Cordwell.net

Wine of the Moment

Brand: St Andrews
Blend: Imperial Reserve Merlot
Year: 2007
Origin: Victoria, Australia
Cost: less than $15 (Australian)

Aroma: berries
Initial taste: quite dry and berry
Aftertaste: ok
Drink again: yes

Wine of the Moment

Brand: Vino Gusto
Blend: Shiraz
Year: 2006
Origin: South Australia
Cost: less than $10 (Australian)

Aroma: berry and a touch chemical
Initial taste: quite dry and spicy
Aftertaste: ok
Drink again: yes, but not in a hurry

Wine of the Moment

Brand: McGuigan
Blend: Black Label (mixed)
Year: 2006
Origin: Pokolbin (Hunter Valley), NSW, Australia
Cost: less than $15 (Australian)

Aroma: fruity
Initial taste: smooth with a bit of a chemical tang
Aftertaste: pepper
Drink again: yes

Wine of the Moment

Brand: Rosemount
Blend: Cabernet Merlot
Year: 2008
Origin: Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia
Cost: less than $15 (Australian)

Aroma: light
Initial taste: dry and spicy with a bit of a chemical tang
Aftertaste: ok, not chemical
Drink again: probably

Years ago I bought a 1984 Range Rover for my wife, figuring it was safer for her and the kids to drive around in than the Commodore she had at the time. Having previously owned a Rover SD1, I liked the Rover V8 motor and that Rangie had a nice presence about it, despite being a 2 tone colour. I had a company car back then so only got to play with the Rangie on weekends.

Little did I know that this was the beginning of a slippery slope in to Land Rover obsession. My wife wasn’t too keen on the Rangie – it was big, heavy to steer, and a pig on petrol. I, on the other hand, loved it. We lived near some bush tracks in the Blue Mountains (west of Sydney, Australia) and it was fun to take the Rangie for a run and try to figure out what this low range thing was about.

Eventually we traded the Rangie in on a new car for my wife but I had already been bitten by the 4WD bug.

Some time later I handed back my company car and went searching. I wasn’t necessarily looking for another Range Rover but ended up buying this one:

What a great car, despite the semi-regular visits to the local Land Rover specialist. It had a great ride, was well appointed inside and never let me down on the mild off-road tracks I took it on. Eventually the daily commute from the Blue Mountains to Sydney was getting to be a problem in terms of fuel bills, so I looked for alternatives. In hindsight I should have kept the Rangie as a weekend toy and occasional commuter, and bought a small car as a daily driver… but instead I traded it in on this 2000 model Freelander convertible:

Having the 1.8L motor shared with the MG-F, it was not bad for a 1.5T car but not as capable as the Rangie off-road or even from a set of traffic lights. The convertible was alot of fun in Summer and it had a nice look about it. Mechanically it was a bit more reliable than the Rangie, but even after several visits back to the Land Rover dealer the CD stacker would never work properly.

We moved to Canberra and I wasn’t commuting as far for work any more. In the back of my mind there was a nagging sense that I wanted to get back in to a more capable 4WD. Then my son spotted a black Range Rover in a car yard one day. After much negotiations I eventually ended up trading in the Freelander on this 1995 Range Rover 4.6L HSE:

Despite the high maintenance bills on this car (engine rebuild was the biggest), I couldn’t see myself driving anything else. Amazing vehicle, great driving position, smooth ride, and goes almost anywhere in style and comfort… I’ll cover the “almost” in another post, along with a few upgrades I had to improve the off-road capabilities of the vehicle.

After encountering the “almost” situation, the Black Rangie was lost in late 2008. For a short time I considered buying a more common 4WD, but my better half pointed out that I would not be happy unless I had another Rangie… of course she was correct. After a brief play with a Suzuki Sierra, I bought a 1999 Range Rover 4.0L V8 from a guy in Queensland who specialised in upgrades for the P38A Rangie:

Not quite a standard P38A Range Rover. It is set up more for off-road use than as a daily driver, but in true Range Rover style it more than holds its own on the tarmac. I’ll talk about this one more in another post.

Enough for now. That’s where I’m up to in my Land Rover addiction to date.

Wine of the Moment

Brand: Obikwa
Blend: Shiraz
Year: 2008
Origin: South Africa
Cost: less than $10 (Australian)

Aroma: not offensive
Initial taste: spicy yet smooth
Aftertaste: ok, not chemical
Drink again: sure would

Might as well record the wines I try out. I’m no wine expert but I know what I enjoy and what I don’t want to drink again. This seems like a good way to remember, and perhaps it will be useful to other people.
Generally I try to buy reasonably priced wines. I live in Australia so we’ve got a pretty good selection of local wines at reasonable prices.
Rosemount, Wolf Blass and Jacobs Creek are pretty safe bets – can’t recall ever having a bad one of these.
Depending on where I get my wine, I’ll try some “clean skins” and the lesser known labels. If I see a foreign wine that appeals to me and is going for a reasonable price, I’ll try that too.

Don’t know yet – I’m not much in to this whole blogging thing. I can’t see much sense in prattling on about what I had for lunch or which cheap red wine I’m evaluating this evening. Then again, maybe I will log the wines I try out.

I could talk a bit about the kind of work I do, but not much about the projects I work on or who I do them for.

I like 4WD’ing so perhaps I’ll put up some pics and videos.

Enjoy your visit. Cheers, Paul.

Hello again. The old site seemed to have fell over… probably because I don’t visit it much or maintain it as I know I should.
So, I’ve done a fresh install of WordPress and am starting again. Apologies to anyone who posted articles and comments to the old site. I’ll have a look through the backups (if I can find them) and see if anything can be restored.