Two Monday Afternoon reds

Killara Estate Racers & Rascals Pinot Noir 2006 – Yarra Valley Vic
I like the packaging here, smartly done, but eh tacky marketing speak back label does very little to back this up. Always a bad sign when a wine talks nothing of the vineyards or the winery….
Anyway, this opened up very flat indeed, if a little reduced. The nose just gives a little sappy cherry away, but otherwise little of merit.
The palate is weak, souped up by oak and lacking any generosity, the tannins on the finish are jarring and harsh, the whole package unconvincing. Considering that this is only a few dollars cheaper than the Mornignton Estate from a few days ago, I know which one I would be choosing. 15.0/20

Peter Douglas PD Chime Hoop Cabernet 2004 – Coonawarra, SA
Peter Douglas is a man with some history in Coonawarra, leading Wynns in the glory days of the late 80’s and early 90’s. These days he is the winemaker for ambitious Coonawarra operation Reschke, who have some considerable land holdings in the strip.
The Chime Hoop is the second tier of his new range and the attention to detail is immediately obvious from the back label – its enormous, with a long history of how the wine was made, but little information about the fruit source. I can only guess it comes off that 360 acres of Reschke’s?
Anyway I had high hopes that where almost dashed upon opening – The sulphur hit was brutal and I was worried. Luckily this blew off, but there remained a smoky, burnt overtone that could well just be an oak derivation. The palate is tightly bound, with dark fruit hiding underneath, but at the moment the tannins are intrusive and harsh. There is also a worrying theme of under/over ripeness in the fruit that jarred a little too.

Underneath all this however I think that there lays some potential – I would suggest leaving it in the cellar if you have some now, for its a rather hard unattractive drink at present. 17/20