The Auswine Forum

I remember these as some of the first wines I had when I moved to Oz back in 1998. Dan's had these and Tahbilk Marsanne at $7 a bottle back then. They were the days!!

Cheers

Dave

More a problem with couriers, with a recent order on 11th November arriving two days ago! No idea where it's been in the meantime or whether it's fried. It took so long, I had actually forgotten about it as I usually don't order anything during the warmer months unless the company has a heat policy....

Larry's Unique Thai (Woodvale) - exceptional fresh Thai cooking and quite happy to do it properly spicy for you if you ask; larb and nam tok pork highly recommended. Great food with dry and off dry rieslings.

Cheers

Dave

Agreed on the great line up, shows why wine is never boring! The Raul Perez wine is a good entry level starter for Mencia although there are some big brother wines above this, with the grand daddy Valtuille Cova de Raposa being really really good (and way more expensive here of course). Cheers Dave

Hi Allan, Pulled my last 2013 out with a clam chowder earlier in the week. As far as I could tell, this was fine. Certainly a yellow-gold tinge to the colour, it was all nutty and oatmeal upfront with a touch of tropical fruit in the mid-palate and a zip of white grapefruit on the finish. It had rou...

Yeah, agreed. It made me chuckle when Duke's got the Halliday plaudits for their 2017 but also sad as a hidden gem became much harder to find! Certainly well deserved and just delightful people. Up for sale now I believe.

Cheers

Dave

I have one 2013 left and the rest are 15s and 16s. If I am having some suitable food, I'll pull it out and have a look.

Cheers

Dave

A little surprised by this but sure, cork can be variable. I have had 2010s and 2013s recently and had no issues. They were stored in wine fridges at 12-16C, so storage was good throughout. I have a bunch more of these from more recent vintages and am not expecting any issues.

Cheers

Dave

Voyager's wines have definitely become more interesting in recent years. I used to find them a tad boring and sterile but that has definitely changed. I had the 2011 and 2012 chardonnays with the dego menu at the restaurant a few months ago and these were really high quality and food friendly wines,...

These guys and Duke's (whose wine is made by Rob Diletti) for me make close to the best Rieslings in the country, Grossets and the like notwithstanding!

Cheers

Dave

Yep, these guys always seem to fly under the radar. Excellent quality, especially the Rieslings and shiraz.

Cheers

Dave

The last time I saw Killerby wines a year or so ago I think, they were being sold out of the Cheeky Monkey Brewery in Margaret River.

Cheers

Dave

I would have a look at Brown Hill as Ian suggests and also Windance. Happs are worth a visit and have a huge range plus a decent premium range. If chenin blanc floats your boat, Marri Wood Park (next to Windance) is worth a look. Hay Shed Hill do an interesting selection. I would strongly advise boo...

Yep, I would suggest a WA cab too although I am biased as I live here! My recommendation would be something like Windance from Margaret River if you can find it, otherwise one of the well known names would work fine. For a shiraz and something that is widespread, it would be hard to go past Picardy ...

Merlot is a grape that has always bothered me in Oz and I feel there are very few good examples as a single varietal. The Irvine you tried is one, Brown Hill in Margaret River another when it has some age on it. I am struggling to think of others right now. There are a few good wines with merlot dom...

Good places to start would be Isle of Jura, Highland Park and Macallan, although the latter has changed it's style a lot in recent years. I am quite a fan of the lowlands, so if you can find the likes of Bladnoch, that would be excellent. Dalwhinnie and Oban were always reasonable but I haven't had ...

I have to say that I have never been a fan of the Leeuwin rieslings and Ian's notes above seem to suggest things aren't quite right. Frankly, for my palate, pretty much every riesling in the Great Southern (and Frankland for that matter) spank its ass!! Great tasting though and thanks for the notes,...

Interesting night by the looks of things. Good work Allan! I am a big fan of Bandol and especially the Pibarnon, but usually have them much older as they develop so well. I also have a soft spot for Banfi, even though they are one of the massive producers I think, as I have had lovely Chianti Classi...

Lots of the same names cropping up again and again for the Oz wines, so here's something a bit different and likely reflective of geography:

1. Picardy
2. Dukes
3. Bellarmine
4. Brown Hill
5. Tahbilk

Main grapes are rieslings and cab/merlot blends.

Cheers

Dave

Hi Allan,

I take it these are under screwcap?

Cheers

Dave

About a year ago, I had the Petaluma Riesling 2002 under both cork and screwcap side by side. The cork version was a golden yellow, with lovely honey toasty notes, rounded acidity and very long. The screwcap version was lighter in colour (although definitely darker than the usual very pale young Rie...

Waiters Friend wrote:Castle Rock and Gilberts are also good choices, especially for Riesling

Yup, true enough, although to be honest, there were great Rieslings at almost all these wineries. Totally spoilt for choice!

Cheers

Dave

A long weekend down in Denmark with a bunch of wineries visited, including Dukes, Castle Rock, Gilberts, Poacher's Ridge, Castelli, Singlefile, Harewood, Rockcliffe and Willoughby Park. Highlights of the trip were: Dukes: 2014 Magpie Hill riesling just stunning, so zippy, it made my mouth water! Cas...

No organisation for mine, except for keeping odd shaped/sized bottles for the shelves with extra height. I keep an excel spreadsheet of where everything is in each wine cabinet and also how much it would cost to replace today for insurance purposes.

Cheers

Dave

The BL Cab Sav is a standard buy for me usually, certainly in a good year. I bought 5 plus one BL shiraz 2012 just to try the latter and see if it was up to the hype. Have not tried the cab yet, but the shiraz was very disappointing, thin sweet fruit and oak dominated. Did not work for my palate at ...

In terms of restaurants with good wine lists, try 28-50, the Ledbury and the Whistler Restaurant at the Tate Britain. For something a bit different food-wise, try Otto's on Greys Inn Rd. I usually use The Sampler when over there.

Cheers

Dave

I got mine last year too.

Didn't Ultimo close down?

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Dave

Picardy, either their standard or Tete de Cuvee. Prefereably with a bit of age on them.

Cheers

Dave

Pizzini from the KIng Valley. They do a reserve neb as well called Coronamento but that's outside the price range quoted.

Cheers

Dave

Had the 2002 last night and it was just awesome. I think still plenty of development left in it too as it was just beginning to yellow with touches of honey and lime, great acidity and long finish but still seemed to have lots of youthful vigour. I suspect not close to its peak yet although I gather...