The Auswine Forum

Luke W wrote:Sitting on the Yangtze drinking a Chinese Great Wall Reserve cabernet - gotta say it's about the worst muck I've ever drunk. No body, no nuance,no complexity - think most Australian casks would be better tipples - should have stocked up on the 2013 389's for $100 a bottle I saw the other day in Guilin.

Ha ha ....Been there, done that Luke ! Should check my roster and if it coincides drop you off emergency supplies from HKG.

Had a very lovely 2005 Book Book Shiraz last night. Dont think its even that well known in Wagga Wagga, where i bought it a while ago, but its a lovely wine at its peak now. Screw cap keeps it fresh and in amongst the eucolyptus there is a good thread of refreshing acidity and plenty of peppery, red fruit. Sat on a mates warm wine rack for the last 6+ years and I imagine well stored bottles will have plenty of life in them.

Wed its my 2nd last 50th birthday meal.. a mature mosel spatlese to start, La meal Blanc 98, 06 Ramonet Montrachet, 66 Vouvray Demi Sec, 66 Margaux, 66 Mouton, an unkown 66 red Bordeaux and a 67 Nieport Colheitha to finish..A lot for 4, which means the 88 707 and 96 Block 42, amongst others, will be kept for the final summer BBQ

JamieBahrain wrote:

Luke W wrote:Sitting on the Yangtze drinking a Chinese Great Wall Reserve cabernet - gotta say it's about the worst muck I've ever drunk. No body, no nuance,no complexity - think most Australian casks would be better tipples - should have stocked up on the 2013 389's for $100 a bottle I saw the other day in Guilin.

Ha ha ....Been there, done that Luke ! Should check my roster and if it coincides drop you off emergency supplies from HKG.

Thanks Jamie

It's probably been good to have the month's forced detox tho'

mychurch wrote:
Wed its my 2nd last 50th birthday meal.. a mature mosel spatlese to start, La meal Blanc 98, 06 Ramonet Montrachet, 66 Vouvray Demi Sec, 66 Margaux, 66 Mouton, an unkown 66 red Bordeaux and a 67 Nieport Colheitha to finish..A lot for 4, which means the 88 707 and 96 Block 42, amongst others, will be kept for the final summer BBQ

tasting report is required
esp Ramonet Montrachet
I like 06 whites

2003 Stefano Lubiana Collina Chardonnay

After accidentally freezing it then the missus stumbling across it 2 days later (this morning) I was even more curious on how this may taste.
This wine is in a place I really like and showing really nice age development, it has well and truly taken on some beautiful honeyed, nutty flavours, with dried mango and apricot fruit showing through. Nice, but I won be leaving the other bottle for too much longer, it's drinking really well right now

Bobthebuilder wrote: but I won be leaving the other bottle for too much longer, it's drinking really well right now

Don't worry, if you do want to keep it longer, i'm sure you can give the other bottle another stint in the freezer too!

For those visiting Clare, Seed Kitchen is a 'must do' for lunch or dinner. Impressions from last night:

2013 Rudi Rabl ‘Spiegel’ Gruner Veltliner, Langenlois, Austria
Toast, slight touch of honey, white pepper, very refined, nice touch of acidity, very good mouthfeel and length. Nice style of wine, heavier/more oily than the Adelaide Hills versions I have tried - Very good.

2013 Delamere Vineyards Chardonnay, Pipers Brook, Tasmania
A very balanced wine. Excellent wine making; the stone fruit flavours meld beautifully with the fine French oak. A good line of acidity further balancing out the palate. Very good mouth-feel and palate weight. Excellent.

2012 Domaine Cornu Ladoix Premier Cru, Beaune, France
Light/medium bodied, raspberries, spice, a ‘kiss’ of oak and very fine tannins. Very good palate, with the raspberries building and completing a very good finish. Drinking very well and very enjoyable.

2014 Savaterre ‘Frere Cadet’ Pinot Noir, Beechworth
Much darker and full bodied compared to the Damaine Cornu. Dark cherries, acidic, nice use of oak but not as balanced as I was expecting. It was Okay without being stunning – perhaps too young.

2006 Mitchell McNicol Shiraz, Clare Valley
Lovely fragrant nose, elegant, dark fruits; blackberries/plums, dark chocolate on the palate supported by fine and integrated tannins. All in balance and drinking very well. Excellent.

