Bob McDonald

9.5

Smoky Peaty and spirity aromas Also Iodine and Briny notes showing its maritime location. A single malt matured in charred oak casks. There is some conjecture as to whether Talisker is classified as Island or Islay but suffice to say it is the only Distillery on the Isle of Skye. Had a tour of Talisker many years ago after going to the HQ of the MacDonald Clan on Skye. I bought this 1 Litre bottle at Gatwick Airport about 2 months ago before we headed up to Inverness and the Highlands. — 21 hours ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

Mid Gold in colour - crystal clear. Kerosene/mineral notes with some chalky aromas. Pristine citrusy flavours coming into the stone fruit spectrum. Medium minus acid but medium plus intensity. (12.5% ABV). A well made Eden Valley Riesling drinking at its peak. — 4 days ago

Bob McDonald

8.8

Slightly cloudy mid Ruby in colour. Bright red fruited aromatics, also stalky notes indicating a % of whole bunch in the ferment. On the palate medium bodied with M+ intensity finishing with soft pliant Tannins. From a small producer with grapes sourced from vineyards in the Coal River Tasmania. Short term cellaring. — 5 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

Deep Ruby in colour with a youthful purple rim. Latent aromas Latent palate. Opened this too early. Hard to agree with Richard Hemming MW’s Drinking Window of 2017-2020. Ripe fruit - Full bodied - Barb thought it was Barossa. Ripe plums and blackfruits with slightly savoury Tannins. Very self contained needing more cellaring time to shine. After a couple of hours and with vigorous swirling came liquorice notes. — 7 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

Mid to dark ruby. Aromas of more spice than pepper with notes of blackberry. More fruit driven than normal for a Langi Ghiran in this warmer year. Ie more Barossa/McLaren Vale than Central Victoria. For 20 years or more this has been one of my favourite Australian Shirazes for its spice pepper and minerality in normal years. Drink the next one in 6 to 12 months. — a day ago

Bob McDonald

8.5

92% Carmenere; 8% Petit Verdot. Carmenere is an offshoot of Cabernet Franc says Jancis R’s encyclopaedia. Ripe black fruited aromas with creme de cacao - vanilla coconut oak on nose and palate - overoaked IMO. What you might call an Heroic wine coupled with the ridiculously heavy bottle. You could do forearm curls with this bottle! Full bodied - solid, and a little square sided for my palate. — 3 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.3

Buried a dozen of this in the back of the cellar and still have 9 bottles left after this one. Great intensity yet still medium weight. Mocha Chocolate savoury plum and herb garden. A sweet medium to full bodied palate with fine grained Tannins. Just cruising at 17 years of age from a cooler vintage which resulted in a longer hang time for the grapes. Resolved Tannins. Penfolds say this will live until 2030. Lovely wine. — 6 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

Light ruby in colour - translucent in parts. Notes of cherry and toffee. Light to medium bodied palate but excellent intensity showing its pedigree as one of Australia’s better Pinots with time in Decanter. Resolved ultra fine Tannins. A good Block 5 if not a little on the light side. — a day ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

Very dense ruby in colour- almost black. Aromas of burnt black currant. Very full bodied with profound intensity - chocolate and ripe black fruits finishing with supple silky Tannins ie the Mollydooker calling card. Great marketing and making rich full bodied McLaren Vale Shiraz allowed Sparky and Sarah Marquis ( just Sarah these days) great penetration of the US market along with excellent reviews from Harvey Steiman and Wine Spectator. I believe Mollydooker would probably be better known in the US than in Australia. A great Australian export story. — 2 days ago

Bob McDonald

8.7

Pale to mid Lemon in colour. Citrus and French Oak aromas with some leesy Notes. On the palate citrus again - Lemon and Lime. Made by Phillip Jones, arguably the best producer of Pinot Noir in Australia. To be honest this doesn’t live up to the quality of his Pinots. Lacking in complexity for an $87 wine - not good QPR. — 6 days ago