The Auswine Forum

I bought a bottle of this about a month and a half ago at La Vigna in Perth for about $20 bucks and was pleasantly surprised too.

It tasted fresh as a daisy.

I have had some great aged pinots over last two years from Wignall's (Great Southern WA), Diamond Valley and Coldstream (Yarra Valley), Rosemount (Hunter - no kidding, it was a 1987 and superb) and Tasmania. I'd probably have a go at the Hoddles Creek, the Stefano Lubiana Primavera, the Picardy or t...

I'd say the Cold Duck, Porphry Pearl, and who can forget the modern version Brown Bros Crouchen Riesling, introduced a lot of people to wine, and those styles continue to do so (best of all the Crouchen Riesling continues to give riesling a bad name for most punters, which keeps it reasonable priced...

Thanks everyone. I have recently had two half bottles of the Chateau Siaurac and found it to be really drinkable so I might pick up a magnum that my local has for Xmas, and I was going to try the Cambon La Pelouse, and the Mallecasse as well. Thanks for your recommendations Jamie. I have tried the L...

There seems to be a flood of reasonably priced Bordeaux coming in at the moment, and I have acquired a taste for it. The fact that it has coincided with the much hyped 2005 vintage is a plus, although many of the wines are tight and need an hour or four in the decanter. I have tried wines from about...

The oldest I've had that I've enjoyed would be about 13 years old, Pewsey Vale if memory serves. However I've had plenty of 10 yo ones. I believe they can go longer and I know people who have had 20 yo ones, but I think they had a bit of rs to start with.

I recently had a couple of bottles of the 1995 Guigal Cotes du Rhone, which were absolutely magnificent. I find that a lot of wines are recommended to drink younger than necessary, and I can only speculate on the reasons; - First I think it is something of an insurance policy ie if you think a wine ...

I'm in category 2, I drink scotch neat but I find that warm (or hot) taste in some red unappealing. I also think that above 14.5% alcohol is getting silly, I like a couple of glasses and high alcohol punishes me the next day, even if it is only two percent.

I know it's not CBD but the Grand Mellie in Fremantle is a French place which has been getting rave reviews, and is completely BYO with only a tiny corkage fee. I went about a month ago and wasn't blown away, but some of the other people I was with were pretty happy. Otherwise Perth is a sea of medi...

For sparkling you can't go past the Caves de Lugny Cremant de Bourgogne,which Vintage Cellars are doing at $16.99 for a single bottle (so take off 10% if you buy 12 bottles). It is sublime for the money, and given a little time to breathe it is in the same market as a few entry level Champagne's fou...

My folks always drank wine, and had a cask in the fridge, so I tried a good few when I was growing up. I still have faint but good memories of the 1986 Wynns Hermitage. However I really got serious once I started working for a large chain specialising in wine. I got the opportunity to taste a lot of...

After a 10 yr football reunion on Saturday, at a place where Lindemans Bin series was the highlight, but which had plenty of Little Creatures Pale Ale if memory serves, Sunday was a bit of a write off. I barely managed two glasses of the Burgans Albarino (2006), which is rapidly becoming my stand by...

I bought some Castle Rock sauv blanc from WA for $15.99 just to have some. Otherwise it's De Bortoli Sauvignon, or Pouilly Fume for me. VC's have some interesting French ones for a reasonable price, say $20, and their home label which always used to be made by Selak's was always pretty good, as was ...

Just bought; 2005 Coriole "The Optimist" Chenin Blanc Reserve 2004 Josef Chromy Sparkling I have heard a few good reviews about the Coriole and I don't mind the occasional bottle of Vouvray, so it will be interesting to compare them. The guy there recommended the Dukie Doole Tintuku (I'm p...

I had a bottle of 2007 Tar & Roses Shiraz last night, which may have been a little cold, but took ages to open up (hour and a half). When it did I was rewarded with an elegant, value for money shiraz. It has a dark crimson hue, and has plum and dark cherry flavours with very smooth tannins. I ca...

No problems, probably over reacted a bit.

You are right that the things we have often seem boring in comparison to those we don't.

"Tooter". I like that. They are quite prevalent, at a bottle shop I once worked at we had a guy come in who was referred to as "Dr Chardonnay". New staff were introduced to Dr Chardonnay only after they had been locked in a one way conversation where he talked about how one shoul...

Now I drink more pinot, and red from Europe and South America. So faced with a cellar of jammy high alcohol Australian reds, the auction ring would be looking the goods. That said aging can do wonderful things to a wine, so you could probably twist my arm into a glass or two of those shiraz's you h...

Dave Vino said: "But what a lot of wineries don't understand is that I've got a wine budget of say $7000 a year and I've got around 100 wineries I can spend it at so don't expect everyone to spend hundreds at every winery. That's why I still don't understand why wineries keep pushing the 12 si...

Good comment Brian, it reminds me of Donald Horne's comment when he said something along the lines of, "Mateship is bullshit, everyone is really keeping an eye on what the others are doing."

Making sure they are always in a position to cut down the tall poppies, if you will.

If you want Sauvignon Blanc. The 2008 Castle Rock from WA is pretty good, and reasonably priced. The other thing worth looking at is Pegasus Bay Semillon Sauvignon Blanc from the Canterbury region in NZ, this is a killer wine. I don't really drink much NZ Sauv Blanc anymore, but the Palliser, the Is...

2007 Kooyong Clonale Chardonnay
2008 Ad Hoc Strawman Semillon Sauvignon Blanc
2007 Burgans Albarino
2008 Pizzini Pinot Grigio
2008 Pikes Riesling

Brian I'll admit that I may have on occasion foisted wine on to people with "religious fervour", although if you try something and you really like it then much like religion you normally want to tell people about it, the 1999 Majella Shiraz and the 2002 O'Leary Walker Shiraz are wines that...

You can only go with what you like at the time. If I had been building a cellar 4 or 5 years ago my list would have looked a lot like yours. Although I would have probably had some riesling, and semillon. Now I drink more pinot, and red from Europe and South America. So faced with a cellar of jammy ...

Does anyone have any tips or tricks to keep a cellar (read built in wardrobe with two exterior walls) cool(ish) in a long hot Perth summer. All my really good stuff (which is only 6 doz) is in a friends cellar, but I don't want to press things Long shot I know, but you guys must know something...

I have had about 4 years experience in bottle shops, and doing tastings and the stupidest questions / statements were: 1. Maybe they havn't tried enough to know what they like yet e What my point actually is Lordson is that many people use the "I know what I like" statement as an excuse n...

I have had about 4 years experience in bottle shops, and doing tastings and the stupidest questions / statements were: 1. "I know what I like", this is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard, but card carrying philistines may as well write it on their foreheads. 2. "Riesling's sweet...

Last night I organised dinner with some friends and had 2x 2005 Paul Jaboulet 'Les Traverses' Cotes du Ventoux which is astounding value for money, and a lovely wine. 1x 2006 [b]Telmo Rodriguez Al Muvedre [/b], really impressed with this as were my companions as it probably tastes more 'new world'. ...

I'd have to agree on the Massale and the Bay of Fires, pretty much anything from the Tamar Valley 2007 should be good. I bought some Josef Chromy Pepik 2007 at $15 which is a steal but VC's have now run out in Perth. Just a note on cellaring, it seems that some pinot goes dormant after a few years, ...

I had a bottle of of 1995 Guigal Cotes Du Rhone a few weeks ago that was sublime, and right up there with the best I've ever had. Sadly I just had a 1995 Chapoutier St Joseph's Deschants which was very average. Southern Rhone 1 Northern Rhone 0. Had a couple of back vintage pinots including the '99 ...