Cellared since release 20 years ago. Has a T-cork which appears completely intact. Dark brown color. Technically flawed as there is a good dose of TCA here but beyond that I find the wine very unappealing. Sweet, medicinal, inadequate acidity, like cough syrup in taste and texture. The last bottle 10 years ago was better, and not just because of the TCA.
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Cork broke off when removing the screw-cork stopper. This is a very strange wine indeed - more in the line of a port. Color is dark soy sauce brown. The texture is extremely viscous. Quite a bit of alcohol and fruit cake on the nose. On the palate, burnt toffee and raisins, spice cake - lots of heat from the alcohol - a bit unbalanced and not altogether pleasant. No takers for a second pour - the rest went down the drain. Perhaps we should have held it over and seen if it improved on days 2/3.
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Desmond's Birthday Dinner (St Pierre, Singapore): Tasting this back-to-back with a De Bortoli Noble One really showed how good the Aussies are at making these Rutherglen style stickies - this was just that much more interesting, complex and, most of all, balanced. It had that uniquely dark and spicy Christmas cake nose, with black fruits, raisins and dried figs drizzled with molasses and littered with some dried rose petals and a deeper, meatier note. A smidgen of alcohol at the edges aside, it was an alluring bouquet. The palate was every bit as rich, or even richer than the other sweet wines on the table. In fact, it was positively viscous with unctuous flavours of dried figs and raisins wed to chocolate and spice as the wine moved through a moreish midpalate and into a long, mouthfilling finish. However, for all that monoltihic depth, the wine was actually very drinkable, blessed as it was with a nice fresh acidity that somehow kept it balanced and whole. Delicious stuff, and quite complete. Again, there was a little stain of alcohol right on the edge of the backpalate which distracted somewhat from the overall experience, but that aside, I enjoyed this quite a bit.
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House-Cooling Party at Brian's (Moonbeam View): This is one of those crazy Aussie stickies that are just so hard to rate. Really delicious stuff, but they are just so outside the normal frame of references that it is hard to assess them qualitatively. A rich motor oil brown in colour, it had a lovely nose, full of thickly swirling aromas of figs and raisins, coffee and dark chocolate, and a little bit dried herb in there as well. Lots going on there. Same thing could be said of the beautiful palate too. Rich, viscous, this layered the mouth with melting notes of warm caramel, honeyed figs, poached pears, raisins and chocolate, all perfectly integrated into a beautiful whole. Perhaps lacking a little in complexity, with a rather one-noted sweetness. But while it was certainly deep and weighty, it was held in such good balance that it was never cloying or even sticky, with each sip actually called out for another all the way into a long, creamily textured finished seasoned with warm spice notes. A lovely wine, and a great way to end the night. This was sweet wine and dessert all to itself.
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Alcohol :: 18% Opened for a week. By far the most unique bottle as this didn't really display the strong, pungent toffee and spicy notes that exist in the previous bottles, instead, strong note of raisin, mushroom, sea shell, haw flakes and prunes on both nose and palate. I was thinking probably the flavors changed after 1week but my friend said this was the flavors from the 1st day and never change. This has the power and intensity from Rutherglen fortified but it remain well balance and has this underlying sense of elegance and lightness. Viscous entry and mouth filling with medium length, light finish, clean. A steal for the price.
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2011 Casual Session - 7, When casual gone insane (Extra Space Boon Keng): Alcohol :: 18% 375m. Pop and Pour. This bottle display much softer, and approachable in both nose and palate, lack a bit of power but offer better sense of balance and elegance, don't get me wrong, this is still possess good power but not a brutal instead of a well-control one. Toffee and caramelize red and yellow fruits dominated the aromas and flavors profile, with spiciness that enhanced it. Low acidity and sweet, but not heavy nor cloying, opulent and lush. The finish is somewhat short which leads me to bottle variation? Buy - Maybe.
