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WTN: Recent mostly inexpensive Oz and NZ plus Balmoral

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Jay Labrador

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WTN: Recent mostly inexpensive Oz and NZ plus Balmoral

by Jay Labrador » Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:24 am

James Estate Semillon Hunter Valley 2001 - Lots of medals on the bottle prompted me to buy this a few years back. Pale green-gold. Lemon drop candy nose. Plenty of acid. Very young tasting wine. Sappy, medium bodied. Nicely balanced with good structure if a bit simple.

Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2005 - Crisp, refreshing, light. Slightly grassy. Solid wine.

Stonehaven Stepping Stone Chardonnay Padthaway 2003 - Lightly golden. Very oaky, charred nose. This is reflected on the palate. Some sweetness. Way too oaky to find anything else here but I guess a crowd pleaser. I find this difficult to drink.

Selaks Premium Selection Merlot Rose 2005 - Nice, deep salmon color. Quite dry. Light. A good attack but a bit flabby in the finish. OK for quaffing. Alcohol is a little obtrusive at 13%.

Angove's Bear Crossing Cabernet Merlot 2003 - Good nose. Quite dry for what I suppose is a Yellow Tail competitor. Soft and a little flabby. This is starting to get old but should still be OK over the next year or so.

Tigress Pinot Noir Bay of Fires Tasmania 2004 - Just a touch too much oak. Very dry. Light. Some tannic grip. Austere wine. Difficult to taste alone but would probably be nice with some food.

Claymore Nocturne Merlot Clare Valley 2002 - Very dark. Spicy, lead pencil shavings nose. Some mint as well. Nice nose. Still tannic. Has a slight metallic tang to it. A hint of Chinese preserved plums as well. Showing better than the previous bottle I had about a month or so ago. Can still age. I don't particularly care for the metallic character which, hopefully, age will tame.

Rolf Binder Hales Shiraz 2004 - Black wine. Rather exotic nose. Smoke and aromatic woods. Very nice nose. Soft and spicy. A drink now style. Medium finish. Medium bodied and quite dry. Solid wine but nothing special.

Rosemount Balmoral Syrah 1998 - I'm not really a fan of Rosemount's wines which I find way too sweet. The one exception is the Balmoral which manages to avoid being cloying. Still very dark. Nothing special on the nose which is pleasant enough. Full-bodied and starting to soften. Very dry, savoury wine. Well integrated and much softer than my previous experience with this about 2 years ago. While the tannins are softer, the wine is still tight and not giving much. There is a sense that there is something simmering beneath the monolithic structure but it will take patience before it reveals itself in full. Fortunately I have one more bottle. Rated very good to excellent for potential.
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Ian Sutton

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Re: WTN: Recent mostly inexpensive Oz and NZ plus Balmoral

by Ian Sutton » Mon Jul 24, 2006 12:16 pm

Jay
Agree with you on the general sweetness of Rosemounts. The last two I tried were GSM and Traditional and both were quite syrupy. I think it will be a while before I try them again.
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Redwinger

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Re: WTN: Recent mostly inexpensive Oz and NZ plus Balmoral

by Redwinger » Mon Jul 24, 2006 1:06 pm

Jay,
Thanks for the update on the Balmoral..I believe I have a bottle or two of the 1998 hidden away in the cellar. I'll let them hide for a bit longer based upon your note.
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Nico Padilla

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Re: WTN: Recent mostly inexpensive Oz and NZ plus Balmoral

by Nico Padilla » Mon Jul 24, 2006 2:02 pm

My recollection of the Balmoral was a long finish and subdued tannins, while not cloying, I didn't find it particularly dry and I didn't get the savory notes I would expect were this a northern rhone of the same age; far from over the hill, and an excellent drop but I can't see it developing much more. Having said that, part of the fun of these tasting sessions is how persons drinking the the same wine can sometimes come up with entirely different tastes. :)

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