Nice wines I have drunk recently - Red or White

[TheRealTMA]

Re: Nice Wines I have DranK Recently - Red or White

I took the plunge and jumped on the Innocent Bystander Yarra Valley Syrah 2014 from VinoMoFo in a 12 Pack at $19.90 a bottle. I thought it was a bit steep for my budget, .

Very sad. At that price it's exceptional value, IMHO.

 

[Wozza]

Re: Nice Wines I have DranK Recently - Red or White

Very sad. At that price it's exceptional value, IMHO.

I totally agree, TheRealTMA. It's 96 / 97 territory, if you like your Syrah style of wine. Under $20 is criminal.

I am now going to sign up as a member if they have a membership club, and will sample more of their wines. Suggestions good people? What else is outstanding in their new or back vintages that I should try?

 

[blackcat20]

Re: Nice Wines I have DranK Recently - Red or White

Very sad. At that price it's exceptional value, IMHO.

Its great value for a great wine. Its no big Barossa-style Shiraz but its a fabulous drink. I've finally added some to our "stash".

 

[blackcat20]

Re: Nice Wines I have DranK Recently - Red or White

I totally agree, TheRealTMA. It's 96 / 97 territory, if you like your Syrah style of wine. Under $20 is criminal.

I am now going to sign up as a member if they have a membership club, and will sample more of their wines. Suggestions good people? What else is outstanding in their new or back vintages that I should try?

IB do have a membership, it mostly gets you emails for their sales etc. There used to be a birthday discount that stacked with a purchase-online discount but thats long gone.

Try their Giant Steps wines, particularly the Pinot. It is also a lovely wine.

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

Re: Nice Wines I have DranK Recently - Red or White

Some interesting wines that we have tried recently...
Firstly the Syrah from California... Smelt musty to me (Sommelier suggested it was "forest floor") which initially put me off but there was no taste of mustiness... it was a very good wine...


Tonight we went to an awesome wine bar in Salt Lake City.. take whatever negative things you may think about this city and perhaps revise them.. we have found this a very clean, safe and friendly place.. and they just elected an openly gay mayor.. as you saw in my previous post they like to poke fun at themselves (Polygamy beer) and really have a great bottle shop and wine bar The library is also a fantastic space with fireplaces on every level and cosy places to read.. that and the wonderful mountain scenery..

Anyway.. I digress.. this is not a trip report it is a wine thread so.. We were at BTG Wine Bar tonight for drinks that turned into dinner. After a number of flights of bubbles, whites and reds we settled on this amazing Pinot.. I really think that after a little sleep it would be even better as some of the stronger tannins may have dropped out.. it certainly has enough fruit to carry it through for a few years at least.. Yum yum and yum

 

[Delectable Blue]

Re: Nice Wines I have DranK Recently - Red or White

I took the plunge and jumped on the Innocent Bystander Yarra Valley Syrah 2014 from VinoMoFo in a 12 Pack at $19.90 a bottle.

Thanks Wozza. How does it compare to the Mea Culpa? I'm saving my first Mea Culpa for an upcoming birthday celebration, but I'm starting to get itchy feet after reading your review.

 

[JohnM]

Re: Nice Wines I have DranK Recently - Red or White

Some interesting wines that we have tried recently...
Firstly the Syrah from California... Smelt musty to me (Sommelier suggested it was "forest floor") which initially put me off but there was no taste of mustiness... it was a very good wine...

Clarification on Petite Syrah (aka Petite Sirah): it is not Syrah (aka Shiraz). It is what we know as Durif.

There is quite a large production in California, where it thrives. Turley is a very good producer - especially noted for an extensive range of single-vineyard Zinfandels.

I'd suggest the musty nose was merely a consequence of the age (2003) of these gutsy wines.

 

[blackcat20]

Re: Nice Wines I have DranK Recently - Red or White

Thanks Wozza. How does it compare to the Mea Culpa? I'm saving my first Mea Culpa for an upcoming birthday celebration, but I'm starting to get itchy feet after reading your review.

The Mea Culpa is even better.

 

[Wozza]

Re: Nice Wines I have DranK Recently - Red or White

Thanks Wozza. How does it compare to the Mea Culpa? I'm saving my first Mea Culpa for an upcoming birthday celebration, but I'm starting to get itchy feet after reading your review.

Great question, Delectable Blue.

I see BlackCat said the Mea Culpa. I would say Steve Flamsteed, head winemaker at Innocent Bystander would probably agree.

I emailed the general info email address today to say what an amazing job they were doing, to confirm I had joined their wine club, and to pass on my review. None other than the head winemaker sent a personal email back and to quote part of his lovely response, he said:

"Just wanted to say what a warm glowing feeling you have left us all with on a Thursday arvo. We knew when we pulled that wine out of barrel we had something pretty special. Even more excited by the way it is evolving in bottle.