2009 Taylors ‘St Andrews’ Cabernet Sauvignon, Clare Valley
Dark and brooding; a ‘sweet’ core of black current, touch of olive, dark chocolate, a full and rich palate. Just got better and better in the glass. Excellent.

2013 Tokar Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2013, Yarra Valley
Cassis, roasted bell pepper, a greenish/herbaceous touch which adds complexity and interest; there is also a ‘crunchiness’ to the wine. Very good tannin structure and cedary oak. Good now will get much better with time.

sch5252 wrote:For those visiting Clare, Seed Kitchen is a 'must do' for lunch or dinner. Impressions from last night:

2013 Rudi Rabl ‘Spiegel’ Gruner Veltliner, Langenlois, Austria
Toast, slight touch of honey, white pepper, very refined, nice touch of acidity, very good mouthfeel and length. Nice style of wine, heavier/more oily than the Adelaide Hills versions I have tried - Very good.

2013 Delamere Vineyards Chardonnay, Pipers Brook, Tasmania
A very balanced wine. Excellent wine making; the stone fruit flavours meld beautifully with the fine French oak. A good line of acidity further balancing out the palate. Very good mouth-feel and palate weight. Excellent.

2012 Domaine Cornu Ladoix Premier Cru, Beaune, France
Light/medium bodied, raspberries, spice, a ‘kiss’ of oak and very fine tannins. Very good palate, with the raspberries building and completing a very good finish. Drinking very well and very enjoyable.

2014 Savaterre ‘Frere Cadet’ Pinot Noir, Beechworth
Much darker and full bodied compared to the Damaine Cornu. Dark cherries, acidic, nice use of oak but not as balanced as I was expecting. It was Okay without being stunning – perhaps too young.

2006 Mitchell McNicol Shiraz, Clare Valley
Lovely fragrant nose, elegant, dark fruits; blackberries/plums, dark chocolate on the palate supported by fine and integrated tannins. All in balance and drinking very well. Excellent.

2009 Taylors ‘St Andrews’ Cabernet Sauvignon, Clare Valley
Dark and brooding; a ‘sweet’ core of black current, touch of olive, dark chocolate, a full and rich palate. Just got better and better in the glass. Excellent.

2013 Tokar Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2013, Yarra Valley
Cassis, roasted bell pepper, a greenish/herbaceous touch which adds complexity and interest; there is also a ‘crunchiness’ to the wine. Very good tannin structure and cedary oak. Good now will get much better with time.

Had a 2005 of this 2 weeks ago and it was really good.
It was somewhat tannic to begin with and i was bit unsure of it.
30mins later and a bit of glass time it was showing well and starting to soften and open up nicely.
It was shared between 5 and before it really got going it was gone.
A bit of regret in that it could've done with another hour in the conical flask.

Right now, a not so good home brew. Have around 50 Cabernet Sauvignon, seven Shiraz and three Merlot in the back yard. It's a year old tomorrow. Might have to change my glassware to a mug, since the glass seems to be highlighting the faults.

2013 Balnaves 'the blend'. cab mer.
This is an excellent wine for 20 bux. Seriously.
Nice mouth feel and nice bit of oak going on.
Bit of berry fruitiness about it.
There's a suggestion to cellar this but i say drink up.

Homemade pasta with seriously fresh local seafood from Stradbroke Island
These wines were so high toned with fine tannins
Salvioni 2009opened up pure & structured
Pian 2010took & hour or so to blossom up with power & structure
Giacomo Conterno 2008 had incredible length


Terrible light for photos

Kay Brothers Nero D'Avolo 2015 - $25
One of the highlights of yesterdays Mclaren Vale trip, opened by mistake yesterday and now on the 2nd day after refrigeration:

Dusty rose petal, aniseed/tar, pencil and cherry nose with similar elements on the palate.
Silky mouth feel and a little fruit sweetness but is definitely in check. I’m always a sucker for wine with a good acidic zing to balance the fruit and this has such a nice sour cherry/plum drive. If this was available at the local Italian place it’d be an absolute no brainer.
Delicious.

Hill Smith Estate Eden Valley Chardonnay:
2nd night and no notes taken. Not as good as the Adelaide hills version. However is still an excellent Chardonnay at $17. Better on the 2nd night.

