Seppelts Benno Shiraz 2003

Seppelts seem to produce good quality regional wines of value no matter who owns them. This was the first vintage of their Premium Bendigo Shiraz.  I'm glad they took the plunge showcasing the regions within Victoria.  


Seppelts Benno Shiraz 2003

Pure line and length straight off the bat but as my mate and I sat there on a Friday night drinking this we didn't really give it a chance to show its best.  Still, it is brilliant! Cherry cola, blackberry menthol with a hint of spicy cow hide elegantly build as the night went on.   Don't touch these for another 5 or 6 years and this will move up the ranks.  Each time I went back, I had to adjust my notes and score. It is the elegance and length that sets this apart from so many examples of this variety.  Nothing is overblown, everything is controlled.  I would expect this to be around the 95pt when it reaches its peak. I'll get back to you in a few years to let you know how it's going.

Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: $45
Rated: 92
Drink: 2017 - 2028

Silly Goose Chardonnay Viognier 2010

2010 will go down as a beautiful white vintage for the Adelaide Hills. Generally, the wines from this vintage will evolve in the bottle for many years as they possess bright structure and restrained flavours.

Silly Goose Chardonnay Viognier 2010

In your face! I feel like I'm playing basketball again as the flavour of the wine is trying to eject me from the playing court. Apricot kernel and spicy melon invade my personal space! Big impact!

Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: $21
Rated: 83
Drink: now - 2013

Jauma Wood Vineyard 2010

Everyone is into food and wine pairing so I thought I would do movie and wine pairing instead.  The movie that pairs best with this little number is "The Tree of Life".  Terrence Mallick's film is shot naturally with no lighting and only a hand held camera as he is trying to show everything in a raw state.  The film is brilliantly cast and the leading lady is breathtaking in her outfits.  The film is visually impressive with little dialogue which tries to show the brutal nature of life.  Good idea but after 30 minutes into the film you get a large proposition filled with shots of volcanoes, oceans and the sun.  The cinema was packed and about 2 hours in people started yelling out comments like "I can't get back those minutes in my life or what sh** is this" and we even had one gentleman snore his head off.  Mallick spent 4 years editing this film which lends itself to perfectionistic tendencies, but in the end the message is lost due to his execution.  From the reviews I have looked at he either got no stars or 5 stars, with no stars taking up the greater proportion. 

Jauma Wood Vineyard 2010

The wine slowing creeps out of the bottle with cinnamon, red licorice and red lollies.  After a while a little dark chocolate comes into play.  These are beautiful flavours but they sit on an ultra bitter finish and a hint of Clag glue.  There are lovely light tannin elements coming into play which suggests that you could age this in the short to medium term.  Get rid of the flavours from the mid-palate to the finish and you have a brilliant wine!  Now I've had this wine four or five times and they have ranged from undrinkable to very good (72 - 89pts) and this one is in the middle. 

Alcohol: 15.5%
Price: $80
Rated: 85
Drink: 2011 - 2017

Box Stallion Tempranillo 2008

Tempranillo has burst onto the scene in Australia and I was quite shocked to see an example from Mornington Peninsula.  Generally the variety drinks well young but there are some brilliant age-worthy wines coming from Spain.  The drink now versions are characterised by flavours of dark berries, plum, vanilla, leather and herbs while the age-worthy wines add a dirty tobacco flavour.

Box Stallion Tempranillo 2008

Think of the advert for Coke when you are reading this as it adds value to the experience.   Sweet cola and red fruits intertwine with cooking chocolate and potting mix on a medium length palate.  It is just full bodied while the alcohol distracts from the overall experience.  It is what it is, a nice Tempranillo.  The only thing that concerns me is for the price I can buy some really good Spanish Temps.

Alcohol: 13.9%
Price: $39
Rated: 83
Drink: 2011 - 2015

Blue Tongue Vineyards Shiraz 2008

This reminds me of those critter wines

Blue Tongue Shiraz 2008

When I think of Barossa Shiraz at the height of the Parker faze this is what comes to mind.  Sweet chocolate blackberry pie followed by spicy blueberries lusciously flowing over my palate.  It makes me feel like pulling out a cheese platter or a home made chocolate self saucing pudding.  All of the plush flavours ride on a medium length palate.  For a drink now style at this price (I only found out the price after I had reviewed it) I would be happy to crack this out for a winter party.

Alcohol: 14%
Price: $14
Rated: 82
Drink: Now

Dowie Doole Merlot 2009

Merlot and McLaren Vale are not the two things I normally would think are associated. Have a look at the Dowie Doole website as it is rather fun and informative. This is the introduction on their site that details how they got started.  I can see a lot of labels starting as a result of drinking red wine for breakfast.

"A bottle of good wine can help solve many problems. At least that was the thinking of friends Norm Doole and Drew Dowie as they watched the sun rise after enduring a cold, all-night session harvesting some of their fruit during the difficult 1995 vintage.

Seeing their grapes being trucked away to other wineries and frustrated at not being in control of their fruit from that point, the two opened a bottle of red wine over breakfast and decided then to form a partnership, the purpose of which was to take charge of all aspects of growing grapes, making, bottling and selling their own wine."

Dowie Doole Merlot 2009

It is not the most complex wine but what it does have is an easy appeal and a beautiful approach.  There are flavours of dark chocolate, plums and olives set against a light tannin structure.  If I got home from work and I wanted to just de-stress, this would be the wine for me.  Pleasure me a glass, please.

Alcohol: 14%
Price: $22
Rated: 84
Drink: Now - 2014