Bob McDonald

9.5

A mid straw yellow in colour. Aromas are lemon and lime, lemongrass, mineral, wet hay with toastiness and lanolin starting to emerge at 13 years of age. Light bodied but great intensity - a richer texture for a Semillon, bearing in mind that this wine sees no oak at all - stainless steel all the way. Only 11% alcohol. Luckily I have 4 bottles left - a cellar life extending to 2030+. — 18 days ago

Ted

9.0

Always seem to get grapefruit with these NZ PN. Fun to try different stuff from NZ. — 3 months ago

with Jeni

Bob McDonald

9.5

Brief notes. Had my last bottle on 17th August and it was sublime. More fulsome with less citric acid than the early years. Notes of mandarin and a little white peach on the palate. Not a hint of petrol/kerosene. Worth the patience to cellar it for 11 years. Tim Kirk, the winemaker reckons you could cellar it for 15 years. — 4 months ago

Andy Thomson

9.0

Delicious — 4 months ago

with Cheryl

Vasanth Balakrishnan

9.0

Savory, elegant style #centralotago #pinotnoir. Spiced cherry, cranberry sauce, faintly smoky-earthy notes. Tart cherry and cranberry, spicy finish trailing with close-grained tannins. — 10 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

Deep Ruby in colour. Strong earthy stony aromas with deep ripe plum plus red and black fruits. An example of a Hunter Valley wine trying to be like a South Australian Shiraz - too ripe and full bodied. “Clumsy” HH said when it was first released. Thankfully wine makers lately in the Hunter have returned to the old medium weight, savoury, “sweaty saddle “ style. Returning to this 2005, this is more full bodied and rich but the quality of the very old vines planted by Maurice O’Shea pulls it over the line as a high quality wine. The more recent vintages of Maurice O’Shea are of extreme quality (2014 - 99 points), back to what the Hunter does best, and will live for decades. — 3 months ago

Jakub Kalinowski

9.5

Aetheric and elegant and so Burgundian.
Ripe yellow apple, (over)ripe lemon, subtle butterscotch, shortbread and some nice, cool minerality.
Amazing purity and precision here. Blind - a classic, textbook Puligny!
Beautiful balance on the palate, a touch of creaminess but brilliant precision - creamy lemons on a bed of rocky, stony minerality. Great depth and energy here. And elegance. And length. This is complex and complete and bordering on profound. And yet, so drinkable! The bottle disappeared instantly!
A perfect modern, cool climate Chardonnay?
What a wine!!
— 4 months ago

Ed Ryder

9.0

Classy, elegant raspberry led pinot. — 5 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

An absolutely alluring nose with cloves, spice, dried meat and a trace of pepper. Barely medium weight on the palate. Barb loved it for that. Very different to Barossa or McLaren Vale Shiraz. Without a doubt the best Shiraz Viognier blend in Australia although Yarra Yering Dry Red No. 2 (with a few other Rhone varieties in the blend) would give it a run for its money. Really very good with a few years to go but pretty much at its peak. — 2 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

Bright mid yellow. Citrus with wet straw, lanolin and a faint paraffin note. On the palate such purity with that zesty citrus and those waxy lanolin notes you get with mature Semillon. Enough acid to propel this wine into the 2030’s to achieve 25 years of age. Lovedale is one of the leading Semillons in the Hunter Valley - the vineyard being planted by Maurice O’Shea in 1946 and the first vintage in 1950. This was my first of 4 bottles, so , fun times ahead!! A multi Trophy winner in National Wine Shows. — 4 months ago