Had a very good blind tasting this week, the rest of the wines were drunk this evening. I have to say that it is enormously satisfying when three wines perform at their best, in completely different genres.
Bodegas Pintia 2012 My favorite wine, which I really love with my 10 year old. Tempranillo at its best, when it comes from D.O. Toro. Clear fruit but the classic tart dark berries, lovely tannins. This wine performed at its best early in the evening, quite naturally considering the vintage.
Lodali Loren's Barbaresco 2019 A new producer for me, I got a few bottles of this awesome wine. Could be one of the better Barbaresco wines I've had, now 2019 is a divine vintage. Everything is very homogeneous, clear Nebbiolo notes, roses, violets, sour cherries with sunny raspberries. This is an elegant wine, clear tannins and balanced acidity. A young wine that needs 1 - 2 hours before it blooms.
Cullen Wines Diana Madeline 2018 So, those of you who haven't drunk Margaret River wines need to brace yourself, this is as good as the left bank of Bdx. Vintage 2018 is magical in Margaret River. It starts very modestly, like Bdx, but after 2 - 4 hours everything blooms, so very nice tannins, with a clear blackcurrant fruit, a finish that lingers for a long time. This wine is best today, 5 days after the wine tasting, imagine how good it will be with 5 - 10 years behind it.
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DM Vertical with Vanya Cullen @ 67PM. Distinguished, very concentrated, perfume, roses, but slightly green and woody nose. Approachable to a slight extent, but best laid down for another decade at least. As noted elsewhere, 2018 is head and shoulders above any other vintage in MR. WOTN out of the vertical comprising '01, '11', '13, '14, '15, '16, '18, and '21.
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Nobody guessed this is from Australia, they thought left bank bordeaux. WOTN. Top wine, too young at the moment. Looking to buy some more, highly recommended. Not a classic Aussie 'fruit bomb' cab with tons of oak. This has finesse and elegance, great oak integration. Well done
Appearance: clear medium purple. Nose: medium plus intensity; aromas of violet, cloves, black pepper, herbaceous, capsicum, pencil shave. It’s youthful. Palate: dry, high acidity, high compact tannins, medium alcohol. Very much muted on the palate, hard to assess the flavour intensity. Medium plus to long finish. Need a hell lot of decanting at this stage. A lot of grassy and capsicum notes within the first 3hrs. It only starts to open up on the nose with some pencil shave, blackcurrant, red cherry after 4.5hrs decanting. Till 7 hrs, the palate is still very much closed and just start to give you a sneak peak of sweet tobacco, red and almost candied fruits at 8.5hrs. Well, clearly the wine is sleeping...I knew I drink this too early but didn’t realise it’s this hard to awake it. Very hard to assess any nuance on the palate at this stage, therefore not gonna rate it. It feels like one of those Bordeaux en primeur tastings where you get a lot of intense fruits and sand-like tannins but all flavours are together instead of distinctively presented. Saved half bottle for tomorrow or even day 3. Let’s see. For now, my reco would be NOT to touch it in the next 5 years! P.S. Sealed with Repour for 3 days and taste again on day 4. It does open up more on the nose with fresh blackberry, vanilla, red/black cherry and subtle balsamic/pickle notes. On the palate, tannins are slightly more integrated with some chocolate coming through. The flavour is intense but very elegant and strikes great balance. The finish is lingering. Nevertheless, it’s still too young to appreciate.
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Grand Cru Cabernet (United Cellars, 140 William Street, Sydney): Cream, vanilla, slight chocolate, spice, high toned fruit. It's juicy and fleshy but a little red rather than black fruit, tannins are chalky and tight and close down the palate. Obviously ridiculously young but <shrugs> not for me.
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Cullen - Virtual Tasting & Discussion on Biodynamic and Organic Winemaking (Zoom): Clearly grassy and a cigarbox feel on the nose, cocoa, as well as ripe cherry and cassis. Intense flavours of blackberry, mulberry, rocket leaf, tar, and grey smokes. Tannic, and still some good acids. Can see some good amount of work as the backpalate and end was so full of cocoa and charred wood, and a somewhat reddish ferrous feel which I think might be the minerality that everyone talks about. Lots of power! Great wine! May need several years to mellow down though
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7/22/2023 - SirJ Likes this wine: 94 Points
Had a very good blind tasting this week, the rest of the wines were drunk this evening. I have to say that it is enormously satisfying when three wines perform at their best, in completely different genres.
Bodegas Pintia 2012
My favorite wine, which I really love with my 10 year old. Tempranillo at its best, when it comes from D.O. Toro. Clear fruit but the classic tart dark berries, lovely tannins. This wine performed at its best early in the evening, quite naturally considering the vintage.
