Tasting Notes - Gosset Brut Excellence NV

This wine came from slightly dodgy storage conditions and was purchased approximately 2 years ago. Rich nose, biscuity, seems very ripe and has depth. Soft mouth, low fizz (noting that the cork slipped out very easily) and quite still-wine like with the obvious fruit ripeness and power. Has character but lacks finesse. Good enough though.

Tasting Notes - Penfolds Bin 128 1996

Tasted October 2005
Good solid wine in the mainstream medium bodied shiraz style. Nose of red berries and a faint whiff of vanilla - lacks some excitement. Firmer in the mouth; obvious fruit drops away a little, and the palate is quite tight and firm. Nice berries characters lurk but doesn't really win out over the firm structure and tannin. Nevertheless very well built and travelling well as a $14 wine now 9 years old.

Tasting Notes - Blackjack Shiraz 1998 (Recommended)

It's always interesting to see how a wine is travelling at 7yrs when said drop is now receiving a fair bit of hype. Dark red showing good consistency. Fragrant nose, not heavy, with lighter berry fruits showing some development. Fairly similar in the mouth, nice red berries and a touch of cherry and charry oak, spice and a touch of leaf. Very pleasant, but I can't help wonder whether this regional flagbearer needs to show a bit more omph at 7 years?

Tasting Notes - Bass Phillip Village Pinot Noir 2000

Picked up at a 'half price' sale for $25. Looking quite developed in the glass with dirty blood / brown edges. Lively nose, zingy acid, stewed / pongy fruits, sour cherries....very unique but a touch crazy for my liking.Acid driven palate, bitter fruits, more pongy notes. Certainly has some Burgundian traits with the acid cut but I'm not totally convinced with the dirty fruits. Good educational. To be drunk over the remainder of 2005.

Tasting Notes - Samuel's Gorge New Releases

This label may have been in existence for a few years but the 2003s may be the first time a small portion of this export orientated job has stayed at home. Justin McNamee knocks out dround 500 cases across 3 wines. I think all wines are priced at $35.

Shiraz 2003 - Recommended
Shy nose giving me nothing. High quality palate, smooth, brightly fruited with a great gamey, savoury streak. Very unique in the mouth. Hard to reco a first up at $35 but I'd give this one a crack.

Grenache 2003
Porty, fruit cake nose. Feels pushed. A bit tighter to taste but has a stewed fruit feel...a bit burnt and porty for mine. OTT at 16%.

Tempranillo 2004
Perfumed nose of sweet berries. Very appealing. Sweet fruit early in the mouth but settles into a dryer, ever so slightly tannic feel. Well structured and quite complex but needs a bit more fruit oomph.

Tasting Notes - Patrick T The Caves Riesling 2003

Wrattonbully sourced wine from this long-time Coonawarra maker. Medium yellow in colour, some development for a 2 year old. Expressive nose, ripe citrus fruits, good depth, quite attractive. Palate was a bit all over the shop early; tight, unforgiving with some searing, almost painful acid. Settled nicely as the wine warm up with softer lemon fruits coming through. Definitely showing some development which gives me a strong sense to drink over 2005 and 2006. Good for the punter if it trades no higher than $17 but a tough call for the merchant given the many solid options under $20 from Clare and Great Southern.

Tasting Notes - Margan Semillon 2005

Whilst I struggle at the best of times to ‘get’ the subtles of Hunter semillon this wine took austere and lean to a new level. Quite pale in colour with a dash of pale gold. Nose showed some lively citrus notes, almost a touch tropical. Palate is very tough to read; shy, austere, doesn’t give up much in terms of obvious flavour. Not a heap of intensity and lacks some excitement. Comes from a low yielding 40yr old vineyard so I guess the fruit source (and well credentialed maker) should make for a decent cellaring wine. But I can’t see much happening right now.