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2010 Simple Dinner Series No.9 – Rhone God’s Birthday (Jade Palce @ The Forum Shopping Mall): Alcohol :: 18 Very dark brown, engine oil color. Layer and layer of caramel and toffee notes dominant the aromatic and flavor profile with rich, assorted honey fruits laced over on the sweet Xmas cake. Bold, broad and good power, rich and concentrated with punch on the palate but the balance is so well that buffer off the heaviness and flow on to the clean finish with caramel candy with harmony. Very good effort but this lack a bit of acidity to have additional vibrancy and finesse. This bottle is not as complex and depth as my 1st bottle. Buy - No
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Andrew's Birthday (Jade Palace, Forum): Almost black and reminiscent of motor oil from its viscosity. The high alcohol did show through as I can only take minute sips at a time (which is how it should be drunk anyway). Coffee is the prominent flavor I got out of it. Killer >1min finish for sure. A tad one-dimensional though.
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Simple Series VI: Grosses Gewach Dinner (Peach Garden, OCBC Building): This had been opened for almost a week, and it was still incredibly good when I got to it. Lovely nose, with deep whiffs of toffee and caramel, accompanied by mahogany and rosewood scents, preserved fig skins, orange peel and a savoury, earthy undercurrant. Very lovely. Palate was so very rich, almost oily, syrupy in its texture. It showed rich dark chocolate, spice, Christmas pudding and dried-fig tones. Yummy. Just lacked that little fresh acid-kick that would have propelled it to greatness, but this was never too cloying or sticky. Finish had great persistent and length as well, with raisins, dried figs and spice notes just clinging to the back-palate for ages. Not to everyone's taste maybe, but it was a truly memorable wine.
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2010 Simple Wine Dinner Series No.6 - SBSS "Dry" Dinner (Peach Garden @ OCBC Building): Alcohol :: 18% Deep dark toffee color. The nose is deep and focus, dominant by toffee, with caramelize dark fruits, pungent spices and hint of alcohol notes. Very thick, viscous but remain silky smooth with deep flavor of again, toffee, dark fruits, spices, herb and this is especially powerful, though sweet and not enough acidity, but this is so concentrated and balance that you wont feel cloying of it. Powerful attack then round off with soft persistent long finish. Still drinking good even after open for 7days. A wine that should drink by a small sip each day and this has no problem to last in the fridge for two weeks. Surely a rebuy with its price.
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Dark brown color. Raisins/figs/prunes on the nose, carries through to the palate with some maple-y notes and moderate sweetness well-balanced with acidity. Medium-full body, somewhat viscous, fruit has faded a bit, medium finish. Very good to excellent, most controversial wine of the evening.
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Arguably past its prime. Mostly hot, without the sweet, caramel that I remember from a few years ago. This bottle is probably at least 5 years old, but I would have thought it would last much longer. (Enjoyment Points: 84)
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Maple sugar, raisins. Verges on cloyingly sweet but just manages to avoid it, when taken in small quantities. Too sweet though for most occasions, interesting, nice finish, fine quality, but at this price? I can see where someone with a taste for this kind of dessert wine would find it exceptional, but not for me (I was always tempted to just pour it on some ice-cream as a topping .. seems ideal for that). 4+11+15+9
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5/28/2019 - dbg wrote:
Cellared since release 20 years ago. Has a T-cork which appears completely intact. Dark brown color. Technically flawed as there is a good dose of TCA here but beyond that I find the wine very unappealing. Sweet, medicinal, inadequate acidity, like cough syrup in taste and texture. The last bottle 10 years ago was better, and not just because of the TCA.
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11/2/2018 - retired_and_roving wrote: 84 Points
Cork broke off when removing the screw-cork stopper. This is a very strange wine indeed - more in the line of a port. Color is dark soy sauce brown. The texture is extremely viscous. Quite a bit of alcohol and fruit cake on the nose. On the palate, burnt toffee and raisins, spice cake - lots of heat from the alcohol - a bit unbalanced and not altogether pleasant. No takers for a second pour - the rest went down the drain. Perhaps we should have held it over and seen if it improved on days 2/3.
