Wine thread

[Bazal]

Finished up the wine regions of Tassie...loaded the car with about three dozen. Best vineyards we hit were...

Delamere, particularly sparkling and pinot
Goaty Hill, best riesling of the trip
Tamar Ridge, everything but the Reserve pinot was outstanding
Holm Oak, awesome Syrah and pinots
Josef Chromy, again, everything was good but bought sauv blanc, reserve pinot, riesling and dessert riesling
Sinapius, brilliant wines. They only make four wines, bought the white blend (Gruner veltliner, gewurtz and riesling IIRC) and the red blend (Pinot noir and pinot meunier)
Bay of Fires, obviously. Arras and pinot, but the Eddystone point range is cracking value
Spring Vale. Gewurtz, chardy, pinot
Freycinet, sauv blanc, chardonnay, estate pinot and vintage sparkling
Devils Corner. Wicked cellar door! Resolution Pinot, best value wine of the trip
Domaine A, outstanding across the range. Bought a Petit A Cabernet, Stoney Vineyard Cabernet and a Lady A Sauv Blanc (and if you ever told me I'd spend 60 bucks on a sauv blanc I'd have thought you were nuts)
Pooley Wines, single vineyard pinots are wicked
Frogmore Creek, you name it. Gamay, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot....they make just about everything and well
Coal Valley Wines. Great Sav blanc and riesling, excellent pinot. Shame they didn't have the tempranillo open
Stefano Lubiana. Riesling sparkling chardy pinot and merlot.

 

[Drew-Sta]

Did you pass through Riversdale?

 

[Bazal]

Doors opened like two days after I was in the Coal River! Frogmore is next door but Riversdale was closed

 

[Drew-Sta]

Ahh, fair enough. Was keen on your thoughts given we source fruit from them.

 

[Bazal]

Yeah they just opened the biggest complex in Tassie. Cellar door, French bistro, gardens, accommodation, a Peter Rabbit garden to keep the kids happy while the adults drinks nature walks etc....so they must be doing pretty ok

 

[Drew-Sta]

Hewitson's Baby Bush Mourvedre last night. A gorgeous drop...

 

[Bazal]

2010 Lark Hill Gruner Veltliner.

These guys are reasonably overrated in all honesty, except this wine and a couple of others. Probably the perfect time to drink it, just aged enough but still very lean and steely. Oranges, honey, jasmine, a bit of a herby thing and pepper on the back end. Really interesting wine

 

[Bazal]

2009 Riorret Merricks Grove Pinot

Not what you'd call a silky pinot, but I think it's a plus in this case. It's quite firm and tannic, great length, pretty stalky and chewy. Still quite bright and has a gamey, savoury hit. Seriously good.

 

[Bazal]

I'm the only alco left

2013 Angus The Bull Cabernet. Central Victoria fruit from many vineyards. Pretty handy for 19 bucks a bottle, loads of fruit, no mid palate hole like the equivalent SA cabernet, good length. Maybe a little sharp on the back end for me, and there's not a lot of structure but for under $20 that's not a huge worry.

 

[Bazal]

2014 Head Red Shiraz

Holy shit, you guys....like, holy shit. Early contender for my wine of the year right here.

Stupidly complex for a wine of this price point ($24), simultaneously reminds me of a Rhone red and a Ribero Del Duero. Not obviously shiraz at first, and all the better for it. 86% shiraz, 8% grenache, 5% cabernet, 1% viognier. Incredibly vibrant and fresh, cherries, rhubarb, licorice, cola, tarragon, chocolate oak, mint, a whack of apricot despite the tiny percentage of viognier....I'm genuinely in love and I'll be flat out keeping any for tomorrow to see how it evolves.

If you see it, buy it.

 

[_Johnsy]

2014 Head Red Shiraz

Holy shit, you guys....like, holy shit. Early contender for my wine of the year right here.

Stupidly complex for a wine of this price point ($24), simultaneously reminds me of a Rhone red and a Ribero Del Duero. Not obviously shiraz at first, and all the better for it. 86% shiraz, 8% grenache, 5% cabernet, 1% viognier. Incredibly vibrant and fresh, cherries, rhubarb, licorice, cola, tarragon, chocolate oak, mint, a whack of apricot despite the tiny percentage of viognier....I'm genuinely in love and I'll be flat out keeping any for tomorrow to see how it evolves.

If you see it, buy it.

Committed it to memory, thanks Baz.

Anyone tried the Kooks chardonnay and/or Shiraz ?

 

[Drew-Sta]

I'm the only alco left

SGL's liver left him for another man... :sarcasm:

TBH, I haven't drunk anything worth mentioning in a while. We're getting some NPD's in soon, from some single vineyard parcels we've got. There's two I'm interested in that I'll try to mention.

I had a Yea Valley pinot the other night. It was solid, enjoyable quaffer for $13 price band.

TBH, I want to drink more grenache, mataro, tempranillo and blends than straight shiraz or cab right now.

In saying that, I had a great McLaren Vale Cab the other week. Minty, chocolatey, licorice and a hint of herbs with medium tanins and cherry, blueberry fruit. Paragon Reserve I think. '14. Was good.

 

[Bazal]

Just finished a bottle of Kooyong Estate Pinot that I opened...like, last Friday? So 10 days ago.

Sometimes I forget what wines I have open :lol:

Absolutely great still, I did chuck it in the fridge which helped but it felt like a perfectly aged pinot even after ten days, with great fruit still. Then again, not that much of a surprise from the maker

 

[Scott Gourley's Lovechild]

Sadly, I just haven't had anything worth talking about.

 

[Scott Gourley's Lovechild]

In Goulburn, thought I'd try some local plonk over dinner.

Kingsdale Emma Shiraz 2011. Very inoffensive red, smooth with a lot of plum flavour. Good table red.

 

[Bazal]

How weird is Goulburn? Bogan central, but f**k it's got some handy spots to drink/eat.

I'm on a cheapy tonight, because I've had a rough week with anxiety and just wanted something to chill out with. One of my sneaky cellar cheapies, a 2011 Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cab. To be perfectly honest, given this stuff is often under $10, I'd rather buy it than the Bin ranges....always top value

 

[Scott Gourley's Lovechild]

I'm looking at the backbar of the place I'm staying tonight. I'm quietly confident the Cinzano & Cawseys they have here is older than I am. Even Southern Comfort is in the old bottles. But the westie drinks are all brand spanking new.

 

[Bazal]

I always love when you walk into a bar and the vermouth is on the shelf....refrigerate that shit you heathens

f**k I could go for a martini

 

[muzby]

when did penfolds drop the penfolds name off rawsons retreat?

i know its one of their bottom end wines, but i always thought at least it added a bit of class to the bottom end..

 

[gUt]

Jacobs Creek Double Barrel Shiraz, very nice and you can get it for under $20