d'Arenberg Coppermine Road Cab Sauv 2004 (McLaren Vale)

A little bit of a disappointment this one.
I'd opened it about 2 hours before dinner, so that we could take it in to Giardenetto's in the valley for our 6th anniversary.
Thought it might be a little bit special, but it didn't ring any bells for me.
Once it had opened up, it had a quite strong stewed fruit taste that whilst not unpleasant, was not what I had expected. There was a lot of earth to it and it did have an almost creamy finish, but the big fruity mouthfeel kinda left me wanting something else.

In fact it was later that I finished the Norman's basket pressed shiraz and it completely blew this away.
Granted that I do prefer shiraz and especially from the McLaren Vale region... but the Norman's had that 'it' factor.

I do have a few bottle of the Dead Arm Shiraz laying in wait, so I'm hoping that they redeem the good name of D'Arenberg.
At least in my untrained eyes.

Price: not sure, was a gift
Rating: 83 (sorry, but I wouldn't buy this again)

Normans Basket Pressed Shiraz Bin C163 2008 (Greenock Barossa Valley)

This wine was once again outstanding. Especially the second day... It has a flavour all of it's own and I find it to be 'intoxicating' :)
I only have one bottle left of this, so it's going into storage. If there are any more out there, please let me know, but at $10 a bottle I'm going to assume that it's all gone.

Bugger.

PS. Did a bit of searching and Normans Wines have this, unfortunately it's $22.95 a bottle.
I am still tempted though as it's worth every cent. (all 2295 of them)

Price: $10 Get Wines Direct (if you were lucky)
Rating: 95

Cleanskin - Marananga Greenock Single Vineyard 100 Year Old Vines GSM 2005

This wine was a mouthful to type up and I have no idea if this clean skin is as good as GWD says (They have given a lot of ratings from a lot of wine nobs, so unless this wine is a big name brand then they may be full of it)
A $21 clean skin that my own research that pointed me toward being a Colonial Estate 'John Speke' GSM which is worth over $50 (up to $70) a bottle... so it is meant to be good, if you follow pricing as a guide to taste.

It's a nice wine. I left it for at least an hour to breathe and it opened up nicely. Very smooth with a big Jammy raspberry with sweet cherry and black current as well. It was not a big wine but it has a really nice subtle french ok to it, but not overpowering at all.
It has a predominantly Grenache leaning, but that just makes it different to what i normally drink. So that is a good thing.

I'm not entirely sure about paying $21 again. I did really enjoy the wine, but I have enjoyed others more for half the price... I bought 4 of them, so maybe I will reevaluate after the next bottle.

Rating: 88
Price: $21 (Get Wines Direct)

Gotham Langhorne Creek / McLaren Vale Shiraz 2004

Just for something different and to celebrate the umpteenth day of rain, I decided to crack open an old favourite.
I am lucky to still have a few bottles left of this and I remember how unique it was (especially when left to breath for a long time)
So that's what I did and Wow!! This wine was so good.
Smooth and full, there was a definite honey-like aroma and taste, but definitely not over the top.
It has developed over the last year or two since I bought them and this has inspired me to leave the rest alone for another few years.
Sorry that I can't provide better tasting notes, but I was in no state to be typing last night and there was not more than a whiff left in the decanter. Suffice to say that both Jean and I were more than impressed with how smooth and distinctive this wine had become.

Gotham wines would have to be Australia's best niche reds. I was lucky to stumble across this one (because of the label) and have enjoyed every vintage since.

Price - Not available anymore, but was under $10 at auction a few years back.
Rating - 90 (I would get this again in an instant if I could)

Tyrrell's Wines Rufus Stone Shiraz 2007 (Heathcote)

Mmmm.. this wine was a pressie and a welcome one at that.
I love Heathcote Shiraz and this was no disappointment. Really smooth and almost buttery.
Definitely a cut above some of the shiraz I have had lately and a wonderful accompaniment to the Lamb Madrasi I had from Sultans Kitchen at Clayfield. (normally I would be cooking the curry, but Sultans does this one particularly well... and it rained like something from the Old Testament today, so curry and a good red was just what the Doctor ordered.

