Notes on my February tasting lunch - on the anniversary of the 1840 signing of
the treaty between the English and Maori peoples - Waitangi Day, yet not one
Kiwi wine was brought by the historically insensitive crew!

2001 Suckfizzle Augusta Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (Margaret River) - barrel
fermentation works well for this wine - a very nice blend of flintiness with
moderate oak added, good, primarily sauvignon blanc nose, soft middle and clean
finish.

Served with shaved ham and melon.


1995 Jade Mountain Mourvedre - showing good colour with a paler rim, a sweet
nose which then immediately showed some spice. The entry was slightly sweet and
that note followed through to a soft finish. A well made California
Rhone-clone, showing more balance and subtlety than most.


Served with scallops and white asparagus.


1993 Ch. Musar - it isn't very often that we head for the Bekaa Valley in
Lebanon with a wine - less often than in the past, for while I found the old
(70s) vintages quite attractive, there was a slump in quality thereafter that
predisposed one against buying and cellaring the wines. Given the evidence of
this bottle, I'd say they are back on track. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon,
Cinsault, Carignan, Grenache, and Mourvedre, so I suppose we were still in
Rhone-clone territory. The colour of this wine was almost Burgundian, and the
edges were quite pale. The nose was also more reminiscent of a Burgundy than a
Bordeaux blend, and the cocoa that I had often noted on older vintages was
absent. Smooth feel, medium long finish. A great wine to bring to stump the
crew, as we didn't quite know what to make of it.


1998 Quilceda Creek Red Wine - this is the second wine of Quilceda, made from
'declassified' barrels not used in the main wine. Typically a blend of
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot - I don't know the exact blend
in this vintage. Very decent primary fruit nose, not showing much subtlety at
this point. Quite sweet early on in the mouth, then a smooth medium long
finish. I'm not quite sure what this wine will do with more age. It is nice
now, and it could either pick up some complexity, or it might just gently fade.

Served with a venison chop.

1998 Greg Norman Coonawarra Cabernet Merlot - There are two types of people in
the world - those who can talk interminably about golf (you can tell them by
their dimpled balls) and those who would run miles to avoid listening to people
talking about golf..... we have both types in our lunch group, one of whom even
whipped out his own personalised packet of tees at the mere whisper of anything
related to golf, and others who cringed at the mention of the word. In any
case, this wine, made by Mildara Blass and marketed using the name of some
antipodean club-swinger apparently of some notoriety to those in the know,
wasn't all that bad. Dark, and with a somewhat closed nose, a good feel, and
lots of acidity (perhaps the most I recall seeing in an Australian wine),
although the fruit came rushing back at the end, thus distinguishing it from
other areas that typically exhibit such high acid. Not bad.


1995 Joseph Phelps Merlot - I enjoy and cellar quiet a few Phelps wines, but I
admit that I have not given their merlot much attention. Ripe nose with some
chocolate giving away the varietal. Medium to full body, almost elegant, with
well integrated fruit and tannins, this one should continue to improve for a
few more years.


1996 Quail's Gate Family Reserve Cabernet - a local treat thrown in to stump
us by our host. It still shows good fruit in the nose, good entry, then it went
rather acidic. I don't think this will benefit from more time.

2000 La Piaggia Carmignano Riserva - I often add a wine agent or two to our mix
as leavening (and often do get a 'rise' out of them over the course of the
meal), and we had one on this day. I commended his dedication on attending when
his wife was about to deliver a child, but noted that true dedication would
entail turning off his cell phone for the duration of the lunch. He got extra
marks, though, for the phone did indeed ring and I heard him bargaining for
more time while he finished his 'business' meeting..... This wine was not the
Carmignano we know and enjoy (I have purchased Ambra, for instance, over many
vintages). It is Carmignano on steroids! In fact we thought (mentally cheating
a little based on our knowledge of the daddy-to-be's portfolio) that it might
even be Australian, for it did show that sort of concentration of fruit! Purple
wine, nose in which I detected some raspberry and cherry, cocoa and coffee, and
not too sweet on entry but with great concentration and excellent balance and
length. This wine has been a 3 bicchieri in Gambero and deserves it. An
indication of our impression of the wine is that all 6 of us (other than the
agent himself) instantly put in orders for the wine! 70% sangiovese, 20%
cabernet, 10% merlot.

