Aussies - July '00

Wines from Down Under III - For a Few Rippers More

Results from an Aussie tasting - Saturday, July 22, 2000, at the Wine Exchange in Orange, CA. Twenty-seven wines were poured for a tasting fee of $25.

The wines, in the order tasted:

1999 Clos Claire Riesling - Clare Valley. $17.99. Light yellow color. Crisp, citrusy nose with a touch of sweetness. Crisp mouthfeel, flavors of grass and light citrus fruits. Bone dry, with no residual sugar noted through long finish. Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1996 Tim Adams Semillon - Clare Valley. $11.99. Light-medium yellow color. Nose of grassy-lemony fruit, minerals, and a bit of leaf and rubber. Very steely and mineraly mouthfeel, with pronounced citrus and acids across the palate. Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B

1999 Cairnbrae Sauvignon Blanc The Stones - Marlborough,NZ. $11.99. Very faint yellow color. Fairly citric in the nose, with aromas of minerals, wet stones (duh!), stems, rose petals, and boxwood. Crisp mouthfeel, flavors of hay, straw and newly mowed grass. Nicely made. Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1998 Frankland Estate Chardonnay Isolation Ridge -Western Australia. $16.99. Light yellow color. Sweet citrusy nose with hints of caramel, straw, and toast. Toasty, oaky, buttery mouthfeel, with a toasty and fruity finish. Not bad, though I prefer several Central Coast offerings in this price range. Aroma score: B Taste score: B+ Overall score: B

1999 Lengs & Cooter Shiraz/Grenache The Victor -Clare Valley. $13.99. Medium-dark garnet color. Nose of anise, spicy black/red fruit, and shoe polish. Dry mouthfeel, fruit seems slightly tight, tart, and acidic. A bit nicer in the nose than in the mouth. 55% Shiraz. Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B

1998 D'Arenberg Grenache/Shiraz d'Arry's Original -McLaren Vale. $12.99. Medium-dark garnet color. Nice stemmy fruit in the nose, with some toast and sort of a melted wax aroma along with burnished wood. Tasty, yet slightly coarse and youthful mouthfeel. Good fruit and body, with long toasty finish. Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1998 Coriole Grenache Old Vines Lalla Rookh - McLarenVale. $19.99. Medium-dark violet ruby color. Stemmy, ripe burnished nose, with nearly a Port-like quality in background aromas. Tasty, fleshy, and smooth mouthfeel that seems surprisingly light in texture and body. (I've noticed this before with many "old vine" wines. They seem to have a smoother and lighter mouthfeel, yet still have lots of flavor and taste.) Aroma score: B Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1998 Charles Melton Grenache - Barossa Valley. $24.99. Medium garnet color. Aromas of fruit, dust, chalk, ash, and floral notes, the nose is fleshy and ripe, with a warm almost mourvedre-like quality to it. Wow! - substantial mouthfeel of beautiful sweet ripe fruit. Long fruity finish, with even longer aftertaste. Mel-ton, Mel-ton, Mel-ton! Aroma score: B+ Taste score: A- Overall score: A-

1998 Rosemont Cabernet Sauvignon Hill of Gold - Mudgee.$13.99. Very dark ruby-garnet-violet color. Stemmy and ripe nose, with fleshy aromas of ripe fruit, hardwoods, mocha, toast, and a little brackish water. Big, with chewy and tasty mouthfeel, with ripe fruit, toast and anise flavors, and long finish. Very nice. But, what's a Mudgee? Aroma score: B+ Taste score: A- Overall score: B+

1996 Pikes Merlot Reserve -Clare Valley. $34.99. Medium garnet color. Ripe and stemmy nose of spicy boysenberry, blackberry, pepper, and chocolate. Good mouthfeel, with a slightly rough texture from mid-palate through moderate finish. The lively nose promised a lot, but the mouth just didn't deliver. Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B Overall score: B

1996 Lindemans Shiraz/Cabernet Limestone Ridge -Coonawara. $21.99. Medium-dark ruby garnet color. Stemmy ripe nose of plum, rhubarb, boysenberry, and minerals. Stemmy chocolate raspberry flavor to the slightly tart fruit. Nice balance, long finish. 80/20 Shiraz/Cab. Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B

1998 Leconfield Cabernet - Coonawarra. $22.99. Medium ruby garnet color. Stemmy and fruity in the nose, with a warm sweet tomato/beet quality that kind of enhances the whole thing. Smooth mouthfeel, with raspberry and cranberry flavors. Structured to the acidic side of balance, and the mouthfeel get a bit light on the latter palate, but has a long tasty finish. Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B Overall score: B