Ahem. I digress...

Find this wine. I assume Tyrrells is available anywhere. It has a strong and tasty berry palate. Easy to drink, but not like lolly water. A hint of chocolate???
Nice french oak but not over powering - quite restrained alongside the rich berries.
I would love to get more of this and will suss it out once i finish this spiel.
Not imagining it's under $20. Let me know your thoughts if you have any...

Price: a gift (will take a look online later) (investigations show that it is indeed under $20... it's definitely a winner then)

NB. My investigations show that this wine sells for $14.99 at most online retailers, yet Get Wines Direct are stating that it's $24.95... shop around.

Rating: 92 (will get some more for sure!!)

Cedar Creek Estate Revelation Red 2009 (Granite Belt)

This may seem like I have crossed over to the Light side... but I really enjoy this wine.
So do many others that visit the Cedar Creek Estate Cellar door. The Revelation Red is a huge seller in the cellar (no, it's not really meant to be funny)
So, yes, the wine... well it's definitely a summer wine. Cab Sav and Muscat. Very easy to drink and only 9.5% Alcohol.
Very sweet and jammy, but extremely smooth on the palate. It's almost a 'fun' wine. (I can't believe I said that)
Let's just say that it went perfectly with the Chicken Saag I cooked today. mmm...

Better than most of the summer wines I have tried (moscato etc) but since it's really only available at the cellar door, it's not comparable price wise.
Unfortunately.
However, if you do find yourself at Tamborine mountain, then grab a bottle or two and head down into the Glow Worm caves.
They are pretty amazing.

Now I don't have a picture to go with this review, since I can't get a decent shot on the iPhone but when i do, I'll whack it on here. Apologies to those that need to see a label. (Umm.. I have obviously remedied my laziness and a photo appears)

Another extremely drinkable QLD summer wine. We seem to do summer quite well up here.
Give it a try and let me know what you think. I would love to buy more but the $18 price tag is a little prohibitive.

I realise that my tastes have run to the sweet of late, but the weather dictates it.

Rating 88
Price $18 at the Cellar Door

Cleanskin - Barossa Greenock Basket Pressed Shiraz 2008

Fark.
Sorry bout the simulated profanity, but I just tried to order another dozen of this wine, only to find that it has sold out.
Shit shit shit.

Easily the best cleanskin I have ever tasted and I should have bought more last week, but I made a stupid new years resolution to only buy once a month. I thought I'd wait, but after trying this tonight I was going to make this my monthly purchase.
It's THAT good.

Thanks to Stephen and Chris I had tried the Norman's Basket Pressed Shiraz and loved it. Only to find it had sold out when i wanted more. So I swooped on this cleanskin from the same region and was not disappointed.

A pleasant nose and mouth full of Strawberry Jam (in my opinion) (in fact it is very much a strawberry jam flavour... despite the tasting notes)
There is a generous amount of wood too. Plus plum.
On the whole it's brilliant for the price.
Damn my stupid resolution. This is worth more.

Rating: 9.3 (would have bought 2 dozen if i could)
Price $10 a bottle (Get Wines Direct)

Ratings System at The Red Pool for 2010

Basically I am going to make things easy on myself and just give a rating of whole numbers.

(with decimals, but they are not as important they will just help me remember just how special it was within that rating)

A rating of 9 will mean that I finished the bottle and either went straight to the computer and ordered more of the same, or straight to the cellar and opened one.

A rating of 8 will be given if it was a damn nice wine, but didn't leave me wanting more immediately.

A rating of 7 would mean that I liked it, but didn't really care either way

A rating of 6 would mean that I didn't really like it but was happy to drink it for the price.

A rating of 5 would mean I just didn't like it and would remember to stay away from that name in future.

