Giaconda, Aeolia, Beechworth

Well found a stray bottle down the back of the sofa in the wine cellar (sort of). Deep golden. Nose still full of fruit but golden burnt gardenia notes. Full body. Finish starting to shorten up (fair enough at 16 years of age for a roussanne). Always a rich chicken dish wine given its huge structure. Just lacks a touch of finesse or polish to go to the heights.

2008 vintage

My last and perhaps frustratingly the best showing of this wine I've seen. Was absolutely chock full gorgeous and in the prime of it's life. Shows the truth of the old adage "there are only great old bottles not great old wines". Hats off to the winemaker Rick Kinzbrunner on nailing this. World class.

2008 vintage

Compared to my earlier notes this is definitely on the way down its tasting slope, moving into the brassy, more generic, low acid category (plus a slight hint of weird ester (?bubblegum) so drink up ladies and gentlemen. Still pleasant but more a 90 than anything higher. Seems to have some paranormal synergistic effect with roast chicken.

2008 vintage

Deep gold. Nose evolved nicely showing tropical fruits and some nutty notes. Palate is rich, full bodied but pleasant. Needs food - paired with chicken. One bottle left. Even though I think this is past its peak it will be interesting to try the other bottle in 6m to a year.

2008 vintage

Golden colour. Intriguing spiced nose where you just can't quite nail what you are smelling - frustrating! Rich, full bodied, creamy, intense fruit attack - Roussanne on steroids. Long persistent finish. Drinking very mature now and in a good window. Very much a food wine where the food tones down and balances some of the attack of the wine. 5 left in my stash. Don't have the experience to know how this will age further.

2008 vintage

Fantastic aged Roussane. It was a rich golden colour with strong hints of citrus and pear. in my view was at a perfect age. A brilliant wine of real substance.

2008 vintage

Rich, aromatic, full bodied table wine. Living on and even now gaining complexity. Just about the nicest dry white I can remember.

2008 vintage

Tastes so young at 10 years of age, amazing. Here is the release commentary from the winemaker "100% Roussanne from the Nantua and Warner vineyards and is totally barrel fermented with about 10% new oak:- The nose is exotic, lush and spicy. Rich perfumed flavours with hazel and cashew nuts, typical of Rousanne. Very long finish, tropical fruits and a touch of apricot, with a creamy mouth filling texture, mineral flavours and a balancing acidity". This is a great drop, …

2008 vintage

Under screwcap. Full, rich, creamy, vraiment Rousanne, herbs here, honey, butter. Chardonnay in the Rhône, said Peter, guessing blind - not a bad description. Much better on day 2, this will live .. Bravo Giaconda.

2008 vintage

Served blind. Expressive nose, very spicy. Had a hard time guessing the varietal. Quite rich in mouth without being over the top. Good minerality, even some citrus notes. Had me half-way guessing Chardonnay. My other guess was Rhône. This is young, will develop more complexity with time in the cellar.

2008 vintage

12 months on from last bottle. Little change from last note. Perhaps this bottle is a little less creamy in the fruit department but they came from different cellars so not necessarily anything to do with this wine's evolution. I would love to see this versus Chateau de Beaucastel Vielles Vignes in 10 years time and see who wins, it is that good. Does mandate big rich food though because of its structure.

2008 vintage

Screwcap. Deep golden buttercup yellow. Gorgeous nose of exotic garden perfumes - gardenia, frangipani, honeysuckle. Soft mouth entry and noticeable thick concentrated wine with strong lick of acidity, alcohol warmth and that dense really pervasive and persistent exotic garden tastes. This announces itself as a an extracted, super ripe, top shelf full bodied white wine in a perfect drinking window. Thick dripping legs on the glass. Long finish with herbal element. The best Roussanne I have ever tasted by a …

2008 vintage

Real buttery smell and a beautiful rich golden colour. Burnt marmalade.

2008 vintage

Well, well, well - what a interesting wine. 100% Roussanne - a N Rhone grape which I understand is rare as a straight variety. Golden straw in the glass. Lemon rind and tropical fruit notes, with nutty cashew and a creamy, textured mouthfeel. Quite a distinct palate, in a nice way. Tannins are super fine. It's all really nicely balanced, despite the unusual profile - a nod to Giaconda quality I guess.

2008 vintage

Giaconda is synonymous with top draw Aussie wines, especially its Chardonnay. Winemaker, Rick Kinzbrunner left mechanical engineering to pursue his love of wine. After stints in Napa, Bordeaux & Milawa (Aus) at top wineries, he established Giaconda in the cool climate of Beechwood in the foothills of the Victorian Alps, planting various varieties in 1982 over 4h. This was special. It's a straight Roussane. Highly unusual in Aus. And now even rarer, as Giaconda stopped production after the 2010 vintage. …

2008 vintage

2016 Athens Wine Event (Paleo Reastaurant, Piraeus) : Tasted Blind. Guessed Beaucaste Roussanne VV 5yrs old. Bright, glossy, full of energy wine. Devout of over ripeness or over oakyness, very much old world and very elegant. Firm core of cidity, still very frsh and full of that citrus and mineral feel.Very good wine 94. Impressive

2008 vintage

Lovely, bigger white food wine. The leftovers were improved on Day 2. Has a year or three left in it yet.

2008 vintage

Showing some evolution now and developing nice secondary complexity. Flavours of ripe peaches, cashews and preserved lemons and some oak. Quite textural with a broad mouthfeel, I think now is the time to be drinking this one.

2008 vintage

Very deep gold. Nose rich and sumptuous, developed, trace of oxidation. Palate very rich and full, great extract, long, very long aftertaste. Despite a little oxidation on the nose, there was no sign of drying on the palate suggestive of premature oxidation. Rather, despite its comparative youth, I think the wines has developed rapidly and quite naturally.

2003 vintage

Succulent and generous with wonderful texture and bright fruit. Unctuous on the palate with ripe peaches, flowers with some slight aged notes of paraffin. Went down very easily.

2008 vintage

Dark yellow (apricot-like) with golden hues. Very complex nose with apricots, candied orange, herbs, honey, smoke and noticeable flintstone minerality. Full-bodied, dense but perfectly balance by an acidic lift. Rich and generous, with its fruit holding perfectly. Very long aftertaste. I had some concerns on this bottle, since I bought it aged and was not sure on storage conditions, but it was totally healthy. I guess, any top Rhone producer would have been proud to produce this.

2003 vintage

Surprised not to love this more, but at this stage it seemed quite oaky, very New World. Much too young, surely more vill come here 90+ #VMiChardonnay

2008 vintage

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Giaconda, Aeolia, Beechworth

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