Fabio Franchella

9.0

Schöne himbeer und erdbeernoten, säure präsent und angenehm unterstützden. Guter trinkfluss — 6 months ago

with Xenia

S.S. Mandani

9.4

Big pastry guy as you can see. This baby never stays empty.

The wine seller calls these grapes “happy grapes.”

Plummy, rich, dark, sweet like licorice and cedar. A forest perfume of pine.

They’re definitely happy because I’m happy. This is a succulent, rich wine. A lot to enjoy. A good rouse between tannins and acid on the palate, in a good way, like an entertaining joust, a rumble in the ring, or the bull and the toreador. This is the downs I imagine Hemingway drinking from the bottle at a spontaneous picnic on the Spanish countryside in his real life The Sun Also Rises.

Dry, but not leaving you puckered and wanting more, just the right balance with a creamy mouthfeel of silken roses to follow, lingering on the palate like the twirl of the toreador’s cape in the ring. — 3 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.0

The 3rd wine at the Downs Club Italian Dinner. Showing the many styles possible with Nebbiolo. A soft fruit forward flavoursome Red for early consumption - light tannins, red and black fruits - dry and dusty. Nothing like a big long living Barolo. — 4 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

At the Downs Club Magnum dinner on Wednesday night. This was the mystery wine. Probably New Zealand’s most iconic wine according to Bob Campbell MW. A lovely nose of cassis, dark fruits and spice. M plus intensity of aroma. Elegant rather than a blockbuster - great balance with controlled power. Tempted to buy some and cellar it for 10 years plus. 98 points from Bob Campbell MW. — 5 years ago

John Howard

Harvest production at Hirsch and Cobb Wineries

9.8

Truly near perfect. I remember watching this fermentation and doing punch downs and pump overs on it on this vintage. It smelled amazing the whole time and still smells incredible. Lots of secondary notes. Absolutely blew our minds last night. — 5 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

At the monthly Downs Club Committee Dinner. A treat to be tasting one of Australia’s best Chardonnays. Pale Lemon in colour. Modern Chardonnay winemaking on show. Notes of struck match sulphides together with ripe grapefruit and citrus. On the palate on the lean side, but with its youth it will fill out with age. A classy Chardonnay which ever way you cut it with a long future. 98 points from James Halliday. — 5 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

At the Downs Club Super Tuscan dinner last Friday. 2016 seems to have been a good vintage everywhere in Italy. This is a Cabernet predominant blend with Merlot and a little Sangiovese. No detailed notes. Fine powdery persistent tannins. Medium bodied. — 5 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

The 4th wine at the First Growth Bordeaux lunch at the Downs Club last Saturday. Another brilliant claret defying the vagaries of the 2003 drought vintage. Sketchy notes. The nose continues with the aristocratic notes on all of the 5 First Growths we had today. Classic Gentleman’s claret with wonderful fragrance from savoury red and black fruits with whiffs of pipe tobacco and leather armchair. Amazing length. Would last into the 2030s easily and continue on. Classic Latour. — a year ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

Another candidate in the 41 wine list tasted blind at the Downs Club. Brief notes. Very dense in colour with a crimson rim. Rich and full bodied from a great producer showing those lovely ripe fruits from the 2018 vintage. Hard not to like. Turkey Flat has some of the oldest vines in the Barossa. — 4 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

The 6th wine from the Downs Club Italian dinner. Also from Magnum. Brief notes. A totally different expression from this Super Tuscan made up of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. Blackberry with vanilla oak scents at this young age. Has a lot of developing still to do. Just a touch of tobacco. Infanticide to be drinking this, particularly from magnum. From the producers of the much more famous Sassicaia. — 4 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

The final wine at the Downs Club Filipino Dinner on Wednesday night - the mystery wine. This was a rich full bodied red from Coonawarra ( atypical for most Shiraz from this region) and I incorrectly picked McLaren Vale. This had a closed latent brooding nose and should have had a longer decant I feel. Ripe black fruits with some liquorice and plenty of tannin. This has a long way to go to achieve some nuance and detail. A whopper for a Coonawarra Shiraz. — 5 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

Limited notes. Charred spicy oak, meat juice and blackberry notes. A surprisingly medium weight palate - I was expecting full throttle Barossa. Mellow tannins. The Command is Elderton’s premium Cuvée. Drinking well from the good 2012 vintage. At the Downs Club committee dinner. — 5 years ago

Benno

9.2

Frothy mousse, pale gold. Dry with 8g/litre. Young and still quite primary with a slightly sharp citrusy palate with heightened minerality. Very pleasant, will be interested to follow the evolution. FYI crazy tight cork that needed cork screw to release. — 5 years ago

Jason Keefer

9.0

First English bubbs and it was very nice. Color super vibrant! Strawberry and rhubarb, pretty dry. — 3 years ago

with Natasha

Chris DeMay

9.2

WineText $21.04 6/11/22 — 4 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

Another candidate in the 41 wine lineup at the Downs Club tasted blind. Unlike many of the other candidates which had ripe black fruits from 2018, this had notes of dried meat and charcuterie. Full bodied - more savoury than fruit driven. Spinifex is a boutique Barossa producer. Winemaker is the Kiwi star, Peter Schell. Very Good. — 4 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

At the Downs. Club magnum dinner on Wednesday night. A very rich Pinot Noir and one of New Zealand’s finest. A bit closed - needs a lot of swirling. A medium to full bodied palate. Tannins are a little coarse and grainy but I put that down to its youth. Too young to be drinking this particularly from magnum. Should be great in 10 years time. 99 points from James Suckling. — 5 years ago

Ted

9.0

Another really nice SB from NZ. Beautiful night on Elizabeth Lake. — 5 years ago

with Jeni

Big Wave Dave

9.1

Burgundian in weight. Red fruit and 5 spice dominate. Light bodied but not without flavour or complexity. A bit thin for my liking but still pure and v@well made. — 5 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.3

The final wine at the Downs Club Super Tuscan Dinner from Half Bottles. Semi dried grapes using Malvasia and Trebbiano. A rich burnished copper colour - Sherry notes on the nose with honeycomb on the palate. Interesting and different. — 5 years ago