2/26/2012 - Avid Wino wrote:

Attractive deep purple colour. Ripe dark fruits, and not much else. Great value as a cooking and quaffing wine.

2/7/2020 - Avid Wino wrote:

Black and red fruits, meatiness, and a dried herb character. Silty kittens tongue tannin and enough length. Improves with each hour of air all the way up to when I stopped tasting after five.

6/21/2015 - Avid Wino wrote:

Cherry, mulberry, leather, fair plank of wood. Heaps of tannin but ample balance and length. Really enjoyed drinking this. Stands on the border between macho and masculine. Perfect with a steak sandwich. Screaming bargain, available at Aldi for $9.

12/20/2011 - Avid Wino wrote:

I'll admit to scoring style as much as quality with this one. Not really my thing. Lemon curd, overt acidity, and coarse bubbles... slight brioche.

5/21/2017 - Avid Wino wrote:

Cassis, plum, mint, black tea, some dark chocolate, cloves. Fair whack of cedary oak. Medium bodied. Balance excellent. Adequate length finish with fresh acidity and copious dusty fine tannins. A quality wine, though missing some wow ... that could just be me on the night. Youthful seduction is not its game, built for a sure mature pleasure I think. 91+ meaning 91 now but I have a hunch this will improve.

12/31/2017 - Avid Wino wrote:

Took a spare bottle of this home after the work Xmas party. Trying now on New Years Eve for shits and giggles. Tolerable, even fun for half a glass. Citrus and apple. Off-dry. Now time to open something half decent.

2/1/2019 - Avid Wino wrote:

Nastiest wine I’ve tasted in memory, and I’ve downed a few bottles in my time. My wife said “tastes like wine from an itinerants goon bag which had been stored in some bushes” and claims to speak from personal experience. Maybe (hopefully) a bad bottle? Screwcap fwiw.

12/28/2018 - Avid Wino wrote:

Fruitcake, jam, silty tannin. Stinking hot day, far from ideal tasting conditions, and on another day this might be better, might be worse. Enjoyable enough drink for a few slugs.

11/24/2023 - Avid Wino wrote:

Really enjoyed drinking this, can’t remember the last wine I had that was so insistently smashable, it’s been a while…. Could be that I was more susceptible in this particular Friday evening. Don’t ask me for specifics. I’ll quote the label “lifted violets, red fruits, ripe cherry and gentle spice yield to a palate of dark plums, sweet fleshy tannins, and a long resonant finish” to which I would only add there’s ripe blueberry in the mix too, and roast beef meatiness after a couple of hours of air. Enough length.

2/11/2024 - Avid Wino wrote:

White pepper. Ripe black and blue fruits. A tomato bush character which adds interest. Smudge of lacy silty tannin tidies it up. 90 or better.

3/15/2019 - Avid Wino wrote:

Pretty much as per the label. Cherries, red berries, some spice. Lick of tannin. Drinks well enough but won’t set anyone’s heart racing.... no faults but no spark.

4/27/2019 - Avid Wino wrote:

Berries, spice, touch of liquorice, lick of grainy tannin. Quick taste, wanted to note it as a decent drop as have never before tasted wine from this winery or part of the world (Bermagui). 88 or so.

10/21/2023 - Avid Wino wrote:

Decent anonymous NSW shiraz 101. Plum, cherry, chocolate, black pepper. So all the good taste descriptors, but on the syrupy side and only the merest smidge of silty tannin by way of structure.

4/18/2024 - Avid Wino wrote:

Delicious light red. Red fruits, spice and grip. A multi-regional blend - Hilltops & Tumbarumba - and a blend of three grape varieties - Pinot Noir, Barbera & Nebbiolo. 90 or 91. Enjoyed at the winery on Mum's 80th birthday.

5/25/2018 - Avid Wino wrote:

Great on a wintery autumn Friday night when I’ve got a thirst rather than an inquiring mind. Rich dark fruits, chocolate oak. Fullish bodied, lick of tannin, enough balance and length.

