I do this blog for fun, the wines here are some of the very few I can be bothered to write up. The cream has risen.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Tim Adams Cellar Door Nov 2010

I just realised I never got around to posting my tasting notes from the late November trip to Clare, so I'll do that over the next week or so. Here's the Tim Adams tastings for a starter. The notes are brief as I just cannot get into a wine in a small sip.

Tim Adams

2010 Riesling - crisp acid, hidden fruit, harmonious balance but too mineral for me. Agreeable **
2008 Reserve Riesling - lively acid, noticable fruit, good balance. Hint of toast now. needs 5yrs. Agreeable ***
2009 Semillon - lively acid, noticable fruit, oak balance good. Agreeable. ***
2010 Pinot Gris - far too sweet for my palate.
2007 Fergus - acid mild, lean body, obvious fruit, complex, drink now style. Rec. ***
(blend is Grenache, Shiraz, CabSav, Tempranillo, Mataro)
2008 Reserve Tempranillo - rounded tannins, freshing acid, obvious fruit, savoury. Rec. ***
2006 Cabernet Sav/Malbec - dry tannins, refreshing acid, obvious fruit;savoury, earthy, mouthfilling. H.Rec. ***
2007 Shiraz - dry tannins, refreshing acid, fruit forward, full body, complex. H.Rec ****
2008 Aberfeldy - dry tannins, refreshing acid, obvious fruit, very full body, refined complexity, classy, H.Rec ***

The 2007 Shiraz was a bit of a standout, cellar door staff made it known that because no 2007 Aberfeldy was made that all that fruit went into the cheaper Shiraz, and it shows. It's not a pseudo-Aberfeldy but it is very good value. Noticed it was $27 at one point and is now $20 CD, hence my value rating.


My Tasting notes are a derivation of TORBs and mostly take the format;

Tannins smooth, silky, velvet, rounded, dusty, dry, chalky, puckering, overwhelming
Acid sour, tart, crisp, lively, refreshing, mild   

Fruit hidden, noticable, obvious, forward, big, huge
Body light, lean, medium, muscular, full, huge
Balance disjointed, plain, uncomplicated, harmonious, sophisticated, diverse, complex, intricate
Rating  CP, BD, Accept, Agree, Rec, Highly Rec, Excellent, Outstanding, Ultimate 

Value   *   **   ***  ****   *****
Note: I try to always mark quite hard when I'm CD tasting.

Tim Adams Cleanskin 2007 Shiraz

This is a wine made specifically for fund raising to support the Variety Club, an extremely worthy charity that helps kids.

At $80 a case it's stunning value, and $20 of that goes to the charity.

The Shiraz is med-full bodied, good quality fruit, fine tannins, balanced acid and a very nice quaff indeed. As a mark of a well made wine this one improves with a few hours breathing, and indeed I would expect it to continue to improve in the cellar for a few years at least.

You would be crazy to buy one of those no-name cleanskins from the large chains when you can have a very good value wine like this and be helping needy kids at the same time.

More info here. And I can tell you the 06 Merlot is even better and the Sparkling GSM a great little BBQ wine.

Very classy of you indeed Mr. Tim Adams!