Wine thread

[Drew-Sta]

Always found the Climbing stuff was... just not what I wanted.

 

[Bazal]

I quite like most of the Climbing stuff. It's not the best around but it's a welcome departure from the ridiculous oversaturation of overcooked SA wines in the same price bracket (although obviously there are some belters amongst that lot too).

I should add re the Holm Oak that the rep probably did tell me where you can find it in Sydney....but I was trying to get her into bed at the time, so I probably was more worried about other things. Lol.

 

[Bazal]

Continuing the Tassie theme.....2014 Coal Valley Vineyard Pinot Noir

Beautiful pure pinot fruit, very clean and elegant, no intrusion from the oak just a nice mellowness. One of those almost flawless Tassie pinots.

People who reckon Aussie pinot can't rival the Burgundy stuff should try wines like this one tbh. For $40 I'll just about guarantee that it will be as good as many $100 burgundies, and a f**kload more consistent.

 

[Bazal]

Is there anything better, in terms of white win anyway, than an aged marsanne, roussanne, or semillon? Or riesling to a lesser extent....

I love red wine, and of the 300+ bottles I have left in my house 250+ are red. But I can never go past a quality Rhone white or semillon with some years on it. By my reckoning I have 30 bottles of semillon (and probably 20 of various Tyrell's semillon) Is a QLD Marsanne tonight, 2011 Heritage Estate Granite Belt. Absolute gem, honey toast, oily mouthfeel, dried apricot, classic quince and a little cashew. Winner.

 

[Scott Gourley's Lovechild]

De Bortoli Villages Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2016. Very juicy red & black berries, tastes like more whole bunches were used rather than the 15-25% listed. Quite pleasant.

 

[Bazal]

De Bortoli Villages Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2016. Very juicy red & black berries, tastes like more whole bunches were used rather than the 15-25% listed. Quite pleasant.

I always like that one tbh. Been on a "cheap" pinot rampage the last fortnight actually. To save writing too much shit...

2016 Red Hill Estate Pinot-Light, easy drinking, vibrant, 3/5
2014 The Ned Pinot-Dark cherry, good depth, quite impressive for $12 on sale, 4/5
2016 (I think) The Good Paddock Pinot-Made for Coles by Fowles Wine. Again, $12 on sale. Bright cherry, great backbone, savoury hit. Outstanding value, 4/5
2014 Cono Sur Pinot-Surprisingly young still, especially for an $8 wine. Sadly I think Coles have deleted this one. 3/5
2015 Windy Peak Pinot-Always a great wine for $11. Fresh cherry, nice acid, 4/5

 

[Mong]

Is there anything better, in terms of white win anyway, than an aged marsanne, roussanne, or semillon? Or riesling to a lesser extent....

I love red wine, and of the 300+ bottles I have left in my house 250+ are red. But I can never go past a quality Rhone white or semillon with some years on it. By my reckoning I have 30 bottles of semillon (and probably 20 of various Tyrell's semillon) Is a QLD Marsanne tonight, 2011 Heritage Estate Granite Belt. Absolute gem, honey toast, oily mouthfeel, dried apricot, classic quince and a little cashew. Winner.

Aged Semillon is the best, am currently getting the Mt Pleasant Elizabeth aged Semillon which I think is 10 years or so, otherwise they are hard to find that are not super expensive. Any recommendations?

I had a Viognier recently which was only about 7 years old but it was outstanding, think it was Fox Gordon, I went back to get more but they had all gone and the 2016 vintage has replaced it.. Any recommendations along those lines would be appreciated also.

 

[Bazal]

Aged Semillon is the best, am currently getting the Mt Pleasant Elizabeth aged Semillon which I think is 10 years or so, otherwise they are hard to find that are not super expensive. Any recommendations?

I had a Viognier recently which was only about 7 years old but it was outstanding, think it was Fox Gordon, I went back to get more but they had all gone and the 2016 vintage has replaced it.. Any recommendations along those lines would be appreciated also.

Personally I used to buy the current vintage Elizabeth when Dans had it on cheap and lay it down, I find that's the best way. Sadly they've upped the price quite a lot, but they carry a few sub-$20 wines that you can do the same with. I'm still drinking bottles of 06 Elizabeth that I picked up for $9.90 and it's stunning. If you wanted to lay something down, De Iuliis, Margan, Audrey Wilkinson, are readily available and affordable semillons that will age. Even the Tyrrell's Old Winery will go down for a few years, and the good about it is that it will age quicker so you can achieve an older feel with a younger wine.

Check out the websites for some of the Hunter Valley wineries. They often have deals on vintages they want to clear or whatever.