1/23/2010 - Avid Wino wrote:

Raspberry, dry.

7/28/2018 - Avid Wino wrote:

Marmalade, toffee, apricot, green apple, cinnamon, fresh citrus to balance the sweetness, and so much more besides. Luscious and rich. Heaps of length. Score a stab in the dark.

7/8/2011 - Avid Wino wrote:

Black purple colour, rich blackberry, juicy, straightforward.

4/18/2020 - Avid Wino wrote:

Bright berries, plum jam, cocoa. Well balanced, dusty tannin tidies it up. Full bodied but not a bruiser.

5/1/2013 - Avid Wino wrote:

Dark fruits, liquorice, iodine. Juicy with silty fine tannins on the good length finish. Eminently quaffable and did wonders for the bolognese sauce.

6/21/2015 - Avid Wino wrote:

Marmalade, mixed citrus peel, sugar... seems I'm repeating myself. Syrupy.

1/15/2010 - Avid Wino wrote:

Yum!

12/25/2019 - Avid Wino wrote:

Apricot and citrus as per the label. Rich sweetness is the initial impact, pretty well balanced on the finish. Really enjoyed this and tempted to score higher but think I had been seduced and was no longer objective, so left it.

12/31/2022 - Avid Wino wrote:

As per the label stone fruit and green apple. Nice drop.

1/6/2023 - Avid Wino wrote:

Good drink. Sort of cidery kombucha fizzy wine. Score for arguments sake and based on my enjoyment as I can’t judge the quality. My inclination was a volatile as the wine, could be plus or minus 3.

9/24/2021 - Avid Wino wrote:

Strawberry, cherry, autumn leaves, something like nutmeg. Slightly stewed. Silky and slippery, fine powder tannin. Ample length. Texture lets you know this can’t be anything other than Pinot, but it’s an oddball, albeit an enjoyable intriguing drop. Winery is in Mudgee, grapes are from Adelaide Hills and Southern Fleurieu.

2/23/2019 - Avid Wino wrote:

Blackberry, blackcurrant plays second fiddle. Savoury spider web fine tannin structure. Balance and length excellent. Might be the first wine I’ve tasted from Mudgee... now keen to try more!

8/19/2012 - Avid Wino wrote:

Past its best, this bottle.

2/26/2024 - Avid Wino wrote:

Red and black currants. Dusty grippy tannin. Little tomato bush. Quite enjoyable.

4/15/2012 - Avid Wino wrote:

The worst crumbly cork I have ever encountered, but the wine is in a very nice place. Mellow, even soft, mature shiraz still with pepper and feathery tannins. Will pop the cork on another bottle before too long and dive deeper in to it, only had a small glass today.

6/10/2016 - Avid Wino wrote:

Violets, savouriness, olives, cedar, crushed rocks. Cassis hiding behind all that emerges more with several hours of air. Lots of tannin, but fresh acidity makes an admirable attempt to balance. I like this, though you'd have to like your wines savoury and tannic to agree. Wasn't sure on the score, somewhere around 88 to 90. Got better and better with time open.

5/27/2012 - Avid Wino wrote:

From Orange. Wine is not just about what is in the glass, in fact it's more about people and memories and stories. Who did you drink the wine with, what was the occasion, and many other possibilities. So before writing about this wine, a disclaimer of possible bias. Despite never having visited Orange or having previously tried a wine from Orange (!) I am predisposed to liking this wine, as when I was a primary school student, some 30 years ago, my favourite teacher came from Orange. Far and away the best school teacher I ever had. On to the wine. Very purple. Doesn't give much away on the nose, some blackberry bush. One sip and you know the strength of this wine is its terrific balance. How does it taste? Blackcurrant, some mulberry and mint, perhaps even some iodine and toffee. Long finish. I decanted this 3 hours. Such is the balance, it should improve for a decade or longer. Night two blackcurrant increased in intensity, and showed exceptional length.

11/7/2014 - Avid Wino wrote:

A joy to drink, I could happily drink this by the pint. Floral. Apples and lemons for the most part. I grabbed this at the cellar door, for me it was far and away the most appealing of the 2014 Helm rieslings at this point, though it may not age so well as the others.

