St Hallet 2012 Riesling

I was meant to keep some of these to taste them aged but it is lovely now for warm summer evenings. No changes to the tasting from July last year.

Victorian Alps Winery 2011 Nebulous Pinot Grigio

No change to the notes from October last year. Good summer wine.

Farnese 2011 Montepulciano D'Abruzzo

Variety: Montepulciano
Region: Montepulciano D'Abruzzo
Vintage:  2011
Colour: Dark Purple
Alcohol: 13.0%
Bouquet: Strong animal/wet cow aromas
Flavour: Nice dryness and a simple plum fruit start. I had big hopes from the nose but the flavour profile is simple and does not really deliver
Points: 83 (3+8+10+6+6+50)
Notes: Ranked 4th of 5 by the group and last by me. F. rated it highly because of the nose but it didn't really deliver in taste. Our cheapest bottle at $13 ~ 234Kc

Caldora 2012

Variety: Montepulciano
Region: Montepulciano D'Abruzzo
Vintage:  2012
Colour: Dark Purple
Alcohol: 12.5%
Bouquet: Fruity with a hint of tomato stalk in the nose
Flavour: Balanced with plum fruit and a drying finish. Straightforward without complexity.
Points: 84 (3+7+11+6+7+50)
Notes: The worst rated of our group. I ranked it 4th of 5. $15 ~ 270Kc so in a different category in comparison to the winners really

Cantina Tollo 2007 Aldiano

Variety: Montepulciano
Region: Montepulciano D'Abruzzo
Vintage:  2007
Colour: Dark Purple
Alcohol: 14.0%
Bouquet: Animal/leather/wet cow aromas with some juicey, more to plum aromas as well
Flavour: A rush of fruit followed by a mostly dry middle. Not so long in the finish but nicely balanced and gentle
Points: 86 (3+8+11+7+7+50)
Notes: The winner of our group and I ranked in 2nd. $35 ~ 630 Kc. 

Carpineto 2007

Varieties: Sangiovese 90% - called Prugnolo Nero locally and Canaiolo Nero 10%
Region: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG
Vintage:  2007
Colour: Deep Purple
Alcohol: 13.5%
Bouquet: Complex nose with aromas of vanilla and dry Christmas cake.
Flavour: Lovely structured wine with layers of flavour. Gentle dried fruit with vanilla and woody flavours as well. Great length and dry finish without tannins. Very smooth and well aged.
Points: 89 (3+8+12+8+8+50)
Notes:  We innocently included this in our tasting and I only now discover there is this DOCG producing this blend of wine. I rated this the best wine of our tasting and the group ranked it 2nd. $26 ~ 470Kc. One to add to the cellar.

Tenuta Ulisse 2011 Unico

Variety: Montepulciano
Region: Montepulciano D'Abruzzo
Vintage:  2011
Colour: Dark purple
Alcohol: 14.0%
Bouquet: Some sweet vanilla and cranberry jam
Flavour: A rush of fruit at the start, mostly plums with a very smooth finish. Nice dryness without much in the way of tannins. Points: 85 (3+7+11+7+7+50)
Notes:  After tasting and scoring the wines, our night continued and this developed the best. Although we decanted and aerated the wine, this improved later on. It was ranked a close 3rd from our tasting. GBP13 from the UK