding up alright but was apparently not nearly as good as another bottle consumed by two others at the table late last year and not a patch on the ’96 Grosset Watervale I had recently. 87/100

Tyrrell’s “Vat 1″ Semillon 1994 – (Hunter Valley, New South Wales):
Rich nose of lanolin, honey and a small amount of toast. Palate is of medium intensity and has excellent mouth-feel, balance and length. A very good wine and it was consistent with a bottle that I had last year at a Tyrrell’s tasting. Drinking well now for my tastes, but should hold for some time. 92/100

Giaconda Chardonnay 2002 – (Beechworth, Victoria):
Nose has good intensity – toasty, spicy and caramel oak, citrus, nutty and minerally/flinty characters. What I really enjoyed about this wine was its texture and mouth-feel. It has very good length with excellent structure. It should develop very well over the next 5-7 years. 93/100

Leeuwin Estate “Art Series” Chardonnay 1987 – (Margaret River, Western Australia):
Good complexity on the nose – toasty oak, marmalade, oranges, honey and grapefruit. Palate has good depth, but there is a note of tartness on the finish just disrupting the line slightly. Sits in between the two bottles I have had previously, one better (see here) and one worse. It was still an excellent wine and did deserve to sit in on a dinner of Australian legends. 93/100

Bass Philip “Reserve” Pinot Noir 1997 (375ml) – (Gippsland, Victoria):
I was truly in the minority at my end of the table, but I really liked the complex nose on this – stems, sappy, earthy, mushrooms and a bit bloody and gamey. I did not like the palate so much, there was some tartness and some aggressive stalk characters disrupting the finish. 88/100

Bannockburn “Serre” Pinot Noir 1998 – (Geelong, Victoria):
Nose shows stalks, cherry and earth as well as being a bit alcoholic. Palate was simple and somewhat one-dimensional, but I thought it was smooth and had good balance and carry. It wouldn’t surprise me if this took on some complexity with additional age. I preferred the aromas of the Bass Phillip, but would take the palate of the Bannockburn. 89/100

Mount Mary “Quintet” Cabernets 1986 – (Yarra Valley, Victoria):
Corked – musty and totally stripped of fruit on the palate. How can people say that they would miss the “romance” of cork? NR

Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 1995 – (Margaret River, Western Australia):
Youthful in colour. Nose has elements of violets, cedar, cassis and iodine. The palate is brooding and powerful yet beautifully balanced with all the elements present and working together. Excellent tannin structure and bound to be even better over the next 10 years. 93/100

Wynns “John Riddoch” Cabernet Sauvignon 1982 – (Coonawarra, South Australia):
This was the backup bottle for the corked Mount Mary. Mocha/chocolate, plum, earth and some capsicum (but in the background rather than the foreground “essence of capsicum” of the previous bottle I had generously been given the chance to try). The palate shows superb focus, depth and length. A remarkable wine that will live for years to come (bottle/cork variation pending). This was my Wine of the Night for drinking tonight. 95/100

Cullen “Diana Madeline” Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2001 – (Margaret River, Western Australia):
A last minute ring-in for the 1996 Cullen DM. Alcoholic heat on the tight nose as well as some violet and cherry aromas. A tannic palate that culminates in a harsh acidic finish. Just a development phase or falling to pieces, I suspect probably the former. 87/100 on this showing.

Penfolds “Grange” Shiraz 1972 – (South Australia):
Corked – One of the worst cases of TCA that I have ever experienced initally – and almost unbelievably it got worse with more air – I was unable to reuse the glass that this was poured into. NR

Penfolds “Grange” Shiraz 1978 – (South Australia):
Furniture polish as well as the furniture itself on the nose. Palate is acidic, tannic, lacks fruit and has a bitter finish. This bottle was way past its best. 78/100

Henschke “Hill of Grace” Shiraz 1986 – (Eden Valley, South Australia):
The brett police were out early on this one but I wasn’t getting any. Dark chocolate, sour cherry, leather and sweet fruit on the nose. A still youthful palate showing some tannins sticking out a little bit. The palate was getting better and taking on weight with additional airtime. A lengthy finish. Just needs to come together a bit on the palate. 93/100

Henschke “Hill of Grace” Shiraz 1990 – (Eden Valley, South Australia):
Nice complexity on the nose. Cherry, raspberry, blackberry and very well integrated oak. Palate has good structure but is powerful and intense as well. Perhaps maybe just a touch of acid sticking out on the palate to disrupt what is otherwise a wine with a very long life ahead of it. 90/100