Anything less than that would mean that I have probably tasted better wine coming back up toward the porcelain :)

So these rating will be used from the last few posts onwards and may mean nothing to anyone reading, but will help me know what I really thought of a wine, rather than just slap a number from 1 - 100 on it.

If you are reading this, then Cheers !!

Dart River Pinot Noir 2008 (Central Otago)

Now THIS is a nice wine. Possibly my favourite Pinot Noir thus far and unfortunately unavailable now.

The reason I like this wine so much is that it has a very strong and extremely pleasant 'strawberries and cream' flavour to it, whilst maintaining the iconic Pinot Noir sensibilities.

I had heard that Central Otago in NZ was pretty much the best place in the world for Pinot Noir and I can only agree. Dart River is apparently just a label for the wine as it was bought and distributed by Get Wines Direct in Australia.

They wont say which winery actually produced it, so I can't really replace my dwindling stocks. GWD say that it does retail for $55 under it's real name.

I could almost believe it.

I did end up buy a couple of dozen and actually bought the very last stocks from them. Some of which ended up as Christmas presents... Hmm... Lets hope that they were as loved as they are here!!

I have had one pinot that I liked from Tasmania and one from Victoria, but neither really matched this one for overall enjoyment. Please feel free to make suggestions as I am keen to find good Pinot Noir whenever I can.

Price: $18

Rating: 9.2

Witches Falls Syrah 2006 (Granite Belt)

A big surprise this one. A QLD red that ended up being extremely drinkable.

Bought by Jean on our last trip to Tamborine (an obligatory tasting purchase at the Cellar Door), we decided to try this one last night.

I was a bit dubious, because at the tasting it seemed to taste like every other Queensland Shiraz... but by the end of the bottle we both wished we had bought more.

Unfortunately, it comes in at $20 a bottle and I would assume that is the only place it's available at the moment. However, it tastes like a $20 bottle.

It has a nice nose of slightly sweet but oaky black currants. Now I am partial to black curranty tasting wines, so that won me over. It's a little spicy and just oaky enough to smooth it all out with really fine tannins.

With all due respect, I could not believe this was a QLD wine.

Definitely one to look out for if you happen to be visiting Mt Tamborine. It was my first visit to this winery and it will be the first place I go next time I'm there doing photos.

Price: $20

Rating: 9

(basically anything I think I could drink another bottle of straight away will be rating a 9 for me)(the various decimals that follow the 9 will just be there to help separate things)

Devils Lair - Margaret River

Although this was a fair while ago, I had to share this photo.

Taken by my mate Ben, after a long drive to find my favourite winery in the Margaret River... Not only do they have the coolest label, but they are consistently among the best wines in the region.

Devil's Lair also make the 'Fifth Leg' range and although they are considerably cheaper, they are also outstanding wines.

In particular the Chardonnay, of which many bottles were consumed this summer. Cheap (under $10 on special) and among my favourite Chardies ever.

So it was for this reason that I wished to visit my 'Mecca'...

After many dirt roads and missed turns we found it. Only to see this welcome sign.

That was that. No entry :(

At least we tried.

Ballandean Estate Wines White Pearl 2009 (Granite Belt)

First wine back for 2010 and it's appropriate that I look at a white. From QLD.

This was a gift from friends Adam and Ngara and very much appreciated.

As you may already know, I'm not a big fan of white wine, but this one I could drink til the cows come home.

It's definitely sweet, but in no way overly so. It's easy to drink, but not in a 'cordial' sort of way. It has a definite lychee flavour.

A little acidity is balanced by the generous fruit taste making for an excellent mouthfeel.

As this was a gift I'm not sure what it cost. Unfortunately, I have no idea if there is any distribution in place either. So if you find yourself in Stanthorpe... pop in and try some for yourself.

Again, I really... REALLY enjoyed this and I don't usually find many whites drinkable.

I'm keen to hear what anyone else thinks, so please, drop me a comment.

