4/1/2015 - Gazonator Likes this wine:

Haven't done a tasting note for a while...it kind of gets a little mundane and self indulgent. But this bare chested pugilist deserves my attention. We were lucky enough to tap this at the cellar door on release...a Hunter Valley weekend escape...and the cellar door experience is awesome if its quiet. I remember at the time been excited by this Cabernet but forgot about it till the other night, waking it up from my cellar with an hour decanting. This is a distinctive Cabernet with a surprising attack of upfront black fruits with the slow down effect through the middle - 'fat' as an adjective not a verb, is the best way to describe it. Bold, fat then sensual to the finish...a surprising wine and it doesn't represent through all vintages so go searching for the 09'...probably hard to find as there is a good reason they only make one red....yum!

8/8/2013 - Gazonator Likes this wine:

Howling Wolves could be the name of some B grade horror movie and if you check out the irreverent website of this Margaret River winery it’s pays homage to the horror genre including wolf scratch marks across the front of the wine label. Thankfully the wines are not little horrors but beautifully crafted drops from the Willyabrup sub-region of the Margaret River. A reason why the region is seen as world famous is because of Cabernet like this. It’s distinctly regional with blackberry, cassis, cedar, a lick of mint and delightfully balanced tannins. Bring out your inner wolf and get stuck into some red meat with this one.

5/11/2013 - Gazonator wrote:

A slight hint of velvet cedar feltched with earth, wind & fire. A closed leather bound book in a tobacco smoke filled library. This was bottle number 14. We are such lucky little bugga's

5/7/2013 - Gazonator Likes this wine:

If you cant afford the Insignia (and who can) then this is the next best thing. A mate and I drank about 7 bottles of this on a recent US vacation. Fantastic heavy-lidded nose with the oak and tobacco, spice sticks and black fruit. We just opened and poured because we are uncouth (and in a hurry) but she was very approachable straight away with a smooth start opening with a burst of fruit and a long finish. We are now desperately trying to work out how to get a case or 2 over to Oz without paying wet tax. tick tick and tick!

3/31/2013 - Gazonator Likes this wine:

'8 is Enough' tried both Meltons Voices of Angels and Grains of Paradise after each being decantered for 2 hours. "Blessed are the Big Noses'. Both were big purple Shiraz with Collosal noses. Voices nutty and spicey and Grains more chocolate and French Oak. On tasting Voices won it by 1 point. Velvet start opening to fully balanced fruit and roasted nuts with nice acid and tannin mix to the edge of the tongue. Smooth and long and slighlty more balanced than the Grains. However grains , with its early upfront fruit attack and definitive Charles Melton characteristics would be the one to Cellar....both beautiful wines that will be replaced in my Cellar

3/31/2013 - Gazonator Likes this wine:

'8 is Enough' tried both Meltons Voices of Angels and Grains of Paradise after each being decantered for 2 hours. "Blessed are the Big Noses'. Both were big purple Shiraz with Collosal noses. Voices nutty and spicey and Grains more chocolate and French Oak. On tasting Voices won it by 1 point. Velvet start opening to fully balanced fruit and roasted nuts with nice acid and tannin mix to the edge of the tongue. Smooth and long and slighlty more balanced than the Grains. However grains , with its early upfront fruit attack and definitive Charles Melton characteristics would be the one to Cellar....both beautiful wines that will be replaced in my Cellar

2/9/2013 - Gazonator Likes this wine:

I think you need to understand where the winemakers head is when you drink this. This is French Bordeaux all the way....in fact the poor old napa have very little of their own identity. Coming from Australia, each of our regions are very clear on what they are good at. So Opus (well the Napa) have decided to copy the french so they better do it well. Opus One charge $50 to taste this wine, and that certainly leaves a bad taste in the mouth. But put it away in your cellar and the pain and vitriol dissappear and then you have friends over and you put it up against some of Australia's best Cab Savs and BANG. Yep they got it right. This thing was truly a delight. All agreed. A cigar soaked berry bomb nose and a fully balanced Loooonnnng finish with perfect acid and tannin, beautiful fruit and smokey Mirkwood flavours......just yummy.
If you are going to plagiarise....well get on with it and do it well. Tick and Tick

We will replace our bottle on our next trip (but wont taste it....ouch)

1/6/2013 - Gazonator wrote:

Freshly slaughted cow on the nose prior to evacuation of its bowels,, with a hint of vanilla. Just a fruit bomb of delicious deviousness. You can't beat this wine for the price. A supreme barossa gsm of holy proportions . Okay I have been drinking!

