Category: Shiraz and Blends


Leeuwin Estate Cab Merlot, Balthazar Shiraz & Capel Vale Chardonnay

Filed under: Shiraz and Blends, White Wine, Wine, Wine Red, Wine Reviews — 3 Comments
April 18, 2010

last Sunday - lunch…
LEEUWIN ESTATE 2004 CAB MERLOT

Bought a bunch of these from Kemeny’s Bondi, only a month ago. First time opened one now, and What Fantastic Value!! This is a great wine, and especially since it’s so hard now to find 2004 Vintages in wine stores under $30, and even above $30 there aren’t many 2004s. Really good balanced body, more elegant taste, with plenty of herbaceous characters on the nose, and on taste, good spice, black pepper and some fruit. Well rounded, good structure, good finish. Perfect with the roast beef.

BALTHAZAR SHIRAZ 2002 BAROSSA

Great Shiraz. Great drinking now, a little crimson in colour as opposed to darker red which was surprising for an 8 years old wine. Could even still do with 2 more years of age. Plenty of fruit and spice on the palette but balanced. Good silky oak and smooth tannins, yet firm… What else do you expect from a good Barossa wine… (http://www.balthazarbarossa.com/)

CAPEL VALE 2009 ‘PEMBERTON’ CHARDONNAY

Surprisingly, very fruit driven for a Chardonnay, plus really good/non overpowering vanillin oakyness that’s smooth and sits on the mouth quite well, and lingers for a good length of time. Aroma was quite light, with the usual citrus characters but also with some peach and tropical fruit scents. Elegant structure as usual with Chardonnays, however not too acidic at all… A Pleasant Chardonnay from Margaret River…(http://www.capelvale.com/about/vineyards/pemberton)
Nature photo – just thought I’d include, was a nice view from lunch, from Vaucluse looking over to North Shore.
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Penfolds ’01 389, Thompson’s Cab Tempranillo, another Shiraz

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April 15, 2010

Had dinner at home last night with the family, with Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2001, a Hamelin Bay Shiraz 2005, and I opened one of my Thompson Estate Cabernet Tempranillo 2006 wines to check up how it was going (as when i bought the case it was a great wine but needed ageing).

First off the Penfolds Bin 389, South Australia, 2001 was decantered. Beautiful stunning oak, Rich Plummy fruit and spice with a hint of something deep like liquorice and chocolate, and long, lingering but smooth tannins. A typical bechmark for great Aussie wine around the $50 mark. Still a little young but still enjoyable drinking now. Will cellar for another 6 years… And by then it will have some Umami style (see here for ‘umami’).

Next up was the Hamelin Bay “Five Ashes Vineyard” Shiraz, Margaret River, 2005. Love the label, sleek black and simple but bold. It was cool climate style pallate, good spice and plum, but a little flat on length, while also a little sharp on the acid and/or tannin. This was defintely too young to drink now but I think in 4+ years it would be much better. Still, to be honest I wouldn’t buy this Shiraz again but I would be interested in trying their Cabernet as I think that would be much better.

Thompson Estate (from Byrne and Smith wines) http://www.byrneandsmith.com.au/ Cabernet Tempranillo Blend, South Australia, 2006, is doing really well and I was pleased. Still can do with a little more age but also quofffable (slurpable/drinkable) now. Good Medium Body and Dark Crimson red in colour. Earthy tannins that are not too sharp. Good amount of, slightly vanillin, oak and fruit. Long medium-bodied finish. These will be perfect next year! Good wine to buy by the case with great value and quality.

Cheers!

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Rockford Basket Press Shiraz

Filed under: Restaurant Reviews, Shiraz and Blends, Wine, Wine Red, Wine Reviews — 9 Comments
April 15, 2010
Rockford’s Basket Press Shiraz, 2006, Barossa Valley:

Had this at dinner @ Sean’s Kitchen (http://www.seanskitchen.com.au/) on Tuesday. http://www.winewithoutbs.com.au/ chose this Rockford Shiraz and I got to say it is honestly One of the Best Shiraz wines I’ve tried! Absolutely delicious velvety flavour, plush plums, soft but significant tannin. Length was spectacular. I would have guessed this wine to be slightly older in age but I guess the well-rounded body comes from the Barossa old vines. Delish!!

Before dinner I also tried an 06 Shiraz which was too young and underdeveloped; the “sommelier’s choice” Riesling which was very aromatic and sweet; and an 08 Amisfield Rose from Central Otago (NZ) which I was impressed by as I hadn’t really enjoyed Rose wines – it had good body and aroma and sat very nicely in the mouth, however I’d still stick with my red wines.

