Whiskey Gully 2005 Upper House Cabernet Sauvignon

We were headed for the Granite Belt a bit over twelve months ago, and while, in my host's words, there's a winery for every week of the year, the visit was about renewing old acquaintances, introducing new life partners and that sort of thing rather than maxing out on the tasting opportunities.

A quick look at the options meant that we arrived with two places to visit, and one of them was Whiskey Hill Wines, which seemed to be an operation strong on character that was probably worth a visit.

So we did.

The operation hosts an eatery where Friday nights are apparently in the substantial range, and Saturday morning probably wasn't the best time to be calling, but the proprietors' daughter was friendly after an extremely late night (Dad was cleaning the kitchen and not overly impressed by the world at large), the collection of stringed instruments on the walls intriguing and the wines worth a look. We escaped with a couple of bottles, including this one, and would definitely go back if the place is still in the same hands.

The daughter, however, was looking to relocate to France, and Mum and Dad had put the place on the market. While I'm inclined to go back I'll be checking local sources for info before doing so.

Whiskey Gully 2005 Upper House Cabernet Sauvignon (4* $26) Quite attractive retro style red if you like that style, which I do. While there's nothing wrong with the wine, which packs most of the requisite elements into the glass there's nothing that makes me stop and take notice either. Long finishing steak or roast beef style that won't have you racing out looking to buy it by the pallet but does its job quite satisfactorily.

The 4* rating translates to: I should buy this, but there may well be constraints that prevent me from doing so. The constraints run in at an unwillingness to shell out for a dozen, uncertainty about the current state of play at the winery and a website that doesn't seem to have been updated in a while.

Leeuwin Estate 2005 Art Series Riesling (Relocated)

When we visited Leeuwin Estate in August $260 for a dozen Art Series Rieslings across six years seemed like a reasonable way to build s small stock of older Rieslings while I waited for the stocks of Holm Oak and Grosset to round out. We've got through the '03 and '04 and this was the last of the...

Leeuwin Estate 2005 Art Series Riesling (4.5* 19 points $n/a) Near-sparkling pale gold, aromatic with developed Riesling character in spades through the nose and across the palate, youthful acids have rounded out into complex elegance with a lengthy finish. Delicious, and a powerdul argument for keeping a couple of bottles in the cellar (assuming you can keep your hands off them).