Ultimately though the fact that well over 90% of wine purchased is consumed within 24-48 hours means that it can be tough to find aged wine in general

 

[Mong]

Personally I used to buy the current vintage Elizabeth when Dans had it on cheap and lay it down, I find that's the best way. Sadly they've upped the price quite a lot, but they carry a few sub-$20 wines that you can do the same with. I'm still drinking bottles of 06 Elizabeth that I picked up for $9.90 and it's stunning. If you wanted to lay something down, De Iuliis, Margan, Audrey Wilkinson, are readily available and affordable semillons that will age. Even the Tyrrell's Old Winery will go down for a few years, and the good about it is that it will age quicker so you can achieve an older feel with a younger wine.

Check out the websites for some of the Hunter Valley wineries. They often have deals on vintages they want to clear or whatever.

Ultimately though the fact that well over 90% of wine purchased is consumed within 24-48 hours means that it can be tough to find aged wine in general

I also enjoy the current vintage Elizabeth every year. I will get a couple of those you suggested, particularly the Tyrell's, and hide them away.. Whilst I am patient these days the missus is quite the opposite and falls squarely in that 24-48 hour demographic

 

[Bazal]

I also enjoy the current vintage Elizabeth every year. I will get a couple of those you suggested, particularly the Tyrell's, and hide them away.. Whilst I am patient these days the missus is quite the opposite and falls squarely in that 24-48 hour demographic

Now that I'm home....you can usually find these wines retail too, just easier to link the webpages.

http://www.tworivers.com.au/wineShop

These guys might suit a couple of you needs. Good value Viogner and an excellent Semillon that will age.

https://www.meereapark.com.au/

One of my favourite Hunter wineries, the Hell Hole Semillon is IMO one of the best value examples on the market and ages beautifully. The Indie Marsanne/Roussanne is probably right up your alley as well. Their reds are wickedly good too.

http://www.scarboroughwine.com.au/Wines/semillon

The green label Semillon is an absolute stunner and ages excellently. They also do a white label that's sold out at the moment, it's a bit pricier but it's absolutely awesome.

http://www.peppertreewines.com.au/our-wines-and-shop/product-detail/?ProductID=28

Another great value for money wine. This one is wine club and cellar door only, though. They also do an Alluvius semillon that drinks like a $50 wine at $35

 

[Mong]

Thanks mate.. I will let you know what I think in a few weeks time hopefully

Do you like Brash Higgins wine? I have a Riesling Semillion blend of theirs, around $40, that was fantastic, hard to source around these parts though so will have to try online for those as well, am keen to try their reds too.

 

[Bazal]

I've only ever had this one

https://www.brashhiggins.com/wine/brash-higgins-2015-shz-shiraz/

Although I feel like it was a 2013. Really good wine

 

[Bazal]

2008 Penfolds Bin 28.

Look, you can buy this at Dans right now for $55 a bottle. My advice? Don't.

I picked it up on release, price war, yada yada. Top quality vintage, beautiful on release. And it's good, don't get me wrong. A bit of graphite, winter spice, lovely black fruits,maybe a little stewed for my liking but that's basically every warm vintage Barossa shiraz ever. As a standalone wine I'd probably give it about 8/10.

That brings me to my issue with it, however. Every fking year Penfolds release a Bin 28 and say "this has 25 years in it." This one was no different, coming from a good vintage and all. But it just doesn't IMO. It's 9 years old as it stands and it's already on the slide. There's already a flavour of oxidation on the finish that gives it a bitterness that doesn't make you want another glass. It's not off-putting, but it's not that nice either. It'll hold, but I doubt it'll make 15 years and still carry its complexity. I can see it becoming one of those over-bearingly graphite tasting reds that taste like pencil shavings.

But Penfolds are happy to tell people that it'll make 25 years in a canter and slug them $40 for it on release. Personally, I've had 8 year old bottles of Torbreck Woodcutters and Teusner Riebke that were nicer and cost half the money....

 

[Bazal]

Rocca di Montemassi Calasole Vermentino 2014

Summer wine, yeah, but I felt like a white. This is the kind of thing the sav blanc crowd will HATE, so I love it partly just because of that. But it's also pretty good. Lemon butter, thyme, brine on the nose. Citrus, green apple, sea salt and a sea water, slightly salty, heavy mineral thing. Only criticism is that it's maybe a little too funky, the sea-shore character is a bit overbearing...but I also like funky so it's not a big issue for me. Makes me crave some fresh sardines.

