Wine thread

[The_Brown_Hornet]

By a piece of extreme good fortune, I was given a case of 2007 Langmeil Orphan Bank Shiraz yesterday. I've had it before at their cellar door in the Barossa and it's bloody fantastic. Looking forward to tasting it after being in the cellar for a few years.

 

[the gambler]

I feel guilty for posting this but some of you have been to events Ive hosted in the past and I dont plan on making cash out of it so hopefully it is considered a community service announcement rather than an advertisement.

I'm hosting a fun and relaxed Super 15 Tasting on thursday night. Wines from 11 of the 15 regions with food and beers as well. Contact me for details. 7pm in Annandale.

 

[Ham]

I bought a couple of bottles from Woolies last night for $2.30 each. It was suprisingly drinkable.

 

[Gagger]

Grant Burge - The Holy Trinity. None of you told me about it. I hold you responsible.

Eclipsed Lady gagger's Michelin Starred meal ce soir. Fantastic balance - french Sommelier said it was unfair

 

[Finsbury Girl]

Been sampling some of the finer bottles from a mate's cellar recently. Some effing corkers, I particularly enjoyed:

Greenock Creek Cab Sav - 94
Jasper Hill Georgia Paddock Shiraz - 96
Rockfords Moorooroo Shiraz - 96
Rockfords Basket Press Shiraz - 94

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Grant Burge - The Holy Trinity. None of you told me about it. I hold you responsible.

Eclipsed Lady gagger's Michelin Starred meal ce soir. Fantastic balance - french Sommelier said it was unfair

One of my favourite drops. An Aussie classic.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Been sampling some of the finer bottles from a mate's cellar recently. Some effing corkers, I particularly enjoyed:

Greenock Creek Cab Sav - 94
Jasper Hill Georgia Paddock Shiraz - 96
Rockfords Moorooroo Shiraz - 96
Rockfords Basket Press Shiraz - 94

Are those the years? If so, then I agree they are corkers, especially that Basket Press.

 

[sevenpointdropgoal]

I cracked these two over the weekend, and both were excellent;

Stefano Lubiana Sasso Pinot Noir 2006
Lakes Folly Reserve (White Label Cabernets) 1998

 

[Finsbury Girl]

Are those the years? If so, then I agree they are corkers, especially that Basket Press.

yep - I was extremely lucky my mate wanted to crack a few open. The moorooroo was awesome.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Lucky indeed. They are very fine wines indeed and I agree on the Moorooroo.

 

[rugbysmartarse]

rockford have a few good basket press years. more often than not they are pretty sharp wines. recently had half bottle of 02 which was awesome, but then 02 was a great shiraz year.

 

[Finsbury Girl]

had an 07 basket press last night, methinks will be an absolute corker in a few years time. also had the rockfords semillon which I was very pleasantly surprised with. As a fan of vat 1 I thought it would be blown out the water, however it was a fine wine indeed.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Just today, I got half a case of Three Brothers Reunited 2009 shiraz delivered, all for $10 a bottle. Ben Riggs is the wine maker, a bloke who I rate very highly, so I figured it was worth the punt. I love the other stuff he's made, especially the gear from Penny's Hill.

 

[Lindommer]

Well, here's a thread we haven't visited for some time. Far too long. Far, far too long.

Some of you may remember from my past blatherings I do my bit to support the Australian wine industry with some work at wine shows as a steward. Bloody hard work too it is I must say. One of the wine shows I thoroughly enjoy, as a rugby tragic, is the Tri Nations Wine Challenge (check here: http://www.trinationswine.com/), it's a beauty on the field as well as in the glass. What more could a rugger bugger ask for? But wait, there's more: this year the challenge includes Chile and Argentina for the first time and is now called the Five Nations Wine Challenge. The addition of Argentina, with their magnificent Roses and outstanding Malbecs, and Chile's excellent Merlots and Sauvignon Blancs makes for the very best of Southern Hemisphere wines. They both do Rieslings well and very good Shirazes. And we mustn't forget the discovery of the "forgotten" Bordeaux variety, Carmenere, in Chile, and the white grape, Torrentes, only these two countries grow. I know, I know, hard and dirty work but some poor bugger's gotta do it. MOI!

