Cape Mentelle's lower tier Cab.

Colour: Red plum
Nose: Chocolate, plum and aniseedy notes
Palate: very drying tannins, use of French and US oak evident with the chewy tannins dominating the sweeter fruit. Length is good with the finish tapering off slowly. The body was a little light for my liking.
Overall: An easy going wine- 83 points.

Jeremy,

I had similar notes to yours for the Trinders.....BUT, i didn't find any significant tannins, and certainly not drying. in fact i was disappointed at the lack thereof. i did find the acid surprisingly crisp, certainly not a characteristic i'm used to finding from WA. who knows....

I find it strange when discrepancies like this occur......what gives?

Time, BV, differant palate nuances, distance the wine has travelled, time of the year, food etc.... TORB and I are prime examples of people who find things differantly. I calibrate my palate to people in NZ, consequently tannins are something that come to the fore- simply because our reds don't have strong tannins, and thus seem more noticebale, also whom I am tasting the wine with and their opinions shape my thoughts. ie Someone mentions how drying the wine seems, then I analyse it again. I often find things other people don't, and likewise, am often surprised at things other people find.

Last night I had some 96 Leoville Baron with a good friend. He noted a tree sap character, and noted that the tannins seem more rounded than he expected. I on the other hand found the wine had fuller tannins and more of a cherry character. Each to their own I guess, I'm probably not as good at palate structure as others but I'm getting there.

Thanks TORB!!

I think mostly my spelling is now typos- I've been really trying to get my spelling back in order. I've downloaded the little gidget- very cool.
EDIT: Forgot to add- get your hands on a bottle of Stonyridge Larose and tell me its bad- then I'll eat my socks.

Either of you guys from over there ever heard of/had the 2001 Rosabrook Shiraz, Marg.Rv.???? It's being offered for $29.95 here in Toronto.....What do you think?

From August last year...

Some time ago it was reported that Palandri Wines had taken over Rosabrook Wines and Brian was surprised to see them having their own stand. Brian decided to try and find out the latest goss and we ambled on over and asked a few questions.

It turns out that Palandri didn’t purchase the labels, juts some of the vineyards and Rosabrook decided to do a phoenix.

Rosabrook 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon’s aroma is dominated by dusty oak with some obvious good fruit below the oak. Its solid layered structure is sound and well supported by loads of fine drying tannins, muscular weight persistent distinct fruit, and young acid. The blackcurrant, cassis and liquorice combine to provide a long finish. A big with a developed level of complexity and obvious quality that will age well and should peak in about 6 years. Rated as Highly Recommended with an anticipated price of $40-50. At $40 it would rate *** and at $50 **.

So at 30 Canuck $$ its a good price.

Thanks TORB,

Do you think the Shiraz will be of similar quality?....unfortunetly that is what we're being offered, no cab this time around.

p.s.what's a phoenix? (aside from the ancient egyptian feline)

cheers

Jump,
Uh.. besides being a city in Arizona, and a word in the title of the new Harry Potter book, it's a bird that burns up once every 100 years and is reborn from its own ashes.... I think.

Pheonix was a mythical bird representing rebirth, ressurection and has been associated in religions and myth in Egyptian, Central Asian and Persian cultures. It was immortal but aged like normal animals. When it died it reverted to ash and then was reborn in flame. Hence the saying " Like a Pheonix from the Ashes/Flames."

Adopted into Greek and Roman cultures and pantheons from about 1500 BC primarily from Mespotamian civilisations and was also represented in early Byzantian culture as a representation of the Ressurection of Christ in the early AD's.Jump I think the Ancient Egyptian feline you are refering to is the Sphinx.

um....right you are, my bad........but what does phoenix refer to as TORB used it? in the wine sense? does it mean that Rosabrook decided to give it another shot(a rebirth?)......also Penley Estates does a phoenix cab from the coonawarra if i'm not mistaken......

..Any word about the shiraz guys?

Rosabrook 2001 Shiraz has a lifted nose with perfumed floral characteristics. The wine has just been bottled and it needs time to come together but showed peppery fruit and cedar. It's a mid-weight wine with loads of dusty tannins that's reasonable for the price. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value at $20 the rating should improve as the wine comes together.

Thanks TORB!
They're selling it for $29CAD so I guess it wouldn't be a great buy if it sells for $20 AUD down there........

I tried the Rosabrook Shiraz......didn't love it.

no formal tasting notes but I think it could probably benefit from some time in the cellar. although I'm not convinced the fruit was vibrant enough to out live the oak!! slightly imbalanced.

Not worth the 29 bucks i paid for it, won't buy another bottle.