The Auswine Forum

Yes, William Wilson is a forebear of both the Redman and Balnaves families. He was a gardener who settled in Coonawarra in 1861. They have blended Redman Shiraz and Balnaves Cabernet to celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth, will be able to try it at cabernet celebrations there next month. Will be able to report on egregiousness or otherwise

[url]https://www.balnaves.com.au/williamwilson/[/url]

Btw, Penfolds Bin169 Coonawarra Cabernet rrp is >$300

JamieBahrain wrote:

felixp21 wrote:

nah mate, NZ is the haven for the Chinese midi-wealthy, you know, the ones worth USD $40-50 million.
the mega wealthy (billionaires, of which there are thousands upon thousands) make the Cote d'Azure their home... ask the French, virtually no French ownership in Cap d'Antibes any more, all Chinese. It is scary what is happening to France, 100x worse than Australia.

I'd be worried the French would take it back. Plenty of uber-wealth slinking into NZ Felix. The paranoid, end of the worlders - or perhaps its mainland extradition laws for the inevitable, crossing the Party type of corruption. And they are the billionaires- Jack Ma etc were in the Queenstown market.

It's interesting to here from Craig on all this. We can scoff but I guess the silliness is inevitable over NZ way too.

Meanwhile, Coleraine 1998 from a reported professional cellar went for $50 at a recent Wickman's auction. Now that's a egregious pricing in itself! What wonderful wine.

took a while to find this, but it's worth bringing up. At a conference in GZ over the weekend. NZ represents 0.6% of Chinese private overseas investment, Australia 6.9%, France 23.4% in total expenditure, although the spend in France is much smaller numerically.... it's just that is where the uber-wealthy are going, and buying up properties that are $$$$$$$$$$$. Of course, it was pointed out that much of the overseas investment cannot be traced, but these are the documented numbers. Apparently there are vast investments in property and business in the Caribbean and South America, amounts unknown but thought to be insane.

Felix I find that an extraordinary amount for a country of less people than our two biggest cities and devoid of our natural resources ?

No surprise they are laundering money through banana republics. The fear must be as nauseating as their wealth! Fear of their own government, social breakdown in China and an eventual back-lash where they hide their money.

Here you go. This is my complete rendition of NZ's most expensive wines. Interestingly Auckland (and north) wines have the lions share, and only one South Island wine. Maybe there are others hiding down there I haven't heard of

Longview White Diamond $1,206
Mudbrick Velvet $750
Providence Single barrel Syrah $689
Providence Single Barrel Merlot $599
Destiny Bay Magna Praemia $500
Babich 100 year Anniversary Cabernet Sauvignon $399
Matakana Estate Elingamite Syrah $368
Mills Reef Arthur Edmund Syrah $350
Mills Reef Arthur Edmund Cabernet Merlot $350
Stonyridge Larose $300
Destiny Bay Mystae $255
Church Road Tom Syrah $250
Church Road Tom Cabernet Merlot $250
Trinity Hill 12 Year Tawny Port $250
Providence Syrah $220
Providence Private Reserve $220
Providence Four Apostles $220
Martinborough Vineyards Marie Zelie $200
Bell Hill Pinot Noir $200
Puriri Hills Pope $199
Clearview Basket Press $198

Finally: that new Coonawarra superwine

A bit of a write up on the new "Super wine" by Balnaves/Redman by Philip White:

[url]https://indaily.com.au/eat-drink-explore/win ... superwine/[/url]

"It’s not as raw as I recall Peppermint Pattie being, but holy hell this is an exotic pretty that reminds me of that legendary Mildara Coonawarra from 1963. "

Winesearcher.com: "Australia's Most Expensive Wines"

[url]https://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2018/09/aust ... sive-wines[/url]

Interesting to see Hill of Roses mentioned in the article. Some acquaintances of mine did a private tasting at Henschke earlier this week. Out of interest they highly rated the 2012 Hill of Roses as the best wine they tasted on the day (Hill of Grace was the only wine not offered for the tasting) Mt Eldelstone was a close second.

Of the wines in that list that I've tasted, the Chris Ringland Hoffman, of me, is the standout. I tasted the 2008 last year in London, and it was an absolute knockout - possibly the best wine I've ever tasted.

