The Auswine Forum

mjs wrote:

Ozzie W wrote:

mjs wrote:I went to look for mine in the cellar a couple of weeks ago for the C vs MR offline, but couldn't find them! They are now gone!
Bloody incompetent upkeep of cellar database

CellarTracker is your friend. Excel is not.

Ozzie, my problem is the user, not the platform

I hear you. I use CT and last year i did a stocktake on my wines.
Even though in my mind I was convinced i had 'drank' the wines out of the inventory,
there were a few missing bottles and a few bottles appeared out of the mist.
I'll do another 'stocktake' in a couple of months.
I guess it's the OCD part of my brain versus the mystery and surprise of finding a bottle that I thought was long gone.
Finding the cellar under the house has been a godsend though. My wife refuses to venture down there and its a great
place to 'hide' incoming stock.

phillisc wrote:Mahmoud, Halliday wrote an article in the Australian back in about 1992/3 extolling the virtues of Ovens Valley and particularly Wynns. Based on that I went out the next day and purchased three dozen 90 OV Shiraz for the princely sum of $45 a dozen. I still have about 15 left. IIRC, he gave it about a 20 year drinking window...not bad for a $4 red. At the time I managed to track down some 86, 91 and 95 vintages, but think these are long gone.

If only with a wine like this and 90 Koonunga Hill, 86 Kaiser Stuhl Red stripe, 86 Henschke K E (all sub $5 wines), had I brought 10 doz of each instead of a measly 2.

I have to say that your post is both evocative and sentimental, not only for some of the wines you mention but also your referencing of James Halliday, whose early reference book was my first window into Australian wines early in my wine odyssey. It was Halliday who, in the 80s, introduced me to the idea of aging Australian wines.

You are lucky to have bought Wynn's Oven Valley by the case. I first came across the '90 Oven Valley Shiraz in a Barossa bottle shop. Instinctively I was attracted to the wine, despite not knowing anything about it. That was in early 2001, and I felt sure it needed to be cellared so I decided to take them back to Canada. I picked up two bottles of the Wynn's and a couple of '93 O'Sheas to the till. Both the wines were in the A$30-35 range. For some reason the person at the till only charged me for three bottles. I don't recall which one he forgot but as I looked at my receipt and the wines in the bag I pointed out that he had forgotten to charge me for one of them. He thanked me for pointing out his mistake but as I drove away I couldn't help calculating what the cost of each bottle might have been had I not said anything. Human nature I guess. Later, at Wynn's cellar door in Coonawarra, I discovered that they had some '92 Ovens Valley. Having already bought a couple of the '90 Ovens Valley I decided not to buy any more. I am now kicking myself for not having bought any so forgive me for not having any sympathy for you not having bought more than two cases of the Ovens Valley for only A$4 per bottle. And YES, you should have bought 10 cases of them!

As for the other wines you mention, Koonunga Hill is a sentimental favourite. Again, I knew nothing of the wine's history but when I was overseas a British expat gave me a Decanter magazine and in that issue they reviewed 20 years of Koonunga Hill, from the original 1976 to 1996, stressing the quality of the '96 as being on par with the original wine. I immediately called home and asked my mother to pick up a half dozen of the '96 Koonunga Hill, a decision I haven't regretted. I've read about Kaiser Stuhl but didn't know that they had a Red Stripe wine. However, I do associate the name 'Red Stripe' with Baileys of Glenrowan, and when I visited Bailey's I bought a couple of their '91 Red Stripe wines and also brought them back to Canada.

Cheers........................Mahmoud.

I served 96 Koonunga Hill at my wedding in 2001. That might not sound very generous but there were 300+ people there!

-- George Krashos

In 1990 I wasn't quite the rusted on Coonawarra-phile that I am now, but I still managed to serve '86 Mildara Cabernet and '88 Wynns Chardonnay at my wedding. Numbers considerably less than 300 fortunately

phillisc wrote:Mahmoud, Halliday wrote an article in the Australian back in about 1992/3 extolling the virtues of Ovens Valley and particularly Wynns. Based on that I went out the next day and purchased three dozen 90 OV Shiraz for the princely sum of $45 a dozen. I still have about 15 left. IIRC, he gave it about a 20 year drinking window...not bad for a $4 red. At the time I managed to track down some 86, 91 and 95 vintages, but think these are long gone.