1989 Pine Ridge Napa Chenin Blanc - a bit of a poser to guess - the 4% muscat
threw us off a bit, and we didn't guess an American chenin. While I recall
tasting a dry Chenin that was quite passable, I didn't know this winery did the
Loire thing with a sweet version. Showing a fair bit of colour, very sweet nose
with a Muscat element obvious. Very nice wine and a pleasant end to the lunch -
I left our expectant father still chatting about wine as I had to go back to
work.....

In article >,
(Bill Spohn) writes:

>1993 Ch. Musar - it isn't very often that we head for the Bekaa Valley in
>Lebanon with a wine - less often than in the past, for while I found the old
>(70s) vintages quite attractive, there was a slump in quality thereafter that
>predisposed one against buying and cellaring the wines. Given the evidence of
>this bottle, I'd say they are back on track. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon,
>Cinsault, Carignan, Grenache, and Mourvedre, so I suppose we were still in
>Rhone-clone territory. The colour of this wine was almost Burgundian, and the
>edges were quite pale. The nose was also more reminiscent of a Burgundy than
>a
>Bordeaux blend, and the cocoa that I had often noted on older vintages was
>absent. Smooth feel, medium long finish.

I've got an orphan bottle of this. I thought it showed very Rhonish on release
(4 or so years ago?). The interesting thing is that Hochar varies the cepage
ratio according to vintage, so the wines can range from quite Bordeaux-like to
more southern-oriented. Interesting wines, thanks for the notes (and I agree
that the ones I tried from 80s and even the supposedly good '90 were quite
disappointing).

Dale

Dale Williams
Drop "damnspam" to reply

Bill Spohn wrote:

>
> 2001 Suckfizzle Augusta Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (Margaret River) - barrel
> fermentation works well for this wine - a very nice blend of flintiness with
> moderate oak added, good, primarily sauvignon blanc nose, soft middle and clean
> finish.

Suckfizzle?? Surely you jest, Bill! Or is it just another example of that
iconoclastic Antipodean humo(u)r?

> Served with scallops and white asparagus.
>
> 1993 Ch. Musar - it isn't very often that we head for the Bekaa Valley in
> Lebanon with a wine - less often than in the past, for while I found the old
> (70s) vintages quite attractive, there was a slump in quality thereafter that
> predisposed one against buying and cellaring the wines.

Given that the Beka'a Valley was a site of major conflict during the Lebanese
Civil War (that, not coincidentally, occupied the entire decade of the '80s), it
is more surprising that Musar was able to continue production at all, IMO. I do
agree that they seem to have regained form since the end of hostilities.

> 1998 Greg Norman Coonawarra Cabernet Merlot -

> Dark, and with a somewhat closed nose, a good feel, and
> lots of acidity (perhaps the most I recall seeing in an Australian wine),
> although the fruit came rushing back at the end, thus distinguishing it from
> other areas that typically exhibit such high acid. Not bad.

Of course, this was from a phenomenal vintage. However, the one bottle I've had
of this (year unknown, possibly the '98) was likewise quite respectable and
surprisingly ageworthy. But, if you want to truly experience an Aussie wine with
high acid, listen closely. The other day I was served blind a red wine that was
so mouth-puckeringly acidic (with thin, cherryish fruit) that I speculated that it
was a cheap Chianti from a cool year such as 2002. It was, in fact, a 2001 Black
Opal Cab/Merlot from Oz. Should you be masochistic enough to try it, I'm sure
that it'll make the Greg Norman look downright succulent by comparison... ;-)

As always, thanks for the interesting notes, Bill.

Mark Lipton

>Suckfizzle?? Surely you jest, Bill! Or is it just another example of that
>iconoclastic Antipodean humo(u)r?

Very nice wine; indifferent humour!

Mark Lipton wrote:
>
> Bill Spohn wrote:
>
>
>>2001 Suckfizzle Augusta Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (Margaret River) - barrel
>>fermentation works well for this wine - a very nice blend of flintiness with
>>moderate oak added, good, primarily sauvignon blanc nose, soft middle and clean
>>finish.
>
>
> Suckfizzle?? Surely you jest, Bill! Or is it just another example of that
> iconoclastic Antipodean humo(u)r?

You be the judge:

http://www.precisionlabels.com.au/co...suckfizzf.html

Dana