The Auswine Forum

phillisc wrote:

Mike Hawkins wrote:Based on the price overseas, not Australia, either Saltram Number 1 or Peter Lehman Stonewell.

Gee Mike you make me envious, Stonewall and No 1 as quaffers...sheesh 70 and 55 here.
But speaking of saltrams...the old white Stonyfell Metala from Langhorne Creek at $11 a no brainer.

Cheers Craig.

Yep, ridiculous disparities. The last batch of #1s were £16, and £24 for the Stonewell.

Metala White Label Langhorne Creek Cabernet Shiraz Malbec
St Hallett Faith Shiraz
Tatachilla Partners Cabernet Shiraz
Jacobs Creek Riesling
De Bortoli Sacred Hill Chardonnay

Cheaper end mostly, usually agreeable or at least acceptable.

Can't go past the Mike Press Shiraz for probably the best qpr value in the country.
Also i sometimes buy a spanish Granacha called Bodegas Tres Picos for around $20.00

ross

Hoddles Creek Chardonnay - Need I explain why
Meerea Park Epoch Semillon - $15 and a fantastic wine
Forest Hill Cabernet - $23 and as good as many $50 wines
Villa Tinto Cab Semillon - Amazing value for $12.50 and a unique wine
Cirillo Vincent 2010 - Just an amzing wine for $20....yum
Dandelion Riesling 2012 - Bought a case at $15 per bottle. Hard to beat that

White label Metala
When I was working in a bottle shop in the mid 80s it was selling then for about 2 dollars less than it is in 2013....amazing.

Cheers
Craig

Teusner Riebke
Wynns White label
Kalleske Clarry's
Head Red
Pewsey Vale Riesling
Jim Barry Watervale
Hoddles Creek Pinot
Kurtz Seven Sleepers Shiraz

2009 Crabtree Watervale Arriviste Chardonnay Viognier
got a case for $8 a bottle.
My go to weekly white for sure.
nearly all gone. I'll be heading back up next month to get some more.
Dang it, have to do another day trip to Clare V....

In the <$15 category I forgot to mention Mike Press cabernet and Tahbilk Roussanne. But $15-$25 quaffers really opens the field, lots of very good wines in this price bracket. A few that have impressed, at least from good vintages, are:
Thorn-Clarke Quartage
Mt Langi Ghiran Cliff Edge
Forest Hill Estate Cabernet
Hoddles Creek Chardonnay
Tim Adams Riesling

Riesling: Pikes Traditionale
Chardonnay: Hoddles Creek
Shiraz: Head Red...tried the 2012 last night, and I may buy it all, just to make sure I never run out
Pinot: I make a very small amount myself at a single vineyard in Mornington...

simon1980

My life is a balance between many interests and fair to say drinking a lot doesn't help keeping fit so I simply dont drink "quaffers" at all

I only really drink Friday nights and Saturday nights and then only depending on what is happening the next day

Less Quantity, more quality

I rotate my quaffers depending on what is available at the time. I'm on enough winery and retail mailing lists that I usually get offered something pretty good at the right price.
The Current quaffer stock is -
Penley 09 and 10 Cabernet Pheonix @ $16
Penley 09 Hyland Shiraz (unlabled and with corks) @$10
Declassified 2008 pinot from Bannockburn @$20
some 08 cleanskin pinot made by Hanging rock at @ $14
Grosset 2011 off -dry riesling @ $20 (great for stuff with a bit of spice!)
Dandelion 2012 riesling $15
and Taylors 2007 LBV port at $16
and I'm about to start on a case of some Heathcote Winery Mailcoach at $23

paulf wrote:I rotate my quaffers depending on what is available at the time. I'm on enough winery and retail mailing lists that I usually get offered something pretty good at the right price.
and Taylors 2007 LBV port at $16

This is a seriously good price! As cheap as UK prices. Would be keen to know to where to get this.

cheers

Carl

griff wrote:

paulf wrote:I rotate my quaffers depending on what is available at the time. I'm on enough winery and retail mailing lists that I usually get offered something pretty good at the right price.
and Taylors 2007 LBV port at $16

This is a seriously good price! As cheap as UK prices. Would be keen to know to where to get this.

cheers

Carl

Believe it or not, at Costco, so you need to have a membership (or know someone who does). I think we are getting US prices on this. They also have 01 Quinta de Vargellas at $40 which is an excellent price as well (I saw it in a shop in Lisbon for 75 euro in 2011). They are the only reasons I have a costco membership.
I've never seen the Taylors LBV anywhere else in Australia. The 07 is an excellent vintage too - not quite as good as 03 but better than 04 and 05 in my view.

paulf wrote:

griff wrote:

paulf wrote:I rotate my quaffers depending on what is available at the time. I'm on enough winery and retail mailing lists that I usually get offered something pretty good at the right price.
and Taylors 2007 LBV port at $16

This is a seriously good price! As cheap as UK prices. Would be keen to know to where to get this.

cheers

Carl

Believe it or not, at Costco, so you need to have a membership (or know someone who does). I think we are getting US prices on this. They also have 01 Quinta de Vargellas at $40 which is an excellent price as well (I saw it in a shop in Lisbon for 75 euro in 2011). They are the only reasons I have a costco membership.
I've never seen the Taylors LBV anywhere else in Australia. The 07 is an excellent vintage too - not quite as good as 03 but better than 04 and 05 in my view.

Thanks. Interesting to see a large retailer not taking the Aussie public to the cleaners for once.

Where can you buy Mike Press wines in Sydney?
Big fan of the Metala White label as an everyday go to but at the same price these sound great too.

