More Devalued Aussie Wine

[KMP]

Just received an email from an Etailer here in the US offering Penfold's Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2004 for $11.99USD or $9.99/btl if you buy six. Usual excuse - the distributor wants to move some boxes - one time deal. Wine Searcher has this from $9.95 to the more usual $24.99.

Linked over to their site to see what other deals are on offer. Quite a few. The best is the 2003 Winter Creek Shiraz at $14.99uSD or $12.99/btl for 6. I paid $27.99USD in 2005 for this. Its $19.99 to $29.99 on Wine Searcher. I'll have a six pack please!

Wines like the Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz 2004, Tait Shiraz 2005, Kurtz Boundary Row Shiraz 2003, Margan Semillon 2004, Koonowla Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, Connor Park Shiraz 2002 have 20-50% price reductions. Obviously these are not current vintages but it just goes to show that its been difficult to move Aussie wine for more than just a vintage or two.

What does Grant Burge 'Barossa Vines' Chardonnay 2005 sell for in Oz? $8.99USD here.

Mike

[Red Bigot]

Just received an email from an Etailer here in the US offering Penfold's Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2004 for $11.99USD or $9.99/btl if you buy six. Usual excuse - the distributor wants to move some boxes - one time deal. Wine Searcher has this from $9.95 to the more usual $24.99.

Linked over to their site to see what other deals are on offer. Quite a few. The best is the 2003 Winter Creek Shiraz at $14.99uSD or $12.99/btl for 6. I paid $27.99USD in 2005 for this. Its $19.99 to $29.99 on Wine Searcher. I'll have a six pack please!

Wines like the Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz 2004, Tait Shiraz 2005, Kurtz Boundary Row Shiraz 2003, Margan Semillon 2004, Koonowla Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, Connor Park Shiraz 2002 have 20-50% price reductions. Obviously these are not current vintages but it just goes to show that its been difficult to move Aussie wine for more than just a vintage or two.

What does Grant Burge 'Barossa Vines' Chardonnay 2005 sell for in Oz? $8.99USD here.

Mike

The Winter Creek 2003 is an excellent wine at that price.

The Barossa Vines range is around $11-$15AUD, $14-$15 for the Chardonnay.

[KMP]

Brian,

Absolutely - the 2003 is a great little wine. They also have the 2001 for about $17 and so I've just pulled the only bottle I have (was saving it for a 2000-2003 vertical) to see if I should get a mixed dozen of the 2001 and 2003. Really developing nicely, soft and juicy, more Rhonish than Barossa although the color would give it away. Looks like it will last for at least 5 maybe even 10 more years. David Cross really should have gone into making wine much earlier.

Mike

[David]

[quote="KMP"]
David Cross really should have gone into making wine much earlier.
/quote]

Hey I'm not dead yet!

To blow our own trumpet, our 2005 Shiraz has been nominated by the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation for the George Mackey Memorial Trophy.

The trophy is awarded to the most outstanding wine exported from Australia in the last 12 months. There were 80 wines nominated out of the 17,000 wines tasted for export approval.

[KMP]

David Cross really should have gone into making wine much earlier.

Hey I'm not dead yet!

To blow our own trumpet, our 2005 Shiraz has been nominated by the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation for the George Mackey Memorial Trophy.

The trophy is awarded to the most outstanding wine exported from Australia in the last 12 months. There were 80 wines nominated out of the 17,000 wines tasted for export approval.

No, you are not dead yet - fortunately. But if you'd gone into making wines a bit earlier then I might have a chance of drinking some with some real age on them. As it is most of them will probably outlive me.
Mike

PS. Congrats on the 2005. Am I to assume that you will further blow your trumpet by having it on the tasting bench when we arrive? The 2005 that is, not your trumpet! In fact I haven't even seen the 2004! Are you shipping less to the US?

[David]

[quote=" Congrats on the 2005. Am I to assume that you will further blow your trumpet by having it on the tasting bench when we arrive? The 2005 that is, not your trumpet! In fact I haven't even seen the 2004! Are you shipping less to the US?[/quote]

Thanks Mike. Of course we will have the 2005 Shiraz for you to try.

We have sent very little wine to the US over recent times although our 2004 Shiraz is there. The US market has been very difficult for small Australian makers. Once upon a time, in a galaxy far far away, Australian wine was the latest thing in the US. It was talked about on all the wine forums, got great write ups and wine sold.

