June 2019 Purchases

[kenzo]

Managed to sneak in a couple of cheeky bottles at the end of the month: 2 x 2015 Antinori Tignanello, again on sale.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Managed to sneak in a couple of cheeky bottles at the end of the month: 2 x 2015 Antinori Tignanello, again on sale.

The 2015 is a well received wine so good on you to find it one sale. The last two times I've bought Tignanello was because they were keenly priced. It is a wine that is a bit of a conundrum for me as I really do like Chianti Riservas. The addition of a large component of cabernet to the sangiovese has me thinking that I need to age it more than I would a chianti and since I have little experience with aging super-Tuscans I am very unsure of when to open them.

Mahmoud.

PS: I think it's just over a $100 here in my town.

[Dragzworthy]

Managed to sneak in a couple of cheeky bottles at the end of the month: 2 x 2015 Antinori Tignanello, again on sale.

The 2015 is a well received wine so good on you to find it one sale. The last two times I've bought Tignanello was because they were keenly priced. It is a wine that is a bit of a conundrum for me as I really do like Chianti Riservas. The addition of a large component of cabernet to the sangiovese has me thinking that I need to age it more than I would a chianti and since I have little experience with aging super-Tuscans I am very unsure of when to open them.

Mahmoud.

PS: I think it's just over a $100 here in my town.

Yes the ageability of a super Tuscan is a bit difficult given there's not much consistency in the blends that are available...having said that, I tend to drink them in a 5yr to 10yr window unless I read something to the contrary that makes me think otherwise.

[kenzo]

That sounds about right to me.

These were around JPY10,000 per bottle, including 8% tax.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Managed to sneak in a couple of cheeky bottles at the end of the month: 2 x 2015 Antinori Tignanello, again on sale.

The 2015 is a well received wine so good on you to find it one sale. The last two times I've bought Tignanello was because they were keenly priced. It is a wine that is a bit of a conundrum for me as I really do like Chianti Riservas. The addition of a large component of cabernet to the sangiovese has me thinking that I need to age it more than I would a chianti and since I have little experience with aging super-Tuscans I am very unsure of when to open them.

Yes the ageability of a super Tuscan is a bit difficult given there's not much consistency in the blends that are available...having said that, I tend to drink them in a 5yr to 10yr window unless I read something to the contrary that makes me think otherwise.

Ouch, my Chiantis, at least the riservas, are aged at least 20 years. The addition of significant amounts of cabernet suggests longer. I opened a '90 Tig in the mid to late '00 and found it closed and muted, and have since left the remaining bottles alone. I am only now thinking of broaching another bottle in the next year or so. My other vintage of Tig is a 2005 and I am not anywhere near thinking of opening a bottle anytime soon.

Mahmoud,

[Ozzie W]

The 2015 is a well received wine so good on you to find it one sale. The last two times I've bought Tignanello was because they were keenly priced. It is a wine that is a bit of a conundrum for me as I really do like Chianti Riservas. The addition of a large component of cabernet to the sangiovese has me thinking that I need to age it more than I would a chianti and since I have little experience with aging super-Tuscans I am very unsure of when to open them.

Yes the ageability of a super Tuscan is a bit difficult given there's not much consistency in the blends that are available...having said that, I tend to drink them in a 5yr to 10yr window unless I read something to the contrary that makes me think otherwise.

Ouch, my Chiantis, at least the riservas, are aged at least 20 years. The addition of significant amounts of cabernet suggests longer. I opened a '90 Tig in the mid to late '00 and found it closed and muted, and have since left the remaining bottles alone. I am only now thinking of broaching another bottle in the next year or so. My other vintage of Tig is a 2005 and I am not anywhere near thinking of opening a bottle anytime soon.,

Antinori Tignanello needs time. I had a 2010 last year and it clearly needed a lot more time. A 1999 I had in 2016 was just getting into the drinking window for my palate.

[kenzo]

Good data points - thanks!