While Pinot is the rockstar red variety in the Yarra, Shiraz is ...well just so exciting at the moment.

I really urge you to try the big sister of that wine ... It is a single vineyard Shiraz from the Tarraford Vineyard called Mea Culpa
Made in tiny amounts each year, the 2014 just picked up the Trevor Mast Trophy at the Melbourne Wine Awards (out of 750 other wines)."

That's straight from the man in charge of making these amazing wines. That's as good an answer as you'll get.

Steve went on to say they have an offer on their Shiraz's at the moment. Just visit their online shop: Buy Wines Online | Innocent Bystander, Giant Steps, Moscato, Known Pleasures & Mea Culpa So I will be jumping on this latest Mea Culpa - the 12 was very, very nice.

If you can hold off, then it's developing nicely in the bottle, as Steve mentioned above. But if you just want a sneak at the first one, like I did, it's drinking very nicely at this young point. My Vivino review is here, if you want my brief musings on the 12:

http://www.vivino.com/wines/7084004

 

[Delectable Blue]

Re: Nice Wines I have DranK Recently - Red or White



Tonights wine – Stop Banks 2013 Pinot Noir (Marlborough NZ)

Bought as part of the VinoMofo Big Boom box. This is definitely a tale of two nights.

Night one, the wine tasted a little thin and quite acidic, without any appreciable length. After an hour or two it started to open up, but was still unapproachable, an awkward nervous youth and a case of premature adjudication.

Night two, the wine had completely transformed, exposing a delicate but complex savoury earthy core, with beautifully balanced acidity and fruit, and a satisfying length of finish. Even the complexity of the nose had been transformed, from a thinly perfumed aroma, to a spicy mix of red berry and black cherry. A mature voluptuous seductress.

A very satisfying pinot. A sensational metamorphosis.

 

[TomVexille]

Re: Nice Wines I have DranK Recently - Red or White

I totally agree, TheRealTMA. It's 96 / 97 territory, if you like your Syrah style of wine. Under $20 is criminal.

I am now going to sign up as a member if they have a membership club, and will sample more of their wines. Suggestions good people? What else is outstanding in their new or back vintages that I should try?

Definitely give the two Giant Steps Pinots a go, as well as Harrys Monster (and the Mea Culpa of course).

Thanks Wozza. How does it compare to the Mea Culpa? I'm saving my first Mea Culpa for an upcoming birthday celebration, but I'm starting to get itchy feet after reading your review.

Love the Mea Culpa. But I think the new price is out of my reach.

 

[JohnM]

Re: Nice Wines I have DranK Recently - Red or White

Rummaging around in the slumber collection tonight looking for something that probably needs sending to the angels.

Half of this.



A lovely, elegant wine; unusual/unique in many ways. Hard to resist going to the second half, but interested to see how that goes sealed up in a 375mL bottle - undoubtedly to be opened tomorrow night as seconds when PJM pushes her empty glass across the table at me in the usual Oliver Twist rendition . I'd say it's at its peak.

Moorooduc is just down the road from Yabby Lake on the flats of the N Mornington.

 

[beefarmer]

Re: Nice Wines I have DranK Recently - Red or White

Rummaging around in the slumber collection tonight looking for something that probably needs sending to the angels.

Half of this.

View attachment 59475View attachment 59476

A lovely, elegant wine; unusual/unique in many ways. Hard to resist going to the second half, but interested to see how that goes sealed up in a 375mL bottle - undoubtedly to be opened tomorrow night as seconds when PJM pushes her empty glass across the table at me in the usual Oliver Twist rendition . I'd say it's at its peak.

Moorooduc is just down the road from Yabby Lake on the flats of the N Mornington.

I took my son for a spin in the hired black 911 a few Fridays ago and was looking forward to dropping into Mooroduc to try their amazing wild fermented chardonnay, but the damn place was closed. So after lunch at Volpinos in mount Martha, we tried foxeys hangout. Mediocre at best. Red Hill proved to be the redeeming light and their $28 chardonnay was the pick of half a dozen tasted.

The old man Richard at Moorooduc seemed to be a bit of a wild fermented pioneer in the area going back forty odd years. Even now he uses no inoculation techniques and his daughter Kate is doing a swell job down there. I was given a 1999 Estate Chardonnay and drank it a couple of years ago. I gave it my second best wine of 2013 award, it was sensational. Beaten into top place by the Reschke Bos Cab sauv 2004.