Penfolds “Grange” Shiraz 1990 – (South Australia):
Primary, rich nose of sweet caramel, chocolate, plum, spices and American oak. Good intensity on the palate, tannins are prominent but are of high quality. Excellent length. Very young and needs a significant amount more time to really strut its stuff. 93/100

Penfolds “Kalimna Block 42″ Cabernet Sauvignon 1996 – (Barossa Valley, South Australia):
A vibrant nose of spice, raspberry, earth, tobacco, cedar, dustiness, cassis and restrained oak. The palate is very classy, elegant yet it has superb depth and intensity of fruit, wonderful balance and a long, unbroken line and length. It may not be a pure expression of Cabernet Sauvignon, but it is a pure expression of Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon. Needs 10, maybe 15 years to be at its peak and could be one of the all time classics at its peak. My Wine of the Night for potential and just all around class. 96/100

Brokenwood “Graveyard” Shiraz 2000 – (Hunter Valley, New South Wales):
Very closed, very hard to judge. Some liquorice, violets, blackberry on the nose. The alcohol was showing through on the palate. I was excited to taste this, but it really felt a bit lacklustre. I would not touch another one for 5 years. 88/100

Jim Barry “The Armagh” Shiraz 1991 – (Clare Valley, South Australia):
The backup bottle to replace the ’72 Grange. From a single vineyard in the Clare Valley. A nose comprising pepper and spice, hazelnut, mulberry and chocolate. The palate has a certain vibrancy to it. Very good, long finish. Really enjoyable. 91/100

De Bortoli “Noble One” 1984 – (Riverina, New South Wales):
Nose shows a bit of promise with apricot, botrytis characteristics and sultana. The palate is disjointed, alcoholic, spiky and finishing short. Disappointing for one of the legends of Australian dessert wine.80/100

The Nepalese Kitchen is a busy restaurant in Surry Hills. The food and spicing wasn’t ideal for wine matching, but I thought it had good flavour and there were lots of vegetarian options. Plus, at $121AUD for 6 people, the value was excellent. The downsides were that we were shifted from place to place, initially upstairs and then into a private room and then back downstairs and then at the end of the meal they tried to charge us $240 (perhaps a mixup due to the tables being changed).

We tried the following seven wines;

Lakes Folly Chardonnay 1994 – (Hunter Valley, New South Wales):
Light golden colour with some hints of green at the core. Nose is alright at first, some butterscotch and grapefruit, but quickly starts to show wood and varnish. Fruit is gone from the palate. Short and some harshness on the finish. Drinkable if you were really desperate! 83/100

Seppelt Maturation Release Riesling 1984 – (Eden Valley, South Australia):
The first thing I mentioned was how youthful this looks, not knowing the identity of it. The nose was not showing much intensity, some kerosene and toast. The palate was watery and short.

I left some in the glass to warm up, and it didn’t fall apart any more over the course of an hour but it remained mediocre. This wine is an Australian legend in Riesling circles, it’s something I have wanted to try for a long time, unfortunately it didn’t live up to it on the night, but that is one of the “joys” of cork. 85/100

Sorrenberg Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon 2004 – (Beechworth, Victoria):
Interesting nose, grapefruit, lime, wet slate, some spice and florality, candy (which ended up reminding me of those faux banana shaped lollies) and just a hint of toffee oak. Palate was good as well, creamy and with some balanced acidity flowing across the palate and into the finish. I really liked it for its difference. (I also love a tough to guess options wine as long as I’m not the one trying to guess it!) 90/100

Charles Melton Sparkling Red NV (Disgorged 1996) – (Barossa Valley, South Australia)
Some dirty horse-osity initially which did blow off which a bit of time to reveal raspberries and some plum. Some sweetness and some background oak on the palate. An okay wine, but not really my thing. 86/100

Lindemans St George Classic Release Cabernet Sauvignon 1980 (Released 1989) – (Coonawarra, South Australia):
The person who brought this wine warned us that this would either be herbaceous and horribly under-ripe or would be very good.

Youthful violet with not the slightest hint of fading or browning. Powerful, beautiful nose of tobacco, ash, tomato leaf, cedar, roast vegetables, blackberries. Palate is vibrant, yet elegant – with all facets having integrated and balanced perfectly – tannins, oak and fruit were all there but acting as one. The finish is amazingly persistent. After 45-60 minutes of breathing, it was just as good if not even better.

In one word, stunning – I could still taste this wine the next morning and couldn’t think about anything else on the drive to work or for most of the morning at work. I initially said 92, then 94 after half an hour before coming to rest at 96 the next morning. Thank you to the person who brought this. 96/100

Viking Grand Shiraz 2000 – (Barossa Valley, South Australia):
These grapes were previously part of the parcel used to select Penfolds Grange from and to be fair, 2000 was a very difficult vintage in many parts of the Barossa.

