The Auswine Forum

Won a gong in the 2009 Penguin Wine Guide. I can't find it anywhere. Can you buy it? If so, any clues without naming one of Gavin's competitor.

I seem to recall Halliday reviewing the 2004 and saying there was an early 90's vintage that had cellared very well and he thought the 2004 was very similar. I'm sure the review would be on the Web somewhere if you searched.

I've got a 1978 Tolley Pedare Riesling with a screwcap I got from a restaurant closing down sale. It was only $5. Haven't got around to opening it yet. Keep forgetting about it.

Thanks Nick.

I should have just applied for the mailing list 10 years ago when I first read about them in the Penguin Guide.

Obviously I'm not on the mailing list.

Can someone tell me how much the wines cost if you are on the mailing list.

Thank you.

I didn't want to hijack the other screwcap thread down the page. I did a reorganisation of the cellar last weekend and made a decision for reasons of space and stackability to store my screwcaps upright. I know that common sense says this is fine and cork sealed bottles are only laid down to keep th...

First of all, I have to agree with Ian, why did you open it for him when you said you couldn't / wouldn't? It's not like after the initial interaction he had redeemed himself in any way. It really just encourages more people to act like w*nkers to get what they want, it obviously works. People keep ...

I'm just curious about whether you can re-use a screwcapped bottle effectively once it has been opened? ie: If I take my screwcapped 2005 St Henri to a Penfolds clinic in 30 years time will they unscrew it, test it, top it up and screw the same cap back on? I realise that screwcaps "should"...

I think the fact that lordson virtually never responds to other peoples replies and if he does it's many many days later and then he ignores half the points raised pretty clearly indicates what his intentions are. Also seems to ignore the advice given and just does his own thing anyway. If he were r...

It's a bit grim that retailers pay a higher wholesale price than they can buy the goods for at Dan Murphy's. One guy paid $34 wholesale for something he could by over the counter at DM's for $31. The independents need to create a union to increase their bargaining power. the most frightening aspect ...

Excellent points Brian and Michael. The Heritage auctions are a good example. I guess in the long run it's their choice to price their wine how they want to and it's our choice whether to pay it or not. The market will sort it out, if not in the short term then it will in the long term. Back to my o...

So many interesting responses, I don't know where to start. Daryl, you must be a great shopper. I thought I was pretty tough but I'd love to have got hold of some of those on your list at those prices. One interesting point made was that just because they submit them to Halliday for review doesn't m...

I was about to start this post: "I'm not complaining" but I guess I am. It's more that I'm just puzzled. I can find myself plenty of wines that I love at $25, $30, $35 and even less so I don't really care about these wines. I just don't understand the marketing strategy. The only reason I ...

I was waiting for someone to ask me for examples. I guess I have a biased perspective because I am a traditionalist at heart about many things including sport as well as wine. I hate upstarts and flash in the pan's (an greedy short-sighted opportunists) I realise anyone's points whether it's Hallida...

I know I whinge about prices all the time but I've just finished scanning the Halliday Guide and the thing that stuck out for me was the huge number of $55 - $75 wines from producers that I have never heard of, or winemakers I have never heard of, or I've heard of them but never read a rave review a...

Excellent news.

I bought one of these in my early days of wine consumption based on the Penguin Guide review. Only one because my budget was limited back then.

It's stashed away safely in a box in the cellar somewhere, I don't even know where. Hopefully the cork is behaving itself.

I think premium wine has been an overpriced commodity for the past 10 years. Both the US and AUS have been going very well economically and people have had plenty of excess disposable income. Now that the economies have started to correct themselves, luxuries like > $30 wine is one of the first thin...

Petaluma
The Story Orphan
St Henri
Tahbilk Cab
McW Philip
Guigal CdR from a bargain bin $13
Wynns Cab
Bream Creek Cab

I've bought from BWS 30% off sale but I hesitate every time because of the storage conditions. Maybe it's just in Hobart but you could be buying a $90 cork sealed wine that has been standing up for 12 months in a non-air conditioned store. It's different if you are talking the high turnover brands b...

Yep, I used to buy a couple of each of the Bins and an assortment of Wynns every vintage and six packs in the good years. Now I only buy the must haves. I guess Fosters must not need me as a customer any more. It's their business but there must be plenty of people willing to pay the prices. It seems...

I voted for The Tally but if it was me and I was confined to those selections it would be:

4 Balnaves
1 x 707

or,

3 Balnaves
1 x 707

and 2 bottles of 389 or 1 of St Henri to make up the $500 (continuing the Penfolds theme)

Should have got 2.

I've never had this wine but past reviews indicate you can't go wrong either way.

Based on what I've read I'd probably give it 2-3 years.

Points are important to me, but only as an indicator to do more research. If a new producer has produced a good wine or a normally mediocre wine has had a freak vintage I probably wouldn't read about it if it appears in amongst hundreds or in Halliday's case thousands of purely written reviews. I do...

Where is Smithy anyway?

I haven't seen a post from him for months.

Did he get banned?

One final comment. Don't think that Tassie is only Pinot & Riesling.

The 2005 & 2006 vintages were pretty good and are just being released. Some of the Cabernet wines would be worth a try.

I agree about Moorilla although I do like their Gewurtz. The restaurant is good from the one experience I had 12 months ago. Great setting. Schouten House at Swansea on the East Coast used to be v good. I have not heard one person recommend the cellar door experience at Freycinet Vineyard. Home Hill...

I presume you are talking wine related experiences? Don't make the common mistake of looking at a map and thinking Tassie is tiny so you can go to lots and lots of regions because they look close together. Apart from the highway between Launceston and Hobart most of the roads are not easy driving. L...

Yes Gary W, Yes!

That is it in a nutshell.

I want a quick reference to narrow the 30,000 wines in Australia down to a couple of hundred and go from there.

What's the point of reading 10,000 tasting notes about wines people didn't like?

I'm no expert but I thought VP would be good for 2-4 weeks if you just put the cork back in and store in a cool dark place.

Obviously the fresher the better but should still be in fair to good condition for 2 weeks and drop away over the next 2.

But as I said, I'm no expert.

St Henri is the last Penfolds wine I buy. (although I did break my own rule and buy some 2005 Bin 389) If St Henri goes over a street price of $70 then that will be the end of buying Penfolds for me except in absolutely exceptional circumstances. I'll probably buy one 2004 if I get it at around $70 ...