NobleRottersSydney - Christmas Lunch 2006

David's place
Tasted Wednesday, December 6, 2006 by graemeg with 505 views

Introduction

No notes of the NV bubblies at the start - sorry!

Flight 1 (23 Notes)

  • 1997 Knappstein Riesling

    Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley

    Surviving the years better than most Clare rieslings wines of this vintage! Gold in colour, plenty of petrol, but a little acidity still left to keep the show alive. Medium weight, interesting enough, but drink up fast.

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  • 2002 Cullen Wines Sauvignon Blanc Sémillon Cullen Vineyard

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    {14%, cork} Lemon gold. Overpowering nose of asparagus. Wow! The Sauvignon aromas clearly overpowers the Semillon, which perhaps makes its contribution on the palate, giving at least some residual acidity. The flavours are not so extreme as the nose indicates – some lemon-like notes underneath temper the canned-pea quality. Benefits from the weight of the alcohol. Probably better as a younger wine, ‘cause the aged style is a love-it-or-hate-it proposition.

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  • 2004 Hardys Chardonnay Eileen Hardy

    Australia, South Australia

    {screwcap} Light lemon-green, this widely-sourced wine has a stylish nose of grapefruit, melon, nuts and fine French oak. The palate is long and lean, with subtle acid cut, pure cool-climate flavours which avoid simple fruitiness but without ever tipping into unripeness. With a long cool finish, this is classy stuff.

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  • 1998 Petaluma Chardonnay

    Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Piccadilly Valley

    Deep gold. A tired, semi-oxidized nose. Flat fruit, little interesting secondary development, just a bottle of old chardonnay that should have been drunk five years ago. Another confirmation that Petaluma whites need drinking within 3 years of vintage, as a rule.

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  • 1996 Brindabella Hills Chardonnay

    Australia, New South Wales, Southern New South Wales, Canberra District

    Marked 'Reserve'. Mid gold colour. Hazelnut nose, aged & developed, with a hint of oxidation. The palate is pretty fat and blowsy, with soft acid. Still some length to the finish. Not over-oaked, in defiance of the fashion of the era. An interesting old cool-climate chardy which is coming to the end of the road. A superior effort to the better-known [1998] Petaluma.

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  • 2004 Santa Carolina Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva

    Chile, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley

    Fresh clean red fruit flavours. Furry tannins, moderate/light weight palate. OK wine.

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  • 2005 Santa Carolina Syrah Reserva

    Chile, Central Valley

    Soft pepper & spice nose. A clean, modern, new world easy drinker.

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  • 2004 Santa Carolina Merlot Reserva

    Chile, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley

    Another clean modern red. Maybe a little coconut hints at the merlot variety, but it’s not hugely characterful. Generally soft tannins, a balance towards the front palate and a shortish finish.

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  • 2004 Santa Carolina Cabernet Sauvignon Barrica Selection

    Chile, Maipo Valley

    {14.5%, cork} Good, varietal cabernet nose displaying some herbaceousness. There are distant tannins on the mainly fruit-driven palate. A hint of alcoholic warmth, some weight towards the front palate, and a medium length finish. Not too bad – a little time will benefit it.

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  • 2004 Santa Carolina Petit Verdot Barrica Selection

    Chile, Rapel Valley

    Glowing crimson in colour, with a restrained violet nose overlaid with plummy tones and a palate of swingeing tannins and distant acid, this interesting example of an unusual stand-alone grape has moderate weight and a shortish finish. Some interest, though.

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  • 2004 Santa Carolina Carménère Barrica Selection

    Chile, Rapel Valley

    {14.5%, cork} Mid ruby in colour. Violets, blackberries and plums on the nose following onto a palate which adds a smoky dimension. Ripe fruit gives mid-palate weight, a thick texture, good moderate intensity of flavour and a medium length finish. An interesting wine.

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  • 2004 Peregrine Pinot Noir Mohau

    New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago

    {14.5%, screwcap} Lifted cherry nose – very new world pinot. The palate is clean and attractive, persistent, medium weight – probably helped along by the high alcohol – with fuzzy tannins. A good wine which a few years will help, although I’ve got a philosophical problem with any pinot that weighs 14.5%...

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  • 2001 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir Crimson

    New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough

    {13.5% screwcap} An early drinker from a highly respected Kiwi name – a ‘village’ wine. A clean modern nose, with strawberry aromas dominating a lightly herbal note. The palate is clean and chewy, with a moderate length light/medium weight finish. Attractive.

