Friday was a wet and stormy night, and my local group met at Dave's
house. Theme was Australia/New Zealand, and we each brought a wrapped
bottle to offer at the blind tasting. There was a Jacobs Creek Shiraz/
CS blend unblind as we were gathering,but it was a totally forgettable
bottle, so I forgot it.

First wine up was mine, the 2000 Parker Estate "Terra Rossa First
Growth" (Coonawarra). Big but balanced, plenty of black currant and
plum fruit, a little coffee, some cedar. Could pass for a modern
Bordeaux. This benefitted from some lamb kebabs. Good length, quickly
drained. B+

Wine #2- ripe, lowacid, seems a little tired to me. Others seemed to
like more. Resolved tannins, ok but just a little past it. B- It's
the 1999 Normans "Chais Clarendon" Cabernet Sauvignon (MCLaren Vale)

Wine #3- holy KoolAid™! This is really sweet. I find it kind of
cloying. I'm thinking overripe OTT Shiraz. Let's say a C. Wrong
grape, it's the 2003 Marquis Philips Merlot

Wine #4 - clearly PN. Some earth, but cherries dominate. Lighter
styled, a bit short. Big change from preceding wines, I found it nice
but not stellar. B/B- 2005 Amisfield Pinot Noir (Central Otago)

Wine #5 Black fruit , lots of vanilla, ripe but not flabby. Could use
a little more tannic structure, but pretty tasty. B for the 2002
Majella Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra)

Wine #6 Midweight, a little sweet (though nothing like the MP), a
little vanillay oak. Blackberries and cassis. Not bad, though a little
more length would be welcome. B The 2004 Greg Norman Shiraz/Cabernet

I was pleasantly lubricated for a wet walk home.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.
*

In article
>,
DaleW > wrote:

> Friday was a wet and stormy night, and my local group met at Dave's
> house. Theme was Australia/New Zealand, and we each brought a wrapped
> bottle to offer at the blind tasting. There was a Jacobs Creek Shiraz/
> CS blend unblind as we were gathering,but it was a totally forgettable
> bottle, so I forgot it.
>
> First wine up was mine, the 2000 Parker Estate "Terra Rossa First
> Growth" (Coonawarra). Big but balanced, plenty of black currant and
> plum fruit, a little coffee, some cedar. Could pass for a modern
> Bordeaux. This benefitted from some lamb kebabs. Good length, quickly
> drained. B+
>
> Wine #2- ripe, lowacid, seems a little tired to me. Others seemed to
> like more. Resolved tannins, ok but just a little past it. B- It's
> the 1999 Normans "Chais Clarendon" Cabernet Sauvignon (MCLaren Vale)
>
> Wine #3- holy KoolAid�! This is really sweet. I find it kind of
> cloying. I'm thinking overripe OTT Shiraz. Let's say a C. Wrong
> grape, it's the 2003 Marquis Philips Merlot
>
> Wine #4 - clearly PN. Some earth, but cherries dominate. Lighter
> styled, a bit short. Big change from preceding wines, I found it nice
> but not stellar. B/B- 2005 Amisfield Pinot Noir (Central Otago)
>
> Wine #5 Black fruit , lots of vanilla, ripe but not flabby. Could use
> a little more tannic structure, but pretty tasty. B for the 2002
> Majella Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra)
>
> Wine #6 Midweight, a little sweet (though nothing like the MP), a
> little vanillay oak. Blackberries and cassis. Not bad, though a little
> more length would be welcome. B The 2004 Greg Norman Shiraz/Cabernet
>
> I was pleasantly lubricated for a wet walk home.
>
> Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
> wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
> drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
> promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.
> *

Thanks for the tasting notes.

.. There was a Jacobs Creek Shiraz/
CS blend unblind as we were gathering,but it was a totally forgettable
bottle, so I forgot it.

Jacobs Creek basic blend is the Oz version of basic Gallo wines......say no
more!!

On Sun, 18 May 2008 11:40:22 -0700 (PDT), DaleW >
wrote:

>Friday was a wet and stormy night, and my local group met at Dave's
>house. Theme was Australia/New Zealand, and we each brought a wrapped
>bottle to offer at the blind tasting. There was a Jacobs Creek Shiraz/
>CS blend unblind as we were gathering,but it was a totally forgettable
>bottle, so I forgot it.

There are better cask wines available than the JC wines...:>)
>
>First wine up was mine, the 2000 Parker Estate "Terra Rossa First
>Growth" (Coonawarra). Big but balanced, plenty of black currant and
>plum fruit, a little coffee, some cedar. Could pass for a modern
>Bordeaux. This benefitted from some lamb kebabs. Good length, quickly
>drained. B+
>
Mainly find Coonawarra Cabs too tannic as young reds, the 2000 would
be about right for my taste. Parker wines are consistently good.

>Wine #2- ripe, lowacid, seems a little tired to me. Others seemed to
>like more. Resolved tannins, ok but just a little past it. B- It's
>the 1999 Normans "Chais Clarendon" Cabernet Sauvignon (MCLaren Vale)

McLaren Vale predominantly produce softer wines, and I'd doubt this
number from Normans would have had the spine to last nearly 10 years.
>
>Wine #3- holy KoolAid™! This is really sweet. I find it kind of
>cloying. I'm thinking overripe OTT Shiraz. Let's say a C. Wrong
>grape, it's the 2003 Marquis Philips Merlot

Don't know it. Not a big fan of Antipodean merlots.
>
>Wine #4 - clearly PN. Some earth, but cherries dominate. Lighter
>styled, a bit short. Big change from preceding wines, I found it nice
>but not stellar. B/B- 2005 Amisfield Pinot Noir (Central Otago)
>
>Wine #5 Black fruit , lots of vanilla, ripe but not flabby. Could use
>a little more tannic structure, but pretty tasty. B for the 2002
>Majella Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra)

I was present at their release tasting, and remember the surprise with
the cab, (their Shiraz is normally the wine that seems their
strength), as it was different to the above comment re young tannic
Coonawarra Cabs. This was a luscious soft fruit laden wine young
rather than the tannic bitter young Coonawarras we have become
accustomed to. So I loved it. If you are saying it is nearing it's
end due to lack of tanin structure I better pull the last 1/2 dozen
out of the cellar.
>
>Wine #6 Midweight, a little sweet (though nothing like the MP), a
>little vanillay oak. Blackberries and cassis. Not bad, though a little
>more length would be welcome. B The 2004 Greg Norman Shiraz/Cabernet

Koala Blue turned me off Oz Celeb wines...permanently.

Funnily though, shiraz - cab blends were one of the mainstays of
Aussie consumption a few years back, now getting harder to find. Most
winemakers seem to prefer the Merlot blending with Cabs, and Viognier
for their Shiraz.

hooroo....
>
>I was pleasantly lubricated for a wet walk home.
>
>Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
>wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
>drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
>promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.
>*