Znovín Znojmo Sauvignon 2010 VOC

Variety: 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Country of origin: Czech Republic 
Wine appellation: Moravia, Znojmo sub-appellation, Hnanice village, Knížecí vrch vineyard 
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol content: 12.0%
Residual sugar: 3.4g/l
Acidity: 6.6g/l
Color: pale yellow
Bouquet: grassy, mineral, pine nettle
Taste: light to medium body, very nicely drinkable, white currant, excellent acidity, very fresh and mineral, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: fish
Overall score: 86
Price: CZK 150
Stopper: cork

Excellent zesty grassy and nettle style of SB. Definetely wine for wine lovers as this is wine from complicated and cool vintage, but maybe hence the taste and smell is so great.

Langmeil Die Kegelbahn Red Pin Blend 2009

Variety: Grenache Shiraz Mataro
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: Barossa
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol content: 14.5%
Color: lighter ruby red
Bouquet: slightly leather and coffee, cherry marmalade
Taste: medium body, lighter and elegant taste of sour cherry marmalade,good tannins, slightly flatter in the mouth, shorter finish
Recommended food pairing:  lamb
Overall score: 83

Price: AUD 12

Stopper: screw cap

LIghter in color, good structure in the nose, but slightly less full in taste what I would expect from GSM blend

GRant Burge Moscato Frizzante 2010

Variety: 100% Moscato 
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: South Australia
Vintage: 2010
 Alcohol content: 8.0%
Color: medium yellow
Bouquet: orange peel, muscat flowers
Taste: light body, slightly sparkling, orange marmalade, grapes, lighter finish
Recommended food pairing: Asian food
Overall score: 81
Price AUD 12
Stopper: screw cap
Good wine for Asian dishes, light in body due to low alcohol and slightly sweeter and sparkling.

Jim Barry "Clare Red" Shiraz Cab 2008

Variety: Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon

Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: Clare Valley
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol content: 14.0%

Color: dark ruby red
Bouquet:  black cherries, black berries with black currant and spices
Taste: medium to full body, good balance between dark fruit, mainly blackberries and black currant and structured tannin, which stay nicely and dry your mouth, all complemented by nice peppery tones, medium to longer finish
Recommended food pairing: steak 
Overall score: 85
Price: AUD 19
Stopper: screw cap
NIce example of Shiraz CS blend, where the CS provides the wine with more complexity.

Westend Tempranillo Hilltops 2008

Variety: 100% Tempranillo  
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: Hilltops Vintage: 2008
Alcohol content: 14.0%
Color: medium red
Bouquet: stagnate water, really bad smell
Taste: N/A
Recommended food pairing: N/A
Overall score: N/A
Price: AUD 15
Stopper: screw cap
This is an example of so called screw cap taint, the wine smelled s horrible that we left it one day to breathe out, but it did not help the initial strong pungent smell was lessened, but it still did not smell like wine and tasted badly.

Yalumba Y series Sauvignon Blanc 2011

Variety: 100% Sauvignon Blanc  
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: South Australia
Vintage: 2011
Alcohol content: 11.0%
Color: pale yellow
Bouquet: elderberry,  touch of passion fruit and gooseberry
Taste: light body, lemon, white currant, crispy acidity light touch of residual sugar, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: fish
Overall score: 83
Price: AUD 12
Stopper: screw cap
Light and refreshing SB with good acidity and crispiness.

Wynns Coonawara Estate 52nd vintage Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: Coonawara
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol content: 14.0%
Color: dark ruby red

Bouquet: black currant, blueberry, black overripe wild cherry
Taste: medium to full body, strong cassis tones with proper balance between acidity and structured

tannin, which gently linger on your palate, at the end light vanilla and oak notes, but just complementing the fruit medium to longer finish
Overall score: 88
Price: AUD 25
Stopper: screw top
Excellent Cab Sauv, nothing to add. Slightly more new world style with this clean fruit taste and no animal tones, but fine.

Audrey Wilkinson Tempranillo 2007

Variety: Tempranillo
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: hunter
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol content: 14.0%

Color: medium ruby red
Bouquet:  cherries followed by plums and complemented by vanilla 
Taste: medium body, at the beginning there are cherries followed by properly structured tannin drying your mouth and toast finish, medium to longer finish
Recommended food pairing: dry salamis
Overall score: 85
Price: AUD 18
Stopper: screw top
This tempranillo was cold-soaked in a stainless steel vat for five days to increase colour and tannin extraction, and then inoculated with yeast, finishing ferment 10 days after. It has been matured in 1/3 new and the balance older oak barriques for 13 months, coarse filtered and bottled. It is actually quite nicely done with good fruit, acidity and tannins.

