Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10802
 | | 02/13/2004 8:35 PM |
| On Wed, February 11th I attended an Australian Wine Tasting. There was no theme or much order besides some good wines that were available from Spec’s (our local wine superstore). About half of the wines were recently in their inventory but aren’t now. The attendance was about 20 people so we had some nice pours of some very good wines.
Below are some of my impressions of the wines. My wines of the tasting (WOTT) were:
1. 2001 Clarendon Hills Astralis
2. 2001 d'Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz McLaren Vale
3. 2002 Shirvington Shiraz McLaren Vale
There were no dogs at this tasting. With wines of similarly good quality it almost becomes a style issue with what wines people prefer. Thanks to Spec's for the nice slate of wines.
Signed – big purple teeth Winetex
2001 Jim Barry the Lodge
88 WA; Winetex 87 point ; $14
Aromas of US oak with pepper and spices in the middle. Short finish but the wine seems well-made with relative balance. Good value.
2002 Brothers in Arms #6 Cabernet Shiraz
No ratings; $15
Aromas of black pepper and lots of oak. Hollow in the middle and very chunky. “No buy” for me.
2002 Marquis Philips S2 Cabernet Sauvignon
91 WA; 89 Winetex $23
This wine did not show well. Aromas of cedar, dark fruits and oak. Didn’t taste like Cabernet. “No buy” for me.
2000 Rosemount GSM, McLaren Vale
91 WS; $23
Not much of a showing for this wine. It was a bit on the thin side but is generally dependable and a good food match. Maybe buy.
2002 Marquis Phillips Number Nine Shiraz
96 WA; 92 Winetex; $30
Things started to pick up when we hit the MP #9. Nice showing with lots of toasty oak, blackberry liqueur. This is like a wine milk shake in texture. A buy at this price.
2002 Hazy Blur Shiraz Baroota
NR; Winetex 88 points; $30
Unremarkable but not bad. Probably wouldn’t buy it.
2002 Yalumba MGS Barossa Valley
92 WA; Winetex no rating; $34
For some reason I really despise this wine. We opened a bottle of it at home the other night and after one sip I wouldn’t drink any more. Most people at our table thought this was OK but unremarkable. The tannins were extremely dry and the Mourvedre gives it a bit of a dusty taste. Parker seemed to like it. A “no buy” for me.
2001 d'Arenberg Twenty Eight Road Mourvedre McLaren Vale
Both bottles corked.
2002 Shirvington Shiraz
99 WA; Winetex 95 points; $50
This was my first taste of the 02 Shirvington. This wine evoked the first audible “wows” of the night. I found the sheer power of the wine along with the complexity very compelling. I wonder what this one is going to taste like in a couple of years although I’m not sure I can keep my hands off of them. Note to self: hide Shirvingtons deep in cellar. Buy all that you can find sub $75.
2001 d'Arenberg Ironstone Pressings (GSM) McLaren Vale
92 WA; Winetex 90 points; $60
It was a disservice to the d’Arenberg wines to drink them after the Shirvington because they are nowhere as “big” as the Shirvington but are remarkable in their own right. The Ironstone Pressings is a wine with aging potential. It seemed a bit tight and wasn’t showing as well as the previous vintage. It doesn’t have the complexity to merit the price but is quite good. Several people at the tasting liked this one the best out of all of these wines. A no buy for me.
2001 d'Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz McLaren Vale
98 WA; Winetex 94 points; $60
Once we put the Shirvington out of mind (at least for a few minutes) we were able to enjoy the Dead Arm. The Dead Arm was interesting because of all of the wines it seemed to have the most “Shiraz” character. I was impressed by its focus, precision and complexity along with a dynamite nose. It was perhaps a bit hollow in the middle but finished strong. I’m holding mine at least five more years. My #2 WOTT.
2002 Marquis Phillips Integrity
99 WA; Winetex 94 points; $90
Inky dark and dense. I like the minerality and white flowers in this wine along with massive blackberries and spices. It is fairly oaky now due to its relative youth. We had a long discussion about how it would be difficult to pick this one out as Shiraz if you tasted it blind. It tastes like good red wine but not especially like its point of origin. Personally I liked the 2001 better although I think they are both wine “science experiments”. What will they be like in two years? Parker thinks no problems there. A buy under $100.
2001 Clarendon Hills Astralis
99 WA; Winetex 95 points; $260
This wine was extremely different than the other wines. It was a dark ruby color with a wild nose of florals, raspberries and espresso. The flavors were so interesting because the espresso note was very prevalent. The finish had sweet tannins. It’s definitely WOW wine. It’s drinking well now but is very primary. I’ve not had this wine before so I’m curious as to what it tastes like with aging. Parker says that its prime is “10-12 years and last for 30-40”. I’m not sure I would buy this at this price point.