Rating: 9.0

Price: Not sure but I would think they have a website, so check that out.

Back for 2010

After a self imposed hiatus for the majority of 2009, I have decided to get back into this blog.

Thanks to a comment from anonymous that reminded me why I do this...

One reason was that, as a full time student, I have limited my purchases to Grays Online and Get Wines Direct (for the obvious price reasons)

I was reluctant to dribble on about the cheapies all the time, but since I have found a good many great wines under $10... I figured I should.

Also, I have made a decision to aim for quality instead of quantity. This is partially due to health reasons and partially because I prefer drinking for pleasure, rather from habit. A lot of the 'quoffers' that I have had from Grays etc have been cheap, but ordinary. I will write some of these up, but focus my spending on people's suggestions and great deals on good wine.

So we'll see what happens :p

Capel Vale "Howecoft' Merlot 1998 (Margaret River)

Damn.

This wine is magnificent. Showing all the class of the Margaret River and the benefits of a bit of age.

Had this bottle with my good friend Ben over in Perth. He was saving this for a special occasion and I'm so glad that he did. It's been a while since I've seen him and he was my tour guide on my recent pilgrimage to the Margaret River. But I'll talk about that later...

Unfortunately we didn't make it to the Capel Vale winery, but while I was over there we drank only wines from the region. That wasn't difficult.  :)

This merlot was quite simply brilliant. It reeked class in a way that I didn't expect from a merlot. I don't mean to sound wanky about Merlot, but it's never really my favourite style.

This had an almost honey and citrus nose, with a very smooth and almost smoky rich mouthfeel.

I'm going to have to try and find more of this. For special occasions.

Rating: 9.6

Price:   not sure yet, but will find out.

Heritage Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2007 (Granite Belt)

My goodness.

This wine has gained a lot of attention following it's win in the blind tasting 'WineState Magazine Wine of the Year' 2008.

For a Queensland wine (and a white at that) to win this is a HUGE surprise. But a great one. 

Lucky for the winery, since they put the price up from about $20 to $55 to cash in. Now you can only buy 2 bottles of it.

But that's ok, they deserve their day in the sun. On to the wine...

Good friends A and N brought round the bottle and we were all quite excited. We drank a couple of other whites first, but this one just blew them all away. It was simply brilliant. 

Beautiful balance of oak and fruit. Quite complex and very easy to drink. Unfortunately I couldn't tell you what flavours came up, since we ended up drinking 7 bottles between the 3 of us that were drinking :)

But the feeling that what we were consuming was somehow 'magical' was quite overwhelming.

Yes, it's a white wine and yes, it was good. Damn good. I ordered another two bottles at $55 straightaway and hope to somehow get another few. 

This is the second wine from Heritage that I have liked, so it's looking good for the rest of the Granite Belt into the future. Go Queensland  :)

Price $55

Rating   9.8/10  ( yes. )

Ballandean Estate Wines Sylvaner 2005 (Granite Belt)

An Historic posting for my wine blog... my very first white wine. (So you know this has to be special)

After spending an awesome day at the Brisbane Good Food and Wine Show I am amazed that I didn't fall asleep on the train on the way home and end up in Caboolture... So glad I went.

Which is where I discovered this little beauty of a dessert wine from Queensland's own Ballandean Estate.

Now if you have read anything on this blog before you know that I am partial to my big reds. That hasn't changed, but since our trip to the Yarra Valley, I have learnt to like a few whites.

This is one of them. Definitely sweet and quite marmaladey in the mouth, this wine is still crisp and doesn't have an overly syrupy feel. It is very easy to drink and I am wishing I still had some cheese left as I finish off this bottle.

I have to say that I was impressed with the full range of Ballandean Whites, in particular the SSB and the Chardonnay. I'm so glad to see that our Queensland wineries can mix it with the southern states and I look forward to trying a lot more whites during the summer months.

Rating: 8.8/10 (hey, it's still a white wine) :)

Price: about $16 for the 375ml bottle from the cellar door at Ballandean Estate.

