5/7/2024 - GD77 Likes this wine:

I am not sure if it was a bit more age or perhaps the setting or this particular bottle but the last of these in my cellar was by far the best. Ripe concentrated fruit as mentioned before but now it sits perfectly with the oak and acid which has integrated well. It is a very big wine that has finally become what, I expect, the maker intended (J. Maltus).

5/2/2024 - GD77 wrote:

Good Cabernet, definitely on the bigger side. It still feels unresolved but drinking well nonetheless. The oak is prominent and fruit dense.. I will keep my final bottle for another 5 at least.

4/18/2024 - GD77 Does not like this wine:

Opened well, perfect cork. Very fresh and heady. It is a really big Shiraz and very coonawarra. Lots of high quality fruit, good oak treatment and a bucket load of acid. Ripe fruit but picked perfectly. It only took about 3/4 of a glass before the acid started ripping my mouth to pieces. I wanted to drink more but could not. I really wonder why these people make their wines for 20 years down the track, or whatever it is. This would be great as a single bottle with a rich meat dish or big steak but on its own, it burns.

3/28/2024 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Rather spectacular really. I was not expecting it to be as good as it was. Acid has completely settled and the fruit has softened with the Merlot really adding to the blend. It will be good for a while still but this was my last bottle. Equal to anything 3 times the price since it was bought on special for around $15.

3/16/2024 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Nice Chardonnay. Will improve just a touch with another year or so, but it is good. Powerful but handled pretty well.

3/6/2024 - GD77 wrote:

Started well but the greener cool climate came through in spades later on.

2/2/2024 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Perfect. Great bottle. Age is spot on for me, best Ata Rangi I have had.

1/24/2024 - GD77 Likes this wine:

A great Black Label, drinking well young. Give it a bit of air.

12/17/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

A bit tight at the moment, needed a lot of air to show, but it did by the end. Tannins provide interest here, very fine for a barolo so overall it did appear a bit lightweight but also very easy to drink.

12/17/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Screwcap, opened and left for about 4 hours to air. This wine grew in it's charm over a couple of drinking hours and showed very well against some other very good wines. Very clean and moreish, certainly not as fine boned or regional as other hunter producers tend to be but it made up for it in terms if pure enjoyment. Some very subtle and surprising complexity emerged in this. Shame I have no more. Perfect age now.

12/10/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Yellowing with age but no real noticeable change on pallete. Powerful wine, but just holds off from being too much. Citrus dominating with some almond and maybe tiny bit of stone fruit. It is descent.

11/19/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Lovely chardonnay

11/8/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Second bottle. Very nice, will drink these early.

11/7/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Drinkable but not too exciting here. I did think this may be a bit old but not the case, it presented fine and perhaps even better than my last bottle which was a year or so back. Easy drinking, slightly boring Pinot Noir that does have some hallmarks of the better Ata Rangi. Last bottle.

8/30/2023 - GD77 wrote:

Evolving into a very nice cab sav. It is now a balanced, easily discerned varietal that is not too serious but great drinking with a bit of age. It is in its drinking zone and I think it may still improve over the next couple of years.

7/27/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Very nice, a little bight in the front that leads into lemon curd sweet lime and some unripe nectarine and finishes with cashew. Acid still a touch hard. Nose of rock melon. It's good but a bit jarring. Maybe more time but the acid is dominating.

7/21/2023 - GD77 wrote:

Same again. Frozen in time. Leave rest for as long as possible.

5/20/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Fully resolved, sweet fruit remaining with a fine tannin line. Acid holding it really well. Great with steak, which countered the berry sweetness. Cassis, a toach of tobacco. Long finish. Altogether a very nicely aged cab sav.

4/25/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

This has improved dramatically in the 375ml bottle and should get better with more time. Still a bit syrupy but has come together well and is much better drinking than my notes indicate from 4 years ago.

4/25/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

For me this needs a lot more time to be in the zone that I like to drink cabernet but is certainly approachable and very good drinking now if you like youthful cabs.

4/6/2023 - GD77 Does not like this wine:

Well meaning but ultimately bitter and annoying after one glass.

4/2/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Easy drinking with some olive and licorice for interest. A couple more years still will add to it.

4/2/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Nice wine, another couple of years would help.