1999 ADW The Hattrick - McLaren Vale. $44.99. Medium-dark violet ruby color. Fabulous nose of raspberry liqueur, chocolate, mocha, celery heart, and toast. Beautiful full and smooth mouthfeel, with toasty fruit and light chocolate/anise flavors, excellent balance, and very long seamless finish. Ripe, but not the least bit overblown, this wine's a stunner! Aroma score: A Taste score: A Overall score: A

1998 D'Arenberg Shiraz Old Vine The Footbolt - McLarenVale. $12.99. Medium-dark purple ruby color. Stemmy nose, with aromas of blackberry and bittersweet chocolate, along with side notes of beet, petrol, minerals and chalk. Toasty off-sweet mouthfeel, substantial body, nice balance, medium-long finish. More interesting in the nose, than mouth. Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B Overall score: B

1998 Coriole Shiraz - McLaren Vale. $22.99. Purple ruby color. Very concentrated nose of sweet ripe fruit, anise and toast. Spicy blackberry fruit, moderate body, youthful mouthfeel, very tasty long finish. Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1998 Clos Clare Shiraz - Clare Valley. $27.99. Purple ruby color. Nose of blackberry, mocha, vanilla, and anise. Smells like a Black Forest cake. Very toasty blackberry/chocolate taste, chewy mouthfeel, long finish. Aroma score: A- Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1998 Simon Hackett Shiraz Anthony's Reserve - McLarenVale. $29.99. Medium-dark purple ruby color. Nose is a mass of cocoa, bittersweet chocolate aromas, with blackberry, raspberry, anise, and toast intermingled. Delicious black raspberry, cocoa and anise flavors lead up to a long toasty finish. Aroma score: A- Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1998 Charles Melton Shiraz - Barossa Valley. $29.99. Medium violet ruby color. Nose of Blackberry, anise, some cocoa dust, and a steely/mineral quality. Full mouthfeel, lots of anise and blackberry flavors, with a toasted oak finish. Another nice Melton. Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1998 Mount Horrocks Shiraz - Clare Valley. $25.99. Medium-dark purple ruby color. Stemmy and herbaceous nose, with aromas of fruit, chocolate, and aspirin, as well as a slight vegetal component. (Actually, it was better than it sounds.) Chewy and substantial mouthfeel, with toasty off-sweet fruit, and a long mocha-like toasty finish. Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1998 Charles Melton Nine Popes - Barossa Valley.$32.99. Dark ruby garnet color. Beautifully complex nose of ripe raspberry, mint, brown sugar, with almost a Port-like sweetness to the fruit. Very smooth and toasty mouthfeel, with almost a caramelized quality to the black cherry, raspberry, and anise flavors. Wow, if this is the Nine Popes, I can hardly wait for the Ten Popes [g]. 50/50 Grenache/Shiraz. Aroma score: A- Taste score: A- Overall score: A-

1998 Noon Eclipse - McLaren Vale. $47.99. Black violet color. Fabulous nose of black and red raspberry, mocha, anise, along with some beautiful rose petal notes. Substantial mouthfeel of warm ripe raspberry fruit, anise, and mocha. Though fairly ripe across the palate, there's a nice backbone of acids that keep this very tasty wine standing tall. Grenache/Shiraz. Aroma score: A- Taste score: B+ Overall score: A-

1997 Penfolds Shiraz RWT - Barossa Valley.$54.99. Dark ruby garnet violet color. Herbaceous and stemmy nose, heavily scented with floral tones, toast, and lots of black raspberry fruit. Young and chewy mouthfeel, very good palate coverage, with sweet raspberry and anise flavors. Nice balance, with very, very long finish. The RWT stands for Red Wine Trial, which is their French oak/all Barossa fruit program. The nose was killer; the mouth a little less so -- for now. Aroma score: A- Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1997 Barossa Valley Estate Shiraz E & E Black Pepper- Barossa Valley. $48.99. Dark ruby garnet color. Herbaceous and stemmy in the nose, with lots of floral notes, toast, and a good dose of pepper to the black raspberry fruit. Very young and tannic in mouthfeel, with a mass of vanilla-laced black raspberry fruit, black pepper and spices, and a huge finish. The proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove, this wine is subtle in the nose, but just wallops your palate into a spicy submission. Aroma score: B+ Taste score: A Overall score: A-