Matt@5453 wrote: Interesting to see Hill of Roses mentioned in the article. Some acquaintances of mine did a private tasting at Henschke earlier this week. Out of interest they highly rated the 2012 Hill of Roses as the best wine they tasted on the day (Hill of Grace was the only wine not offered for the tasting) Mt Eldelstone was a close second.

I've tasted Hill of Roses verus Hill of Grace a number of times and put it up against HofG in a couple of vertical dinners. You can really see the lineage and youthful energy of Roses and its quite a fun and highly recommended Australian wine experience.

Interesting the private Henschke tastings no longer includes HofG? I did it a few years ago in its new format and Grace versus Roses was on show and generous helpings!

JamieBahrain wrote:

Matt@5453 wrote: Interesting to see Hill of Roses mentioned in the article. Some acquaintances of mine did a private tasting at Henschke earlier this week. Out of interest they highly rated the 2012 Hill of Roses as the best wine they tasted on the day (Hill of Grace was the only wine not offered for the tasting) Mt Eldelstone was a close second.

I've tasted Hill of Roses verus Hill of Grace a number of times and put it up against HofG in a couple of vertical dinners. You can really see the lineage and youthful energy of Roses and its quite a fun and highly recommended Australian wine experience.

Interesting the private Henschke tastings no longer includes HofG? I did it a few years ago in its new format and Grace versus Roses was on show and generous helpings!

And c and d grade Adelaide 'celebrity hacks' at the restaurant this week swiling the '13 by the bucket full. Bet most of these losers have never even brought a bottle.
Cheers
Craig

Interesting the private Henschke tastings no longer includes HofG? I did it a few years ago in its new format and Grace versus Roses was on show and generous helpings!

Just removed from my to do list when I next hit the Barossa

A friend of mine hit the exclusive Longview Cellar Door today
As was rumoured White Diamond is available for $270 a bottle on the quiet ex cellar door
Bargain :-\

Available for tasting too

So maybe it needs to come off the top of the list

This one is a real doozy.

2013 d'Arenberg The Athazagoraphobic Cat
A blend of Sagrantino and Cinsault from McLaren Vale. A mere $200 per bottle!

Ozzie W wrote:This one is a real doozy.

2013 d'Arenberg The Athazagoraphobic Cat
A blend of Sagrantino and Cinsault from McLaren Vale. A mere $200 per bottle!

Athazagoraphobia is the fear of being forgotten or ignored and fear of forgetting.

Ignored, for sure.

Used to be called The Cenosilicaphobic Cat (fear of an empty glass), was OK, but not great. Great strategy (not)... relabel slightly, increase the price by 400%, hope you're not forgotten or ignored ? Cellar door push to certain markets??

Tim... gotta pay for that ridiculous cube somehow
Cheers
Craig

Matt@5453 wrote:Finally: that new Coonawarra superwine

A bit of a write up on the new "Super wine" by Balnaves/Redman by Philip White:

[url]https://indaily.com.au/eat-drink-explore/win ... superwine/[/url]

"It’s not as raw as I recall Peppermint Pattie being, but holy hell this is an exotic pretty that reminds me of that legendary Mildara Coonawarra from 1963. "

Hmmm, not sure about Whitey's comments, or what he's on.

I tasted a generous amount of the William Wilson wine on Saturday, it was very very good, potentially exceptional and I probably agree with Whitey in his general comments about the wine, it is just that good, but I have also tasted Peppermint Pattie, they are chalk and cheese!

I certainly am not one to bash Queensland wine - I am a big fan of a number of Granite Belt wineries. That said, Sirromet has their premium Cabernet the "St Judes Road" priced at $300 per bottle..... absolute madness. I am not sure who they are aiming to sell this to - perhaps the Chinese tourist market?

Chanel price their $50k handbags primarily to sell a lot more of their $5k handbags in the window alongside. If they actually sell the more expensive bag then it’s a bonus. It’s called anchoring, and it works in a lot of instances.

Michael R wrote:Chanel price their $50k handbags primarily to sell a lot more of their $5k handbags in the window alongside. If they actually sell the more expensive bag then it’s a bonus. It’s called anchoring, and it works in a lot of instances.

AMG, M and R do the same with cars I believe Michael?

Cheers Craig

Wouldn’t surprise me Craig.
Its becoming very prevalent in the wine game certainly.

