The Auswine Forum

Thanks for the assurance guys.

Just for my own knowledge, how would a heat damaged cork look in comparison to this? I.e. one that is protruding or otherwise indicative of an actual problem with the cork?

Ian S, do you mean the fact I could wriggle the foil off is suspect? Or the two bottles? I read somewhere that a foil should be able to twisted around a neck and if it was stuck could indicate heat exposure - any truth to this? To be honest, I bought two at a tasting in a wine store because I was re...

OK, thanks, Wine Rick. As long as its in there tight against all edges, that's all that matters? Is this different than a regular cork?

The fact I slipped the foil off and put back on.... Any issues there or am I just being paranoid?

I bought a couple bottle of 2014 Pinot Noir today from a smaller NZ producer and noticed the cork is oddly placed in there. Is this likely to be a problem and should I exchange it? There is a clear gap on the side near the top and part of it goes over the lip. They are already 5-6 years old, so like...

OK, so for high end wine sounds like it's either worth buying it in Europe or just a retailer here. I've found a bottle of Solaia for $670 AUD here that is $350-400 AUD overseas. Sounds like it will add up with all the extra charges plus hassle of buying overseas.

Does anyone here do it?

I've found some good prices overseas but was just wondering if anyone has had any experience with buying and importing I should know about?

On a different note, I've seen some posts on IG for American Penfolds reps that look like bottles like Bin 28 or recent vintage Bin 389s that are under cork. Is that a common thing for Aussie wines for overseas markets?

I was going to say.... Pretty much all of the world's most coveted wines are still under cork, Aussie and American wines included.

Hey guys, thought I'd update this one... The winery eventually sent me a new bottle. Opened it today and the cork looked better than the previous one but some creep still evident. Still has an usual bulge towards the middle - how normal is that? This wine was much better. Green capsicum, vanilla, fr...

Jamie, so you just bypass where you bought it from and go straight to the producer? I assume it's always a nearly full bottle? What do you do for Euro wines? I do feel the fact I am dealing with a company that is part of Cracka Wines should offer a full refund, whether or not it was bought in a stor...

Yes, they don't know the bottle is empty, but regardless of the strong Aussie consumer laws, even Dan Murphy's was a struggle to return a bottle of Bin 389 in-store, so it's no guarantee a company will honour the law. I eventually got a refund when I called them. This place definitely has some nice,...

In terms of returns, I bought it from The Wine Society/Wine Collective while they still had a storefront in Sydney and rang them up. They said their return policy is normally 90 days and I bought it a year ago... Anyways, we agreed I would get $30 credit next time I buy something online. Either way ...

I opened a bottle of 2014 Clos des Jacobins Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe and was dissapointed but wanted to run the flavour profile by you. First, the cork was quite crumbly, especially for such a young wine, so I had to use my Durand. Secondly, the flavour had this distinct woody flavour to it I ...

Thank you to everyone for the recommendations - I will keep this all in mind for when I have time to do a proper trip through the area.

Cheers.

Thanks, guys. We'll likely only have 2 days now outside of Paris (decided on going to Mallorca for 4 days), so I guess it's down to either going to Beaune/Dijon or Bordeaux. There sounds to be a nice Saturday market in Dijon and if we're not going to be spending the time visiting or driving around t...

I'll be heading with my wife to France next June and was looking for some suggestions. We'll be in Paris for 3 nights and then have another 6 nights to spend there, so was thinking of heading to Burgundy and maybe further to the Rhone region, but we need to fly out of Paris. Where should we base our...

OK, I appreciate the answers - I have emailed them, so will let you know how that goes. So, aside from then fact that CT says tasting window is 2017-2024 (https://www.cellartracker.com/m/wines/2545525) and and the bottle itself says it can last 10 years, it sounds like they used a cork aimed for con...

Thanks for the input, Sam. Never even heard of Langhorne Creek, any wineries you recommend? Orange is an interesting choice for SB, wouldn't have thought of that. I find the SSB or SBS blends from Margaret River the best and generally better than just straight SB (really not into Marlborough - style...

I know this will be controversial, but, broadly speaking, what do you feel are the best regions in the country for each varietal or common blend? I am cutting down on my drinking and am focussing on purchasing top quality drops that can age, hence the reason for the question. Quality over quantity! ...

It's Casella, if that helps at all? When it warmed up, still flat tasting, no fruit to discern at all. Cellartracker gives it a few more years and the label says cellar up to 10 years, so sounds like I got a badly closed bottle? To that point, should I contact the winery to see if I can get a free o...

Does this look like it's definitely been heat affected? It's got wine going up halfway and a spot where it goes a bit wider in the middle. 2012, Coonawarra Cab Sauv, bought from a nice bottle shop that would have had A/C (no saying what happened prior) and kept in its original box in a cupboard in i...

Redav, haha, I am sure it's OK, given it didn't break!

There is no safety lock on my wine fridge but if I have kids I will figure out some way to make it unopenable!

I hope your much rarer/$$$ wine than the one I opened is fine.

I decided to go ahead and open it. I took some pics which may indicate that the seal was in fact affected by what happened and was no longer flush with the side of the cap (or, maybe this would have looked like this anyway after opening it)... In any case, this wine is still available and the same p...

Duly noted, guys. I've wrapped the whole top in al foil. What do you think my timeframe would be on needing to consume it?

Got a couple pics. You can see the slight dent on the top of the cap - rest of it seems fine.

I'm hoping to keep it for 5 years.

I had a bottle slide out of my wine fridge today, hitting the carpet likely bottom side first from about half a meter. I did see what looked like a funnel of wine rushing to the top inside, but after wiping around the top with a napkin, it didn't look like any wine was spilling out. There is a sligh...

Hi Redav, Yes, all good - happy to keep the 18s as it would be more of a hassle to do an exchange and they should still be great wines. I ordered a couple '17 389s and thankfully got the right ones - got an RWT, too, since it was on sale, as well. Hopefully they don't go down further with Black Frid...

I'll be happy in this case to keep the 18s and enjoy them. The Cristal mix up on their part was very lucky for me indeed. Likewise, I ordered a Penfolds Bin 16A once and got a 15A instead (no asterisk, this was a mistake) and kept it, given they were both the same price and the 15A sounded like a be...

Yes it was listed as 2016 in the vintage detail section with asterisk, but not in the product name. It was less than $30.

Thanks, mate. Yes, the level of wine looks where it should be for a 10 year old bottle, just below the wrapper.