2008 Bannockburn Pinot Noir

Pure, light brick red with a light translucent-clear edge. Deep sweet sechuan pepper (light spice) and pancetta aromas with underlying sweet red fruits. Very complex. Slight gun smoke. Again acid backs up the palate with fruit, spice and faint tannin backing up the flavors. Needs more time but it's doubtful the fruit will overcome the acid structure. Needs pork crackling or Peking duck.

2008 Bannockburn Chardonnay

Straw gold with very slightly green tinge, beautiful but just over-ripe aromas of deep peach, almond and honeyed wheat. Perfect acid structure that lays the road for pure excellence of fruit and secondary ferment flavors. Overwhelms the palate with ripe fruit, balanced crisp acid and delicious malo. Roast me a chook pronto!!!! Thanks to big Dick for a guest critique.

1998 Taylors St. Andrews Shiraz

Rated No. 1 in the Great Australian Shiraz Challenge in 2001. More bling on the bottle than Lady GaGa.

Let's cut straight to the chase - this is f$&@$&g good. Last night we drank the '04 version of this wine (see previous post) and were super impressed. So much so, we thought let's get the '98 version a run (that was reputably from an equivalent and excellent vintage) and compare.

Wow!! These guys know what they are doing. While we haven't tried everything, for 55 bucks (purchased 3 weeks ago) I'm not sure what else you can expect. The colour is still dark. On the nose the plum and black fruit is still there and mint and chocolate are developing. I'd be happy to sit here and smell it all night, just magnificent. While the palate is approachable now, the tannins remain. Not over the top, but with lovely mouthfeel. a persistent and beautifully balanced finish.

A number. My only criticism from the '04 was that perhaps the palate lacked some tannin, which I like. This wine is better in every aspect, it has colour, a powerful and expressive nose, a magnificent finish and some tannin. The nose for me is the standout, top class.

94/100 is where we have settled. Not sure why other than it is better than The '04. If 95 is "extraordinary and exceptional", this is getting up there. If you can still get this for $55, ridiculously good value.

2004 Taylors St. Andrews Shiraz

Purchased at Dans for $55. James Haliday describes this as "a distinguished wine from a distinguished vintage". We all agree he is on the money. A lovely black fruit and plum nose that is beginning to develop some earthy and tobacco secondary characters. It is still powerful. The palate is complex and is full of fruit, licorice, chocolate, you name it, it's going on. The tannin is gone, the finish is as smooth as a baby's backside. This is a cracking good drink. The '04 St. Andrews Cabernet I gave a 92/100, this is every inch as good and maybe a bit better. Shows just how good the '04 Clare vintage was.

I'm thinking about the score and trying to pick a fault. This isn't easy with such a complete wine. If I was to be pretentious, I'd say this would be better with some tannin, a little bite and grip on the palate perhaps. No-one agrees with me however, this is normal. OK, 93/100. Buy again? At $55, a wine of this quality is sharply priced. At it's peak, drink up!!!

PS. The consensus is that after more time in the glass, the better this wine gets. 93+/100. That is an official FNVTBB record.

2008 Stella Bella Chardonnay

Purchased from Purple Palate Maroochydore for $22. Pale green straw colour, it has developed some colour since last time we tried this. Beautiful restrained oak nose with a hint of cashew and stone fruit, very Burgundian. We discovered this wine at a wine dinner on the Sunshine Coast last year, and wow, what a collection of wine he makes, the Chardonnay was the standout for mine. We managed to have a great chat with the winemaker and got onto the topic of our common love for Burgundy and in particular the wine maker Etienne Sauzet, who is his main influence in making this wine. Undiscovered, understated and underpriced, this wine is an excellent example of it's variety, regardless of it's origin. 90/100 and buy as much as you can while at this price, it won't be this value for long.

2010 Clos Clare Watervale Riesling

I must first disclose my conflict of interest.  I'm a born and bred Clare Valley lad and my favorite drink is Riesling, so I have been accused of talking up a wine like this in the past.  Just trying to keep a few old school mates employed.

This particular wine comes from the very distinguished Florita vineyard. This loamy clay over limestone has won numerous trophies and hundreds of medals since the '60's under the then Leo Buring label and (since the mid-80's I think) the Jim Barry label.

On this occasion there is no need for me to embellish the truth.  This is fantastic.  Almost clear in the glass, a very pale green colour.  Lovely citrus and floral aromas. The palate is perfectly balanced.  A long, mouth puckering finish (OK, guilty, I'm talking it up).  The structure of this wine together with the track record of the vineyard tells me that this will just get better with time, maybe a very long time.

Now, for those of you that think Riesling is sweet nonsense in a brown paper bag, think again. For me, the best examples are bone dry, like this one.  Riesling is great with food.  Riesling is great without food.  Riesling has great aging potential where it can develop from being almost clear, with  zesty citrus and floral characters to a much darker and far more complex wine, often with toast and honey characteristics.

And the kicker is that even the very best examples are cheap because they are relatively cheap to make.  No oak, no cellaring. Grosset Polish Hill is probably Australia's most distinguished Riesling (Langton's Exceptional classification) and it's readily available for 35 bucks!

So get into it, and keep some Clare Valley locals employed.

Oh, sorry, back to the wine.  My score 91/100.   Buy again? For $20 bucks, amazing value. At the time of writing, East End Cellars in Adelaide still have some.