[sjw_11]

1 Quintarelli Bianco Secco 2017

I'll be interested in what you make of this. My view on a bottle from the previous vintage was:

• 2016 Giuseppe Quintarelli Bianco Secco Veneto IGT - Italy, Veneto, Veneto IGT (19/06/2018)
  Pale and bright straw colour, with a relatively complex nose of tropical fruit (inc. lemon), grass/nettles.
  
  On the palate it's relatively soft and easy going, yet there is complexity and enough subtlety, together with some grip from what comes across as grape/apricot skin.
  
  Whilst there are similarities with more modest wines, this comes across as a more modest wine made with great skill, like those fine trattorie that don't aspire to being restaurants.
  
  Value as such is a little questionable, yet I could see me buying another bottle or two in the future.

Ian, just polished this off over the last two nights, my comments below (which are pretty much aligned to yours):

Monday, July 1, 2019 - Apparently a blend of roughly 70% Garganega with the rest a mix of Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Trebbiano. This sees no oak but is aged on its lees. Bright colour. Vibrant nose of stone fruit, cut citrus, and a faint hint of oil- reminding me of cut greenery. On the palate there is broad fruit salad at the open giving way to a more focused citrus driven acid line on the finish. Good juice, price perhaps a little steep. 92pts

[Rossco]

2 x 2015 Head Ancestor Vine Grenache (interestingly from Eden Valley as I thought Alex's grenache came from Barossa)

[Dang]

Walked into a winestore the other day and decided to look at its vintage section. Well surprise! Three Wirra Wirra Chook Block 2006 in their original black wrapper! However they had an outside sticker saying 'Product of U.S.A'. I guess those were originally shipped to the US and could not sell them and my winestore here picked them up and tried to sell them without knowing much about the wine (only 112 dozen made). I grabbed them all!

[Scotty vino]

9 X assorted Tscharkes Gren Mat 2017 and Temp Gra 2018 (only son). 10 and 15 a bottle.
Couple of St Johns 2017 resilient Grenache. Belter for the $$.
Couple of pallets of wendouree ordered. see what i get in the following weeks.

[phillisc]

Walked into a winestore the other day and decided to look at its vintage section. Well surprise! Three Wirra Wirra Chook Block 2006 in their original black wrapper! However they had an outside sticker saying 'Product of U.S.A'. I guess those were originally shipped to the US and could not sell them and my winestore here picked them up and tried to sell them without knowing much about the wine (only 112 dozen made). I grabbed them all!

Great find Dang...have a couple of the 12s, wished i had paid more attention to this wine...if you don't mind what was an 06 worth in $USD?
cheers craig

[Dang]

Hi Phillisc
The price in the US is $150, about $200 in Canada. I paid about 160. Just wonder there are more out there. I also have three 2002 Chook Block left from a rare (in Canada) six pack (another long story on how I got them). Obviously none of the '12, or '14 or '16 will get here soon!

[phillisc]

Hi Phillisc
The price in the US is $150, about $200 in Canada. I paid about 160. Just wonder there are more out there. I also have three 2002 Chook Block left from a rare (in Canada) six pack (another long story on how I got them). Obviously none of the '12, or '14 or '16 will get here soon!

So is that $150 AUD or USD which in my money is $213...which is a hell of a lot for Chook Block...cheaper on the secondary market (I think?).

Cheers Craig

[Mahmoud Ali]

What Dang is saying is that while the US price is US$150, it is equivalent to C$200 in Canada. What Dang paid for the wine is C$150, about 75% less in both US and Canadian dollar terms. Still far too much for a Barossa shiraz as far as I'm concerned.

[phillisc]

What Dang is saying is that while the US price is US$150, it is equivalent to C$200 in Canada. What Dang paid for the wine is C$150, about 75% less in both US and Canadian dollar terms. Still far too much for a Barossa shiraz as far as I'm concerned.