Zonte's Footstep Canto Di Lago Sangiovese and Barbera 2008

Variety: Sangiovese,  Barbera
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: Langhorne Creek
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol content: 14.0%

Color: medium ruby red
Bouquet: expressive, red berry fruits, cherries with beef broth and coffee undertones
Taste: medium body, lovely European taste of proper wine, playing accord are cherries followed by cranberries and red currant complemented by the solid background of good acidity and  lingering tannins, medium to longer finish
Recommended food pairing: roast beef
Overall score: 87
Price: AUD 13
Stopper: screw top

Funny on this wine is that it does not taste Aussie rather European and has gentle tannis with structured layered acidity, not like fruit bomb Shiraz, which explodes in your mouth and quickly decides to retreat after the first fruit damage is made. Luckily Australiens did not discovered this wine yet, so it gets discounted although having double gold from San Franscisco:)

Ishtar Cabernet Merlot 2008

Variety: 66% CS, 34% Merlot
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: Barossa valley
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol content: 14.0%
Color: dark ruby red
Bouquet: black sour cherries, blueberries, licorice, plums
Taste: medium to full body, dark forest fruit with black sour cherries,jammy with vanilla undertones, lack of tannins to hold the structure together, medium lingering finish
Recommended food pairing: duck liver pate
Overall score: 82
Price: AUD 9
Stopper: screw cap

Frutier syle of CS, Merlot blend. Quite jammy, but lacks the tannins and complexity. It did have very strange unfruitful nose when opened yesterday and had to be aired for the whole day to get rid of it. 

František Foretník Chardonnay 2006 výběr z hroznů

Variety: 100% Chardonnay
Country of origin: Czech Republic
Wine appellation: Moravia, Slovácko sub-appellation, Šardice village, Padělky vineyard
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol content: 14.0%
Residual sugar: 2.3 g/l
Acidity: 6.3g/l
Color: medium yellow
Bouquet: ripe tropical fruits, dry pineapple, dry apple
Taste: medium to full body, round, good mouth feel, pineapple, dry fruit, medium to longer lasting finish
Recommended food pairing: salmon
Overall score: 85
Price: CZK 150 in 2009
Stopper: cork

The wine developed from the last tastings. It is more round with starting bottle aged tones and dry fruit, rather than fresh fruit as tasted in October 2010 here and in July 2010 here, where you can find the pictures if the label.

Yealands Estate Pinot Gris 2009

Variety: 100% Pinot Gris
Country of origin: New Zealand
Wine appellation: Awatere Valley
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol content: 14.0%
Color: medium yellow
Bouquet: pear, biscuits, properly aged tones
Taste: medium body, good structure and complexity, dry pear, touch of vanilla, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: salmon
Overall score: 88
Price: AUD 23
Stopper: screw cap
Excellent complex structured PG with excellent structured and layered taste, which invites to further tastings.

New Yealands Pinot Gris 2010

Variety: 100% Pinot Gris
Country of origin: New Zealand
Wine appellation: Marlborough
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: medium yellow
Bouquet: black tropical fruit, orange, lime
Taste: medium body, good structure and balance between acidity and sugar, dominant fruit is orange and pear, medium crisp finish
Recommended food pairing: fruit salad
Overall score: 83
Price: CZK 199
Stopper: screw cap
Good straightforward fruit driven Pinot Gris.

d’Arenberg The Sticks and Stones 2005

Variety: Tempranillo (48%) / Grenache (42%) / Shiraz (10%)
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: McLaren Vale
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol content: 14.5%
Color: medium ruby red
Bouquet: expressive, coffee, fruit preserve
Taste: medium to full body, savory taste, elegant and already aged fruit. sour cherry marmalade, coffee, soft tannin and considering hot climate region still good structured acidity, medium to longer finish
Recommended food pairing:  chocolate
Overall score: 87 

Price: AUD 19

Stopper: cork

yummie wine, excellently aged to be opened now and having good fruit, tannins, coffee, jam and good tannins. The only problem is that in Australia majority of the wine would never be drunk at this level odf maturity and showed all potential they have.

The Little Wine Company Sangiovese 2009

Variety: 100% Sangiovese
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: Hunter 
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: lighter ruby red
Bouquet: red sour wild cherries, red currant, vanilla
Taste: medium body, savory taste, red currant with very good acidity and slightly younger tannins,  medium to longer  finish
Recommended food pairing:  roast beef
Overall score: 85 

Price: AUD 15

Stopper: screw top

NIce example of European variety made in slightly fruitier style in Australia.

