Important Update From the Founder Read message >

Manchester Offline

Choice Bar & Restaurant

Tasted November 6, 2009 by andrewstevenson.com with 651 views

Flight 1 (20 notes)

White
1991 Tyrrell's Sémillon Old Winery Australia, South Eastern
90 points
Lemon groves on the nose, along with some hay. There's a nice weight on the palate. Very attractive and nicely balanced with good acidity on the finish.
White
2005 Mount Horrocks Sémillon Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley
87 points
There's something raw and green on the nose of this. It's also much more buttery on the nose than the Tyrell's. On the palate, it's young and still fairly tight. There's lots of acidity, that's not really feeling particularly integrated. Blimey! Get those burnt match flavours in the mouth after! Woah! Going back to it, there's sulphur on the nose too.
With some time, it improved noticeably, but retaining the massive, searing acidity on the finish.
White
2003 The Colonial Estate Sémillon L'expatrie Australia, South Australia
93 points
A very elegant nose, with much more poise. Citrus scents, with a touch of vanilla, and a slight hint of wool. Very good palate. Very balanced, with good acidity. Very nice indeed.
White
2000 Chateau Musar Blanc Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
flawed
Pear spirit, honey, vanilla and lots of volatile acidity on the nose. This isn't right, I think. and it does taste slightly corked, underneath some rich creaminess. This has none of the rich, satisfying savoury feel on a previous bottle. Faulty.
White
1996 De Bortoli Rare Dry Botrytis Sémillon Australia, New South Wales, Big Rivers, Riverina
92 points
A much deeper colour than the others. Honey, apricots and lemon on the nose. It's rich and full on the palate. It feels like it should be sweet, but it isn't. Nice, complex flavours. But there's a certain bizarreness in the mixed messages it gives you. Very interesting, but it messes with your head.
Red
2006 Tenimenti d'Alessandro Syrah Cortona Italy, Tuscany, Cortona
83 points
A youthful, vibrant nose with soft cherry fruit and a very subtle herbal lift. Young palate with lots of grippy tannin, followed up with a bit of raw alcohol on the finish. Rather green, unripe fruit in the mouth. Dull and unimpressive. Tuscany doesn't instantly make you think of syrah, and this bottle sort of explains why.
Red
2005 Domaine du Murinais Crozes-Hermitage Cuvée les Amandiers France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage
91 points
This has an attractive nose - very slightly funky, and with lots of hedgerow fruits. Very nice palate. Very balanced with good poise. This feels to me more elegant than many Crozes. Very good flavours: sweetish fruit and there's a nice savouriness to it.
Red
1999 Domaine de Vallouit Côte-Rôtie Cuvée Special La Voniere France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
84 points
There are high tones immediately on the nose. Very powerful high tones. Very scented, reminding me of cheap air freshener.
On the palate, there's sweet fruit initially, and lots of viognier fragrance to it. For my taste, it's very high toned to the detriment of much else.
It would appeal to Burgundy lovers, but if I want Burgundy, I'd open a bottle of Burgundy, not Côte Rôtie.
Others seem to really like this, but I'm left wondering if it's really meant to be like this, and just finding it very hard work.
Red
1999 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
92 points
Woah!!! Good grief. Sweaty armpits with extra cheese! And some furniture polish too.
Fortunately, the palate is as way out. There's sweet fruit, but a nice finesse. This has really good balance and is very fine on the finish, with very good length.
Red
2007 Glazebrook Syrah 040°S 177°E Regional Reserve New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay
82 points
An interesting nose with a subtle meatiness. Salami maybe, alongside a touch of bisto and chocolate. In the mouth, it's powerful stuff. Very hot. Really rather simple feeling. There's also an odd, treacly feel at the edge of the palate. Not for me.
Red
1992 Qupé Syrah Reserve Bien Nacido Vineyard USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
94 points
Yes, only 12.5% alcohol. An attractive nose: fairly meaty, with some bacon fat and some sweet black and red fruit. Lovely palate, with a lovely texture. It's luscious without being heavy. Mmm ... this is a lovely wine. It has a dusty, arid not-quite-garrique feel that speaks so much of the terroir. Superb wine.
Red
1996 St Hallett Shiraz Old Block Australia, South Australia, Barossa
flawed
Corked.
Red
1998 Penfolds Shiraz St. Henri Australia, South Australia
92 points
A rather subtle nose with very gentle black fruits and some herbal, almost medicinal notes. On the palate, there's a silky, caressing mouthfeel. Very precise. Very classy.
Red
2003 Penfolds Shiraz Magill Estate Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Plains
90 points
A much more concentrated nose than the St Henri, with bacon-y, gamey, black fruit. A really luscious mouthfeel: velvety and rich initially, giving way to fruit, giving way to a very firm tannic structure on the finish. Very big after. Huge length, though quite medicinal and numbing, like the effect of oil of cloves at the dentist's.
Red
2000 Chain of Ponds Shiraz The Ledge Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills
90 points
Herbes de provence and dried rosemary dominate the nose, along with some lamb fat. There's lots of dried herbal character on the palate too, along with a certain meatiness. In fact, this is quite simply roast lamb in a glass! A very interesting wine, at least in the context of these other syrahs/shirazes. It might be a bit odd on its own in isolation though.
Red
2000 Peter Lehmann Shiraz Stonewell Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
87 points
A very sweet, very jammy, rather simple nose: sweet plummy fruit with some chocolate. On the palate, it's sweet and jammy with parkeresque fruit gobbiness. Good if you like this sort of thing, but it left me feeling unrewarded.
Red
2001 Brokenwood Shiraz Graveyard Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
91 points
A refined nose - really rather minerally; fairly sweet; slightly lifted; slightly confected. A much nicer palate than the nose. Elegant fruit and very poised. Good stuff.
Red
2007 Two Hands Shiraz Angels Share Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
90 points
An interesting nose with really quite subtle black fruits, bacon fat and dried herbs. In the mouth, this is large rather than big. Muscular and well toned, rather than big and flabby - remarkably so given the high alcohol content, which it carries (and hides) extraordinarily well. Very good balance. I like this more than I thought I was going to.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2002 Casas del Toqui Sémillon Late Harvest Chile, Rapel Valley, Cachapoal Valley
flawed
Some wines have front and back labels on the bottles; this has two different front labels.
A dull, rther dried out, nothing-y nose. Musky and foxy with just a hint of TCA? On the palate, you can see some fresh, reasonably elegant fruit, but it is corked.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2006 Château Ramon Monbazillac France, Southwest France, Dordogne, Monbazillac
flawed
Stonkingly badly corked.
© 2003-24 CellarTracker! LLC.

Report a Problem

Close