6/28/2014 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Maybe it's the distinctive retro bottle, but it feels like you're drinking liquid history. Great traditional Barossa shiraz: full-flavoured, but also measured, complex, balanced, full of interest. Not too heavy or rich at all; just right.

6/25/2014 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Consumed over two nights. A fine rioja that's aged very gracefully - and continues to age in fascinating ways once opened. An exquisite drinking experience. A wine of quiet profundity that deserves to be savoured and contemplated. Old and frail but still with enough vitality to carry and lift all the complex nuances of aroma and flavour.

6/28/2014 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Drop-down delicious rendition of nebbiolo. Crushed roses, red berries, rich floral and warm spice notes on the nose. Lovely palate with darker fruits, good complexity and nice dry tannins. I've drunk a lot of this over the past few months and it just keeps getting better.

6/27/2014 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Rich yet graceful and linear dry riesling. Floral and full of interest aromatically. Crunchy green apples, full texture. Delicious.

10/18/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

A wonderful, bewitching, highly expressive wine. Aromas of coriander, aniseed, melon, lemon, white pepper, fragrant floral notes, and a spellbinding minerality. On the palate, a silky, rich glycerin texture counterpointed by searing, singing, reverberating acidity; a hint of residual sweetness offset by pronounced salinity and the gentle lift of background pepper accents; bracing lime, soft white stone fruits, apple, chalk, mint. A special, special wine, pure and natural and deeply mysterious somehow. And clearly made with integrity, creative intelligence, vision, and a touch of magic.

12/15/2013 - Dr AJ wrote:

Very average: simple and sweet and fruity and oaky. Deftly made, but no real pleasure or interest here.

12/13/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Not as impressive as previous bottle consumed last year, but still a good everyday claret: well-balanced, nicely judged, satisfying to drink.

12/11/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Solid traditional claret. Good typicity. Dry, austere, classically tailored: cut just right, and not at all flashy. Not great either, however: slightly dull, with a shortish finish.

12/9/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Fresh Tasmanian pinot, with sweet fruit, pleasing texture and body, fine acidity. A very nice effort, but nothing to truly excite.

12/4/2013 - Dr AJ wrote:

A gorgeous concoction of blackcurrants, woody herbs, sweet spices. Has matured very gracefully. Sweetness of fruit offset by bracing seam of acidity and austere structure. Perfectly poised.

12/3/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Lovely delicate fragrance. Limpid weight on the palate. Undoubtedly a high-class red burgundy, with magical hints and nuances. Quite smoky and not enough fruit, though.

12/3/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Prominent nose: heady, swirling aromas of truffle, blackberry, mint. On the palate, vivid flavours of thyme, chocolate, blackberry and crunchy red fruit, licorice. Full, velvety, not too sweet, not too dense, smooth integrated tannins. A very classy wine indeed.

12/1/2013 - Dr AJ wrote:

Vibrant, rich, flavourful modern claret. On the nose, ripe black fruits to the fore, licorice and coffee notes, oak. Round and smooth on the palate, a little sweet but with enough acidity. Pleasant, and has aged successfully, but no x factor.

11/30/2013 - Dr AJ wrote:

Nice but unremarkable; a generic-tasting Californian pinot.

11/11/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Beautiful pale garnet in colour. On the nose, delicate, fragrant sweet red fruits - strawberry, raspberry, hints of redcurrant and rhubarb - winter fruitcake, orange liqueur, pine resin, sandalwood, cinnamon, an intoxicating musky meaty feral note, and bonfire smoke. On the palate, mellow and gently fading, but radiant, vibrant, so mellifluous. Still amazingly youthful, really. Refreshing acidity, melted tannins, with wild strawberries to the fore, and toffee and caramel and alluring warm spices. Finish is long and mesmerisingly reverberating. Special stuff: complex, nuanced, understated, profound.

11/11/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Smoky, toasty, creamy, with lovely bracing balancing acidity; citrus and white stone fruits, vanilla, hazelnut. Texturally, both round and racy. A class act.

11/5/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Great Napa cabernet sauvignon: powerful and broad but also very refined and elegant, and perfectly poised between piquancy and the sweetness of ripe Californian fruit. Lovely heady aromas of coffee, dark chocolate, blackcurrant, licorice, blond tobacco, cinnamon, black cherry, loamy earth, a touch of funk. On the palate, velvet tannins and a fairly full body giving a smooth, luxurious texture, with a flavour-profile of more black cherry and dark chocolate, espresso, vanilla cream, thyme, cassis. Long finish. The only criticism: a little too hot from the high alcohol. A class act that's a privilege to drink. And it's drinking perfectly now: still vigorous, but with the full panoply of complex mature notes, too. Impressive and delicious.