Iodine, band-aids, sawdust and a chemical smell along the lines of what I imagine a mad scientist’s laboratory would smell like. Some heat on the nose. Shockingly the palate actually wasn’t too bad, young and showing some obvious tannins but the length was good and the finish was fine. 84/100

Glendonbrook Shiraz 2001 – (Hunter Valley, New South Wales):
Bacon and a spirity liqueur character and well as a hint of violet and blackberry. Palate was smooth and easy to drink and matched up with the price point of the wine.

Apparently not a representative bottle based on the nose. It had been sitting in a car boot for a week. 84/100

All wines were tasted blind at dinner with some friends from the Winestar Forum with the exception of my bottles which were the Bindi, Sorrenberg and the Elk Cove.

Bollinger R.D 1988 – (Champagne, France): Disgorged May 2000. Tarnished gold in colour. Toast, walnut, yeasty dough, pears and slightly oxidative nose. Palate is intense but still retains balance and structure with a crisp finish. My favourite wine on the night. 93/100

Grosset Polish Hill Riesling 2005 – (Clare Valley, South Australia): What a disappointment, this is meant to be one of Australia’s very best (and expensive) Rieslings – all lemon and lime and a watery palate with no backbone, no structure, no length, no intensity. A bit of sweetness on the finish.

Wine critics have been generally extremely positive about this wine, but I have seen reports from others that their bottle was similarly poor. 85/100

Bindi Composition Chardonnay 2004 – (Macedon Ranges, Victoria): The antithesis of what I don’t like about Australian chardonnay. No buttery, over-oaked characters here. Fairly tight nose, some cinnamon and grapefruit. Some flinty minerality, good underlying oak and a bit of acid at this stage. Length is good. I liked it. 89/100

Felton Road Pinot Noir 2003 – (Central Otago, New Zealand): Cherries, tomatoes, some stalks, touch of funk initially that blew off. Thought there was some acid poking out but not nearly as much as some others at the table found. Fell away at the back of the palate. 87/100

Henschke Cyril Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon 1994 – (Eden Valley, South Australia): Savoury nose with elements of earth and blackcurrant at the forefront – lovely tannin structure and great texture/mouthfeel. My second favourite wine on the night. 93/100

Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz 1994 – (Eden Valley, South Australia): Powerful nose with spice, pepper, some background oak and a hint of mint and menthol. Once again good structure and length. 90/100

Sorrenberg Gamay 2001 – (Beechworth, Victoria): Spice, earth, smoked smallgoods, some floral notes and a touch of butterscotch(?). Fleshy palate with some sweetness. Something different and definitely needs to be had with food. 88/100

Elk Cove Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2000 – (Oregon, USA): I think probably the first US Pinot I’ve tried and it’s not too bad! Earthy, forest floor, dirty and funky nose with some stalks in the background. Balanced and silky on the palate. Just lacking in some wow factor. A bit of a polarising style as well, with some liking it and some hating the dirt and funk. 89/100

Lindemans St George Cabernet Sauvignon 1991 – (Coonawarra, South Australia): Original release rather than the recent museum release bottling. Pencil shavings, cedar, cassis. Lovely complexity on the palate, great length. Very Bordeaux like. Super stuff. 92/100

Katnook Estate Prodigy Shiraz 1997 – (Coonawarra, South Australia): Tomato leaf, fair amount of vanilla oak. Palate is pretty good but the oak is still too prominent. 89/100

Rockford Grenache 1996 – (Barossa Valley, South Australia): Very ashy on the nose. Components of the palate are well integrated. I don’t know if this was meant to go 10 years but it was holding up fine. Decent enough but probably not a bad move to move the fruit into their GSM blend (Moppa Springs). 87/100

Rosemount Hunter Valley Trockenbeerenauslese Riesling 1982 – (Hunter Valley, New South Wales): A rarity! The story is that during the Fosters/Southcorp merger, inventory of warehouses were being done and 16 cases were found in a corner and nobody knew what they were. It turned out to be lost museum stock of this wine.

Colour was a deep orange brown, almost looked like a fortified wine. Nose was obvious aged Riesling with a bit of botrytis for good measure. Acid was there on the palate and holding the palate together. Very sweet but very nice. Fell apart after about half an hour in the glass, but was wonderful for the time it was alive. 92/100

Some notes taken at a dinner attended by some fellow wine lovers –

Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz 1990 – (Grampians, Victoria): A nice way to start the proceedings. Blackberry, cherry, spice, violets and earthy characters on the nose. Nice rich mouth-feel, with a bit of sweetness on the palate. Good, long finish. 88/100

Dry River “Lovat Vineyard” Gewürztraminer 2004 – (Martinborough, New Zealand): A style which polarised people somewhat. Lovely, varietal, intense fresh floral nose along with lychee, turkish delight, lemon, apples and a little bit of musk and spice. A concentrated, rich, sweet palate with a long finish.