Grant Burge Echidna Crossing CabSav Shiraz Barossa 2006

Time for me to get back in the saddle and write up a few of these great little quaffers that I have been indulging in over the last few months of University Poordom.

One of the better ones that I have been stocking up on is the Grant Burge 'Echidna Crossing' ... WTF?? Stupid Name, good wine.

I'm finishing off a bottle now and am really impressed with this wine.

Can't really give it more than a reasonable rating, since i drank a bottle of the Tapestry 'The Vincent' last night and it reminded me just what a quality wine tasted like. (thank god I have a cellar)

This Grant Burge wine is a cab/shiraz and definitely easy to drink. Fruity with a long full finish.

Rating: 8.2 and that's good as far as i'm concerned for the price.

Price $5-10 per bottle (grays online)

(please note: I couldn't be f&%ked with any fancy ratings anymore... out of 10 is good enough)

News - October 2008

It's been a while since I have posted, mainly due to the fact that I have been drinking pretty much the same quaffers all winter... being a full time Uni student has made me cut back on drinking the 'good' wines lately, but it also means they all get a lot more cellar time, so that's one positive.

For those interested, my staple quaffers have been:

* Sandalford 'Elements' Cab Sav 2005 (WA) - Grays Online $8 a bottle approx.
* Gotham 'Langhorne Creak/McLaren Vale Shiraz' 2006 (SA) - Get Wines Direct $10 a bottle.
* Grant Burge 'Echidnas Crossing Shiraz' 2006 (SA) - Grays Online $7/8 a bottle approx.

and a few more in that sort of range.

All of these wines are great value and if you can get them for $6-$9 a bottle, it's well worth it.

In other news, I have just got back from Melbourne and a great little tour of the Yarra Valley. Will write that up seperately soon. It was well worth it.

Also took part in a Tasting for the Bendigo wine region that was held at Federation Square last week. Some very nice wines on show and I may mention a few of those when i find my tasting notes...

We also found an excellent 'All you can Eat' curry house for $10 per person, just after we did the tasting.
Bloody good curry. Bloody good price.

Brokenwood Red Dirt Regional Blend 2003

Something I bought on a whim from Grays Online at about $6 a bottle.
Best whim I have had in a long time of having whims... I took a punt on the blend of Shiraz, Grenache and Pinot Noir being OK and it really comes up well.

Smooth on the finish with a good amount of oak vs. fruit. (Quite a nice chocolatey/Vanilla feel, which as you may know... I love!!)
You can taste the Pinot, but it's really a good full blend of all three varieties that make this a unique drop. Tart but not acidic.

I'm really impressed with this and glad I bought the full dozen when I had the chance. Am happy to hear from anyone else that has tried it to get their impressions...

Drinkability 90
Value 95
Price $6 per bottle plus postage (Grays Online)

Vasarelli Vineyards Family Reserve Shiraz 2005 (McLarenvale)

First off.. this is not the proper label, but we left the bottle at the restaurant. (Sultan's Kitchen Clayfield - Brilliant Indian!!!)

This wine is marketed as ready to drink, but it still needed an hour or so in the decanter to really show it's love. A beautiful blend of French and American oak has given this wine a great chocolaty nose. Well I see it as chocolate, it's smoky without being dry.

In the mouth it's velvety and full flavoured. Not dry at all, but a nice rich fruity taste, which combined with the oak makes for a very pleasant drop.

I am a fan of the Vasarelli line of Shiraz and am hoping that Cellarmasters still have a case of the 2006 there. I'm still not sure as to how the wines rank, but this 'Family Reserve' seems to be quite good, especially if it is at the lower end of their quality ladder.

The Vasarelli super premiums are great, but for me, these low end drops are worth looking at more often. Not sure what these would be worth now, but at <$20 they are brilliant value.

Drinkability 91

Value 91

Price <$20 Cellarmasters wine club