11/1/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Really nice simple early-drinking Crozes. Juicy dark and piquant red fruits, good acidity, minerality, violets, pepper. Shortish finish. Unchallenging but a lot of fun.

10/29/2013 - Dr AJ wrote:

Flaw

10/27/2013 - Dr AJ wrote:

Nice nose, lovely texture on the palate, but ultimately clumsy and unengaging. Too sweet. A meagre seam of citrus acidity. No fruit, mineral, floral nuances. Flat, dull, disappointing.

10/26/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Very expressive and nuanced fruit profile, ripe yet fresh, dark cherry and tart berries, mineral and floral notes. Youthful and energetic. Vibrant, pure and powerful on the palate, with lively acidity and grippy tannins. Sophisticated mature aromas and flavours coming through. Wait at least a year. Beguiling stuff.

10/25/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Nice sophisticated serious Cru Beaujolais. Good structure and balance, deftly made, lots of ripe dense fruit. Drank over two nights and better on night two. In a few years, this will be delicious.

10/23/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Still tightly coiled and taut and full of youthful vigour, but maturing very nicely indeed. Bright fresh cherry, balsamic and undergrowth notes, tobacco, leather, vanilla. Satisfyingly weighty and rich on the palate, but vibrant and full of energy too, with a lovely seam of tart fruit acidity. Very complex and nuanced already. Nicely integrated, grippy tannins. Elegant yet powerful. Beautifully made. Drink now certainly, but wait at least five years for it to hit its prime.

10/19/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Lovely radiant fresh but fully mature Chambolle. On the palate, ethereal, almost weightless, but also very ripe and deep and powerful. Aromas and flavours of dark cherry, thyme and a hint of fennel seed, plus earth and smoke. Soft and quite sweet, but with gentle acidity too, and a long satisfying finish. The overall effect is light and lithe, but also resonant and full of impact. An alluring, rather gorgeous red Burgundy. So much more delicate and fine-boned and deftly nuanced than almost all new world pinot. A delight.

10/14/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Very attractive poised dry riesling: citrus and white peach, wet stones, light fragrant herbs, glycerin, acetone. Both tart and round on the palate. Authentic, pure, modest: just right.

10/10/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Sappy, supple, very tasty indeed. Slightly candied aromas, then lively, juicy, tart dark fruits on the palate. Pepper, floral and mineral notes, good acidity and structure. Still quite young and tight; will be humming in a year or so, I suspect. A serious, but still delightful, Beaujolais.

10/6/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Gorgeous mature Rioja: savoury, nuanced, resonant - a profound aged wine - yet still very fresh and vibrant, too. Rose petals, tobacco, medicinal aromas; heady spices, lively acidity and rich red berry and dark fruits on the palate. So much energy and depth. Very persistent. Truly satisfying and rewarding.

10/7/2013 - Dr AJ wrote:

flaw

10/1/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Delicious modern claret. Cedary, fresh, medium-bodied, with lovely ripe, sappy blackcurrant fruit and enough complexity and maturity to maintain interest. Good structure and balance; very lively on the palate. Given the vintage, highly impressive. Bordeaux at its best.

9/27/2013 - Dr AJ wrote:

Nice wine, but nothing special. Pretty lemon, apple and nectarine fruits, fragrant floral and grassy notes, well-judged oak. Round, soft and fairly full on the palate, but also enough counterbalancing acidity and grip. Good with food, but ultimately fairly uninteresting unaccompanied.

9/26/2013 - Dr AJ wrote:

On the first night, a big modern oaky claret, very mature, with dark plummy fruit, a bit of barnyard, lots of cigar box and tobacco. Powerful and rich, but no Margaux typicity and not a lot of fun. By the second night, it had completely fallen apart: funky, over-sweet, borderline unpleasant. Not impressed.

9/22/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Lovely authentic modest barolo. Floral, delicate, menthol and herbal notes, sour-sweet cherry fruit, alluring aroma of rose petals, fine integrated tannins. Medium-bodied, medium length. Very satisfying.

11/23/2012 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Aromas of ripe strawberry and thyme with a smoky, minerally edge. On the palate, cherries, fragrant herbs, pepper, lovely bracing acidity, full but dancing texture. Integrity, poise. A lovely, uplifting wine.

11/22/2012 - Dr AJ wrote:

Clumsy oak, unripe tannins, not much fruit. Tough, brutal old-style claret.

