Brought home some old Aussie wines that have been tucked in the bowles of the store room. Time to revisit them. Tonight:
2001 Duck Creek Springflat Shiraz Heathcote. 15.5 ABV. Now we didn’t drink these up because they weren’t fruitbombs. Blackberry and tar on the nose. Blackberry with hints of tar on the palate. The wine is not viscous and saturated. The fruit has a soft elegance and medium finish. Not tannic or alcoholy, it is supple. Reminds of th Syrahs from the 70’s and the older non acidic Rhones. It’s going to accompany smoked jalepeno turkey sausages wiht bell peppers and onions with a side baked beans. I’m surprised and impressed.
Edit: Sorry about the spelling etc. Trying to post on my phone is, well, trying. BA may have had something to do with it too.
Heathcote is a region that lost its way- but I always enjoyed Springflat as it had a savory balance that made it a good medium term ager compared to some awful fruit bombs from the area.
I have a couple of superb old Aussies every month. Last month a 93 & 95 Hill of Grace were my wines of the month。
I’ve been pushing to try to get a virtual tasting where Berserkers would open some of their old Grateful Palate imports [and other Aussies from that era, like the Southcorp/Wynns/Penfolds brands] to see whether those wines really deserved all of the scorn which was heaped upon them by the NYC crowd.
I’m willing to bet that backfilling on the mid-1990s Aussies [maybe about 1993? through about 1998?] might be one of the smartest moves in all of oenophilia right now - at least for folks who actually care what the wines taste like [i.e. who are not just interested in their auction resale values for flipping purposes, or in trying to impress their friends in the NYC deconstructionist femlit crowd].
Tonight we will try the 2002 Sanguine Heathcote Shiraz, which I’m looking forward to. I also brought home a bottle of Kangarilla Rd. Zinfandel, which I expect to be prune juice.
Here’s the other Shiraz we are considering:
03 Cape d’ Estaing Kangaroo Island
00 Dutschke Barossa Oscar Semmler
02 E&E Black Pepper
00 Fox Creek Short Row
03 Gibson Barossa/McLaren Vale
02 Greenock Creek Barossa Seven Acre
02 Greenock Creek Barossa Alice’s
01 Oliver’s Taranga
03 Tatiarra Heathcote Cambrian
00 Trevor Jones Dry Grown
01 Whistler Barossa Heysen Estate
Bill I know I made it but I am very happy where our 02 Ares it at, I think it has plenty of upside ahead of it. The last few bottles have been a little tight so I would give it some air before serving.
Great to see a note on Wild Duck Creek, I had lunch with David in Melbourne last week, great guy, equally great wines…I tasted the portfolio with my staff
a few weeks back, 09 Hammer Hill and 09 Reserve Shiraz were my favorites and looked really good.
Thanks for the reply.
Some years ago (4?) I visited your winery. A lovely blonde pourer insisted I give up my Denner Winery hat which she promptly exchanged for a 2 Hands hat. It has been my lucky tasting hat ever since, though I have not gotten back downunder. Love your Bella’s Garden among others. The rest of the 6 bottle lot of 2002 Ares were great and I would not have suspected a problem any time soon.
I do have a 03 Two Hands Bad Impersonator laying around and I’ll throw it in mix, if I can find it. Never worried about the Two Hands wines holding up.
But as long as we are talking about Two Hands wines, (Michael), Carrie wants to know when you are going to make the Amarone available in the US. Her broom is broken, so she can’t fly down there to get it and you know she doesn’t want to share it with anybody.
02 Sanguine Estate Heathcote Shiraz 14.5 ABV. 2 for 2. Nose of dark berries and tar. Fully integrated tanins in this blackfruited wine with hints of tar and spice. Supple fruit upfront, through the middle and on the medium finish. No heat nor hint of alcohol. Similar in profile of the Duckcreek showing the characteristics of the particular region. This one is “bigger” with some acidity and more prominent or concentrated fruit flavors, the last sip being blueberry. This wine is still opening up.
Bill, please let me know if you require a new hat by now and I will get a few in the post to you
Randy, I will see if I can find a bottle or two of my last Amarone, the 2008 Zippys Block and I will post them across the pond to make Carrie,
happy wife, happy life
We opened an 01 Astralis this weekend and found it drinking quite nicely. A very dynamic wine that provided changing aromas, taste and texture the longer it was open. It started somewhat fruity and dense but very quickly became floral, fragrant and etheral as time went on. I loved the tannin quality - copious and talc like on the finish.
Last night I opened the Kangarilla Rd. Zinfandel, which I thought would be the likely to be pruney. Nope, it was corked.
03 Cape d’ Estaing Kangaroo Island was next up at 14% ABV. If I had blind tasted this I would have identified it as a sleek petite sirah with about 5 years on it. The wine didn’t reach it’s peak until it was open for an hour. Another pleasant surprise.
2001 Torbreck Barossa Valley The Steading: 14.5 ABV, 60% Grenache, 20% Mataro, 20% Shiraz. Took 15 minutes to open up. Bright black cherry and bing cherry on the finish of 30 plus seconds. I’m begining to think the wines we’ve stored in the bowels of our storeroom are a treasure trove. It will be enjoyed with Western Meal in One tonight. Extra cheddar of course.
Love greenock creek…huge Shiraz…had the '03 Alice’s recently and enjoyed its massive frame…I luv bordeaux and burgundy…but I’m not ashamed at all to admit i like these beasts
Your comment about 03 is the consensus that I have heard, but I also agree with you about 01, and Parker several times rated an 01 S. Aus. red as high or higher than its 02 counterpart when I did not like the too-hot or manufactured 01 and loved the balanced, elegant, but still very rich 02. His reviews of 01’s versus 02’s finally forced me not to read him any more about Australia. Hobbs (not Paul, rather, Ringland’s neighbor) and Henrys Drive Reserve come to mind first, having had several bottles of each in 01 abnd 02 with the same result every time.
02 Kay Block 6, always good, has this year become a different wine BTW, one of the very best New World wines I have had this year and very different from the animale wild rough wine it was.
Changing the subject twice in one paragraph, 2001 West Aus might be a different matter. I had the Gralyn SBR 2001 cab and it too is something different now, it was my favorite wine next to some California 95 pointers on one occasion recently. Often Garagiste wines disappoint me at first and then by accident I’ll leave one for a few years and then really like it.
2000 Dutschke Oscar Semmler Barossa Valley Shiraz. 15 % ABV. Popped and poured at 58 degrees. Red colored alcohol. Rethink this a little and put the glasses on the cook top near where Carrie is prepping garlic pasta, to warm up some. 10 minutes in the glass, its black raspberry flavors are starting to emerge and the alcohol is waning. We may have opened this too soon. At fifteen minutes, the finish is moving beyond 20 seconds and there are hints of tar. The wine is also building in weight as the alcohol wanes. Without being over the top, its starting to strut its stuff as black fruits take over, complimented with some spice and some tar in the background. I have to go set the TV dinner trays for dinner now.
