Halliday Wine Companion notes on Sami Odi

[Croquet King]

Got an email from the Wine Companion and they had this as the headline.

"Sami-Odi has become a cult wine label. Perhaps it's because of the small quantities produced, but more likely it's because the wines are damn good. For context, Tasting Team member Dave Brookes rated the wines from the last release 98, 96 and 95 points.

There are 24,000 people (globally) who are waiting to make it on the Sami-Odi allocation list. We spoke to Fraser McKinley about his three new wines, and asked him what it's like to produce some of the most sought after syrah in the country."


24,000 people on the waiting list - wow that's incredible.

[mychurch]

That’s a lot. At some point he can probably push the pricing - I would expect the Hoffman to at least match the price of Standish sometime soon. Then again, Wendouree have resisted, so maybe we will get lucky.

Do we have any idea who has the biggest mailing list in the country ?

[mjs]

I remember our group visiting Fraser about ten years ago, I think he was still doing stuff for Standish at the time. Had great tasing of Little Wine and others both in bottle and out of barrel. I was on the mailing list for 2-3 years but seemed to drop off for no reason, certainly not from lack of buying. Anyway, no chance of getting back on now!

[phillisc]

I am somewhat fortunate that I rang Fraser 5 years ago. Waited one year and have purchased the last four.

I remember in about 1996 I wrote a letter to John Middleton about getting some Quintet. He wrote back to me which was great, but a rather terse response stating there 6000 on the waiting list. I then called him we had a nice chat and he put me on the list...3 bottles of the 1994. Will have the last one when the lad turns 30 later in the year.
Cheers Craig

[JamieAdelaide]

Not terribly interested in “Cult Shiraz” anymore. Went through that phase in the 90’s.

Is there profit to be made on these wines on the secondary market? If not, the 24,000 waiting list is impressive!

[felixp21]

its almost a full generation (30 years) since the last Australian wine cult boom in the USA. (started around 1995 with RPJ)
So we look like we might get a repeat of that process with the then-10 year olds who are now 40. Nothing like in the 90's, but still a surge in interest in the Australian style. Everyone at the start of their wine journey loves shiraz, for some it becomes a life-long obsession, others drift to less "in-your-face" styles (as the yanks did in about 2005-8.)
Reading the wine Boards from there, Sami Odi has become a darling, and I'd be guessing that waiting list has a large percentage of Americans on it.

Fraser seems a lovely bloke, and the wines are wonderful if you are into Barossa shiraz, but I can't help wondering how they would sell if presented in a normal 750ml bottle with normal vintage labelling. My guess is very similar to the Standish or Rockford gear!!!

I'd like to think that our winemakers and marketers are smarter than the Bordelaise of a decade ago and the Burgundians now and take a long-term view to pricing, but you just never know.

I'd also imagine there would be small amounts of money to be made on the secondary market if that's your thing, but to be honest, I haven't checked. Might be interesting to have a look.

[Beachy]

MW auction for November only had 3 bottles for sale.
December and January MW auction both over 50 bottles available but only a few sold in December.

[mychurch]

I’m not sure that there are many flippers on the mailing list, but there are probably a few that buy the full allocation and then sell on the extra bottles they
don’t want. Will be interesting to see how much the Our Hill goes for and how many bottles actually appear at auction.

[mjs]

And his wines are a pain in the ar$e to store/stack in the cellar

Won't fit in standard holes or boxes. Mine are on the top row of a Bordex rack atm

[sjw_11]

They do quite well in the secondary market...

www.langtons.com.au/priceguide?searchPrice=sami%20odi

[Rossco]

I’m not sure that there are many flippers on the mailing list, but there are probably a few that buy the full allocation and then sell on the extra bottles they
don’t want. Will be interesting to see how much the Our Hill goes for and how many bottles actually appear at auction.

I feel anyone flipping these wines should be taken off his list. Ultimately it's upto him I guess but my Two main reasons:

1. Fraser is a small family business who prices his wine more than fairly. The profit should go to him and his family.

2. There are so many people wanting to get on the list for their personal enjoyment and experience, flippers can be easily replaced.

I guess it's lucky the bottles are individually numbered so Fraser (if he wishes) can easily identify the owner from auction house photos.

[phillisc]

I somewhat agree, but also think that wineries are interested to see what the secondary market brings.
I believe Fraser is both tolerant and smart enough to keep the prices of his wines in check, otherwise there will be a lot more flipping and potentially allocations could be reduced....and sadly the price goes up for everyone.

I was thinking about the 24, 000 on the waiting list, where does JH get that number from, wishful thinking? Makes an allocation of about a half bottle per person

Cheers Craig

[mychurch]

I guess it's lucky the bottles are individually numbered so Fraser (if he wishes) can easily identify the owner from auction house photos.

It’s not Fraser’s call though - he needs the Auction houses to work with him. Langtons sell the most, but not sure how easy it is to read the bottle number. There also has to be something in it for the auction sites. Bottles of Rousseau and DRC are much more expensive and there are a lot of fake bottles, so checking the numbers on the bottle to see if they are already sold probably stops bad publicity and claims for fraud. Not sure it’s worth anyone’s time for $ 180 a bottle.

Years ago when I was able to purchase some top Burgundy , I sent in a photo of some of the previous years bottles with the next order. Not sure it really helped - I could have taken the photo anytime. I do have 1 friend though who lost his Rousseau allocation, presumably because he sold off some bottles of the off years for a silly price. They were sold without using an auction site and my guess is that the purchaser then flipped or copied the bottles.