 

[Bazal]

f**k ya'll I'm spamming this shit

148 Browns Road Pinot Noir 2016. I can't believe Coles are deleting this from their range. Well, I can, because it's quality and not something they can flog off at 6 for $30 because a marketing grad who drinks Pimms thinks that's what wine consumers want....

$14 at the moment and honestly it's everything you'd want in a Mornington pinot. Sappy and spicy on the nose, with buckets of cherry. Full bodied, ripe cherry and plum, a bit of olive, savoury briar characters, a little hint of oak, just enough tannin and acid to make you want more. It's no Kooyong obviously, and it's got a quasi-Mediterranean feel to it, but as far as pinot goes I struggle to think of anything missing.

I genuinely got through 4 glasses without even noticing. Ridiculously drinkable but serious enough to impress people. The best sub $20 pinot I've had in ages.

 

[Bazal]

Devils Corner Resolution Pinot 2014

One of the wines Brown Brothers added when they decided they could make the Devils Corner label a juggernaut rather than an afterthought. This is the mid range one at about 35 bucks, there's also a $60 wine.

Fruit for this is entirely from near the cellar door site on the East Coast of Tasmania. Definite whole bunch characters, absolutely loads of fruit, obvious but beautifully handled oak, soft and supple the whole way through. A complete and total stormer of a wine

 

[_Johnsy]

f**k ya'll I'm spamming this shit

148 Browns Road Pinot Noir 2016. I can't believe Coles are deleting this from their range. Well, I can, because it's quality and not something they can flog off at 6 for $30 because a marketing grad who drinks Pimms thinks that's what wine consumers want....

$14 at the moment and honestly it's everything you'd want in a Mornington pinot. Sappy and spicy on the nose, with buckets of cherry. Full bodied, ripe cherry and plum, a bit of olive, savoury briar characters, a little hint of oak, just enough tannin and acid to make you want more. It's no Kooyong obviously, and it's got a quasi-Mediterranean feel to it, but as far as pinot goes I struggle to think of anything missing.

I genuinely got through 4 glasses without even noticing. Ridiculously drinkable but serious enough to impress people. The best sub $20 pinot I've had in ages.

Thanks baz, hadn''t tried this one, will keep an eye out.

 

[Bazal]

Thanks baz, hadn''t tried this one, will keep an eye out.

No worries mate. On a student budget and I've been saving for my trip to Adelaide starting Saturday so I've been on the cheapies.

Like tonights' study aid. St Andrews Cab Sav 2016.

This is the one that's been all over the papers recently. Double gold at Melbourne I think. $6 Coles exclusive.

Look, the best thing I can say about this is that it tastes about $4 better than a $6 wine. Whoever gave it a double gold must have been suffering some incredible palate fatigue, or maybe it was hidden in the middle of a flight of pruno. And the blokes writing it up in the papers since clearly haven't actually tried it. It's not offensive or anything, it's bright and fruity and soft and very easy to drink in a simple way, but realistically it's not even close to a gold medal wine IMO. I could understand a bronze or even just scraping a silver...which is no mean feat for a $6 wine. But the hype is ludicrous.

 

[_Johnsy]

No worries mate. On a student budget and I've been saving for my trip to Adelaide starting Saturday so I've been on the cheapies.

Like tonights' study aid. St Andrews Cab Sav 2016.

This is the one that's been all over the papers recently. Double gold at Melbourne I think. $6 Coles exclusive.

Look, the best thing I can say about this is that it tastes about $4 better than a $6 wine. Whoever gave it a double gold must have been suffering some incredible palate fatigue, or maybe it was hidden in the middle of a flight of pruno. And the blokes writing it up in the papers since clearly haven't actually tried it. It's not offensive or anything, it's bright and fruity and soft and very easy to drink in a simple way, but realistically it's not even close to a gold medal wine IMO. I could understand a bronze or even just scraping a silver...which is no mean feat for a $6 wine. But the hype is ludicrous.

Sadly thats a common occurrence, the reality rarely lives up to the hype.

 

[Bazal]

Just got back from SA....did McLaren Vale and the Barossa. Just for interests sake;

McLaren Vale....

Best Winery....SC Pannell
Best White...SC Pannell Aromatico
Best Red...Chapel Hill Road Block Shiraz/SC Pannell Syrah

Barossa....(much tougher so I'll do top 3)

Best Winery...Torbreck, Yelland & Papps, Langmeil
Best White...Rockford Frontignac, Yelland & Papps Roussanne, Torbreck RMV
Best Red...Charles Melton Nine Popes, Torbreck The Descendant, Langmeil Orphan Bank.

Obviously loved heaps of wines so this is a little bit arbitrary lol