Foronda 2008 Reserva Rioja

Variety: Tempranillo
Region: Rioja
Vintage: 2008
Closure: Cork
Colour: Purple with a turn of brown
Alcohol: 13.5%
Bouquet: Clove,plum
Flavour: Lighter bodied, overall quite savoury wine with fruit and spices (clove, rosemary) well integrated and seemless. Good acidity and gentle tannins. Not overly complex but well done.
Points: 85 (3+7+11+7+7+50)
Notes: From a mixed case bought earlier this year. At $17.60~300Kc, it good local value (although would be obviously cheaper across Europe). A good drop for a week night
 

Bloodwood 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region/G.I.: Central Ranges, Orange
Vintage: 2009
Closure: Screwcap
Colour: Brown tinged purple
Alcohol: 14.0%
Bouquet: Chocolate, plum, blackcurrant and a touch of cedar as well
Flavour: Tasting much younger than the nose suggests, a balanced wine which provides fruit according to the nose fill the mouth followed soon after by long, lingering and gentle tannins. Some spice in the tannin as well. Excellent.
Points: 89 (4+8+12+7+8+50)
Notes: This was the best winery we visited in our last trip to Orange in April 2015. A brooding wine that is a joy to taste.

Ascencion 2012 Malbec

 
 

Variety: Malbec
Region: Salta, Argentina
Vintage: 2012
Closure: Cork
Colour: Deep purple
Alcohol: 14.0%
Bouquet: Animal (wet cow) tones as a strong underlay to the cherry aromas

Flavour: Full mouth of cherry, vanilla and even hints of dark chocolate. Soft tannins. A little short given its weight.

Points: 84 (3+7+11+6+7+50)
Notes: About $15.60~280Kc. Enjoyable, if not quite living up to enticing nose

Houghton 2012 Crofters Cabernet Sauvignon

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region/G.I.: South West Australia, Great Southern, Franklin River
Vintage: 2012
Closure: Screwcap
Colour: Deep purple
Alcohol: 13.50%
Bouquet: Piercing blackcurrant, tobacco leaf
Flavour: Full flavoured Cab according to nose with very long, even tannins. The tobacco leaf characteristics are very enjoyable, providing savoury elegance and it doesn't suffer from any hint of eucalypt which so often tarnishes WA Cabs in this price range
Points: 86 (3+7+11+8+7+50)
Notes: About $18~324Kc
 

The Forefather 2012 Gran Selecion Malbec Shiraz

Varieties: Malbec Shiraz
Region: Mendoza, Argentina
Vintage: 2012
Closure: Cork
Colour: Dark purple
Alcohol: 14.0%
Bouquet: Complex aromas of dense, squash mulberries, ripe dark fig, hint of soaked wood and a touch of soft liquorice
Flavour: Full bodied with huge dollops of fruits which ease into very mild tannins which line one's fruit soaked cheeks. Some menthol flavours as well. Medium length.

Points: 85 (3+7+11+7+7+50)
Notes: Slightly less complex in the flavour but a really solid wine in the new world style. $15.60~280Kc representing good value for a very nice wine

 

Cien Y Pico 2009 Doble Pasta

First bottle tasted six months ago and was probably a little harsh with the scoring. Probably a couple extra points in taste +1 and finish +1, so 84.

La Cantera 2007 Riserva

Varieties: Tempranillo, Garnach
Region: Carinena, Spain
Vintage: 2007
Closure: Cork
Colour: Bright, dark purple
Alcohol: 13.0%
Bouquet: Strong sour cherry, hints of barnyard smells like wet cow and moist wood. Overall, fruit predominant.
Flavour: Medium bodied with fruit flavour according to the nose with some bay leaf and green olive flavours. Excellent tannins but the flavours dissipate quickly. There's a rush a flavour at the start, a rush to tannin and then it's all over
Points: 84 (3+7+11+6+7+50)
Notes: Given the strength of the tannins now, after 8 years, I can't imagine what it was like before!