Dalwhinnie Moonambel Shiraz 2004. At the time I purchased it, I seem to recall JO rating this wine 97. Sadly I think it's closer to the 92 GW has given it on Winefront. The bottle has been well cellared but on opening it last night it really seemed as though all the oomph had gone out of the wine. Soft tannins, darkish fruit, reasonable length but no great complexity. No great depth of flavour. I think I will drink the remaining bottles up over the next 12 months and pray it was just an average bottle.

Mark

Girlfriend stayed in Auz after our Xmas holiday and last night she sent me a WhatsApp from her mothers 60th birthday BBQ. Apparantly ma's boyfried was not aware of the "special" wine stack and so a bottle of 2013 Wendouree Shiraz was plonked on the table along with a few normal reds...Trudi and Jodi were slugging it straight from the bottle and the comment from Sis Jodi was "this tastes like shit"..I'm hoping that means there is some brett...

To console myself its 1997 Penfolds Grange tonight. Not actually my bottle - my brother brought it along for my 50th and we never got around to it amongst all the rum and young wines.

Its a great wine. Some brinking around the edge, integrated tannins, lovely depth of casis fruit, liquorice. In its drinking window now, so if you have some and like high quality fruit, then its time to pull the cork. If you want something more complex, then another 10 years will definetly add something. If you have never drank Grange before, then its not a wine to change your life, but its still a wine to savour and appreciate. No idea what the current market price is, but its bound to be terrible QPR.

[quote="JamieBahrain"][quote="Luke W"]Sitting on the Yangtze drinking a Chinese Great Wall Reserve cabernet - gotta say it's about the worst muck I've ever drunk. No body, no nuance,no complexity - think most Australian casks would be better tipples - should have stocked up on the 2013 389's for $100 a bottle I saw the other day in Guilin.[/quote]


Ha ha ....Been there, done that Luke ! Should check my roster and if it coincides drop you off emergency supplies from HKG. :D[/quote]

Hi Luke. I didn't suffer in the least over the weekend. Perfect Paella with 03 Brokenwood Semillon, 06 Rimu Grove Chardonnay. 85 Grange and 03 Parola Durif with sublime cheeses, Thinking of you mate...not.

mychurch wrote:Girlfriend stayed in Auz after our Xmas holiday and last night she sent me a WhatsApp from her mothers 60th birthday BBQ. Apparantly ma's boyfried was not aware of the "special" wine stack and so a bottle of 2013 Wendouree Shiraz was plonked on the table along with a few normal reds...Trudi and Jodi were slugging it straight from the bottle and the comment from Sis Jodi was "this tastes like shit"..I'm hoping that means there is some brett...

I suggested to one of our colourful national wine critics earlier this month that enjoying Wendouree Shiraz was a classic case of the Emperor's clothing. It takes someone who is not a wine pointy to state the obvious, the stuff "tastes like shit". Of course i got a long response pointing out how well the thread enhanced the perfection of the fine material or in this case "I like their indelible reflection of site and season" and "their idiosyncratic nature is fascinating [which makes them] great to drink".

Sadly I never got a response to my question as to whether their site was located in the midst of a French oak forest. Personally i would invite Jodi to drink more often.

Cheers
Mark

deejay81 wrote:

Bobthebuilder wrote: but I won be leaving the other bottle for too much longer, it's drinking really well right now

Don't worry, if you do want to keep it longer, i'm sure you can give the other bottle another stint in the freezer too!

A little off topic but this raises an interesting question - Does freezing a wine slow or even stop the ageing process. There have been stories of very very old wine (a century or 2) brought up from great cold depths of the ocean from ship wrecks that were OK but not great. Some french bubbles I recall.

Carl

Went to the Bowen Estate 40th vintage tasting yesterday. Never been to such an exquisite event with such a flight of wines available. Doug & Emma are fantasitc and really open about thier wines...good and bad.

The 91 cabernet was a babe and hasnt even reached its window yet. My wine of the tasting. The 75 claret (their first vintage where the vines were only 4ish years old) and a blend of shiraz & cab. So elegant and light....very light actually, and drinking beautifully.

89 was second fav

96 shiraz was all arms & legs. If it hasnt integrated by now...will it ever?

98's very powerful. Decades left

Best thing about bowen. Have never changed their label, given into trends or tried to change their style. It showed of the 40 years. They pick for flavour and their style, not what people or market demands. This really showed in the alcohol % (which wasnt shown on the labels before 84). Ranged from 12.3 to 15% and everything inbetween.