Regarding the restaurant itself there was a funky lounge area with big leather chairs w armrests printed/painted with high contrast colourful art, a little like Ed Hardy’s style of vintage colourful tattoo style clothing. Food was good, reasonably priced. Started w Crab leg w Melted butter and Lemon, only about $12 and tasty moderate sized starter (which I refused to have a white wine with, as the Rockford Shiraz was So delish! and in my opinion the butter can help to separate the light taste of crab w shiraz anyway). Main was Pork w Pear, celeriac mash (or something similar) and Jus – Pork was cooked well and hadn’t lost any moisture. Sides were Almond Butter Broccolini (cooked well, crisp) and Duck Fat chips (couldn’t notice the duck fat, but chips were ok). Dessert was their Cheese selection w Truffle Honey, Walnut Quince, Raisin/nut type thinly sliced toast and crackers – I really enjoyed the aged Goat’s cheese, and Truffle Honey which I hadn’t tried before! I got to see how to make Truffle Honey as the deep fungi-type flavour from the truffle went splendid with any cheese.

Anyway back to Rockford Shiraz – Somehow I’ve missed trying this wine before, but Rockford is definitely a bechmark of Australian Shiraz and red wine in itself. Very high quality, traditional, boutique-style wine from what tastes like some of the best old-age vines that Barossa has to offer (which is a lot!). It doesn’t seem like you can see any website from them, and it seems like contacting Rockford is on a very exclusive basis – if you want to buy their wines eg online, you have to contact someone else to contact Rockford. Anyway, very lovely Shiraz that I tried. One of those wines that bring an ”experience” with tasting it…

Cheers.

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Some hidden wine gems of Aus!

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March 6, 2010

Quick note about some lesser well-known wines that I’ve really enjoyed, and/or wines that are becoming well known.

Chalice Bridge, Margaret River – Great value table wine, and won a few decent awards and gold medals (eg. Royal Hobart International Wine Shouw, and James Halliday etc). Like the Cabernet Merlot the most, follwed by the Shiraz, Cabernet and then Merlot. But they all have good body, and reasonable balance, including their whites (their Calamus red wine I got to say I’m not a fan of, but others are). Good Chardonnay and good Sem Sauv Blanc. Undecided about the Sauvignon Blanc, I tend to stick to NZ for that.
http://www.chalicebridge.com.au/default.aspx?ContentID=8

Anver’s Shiraz – from SA -McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek and Adelaide Hills. First tried this at Wildfire, with their “The Warrior” version with an arm and axe etched into the black heavy bottle. Was Delicious!!!! They also have a cheaper Shiraz, still good, but needs 3 years at least before I open them after buying them – it’s a big wine. I bought some bottles from Kemeny’s in Bondi and just waiting for a wee while.
http://www.anvers.com.au/wines/

Byrne and Smith wines – worked for them for Good Food and Wine show in Darling Harbour. They source a lot of grapes from little vineyards just the back of major ones like McLaren Vale. Export to America so there’s not much left in Aus, but they’re a really good bargain if you find one, especially their Thomspon’s Cabernet Tempranillo blend – give it 2 more years after release and voila! They also have a delicious Antiquarian range (one Shiraz, one Cabernet) that they release at a decent time after bottling, for eg. 2001 released in 2007/2008. And quite good value too – plus immediate drinking :) Bought a case of both Cab Tempranillo and the Antiquarian Cabernet (the Shiraz 01 was getting too close to it’s drink-by date) – the Antiquarian I’ve nearly finished and this is the time to finish it; the Cab Temp I’ve still got half dozen left and they’re ageing well.
http://www.byrneandsmith.com.au/our-wines-list.php?ID=1

Coldstream Hills – Scenery photos on their label, which the winemaker took. Yarra Valley. Boutique style winery, but getting to be world known. Very good body across their wines, cooler climate style, which also brings an elegant structure. Their premium Reserve range is of course lovely too. James Halliday started Coldstream Hills, well known for his wine journalism.
http://www.coldstreamhills.com.au/wines/

Scorpo – First tried this at Catalina’s restaurant in 2008. Their Pinot Grigio is very well structured with good floral notes. I really enjoyed the finish, creamy but fresh as well.

Grant Burge, Holy Trinity – this GSM blend is stunning, and 2004 is still available in wine outlets, for $30 which is good value for it.

Kemey’s Hidden Labels – These are always reasonably good table wines, but Sometimes you can get Really good wine bargains from their Hidden Labels, which have the Winemaker’s name hidden on the label (really hard to find when you’ve been drinking). And some of them are really great winemakers, that had too high yield etc., so they release it under CleanSkin, for cheap-as-chips. I tend to stick to their McLaren Vales, GSMs, Barossa’s, and NZ whites, and as old as I can get.

Penfolds – Lesser-known Cellar Reserves, BIN 311 Chardonnay, and BIN 138 GSM. Also Metala Black and White labels. As noted before.
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Penfolds

Filed under: Shiraz and Blends, White Wine, Wine, Wine Red, Wine Reviews — Leave a comment
March 4, 2010

Seeing as I sold Penfolds for a while, and it’s Australia’s most famous wine nationally and internationally, I thought I’d like to note some of their nice wines. Also upon doing the Penfolds Masterclass with chief winemaker Peter Gago, I found him to be quite a nice chap and inspiring to meet. Although commercial (especially since Fosters bought SouthCorp), they do in fact produce some great wines and in many of them you get more than what you pay for, in particular the BIN range.