8/8/2014 - Avid Wino wrote:

Berries, a smear of apricot jam. French oak prominent. White pepper on the finish. So quite a bit going on, but didn't grab me as a whole.

5/20/2012 - Avid Wino wrote:

Lemon and hay, then lime. Balance and weight very nice, good length finish. Really liked this. Solo without the fizz and the sugar, so not really like Solo at all, but there you go.

5/30/2014 - Avid Wino wrote:

Slightly charred toast, nettles, straw, lemon butter. Full and soft, finishes long and acidic.

6/30/2010 - Avid Wino wrote:

Golden colour, toasty nutty nose, spritzy, citrus, a little soapy but a refreshing drink and good match for fish'n'chips. Slightly better on second night.

8/11/2013 - Avid Wino wrote:

Peaches, some vanilla, citrus through the finish. Balance good, no glaring faults.

10/7/2016 - Avid Wino wrote:

Excellent drinking. Pretty much as per the label. Peaches & cream, citrus blossoms, brioche. Fresh acidity keeps the rest in balance. Plenty of length.

9/13/2015 - Avid Wino wrote:

Almost glowing golden green. Hay, lanolin, buttered toast, smidge of honey. Still youthful elements of lemon and lemon zest. Body. Excellent balance and length. Plan to drink my remaining bottle in five years though could hold longer.

12/6/2020 - Avid Wino wrote:

Toasty, buttery, lemon zest but dialled down sort of lemon butter. Lovely. Body. Heaps of length.

5/22/2015 - Avid Wino wrote:

Berries, mostly blackberry, earth, spice. Fresh. Medium bodied but fleshy. Dusty tannins. Excellent length.

8/29/2020 - Avid Wino wrote:

Shy initially, then opens up more with each passing hour. Plum, raspberry, earth, charred meat. Medium bodied, excellent balance, freshening acidity, powdery tannin carries it long. 91 or better.

2/4/2024 - Avid Wino wrote:

Toasty nose. Lemongrass and lanolin. Superb body and balance and length. Outstanding Hunter semillon.

6/18/2016 - Avid Wino wrote:

Peach, raw cashew, lemon & lime, texture, little vanilla. Excellent.

3/20/2016 - Avid Wino wrote:

Really enjoyed drinking this. Its rare that I feel compelled to drain an entire bottle myself in one sitting, but here we are and the job is almost done. Has been too long since I cracked open a decent Hunter Shiraz. Black purple. Plum, earth, leather, blackberry. Savoury but with a core of something like molasses. Viscous, syrupy... only a little but enough to bring those things to mind. Tannin structure coats the mouth on the finish and provides a framework for the other elements of this wine to display to best effect. Fantastic.

5/21/2016 - Avid Wino wrote:

Savoury, medium bodied, with streaks of raspberry and liquorice all sorts. Earthy, dusty tannins, washy acidity. Plenty of length. 90+

10/28/2016 - Avid Wino wrote:

Floral. Slippery. Mostly red fruits, but some blue and black too. Cranberry sticks out a bit much for my tastes especially with air. Bit of redskin lolly, possibly even 80s style trading card bubblegum. Pepper. Definite earthiness. Fine sawdust tannin. Medium bodied at most. Superb length and feel demand 92, though the flavour profile makes me question it. So 91

2/3/2020 - Avid Wino wrote:

Lime, lemon, oyster shell minerality. Excellent acid structure and length. Sweetly fruited, dry finish. Superb! 92 or better.

1/20/2023 - Avid Wino wrote:

Honeysuckle nose. Lemon, lime, sort of vanilla element too. Body and richness. Superb balance. Enough length. I’ve enjoyed a dozen or so of these over the past three years, but this is the first bottle that’s made me sit up and go “geez this is starting to mature, and very nicely”. Wish I had more than two bottles left as I’d like to see where this goes over the next five years, and also I’d like to enjoy one each year… doesn’t compute 😀