There was some discussion that this was too sweet to be a table wine but not sweet enough to be a dessert wine, I’m of the opinion that in a non-offline situation you would find a food to match the wine rather than try to force this square peg of a wine into a round hole. However, I won’t argue that it isn’t worth the money. 89/100

Tahbilk Marsanne 1992 – (Nagambie, Victoria): Deep golden colour. Some honey, but mostly oxidised characters on the nose. Palate was thin and sharp. Sadly, a bottle well past its best. Not Rated

Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chadonnay 1996 – (Margaret River, Western Australia): Fairly obvious nutty caramel oak on the nose as well as grapefruit and citrus fruits. Rich, broad palate – powerful creamy texture. Very long finish. From what I’ve tasted of LEAS Chardonnay this vintage seemed to be a good representation of the style with a bit of age. 91/100

Mount Mary Chardonnay 1999 – (Yarra Valley, Victoria): A contrast to the Leeuwin Chardonnay above, but not in a bad way. Steely, minerally, gunflint and struck match on the nose. Delicate, elegant palate with minerally acid providing structure. Long finish. Very good. 92/100

Main Ridge Pinot Noir 1999 – (Mornington Penninsula, Victoria): Sour cherry with strawberry, green stalky characteristics and hints of earth. I didn’t feel that it had enough complexity or interest on the palate to make up for the nose. 84/100

L’Arrosee 1982 – (Bordeaux, France): Wonderfully youthful colour. Cedar, tobacco, blackcurrant, cassis and a bit of a smoked meat on the nose. Balanced, elegant palate leading into a long finish. Drinking so well now and not likely to fall over anytime soon. 92/100

Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 1988 – (Coonawarra, South Australia): Green capsicum, chocolate, mixed herbs and blackberries. Medium weighted on the smooth palate. Good but I thought it needed something more to take the step up into excellent. 88/100

Mount Mary Quintet Cabernets 1995 – (Yarra Valley, Victoria): One of the vintages of this wine that was recently said to not be worth higher than 80 points by Robert Parker Jr. Lovely violets dominate the nose, as well as blackcurrants, earth and sour stalks. Elegant palate, perhaps heading a bit too far towards the thin side of elegant though. 87/100

Masi Costasera 1997 – (Amarone, Italy): Very powerful and upfront. Plenty of oak evident as well as plum and cherry on the nose. Ripe, full bodied, concentrated and powerful – but not at all ready to drink – needs more time for the big tannins and oak to integrate. 87/100

Penfolds RWT 2001 – (Barossa Valley, South Australia): On the nose; Plenty of vanilla oak, cedar, coffee, blackberry, liquorice and some interesting floral overtones. Rich, fruity, oaky palate. Unsurprisingly primary at this stage – needs time for components to integrate and develop complexity. 87/100

Charles Melton Nine Popes 2001 – (Barossa Valley, South Australia): Meaty and savoury, plums, tobacco and blackberry as well as a little bit of sappiness. Smooth and well balanced on the palate – 15% alcohol but doesn’t show any sign of it. Rating is for the wine on the night, but as an afterward, the remains did show a bit better the night after. 89/100

Petaluma Botrytis Essence 2000 – (Coonawarra, South Australia): From a local store wanting to get rid of these because they couldn’t sell them. Slightly over 100 cases of half bottles made. Rich, powerful nose of honey, apricots, citrus peel and some botrytis evident. The palate is luscious, intense and sweet but held in balance by excellent acid structure. Impeccable length. Will age, but I’m not sure that it is worth waiting. Delicious stuff. 92/100

A number of people I know were interested in tasting the Chris Ringland Shiraz, formerly known as “Three Rivers” before he was forced to change the name. This wine is a super small production Shiraz from the Barossa Valley and made by Chris Ringland of Rockford fame. Ever since Mr Robert Parker took a liking to it, the prices have skyrocketed and so the only way we were going to get to taste this was if a number of people put some money in to get a glass of the wine in return.

There were only 1000 bottles made of this in 1999 (83 and a 1/3 cases) with maximum production reaching no more than 100 cases in any vintage and thus forms my entry to Wine Blogging Wednesday #15.

We also decided that this was a good opportunity to see how the 1999 Barossa vintage wines were progressing and give the Ringland some competition so we decided to do a 1999 Barossa Shiraz horizontal. As opposed to a vertical, where you taste different vintages of the same wine, a horizontal is where you taste several different wines but of the same vintage.

