Cirillo Estate 1850s Old Vine Grenache 2004

Cirillo Estate 1850s Old Vine Grenache 2004

  12:17    Stu.

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A wine produced from the oldest viable Grenache vines in the world - I do believe there are some older in Spain, but they're no longer viable. Youth is wasted on the young they say, but here relatively youthful winemaker Marco Cirillo has been appointed custodian of some...

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Chapel Hill Sangiovese 2012

Chapel Hill Sangiovese 2012

  11:57    Stu.

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Not a new release from McLaren Vale leading light, Chapel Hill. Rather, the Sangiovese has been moved from the Il Vescovo to the McLaren Vale range, possibility reflecting the varieties place in the regional fabric. Needs a little air time to loosen and open up, give...

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Tahbilk 1927 Vines Marsanne 2004

Tahbilk 1927 Vines Marsanne 2004

  10:17    Stu.

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At nine years of age, this still has the spring of youth in its step. Made for the long haul, picked accordingly, and so I subsequently learned modelled on Hunter Semillon. That aromatic freshness is there from the first ball: citrus, particularly lemon with hints of...

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Tahbilk Eric Stevens Purbrick Shiraz 2008

Tahbilk Eric Stevens Purbrick Shiraz 2008

  10:06    Stu.

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Tahbilk wines carrying the Eric Stevens Purbrick are made to reflect the best of vintage, only being made when a particular parcel of fruit stands out. Fairly big-ish feel on opening, though I'd suggest it's more medium bodied. Charry and a touch meaty on opening, though...

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Main & Cherry Shiraz 2011

Main & Cherry Shiraz 2011

  19:58    Stu.

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A 2011 Shiraz from the broader 'Adelaide' zone, on the basis of fruit availability in a less than optimal vintage. Here winemaker Michael Sexton has crafted a dangerously drinkable Shiraz comprised of a majority of Adelaide Hills (82%) fruit with the balance supplemented...

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William Hardy Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2012

William Hardy Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2012

  19:55    Stu.

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Citrus, pithy grapefruit, lemon sherbet and hints of orange blossom. In the leaner style currently in vogue, it does lack a little definition on the palate.  Acid and a hint of almond skin, well made, drinkable, but just lacks a little additional character to make...

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Chapel Hill Sangiovese Rosé 2013

Chapel Hill Sangiovese Rosé 2013

  08:33    Stu.

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Pretty little red fruited number: sweet strawberry meets tart cranberry - a theme consistent throughout the wine. There's a hint of the familiar (to me at least) 'rhubarb and custard' boiled lolly of my youth. More red fruit presents on the palate, a little coulis sitting...

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Chapel Hill Il Vescovo White 2012

Chapel Hill Il Vescovo White 2012

  08:19    Stu.

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Take 3 grape varieties that originally hail from three different countries spanning across Southern Europe, add them to McLaren Vale, bring in a drop of Chapel Hill know-how and you get one fresh, fruity and floral little beauty that I'm sure you could quite happily do...

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COS Pithos Rosso 2010

COS Pithos Rosso 2010

  11:40    Stu.

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COS (so named from of the initials of founders Giambattista Cilia, Giusto Occhipinti and Pinuccia Strano) is a Sicilian winery located in Vittoria, in the South-East corner of that island. Vittoria is also the location of Sicily's only DOCG 'Cerasuaolo di Vittoria'...

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Voyager Estate Chardonnay 2010

Voyager Estate Chardonnay 2010

  08:41    Stu.

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Voyager Estate's 2010 Chardonnay is due for release on/around October 1st 2013. It continues the evolution of the wine in which new oak is being pared back, here seeing 9 months in French oak of which 26% is new. Opens with toasty,creamy notes of grilled peach; touches...

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Tahbilk Old Vines Cabernet Shiraz 2010

Tahbilk Old Vines Cabernet Shiraz 2010

  21:25    Stu.

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Old Vine it says, with an average vine age of 34 years, I guess that makes me above average. To the wine: creamy fresh oak sits front and square of rich dense fruit. Has an almost freshly lacquered presentation to it. Minty and dark fruited. Cassis abounds, fairly concentrated....

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William Hardy Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

William Hardy Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

  12:26    Stu.