2/25/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Lovely really after another Neb, this shone in weight and interest. Yummo.more.

2/25/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

About as good as Hunter Shiraz gets, at least for me. Long life ahead but the balance part seems to be in order now. Great on release, then in a real flat spot. Now it has come good but still youthful and acid driven.

2/22/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Nice wine, less blue fruits again this vintage but the rest is very much in the same style as recent 'little wines'. Alcohol warmth noticeable, not overly salty. Should settle a bit.

1/26/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

On the way down now but still good. Riper flavours coming in, a bit of oxidisation. Drink up.

1/23/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Cheap and cheerful. Easy to drink, touch of age complexity.

1/17/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

One of the best examples of McLaren Vale shiraz I have had. In perfect form with time on it's side also. Clean, long and very generous without being too ripe. The 2010 vintage of this wine is rather spectacular, at least at this point in time.

1/17/2023 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Still primary but has settled into itself. Would like to see with some age.

12/18/2022 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Solid showing, regional and very good juice. Needs some time to shine. Should be great in 5.

11/16/2022 - GD77 Likes this wine:

This has progressed and improved although I think this is about as good as it gets right now. Deli meats in this galore, along with the normal cool climate peppery feel behind the ripe fruit. Very complex, to be honest. Age is now noticeable and it probably has started on a bit of a downhill slope. One left.

11/12/2022 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Good

10/30/2022 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Basic but inoffensive Bordeaux, probably slightly older than peak but it is easy to drink and holding well even if the fruit flavour has only minimal depth. Well made for medium term drinking, cork was pristine and certainly better quality bark than you would ever find in Australia. Savoury and leaves you wanting more, but more in terms of what it almost is.

10/23/2022 - GD77 Likes this wine:

WOTN against a random list of very good wines, served blind. Still quite primary but well integrated. Better than anticipated for sure and overall a great example of the Barossa producing cabernet.

10/6/2022 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Great VFM Pinot Noir here. Savoury, great mouthfeel and will improve still. Balance and depth with just enough structure to pull it off. Duck pancakes.

9/9/2022 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Very nice ripe version

9/5/2022 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Looking at my last note on this, it was pretty spot on. It is fading now but still a lovely blend. Lots of tannin with the cabernet showing secondary notes but slightly dimmed, or washed out. I got stuck into it about an hour after opening but did not really improve after that, just held. Drink up.

8/21/2022 - GD77 wrote:

Needs a long time still. Very oak dominant

8/14/2022 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Fantastic. Decanted the sediment, let it sit for about 30 mins. Drank with med rare beef. Did not seem like it would last much longer but for the first 5 years of storage it was in a pretty warm cellar.

7/3/2022 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Just wonderful.

6/25/2022 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Nice Hunter Shiraz that needs a good decant. Lemomy acid holding it tight but still very pleasant drinking. Slight progression of fruit losing the blue notes. Will keep the last for a long as possible just as a curio.

6/18/2022 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Really good. Settled now and ageing well, should be best in a year or so.

6/18/2022 - GD77 wrote:

Last one. Fantastic really. Sweetness has faded and it can hold its own against some solid competition. Deer Farm was better but not by much.

6/17/2022 - GD77 Does not like this wine:

Salty, ripe and no fun to drink. Bitter finish, boozy mid palate. Pass. or past it's prime at least.

6/5/2022 - GD77 wrote:

Drank two half bottles combined into 1 and one must have been faulty. Shame, I suspect if not combined one would have been fine and it is such a lovely wine. Corks seemed OK, may have been some low level TCA but no oxidisation.

6/5/2022 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Very good this time around. 2 hour decant, could use more. Drink next one in a couple if years.

5/15/2022 - GD77 wrote:

The oak has settled a bit but the wine is pretty generic in terms of ripe, heavy Barossa booze. Lots of wine making to get it to present this way. Some like it. This is the last vintage in my cellar and at $25 is a good backup for visitors.

5/12/2022 - GD77 Likes this wine:

Nice wine and about time to drink. I.doubt it will improve much from here. The wine speaks more of the place than the variety I think. Good with food.

4/29/2022 - GD77 Likes this wine:

In its drinking window. Good tannin, a bit salty. Rich dense fruit. Solid Barossa wine from a good vintage.