Haan
Hanenhof
Kaesler
Langmeil
Oscar Semmler
Stonehorse
Torbreck
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Irvine Eden Valley Chardonnay 2002
The Australians are leading the trend to produce more traditional style chardonnays.
This wine has a creamy presence from lees stirring, but is very bright in style with
flavors of lime zest, star fruit, and minerals.
The acidity is very crisp and the finish has a slight creamy wink at the end.
Irvine Eden Valley Chardonnay is a well made stainless steel white.
This wine is very food friendly.
Retail price $15. Tasted September 17, 2003.
A refreshing drop in a sea of "Oak-bomb-chardonnays" earning two out of three  .
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Langmeil "The Gardens" 2001
is a blend of those highly regarded Rhône Valley varietals,
syrah, grenache, and mordèvr.
I love the fact that the Australian winemakers have embraced this blend and
it is even more special that the talent at Langmeil has taken an interest in it as well.
There's plenty of fruit on the front of the palate, but I found a sexy smokey,
roasted herb seed, earthy quality about the wine.
The big ripe black cherry and raspberry flavors are complimented by spice
and a touch of ripe tomatoes.
There is a good level of acidity that allows this Australian to be enjoyed with food.
The wine is balanced out by some sultry tannins.
Retail price $15. Tasted September 17, 2003.
A sultry, densely-fruity, finely structured wine earning two out of three .
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Langmeil "The Valley Floor& 2001 Shiraz
Plummy, with hints of dark chocolate, black cherries ready to burst open with ripeness,
earth and clove, and toasted vanilla bean with a flirty hint of licorice.
This is a blend of varying grapes from vines of 50 years to 120 years of age.
Well made, scrumptious, and structured.
Soft tannins and good acid bring each sip to a lingering end.
Retail price $22. Tasted September 17, 2003.
Tasty and value priced . . . a great red from "Down Under" earning two out of three .
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Langmeil Freedom Shiraz 2000
is boldly fruity, yet is so interesting on mid-palate and finish.
Produced from "Old Vine" fruit, the density of the juice seems to be endless.
The jammy, huge fruity flavors of plums, cassis, and black cherries is whisked away gracefully by
titillating notes of earth, clove, mint, and toasted vanilla and cocoa bean.
The flavors are layered and cause you to stop and take extreme notice of what is going on
in your mouth. Incredible!!!
Langmeil 2000 Freedom Shiraz is one of the most impressive
Australian Shirazs that I've ever tasted.
Because of the care and low yield the winemakers at Langmeil take with these vines,
this bottle will lay down for a good 4-6 more years.
Retail price $50. Tasted September 17, 2003.
Setting the standard . . . earning three out of three  .
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Langmeil "The Fifth Wave" 2001 Grenache
was so impressive with it's funky dried herb flavors, leather, tomato skin, eucalyptus, and fresh black pepper.
It is as interesting as it is rich with fruit flavors.
The plum canvas is brimming with flavors other than fruit, but not to worry,
the fruit is ripe and of the quality we've come to love in well crafted Australian wines.
This is a beautiful intersection of "Châteauneuf du Pape" meets Aussie Grenache.
The tannins are silky and the acidity gives the wine an extra facet.
Absolutely ripe, drinkable, funky, and so interesting.
Retail price $30. Tasted September 17, 2003.
Interesting, ripe, and well worth the price earning three out of three .
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Langmeil Shiraz Liquer Tawny 1985
gives any dessert wine in this price category something to worry about.
Let's face facts, I've not had many dessert wines that were not enjoyable.
This Tawny is exceptional with its blend of grenache and morvèdre.
In a sea of great "stickies" this bottle surpasses the norm.
Rich toffee, with layered depth, bright dried cherry flavors, with warm toasted undertones.
Elegant, robust, sweet, sharp, Langmeil Tawny Shiraz is a true joy.
Retail price $40 for 375 ml bottle. Tasted September 17, 2003.
Buy this for a friend, buy it for yourself, don't miss out on this beautiful Australian Tawny that earns three out of a possible three .
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Hanenhof 2001 Barossa Valley Shiraz
is quite bargain for the price.
I expected a heftier price tag on this glorious bottle of ripe, red, juice.
There is plenty of black licorice on the nose and the palate is spicy, dense,
and loaded with black fruit.
The label shown is not the label on the bottle, although it does have a rooster in the right-hand corner.