Since then many things have happened - the rise in the Aussie Dollar, the impact of "critter wines" such as The Fractured Wombat devaluing the Australian wine category and the impact of Parker. However, I believe that the major negative impact on Australian wine is the fickleness of US consumers looking for the latest trendy thing. Now it seems to be Spain and Italy.

We have been exporting to other markets, established - eg Europe and emerging eg China, as well as expanding our sales domestically.

[smithy]

You're bang on about Aussie reds being dumped.
You can buy some amazing wines and older vintages at way better prices than we can get them here.
I see a Parker backlash to the whole Big red thing. His preference is for Big & soft meaning either not much acid, a bit of Grenache, or both.
Now thats fine for reds to drink today...but many people spent big money on reds that were never going to live. Were never made to live

To be fair to Parker he did get a heap of your compatriots drinking and getting hyped about aussie reds in the first place.
Trouble was they were the wrong wines and there was just too much hype, too much price gouging.

The story in the NYTimes on where Aussie reds have lost the plot is interesting.
The basic issue was they were never our best reds.
Just wines of a particular style ,that had their day in the sun for a little too long.
Cheers
Smithy

[08meltdown]

If the Winter Creek wines are return to Australia and sold at that giveaway price it will be snapped up in no time!!!

08meltdown

[Red Bigot]

If the Winter Creek wines are return to Australia and sold at that giveaway price it will be snapped up in no time!!!

08meltdown

Don't hold your breath, they aren't coming back here.

[GraemeG]

The basic issue was they were never our best reds.
Just wines of a particular style ,that had their day in the sun for a little too long.

Ha! Before or after the grapes were picked?

cheers,
Graeme

[JohnP]

Just a few points that may or may not be relevant:

Parker promotion of Aussie wines severly distorted the development of some of the export based wineries and skewed the views of those who wanted to be part of the game.

Some US importers, one in particular, are obviously mercenary and show little or no loyalty to their Oz winemakers. Preferring fad and icon to anything else.

Tastes and the value of the AUD inexorably change over time.

Even in Oz its getting harder to sell the same quantities as last year, even tho wineries typically have produced less due to climatic extremes - no I'm not an AGW believer!

Both Coles and Woolies are taking more and more market, turning it into a discount heaven, and unless the independants can develop a survival strategy the small wine maker will cease to have a market outside their mail-list/cellar door in 5-7 years.

[Mike Hawkins]

Mike,

Its awesome for consumers but not great for the wineries / distributers. I picked up the 04 Bin 28 and Bin 389 for USD8.99 and USD14.99 respectively. 2002 Petaluma Shiraz for USD12, 2004 St Henri USD26 and 01 Limestone Ridge for USD 8. The words "Australian" and "shiraz" are the kiss of death for retailers in the States - its just not moving. Some retailers are loathe to stovk more than a couple of labels these days.

I can only imagine how much stock is still in the system and I'm guessing there are even better deals coming in the future, especially from vintages 04, 05 and 06.

I hope this post doesn't come across as bragging. Rather, its just meant to show how serious the situation is....

Mike

[Boyeah]

Mike,

Its awesome for consumers but not great for the wineries / distributers. I picked up the 04 Bin 28 and Bin 389 for USD8.99 and USD14.99 respectively. 2002 Petaluma Shiraz for USD12, 2004 St Henri USD26 and 01 Limestone Ridge for USD 8. The words "Australian" and "shiraz" are the kiss of death for retailers in the States - its just not moving. Some retailers are loathe to stovk more than a couple of labels these days.

I can only imagine how much stock is still in the system and I'm guessing there are even better deals coming in the future, especially from vintages 04, 05 and 06.

I hope this post doesn't come across as bragging. Rather, its just meant to show how serious the situation is....

Mike

Thats really shows how much the local consumers being ripped off and subsidise the export market's loss.

Regards,
Boyeah

[Red Bigot]

J
Both Coles and Woolies are taking more and more market, turning it into a discount heaven, and unless the independants can develop a survival strategy the small wine maker will cease to have a market outside their mail-list/cellar door in 5-7 years.

The good independent retailers/e-tailers are doing quite well I think. I'm sure it's not all easy, but once an e-tailer finds the right formula then buyers will soon find out about it.

