The Auswine Forum

I haven't posted here for literally years as I must admit I've not been in a position to buy much (good) wine - had a child, bought a house, life intervened and so forth - and I must confess I've dropped a bit out of the loop. But I recently had my 40th birthday party and thought there might be some...

I once got a "Hidden Label" from Kemeny's that was the 2001 Jack Mann ... or at least I believe it was based on the use of a James Halliday review to promote it. That was $40. In that example, I am 99% confident I know what the wine is, but it cannot be confirmed and clearly on the table ...

I once got a "Hidden Label" from Kemeny's that was the 2001 Jack Mann ... or at least I believe it was based on the use of a James Halliday review to promote it. That was $40. In that example, I am 99% confident I know what the wine is, but it cannot be confirmed and clearly on the table ...

Probably missed the boat on this but I'd also recommend Wine Library in Woolhara in addition to the above.

Meerea Park for sure - good range, very very good wine.
Tulloch is pretty good - some duds but worth persevering.
Tyrrells is often overcrowded and doesn’t have its best stuff open for tasting.

I'd second most of the above, adding the fact that Vasse Felix has, in my view, the best high end restaurant in the region. If you get down as far as Voyager it's worth pushing on to Leeuwin. Further north, Flametree is excellent and while the wine at Wise is more solid than spectacular it's worth a...

Not posted for a long while but I wonder if anyone could help me with a challenge I am facing. I'm now living between Sydney and Perth, with all my good wine in Sydney and 95% of my good wine-drinking opportunities in Perth. Does anyone have any experience of shipping moderate quantities of wine int...

Meerea Park is a must in the Hunter. If you're lucky Garth will be working and you'll get a good yarn as well as excellent wine. Tulloch is generally worth a stop. I always enjoy Piggs Peake. A bit out of the way and the wines are, well, pretty crazy - totally non-Hunter style, but well made. And ge...

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My understanding is that biodynamicism (?) is, fundamentally, pseudoscience. While I'm not especially bothered about other kinds of organic or natural winemaking, and might in fact very, very marginally favour them, I would put a small black mark against biodynamic wines simply because of my natural...

So last night this happened:



There is no way I'm up to doing it justice in a note so let's just say it was long, perfectly balanced and utterly irreplacable. This was my father in law's bottle and I'm not planning on opening any of my three until my 40th birthday.

Had a 1998 on Christmas day, which was also excellent. Again probably at or very close to its peak - I've got a couple left and I'll be drinking them over the next year or so I reckon. But very good indeed.

What a brilliant idea for a tasting - just the sort of thing that would get a non-wine publication jumping up and down about what snobbish idiots wine buffs are if it ever saw the light of day (but would be a lot of fun in a well-established group). I can see it now: "Ten buck chuck beats $100 ...

It's hard to imagine two more diverse crowds than I saw at two Sydney events in the last year: Ultimo Wine Centre's Yves Cuilleron dinner at the Bentley, and the New Generation Hunter Valley pop-up bar (apart from the fact they were both pretty damn middle class). The diversity actually made me feel...

I have to throw in a mention of Moothi Estate. An even better view than Logan...

I can recommend Muse Dining at Hungerford Hill. Very nice dining room, excellent food. I think that's hatted, too.

Well yes, except there's no evidence that's happening. Here's my guess: the large majority of people who buy Penfold's bins are fundamentally wine ignorant and do so because they are premium products where "you can't go wrong". These are the people who will pay $70 a bottle. Next are loya...

This happens every year and it's always the same story. Penfold's doesn't owe us anything, does it? Every time we've given the company money we've got something for it. If the market won't sustain these prices they will go down. If that's more than you want to pay, don't pay it - it's not like ther...

Who are they trying to kid?? Penfolds continues to lose the plot And even more of a laugh they think Bin 407 is worthy of that price too. wtf!! that is delusional!! This happens every year and it's always the same story. Penfold's doesn't owe us anything, does it? Every time we've given the company...

A couple that are worth mentioning: 1999 Tyrrell's Belford Semillon . I had two bottles of this from auction and the first, opened about two years ago, seemed to be right at the end of its useful life. I then forgot about the other one so really didn't have high hopes on opening. However, the cork w...

I had a brief stop at some Hawke's Bay wineries last month, and while I was blown away by the restaurant and setting at Craggy Range (and the all-round pleasantness of everyone I encountered) I was a little disappointed that both they and Te Mata weren't tasting anything like their full range of win...

Surely January 2012? Is this a case of "Chinese man still writing 'monkey' on cheques"? I just got back from NZ - a trip which included my first-ever visit to Martinborough and the Hawke's Bay (incidentally, if you ever get the chance have lunch at Craggy Range; all claims made on its beha...

Best Younger White 2006 Meerea Park Terracotta Semillon 2005 Tyrrell's Vat 1 Semillon Best Younger Red 2009 Yarra Yering Pinot Noir 2009 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir Best Old Red 1996 Moss Wood Cabernet 2003 Meerea Park Alexander Munro Shiraz Best Misc Moment - Beer / Restaurant Meal / Sporting Moment etc (...

I've topped $100 on a smattering of occasions though never by much and, oddly enough, more often when I was even less knowledgeable (ie when price was subconsciously helping guide my quality judgements). I'm absolutely certain I'll enjoy the Clonakillas I paid $75 for and the $45 Voyagers and $50 At...

I don't know what you mean by "strangely" in that you say " Strangely, they might warrant opening in the next year or three " but you can't go wrong with roast lamb. Cheers...................Mahmoud. I'm guessing that's in the sense of "after all this time it's strange to t...

Hi Christo!, from DM's up my way, Thornleigh and Hornsby. Both of them were keeping the real stuff in the cooler, and the fake NSW stuff out in the shop. Same price too. Real stuff is easy to spot as most of the text is in Italian, plus a big imported by... label on it. Nice beer, fairly subtle com...

Mine arrived midweek. I've dipped in and out a couple of times and I have to say I'm not impressed overall - frankly the word that best sums it up for mine is "pedestrian". A few comments: - The format is very, very similar to GT Wine (comment/news at the front, a couple of features in the...

Vasse Felix will be chuffed not to be named in that ABC article!

Thanks very much for these. It's true that the trip is too short but we only have a long weekend in Wellington (arrive Friday morning, leave early Tuesday) so I'm afraid it's inevitable.

I'm a long, long way from being an expert on Margaret River Shiraz, but it does seem that Sandalford are being quite successful with it. I bought a case of their 05 Estate Reserve (one down from the Prendiville, though I'm not sure the Prendiville existed at the time) at a hefty discount a couple of...