The Wines: All wines are 1999 vintage from the Barossa Valley and Shiraz based except for the opening Champagne and the Mount Edelstone which is from the Eden Valley in South Australia. The wines were tasted unmasked.

Flight One : A couple of sparklings to kick the night off …

Le Bernard Pitois Brut Reserve NV – A nice, fresh citrusy nose. Good length. Restrained toasty bread and yeasty characters. Nice, but not overly complex. 87/100

Rockford Black ’99 Disgorgement – Cherries, plum and hints of tobacco on the nose. Quite balanced and shows some elegance on the palate. 88/100

Flight Two : The start of the main event …

Turkey Flat – Closed for business on the nose initially which did open up slightly after some time to show some peppery oak. A bit thin and weak on the palate with some acid protruding on the front. Not a whole lot of interest, and for me, the weakest of this flight. 83/100

Burge Family Draycott – A bit of charred oak on the nose. Smooth palate lacking in complexity. Pulls up a touch short on the finish. 85/100

Greenock Creek Seven Acre – The most full-bodied of this flight. Liquorice and berries on the nose. Grippy tannins on the palate. Lovely long finish. Powerful but still has poise and balance, not over the top. Wine of the flight. 89/100

Henschke Mt Edelstone – This did stand out as the odd one out in this flight on the nose. I got a whiff of spearmint and menthol and yes there were some earthy, horsy, savoury aromas and flavours, but in this case I though they added rather than detracted from the wine. 87/100

Flight Three : A step sideways …

Grant Burge Meschach – Concentrated blueberry jam on the nose. Good length and balance on the palate. 87/100

Viking Grand – Vegetable nose. Clunky, disjointed palate with some sharpness on the front palate and oak and over-ripe fruit sticking out. Thanks but no thanks. 82/100

Peter Lehmann Stonewell – Lots of chocolaty oak on the nose along with ripe fruit. The oak does recede a little on the palate though to show some better balance but still fails to impress. 85/100

Langmeil The Freedom – This may sound strange but I found vanilla soap the predominant character on the nose. Powerful fresh, ripe fruit. Good length. Nice but needs time to come together fully. 87/100

Flight Four : and now a step up …

Rockford Basket Press – A bit muted on the nose but much nicer on the palate of ripe berry fruit with good balanced oak providing structure. Smooth finish and good length. 89/100

Yalumba Octavius – I did not at all like the 1990 of this that I had recently due to the over the top oak. However I found the ’99 to be more restrained. I did find it to be a bit too tannic for my liking at this stage. 87/100

Torbreck The Factor – Alright, now we are getting serious. The best nose on any wine this evening with a beautiful floral lift that made me mistake that this has the slightest dash of viognier in it (apparently not). Powerful but totally balanced palate. Wonderful length. Super stuff. 94/100

Flight Five : The big guns …

Veritas Hanisch – I decided to save this for the last flight due to its power but it ended up being out classed. Deepest colour wine that I noticed tonight. Powerful, concentrated, still youthful fruit … but too simple at this level. 88/100

Greenock Creek Roennfeldt Road – Supremely powerful nose and palate. A touch spirity and a touch oaky but otherwise I enjoyed drinking this, but didn’t feel challenged by it. 91/100

Penfolds Grange – Closed, closed, closed initially. Was allowed to sit in the glass for a few hours and started to open a little and show a bit more of that typical Grange nose. Elegant, smooth, balanced and structurally complete palate with lovely mouth-feel. Really shows that elusive spark of something special over the other wines so far. In my notes I underlined twice “Come back in 15 years” when I think it’ll be spectacular. 96/100

Chris Ringland – Went blow for blow with the Grange in the battle for wine of the night and came out with a respectable result against the champion. There was a candy like element to the nose and but I thought that it provided a very nice floral perfumed element rather than being confected. Savoury, spicy, earthy and slightly meaty palate along with some wonderful concentrated berries. Breathtakingly long finish. Based on this tasting I feel it deserves its place among the top Australian Shiraz. 96/100

The conclusion : My top three wines for the night were the Grange and the Ringland as equal best Wines of the Night, with the Torbreck Factor coming in third.

I think the slightly underrated 1999 vintage looks pretty good overall, there are some good candidates for aging and some that are drinking very nicely now.

It was a good experience to have tasted the Chris Ringland wine, I can actually see what all the fuss is about and it’s just a shame for us regular wine lovers that it has been made so expensive due to one mans review.