9/15/2012 - Gazonator wrote:

As an Australian, consuming fruit bomb Shiraz after Shiraz, The Napa Bordeaux style Cab Savs are exciting to me. This was our Anniversary wine and , unfortunately was drunk at a restaurant with only minutes of decantering. It suffered a little for not being woken up properly, but just beautiful.Real Old World nose, cigar box and spice , almost warm aroma, french oak. On tasting its like a spicey meat ball, savoury and nutty, very little fruit, which is awesome to me.Silky smooth, slightly unbalanced mid palate (due to not being decantered) and a heroic finish. We will replace this wine in our cellar....Expensive, but this morning I feel like I have lost a limb and I want it back

6/4/2012 - Gazonator wrote:

The second Coonawarra Cab shiraz blend of the night....and the least liked. I was looking forward to tasting this wine as it has an Outstanding classification in the Langton list. The Nose was very suttle. Smokey oak and peat and a real sweet fruit aroma...maybe strawberries. On tasting it was quite tart...I know its young, but was expecting it to be more approachable than it was. Almost sour sweet fruit, very dry and in my opinion unbalanced with acid and tannin overload. A very sharp and abrasive mid pallet with a short unmemoriable finish...I was dissappointed.

6/4/2012 - Gazonator wrote:

Lindemans Limestone Ridge is one of those wines you want in your cellar. Less than $50 bucks but put it away and it holds up against $200 bottles. Spice and peppermint nose with smokey plums and berries... a really yummy bouquet with earthy undertones. On tasting she is a big brassy red...not as complex as some and a little unbalanced ...a little jammy and not the suttle smooth finish of some of the Barossa giants, but, for the money, a real favourite of mine.

6/4/2012 - Gazonator wrote:

A night full of surprises!. From the Barossa to McLaren Vale we go with the Futures Shiraz. Decanted for 2 hours....a real eye watering nose. Really peppery...I MEAN REALLY..also musk and smokey oak with a floral rose petal aroma. This is a full bodied Shiraz like a great big nude man with a boner. The front fruity attack was fantastically balanced through the mid pallet to finish with a long pepper and spice structure. A really complex beauty with fantastic control of powerful acid and tannin and fruit. I want to meet the guy that made this.....awesome

6/4/2012 - Gazonator wrote:

Are You Kidding Me!!.....Yalumbas third ever vintage of Octavius....20 years old and WHAM. 8 is Enough wine tasting group had just swirled down a 2002 Yalumbe Reserve and were in Nirvana. The Octavius was also decanted for 2 hours. The nose was incredible, a powerful, spicey plums and black berry aroma Cigar Box,oak and cloves...WOW. Then the tasting...well, this is where GOD lives!. Yep... sitting in a barrell of 92' octavius. Powerful fruit with smooth balanced tannin and oak. This is a Masculine wine...full bodied and fully ripped...but yet elegant and soft with a long finish...how the winemaker achieved this is a true reflection of his ability. Cripes it was gooooood

6/3/2012 - Gazonator wrote:

The Flagship of Yalumba Cab Sav - Shiraz blend, and at $120.00 a bottle, a very scary bottle to open. The Eight is Enough Wine tasting extravagance rolled into our place last night so out came the cork and decanted for 2 hours. The nose got us all excited...SMOKE BERRYS (if there is such a thing), herbs (maybe Bazil...we couldnt put our finger on it) mint, with a nutty earthy foundation. Then the tasting. The decanting had really opened this foxy lady up, silky smooth, full bodied attack of smoke berry fruit...typical Barossa yummyness with a fantastic complexity of big Shiraz and saddle hair cab. A vulumptuos mid pallet to a long legged finish. A great start to the night but we have a 92 Octavius waiting in the wings. The Reserve will be hard to beat, but jee I would have liked to keep her in the dark for another 10 years.... I'm too weak!

4/10/2012 - Gazonator wrote:

The Lindemans Trio are always solid performers. The 01' St George was decantered for 2 hours, had a eye watering nose of clay and earth, olives and brambles and overpowering tannin vapour. However on tasting she was so smooth up front, like a beautiful South American woman before she starts dancing. Opening up mid to late finish, she was more the Salsa than the Macarana, all earth and black fruit, with no oak present. Not a complex wine but a beautiful smooth Latin Amerirican Cab Sav.....really enjoyable

4/9/2012 - Gazonator wrote:

HOLY TRINITY BATMAN .....are you KIDDING me. I really wasnt expecting this from 'The Bruge'. In fact I wouldnt normally head to row G in my cellar for a top notch cab sav. Decantered for 2 hours this had a nose like Tubular Bells. French Oak and Vanilla, peppermint notes with a rich aromatic intensity. On tasting she came out swinging with a lovely cherrys and blackberry fruit explosion, then settled down as the tannins kicked in mid pallet, with that lovely french oak and vanilla fading to finish. To say I enjoyed this wine is an understatement.....Shadrach will always have a home in my cellar