Australian wines tend to be lacking in acidity, but Hanenhof Shiraz has plenty of acid and structure to
carry all the ripe fruit.
Here is a $30 shiraz with a $17 price tag.
Hanenhof is Haan's second label.
Drink and enjoy!
Retail price $17. Tasted September 17, 2003.
More juice for your jingle . . . earning two out of three .
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Hanenhof Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc 2001 Barossa Valley
Ah yes, a Bordeaux blend from Barossa that does the blending talents of Bordeaux winemakers proud.
The price makes this a bargain for the quality.
This win has good acidity, tannins, and is very interesting with its fruit flavors.
This is truly a "Bordeaux meets Barossa" blend with its licorice, clove, cedar,
dried herbs, plum and cassis notes.
Big fruit, ample structure, and a great price.
Retail price $17. Tasted September 17, 2003.
Sexy and structured earning two out of three .
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Haan Barossa "Prestige" Merlot 2000
has 10% cabernet franc blended in to the mix.
Plums, boysenberries, anise, and smoke grace the initial flavor sensation in your mouth.
This wine has a nice eucalyptus note on the mid palate.
The cab-franc gives the merlot a nice acid structure on the finish.
The tannins are soft and the overall impression of Haan 2000 Barossa Merlot is that it is very smooth.
Retail price $40. Tasted September 17, 2003.
An event on its own earning two out of three .
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Haan Barossa "Prestige" Shiraz 2000
gas good structure for an Australian red.
The tannins are smooth, the acidity is ample enough to stand up to
the explosion of fruit on the front of the palate.
Spicy, vanilla, mint, plum, it is what we've come to love about
Australian shiraz.
Well made and scrumptous.
Retail price $40. Tasted September 17, 2003.
Sultry and funky earning two out of possible three .
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Oscar Semmler 2001 Shiraz
production was only 550, twelve bottle cases produced for this vintage.
It is a very impressive bottle of wine with its concentrated nose and beautiful deep red color.
The palate is ripe with juicy berry and plum flavors, spicy tar, and toasted vanilla notes.
There is ample structure with a gracious amount of acid and tannins.
Another collectable bottle from down-under.
Drink it now or savor its juicy-ripeness in under eight years.
As a side note, the label is pretty cool too . . . I usually don't comment on labels, but this one is unusual.
Retail price $65. Tasted September 8, 2003. Overflowing with value earning two .
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Kaesler Stonehorse Barossa Valley GSM 2001
is a well know Rhône Valley blend of grenache, syrah, and morvedre.
I personally love when a producer blends these grapes
and it is even more special when the grapes come from old vines, which is the case with this blend.
Each varietal brings something special to the blend.
The syrah or shiraz as the Aussie call it is spicy and elegant,
the grenache is smooth, dense, and ripe with tomato skins and plums,
the morvedre is big, inky, and loaded with ripe black fruit flavors and black pepper.
The acid structure and tannins are light.
The finish on this wine is memorable.
I found this wine to be very structured.
Retail price $16. Tasted September 17, 2003.
A great bottle of red earning two out of three .
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Kaesler Stonehorse Barossa Valley Shiraz 2001
is a yummy bottle of shiraz for the money.
I was so impressed with the quality of fruit that went into this bottle of wine.
The vines are young compared to the other vineyards,
amazingly only 40 year old vines went into this bottle,
compared to their 100+ vines that go into their upper end shirazs.
There are plum, black pepper, dark chocolate, and a hint of mint on the palate.
The tannins are sultry and ample enough to support the bold fruit flavors.
Retail price $23. Tasted September 17, 2003.
A great bottle for the price earning two out of three .
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Kaesler "Old Vines" Semillon 2001
has a bit of mineral on the nose with hints of lime zest.
On the palate, this wine has a richness from the lees being stired and
is zesty with splashes of melon, lime zest, minerals.
The vines are at least 40 years old, which explains the elegant mineralality you smell
and taste.
For my money, I think old vine wines have more depth and are more interesting.
Try something different tonight . . . you'll be pleasantly pleased with this selection.
Retail price $13. Tasted May 7, 2003. Style and age of vines earn it two .
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Torbreck 2001 Woodcutter's Red is an inky, inky,
fruit-bomb of a wine.
It is so boysenberry and blackberry on the palate that it makes your mouthwater.
Hints of spearmint and eculiptus can be detected in this extremely jammy wine.
The light use of oak gives it a touch of vanilla.
Retail price $18. Tasted June 5, 2003. We give this wine two .
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