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8/1/2015 - chatters wrote:
Canberra, Beechworth & Rutherglen wine tour day two (Beechworth and Rutherglen): toffee, slight dusty and off - dirty glass? Drying tannin, more liquid toffee over fruit concentrate.
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1/20/2014 - graemeg wrote:
Rutherglen - Chambers & Campbells: {375ml, screwcap, 18%, A$100} Molasses, burnt sugar, apricot/marmalade. Sweet, smooth and almost unworldly. Medium weight, persistent. All length & depth.
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1/29/2013 - Paul S wrote: 93 Points
Desmond's Birthday Dinner (St Pierre, Singapore): Tasting this back-to-back with a De Bortoli Noble One really showed how good the Aussies are at making these Rutherglen style stickies - this was just that much more interesting, complex and, most of all, balanced. It had that uniquely dark and spicy Christmas cake nose, with black fruits, raisins and dried figs drizzled with molasses and littered with some dried rose petals and a deeper, meatier note. A smidgen of alcohol at the edges aside, it was an alluring bouquet. The palate was every bit as rich, or even richer than the other sweet wines on the table. In fact, it was positively viscous with unctuous flavours of dried figs and raisins wed to chocolate and spice as the wine moved through a moreish midpalate and into a long, mouthfilling finish. However, for all that monoltihic depth, the wine was actually very drinkable, blessed as it was with a nice fresh acidity that somehow kept it balanced and whole. Delicious stuff, and quite complete. Again, there was a little stain of alcohol right on the edge of the backpalate which distracted somewhat from the overall experience, but that aside, I enjoyed this quite a bit.
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6/23/2012 - Paul S wrote: 93 Points
House-Cooling Party at Brian's (Moonbeam View): This is one of those crazy Aussie stickies that are just so hard to rate. Really delicious stuff, but they are just so outside the normal frame of references that it is hard to assess them qualitatively. A rich motor oil brown in colour, it had a lovely nose, full of thickly swirling aromas of figs and raisins, coffee and dark chocolate, and a little bit dried herb in there as well. Lots going on there. Same thing could be said of the beautiful palate too. Rich, viscous, this layered the mouth with melting notes of warm caramel, honeyed figs, poached pears, raisins and chocolate, all perfectly integrated into a beautiful whole. Perhaps lacking a little in complexity, with a rather one-noted sweetness. But while it was certainly deep and weighty, it was held in such good balance that it was never cloying or even sticky, with each sip actually called out for another all the way into a long, creamily textured finished seasoned with warm spice notes. A lovely wine, and a great way to end the night. This was sweet wine and dessert all to itself.
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8/23/2011 - Sleepy Dave wrote: 88 Points
Alcohol :: 18%
Opened for a week. By far the most unique bottle as this didn't really display the strong, pungent toffee and spicy notes that exist in the previous bottles, instead, strong note of raisin, mushroom, sea shell, haw flakes and prunes on both nose and palate. I was thinking probably the flavors changed after 1week but my friend said this was the flavors from the 1st day and never change. This has the power and intensity from Rutherglen fortified but it remain well balance and has this underlying sense of elegance and lightness. Viscous entry and mouth filling with medium length, light finish, clean. A steal for the price.
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6/2/2011 - Sleepy Dave wrote:
2011 Casual Session - 7, When casual gone insane (Extra Space Boon Keng): Alcohol :: 18%
375m. Pop and Pour. This bottle display much softer, and approachable in both nose and palate, lack a bit of power but offer better sense of balance and elegance, don't get me wrong, this is still possess good power but not a brutal instead of a well-control one. Toffee and caramelize red and yellow fruits dominated the aromas and flavors profile, with spiciness that enhanced it. Low acidity and sweet, but not heavy nor cloying, opulent and lush. The finish is somewhat short which leads me to bottle variation? Buy - Maybe.