1/22/2013 - Dr AJ wrote:

Fully mature but still fresh. Medium-bodied. Raspberry, blackberry, dark cherry. Chocolate and leather. Pleasant, but a little flat on the palate. Lacking in vigour, vivacity, elegance.

1/29/2013 - Dr AJ wrote:

Not very engaging. Lots of oak and monolithic dark fruits, a hint of tapenade. Well-made but dull and uninteresting, lacking any nuance or narrative.

1/22/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Very pretty and lively for a Cal zinfandel. Flavour profile of strawberry, leather and meat. Lifted, fresh and dancing on the palate, but with depth and weight too. Medium-bodied, deftly structured, full of charm and interest.

9/18/2013 - Dr AJ wrote:

Medium-bodied; spicy, slightly funky, richly fruited aromas; black cherry, thyme and quite opulent on the palate, but piquant too. Lively and insistent rather than elegant. No magic or mystery; a little heavy-handed. Just enough complexity to make for an engaging companion over an evening. Perfectly pleasant, but nothing special.

9/17/2013 - Dr AJ Does not like this wine:

Syrupy, dense, over-sweet, over-extracted, with heavy dark fruits on the palate and lots of clumsy, obtrusive wood. I only drank half a glass of this wine; it simply wasn't much fun. Also it didn't taste much of pinot noir. I am certainly no expert, so I suggest this tentatively, but might some syrah or merlot have been added? Avoid.

9/3/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Very fine, poised, elegant Aussie Chardonnay. Lemon and nectarine, with floral and mineral notes. Taut and linear in style, but rounded out with a gentle buttery character and a hint of warm bread. Another top-notch Kooyong wine.

9/15/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

On the nose, gunflint, petrol, lemon, blossom, minerality. On the palate, citrus, a hint of tropical fruits, glycerin texture, nice sourness. Bracing, lively, long, delicious.

9/9/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Delicious wine. Heady, intoxicating sweet pinot aroma. On the palate, vibrant, energetic, but also elegant and delicate: fragrant red fruits, woody herbs, and the full spectrum of savoury notes - mushroom, soy, a streak of satisfying salinity. All the Kooyong pinot noirs are top-notch.

9/10/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Dense, rich, powerful Barossa shiraz. Concentrated and quite sweet, but also lifted and fresh. Chocolate, mint, blackberry, pepper, cassis, vanilla. Well-made, well-balanced, very satisfying, but the finish is a little short.

9/14/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Consumed over three nights. Equally pleasurable, but also interestingly distinctive, on each occasion. New world meets Burgundian in style: medium-bodied, silky and round and fruity, but with grip too, as well as savoury complexity and good, bracing acidity . On day one, sappy, leafy and racy, with cranberry, rhubarb and fresh herbs to the fore, complemented by mellow mature notes and smoky oak. On day two, more depth, with red cherry, exotic spice, dried thyme coming through. By the third night, ripe strawberry was the dominant flavour characteristic, somewhat surprisingly perhaps, along with darker plum fruit, and underpinned by leather and forest floor. Kumeu make top-quality wines: precise, pure, expressive, with admirable clarity of expression.

9/1/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Delightful wine: light, leafy, poised, and now fully mature, but not fading at all - still vibrant, with bright red fruits on the nose and palate, plus mushroom, mulch and aniseed notes, all lifted by bracing acidity. Quite an achievement for the vintage.

8/26/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Delicious mature understated Californian pinot. Limpid, precise and pure, with good balance of fruit, structure and acidity. Has aged wonderfully well, with lovely savoury, smoky notes. At its peak now. Drunk over two nights and was as good on night two as on night one.

8/24/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Another great Cathiard bottling. Very skilful wine-making. Powerful, spicy, persistent, deeply satisfying. Still quite tannic, and with a fair amount of creamy oak, but that will recede in time. Wait five years to enjoy at its best.

7/22/2013 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Delicious, fruity, vibrant yet delicate, youthful, lovely modest - and affordable - red Burgundy.

11/2/2012 - Dr AJ wrote:

Strawberry, black pepper, mushroom, plus tomato leaf and herbaceous notes. Nice high acidity. Not enough fruit or complexity on the palate.

11/1/2012 - Dr AJ Likes this wine:

Wow. Powerful, vigorous, grippy but smooth tannins, long finish. Fully mature and very impressive. So much going on: vanilla sweetness, fresh tart blackberries, dark stewed fruits, meat, lots of tar and licorice. A bit oaky, and lacking in the subtler Barolo floral and lifted fruits notes, but undeniably a great wine.