BIN 2, 8, 23, 28, 128, 138, 311, 407, and 389. The BIN range are made to drink now or cellar 5-7 years, or more with BIN 407 and 389… BIN389 – many Asians in particular like to impress their boss or others with this wine; a beautiful Shiraz/Cab blend (which is finicky and not so easy to do). BIN138 I’d like to give a special mention to, as this GSM blend is not well known among many but is a fantastic wine from old Barossa Vines – I love the really dense, plush characters from the aged vines. BIN311 Chardonnay is beautiful; First release (relatively recently) was from Tumbarumba which gave it a wonderful vanillin oak character, without much acidity in the way; but next year it had frost so the 2nd and 3rd vintages are from Orange which gave it more acidity, although I much prefer Tumbarumba. BIN28 and 128 are both Shiraz, but 28 is Kalimna Shiraz and 128 is Coonawarra Shiraz; They are both usually the same price, and it is interesting if you can taste them side-by-side; Most years I’ve found the Kalimna Shiraz more “warm climate” in taste in terms of warm spicy fruit, and the Coonawarra more “cool climate” in taste in terms of black pepper and small, tight berry characteristics.

St. Henri Shiraz – My personal favourite. Always beautiful Oak tones and plush fruity characters such as plums, with a Cassis-like edge (it took me years to finally find Cassis grapes and try them!). I remember holding tastings for 707, St Henri and Magill while on detox – that was quite a challenge.

Bin 707 – the peak of their Cab Sauvignons. Magill Estate Shiraz – lovely elegant style Shiraz (more tight structure) although I’ve found more people prefer the meatier, more “blousy” type St Henri Shiraz.

Cellar Reserves – Not available in many places, as far as I know they are at Sydney Airport, and Cellar door. The Shiraz and the Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz only come out on exceptional vintages. About $200 at Syd Airport, but in terms of cellar quality and re-sale value you are getting Way More than what you pay for. I see these as up with the premium wines just below Grange. The other cellar reserves, Gewertz, Pinot Noir etc, are also more limited production, experiential wines.

Grange – the Benchmark of Penfold’s winemaking capabilities. It is indeed a nice drop and goes down very sensuously and smoothly. Some say Grange is not such a big deal, but I don’t think you can deny it’s not bad, and never is. Oldest I’ve tried is ’86 – was just at it’s maximum length but was about to topple over – still, 20 years aint bad. Youngest I tried was 2001 (in 2007) – too young! ’98 and ’96 were beautiful.

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Tempus Two

Filed under: Food, Fortifieds, Restaurant Reviews, Shiraz and Blends, Wine Red, Wine Reviews — Leave a comment
February 14, 2010


Hunter Valley – Tempus Two Winery – Has excellent Ice cream (and cheeses and everything else gourmet). Strongly recommend it plus don’t forget Oiishii restaurant next door. Tempus Two wines are recognisable by their steel labels. They have a lovely GSM which surprised me as I’m dedicated to Barossa GSMs. And a delicious sticky fortified, in the usual slim bottle. And Aja wine, to go with Asian food – quite fruity up front but does the job with the wide array of Asian cuisine.

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A bloody good wine under $50! METALA

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February 14, 2010


Metala Black Label – a really great Shiraz/Cab blend from Langhorne creek and is only released on exceptional vintages (I think up to 9 vintages now). I bought a load of 2004s, and they are delicious!!! They also have a cheaper white label, which is also great for it’s price as table wine, and cellars for a few years very well if you want to get the most out of your table wine – it’s worth it.
On tasting my Black Labels I think: Absolutely stunning. The quintessential Australian Red Wine… Beautiful Oaky Chocolate, Plums, and Spices in rich full flavour, with the feel of being in an old-fashioned grande room with wood and leather everywhere. Great depth and great structure. Very well balanced between everything. Simply delicious! Bought some great deals on qwoffcellars.com.au

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BIN 2 and BIN 8 Penfolds ’04

Filed under: Shiraz and Blends, Wine, Wine Red, Wine Reviews — 1 Comment
February 14, 2010



BIN 2 and 8 were only sold at Syd airport and exported to England, and I hope they will come back again.

BIN 2 – SHIRAZ MOURVEDRE Nice savoury oaky tones with plum and black cherry, earthy. Laced with spice. Quite liked, and bought ages ago and it’s drinking well now! Beautiful refined finish. This wine isn’t easy to find and no longer sold at Sydney airport…

BIN 8 – SHIRAZ CAB Bought ages ago but haven’t tried yet – should be good now!

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