1997 Rusden Shiraz - Barossa. $49.99. Dark ruby garnet color. Amazingly complex nose of chocolate, raspberry, mocha, and floral notes, combined with additional aromas of grilled beef, toast, cheddar, sweet tomato, and caper. Sweet toasty fruit, smooth mouthfeel. Stunning complexity in the nose, but the mouth just didn't seem to have the punch, ...or the beef. Aroma score: A- Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1997 Hardy's Shiraz Eileen Hardy - McLaren Vale. $49.99. Black purple color. Herbaceous and fleshy nose of black raspberry, chocolate, mocha, toast, and a touch of rose petal. Fleshy and chewy mouthfeel, lots of off-sweet fruit, and very long smooth finish. Very nice! Aroma score: A- Taste score: B+ Overall score: A-

1999 Cairnbrae Noble Riesling - Marlborough, NZ. $15.99(375ml). Very faint yellow, almost colorless. Spicy, raisiny, with a brown-sugared-on-pink-grapefruit nose. Light mouthfeel, with a clean sweet and spicy taste. Almost delicate on the palate, anything this wine might lack in body is more than made up for in elegance. Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

NV Campbell's Muscat - Rutherglen, Victoria. $13.99(375ml). Butterscotch caramel color. Nose of caramelized raisins, pecans, brown sugar and light citrus aromas. Big, chewy and incredibly smooth mouthfeel, with flavors of fruit, praline, butterscotch and caramel. 17.5% alcohol. Aroma score: A- Taste score: A- Overall score: A-

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Overall impressions: another nice group of Aussie wines, several of which were to positively drool for. The ADW Hattrick was just flat-out beautiful, and didn't come up short in any regard. Probably the best showing was the Charles Melton line. With 3 wines in my top 10, they just have to be King -- or at least Pope. Other standouts include the E & E Black Pepper, the Noon Eclipse, and the Eileen Hardy. Award for the most fascinating nose goes to the Rusden. It bore some similarity to the fascinating notes of grilled beef and sauces in Ch. Tertre Roteboeuf. A real surprise and great bargain is the Rosemount Hill of Gold. At $14, it's a solid and delicious effort. Really, about the only disappointment in the flight was the Pikes Merlot. The nose was very nice, but the mouthfeel just fell flat by comparison. ___________________

Here is my relative ranking, by tier and in order of preference, of the wines tasted.

1999 ADW The Hattrick - McLaren Vale. $44.99.
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1998 Charles Melton Nine Popes - Barossa Valley.$32.99.
1997 Barossa Valley Estate Shiraz E & E Black Pepper- Barossa Valley. $48.99.
NV Campbell's Muscat - Rutherglen, Victoria. $13.99(375ml).
1998 Noon Eclipse - McLaren Vale. $47.99.
1998 Charles Melton Grenache - Barossa Valley. $24.99.
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1998 Rosemont Cabernet Sauvignon Hill of Gold - Mudgee.$13.99.
1998 Simon Hackett Shiraz Anthony's Reserve - McLarenVale. $29.99.
1997 Hardy's Shiraz Eileen Hardy - McLaren Vale.$49.99.
1998 Charles Melton Shiraz - Barossa Valley. $29.99.
1997 Rusden Shiraz - Barossa. $49.99. 1998 Clos Clare Shiraz - Clare Valley. $27.99.
1997 Penfolds Shiraz RWT - Barossa Valley.$54.99.
1999 Cairnbrae Noble Riesling - Marlborough, NZ. $15.99(375ml).
1998 Coriole Shiraz - McLaren Vale. $22.99.
1998 Mount Horrocks Shiraz - Clare Valley. $25.99.
1998 D'Arenberg Grenache/Shiraz d'Arry's Original -McLaren Vale. $12.99.
1999 Cairnbrae Sauvignon Blanc The Stones - Marlborough, NZ. $11.99.
1999 Clos Claire Riesling - Clare Valley. $17.99.
1998 Coriole Grenache Old Vines Lalla Rookh - McLarenVale. $19.99.
1998 Frankland Estate Chardonnay Isolation Ridge -Western Australia. $16.99.
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1998 Leconfield Cabernet - Coonawarra. $22.99.
1998 D'Arenberg Shiraz Old Vine The Footbolt - McLarenVale. $12.99.
1996 Lindemans Shiraz/Cabernet Limestone Ridge -Coonawara. $21.99.
1999 Lengs & Cooter Shiraz/Grenache The Victor -Clare Valley. $13.99.
1996 Pikes Merlot Reserve -Clare Valley. $34.99.
1996 Tim Adams Semillon - Clare Valley. $11.99.

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