The key features are (not necessarily in this order):
Desirable range of wines (including some reasonably-priced imports)
General pricing well under RRP and reasonable freight charges.
Good service
Functional web-site with secure ordering.

I have outlets of both chains close by and some reasonable independents locally who have adapted and survived the advent of the chains some years ago, but I still buy most of my wine (about 90%) from interstate independent e-tailers, direct from wineries or at auction.

There are about 150 e-tailers in Australia, about 20 of those have really got their act together, a few more have found specialised niches that work for them. Probably a good thing, because the proportion of wine-buyers who buy like the sort of people that frequent wine-forums is quite small.

So far the major chains have left plenty of room for small independents to operate and the chain model doesn't lend itself to dealing with a myriad of small producers/distributors, so unless they decide to tackle that aspect in some way the better independents are pretty safe.

The secret for small producers is to produce good wines and price them reasonably (easier said than done I know), the RB first principle of wine selling is that "Good wines fairly priced will always sell". There are numerous examples over the past year or two of emerging small makers who get a few good reviews on well-priced wines and word or mouth spreads like wildfire across the forums and by email so that the wines sell quickly. The trick is to make good wine the next vintage as well and the next one after that.

The RB first principle of wine buying is "No one source has all the wines you want at the right price or the right time". That's the whole reason for my site, to let people know where many (IMO) good (mostly red) wines are available at the best prices.

[lordson]

where can i get my hands on some of this cheap Australian Shiraz?

is there a risk in importing from the US?

[Craig(NZ)]

where can i get my hands on some of this cheap Australian Shiraz?

is there a risk in importing from the US?

there may be a risk someone will think you are an idiot. import it from nz. cheaper

[pizzler]

Jon Rimmerman (Garagiste) has an interesting take on the glut of cheap Aussie Shiraz wines on the U.S. market and I wanted to share it to get your reactions. I did some research before posting this and sure enough, it is the mid-level wines that are taking a bath, particularly those that are primarily exported to the US like the Colonial Estate wines. I checked with Jon and got his approval to post it. Prices are in US dollars:

UPDATE: Implosion

I have much to say regarding the implosion of the mid-tier South Australian Shiraz category in the US but, for now, some unbeatable prices have made their way to our shores. As an example, give Wine Exchange a call (800.76.winex - no relation to us) - they have the 2005 DeLisio Krystina Shiraz (WA92-94) at $19.99. Considering profit margins, that means someone, somewhere was willing to offer this to them at $10-15 - unthinkable 2-3 years ago when this wine debuted (it was $30-50). Chances are, the same story is being told at your local wine shop as well (just change the name from Delisio to Colonial Estate or other).

No category has been hit harder than South Australian Shiraz in the US wine downturn. Caught in the perfect storm that’s been brewing since 1998 when the Wine Advocate/Grateful Palate issue (#117) catapulted an emerging category so far past “Go” they forgot what the starting line looked like (check how many previously high-scoring, more classic names such as Tim Adams were still considered “cult” after Issue #117 - not many and their market share eroded within a few years). The gold rush quickly ensued and everyone from bankers to fisherman decided to mine for Shiraz gold in the uncharted waters of the McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley - that was a mistake.

Fast forward a decade and (in 2009), you will hear plenty of excuses that circumvent the apathy of the over-$30 US Shiraz buyer but the reality is that too many in SA jumped on the same style without a long-term plan and the quagmire now has “star” labels with little or no US presence - it’s that bleak here. Fortunately for many of the wineries, there are new markets around the world willing to pick up the slack but the US remains indifferent.

For now, many excellent examples from high-end labels have been relegated to the bin-end rack. There is such disinterest from the consumer’s point of view that it’s even spilled over to tasting events. Last week, I offered to open a 1999 Clarendon Hills Astralis for a visiting collector - he politely asked if I would open something else. When asked why, he said “Been there, done that”. I don’t recall anyone ever saying “been there, done that” when a bottle of 1994 Harlan or 1990 Leroy Les Beaux Monts was offered, no matter how many times they’ve tried them? Consumers are still buying Barbaresco at $50 or more, likewise Champagne? Why not Shiraz? The carnival ride that once enticed is precisely the same reason there’s currently no gullet to glide down - people find too many of the wines to be alcoholic and tiring, even beyond what many would classify as “wine”.