Lodali Loren's Barbaresco 2019
A new producer for me, I got a few bottles of this awesome wine. Could be one of the better Barbaresco wines I've had, now 2019 is a divine vintage. Everything is very homogeneous, clear Nebbiolo notes, roses, violets, sour cherries with sunny raspberries. This is an elegant wine, clear tannins and balanced acidity. A young wine that needs 1 - 2 hours before it blooms.
Cullen Wines Diana Madeline 2018
So, those of you who haven't drunk Margaret River wines need to brace yourself, this is as good as the left bank of Bdx. Vintage 2018 is magical in Margaret River. It starts very modestly, like Bdx, but after 2 - 4 hours everything blooms, so very nice tannins, with a clear blackcurrant fruit, a finish that lingers for a long time. This wine is best today, 5 days after the wine tasting, imagine how good it will be with 5 - 10 years behind it.
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6/8/2023 - Isaac L Likes this wine: 94 Points
DM Vertical with Vanya Cullen @ 67PM. Distinguished, very concentrated, perfume, roses, but slightly green and woody nose. Approachable to a slight extent, but best laid down for another decade at least. As noted elsewhere, 2018 is head and shoulders above any other vintage in MR. WOTN out of the vertical comprising '01, '11', '13, '14, '15, '16, '18, and '21.
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1/13/2023 - ta75 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Taken to Jerar, Athens.
Nobody guessed this is from Australia, they thought left bank bordeaux. WOTN. Top wine, too young at the moment. Looking to buy some more, highly recommended. Not a classic Aussie 'fruit bomb' cab with tons of oak. This has finesse and elegance, great oak integration. Well done
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11/16/2021 - Indran Rajendra wrote: 94 Points
One of Australia best cabernet based wines but for me too sweet an inelegant. Hard to drink more than a couple of glasses.
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12/30/2020 - Jason Wu Likes this wine:
Appearance: clear medium purple.
Nose: medium plus intensity; aromas of violet, cloves, black pepper, herbaceous, capsicum, pencil shave. It’s youthful.
Palate: dry, high acidity, high compact tannins, medium alcohol. Very much muted on the palate, hard to assess the flavour intensity. Medium plus to long finish.
Need a hell lot of decanting at this stage. A lot of grassy and capsicum notes within the first 3hrs. It only starts to open up on the nose with some pencil shave, blackcurrant, red cherry after 4.5hrs decanting. Till 7 hrs, the palate is still very much closed and just start to give you a sneak peak of sweet tobacco, red and almost candied fruits at 8.5hrs. Well, clearly the wine is sleeping...I knew I drink this too early but didn’t realise it’s this hard to awake it. Very hard to assess any nuance on the palate at this stage, therefore not gonna rate it. It feels like one of those Bordeaux en primeur tastings where you get a lot of intense fruits and sand-like tannins but all flavours are together instead of distinctively presented. Saved half bottle for tomorrow or even day 3. Let’s see. For now, my reco would be NOT to touch it in the next 5 years!
P.S. Sealed with Repour for 3 days and taste again on day 4. It does open up more on the nose with fresh blackberry, vanilla, red/black cherry and subtle balsamic/pickle notes. On the palate, tannins are slightly more integrated with some chocolate coming through. The flavour is intense but very elegant and strikes great balance. The finish is lingering. Nevertheless, it’s still too young to appreciate.
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8/2/2020 - Frijole wrote:
dark plum red, cloudy, with some clarity, ruby hue
Nose: mulberry, plum, cherry, chocolate, espresso, tobacco, leather, black pepper, violets, iron, earth, minerals, oak
Pal: mulberry, plum, cherry, chocolate, espresso, tobacco, leather, black pepper, violets, bloody iron, earth, dirt, minerals, clove, tannins, oak
Feel: medium, full, round, tart
Finish: long
TC9
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7/23/2020 - chatters wrote:
Grand Cru Cabernet (United Cellars, 140 William Street, Sydney): Cream, vanilla, slight chocolate, spice, high toned fruit. It's juicy and fleshy but a little red rather than black fruit, tannins are chalky and tight and close down the palate. Obviously ridiculously young but <shrugs> not for me.
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4/27/2020 - vinhonotte Likes this wine: 94 Points
Cullen - Virtual Tasting & Discussion on Biodynamic and Organic Winemaking (Zoom): Clearly grassy and a cigarbox feel on the nose, cocoa, as well as ripe cherry and cassis. Intense flavours of blackberry, mulberry, rocket leaf, tar, and grey smokes. Tannic, and still some good acids. Can see some good amount of work as the backpalate and end was so full of cocoa and charred wood, and a somewhat reddish ferrous feel which I think might be the minerality that everyone talks about. Lots of power! Great wine! May need several years to mellow down though
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