Sorry Mahmoud, maths has never been my strong point, but I don't understand the 75% less.
The wine by the way is from McLaren Vale, where most of Wirra's wines come from...the block name so as it was the original site of an old chook yard, or something like that.
Cheers Craig

[Dragzworthy]

Yes the ageability of a super Tuscan is a bit difficult given there's not much consistency in the blends that are available...having said that, I tend to drink them in a 5yr to 10yr window unless I read something to the contrary that makes me think otherwise.

Ouch, my Chiantis, at least the riservas, are aged at least 20 years. The addition of significant amounts of cabernet suggests longer. I opened a '90 Tig in the mid to late '00 and found it closed and muted, and have since left the remaining bottles alone. I am only now thinking of broaching another bottle in the next year or so. My other vintage of Tig is a 2005 and I am not anywhere near thinking of opening a bottle anytime soon.,

Antinori Tignanello needs time. I had a 2010 last year and it clearly needed a lot more time. A 1999 I had in 2016 was just getting into the drinking window for my palate.

I had the 2008 late last year and thought it was in its zone...though this may just reflect the way I like to drink ...

[Mahmoud Ali]

What Dang is saying is that while the US price is US$150, it is equivalent to C$200 in Canada. What Dang paid for the wine is C$150, about 75% less in both US and Canadian dollar terms. Still far too much for a Barossa shiraz as far as I'm concerned.

Sorry Mahmoud, maths has never been my strong point, but I don't understand the 75% less.
The wine by the way is from McLaren Vale, where most of Wirra's wines come from...the block name so as it was the original site of an old chook yard, or something like that.

Clearly math is not my strong point! Neither is my reading and transcribing skills.

Dang says the price in the US is $150 which, in Canadian dollars, he estimates is $200. Dang said he paid $160 - not the 150 I mistakenly wrote. Even using the incorrect number, Dang paying $150 of the estimated $200 value is 25% less, not 75%. I got it the wrong way around.

However using the correct amount, $160, Dang in fact paid 20% less than the estimated $200 value.

Mahmoud.

[Dang]

The Chook Block vineyard was planted in 1960 with the "heritage clone" shiraz. The first vintage was made in 1998, possibly by Greg Trott. Since then, the wine was produced every 4yr, except after 2010, when strangely this was changed to two yrs. Both the '02 and the '06 were made by chief winemaker Samantha Connew, who left Wirra Wirra and started her own winery, Stargazer.
In terms of cost it is quite debatable whether what is too much. Consider this, I managed to acquire the 02CB, released in 2005, out of sheer luck (another long story!) at a cost of $60 Canadian each. The 02 production was 250 dozen, the 06 only had 112! Consider that the 15 Tignanello discussed above has a production of 340000 bottles. Not quite a true single vineyard wine. What is the price of rarety, you will be the judge. Even the production of Chateau Lafite Rothschild is around 10000+ cases yearly. As with the 02 CB, the 06 is quite more valuable to me, because made by Sam Connew, the wine would much more full bodied, yet balanced even when drunk young. We will try out the wine soon.

[mychurch]

Update on an earlier post.

My case from France arrived yesterday. That was 8 days from door to door, which was a similar time it took an order from Sydney to arrive.

Box is very bashed, but no breakages. Some seepage on 1 of capsules of the 90 Vouvray, but I though that might happen given the age. Level is still good.

No idea of how the temp varies on the way and how long the box was at each stop - tracking did not work well. It was sent when there was a dip in the heatwave in France, so it should have only been an issue at any stop in between. Worth taking the chance though.

Big surprise was that there has been nothing from Customs at this end. Don’t known if that is due to the holidays here, luck or the small value, but so far no sign of the dreaded import duty. That makes such a difference. The Huards has effectively cost me €32, which is just a few more euros the cost of buying in the Netherlands or Germany.

I will try again later in the year, but I will not be sending anything super rare or super expensive. That’s fine - there are plenty of modestly priced interesting wines around.

[George Krashos]

Which carrier delivered them? I've found that FedEx are Nazis when it comes to duty. You pay every time.

[mychurch]

This came via the ChronoPost, which I think is the International Arm of the French Post Office. Was delivered by good old AusPost once it reached here.