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.