Zema Estate Shiraz 2005

Variety: 100% Shiraz
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: Coonawarra
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol content: 15.0%
Color: deep ruby red
Bouquet: blackberry jam, blueberries, concentrated fruit with black chocolate
Taste: medium to full body, very good structure between fruit and tannins, round, concentrated ripe forest fruit, mainly blackberries with blueberries, good spiciness, mild tannins with very slight acidity (similar to ripe sour cherries)keeping it fresh, medium to longer finish
Recommended food pairing: BIG juicy steak
Overall score: 86
Price: AUD 24
Stopper: screw cap

Very good structured Shiraz with dominant forest fruit and spicy tones.

The Red Mullet 2007

Variety: Shiraz, Grenache, Mourvedre, Tempranillo
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: Clare Valley
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol content: 14.5%
Color: dark ruby red
Bouquet: very big fruits, black berries with spices tones
Taste: medium to full body, bursting big fruits, mostly blackberries and overripe black cherries underpinned by black pepper and chocolate, nice lingering mouth feel, medium to longer finish
Recommended food pairing: liver pate
Overall score: 87
Price: AUD 16
Stopper: screw top

This is something between Cote du Rhone and Priorat style of wine. I really liked it, it is big fruit, but with good structure and spices and also chocolate.

De Bortoli Sero Shiraz Tempranillo 2006

Variety: Shiraz, Tempranillo
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: King Valley
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol content: 14.0%
Color: deep ruby red
Bouquet: cranberries, black cherries, touch of black chocolate
Taste: medium body, sour cherries, raspberries, good acidity and still visible tannins, slightl flat in the mounth medium finish
Recommended food pairing: pasta
Overall score: 82
Price: CZK 140
Stopper: screw cap
Regular solid red for pasta dish.

Mount Majura Dinny's Block 2006

Variety: cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: Canberra
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol content: 13.4%
Color: medium ruby red
Bouquet: black chocolate, black cherries, 
Taste: medum body, black cherries, black chocolate good balance between acisdity and fruit, at the end reasonable tannins,  medium to longer finish
Recommended food pairing: stewed beef
Overall score: 85
Price: AUD 20
Stopper: screw cap 
Interesting more new world style of "Bordeaux blend" with sweeter nose an surprisingly good acidity in the taste.

Brancott Estate Pinot Noir 2009

Variety: 100% Pinot Noir
Country of origin: New Zealand
Wine appellation: Marlborough
Vintage: 2009 
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: light ruby red
Bouquet: dominant cherries, with red currant, fruit is playing major part
Taste: medum body, red cherries, red currant and raspberries, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: pork 
Overall score: 82
Price: AUD 15
Stopper: screw cap
Fruity style of uncomplicated PN.

Searborough Blue Label Chardonnay 2010

Variety: 100% Chardonnay
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: Hunter Valley
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol content: 14.0%
Color: light yellow
Bouquet: quite suppressed, biscuit, lime and pineapple
Taste: medium body, citrus tones with good acidity, pineapple, good balance between fruit and oak, which is really gentle and not dominant, white grapefruit at the end, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: cream pasta
Overall score: 85
Price: AUD 19
Stopper: Screw cap

Very interesting Chardonnay, good structure and I really like the biscuit bouquet, which comes from sur lie method this wine underwent through.

Coolangatta Estate Semillon 2003

Variety:  Semillon
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: Shoalhaven Coast
Vintage: 2003
Alcohol content: 10.2%
Color: medium yellow
Bouquet: bottle aged tones, canned gooseberry, white currant , citrus
Taste: medium body, considering the vintage good acidity, lime, and similar to taste caned gooseberry with good texture and acidity, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: schnitzel
Overall score: 83
Price: AUD 35
Stopper: cork

Untypical for Australia first wine tasted here is bottled aged and under the cork!! Considering the low level of alcohol it feels medium bodied with good structure and still good acidity.

Wild Pig Syrah Rose 2011

Variety: Syrah
Country of origin: France
Wine appellation: Languedoc
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol content: 12.5%
Color: light bricky tones
Bouquet: fruity, strawberries, raspberries
Taste: light to medium body, sour cherries, strawberries, raspberries, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: salads, BBQ cold starters
Overall score: 82
Price: CZK 99
Stopper: screw cap
Located in the Languedoc area, the vineyards spread from the banks of the Rhône river in the East to the city of Carcassonne in the West, from the foothills of the Massif Central mountains in the North to the Mediterranean sea in the South. Reasonable fresh rose, good value for the price.