Some wines brought along and tasted blind at a dinner with some fellow wine aficionados ;

Leo Buring Leonay Watervale Riesling 1992 – (Clare Valley, South Australia): Yellow gold in colour. All honey and toast with a touch of lanolin. Good length and was holding together structurally. A couple of comments around the table were that this bottle was past its best, but I thought it was still good and holding up well. 88 Points

Yarra Yering Dry White Number 1 1998 – (Yarra Valley, Victoria) I couldn’t pick it at all blind apart from thinking that I hadn’t tried anything like it before. Very muted initially but may have been served too cold. As it warmed up it showed an interesting honey dominant nose with nutty, caramel oak behind. I thought the palate was lacking in balance and length. Regardless, I found in an interesting experience to drink and think about. 86 Points

Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir 1998 – (Martinborough, New Zealand): Pinot on the nose but not the palate. Undergrowth, earthy and leafy, spicy oak and a hint of sweetness on the nose. The palate was medium bodied with good length and savoury oak supporting structurally but a bit of acid poking out. 86 Points

Chateau Lagrange 1995 – (Bordeaux, France): Deep coloured, looks quite youthful. Layered nose of earth, coffee, green capsicum, pencil shavings and mixed herbs. Excellent mouth-feel with fine tannins and structure. 89 Points

Chateau l’Angelus 1988 – (Bordeaux, France): Chocolate oak and tobacco aromas are at the forefront of an intoxicating nose. Quite an intense, full bodied palate. Superbly balanced. Drinking very nicely now and I suggest will continue to do so for quite a few more years to come. Lovely, lovely wine. 92 Points

Winslow Cabernets 1998 – (Marlborough, New Zealand): Dense purple in colour. Youthful nose of berries and currants along with some spicy caramel oak. The palate felt somewhat disjointed with tannins, acid and alcohol all sticking out. May come together. 86 Points

Yalumba Octavius 1990 – (Barossa Valley, South Australia): My favourite quote of the night was about this wine by someone at the table after the vintage (but before the maker) was correctly guessed – “It was as if they said – this is a great vintage, let’s quadruple oak it”. Overbearing oak dominating what might otherwise be a very, very nice wine. It has the length and it has the intensity, but it just doesn’t have the balance. It isn’t a bad wine if you take into account that it seems to be a deliberate choice of style, but it’s certainly not what I’m looking for. 85 Points

Seppelt St Peters 2002 – (Grampians, Victoria): Beautiful complex nose of dense berries, spices, liquorice and savoury meats. Dense but at the same time showing elegance and wonderful structure. Awesome, persisting length. Brings together seamlessly the best of cool-climate and warm-climate Australian Shiraz. 94 Points and my favourite wine of the evening.

McWilliams Solera Aged Rare Liqueur Verdelho NV – (Griffith, New South Wales): I don’t have too much to say about this. Lots of caramel, lots of alcoholic heat, went well enough with the cheese platter but wouldn’t want to drink on its own. 87 Points

Andrew over at Spittoon “tagged” me to take part in a meme started by Beau at Basic Juice. The idea of the meme is that you nominate the best wine that you have had in the past 30 days and then pass the baton on to a fellow wine blogger as well as a food blogger.

This has come to me at an opportune time as I recently had the good fortune to try a piece of Australian wine history.

The wine in question is the very special Seppelt 1905 Para Liqueur Vintage Tawny.

The story goes that the owner and winemaker at Seppelt, Benno Seppelt wanted to commemorate the opening of a newly constructed stone cellar at Seppeltsfield in the Barossa Valley. He decided that he would put aside a barrel of the finest wine for that vintage and declared that it should remain unbottled for 100 years.

This was in 1878 and each subsequent year a barrel has been put aside to be untouched for a minimum of 100 years. Wine is bottled only on demand and Seppelt still has unbottled stock for all years back to 1878. This makes Seppelt the only company in the world to have significant stock of unbottled wine laid down in consecutive vintages for what is now 127 years.

Unlike a solera system, where vintages are blended together, the Seppelt 100yo Para is a true vintage wine with 100% of the wine being from the specified vintage.

This particular vintage of 100 year old Para is a blend of Mataro, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and Malbec.

Tasting Note: There aren’t strong enough superlatives to do justice to the concentration and viscosity of this wine. Swirling ever so gently left a thick coat of wine along the sides of the glass for over five minutes.

An impenetrable glowing dark mahogany in colour with glimpses of olive yellow, honey and maple throughout.

Impossibly complex bouquet, one feels that you could dedicate weeks to sitting and smelling this in awe and still not unravel all the layers that it has to offer. Toffee, caramel, butterscotch, tobacco, rancio and spirity characters each as fully intense as if they were the only aromas in the wine.