Kristanfoo, your best bet is to buy them right here from Gavin and he'll have them delivered.

Mostly the Tahbilk's range, both reds and whites, especially the Marsanne and Cab Sav's. Too many bargain Rieslings to name!

Craig(NZ) wrote:My life is a balance between many interests and fair to say drinking a lot doesn't help keeping fit so I simply dont drink "quaffers" at all

I only really drink Friday nights and Saturday nights and then only depending on what is happening the next day

Less Quantity, more quality

This is pretty much how it is with me too. It really comes down to whether I'd rather drink 2-3 "quaffers" over a period of time or a single better bottle over that same period of time. That doesn't mean I wouldn't love to buy really fantastic stuff in that quaffer price range..but except for some really crazy cleanskin deal, that really doesn't happen. That isn't to say there isn't some great values or even great wines in that range but very rarely am I getting what I'm looking for in that range..in Australia....

Overseas is a bit different...a lot of really fantastic Cru Beaujolais under 20...some really crazy sales that happen as well..but essentially I look at drinking less, but drinking at a particular quality level...rather than drinking more with slightly less quality...

I'm sure if my wife actually drank wine it would likely be a bit different...

Kristanfoo wrote:Where can you buy Mike Press wines in Sydney?
Big fan of the Metala White label as an everyday go to but at the same price these sound great too.

You'd need to check with Judy (Press) to find a Sydney retailer. As mentioned below, Gavin usually has stocks of MP wines available to send to buyers. I too am a fan of good vintages of Metala WL though from about the 2009 vintage (I think) the winery stopped numbering the bottles. The 2012 MP shiraz is a very good wine for the cost, I bought a case on the back of very good reviews from Mattinson and Stelzer but it hasn't diminished my preference for the cab sauv. The shiraz 2012 has Mike's typical American oak that's well-enough integrated now and should be less overt after a couple of years more in bottle. It's a cool climate shiraz that's tending to medium-bodied, is savoury with hints of bacon and black olive underlying the slightly sour-plum, red mulberry fruit. Acid is soft in the context of such a young wine and tannins are there, just slightly green, gentle but drying. There's good depth on the palate, it finishes with satisfying length, sustained by brambly blackberry fruit. Needs another year or two to fully integrate by which time it should be a rather elegant tipple. Still, I'm awaiting the release of the cab 2012 with interest.

Cheers

daz

daz wrote:

Kristanfoo wrote:Where can you buy Mike Press wines in Sydney?
Big fan of the Metala White label as an everyday go to but at the same price these sound great too.

You'd need to check with Judy (Press) to find a Sydney retailer. As mentioned below, Gavin usually has stocks of MP wines available to send to buyers.

Cheers

daz

Indeed, in stock now.

.

I've been enjoying a few cheeky Italian reds lately... And there's always the regular $17-20 ish Pinot, Hoddles being just one of them ...

Wayno wrote:I've been enjoying a few cheeky Italian reds lately... And there's always the regular $17-20 ish Pinot, Hoddles being just one of them ...

Must get some more Hoddles PN...

I drink differently each time, but a recent under $20 wine that I could imagine myself getting into more regularly was:
Trentham Estate La Famiglia Nebbiolo 2010. This stood up fantastically for days.

Pendolds 2004 Block 42, but only in Ampoules. It just tastes inferior in 750 ml ordinary bottles, what do you guys think?

Drunk nine of them in the last couple of weeks. A bloke called Peter G keeps trying to call me saying he'll fly over to open them with a special device but it sounds a bit dodgy and I think he's just trying to muscle in on my stash?

Nice drop - trying to find some more. Any ideas?

Scotty vino wrote:2009 Crabtree Watervale Arriviste Chardonnay Viognier
got a case for $8 a bottle.
My go to weekly white for sure.
nearly all gone. I'll be heading back up next month to get some more.
Dang it, have to do another day trip to Clare V....

Hey scotty,
I grabbed one of these at a recent unreserved auction for $2 a bottle
Bloody wish I could have grabbed some more to see how it fares over the next few years, because right now it is a fresh as a daisy but in no way too young tasting (if that makes any sense!)
What a great wine, has some serious backbone to it
I bought it out of sheer interest in unusual blends from winemakers who are relatively unknown

Cat Amongst the Pigeons Shiraz $14.60, CockFighter's Ghost Cabernet Sauvignon. $16.00ish.

Gotta say, if I had another it would most definitely no be what I'd call a quaffer, but I guess that's because I don't have access to more!

Seppelt Chalambar
Best's Bin 1
Wynns White Label
Glenlofty Shiraz Viogner
Ringbolt Cab

ross67 wrote:so we all have differing taste preferences and financial restraints [.... our] go to and buy for our 'everyday' drinking pleasure that most importantly satisfies

So far this year, these keep reappearing:
Valpolicella (Allegrini and Viviani)
Rustic, light, "natural" red Loire VdF's: Damien Bureau's "La Poivrotte" (Pineau d'Aunis) and Noella Morantin's "La Boudinerie" (Gamay)
Lethbridge Chardonnay
Aussie Rieslings (various from O'Leary Walker, Petaluma, Pewsey Vale, Tim Adams, Lethbridge)
Fino Sherry (various from Valdespino, Lustau and Equipo Navazos)

I probably target some of the cheaper on-line deals for quaffers. Partly interest in new stuff, partly good value, partly risk. Interesting. If I am serious, perhaps Richard Hamilton Hut Block Cabernet, Laira Blockers Cabernet (if on special), got some Redmans Shiraz cheap recently, Peter Lehmann Clare Project from Dans is good, there's plenty of stuff around which is worth seeking out.