WTN: A Rhone and Two Wannabe's

[Jenise]

2004 Coudoulet de Beaucastel Blanc: low acid, flabby apple flavors plus a slight sherry note. Exactly the kind of white Rhone that makes people say "I hate white Rhones" even though there are some excellent exceptions.

2001 Mt. Langhi Ghiran Billi Billi Shiraz: on release, surprisingly savory and dry for an Aussie with red earth and green olive flavors among the restrained syrah fruit, much like a Crozes Hermitage, so much so that I returned to the store and bought their last remaining bottle. I remember suspecting that it was just travel-shocked and with time would morph into a more typical Australian. But it didn't! It's the same but better with tamer tannins and more developed flavors, plus secondary nuances along for the ride. Drinks well now but should reward further cellaring, perhaps up to five years. By typical Shiraz standards probably considered a loser, but by lesser Northern Rhone standards it's a good little wine.

1998 Terre Rouge Syrah, Amador County, California
Mature berry fruit with a dried apricot tang on the acids and a raisiny finish along with saddle leather and a bit of funk. Impressively old world tasty for a new world wine. And though very good for its age, the tannins are pretty much done and the wine won't improve from here.

Agree on the Billi Billi. Had it a few times and found it to be a rather nice wine at an equally nice price (at least here in Ontario).

I have a 2001 Terre Rouge Ascent. Probably should open it. Not sure I really liked the 2005 vintage that I sampled, though.

[Jenise]

I have a 2001 Terre Rouge Ascent. Probably should open it. Not sure I really liked the 2005 vintage that I sampled, though.

I have zero feel for what kind of vintage 98 was or the difference between it and 01, Brian. But I have to say that the 05 vintage was great across the area--ripe fruit, but not too ripe--at least in El Dorado County. Amador, a bit warmer, might have had trouble keeping things in control. I didn't like most of the Amadors I tasted when we visited there recently--found them all but the Sobons too jammy with pretty high alcohols.

2001 Mt. Langhi Ghiran Billi Billi Shiraz: on release, surprisingly savory and dry for an Aussie with red earth and green olive flavors among the restrained syrah fruit, much like a Crozes Hermitage. I remember suspecting that it was just travel-shocked and with time would morph into a more typical Australian. But it didn't! It's the same but better with tamer tannins and some secondary nuances along for the ride. By typical Australian standards probably considered a loser, but by lesser Northern Rhone standards it's a nice little wine.

Jenise, Mount Langi Ghiran makes some very classical Aussie Shiraz that's a long way from the 'typical' Barossa ink that dominates the markets here. The Billi Billi Creek is their lowest end cheap-drinker label which I've found quite pleasant in the past. There's one that goes for a few bucks more called the Cliff Edge Shiraz which tends to (IMO) have a bit more spice and complexity... and their flagship Langi (blue label) Shiraz is in my book one of the great Australian reds.
If you ever find some of that, lose it in a cellar for a decade or more, then pop it open and you'll be stunned. My last experience with one of those was a bottle of the '99 Langi (earlier this year) that held its own with a lot of high end Rhones at a wine dinner - showed a flavour profile more akin to Northern Rhone (sandalwood, white/black pepper, spices, leather, etc) with lots of structure and elegance. Definitely a wine worth seeking - it's held in very high regard down under, although it's a lot harder to find here given that it's often been damned with faint praise/low scores from Parker, and doesn't sell at its price along with the high scoring Barossa and McLaren bombs.

thanks for notes.
I didn't even know there was a Coudoulet blanc!
Always good to get leads on the non-gobby Aussies. I like Yarra Yering, Parker estate, Henschke Mount Edelstone , etc, but hard to buy blind!

[Jenise]

Agree on the Billi Billi. Had it a few times and found it to be a rather nice wine at an equally nice price (at least here in Ontario).

Here too--it was only $12 or $14.

Always good to get leads on the non-gobby Aussies. I like Yarra Yering, Parker estate, Henschke Mount Edelstone , etc, but hard to buy blind!

I like those, too. The Billi Billi was a nice surprise being so French. Possibly an off year by Oz standards--much as I liked this bottle, it would never have made a Wine Spec Top 100 list and either the following vintage or one after that actually did. I have no idea whose bottle was more typical--however, I have to say that Mt. Langhi Ghiran is a producer I've liked for their flagship shiraz, as Salil describes.

... and their flagship Langi (blue label) Shiraz is in my book one of the great Australian reds. If you ever find some of that, lose it in a cellar for a decade or more, then pop it open and you'll be stunned.

Have it, done that. We brought several bottles of the 98 back from a 2000 trip down under, and opened the first of them just a few months ago. And years before that, the '93 was one of the first Oz Shirazes I ever tasted, along with a Bin 389 and a Jasper Hill Emily's Paddock from the same vintage. It was in my early days of wine exploration where every bottle taught me something, and my palate has shifted dramatically from those early days, but fair or not I still tend to judge almost all Aussies by that first experience.

2004 Coudoulet de Beaucastel Blanc: low acid, flabby apple flavors plus a slight sherry note. Exactly the kind of white Rhone that makes people say "I hate white Rhones" even though there are some excellent exceptions.

Could it be the year? I've last tasted the Coudoulet blanc back in the '90's and found them to be representative of the type, and better than what you found. Of course, I like well-made Rhone white wines more than most people on these wine boards. Do you know if they are diverting the grapes into a secondary wine?

Ah hum....here is another fan!

Of course, I like well-made Rhone white wines more than most people on these wine boards.