On the palate you are treated to the unbelievable viscosity of the wine as it flows ever so slowly down the side of the glass and past your lips. You almost feel like you are able to chew on the wine it is so dense. The flavours are like an explosion in your mouth – Toffee, caramel, maple syrup, roasted coffee beans, dark chocolate, cigar box – but enough acid to keep a semblance of balance.

The finish is glorious and the astonishing aftertaste remains with you for hours, if not longer.

Verdict: 100 points. No tasting note can do it true justice.

As mentioned, the wine is bottled on demand from vintages ranging between 1878 and 1905. Each vintage costs the same to bottle, $575AU for 375ml and $1050AU for 750ml. Expensive, but an unique part of Australian wine history. For those of us not quite willing/able to part with that much hard earned money, at Seppelt’s Barossa Valley Cellar Door you can take a guided tour of the winery and then taste Seppelt’s premium wine range followed by a cheese platter and a taste of the 100 year old Para for $50 per person.

Now, to pass the meme along, I nominate from the wine blogging side Mike from ShirazShiraz and for the food blogging side I nominate Niki at Esurientes

Once again a merry band of men and women from the Winestar Forum met up in order to enjoy some food and wine.

The Restaurant: I quite liked the restaurant; my entree of Balmain Bug Raviolo was excellent and was perfect for the white wines. Wasn’t quite as impressed with the main of Char-grilled Sirloin on mushrooms, but it was still good. Service was fine and corkage very reasonable ($3pp). Came to about $70 per head including bread, a small starter, entree, main, dessert, gratuity and corkage.

The Wines: Only the Kalleske Cleanskin was served masked on this occasion.

Charles Heidsieck NV (Mis en Cave 2000) Brut Reserve - (Champagne, France): Hyper-active, fine bead. A little bit of toast initially, with a hit of unbalanced acid on the finish. Pleasant enough, but I don’t think it is going anywhere special. 86 Points

Mount Mary Triolet 2001 - (Yarra Valley, Victoria): Blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle. Something off-putting on the nose asides from some grassy notes, someone at the table mentioned oysters and I wouldn’t disagree. It didn’t have a great deal of complexity or interest on the palate – some tropical fruit but it was only barely there. Pulled up a bit short and watery on the finish. Didn’t live up to the reputation for me, perhaps just not my style. 84 Points

Plantagenet Riesling 1991 - (Mount Barker, Western Australia): Nose was not giving anything away. Much better on the palate, aged toasty characters with structure holding in-tact. Balanced across the palate with a good length finish. No kerosene characters. Was holding up very well for a 14 year old West Australian Riesling and I though was quite pleasant to drink but without having the intensity of a great aged Riesling. 89 Points

Savaterre Chardonnay 2001 - (Beechworth, Victoria): A wonderfully complex nose of peaches, cream and pears with well integrated oak supporting. Restrained elegant power on the palate, lovely mouth-feel, still showing some freshness. Great balance and structure. Clean, long finish. Best Australian Chardonnay I’ve had this year and I’m going to do my best to source some of this. My favourite wine this evening. 93 Points

Giaconda Cabernet Sauvignon 1992 – (Beechworth, Victoria): Tobacco and smoked meat on the nose. I noted down that the tannins are still quite prominent. A modicum of class, perhaps a shadow of the past. A good enough wine and I certainly wouldn’t refuse a glass, but not mind-blowing, and certainly not living up to reputation or price. 88 Points

Seppelt Dorrien Cabernet Sauvignon 1991 - (Barossa Valley, South Australia): Nice enough savoury bouquet and palate, but the fruit was missing in action, presumed dead. Finish pulled up short. Mike, who brought this bottle, had tried a much better bottle earlier this year. Ah, the “joys” of bottle variation. 86 Points

Penley Cabernet Sauvignon 1990 – (Coonawarra, South Australia): Notes are a bit scarce on this one sorry. Was a bit green (on the nose) and mean (unbalanced tannins). I thought that it was lacking in length and pulled up short on the finish. 86 Points

Clos L’Eglise Pomerol 1999 – (Pomerol, France): Thought this was looking a bit tired and weary for a ’99. The shop is closed for business, nothing there to hold any interest. Might just be going through a phase which it will come out of. 85 Points

Kalleske Shiraz Cleanskin 2002 – (Barossa Valley, South Australia): A glass stainer. Massive nose – Somebody mentioned Chocolate Bullets which summed up perfectly the liquorice and chocolaty oak. Despite the full on body, there was still balance to be found. Perhaps a little bit short on the finish, but I don’t think you’ll find better value for $7.50 anywhere. 89 Points

Preveli Merlot 2002 – (Margaret River, Western Australia): Sadly, without any doubt corked. Not Rated