Never experienced anything like this before, and not sure i will again.

I hosted a wine dinner with Braida last night and tonight I'm enjoying some of what was not completely consumed- the 2006 Bigotta which is showing it's blood iron minerality in a tar and the brooding 2010 Ai Suma which will do 20 years +

Braida makes amazing Barbera and it was an honor to have Raffaella Bologna amongst us.

rooman wrote:

mychurch wrote:Girlfriend stayed in Auz after our Xmas holiday and last night she sent me a WhatsApp from her mothers 60th birthday BBQ. Apparantly ma's boyfried was not aware of the "special" wine stack and so a bottle of 2013 Wendouree Shiraz was plonked on the table along with a few normal reds...Trudi and Jodi were slugging it straight from the bottle and the comment from Sis Jodi was "this tastes like shit"..I'm hoping that means there is some brett...

I suggested to one of our colourful national wine critics earlier this month that enjoying Wendouree Shiraz was a classic case of the Emperor's clothing. It takes someone who is not a wine pointy to state the obvious, the stuff "tastes like shit". Of course i got a long response pointing out how well the thread enhanced the perfection of the fine material or in this case "I like their indelible reflection of site and season" and "their idiosyncratic nature is fascinating [which makes them] great to drink".

Sadly I never got a response to my question as to whether their site was located in the midst of a French oak forest. Personally i would invite Jodi to drink more often.

Cheers
Mark

Yes because, let's face it, swilling a young Shiraz directly from the bottle will always give it the best chance to shine

rooman wrote:

mychurch wrote:Girlfriend stayed in Auz after our Xmas holiday and last night she sent me a WhatsApp from her mothers 60th birthday BBQ. Apparantly ma's boyfried was not aware of the "special" wine stack and so a bottle of 2013 Wendouree Shiraz was plonked on the table along with a few normal reds...Trudi and Jodi were slugging it straight from the bottle and the comment from Sis Jodi was "this tastes like shit"..I'm hoping that means there is some brett...

I suggested to one of our colourful national wine critics earlier this month that enjoying Wendouree Shiraz was a classic case of the Emperor's clothing. It takes someone who is not a wine pointy to state the obvious, the stuff "tastes like shit". Of course i got a long response pointing out how well the thread enhanced the perfection of the fine material or in this case "I like their indelible reflection of site and season" and "their idiosyncratic nature is fascinating [which makes them] great to drink".

Sadly I never got a response to my question as to whether their site was located in the midst of a French oak forest. Personally i would invite Jodi to drink more often.

Cheers
Mark

Yeah - I seem to remember a pretty large scale tasting on reasonably aged Wendouree done by a group of fairly experienced Australian wine fanatics on the old St*rforum that reached the conclusion "this generally tastes like shit". I may be over-simplifying but I remember a general disappointment on lack of overall enjoyment. I hadn't bought any then and apart from one case filler, haven't now as this seems to be the reaction when people actually drink Wendouree most of the wines.

If you Google you might find it, search is broken over there and it looks moribund these days.

To be fair I haven't tried but to be equally fair at £50 a bottle in the UK it's not looking great QPR either ...

Rossco wrote:Went to the Bowen Estate 40th vintage tasting yesterday. Never been to such an exquisite event with such a flight of wines available. Doug & Emma are fantasitc and really open about thier wines...good and bad.

The 91 cabernet was a babe and hasnt even reached its window yet. My wine of the tasting. The 75 claret (their first vintage where the vines were only 4ish years old) and a blend of shiraz & cab. So elegant and light....very light actually, and drinking beautifully.

89 was second fav

96 shiraz was all arms & legs. If it hasnt integrated by now...will it ever?

98's very powerful. Decades left

Best thing about bowen. Have never changed their label, given into trends or tried to change their style. It showed of the 40 years. They pick for flavour and their style, not what people or market demands. This really showed in the alcohol % (which wasnt shown on the labels before 84). Ranged from 12.3 to 15% and everything inbetween.

Never experienced anything like this before, and not sure i will again.

Rossco, MJS, GRB and I went to the 40th Anniversary Bowen dinner last June in Coonawarra.
Just out of interest where was this tasting held, (was it a dinner?) Melbourne, Sydney, hope they do another in Adelaide.