4/7/2012 - Gazonator wrote:

Black fruits and oak....quite nutty. Decantered for 2 hours this wine had a smooth almost subtle attack before opening up beautifully mid pallet with a flowering of black fruits. Dry cabernet finish. Mosswood really delvers on a champion cab sav. Dont be in a hurry to open this though, can sleep soundly for another 5 + years

3/24/2012 - Gazonator wrote:

To me this is a perfect bottle of Shiraz. SO you have some friends coming over....RED WINE friends. But this is not a sanctioned event. Not a fancy dinner. Your not going to pull out the Run Rig or the Hill of Grace. In fact your not really wanting to depart with an Octavius....but these are RED WINE friends. I present to you John Duvals Entity. $55.00 ....your comfortable with that and yet this wine stood up to the plate and batted one out of the park. Decanted for 2 hours this was a true cigar box of earth and leather, oak and vanilla with the famous Barrossa fruit coming through. A delicious explosion of fruity goodness, tempered by just enough acid and tannins to give it a full mid palate and a devine long smooth finish. I really think this is where my most favourite wines live. Rockfords Basket Press and John Duvals Entity....2 supreme wines which dont break the bank, but delight all that behold them.

2/26/2012 - Gazonator wrote:

Not the best year....missing some of those red earth characters....

2/26/2012 - Gazonator wrote:

Bloody awful....weak enough to soak my granddads teeth in over night

12/10/2011 - Gazonator wrote:

We had the DB24 after an Elderton Command, Delwinney and a Georgia's Paddock (what a night!). She's as black as Andy's testicals after his vasectomy. Nutty, spicey nose with oak and earth and cinnamon....beautiful!. In fact the nose was so good the wine was a dissappointment. Not that it was the wines fault. This is a big 'suck the cheeks in' wine with alot of tannin present. It has legs longer than Suzies (that's Andy's wife who ordered the V) and needs to stay asleep in the bottle for a long time yet...at least 10 years.............silly me

12/3/2011 - Gazonator wrote:

This little beauty is a secret....shared with only the worthy. Dont cellar it....just drink it NOW. I have consumed two cases of the 2006 and sadly this was my last bottle. Am awaiting a case of the 07' but the 06' is no more. At $24.00 a bottle this has to be the best value GSM of the Barossa. A great fruity explosion, light enough for a daytime bbq, but with enough balls to hang in there over a candle lit dinner for two

11/27/2011 - Gazonator wrote:

Okay,so why did I open this bottle now...because I bought 6 and I wanted to see how this wine beat hill of grace and grange as the best 2008 Shiraz in the world.all I can say is it was a very very bad year in the Barossa. This is not a big Jammy fruit explosion typical of Barossa favs. This is from west vic and the colder climate shows in the development of this wine. Granted it needs to stay cellared for another 10 years min, however looking for what the judges found, I was mostly disappointed. A deep purple colour and a nose full of oak, I was ready for a big red. Instead I got a rather nice , smooth,BBQ wine. Plums and blackcurrant, chocolate and hazelnut that unfortunately manage to find the back of the tongue ....but no more.I haunt lost hope on this wine...I look forward to waking it up again in 2022...but octavius it is NOT

11/20/2011 - Gazonator wrote:

What a surprise this little dark horse was. Drunk after a bottle of 96' limestone ridge (which was incredible) we had decantered it for a good 2 hours as I was concerned that 2006 was too young...however it opened up beautifully. The barossa Shiraz has such fantastic fruit explosions and this wine contrasted beautifully with the gritty power of the limestone ridge....powerful peppery and cinnamon spices with plums, blackberrys and rasberrys....and so smooth. this wine has my attention and will be replaced immediately in my cellar...and then some!

11/1/2011 - Gazonator wrote:

The Rockford Basket Press is such a treasure...still at $50 cellar door, and holds up against much loftier cousins. A fruity explosion of goodness with a long tail that swirls around your neck like velvet. Full of plums and black berrys and the nose is worth the admission price. All hail Rockford...let me in...Let me in

11/1/2011 - Gazonator wrote:

You got to hand it to Penfolds....big bold reds all the way to the big daddy. Magill Estate has so many layers, fruit and spice and everything nice ...and so smooth for a young wine. Put it down , down, down in the ground....cant wait to wake this one up in 15 years....beautiful

10/30/2011 - Gazonator wrote:

GSM's are taking over the world....and this one is a cracker. Bursting with fruit and subtle tones of chocolate and cinnamin....smooth finish. Highly recommend this wine on a par with Rockfords Moppa Springs

10/30/2011 - Gazonator wrote:

The fruit is masked by the Viognier......possibly drunk too early. Acidic finish. For a drink now wine run to the Holy Trinity