New World Wine Experience 2008

One of a string of region specific tastings by Crystal. Wasn't expecting too much but was glad they served some big labels including an impressionable winery - Digger's Bluff. Pl visit www.wadadvocate.blogspot.com

• 2007 Dog Point Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 84 Points

  New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

  Freshly cut grass on a spring morning. Good clean and fresh fruits of gooseberries and guava. Good acidity balanced off by some sugars. Finishes with grapefruit zing and bitterness. This is like a nice NZ holiday package.

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• 2007 Grosset Riesling Springvale Watervale 82 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Watervale

  Interesting aromas of slate, wet stones and burg like "ass"-iness backed up by a whiff of burnt matchstick smoke. Bright stonefruits well framed by decent acidity and rounded up with bumps on the palate.

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• 2006 Dog Point Vineyard Pinot Noir 81 Points

  New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

  Slightly dirty on the nose accented by sweet strawberry candy and a bouquet of perfumed flowers. Sweet on the palate but not overdone. Some lingering oak. Veru new world.

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• 2006 De Bortoli Pinot Noir 84 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley

  Lovely layered aromas of cherries, burgundian "ass" smelliness, small perfumed flowers and subtle oak. Very burg and chambolle on the nose. Good fresh cherry / strawberry acidity carried by firm structure. If it does smoothen out with time, this could get pretty sexy. Am somewhat impressed.

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• 2004 Irvine Grand Merlot 86 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

  This is only an 04 but it looks aged! Garnet on the rim with copper brown tinge. Very medoc nose of barnyard, capsicum and horse, reminding me of a Cantermerle I tasted. It has a rich core of blackish purple fruits and ripe plums covered in a shell of austerity. Some crayola action as well. Finishes very old worldishly. The transition on the palate is very interesting as it alternates between the old and the new. Its like a transexual but displaying quite good balance and finese.

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• 2003 Altaïr Vineyards & Winery Sideral 79 Points

  Chile, Rapel Valley

  Lifted nose of acetone and paint with a focused beam of gunpowder. There are issues with the alcohol heat. Sweet and overpowering to the point of being overbearing. It seriously needs some balance. Too over the top and killjoy for me. Not my most favourite of style.

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• 2004 Zema Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 82 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

  Lifted nose of minty eucalyptus sweets. I also smell a KOALA BEAR! ...which is cute. Decent currants and dark cherries albeit simple but enjoyable.

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• 2006 Mitolo Cabernet Sauvignon Jester 80 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Sweet blackberry , sweet blueberry pie. A tad bit too sweetish (though not to the point of being artificially sweet) such that it is overpowering all other flavours. Some might like it a lot. A mid-sized fruit bomb.

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• 2004 Pirramimma Cabernet Sauvignon 80 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Dusty chinese medicine shop stocked up with peppermint herbs. This shop has just undergone a fresh re-painting of varnish too. Glycerin-glazed candies dominate. This is thick, sticky and viscous blackberry jam concentrate.

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• 2001 Juniper Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 84 Points

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  Smells like an old bordeaux with earthy and dusty notes with a core of dark cherries and a touch of leather. Very thick, concentrated and suprisingly tannic for an 01. It is still extremely tight-lipped about its age and has enough acidity and structure to be aged for another 5 - 10 years or so. As of now, the palate seems to tend towards its margaret river roots rather than bordeaux but I think this will be an interesting keep.

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• 2001 Diggers Bluff Watchdog 83 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  Leathery and meaty with obvious nail varnish and dried grass nuances. A beam of currant fruit shoots through the palate.This is very balanced and seamless with good acidity. Reservedly sweet but still relatively restraint on style. Not ostentatious but humble yet elegant. Just some heat showing through.

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• 2005 Diggers Bluff Stray Dog 82 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  Smells of dried soil, light meats and burgundian earth tones. Mostly small red berries but it is a bit flat on the back palate. Pretty elegant.

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• 2004 Diggers Bluff Shiraz Top Dog 89 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  Smells of a wooden cabin made of cedar wood decorated with bouquets upon bouquets of violets and other dark purplish flowers. Filling the room is a table laid out beautifully with a big platter of plums, vanilla beans, coconut candy and pandan cake, sitting alongside a big brewing pot of mocha coffee. This is extrememly perfumed and volatile on the palate almost like a red viognier. Partially ripe plums form most of the filling but it is the unique floral perfumery that you can taste which knocks me off my feet a bit. No doubt , this is slighty weird or some might call awkward but it is definitely unusual and interesting like a wine breath mint. All said, this is a very elegant and classy effort. Special.

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• 2005 Pirathon Shiraz by Kalleske 83 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  Spice box, coffee, chocolate, mocha and good black fruit flavours. Quite elegant with good balance and finese. Yum!

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• 2005 Mitolo Shiraz G.A.M. 81 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Not sure if it was just me but I didn't smell much except for light airy turpentine. The palate is thick, concentrated and highly-extracted yet the structure is nicely lean mean and doesn't show alcohol burn at all. This is like a fat girl in a miniskirt wearing a tight top. Too much packed into too small a package. This is a 81 + ??? for me because I just couldn't put my finger on the nose.

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• 2006 Glaetzer Shiraz Amon-Ra Barossa Valley 88 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  Purple black beauty. Classy style with an aristocratic air. Generously diffusing generous scents of plums, spice cake and caramelised dark soy sauce with drops of vanilla. The palate is rather tight though. It was really hard to get past the succulent black fruits but I did get some white pepper and the spicy finish. Definitely a big wine, it still shows restraint. Therefore, unlike some of its barossa cousins, it is big but possesses the royalty of stature to carry through without being in your face. Clean acid structure with firm tannins prove this as a keeper. 88 + ??? for me.

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• 2004 Kay Brothers Shiraz Amery Vineyards 79 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Not getting much. Some coffee , oak and dark fruits. I thought it was quite a diluted effort without much character.

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• 2006 Mitolo Shiraz G.A.M. 83 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Dark blackish purple. Perfumery of dark flavours. The first tasting showed a big blackberry pie wine that was over the top with burning alcohol heat. The high alc took away any fruits. The next day, the wine had much more balance with dark chocolate truffles shining through and finishing on a salty caramel high. There was still detectable acetone but not burning. On the third day, the wine had beautifully evolved into a raisiny mildly syrupy soup of dark prunes and cooked plums with a handful of scorched earth. An interesting sea salty finish too. Intriguing development. 81 to 85 pts.

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