Cheers
Craig

Jay60A wrote:

rooman wrote:

mychurch wrote:Girlfriend stayed in Auz after our Xmas holiday and last night she sent me a WhatsApp from her mothers 60th birthday BBQ. Apparantly ma's boyfried was not aware of the "special" wine stack and so a bottle of 2013 Wendouree Shiraz was plonked on the table along with a few normal reds...Trudi and Jodi were slugging it straight from the bottle and the comment from Sis Jodi was "this tastes like shit"..I'm hoping that means there is some brett...

I suggested to one of our colourful national wine critics earlier this month that enjoying Wendouree Shiraz was a classic case of the Emperor's clothing. It takes someone who is not a wine pointy to state the obvious, the stuff "tastes like shit". Of course i got a long response pointing out how well the thread enhanced the perfection of the fine material or in this case "I like their indelible reflection of site and season" and "their idiosyncratic nature is fascinating [which makes them] great to drink".

Sadly I never got a response to my question as to whether their site was located in the midst of a French oak forest. Personally i would invite Jodi to drink more often.

Cheers
Mark

Yeah - I seem to remember a pretty large scale tasting on reasonably aged Wendouree done by a group of fairly experienced Australian wine fanatics on the old St*rforum that reached the conclusion "this generally tastes like shit". I may be over-simplifying but I remember a general disappointment on lack of overall enjoyment. I hadn't bought any then and apart from one case filler, haven't now as this seems to be the reaction when people actually drink Wendouree most of the wines.

If you Google you might find it, search is broken over there and it looks moribund these days.

To be fair I haven't tried but to be equally fair at £50 a bottle in the UK it's not looking great QPR either ...

I can understand if you drink mainstream Australian shiraz Wendouree will disappoint.

Now here's the catch, I've presented comprehensive Wendouree verticals to Old World drinkers ( high end collectors ) and they are very well received. The last dinner, in a general discussion, it was met with disbelief that Wendouree is a polarizing style at home. Now, "the fairly experienced Starforum fanatics " were pretty much evolving palates from memory, could be wrong, though I reckon they'd only just started delving into Burgundy and had pretty limited exposure to other classic Old World regions.

To say Wendouree tastes like shit is a little rude though understandable if you drink commercial berry jam shiraz day in, day out.

JamieBahrain wrote:

Jay60A wrote:
Yeah - I seem to remember a pretty large scale tasting on reasonably aged Wendouree done by a group of fairly experienced Australian wine fanatics on the old St*rforum that reached the conclusion "this generally tastes like shit". I may be over-simplifying but I remember a general disappointment on lack of overall enjoyment. I hadn't bought any then and apart from one case filler, haven't now as this seems to be the reaction when people actually drink Wendouree most of the wines.

If you Google you might find it, search is broken over there and it looks moribund these days.

To be fair I haven't tried but to be equally fair at £50 a bottle in the UK it's not looking great QPR either ...

I can understand if you drink mainstream Australian shiraz Wendouree will disappoint.

Now here's the catch, I've presented comprehensive Wendouree verticals to Old World drinkers ( high end collectors ) and they are very well received. The last dinner, in a general discussion, it was met with disbelief that Wendouree is a polarizing style at home. Now, "the fairly experienced Starforum fanatics " were pretty much evolving palates from memory, could be wrong, though I reckon they'd only just started delving into Burgundy and had pretty limited exposure to other classic Old World regions.

To say Wendouree tastes like shit is a little rude though understandable if you drink commercial berry jam shiraz day in, day out.

Jamie

In defence of the "other forum" participants, they were a long way past starting to delve into burgundy. At least one cellar I knew of was valued in exceed of $1m with many of the other forumites having extensive collections of French wine including vast amounts of grand cru burgundy and first growths from Bordeaux , hence there was definitely no shortage of exposure to Old World regions. I stopped attending dinners more because it was too hard to participate with wine at the level that everyone else was bringing along. So they were working off a reasonable knowledge base.

As for the berry jam comment, personally I haven't purchased any South Australian shiraz for close to a decade and Wendouree still tastes impenetrable to my palate. But then that is why I suggested its like the Emperors Clothing - if you are going to go to all the effort of getting the bleeding distribution list, few are going to question whether the wines are really worth the effort, humbly IMO.

phillisc wrote:Rossco, MJS, GRB and I went to the 40th Anniversary Bowen dinner last June in Coonawarra.
Just out of interest where was this tasting held, (was it a dinner?) Melbourne, Sydney, hope they do another in Adelaide.