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  • 2004 Craggy Range Pinot Noir Single Vineyard Te Muna Road Vineyard

    New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough

    "Totara Block" - {14%, cork} Intriguing garnet/mahogany colour. Earthy but complex fungal/farmyard nose, but not faulty in any way. Positively burgundian, in fact. A sophisticated palate of spicy pinot fruit, terrific balance, persistent acid, long dry finish. Very classy wine. Great stuff.

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  • 2000 Te Mata Estate Coleraine

    New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay

    {13%, cork} Solid garnet. Developed leathery aromas promise much. The palate is surprisingly peppery for me, the weight of the wine falls on the front palate. Powdery tannins remain. Some stalkiness to the fruit on the palate, but lacks depth overall. Mid weight – an OK wine, but I wanted to like this more.

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  • 2001 Taylors Cabernet Sauvignon St Andrews

    Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley

    Ruby red, strong medium intensity nose of ripe blackcurrants. Super fruity! Pleanty of ripe chalky tannins on the palate. Weight and depth to the fruit, with good balance along the palate. Not very exciting yet – needs to develop some interesting secondary notes to add that extra dimension. Looks good for the future.

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  • 2004 Majella Cabernet Sauvignon

    Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

    {14.5%, screwcap, A$28} An impenetrable black/ruby colour. Rich cabernet fruit – oak is well submerged these days. Clean and very new-world; tannic, full in weight, rich with a reasonably long finish. Absurdly young – 10 years should do wonders.

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  • 2004 Torbreck Shiraz The Struie

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa

    [ {14.5%, cork, A$50} Another young ruby-coloured wine, the aromas here are softly earthy & sweet, with a faintly bretty note. (A Hunter wannabe?) Smells quite developed. An interesting Rhone-like palate, still rich in fruit, but with savoury touches. Dusty medium weight tannins precede a medium dry finish. Good wine, but pricey…

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  • 2004 Grove Estate Shiraz The Cellar Block Shiraz

    Australia, New South Wales, Southern New South Wales, Hilltops

    A new name to me, this one. Ruby-coloured, there’s a cool-climate nose of restrained prune & pepper aromas, followed by a ripe tannic palate of rich fruit, almost sweet tannins with a middle/back palate finish. Pretty good wine.

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  • 2004 Seppelt Shiraz St Peters

    Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Grampians

    {13.5%, screwcap, A$50} Red/purple, a younthful but restrained nose of brooding cool-climate fruit – some pepper, currant and blueberry, but not especially exuberant by Australian standards. A rich, full-bodied palate follows; ripe young mouthfilling shiraz fruit, melting persistent tannins, super balance right along the palate and terrific length. Deserves all the plaudits. Needs lots of time, though – there’s so much left to come here. Great stuff – wine of the day for me.

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  • 2004 Tyrrell's Shiraz DB 24

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    {14.5%, screwcap, $60} Two lots of new oak for 24 months – that’s what DB24 means. If Murray Tyrrell was alive today he’d be turning over in his grave! Oddly, perhaps, I don’t find the nose especially oaky; rather lots of peppery notes seem to dominate. On the other hand, it’s nearing the end of a long lunch… The palate is very dense, rich, thick and chewable. Full bodied, with dusty powerful tannins, I find this a bit flabby, for all its weight. The back palate fades away a little, but perhaps that’s only because the front and mid-palate is so heavy. A wine to drink with burnt sausages.

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  • 2004 Fox Creek Shiraz Reserve

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    Purple. Blueberry & fruitcake nose. Classic modern sweet McLaren Vale wine. Big rich & and sweet on the palate; low in acid, voluptuous, luxurious, sybaritic. You know the style. Liquid fruit cake. Not at all hard to drink at this age – I honestly think this style of wine is better consumed young while the vivid fruit remains so distinctive. Not especially warm, which is good – I didn’t check the alcohol.

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  • 2002 Elderton Shiraz Single Vineyard Command

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa

    Purple/ruby colour. Lots of fruit cake & red berries here, although a little more development than Fox. Rich upholstered palate, soft chalky tannins, full body. The vanilla/chocolate effect of the oak is more apparent here, but not overdone. Decent length of finish. Reasonably seductive wine that may improve for a few more years yet.

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