Nice wines I have drunk recently - Red or White

[boomy]

My last bottle of this elegant Shiraz from the Hunter.

 

[beefarmer]

My last bottle of this elegant Shiraz from the Hunter.

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hungerford Hill made some seriously good Gundagai shiraz which was being flogged thru Vinimofo i believe..........a nice pedigree is hard to find.
At the mo, i think the hill is owned by punters from way north and i havent had a chance to taste recent offerings.

 

[JohnM]

Now here is a very interesting wine.

Cosecha Otonal (late picked) Syrah from the Cavas del Valle, Elqui Valley, Chile.

A few posts up I showed their 5-variety red that @juddles and I had with dinner the other night. Yesterday we went to the winery which is one of the extremely few table wine producers in this pisco-dominant production region. As I indicated then, I felt that this was a very tight small producer.

This wine did not disappoint; in fact it exceeded expectations. Recommended served cold, it retains a light tannic edge combined with juiciness, and light sweetness. It’s certainly not in the cloyingly sweet dessert wine category at all; rather it seems to fit into a unique category of its own. First rate.

It was simply yummy and refreshing. @juddles and I just bowled it over as a nightcap while chewing the fat.

 

[qaz]

Xanadu, Punt Road, Joshua - immediately enjoyable

Deer Farm, Carpineto (on sale until tomorrow) - best on fourth and final day/night


Boccaccio today (and tomorrow):




All good, especially the back vintages, though fortunately for my wallet and cellar, the 2018 pinot noir doesn't seem to be up to the 2017

 

[afro]

Chris Ringland CR Shiraz 2010

Cold night,high alcohol wine. Couldn’t find my 08 and 09 of this wine so end up with this 2010.

Jam jelly,more sweet than a standard Shiraz , easy to drink ,no decant. Didn’t notice any secondary characters yet.

 

[JohnM]

Some scraps from last night and tonight.

Concha y Toro is a massive wine conglomerate and the world’s second or third largest producer. Offerings are solid from the entry level. This one from the superior level was a cracker. Probably unrecognisable as a CS to most Australians owing to a lack of berry fruit expression, but showing typical Chilean robustness and solid mouthfeel.



Another from the small Elqui Valley producer that @juddles and I visited. I bought a bottle of everything they had on offer just to try them over the next few days untill I leave the evil clutches.

Again, not a Shiraz easily recognisable as such to an Australian expecting some vanilla characters. Basically, undefinable to variety. Nevertheless, typically Chilean - robust and full. A food wine that needed the BBQ steak @juddles and I slipped in with it tonight.





@juddles twisted my arm - or maybe I twisted his , and we pulled the cork on the Malbec from our Elqui Valley producer. Again, a very solid offering not easily classified, but falling short of the gentle, velvet tannins of a good Mendoza or Valle de Uco Argy Malbec.




We continue our struggle . Let me just say, there are a few more we are determined to squeeze in before I escape evil influence .

 

[Steady]

Some recent wines, the rod n spur blend was a delight


Unlike the recent Tamar Ridge, this Spring Vale PN had plenty of life left, I would recommend this.


Then another Tassie PN, 12 months since cracking one of these - it was right at, or just past it’s peak - a very good wine but I will open my last bottle in the next few months

 

[JohnM]

Tonight, one of the best Viogniers I’ve ever had, plus the top-level wine from the small Elqui Valley producer previously mentioned

The Viognier was from the Limari Valley in N Chile, an agriculturally diverse region. It hit the spot between the light, zesty style (eg. Yalumba, a pioneer of Viognier in Australia) and some small producers that produce the very oily style (eg. in the Margaret River region). A cracker IMO.

The red was extremely good, but not exceptional. It did tend to grow on us (@juddles and me) as we consumed it over a decent steak tonight in N Chile. Smoothness was its key characteristic - a great virtue in its own right, I might add, but maybe just that little bit too much so to the point it slightly fell away. But really, I’m being picky.

And at the price-point, just insanely good value compared with Australia. The Viognier was about $12; the red a gouging $40 which is top-shelf in Chile. Just nuts value-for-money.

 

[JohnM]

Some heavy-duty action tonight at Charco in Colonia Del Sacramento, Uruguay.

My first ever day in Uruguay, so just putting a toe in the water in the centre of this World Heritage-listed town . The other half of each bottle will accompany dinner here again tomorrow - I don’t have @Daver6’s constitution .

 

[afro]

Just hit 10 years mark, I took the cap off in the Afro and let it breath (5-6hrs).

Old woody herb nose, smooth and tasted a little sweet for a cab. Still at the young end but very drinkable right now, around $16-$18 back then.

 

[JohnM]

Something a little different tonight in Punte Del Este, Uruguay.

A 65:35 Chardonnay:Albarino blend. An absolute cracker! The flavours blend just beautifully and gorgeous clarity and balance A revelation!

Ps: Winery is pronounced ‘bowser’, not ‘boozer’

 

[afro]

pizza Night, saw this in a friends cellar in the weekend so I took it(what mates do),

This 2009 definitely better than the 2010, not as jammy with more depth ,noticeable alcohol , should start drinking these from now.

 

[beefarmer]

Twas a funny thing in the mid 2010's where plenty of accolades were thrown at the 2010 south Australian vintage. I found many 2009 variants to be superior to their one year old counterparts. I drank a Lake breeze bernoota 2010 this week and the 2009 I had a few months back was much nicer, more delicate with better balance. What else have we knocked back and enjoyed, the 2014 Vinimofo Arturo 2014 shiraz. A damn fine wine.
The hungerford hill gundagai shiraz 2014 is still a medium bodied stunner, so very complex. A coonawarra jack shiraz 2013 was lovely and I do recally a recent and sublime Jack Chardonnay. I got the Jacks, i got the jacks and they are beautiful.

I will finish on a bot I bought at dannys a few years ago namely for old times sake. Barwang Cab Sauv 2010. This has developed to be such an elegant swan from their natural awkwardness. I used to do plenty of barwangs in my earlier imbibements. This one just cemented this part im my wine history.

 

[JohnM]

This is the best Tannat I’ve tried in Uruguay. I’ve the very full to very light styles. This one sits nicely in the middle.

All have been far less mouth-puckeringly tannic than I expected.

 

[afro]

lots of people called the 2010 vintage too ripe, but i found 2010 cabernet is better than shiraz in south australia.

 

[JohnM]

A cracker for my last night in Uruguay. Same producer as last night’s choice, but a step up and a Tannat/Petit Verdot/Cabernet Franc/Viognier blend.

Lovely wine.



Over to Argentina tomorrow for two weeks. I guess with a bit of luck I should be able to find some red scraps over there....

 

[amaroo]

Not a bad drop

 

[JohnM]

In Buenos Aires tonight.

Not the Single Vineyard Cadus that I requested. Seemed there was a mismatch of what was on the winelist and what was available. Nevertheless, a cracker. Classic Argy Malbec.

 

[qaz]

my first Ravensworth Tinto (garnacha, tempranillo, graciano) - probably the pick of this bunch that also included Willow Bridge G1-10 chardonnay, Little Yarra pinot, Tonic grenache, Chalk Hill grenache tempranillo

 

[afro]

that tonic grenache is a great drink