If only with a wine like this and 90 Koonunga Hill, 86 Kaiser Stuhl Red stripe, 86 Henschke K E (all sub $5 wines), had I brought 10 doz of each instead of a measly 2

Cheers
Craig

Sadly, I'm down to my last 2 bottles of the 86 Red Stripe. Excellent wine for the price

mjs wrote:In 1990 I wasn't quite the rusted on Coonawarra-phile that I am now, but I still managed to serve '86 Mildara Cabernet and '88 Wynns Chardonnay at my wedding. Numbers considerably less than 300 fortunately

Malcolm, we had 86 Magill for 80 people in 1992...ridiculous that wines of that quality were actually affordable and two, ridiculous that we drank it with only 6 years of age...it was lovely though.
Cheers
Craig

Mike, yes sadly my red ribbons (correction, not red stripe) are all gone. The green ribbon Riesling from EV was brilliant too along with an interesting purple ribbon frontinac...ah those were the days.

Cheers
Craig

Chris H wrote:Provenance might be an issue with older wines from Dan's now it is linked with Woolies and Langton's. Hopefully you are lucky. I note Brodie's comments about bottle variation despite being from the same case bought on release (which echoes my experience with the 91).

BTW, was in Dan's for the first time for quite a while and noticed they still have their top wines behind glass under bright lights. Buyer beware. Personally I'd steer clear.

Hi Chris,

The new (actually old) cellar on Chapel Street? The lighting is much better than in the generic Dan's stores.

I'm not fussed about the provenance, as we'll either enjoy it or get our money back (I'd prefer to enjoy). Interesting story was that Wynns actually filled a couple of gaps in their BL series on opening day...

Pretty much every Dan's store I have been in - Camberwell, City, Vermont South......

phillisc wrote:Mahmoud, Halliday wrote an article in the Australian back in about 1992/3 extolling the virtues of Ovens Valley and particularly Wynns. Based on that I went out the next day and purchased three dozen 90 OV Shiraz for the princely sum of $45 a dozen. I still have about 15 left. IIRC, he gave it about a 20 year drinking window...not bad for a $4 red.

Craig,

Halliday's 20 year drinking window for the '90 Oven's Valley has of course passed so I'm curious as to when was the last time you opened a bottle. You still have 15 bottles so is it fair to assume that you feel they still have some time to go?

Mahmoud.

Mahmoud Ali wrote:

phillisc wrote:Mahmoud, Halliday wrote an article in the Australian back in about 1992/3 extolling the virtues of Ovens Valley and particularly Wynns. Based on that I went out the next day and purchased three dozen 90 OV Shiraz for the princely sum of $45 a dozen. I still have about 15 left. IIRC, he gave it about a 20 year drinking window...not bad for a $4 red.

Craig,

Halliday's 20 year drinking window for the '90 Oven's Valley has of course passed so I'm curious as to when was the last time you opened a bottle. You still have 15 bottles so is it fair to assume that you feel they still have some time to go?

Mahmoud.

Mahmoud, my apologies, just having a bit of a trawl through some older threads and just spotted your post.
I was down at the cellar this morning...(Michael in another thread has told me to stop buying wine, and of course he is right...at 50 years of age with 300 cases that will probably see me out...and there is no bloody room left!!)...and I actually thought about grabbing a 90 OV for Xmas....but didn't.
I am out of the country for a month, but when I get back, in reference to your inquiry...I will open one and report.

Cheers
Craig.

Craig, I am older than you and have fewer bottles but am in a similar position, of having more wines than I can probably drink. It is kind of you to oiffer to open a bottle of the '90 Oven Valley so as to help me make a decision. These rarities are hard to come by so it is with some trepidition that I consider opening them for there is nobody I know who has either bought or cellared these wines. I have to be my own experimenter and educator of how well Australian wines age. In fact I even have single bottles of an 1983 Yellow Label (that was very good when young) and a Rosemount Estate Coonawarra Cabernet (that I've never tasted) that are at the point where I think I may have given them the opportunity to show their mettle.

Cheers ......................... Mahmoud.