Tasting Notes - Margan Verdelho 2005

Of clear interest on the back label is the vine age – 40 years. I’m not sure there are too many older Verdelho vines in Australia. Pale gold, only a touch richer than the 2005 sem. Very good nose, deftly walking a line between out and out rich tropical fruits and classy liquuered notes. Thick, ripe palate, heaps of powerful fruits early but the palate dries out, losing some of this intensity, almost to the point of appearing a little dilute. Ok, could have been very good.

Margan Botrytise Semillon 2005 (Recommended)

One of the best packaged stickies currently on the market. Medium gold, leaving a viscouos coating on the glass. Ripe clean nose, good lift, smells amazingly clean and pure. Text book mango and apricot on the nose – impressive. Repeats faithfully in the mouth but the palate weight is stepped up a notch; a genuine mouth coater. Sometimes I find these styles get a fraction hard in the back palate but this retains power and a good dose of finesse all the way through. Very good.

Tasting Notes - Margan Barbera 2003 (Recommended)

Old worldly nose, savoury, a touch porty, not unlike a Hunter shiraz. Holds plenty of interest. Non-fruity palate (good), dulled in a euro fashion, savoury red fruits, old oak. Well structured with length, some drying tannin and trade mark acid; quite varietal. Perhaps a bit more well rounded than some King Valley stuff I’ve tried recently, although I did not the fruit tailing off a little on the finish.. A positive signal re the region’s ability to grow savoury Italian styles.

Tasting Notes - Margan Shiraz 2003

Good lift of sweet berry fruits, feels thick, a bit jammy. Much much drier to taste; the sweet fruits disappear in favour of tannic, firm, seriously structured palate. I rarely see of wine of such a contrast between the nose and palate. This must be cellared but like the merlot I’m not the wine will come around over time.

Tasting Notes - Limbic Sauvignon Blanc 2004 (Recommended)

(Dandenong Ranges / West Gippsland)

Comes with very high praise from James Halliday in the 2006 Companion, a little unexpected given the low low profile of this small operation. Pale yellow in the glass, relatively youthful for a 1yr old. Solid nose, quite expressive, aromas essentially tropical fruit mix, ripe passionfruit being the most obvious character. Tight palate, almost bracing with seeming quite prominent acid. Very linear, focused, and may need time (believe it or not). Long finish with mineral notes, almost smokey (any barrel treatment here?)….quite polished at the end. Front palate needs to settle down a bit to get top marks, but I reckon this will look good in early 2006.

Phillip Island Chardonnay 2002 (Recommended)

Slightly developed yellow, looks about right for a 3yr old. Classy nose, very lifted with some matchstick, broad ripe fruits, a touch of quality oak. Sophisticated. Backs up nicely in the mouth. Fruit sweetness is a little more obvious and structurally the wine doesn’t quite come on as the nose would suggest. Quite ripe with an array of text book fruits coming through. Doesn’t quite have the firmness of serious of $30+ Margaret River, Yarra and AH wines but looks pretty good. Probably the best Gippsland chard I’ve had for the year after the Caledonia offerings.

Tasting Notes - Linfield Road Merlot 2002

I’ve yet to have a truly memorable merlot from BV. This wine, on paper, is well priced for a 2002 at $20. Throws a fairly heavy amount of sediment. Powerful nose, dense plums, good depth. Good follow-up in the mouth, more ripe plum notes, soft, medium finish. Sediment detracts a little. Will drink well over 2005 and 2006 and won’t disappoint fans of the softer, simpler style.

Tasting Notes - Flaxman Wines Cane Cut Sem 2005

Talk about limited release – they only made 64 cases of this sucker! Nose is a little restrained for the style but very fragrant nevertheless. Much bigger in the mouth…quite unexpected. The front and middle palate gets swamped with a wall of ripe peachy notes and does fade, the latter not a big deal. Some heat or searing in the palate but not too much to worry about. Finishes very clean. Needs a touch more weight at the finish but still an enjoyable drop.