Enough of the frivolities. Tonight, my lovely spare rib and I scoffed a bottle of 2007 Anwilka red blend and, I'm delighted to read, the Saffers put every grape on the label: 50% Syrah, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon & 4% Petit Verdot. The South African wine industry is considerably older than Australia's, and New Zealand's too for that matter. There's still quite a bit of the old "let's-circle-the-wagons" philosophy about Saffer wine growers/makers but they do Bordeaux blends bloody well, much better than us here in Oz. More importantly, on another note I notice how much effort South Africa and New Zealand are putting into the development of their Shiraz wines. But the Argies are aiming to knock these two imposters off and march straight up next to Australia as the best of the New World Shiraz producers. Shiraz fascinates me, I love it. My lovely spare rib goes down to our cellar for a bottle of red and reappears with a common complaint, "all I cound find is bloody Shiraz". Hah, she doesn't like it (most women don't), but I do! It's considered a second rate grape in France after Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir yet I'd argue the best wines from the New World are made from Shiraz grapes. And the Old World consumers seem to like the generosity of flavour good Shiraz gives the average wine drinker. SH ordinary Shiraz wines are more than a match for "very ordinary" Vins de Pays wines from France, for instance.

There's a public tasting of the wines submitted for the FNWC at the Regent (now called the Four Seasons, some fool changed the name) on Friday, 9 September. Here're the details: http://www.boutiquewines.com.au/events.asp?pageID=1124 See you there. And I'll fight you for all those outstanding Southern Hemisphere Shirazes.

PB, I know you won't be here next month but could you please give us a few words on Anwilka. Thanks. Tell 'em I think their wine's bloody lovely.

 

[PaarlBok]

PB, I know you won't be here next month but could you please give us a few words on Anwilka. Thanks. Tell 'em I think their wine's bloody lovely.

See they are in Constantia. I dont do much Os Blood, only with a steakie. Will try it. Good luck with the 5 Nations!

 

[nicobinho]

The other day I experimented in buying Bordeaux white wine for $15.00 and it was actually pretty good. I recommend it. Cheap and good.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

From what I read there are a few Gaggerlanders over in the Land of the Darkness following the festival of the boot.

We keep hearing about how good the kiwi wines are. About all we have from there at the local Bottlo are Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, or Pinot Noir from Otago or Martinborough. Are there any wine recommendations from our Gaggerlander Ambassadors who are following the festival of the boot?

La Jarse and self are enjoying the odd bottle of Deutz sparkling wine from NZ at the moment. We can get them for as low as $17 per bottle for a 6 bottle or more purchase.

 

[noahil]

Been sampling some of the finer bottles from a mate's cellar recently. Some effing corkers, I particularly enjoyed:

Greenock Creek Cab Sav - 94
Jasper Hill Georgia Paddock Shiraz - 96
Rockfords Moorooroo Shiraz - 96
Rockfords Basket Press Shiraz - 94

Well, I totally like your choices - the Rockfords Shiraz are especially good and rich in their taste. I am a big fan of Shiraz, it is the best wine in the world, well, at least for me.
What do you guys think about the Rosemount Shiraz? It is one of my favorites and actually the only uk wine delivery I usually make because you can hardly get it where I originally come from.

 

[PaarlBok]

KWV (our local product) winning a international award with their 10 year old Charge Office Coffee. Back in my army days a box of three year was worth a 7 days holiday pass.

Paarl Post

KWV WINS AWARD FOR THE BEST BRANDY IN THE WORLD
By anne.kruger
photo
2011-10-24 01:00
WINNER. Kobus Gelderblom, chief brandy master at KWV, savours his award-winning KWV 10 Year Old brandy.THE renowned KWV 10 Year Old brandy has been awarded best brandy in the world at this year’s International Spirits Challenge (ISC).

A true South African gem, this fine brandy also received this trophy in 2007.

Announced at the Marriott Grosvenor square in London earlier this week, the ISC celebrates excellence and quality in spirits.