1998 Penfolds Grange South Australia
99 WA; 97 IWC; Winetex 94+ points; $220
This wine was closed from the initial pour. The nose was mostly oak with blueberry and the middle more of the same. It was not decanted and I swirled it for some time to try and coax more out of it. At the end the finish improved dramatically.
The tasting moderator has experience with the Grange and met with the winemaker about it in Australia. Their consensus (widely published) is that the wine is the best Grange ever produced. It did not wow me but has the potential to. I feel my purchase of this wine was a good one but the truth will not be known for a few years. It would be frustrating to drink this wine now so it was a good experience to taste it in this setting.
97% Shiraz and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon,14.5% alcohol. | | | |
|
Budman
Master of Wine
Posts:11879
| | 02/13/2004 9:16 PM |
| | Winetex... GREAT notes. I'm jealous. That was quite a lineup!!! | | | |
|
Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10802
| | 02/13/2004 9:19 PM |
| Thanks, purple teeth and all. | | | |
|
wino4ever
Grape Fermenter
Posts:578
| | 02/13/2004 10:36 PM |
| Winetex:
You aren't by chance going to the von Strasser wine thing at the Rainbow Lodge next weekend are you?
My wife and some friends are having a girls day out which apparently excludes me and the other gentlemen.
The Aussie wine tasting sounded fantastic. Perhaps Specs is now stocking brillo pads to get those stains off your teeth.  | | | |
|
Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10802
| | 02/13/2004 10:45 PM |
| | W4E - Nope, haven't heard anything about the Von Strasser event. If and when Spec's has some more vitner dinners you should try to attend. Won't happen until after the Rodeo Wine event on Monday, March 1. If you are interested it should be blast. They are going to pour all of the wine winners of the competition and 30+ restaurants are doing food. | | | |
|
ChangeMe
Grape Fermenter
Posts:672
| | 02/14/2004 2:15 AM |
| Great notes, Winetex.
I lived vicariously through your description of the Astralis, because at that price it's about as close as I'm going to get!
Cheers,
Otis | | | |
|
texaswino
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2184
| | 02/14/2004 2:49 AM |
| | Thanks for the great notes Winetex. I'm a big Aussie fan and your notes were very informative. Great tasting by Spec's. Too bad they don't have some of these in stock. | | | |
|
Sacred Cow
Wine Thief
Posts:2764
| | 02/14/2004 3:50 AM |
| Great notes, Winetex. Sounds like a great tasting.
Mike | | | |
|
stemor
Collierville, TN
Wine Thief
Posts:2818
| | 02/14/2004 4:24 AM |
| WOW! Talk about QPR, how about all those tastes for $20?!? Great job on the notes as usual, WineTex.
Based on your notes, I'm a pretty happy guy. I've got plenty (12) of '98 Grange sleeping soundly, and glad that my favorite local retailer is holding three '02 Integrity @$78.50/ to go with the three '01s that she got for me at the same price) and six '02 Shirvington (@$50/ to go with my 9 remaining '01s). I'd better zip down to visit her, and to bring my babies home. | |
Cheers, y'all | |
|
ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:12891
| | 02/14/2004 4:46 AM |
| winetex,
great notes. thanks for all the info. it makes me very happy to know i have some of those wines resting downstairs. | | | |
|
Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10802
| | 02/14/2004 4:16 PM |
| Stemor - 20 people or so attended, the tasting was $90. $20 would have been some mean QPR. | | | |
|
Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13711
| | 02/14/2004 6:38 PM |
| | Wow this was some great reading, Winetex, Grazie! | |
www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
|
jaimetown
DC area
Wine Labeler
Posts:3504
| | 02/16/2004 3:33 PM |
| | Thanks for the notes, Winetex! | | | |
|
DdB
Barrel Filler
Posts:1452
| | 02/17/2004 3:17 AM |
| WT - does that mean Spec's now gets the Shirvingtons or did they just pour it for the tasting?
Great notes - thanks! | | | |
|
Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10802
| | 02/18/2004 4:32 PM |
| | DDB - I think Spec's only received a six pack of the 02 Shirvingtons. Of that 2 were poured at this tasting and the other four disappeared to parts unknown (although I might know...). Thanks to you I have the '01s. | | | |
|
Jeremy Matthew
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2067
| | 02/20/2004 1:39 AM |
| | Cheers for those great notes Winetex!! | | | |
|