Clarendon Hills “Sandown” Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 – (Clarendon, South Australia): Nothing happening at first. Was given a couple of hours in the decanter to open up (and I believe a number of hours beforehand) – If anything it got worse as time went on and in my opinion was offensive in the end smelling a bit like rotting cabbage. Maybe TCA affected but definitely not a good bottle either way. Not Rated

Oliver’s Taranga Shiraz 1996 – (McLaren Vale, South Australia): Deep red in colour. Quite powerful but lacking balance and I found the alcohol overbearing, leading to a hot finish. 86 Points

Henschke Keyneton Estate 1996 – (Barossa and Eden Valleys, South Australia): Blend of 65% shiraz, 30% cabernet and 5% merlot. Yes it was a little bit gamey (read: bretty) but I thought it was all the more interesting for it. Lovely complex nose, great balance and a good length finish. Close to hitting its peak. My favourite red wine of the night. 91 Points

Seppelt Great Western Shiraz 1991 - (Grampians, Victoria): Was a bit clunky and all over the place to begin with, but after half an hour seemed to pull itself back together and was quite enjoyable, if lacking in anything to make it stand out from the crowd. Likely a couple of years past its best. 88 Points

Miranda Golden Botrytis 2002 - (Riverina, New South Wales): Didn’t pick up a whole lot of botrytis in this. Not a great deal of intensity. Some overt sweetness sticking out, but not enough to ruin my enjoyment. Medium length finish and a good accompaniment for dessert. 88 Points

Malivoire “Moira Vineyard” Chardonnay 2002 – (Ontario, Canada): Disappointing. Very developed in colour for a reasonably recently bottled Chardonnay. A very oniony, sulphury nose put down to mercaptans. “Do Not Put In Mouth” stuff. Took most of the bottle home to see if they blew off but was just as bad the next evening. Can only put this down to being a bad bottle, I will write to the maker and see if they care to respond. Not Rated

Perhaps this offline should be known as the “It has shown better in the past” night with so many bottles not showing as well as they had previously! I had a good time regardless and am looking forward to the next one.

Another wine dinner with the good people from the Winestar Forum. This time we convened at the Castel Mola Italian Restaurant at Leichhardt.

The Wines:

Once again, most wines were served masked.

Egly-Ouriet Tradition NV – Disgorged Sept 2004 (Champagne, France): A fantastic way to start the evening. Fine and focused with great length. Visibly contains a high Pinot Noir component. Super value for money. 91 Points

Craggy Range ‘Les Beaux Cailloux’ 2001 (Hawkes Bay, New Zealand): Loads of overpowering sweet caramel oak dominating whatever fruit there was to be had. Very much out of balance. It might come together in 2-3 years, but I can’t really be sure. 85 Points

Curlewis Pinot Noir 2002 (Geelong, Victoria): Brown tinged around the edges. Quite savoury. Excellent length. Possibly lacking some complexity. I liked this more than others at the table. 89 Points

Rousseau Gevrey Chambertin Village 1996 (Burgundy, France): Very interesting and complex nose, with plenty of gorgonzola. Great length and a soft finish. This was tasted blind alongside the below wine, and I preferred it for drinking now. 92 Points

Pousse D’Or Volnay 1ere Cru Caillerets 1996 (Burgundy, France): My notes on this wine aren’t extensive, but I do remember getting a fair hit of unbalanced acid. Quite clean for a Burgundy. I wrote down that I thought it was worth 90 Points, mostly because I thought it had quite good structure and may well be better with additional age.

Seppelt St Peters Shiraz 1998 (Grampians, Victoria): As I recall, two of the more experienced tasters at the table picked this as an 2002 vintage wine. Extremely tight and youthful even after having been decanted some time prior in the afternoon. Very good length and intensity. Another 10 or 15 years and it will be brilliant. 93 Points

Chateau La Lagune Grande Cru 1988 (Bordeaux, France): Fantastic, intense nose but was a bit more subdued on the palate. Medium length finish. 90 Points

Chateau d’Angludet 1982 (Bordeaux, France): My equal Wine Of The Night with the St Peters. Deeply coloured and a superb nose. I really enjoyed this, but perhaps just starting on the downward slide after hitting its peak. 93 Points

Charles Melton ‘Sotto di Ferro’ 1999 (Barossa Valley, South Australia): Excellent concentration and complexity. Lots of nutty characters on the nose and palate. I thought it was quite well balanced, not overtly sweet. It was a great experience to get to try this, but I’d struggle to justify the price ($65AU for 375ml). 91 Points

Another excellent evening with some of the ladies and gentlemen of the forum. The food and service at the restaurant were very ordinary, but it was more than made up for by the quality of the company and their generosity with the wines shared.