 

[Steady]

French wines are so very easy to drink - this one was no exception - very balanced and quite light

 

[Wozza]

With all that hot weather we have had in Sydney, I thought it would be appropriate to leave the reds under the house and have a Night of Whites. I had four to sample, the highlight being:

the Kurrajong Soma Hunter Valley Semillon Reserve 2009

Now Semillon may not be Riesling of the month, so to speak, in whites world, but you can't go too wrong with a Hunter Semillon on a hot Spring evening. Especially, an aged one. And especially if you hail from NSW! Now I was lucky enough to try not one but two of these vintages - sampling the Standard Vintage against its big sister, the Reserve. On Vivino I concluded:

http://www.vivino.com/wines/101182

{no picture as I can't upload from the phone}

"Night of the Whites. Best of the night. I love Hunter Semillon, especially when it's 6 years old. It had a rich 18ct gold colour, and a wonderful nose and matching palate of fine lanolin, citrus fruits and a touch of fresh apple peal. The still vibrant fruit and acid carrying a lovely medium length finish. How long left? It's certainly developing and drinking nicely in the bottle at this 6 year point. So at least 2/3 yrs based on this experience. Was it better than the standard vintage? Yes it was better. It had a richer gold colour and the fruit was a little stronger and the acid a little less drying."

Vivino 3.5 stars out 5 stars from me.

At $25 a bottle or $20 if you sign up as a member, that's not a bad price for an aged Semillon direct from the winery, tasting nicely, and with reserves in the tank for greater ageing: KV Wines

 

[JohnM]

Re: Nice Wines I have DranK Recently - Red or White

I took my son for a spin in the hired black 911 a few Fridays ago and was looking forward to dropping into Mooroduc to try their amazing wild fermented chardonnay, but the damn place was closed. So after lunch at Volpinos in mount Martha, we tried foxeys hangout. Mediocre at best. Red Hill proved to be the redeeming light and their $28 chardonnay was the pick of half a dozen tasted.

The old man Richard at Moorooduc seemed to be a bit of a wild fermented pioneer in the area going back forty odd years. Even now he uses no inoculation techniques and his daughter Kate is doing a swell job down there. I was given a 1999 Estate Chardonnay and drank it a couple of years ago. I gave it my second best wine of 2013 award, it was sensational. Beaten into top place by the Reschke Bos Cab sauv 2004.

I see that Halliday in his Top 100 today puts the 2013 Moorooduc McIntyre at 97 points and one of three Pinots in his top 20 reds over $20.

 

[JohnM]

Re: Nice Wines I have DranK Recently - Red or White

Last night's little number.





A cracker wine.

And, as predicted upthread, P('Oliver Twist')JM wanted more - so the second half of the Moorooduc was opened. Both wines - and I - got the big tick of approval - but nothing new there :mrgreen:.

Tonight, PJM is off at the ballet with a girlfriend.

Oh well, I just had half of this with my Signature Oxtail[SUP]TM[/SUP]:



Now, before you say "2015 - WTF?!", let me tell the story, starting with the email I received from Frankland Estate on Monday:

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[TD]Dear JohnM

Cabernet Franc has been a big part of the Frankland Estate story since the very beginning. Frankland Estate founder Barrie Smith has always had a soft spot for the grape releasing a straight Cabernet Franc in 1991, 1992 and 1993. It also makes a significant contribution to our flagship red blend Olmo’s Reward every year.

To celebrate a very special birthday of Barrie (we won't give too much away), a limited edition Cabernet Franc was released in his honour. It was also fitting that this 2015 vintage sports the same original label as the first Cabernet Franc, released by Barrie and Judi back in 1991!

With just one 500 litre barrel produced as a birthday gift for Barrie from the family, he has been generous enough to allow us to offer the first commercial release of 100% Cabernet Franc since 1993 to the Frankland Estate mailing list.

The 2015 Frankland Estate Cabernet Franc has intense floral aromatics with lovely weight and a surprisingly soft and approachable mouthfeel for a young wine. As with the best examples in the world we know it has what’s needed to sit quietly in a cellar for some years. The annual “Flowering of the Vine” pre-lunch tasting held last weekend highlighted just how wonderfully Cabernet Franc can age with the 1998 and 2003 vintages still looking remarkably fresh and vibrant.
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I have a liking for straight Cab Franc (BTW, I've had some absolute crackers produced in NE LOTFAP - Long Island and W Virginia) and there are not too many produced in Australia.

I quickly snared my maximum allocation of 6. Five put to slumber and I couldn't resist opening one.

It's a gorgeous wine IMHO - and perfect with the oxtail. Looking forward to tracking its progress .

 

[Sedimental]

Re: Nice Wines I have DranK Recently - Red or White

After a seriously hot day a nice cool and dry Serious Rose from Marq wines

 

[beefarmer]

Re: Nice Wines I have DranK Recently - Red or White

After a seriously hot day a nice cool and dry Serious Rose from Marq winesView attachment 59532

I have to say one of the photos of the year................................great.

 

[JohnM]

Re: Nice Wines I have DranK Recently - Red or White

After a seriously hot day a nice cool and dry Serious Rose from Marq winesView attachment 59532

You should send that pic to Mark & Danielle Warren!