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12/16/2010 - Sleepy Dave wrote:
2010 Simple Dinner Series No.9 – Rhone God’s Birthday (Jade Palce @ The Forum Shopping Mall): Alcohol :: 18
Very dark brown, engine oil color. Layer and layer of caramel and toffee notes dominant the aromatic and flavor profile with rich, assorted honey fruits laced over on the sweet Xmas cake. Bold, broad and good power, rich and concentrated with punch on the palate but the balance is so well that buffer off the heaviness and flow on to the clean finish with caramel candy with harmony. Very good effort but this lack a bit of acidity to have additional vibrancy and finesse. This bottle is not as complex and depth as my 1st bottle. Buy - No
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12/16/2010 - Dbrane wrote: 85 Points
Andrew's Birthday (Jade Palace, Forum): Almost black and reminiscent of motor oil from its viscosity. The high alcohol did show through as I can only take minute sips at a time (which is how it should be drunk anyway). Coffee is the prominent flavor I got out of it. Killer >1min finish for sure. A tad one-dimensional though.
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7/16/2010 - Paul S wrote: 94 Points
Simple Series VI: Grosses Gewach Dinner (Peach Garden, OCBC Building): This had been opened for almost a week, and it was still incredibly good when I got to it. Lovely nose, with deep whiffs of toffee and caramel, accompanied by mahogany and rosewood scents, preserved fig skins, orange peel and a savoury, earthy undercurrant. Very lovely. Palate was so very rich, almost oily, syrupy in its texture. It showed rich dark chocolate, spice, Christmas pudding and dried-fig tones. Yummy. Just lacked that little fresh acid-kick that would have propelled it to greatness, but this was never too cloying or sticky. Finish had great persistent and length as well, with raisins, dried figs and spice notes just clinging to the back-palate for ages. Not to everyone's taste maybe, but it was a truly memorable wine.
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7/16/2010 - Sleepy Dave wrote:
2010 Simple Wine Dinner Series No.6 - SBSS "Dry" Dinner (Peach Garden @ OCBC Building): Alcohol :: 18%
Deep dark toffee color. The nose is deep and focus, dominant by toffee, with caramelize dark fruits, pungent spices and hint of alcohol notes. Very thick, viscous but remain silky smooth with deep flavor of again, toffee, dark fruits, spices, herb and this is especially powerful, though sweet and not enough acidity, but this is so concentrated and balance that you wont feel cloying of it. Powerful attack then round off with soft persistent long finish. Still drinking good even after open for 7days. A wine that should drink by a small sip each day and this has no problem to last in the fridge for two weeks. Surely a rebuy with its price.
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4/23/2010 - dbg wrote:
Dark brown color. Raisins/figs/prunes on the nose, carries through to the palate with some maple-y notes and moderate sweetness well-balanced with acidity. Medium-full body, somewhat viscous, fruit has faded a bit, medium finish. Very good to excellent, most controversial wine of the evening.
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8/29/2009 - MarkC wrote: 89 Points
Arguably past its prime. Mostly hot, without the sweet, caramel that I remember from a few years ago. This bottle is probably at least 5 years old, but I would have thought it would last much longer. (Enjoyment Points: 84)
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11/23/2006 - dbg wrote:
outstanding
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10/29/2006 - ths wrote: 89 Points
Maple sugar, raisins. Verges on cloyingly sweet but just manages to avoid it, when taken in small quantities. Too sweet though for most occasions, interesting, nice finish, fine quality, but at this price? I can see where someone with a taste for this kind of dessert wine would find it exceptional, but not for me (I was always tempted to just pour it on some ice-cream as a topping .. seems ideal for that). 4+11+15+9
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10/18/2002 - buckeye76 wrote: 95 Points
RICH SYRUPY FRUIT WHICH JUST COATS THE MOUTH. LONG, LONG FINISH.
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8/1/2000 - winefool wrote:
Rich opaque brown wine/liquor. Prune and maple syrup on the palette. Halfway b/t a port and a sweet white dessert wine. 8/00
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