Auswine Westie Offline

In a rear-guard action against the tendency of Sydney offlines to be Eastern suburbs or Inner-city based, Muscat Mike organised the inaugural Sydney Westie Offline, held in Pendle Hill last night. How reassuring it is to know even though you move away from the trendy dining spots of the city, you don’t have to forsake that deafeningly loud restaurant atmosphere! I don’t think there’s a restaurant in Sydney (Tetsuya’s excepted?) where the noise level stays below 95dB. That sure makes it a challenge to converse, particularly when there are so many new faces, as there were her. In attendance were Mike himself, MichaelW, the mysterious Melissa, Andrew “Gulpur” and Gillian, MarkP & Rebecca, plus your scribe and Judith.

• 1998 Mount Pleasant Wines Sémillon Elizabeth

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Distinctly toasty & quite honeyed on the nose. And although there was a shot of green in the colour, it was predominantly yellow rather then straw. I tasted some of this wine 6 weeks ago, and my impressions are the same. It seems quite soft in acid and rather more developed than is usual for Elizabeth at this age. It’s quite rich on the palate, although bone dry, but I’m not sure this will be a particularly long-lived wine. It seems way more developed than the 96 which I had a couple of months ago. The mysteries of semillon…

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• 1991 Buller Shiraz Calliope

  Australia, Victoria, North East, Rutherglen

  Brick-orange colour, almost with a hint of tawny. This presents as very old for its age – a bit of bottle pong, some rotting vegetable aromas, and a strong suggestion of varnish or furniture polish. It’s very acidic on the palate and rather short. Possibly faulty – Mike reckons 2 bottles tasted recently have been very different animals. On this occasion, must go down as disappointing.

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• 1991 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet

  Australia, South Australia

  Labelled 'Claret' and described as being from ‘South-East Australia’ and made from ‘premium grape varieties’ – this is a far cry from the varietally-identified later vintages. Smells quite forward, yet very soft & fruity after the Bullers. It’s quite spicy & even a bit leathery. I suspect there’s a fair whack of shiraz here. The palate is very front-oriented, the tannins have integrated fully (faded away even?), and the wine is very soft, but not flabby on the palate. There’s still some fruit sweetness carrying it. It’s not a particularly long finish either, but or an entry-level wine at 11 year of age its showing OK. Not falling apart by any means, but ready to drink up, it’s not going anywhere.

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• 1991 Hollick Cabernet Merlot

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

  [cab franc here as well] Mid-brick red. I thought the nose on this was oaky, until I sniffed the following two wines! In fact, the strong vanillan nose settles down considerably on the palate to present a cedary kind of flavour which is not overbearing. This wine presents a classic case for blending – it’s very smooth & seamless – no mid-palate hole, or strong emphasis on front or back palate. The acid & tannin are actually very nicely balanced – structurally it’s pretty good. The only real criticism I would make is that the fruit has gently faded, without the wine gaining much in complexity. Despite the fruit reticence, it would never be mistaken for a Bordeaux – even at this age it’s got a cleanness about it. Very acceptable wine indeed.

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• 1994 Orlando Cabernet Sauvignon Jacaranda Ridge

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

  This is a deep red – pretty much the darkest wine of the night. This time the strong coconut oak is at least battling with some black berry fruits. Oddly, I found this very restrained on the back palate too – I was surprised that a wine of this age and apparent oakiness seemed very much a front palate wine in the mouth. There’s a whiff of eucalypt as well, and it’s not a monster wine by any means, thus it’s a genuine expression of Coonawarra. Very attractive.

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• 1991 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Shiraz Michael Hermitage

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

  And more Coonawarra – and another 1991! This is still a deep red, and has very dry woody aromas indeed. There’s some mocha, coffee, hints as well, but lots of vanilla. On the palate, I find it a bit disjointed and short. Oak predominates, and I don’t think the wine is ever going to achieve a harmonious whole. Not dissimilar to the last 91 Michael I had back in November – and this was my last bottle. For the money, the finish is just too short! All in all, a nice $30 wine!

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