11/22/2020 - Bearbus wrote:

Good dark berry fruit, good acidity and some grip. But for the money, there are so many others at lower prices that offer more

12/2/2020 - Bearbus wrote:

Riper fruited and less reduction than the 2017 (which we prefer), the palate is reasonably broad/wide/visocus but is also pretty elegant for it, and has good saline acidity

4/23/2011 - Bearbus wrote:

(Stelvin Screwcap)
"Hand harvested Grenache fermented and bottled using no artificial yeast, acid, chemicals, preservatives or sulphur. Bottled unfiltered. Harvested 7 April 2010, Bottled August 2010, Best by 7 April 2012. 14.7%"

The fact it's hand harvested and without added acid gives me optimism. The fact that they predict just a two year life (or even specify a "best by" date*), and the 14.7% alcohol are concerning.

One of the movements in the Australian wine industry (as it's commonly referred to, though it might equally be said "in Australia winemaking culture") has been the rise of "natural" wines, i.e. wines with limited chemical additions, indigenously fermented, with low (or no SO2) added.

I've had quite a lot of "natural" wine recently, including wines from Australia and elsewhere (mainly France and Italy). I'm not new to them, but I've never had so many in such frequent succession before.

It's interesting that it's now normal to specify a "best by/before" date now with so many other foods and drinks, even those foods/drinks that would never harm us if we ate them many years old; and yet it's not normal to specify a "best by/before" date for bottles of wine.

21°C (70°F), not decanted ("cracked and poured")

Very slightly mirky and with a darker tinge than a typical Barossan Grenache of this age. It's a bright maroony boysenberry red - yes, it's colour is already putting me in mind of certain aromas (something we often neglect to realise when we taste, I think).

Slightly seedy and very slightly green blend of red raspberry, blueberry, plum, boysenberry? :-), dried out moss, and sweet very slightly decaying wood. It's quite an attractive nose actually. It's certainly fruity, but it has other things going on than are more intriguing compared to the, IMO, typical spice and oak aromas of Barossan Grenaches.

On the palate, it's quite svelte - with a silky kind of mouthfeel that would seem sickly-weighty and overly-viscous if it weren't for the ultra fine tannins in suspension holding up that 14.7% alcohol like a cloud. There's not as much flavour intensity on the palate as I'd hope for, and the acid does tug in the back palate and finish, but it's pretty drinkable.

It's downfall is pretty much the same as most Aussie wines of this kind: sociable, almost gluggable (if it weren't for the alcohol), but ultimately uninspiring and with a bit of a kick in the back palate/finish.

4/26/2019 - Bearbus wrote:

A bit ripe for a LF Cab, and certainly not got the funk that Scott M's bottle had, but it has nice balance and lightness to the palate, and is pleasant to drink. Missing a wow factor, but could actually do with more time