Domain Menada Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2006 Oriachovitza

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Country of origin: Bulgaria
Wine appellation: Thracian Valley, Oriachovitza
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol content: 12.5%
Color: light red with garnet meniscus
Bouquet: expressive, cherry and black current marmalade, touch of vanilla and a bit of coffee
Taste: light to medium body, black currant and cherry marmalade, good balance between tanins and acidity with a bit of black chocolate at the back of the mouth feel. Medium finish
Recommended food pairing: roast beef
Overall score: 84
Price: CZK 139
Stopper: cork
As mentioned in my previous tasting in November 22, 2009 here, the wine really developed where the original fruity straightforward taste with a hint of oak got really into second level of nicely integrated fruit vanilla, tanins and coffee.

Bodegas Nieto Senetiner Reserva Malbec 2006

Variety: Malbec
Country of origin: Argentina
Wine appellation: Mendoza
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: deep black with red meniscus
Bouquet: less expressive, subtle canned black sour cherries, black currant
Taste: medium body, ripe black sour cherries, black currant,blueberries, nice smooth round, properly aged, gentle tannins, nicely integrated oak with fruit, longer finish
Overall score: 88
Price: CZK 260
Stopper: cork
Superb Malbec! The pic is from web ,but the botlle looks the same just different vintage.

Bremerton Verdelho 2007

Variety: 100% Verdelho
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: Langhorne Creek, South Australia
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol content: 13.0%
Color: medium yellow
Bouquet: mineral, lime, green apple, white flowers
Taste: medium body, very zesty and still considerable acidity given the vintage, lime and citrusy tones are in dominance with green apple making the complete picture, there is no bitterness at the end and it has nice medium finish
Recommended food pairing: fish
Overall score: 84
Price: CZK 250 on sale
Stopper: Screw cap
Nice citrusy stile of wine. ON blind tasting I would not even guess it is New world wine. This freshness is most likely due to screw cap, which is the best stopper for white wines.

Wombat Hill Cabernet Merlot 2002

Lat bottle of this wine, tasting notes are almost identical to ones from February this year here.

Tanzberg Vlašský Ryzlink 2004 jakostní

Variety: Welsh Riesling
Country of origin: Czech Republic
Wine appellation: Moravia, Mikulov sub-appellation, Perna village, Zelezna vineyard
Vintage: 2004
Alcohol content: 12.48%
Residual sugar: 1.8g/l
Acidity: 7.9g/l
Color: straw to golden yellow
Bouquet: mineral, ripe fruit, red apple, lemon
Taste: medium body, visible minerality and as typicall for 2004 vintage it has higher acidity, which is still visible considering the aging, lemon, white grapefruite, medium finisch
Recommended food pairing: pork snitzel
Overall score: 82 
Price: CZK 199
Stopper: cork
It is amazing to find wine like this in cellar, it is in perfect conditions with visible minerality and good acidity and holds perfectly together. Generally the wines from Mikulov area and especially Welsh Riesling from Zelezna has stunning archiving potential. This wine does not have the "adjective" , i.e. predikat, but offers something you hardly get from new world wines, when majority of the whites are gone after 5 years of aging. For labels please refer to January 2010 tasting here, where you can trace the development of the notes as well.

Renacer Punto Final Malbec 2009

Variety: Malbec
Country of origin: Argentina
Wine appellation: Mendoza
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: medium ruby red with violet tones
Bouquet: ripe black sour cherries, black chocolate
Taste: medium body, ripe black sour cherries, blackberry, black chocolate, nice smooth and firm tannins, medium to longer finish
Overall score: 86
Price: CZK 200
Stopper: plastic cork
Very good Malbec, unfortunately sealed with plastic cork would not guarantee quality aging. Still young It would develop in 2 years.

Golden Kaan Pinotage 2010

Variety: Pinotage 
Country of origin: South Africa
Wine appellation: Western Cape
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol content: 14.0%
Color: medium ruby red with violet meniscus
Bouquet: raspberries, cherries, violet flowers
Taste: medium body, dominant sour cherries with touch of plums, medium to longer finish
Overall score: 83
Price: CZK 199
Stopper: plastic cork
Easy drinking and still young Pinotage. Interesting if you compare to 2009 vintage tasted here.

Terredora Falanghina 2007 IGT

For tasting notes please refer to tasting 3 weeks ago here.

Via Ulivi Pinot Grigio 2011 IGT

Variety: Pinot Gris, Garganega

Country of origin: Italy 
Wine appellation: Veneto
Vintage: 2011
Alcohol content: 12,0%
Color: very pale yellow, almost see through
Bouquet: zesty, citrus tones, white fruit
Taste: light body, lime, white grapefruit, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: fish
Overall score: 82
Price CZK 150

Stopper: screw cap

Very good zesty PG for hot spring day.