2006 Two Hands Lily's Garden McClaren Vale Shiraz

It's a big Aussie fruit bomb! Approachable and enjoyable, but still some time away from it's peak. Dark red inky colour. Big red fruit dominate, some licorice, not a great deal of tannin. Too much alcohol?? This wine needs some time to critique properly. Can't wait to try again in 3-4 years. Our score.....ask us in 4yrs time.

2002 d'Arenberg The Custodian Grenache

Purchased as a mature re-release from the cellar door for $25. Powerful nose, with some alcohol heat. Lovely earthy aromas with cinnamon and clove, top class. Good length palate with plenty of tannin that cut through our spicy chicken. Luscious raspberry/blackberry fruit, maybe lacking a little on the back palate, but as it opens up, seems far more balanced. Drinking beautifully. Our score 89/100. Buy again, a bargain, if only you could.

2006 Cirillo Old Vine Grenache

Purchased for $40 from Purple Palate on their recommendation. Very refined wine that is beautifully made. A restrained nose that was unmistakably Grenache. Beginning to develop a secondary chocolate character. The palate had lovely balance. Alcohol in check, a little tannin. Our score 91/100. Buy again? At $50 rrp, not sure. See if you can get a discount and then enjoy.

2007 Richard Hamilton Gumpr's Shiraz

Purchased by accident. When buying half a dozen of the '08, this '07 somehow got mixed up with it. The professional reviews are ordinary, I think it is pretty good, in fact this was terrific until right at the end. Lovely nose of plum and developing earth and chocolate. The full bodied palate is spicy with black fruit and plum, but loses some balance and/or structure on the back palate. Tannins are drying and the finish quite long. Overall, for the price paid, OK value. My score 83/100. Buy again, no.

2004 Claymore Graceland Cabernet Sauvignon

Purchased as a back vintage at cellar door for $18. Offers genuine bang for buck. A lovely Clare eucalypt and mint nose, primary black fruit still there but on the way out. A medium bodied palate retains some fruit with a luscious chocolate finish. Tannins are there, this could go for another year or so but is peak drinking now. My score, 88/100 and definitely would buy again if I could.

2007 Howard Park Scotsdale Shiraz

Purchased from Dan's for $30. Lovely (but not big) nose of primary plums and developing chocolate/mocha. Michael thinks also some turkish delight, Brooke reckons rose water (which I'm told is damn near the same thing). The palate doesn't meet the expectation of one of Margaret River's best Shiraz. Medium bodied at best, back palate seems a little too acidic. The balance improved with time out of the bottle, but still a little thin. Long finish however, dark fruits. Our score, 85/100. Buy again, they tell me the '08 is better.

2008 Main Ridge Estate Chardonnay

Purchased cellar door for $45. A clean and delicate nose, restrained oak. Creamy and nutty palate, just lovely. Beautifully balanced finish, perfect amount of acid. We loved it then, we love it now. Our score, 92 (that's a biggie for FNVTBB) out of 100. Buy again - need to track it down somehow.

1999 Leroy Bourgogne Rouge

 Let the frog nonsense begin! I love this wine. If this is Regionale then I don't need to buy 1er or Grand Cru again. Leroy is one of the finest Burgundy producers, so even their regionale is of superb quality. At $50 it is an affordable treat. When you break the foil, expect something ugly! But do not be alarmed, this is what it should look like. Leroy have adopted the wet cork approach which seems to work, I haven't had a faulty bottle so far. The corks are completely sodden in wine then sealed. Be sure to wipe all the funky growth ffrom the top of the cork before pulling it. I decanted this wine for 30mins, then enjoyed it over 2hrs, and it kept getting better! Impressive for a wine of this age and so called inferior fruit :). Rich Oriental spice and black current. Super fine tannin that lasts an eternity and succulent big mouth feel. It is showing some aged characteristics and some of the primary fruit is missing, but what is left is still divine and rewarding. I will buy this while I can. 90/100. This wine purchased from The Wine Emporium, Brisbane.

2008 Sevenhill Cellars Inigo Shiraz

Purchased as a speculator, and it really delivered. Decanted for 2 hours. A Very dark colour, ink. A seriously good nose of inky red fruits with some chocolate and mint. Only a medium bodied palate (a surprise), not massively complex but everything in balance. Tannins are there and quite drying. This will be better again in couple of years time. Our score, 87/100. Buy again - 100 year old vines for 17 bucks, you betcha.

The Giant Steps Chardonnay was very nice. Purchased from their cellar door. I felt the Aurthur's Creek Vineyard was the pick of the current release chardonnays. To be super critical, there was just a touch too much acid, which I am sure would balance out given some time. 87/100 and I would buy again.

Rockford "Black Shiraz" Sparkling Shiraz, 2007 Willow Creek Cistercia Chardonnay, 2008 Domaine Terlato & Chapoutier "lieu dit Malakoff" Shiraz and 2008 Frogmore Creek Iced Riesling.

I am a massive Rockford fan, despite some not so nice experiences at their cellardoor. So to finally get my hands on this sparkling shiraz was exciting. However, at $70 I will not be buying it again. Dont get me wrong, it was delightful, but I expected more from them. As you would expect, it was full of rich dark fruit and a sweet spicy nose, but it was disjointed on the palate. 86/100.