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William Hardy, or Bill as he's known, is a fifth generation Hardy family member and currently works in the role of brand ambassador. The great-great-grandson of founder Thomas Hardy, "the range was created to acknowledge the ongoing contribution of the Hardy family  and,...

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Cook's Lot 2012 Shiraz

Cook's Lot 2012 Shiraz

  08:55    Stu.

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Plum and pepper - speaks of cooler origins with a fresh fruit vibrancy. Has a darker edge too: black fruits with a supporting framework of oak. Medium bodied, deft, light on its toes. Peppery, spice dances along the tongue a little. Tannin is grainy; possesses good...

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d'Arenberg Cadenzia GSM 2009

d'Arenberg Cadenzia GSM 2009

  21:42    Stu.

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A Grenache (50%), Shiraz (45%), Mourvèdre (5%) blend from self-confessed 'Grenache Freak' Chester Osborn. Grenache, the primary constituent component, is shown in its darker, meatier guise here: leathery, dried earth; hints of red fruits slowly reveal themselves, with...

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Ballycroft Small Berry Mataro 2010

Ballycroft Small Berry Mataro 2010

  21:48    Stu.

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I've written up a few of the Ballycroft wines on the blog, saving this Mataro for last.  In late March 2010, Joe and Susan Evans - along with a few friends - tenderly picked just shy of 300KG of fruit from Ballycroft's 300 Mataro vines. The vines were planted...

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Cook's Lot Sauvignon Blanc 2013

Cook's Lot Sauvignon Blanc 2013

  22:07    Stu.

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Makes some pretty smart wines does Duncan Cook of Cook's Lot wines. The brand has received some good exposure from James Halliday's Australian Wine Companion magazine, and I'd like to think that I've given the wines a fair run on this here blog! Opened alongside a couple...

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Bakkheia Different Drummer Sauvignon Blanc 2012

Bakkheia Different Drummer Sauvignon Blanc 2012

  21:26    Stu.

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"If a man does not keep pace with his companions,  perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer" The above quote comes from Henry Thoreau and Bakkheia took the Different Drummer to label their Fume Sauvignon Blanc, as it was the first white wine they had...

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Redbank Sunday Morning Pinot Gris 2012

Redbank Sunday Morning Pinot Gris 2012

  10:32    Stu.

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"Sunday morning I'm waking up Can't even focus on a coffee cup Don't even know who's bed I'm in Where do I start, where do I begin" Chemical Brothers ~ Where Do I Begin? Touches of honey, 'golden' notes, of warm Spring sunshine. Floral notes with a hint of melon...

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Redbank Long Paddock Pinot Gris 2011

Redbank Long Paddock Pinot Gris 2011

  10:31    Stu.

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Opens with a creaminess, flashes of mashed raw banana with some ripe pear character. Moderate aromatics. The palate is fairly neutral, offering suggestions of pear and apple, little by way of discerning flavour. Spice forms the predominant palate element, which leads well...

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Lerida Estate Pinot Grigio 2012

Lerida Estate Pinot Grigio 2012

  22:10    Stu.

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Good Grigio this I thought. Showing nashi pear, honeysuckle - a delightfully fragrant little thing - all backed up with a little citrus. Crisp, punchy acid in the middle, tart pear and a little spice mix things up a little. A little more weight here, possibly more than...

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La Curio McLaren Vale Reserve Shiraz 2010

La Curio McLaren Vale Reserve Shiraz 2010

  21:09    Stu.

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"The Raphael of wine" is how I have heard La Curio winemaker Adam Hooper referred. I'm unsure as to whether that relates to an 'artistic' appearance or for the approach to winemaking. For now, I'll just go with the quote. The wine slowly opens up, undergoing a transformation...

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Rockford Black Shiraz 2009 Disgorgement

Rockford Black Shiraz 2009 Disgorgement

  08:41    Stu.

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This was gifted to me by my brother-in-law on the birth of my first daughter. Therefore, I couldn't think of a more fitting moment to open, and share it, than on Father's Day.  Wine can be so much more than just the contents within, and this wine - regardless of...

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Kalleske Plenarius 2012

Kalleske Plenarius 2012

  09:49    Stu.

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There's much to enjoy here, even if just from the perspective of the square shouldered, proprietary bottle that Kalleske use. The wine is 100% organic Viognier that spends 7 days on skins, the resultant wine has a delightful amber-onion skin-russet edged hue, it's what...

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