This honour was awarded by a specialist panel of master blenders, master distillers, importers and independent experts in a blind tasting judging, based on aroma, appearance and taste.

Kobus Gelderblom, chief brandy master at KWV, was honoured by this exceptional achievement.

“We distilled our first brandy in 1926 and released it as a 10 Year Old brandy in 1936. To have the 10 Year Old awarded with this trophy, is a reflection of the quality of our products.

“The KWV 15 Year Old was also the only other Gold medal winner in the Potstill brandy category,” says Gelderblom.

These medals are internationally recognised symbols of quality and reflect the superiority of South African produced brandy.

“Within South Africa we adhere to strict legislation with regards to brandy production,” he said.

“Adhering to legislation has ensured that we have excellent distillation, ageing and blending facilities. Only using the best quality grapes for brandy production, is essential. Colombard and Chenin Blanc grapes are suitable and we add Pinotage or Cinsaut to our older brandies.”

The KWV 10 Year Old a vintage brandy with a deep amber colour, complex full bodied palate and rich, lingering after-taste, is a timeless classic.

Matured in oak barrels for a minimum period of 10 years, this brandy has citrus and raspberry aromas, with a complex blend of peach and apricot flavours underpinned by spicy nutty notes.

Last Saturday KWV made history by winning the most double gold and gold medals ever by one cellar at the South African 2011 Veritas Awards.

This included five double gold and nine gold medals across the brandy and wine category.

The KWV 15 Year Old was awarded with a double gold while the Imoya VSOP, Laborie Alambic (KWV’s estate brandy) and the KWV 10 and 20 Year Old each received a gold award.

The KWV 3 and 5 Year Old each won a silver medal resulting in KWV winning seven awards for their seven brandy entries.

“It is a great achievement winning both international and local awards and shows real consistency in excellence throughout the world,” concludes Gelderblom.

“None of this would have been possible without our wonderful and dedicated teams, in the vineyards right through to the blending cellar.

 

[Lindommer]

Bowled over a bottle of 2008 Terra D'Aria Shiraz Viognier with my lovely spare rib last night. It's from D'Urbanville in Safferland, the winery was founded in 1698! Sheesh! Australia wasn't even a twinkle in Pomgolia's eye in 1698.

To my palate this is another example of other New World wine producers challenging Australia's hegemony in the Shiraz world hierarchy. As I expressed above New World Shiraz is the best value "ordinary" red wine, and Australia produces far and away the best quality "ordinary" Shiraz. But South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina are planting large areas of Shiraz vineyards in an attempt to muscle in on our markets. Even the Septics are jumping on the Shiraz bandwagon with significant plantings in central California. The Terra D'Aria was a pleasant wine, in fact a very pleasant wine, lovely and smooth with good fruit flavour. Unfortunately for it I'd had another Shiraz Viognier two nights previously, a very, very good one from my stable, a 2007 Grove Estate SV from Hilltops. This is one of the better Australian SVs and happens to be made by Oz's best SV exponent, Tim Kirk from Clonakilla at Murrumbateman in the Canberra District wine region. The Grove Estate had that exquisite five spice/star anise backbone good central New South Wales Shiraz has. It was also quite dry and tight and needed some time to open up. After a glass of the Terra D'Aria I was hoping something more would appear, but it didn't. The smoothness and fruit flavour had to be enough to satisfy me.

I often joke to contemporaries in the wine trade you could chuck Shiraz on the side of the road in Australia and make good wine from the resulting grapes. Shiraz LOVES Australia, and most Australian blokes (and the odd woman) love Shiraz. If an Australian winery can't make decent Shiraz something's seriously amiss. The Saffers, Kiwis, Argies and Seppos have some way to go to meet us in the Shiraz stakes, not that for one moment do I suggest we should be complacent in this important matter.

PB, if you happen to cross the Terra D'Aria crew, please pass on my thoughts about a pleasant wine. And my comment good Shiraz Viognier needs another layer of complexity I don't think this wine has, yet.


PS. The Terra D'Aria would be a top wine for serious pisspots: after reaching a stage of blind inebriation you could still identify this wine as the details are on the label in Braille!