The Auswine Forum

Swirler, spot on, I thought I went long on some vintages of basket press, Wynns black label, Bins 28 and 389 with 3 dozen purchases but 5 dozen, wow.
Still agree with the formula, if you really like something then go for it...but just need the really deep pockets to match.

Cheers
Craig

Early on I bought mostly just 1 or 2 bottles. A couple of years ago, as I am mostly cellaring off-site and indeed in another country for long-term consumption that I preferred to buy 3-6 of specific wines consistently to have some long-running verticals later on. Essentially I wouldn't buy anything for my Aussie cellar now I wasn't certain would be perfectly fine in 2020+.

My "every/most year" buys would be Rockford BP, a mix of Rockford Rifle Range, Black Shiraz, Rod & Spur, Grosset Riesling (3x each), Grosset Gaia, Head Wines Contrarian, Tyrrells Vat 47, Vat 1, Vat 9, and one other red as available, mixed Marius, mixed Wendouree, Kay Brothers Block 6.

I don't quite know how Head Contrarian and Block 6 necessarily knocked off other contenders but there you go.

Then I make more random selections from certain producers e.g. - Pataluma Coonawarra, Riesling, Dalwhinnie, Penfolds St Henri or 389, Bests, Charles Melton, Willows, Johns Blend, Steingarten Riesling, Yarra Yering, Turkey Flat, Wynns.

If I still lived in Oz, I would buy less 6-packs and more 3x to allow better range. Purchasing online from offshore it is easier to buy straight 6s or mixed 6s from the one producer.

I have now started buying some European wines to cellar with my first en primeur purchases but still over here in the UK I have mostly bought to consume.

If I cast a critical eye at my purchases, I buy too much SA and too much Shiraz (but I don't really mind, I am a good Adelaide boy). I buy a bit too little Riesling, chardonnay and Semillon but I am OK with that given I need my cellar to be fine even if nothing gets drunk for 3-5yrs.

I buy way too little (almost no) WA cabernet. I don't buy enough Cabernet in general, but expect to balance this with Bdx purchases here in the UK. I don't buy enough Pinot but I am not an obsessive with it so I can survive. Also, I would worry too much cellaring Aussie pinot for the required time frames.
I don't buy enough Victoria wine.

And I need to build a more substantial European cellar while I have the chance ... flipping Brexit and the drop in the GBP does not help with this. Mental note: find a job in continental Europe.

I would add, I have only very rarely bought a full dozen of one wine... to mind, I can only think of a couple of cleanskin ports when Seppelts changed hands and they were uber cheap, one lot of Kilikanoon Prophecy ...

I managed to scrape together 8x 2012 Basket Press (2 shared by a friend and 6 from flying for 24 hours and then driving to the Barossa to visit the Cellar Door) ... that would be the next most.

Mike Hawkins wrote:

Polymer wrote:

camw wrote:Only have a relatively small total number of bottles and like it to be fairly diverse so pretty much all purchases are 1-2 bottles. Adding 6-12 bottles of a single wine isn't something I'm all that interested in as I'd rather be trying something new.

Pretty much the same...I generally only buy 1 or 2 of something...with maybe one or two exceptions...or if the price is silly low....

Now that I've moved a good chunk of my stuff to the US, I think I only have one bottle of anything....with one or two exceptions...

I guess I'm the opposite... If i find something great that i absolutely adore and feel confident it will age (eg 1986 St Henri and Mt Ed, 2002 Taittinger Comtes, 1996 DP and 08 Chetillons) i may buy up to 60 bottles.

I cant see the point of continually 'trying' (paying for) bottles that i may not like, when i could sample same at tastings / wineries and make a better choice.

Well, I don't buy stuff I haven't tried or had from the producer or have a fairly reliable indication it will be what I want...

But there is just so much out there that I DO like...and $$$ is a factor as well. If I could buy 6 or 12 of everything I really liked, I probably would...but that's 6 times what I spend today plus storage...and what I buy today already isn't shrinking...

So assuming people have a roundabout budget they spend...You have choices.
72 different bottles of things you like or
12 bottles of 6 different things you like

Some people go wide..some go deep..if you have the pocketbook to do both, that's even better....

Mivvy wrote:

W Schaefer - some '01s and '15s - drinking some '07s

How are you finding the WS 07s. I pulled a couple out of 07 Kabinetts the cellar today to try. Also had a superb Grunhauser Spatlese 07 earlier this week. Seems the 07s are starting to emerge.

Mark

I have liked the WS '07 - mainly Kabinetts, slightly sweet but still have good acidity and I find them well balanced. I've had a couple of '07 Prums that seem a little more simple by comparison (Spatlese) but I just think the Prums just need a bit longer to come together.

swirler wrote:

This.

If you like something why only drink it a few times? Also, if I only have a couple of bottles I will tend to not open them early. In fact, there's a risk of leaving them too long. Whereas when you have lots you can open them whenever you like and follow their progress.

When I say a lot, I mean a dozen or 2. 60 is rather a lot IMO. Especially when it's a Cuvee Prestige/Tete de cuvee!

Swirler

I am more comfortable with your approach. 1-2 bottles makes me nervous I will open them too early. With 6 or even 12, you can be more relaxed and watch how they develop over time which is in itself a fascinating exercise, watch a great wine develop, take on greater depth, more complexity etc. The only time however I have gone past 12 was when I picked up two cases of the Pontet Canet 2009. In this case (pardon the pun) I figured if Robert Parker gave the wine 100pts, the price would double and later on I could sell one case and the other case would be free. Thankfully that strategy has worked well. Buy two, sell one and if you pick it correctly, get the second case free.

Mark