On Wed, 09 May 2007 11:18:43 GMT, "John T" >
wrote:

>May tasting of Solihull Fine Wine Society.
>
>Theme was OZ and two ringers.
>
>Blind as usual.
>
>Flight one
>
>Farr, Chardonnay, Victoria 2002. £18.95
>Bright pale gold with a strange toffee and cough drop nose, not unpleasant.
>Good weight and balance, long. A nice chard.
>
>Grosset, Picadilly, Chard, Adelaide Hills, 2003. £16
>Paler than the Farr, dumb amd restrained, classic riesling ( ha bloody ha),
>refreshing acidity and balance. Two hours later had opened up into glorious
>buttery Mersault nose. Top class after the initial fauxpas.
>
>Flight two
>Farr Pinot Noir, Geelong, Victoria, 2004, £15.40
> youngest with good extract, dumb fruit and stalky, poor entry mean fruit,
>jst like the nose. That was my note. Two other members thought it was
>stunning and we double checked we were drinking the same stuff. I stand by
>my notes and got the **** taken somewhat.
>
>Grossett Pinot Noir, Adelaide Hills, 2003, £16
>A hint of brown, bright and viscous. Raspberries and cherries, spice, all in
>balance, super, spicy fruit. Yum.
>
>Farr, Sangreal, Geelong, Victoria, Pinot Noir, 2003 £18.90
>Wonderful burgundian robe, intense cherries and cinnamon, complex. Soft
>sweet mouthful with fat middle, loads of fruit and long, a true fruit bomb,
>but someone mentioned sugar and old burgundian habits of adding. sugar and
>algerian as per the bad old days. my WOTN
>
>Flight three
>Howard Park, cab, merlot, cf, Margaret River, Western Oz. 1998. £21.00
>Stunning, leapt out of the glass, in your face oz claret, textbook cabernet
>of a colonial nature.Soft fruit and little tannin, at its peak now. long.
>
>d'Angludet, Margaux 1996, (historic cost of £13.75)
>Huge extract, deep like port, no age, Vanilla oak cassis, shitty organic,
>screamed Margaux. Rasping tannins still, ? enough fruit, try 5 years.
>spotted as the ringer.
>
>Flight four
>Ch Grand Puy-Lacoste Pauillac, 1986, (Historic £13.30)
>Brown edge, tight salty nose with some fruit and spice, fair fruit, but
>imbalanced and starting to dry out. a bland hollow wine past its best.
>
>Wynns Coonawarra, John Riddoch Limited Release, South Australia, 1986. £55!!
>Dead and cooked, to be returned to the merchants. Crumbly cork, probably sat
>in a container in Darwin for a few years.
>
Interesting notes. Thanks.

The Grosset Chardonnay is consistently excellent, and ranks with
Australia's best. It DOES need time, so not surprising the end tasted
better than the start...:>)

Farr has been a 'rising star' for a few years, and is seen by the wine
geeks as a future top liner. I like his wines without loving them, to
the extent I think the hype outweighs the product.

Had an '85 John Riddoch a few months ago, with a very ordinary cork,
and although not corked, it totally underwhelmed me. Way too bland
for my liking, and think it a bit old to be going through a 'dumb'
phase, so I can only assume it was never meant to be a 20 year stayer.

hooroo....