If this is the case, then why are similarly styled, high alcohol wines from Napa or even the Rhone still en-vogue with consumers? Give this some hard thought - nowhere is the alcohol higher and more transparent than the Southern Rhone. Grenache shows its alcohol like no other varietal and many 2007 CdP’s top 16% with room to spare? Some of the same 2007s would even be called “freak-show” wines of immense extract and uncommon ripeness but consumers cannot get enough of them. Is there something about the brash and youthful karma that surrounds SA Shiraz (and a great deal of the packaging) that makes it “unkempt” or not to be taken seriously once the fun-house has worn through its set of trick mirrors? Why does Shiraz from a great vintage seem to be expendable when 2003 Pavie is not?

If you have long-term experience with Shiraz, it can age into the most incredible, kaleidoscopic beverage one would ever have the pleasure of tasting. Yes, the alcohol can be high but there are too many examples to name among my finest wine experiences to cast off an entire category as “tiring” – 1967 Bests, 1971 Wendouree, 1986 St. Hallet's Old Block and 1991 Veritas Hanisch among them (not to mention celestial Cabernet such as the 1963 Mildara PP or 1966 Penfold’s Bin 620 - always variable but the best bottles are incredible. Also, the the early 1970’s Tahbilk wines or 1970’s Yarra Yering examples come to mind) – the point is that, given the requisite cellar time, Shiraz and Shiraz/Cabernet blends from all regions of Australia have magic potential unrivaled by even Hermitage itself. How do I know? Taste a perfectly stored 1961 La Chapelle next to a 1962 Grange and tell me which you prefer – both are legendary for good re ason but my money is on the Grange.

Certainly, not all modern Shiraz blends will age as well as their predecessors but classic terroir still exist in Oz and the best hands-off winemakers are keen to allow the fruit to express its natural potential, not the packaging (see Adelina, Tatiarra, Mount Langi Ghiran et al).

In the end, it may take a full-scale price and category correction to bring a very worthy segment of the wine-world back to the US consumer’s consciousness. It also appears that high-scoring reviews are no longer worth their weight in fool’s gold - 95pts just doesn’t get it done anymore with Shiraz and that leaves most of the nation’s retail presence at a loss for their most influential sales tool. With high-scoring reviews no longer the gospel, what is the consumer to do? They will have to make their own choice based on tasting experience or the intuitive feeling that the wine in the retail rack in front of them represents a worthy price/value for what it is. Prior to the downturn a few months ago, that’s where most Shiraz fell short. In early 2009, opportunities abound.

We have no Shiraz to offer (that was not the motivation for this essay - there are plenty of excellent retailers out there with deep stock to choose from) but I feel it may be time to take a closer look at a category down on its luck. Maybe it’s time you rediscovered Shiraz? The prices are now ripe for experimentation and there’s nothing like tasting a wine with a fresh outlook.

Been there done that?

Something tells me Shiraz (in the right hands) can still surprise.

- Jon Rimmerman

[Bob H.]

Mike,

Its awesome for consumers but not great for the wineries / distributers. I picked up the 04 Bin 28 and Bin 389 for USD8.99 and USD14.99 respectively. 2002 Petaluma Shiraz for USD12, 2004 St Henri USD26 and 01 Limestone Ridge for USD 8. The words "Australian" and "shiraz" are the kiss of death for retailers in the States - its just not moving. Some retailers are loathe to stovk more than a couple of labels these days.

I can only imagine how much stock is still in the system and I'm guessing there are even better deals coming in the future, especially from vintages 04, 05 and 06.

I hope this post doesn't come across as bragging. Rather, its just meant to show how serious the situation is....

Mike

Mike, I am in the states too, (Kentucky) where are you getting these prices, and do you suppose I could have some shipped to me down here? Is the store online so that I might contact them, or could you PM me with contact info? Thanks!

[TORB]

where can i get my hands on some of this cheap Australian Shiraz?

is there a risk in importing from the US?

By the time you pay freight ($200 a case) and Oz Taxes, they won't look so cheap.

[griff]

where can i get my hands on some of this cheap Australian Shiraz?

is there a risk in importing from the US?

By the time you pay freight ($200 a case) and Oz Taxes, they won't look so cheap.

Suspect Lordson is long gone TORB

cheers

Carl

[TORB]

Hi Carl,

Didn't see the date of his post.

Never the less.....