Cheers
Craig

It was in Little Collins Street in Melbourne. Went from 11 - 4pm, so i guess you could call it a lunch, however most people in attendance
largely ignored the food (apart from crackers & dry bread to realign their palate) and just focused on what was presented.

I wrote very detailed notes about all the vintages presented......then subsequently left them there...... quite frustrating!

Chateau du Cedre Cahors 2010 - It's still sitting in the decanter waiting for dinner.
Until then finishing the Diamond Valley Reserve Chardonnay 2006 from last night. Some of the nougat and vanilla that was quite prominent yesterday has blown off. Seems better off for having a night in the fridge being open. Colour is a deep lemon, not quite golden yet even at 10 years old. Rich Meyer lemon, lemon curd thing going on the nose with a little pear, mouth coating on the palate with more of that lemon and a good lick of acidity to clean it all up. Medium length. Pretty good to whet the appetite for something a little more wintery later.

1999 Classic McLaren 'La Testa' Cabernet Sauvignon. Cork. 14.2%.
Great colour for a 17-year-old wine. Old wood, berries, dark chocolate and a hint of vanilla mint on the nose. Full- bodied blackberry and plum with roasted capsicum, dark chocolate and old wood. Beautiful tannins; integrated by pleasantly drying on the long finish. Nice! And getting better as it breathes.

VALENCISO RIOJA RESERVA 2008- A nice young Rioja with plenty going on in the glass. Needs time to open up but when it does it sings. This should go for another 8-10 years.

Jamie

In defence of the "other forum" participants, they were a long way past starting to delve into burgundy. At least one cellar I knew of was valued in exceed of $1m with many of the other forumites having extensive collections of French wine including vast amounts of grand cru burgundy and first growths from Bordeaux , hence there was definitely no shortage of exposure to Old World regions. I stopped attending dinners more because it was too hard to participate with wine at the level that everyone else was bringing along. So they were working off a reasonable knowledge base.

As for the berry jam comment, personally I haven't purchased any South Australian shiraz for close to a decade and Wendouree still tastes impenetrable to my palate. But then that is why I suggested its like the Emperors Clothing - if you are going to go to all the effort of getting the bleeding distribution list, few are going to question whether the wines are really worth the effort, humbly IMO.

I dunno, I wrote them a letter and they put me on the list, wasn't what I would call a lot of effort. I actually have also only tried a couple of their Shiraz. I prefer their blends, but that is off a limited base and just my taste.

Anyhow, I question the value of anyone saying that a wine that sells out every year tastes 'shit', or similar. There is obviously a market for it. Not everyone has to like it. The Bradys are nice people who make interesting wine. If people don't like it, don't drink it. It's not hard.

Oh and if you are going to drink it, don't swill it, young, from the bottle...

rooman wrote:In defence of the "other forum" participants, they were a long way past starting to delve into burgundy. At least one cellar I knew of was valued in exceed of $1m with many of the other forumites having extensive collections of French wine including vast amounts of grand cru burgundy and first growths from Bordeaux , hence there was definitely no shortage of exposure to Old World regions. I stopped attending dinners more because it was too hard to participate with wine at the level that everyone else was bringing along. So they were working off a reasonable knowledge base.

As for the berry jam comment, personally I haven't purchased any South Australian shiraz for close to a decade and Wendouree still tastes impenetrable to my palate. But then that is why I suggested its like the Emperors Clothing - if you are going to go to all the effort of getting the bleeding distribution list, few are going to question whether the wines are really worth the effort, humbly IMO.

Fair enough Rooman, I did say I could have been wrong. I don't recall Starforum being that exotic on the foreign wine front locally to be honest. Certainly the exposure to Northern Italy was pretty modest and I have said prior, those that enjoy the wines of Wendouree from abroad and without a bias, seem to have leanings to Piedmont and an interesting approach to aeration.

But again, that's the strange thing. The Wendouree dinners abroad have been delivered to those owning some of the great cellars and I don't recall them labeling the wine as shit. And in balance, I don't think they were going to be giving up drinking vintage DRC or pre-WW2 1st Growth in preference to Wendouree. They did find Wendouree intriguing and far more interesting than mainstream Aussie wine.

I don't know. I just don't get it. Perhaps I should ask the question are there any Clare Valley red wines liked by the fanatical detractors of Wendouree ?