TiggerK wrote:

Ozzie W wrote:This one is a real doozy.

2013 d'Arenberg The Athazagoraphobic Cat
A blend of Sagrantino and Cinsault from McLaren Vale. A mere $200 per bottle!

Athazagoraphobia is the fear of being forgotten or ignored and fear of forgetting.

Ignored, for sure.

Used to be called The Cenosilicaphobic Cat (fear of an empty glass), was OK, but not great. Great strategy (not)... relabel slightly, increase the price by 400%, hope you're not forgotten or ignored ? Cellar door push to certain markets??

D'arenberg has a whole range of single vineyard wines at about $100 (like at times it has been over a dozen different ones I think) which is just silly. No history and too many options to pick from.. could only assume they basically didn't care if they sold many of them or not.

I picked up a couple of $50 SGD ish a few years ago... perfectly solid, needing a long-time in the cellar. Poor value.

Mates and I did the Vale in July including an underwhelming VIP tasting in the Cube. Too many labels, too confusing, too expensive, too many bogans just out to get pissed, beayputiful day and views though

Just looked at the d'Arenberg website. Among the enourmous range of wines I noted that the Dead Arm, Ironstone Pressings, and Coppermine Road are still icon wines of the stable but they've been superceeded by another tier called "The Supers" which have little or no history yet cost more than twice as much as the icons. I suppose "super" means super expensive.

I used to think that the d'Arry's Original and Custodian were important wines in the stable but I now see that they are now entry level, 4th tier wines in their stable, behind The Supers, The Icons, and The Artisans. From what I see the better shiraz are likely going to several wines in three higher tiers while the better grenache goes into wines in two higher tiers. No grenache in The Supers - seems like sangrantino and cinsault has leapfrogged over the grenache. Seems an odd decision because of d'Arenbergs association with grenache.

Mahmoud.

A bottle of 1945 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti fetched US$558,000 (AUD$782,000) at a Sotheby’s auction in New York last weekend.

I would suggest that an auction sale isn't really a pricing in the true sense of the word. Anyway, it's probably a fake.

Mahmoud Ali wrote:I would suggest that an auction sale isn't really a pricing in the true sense of the word. Anyway, it's probably a fake.

The bottle has provenance. It was acquired directly from DRC by Drouhin who was the exclusive distributor for DRC in the 1940's for France and Belgium. It's been stored in the Drouhin cellars ever since.

Ozzie W wrote:

Mahmoud Ali wrote:I would suggest that an auction sale isn't really a pricing in the true sense of the word. Anyway, it's probably a fake.

The bottle has provenance. It was acquired directly from DRC by Drouhin who was the exclusive distributor for DRC in the 1940's for France and Belgium. It's been stored in the Drouhin cellars ever since.

Aubert de Villaine wasn't aware of it. At the Kurniawan trial he emphasized that “nothing is more rare than 1945 Romanée Conti.” He said he would be genuinely surprised if there are ANY real bottles of 1945 Romanée Conti remaining in the world.

Ozzie W wrote:A bottle of 1945 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti fetched US$558,000 (AUD$782,000) at a Sotheby’s auction in New York last weekend.

This isn't egregious pricing...this was purchased on the open market. Probably is also "cheap", considering there are hundreds, if not thousands, of millionaires and billionaires who would be keen on it.

Would not be surprised to see this re-sell for $1m, considering the wine's provenance.

It pains me to do this but I am going to give a gong to Grosset not so much on the absolute pricing (although its getting hefty) but for the rapid increases-

The 2016 Gaia, just released, now weighs in at $87/bottle vs last year $75 and the year before $74- an 18% price increase over 2-yrs.

Looking back in my records, the 2010 in 2013 was just $60/bottle- a 6.4% per annum increase. Almost approaching Penfolds-esque levels of escalation.

sjw_11 wrote:It pains me to do this but I am going to give a gong to Grosset not so much on the absolute pricing (although its getting hefty) but for the rapid increases-

The 2016 Gaia, just released, now weighs in at $87/bottle vs last year $75 and the year before $74- an 18% price increase over 2-yrs.

Looking back in my records, the 2010 in 2013 was just $60/bottle- a 6.4% per annum increase. Almost approaching Penfolds-esque levels of escalation.

Yes and the Riesling prices of 60 dollars are just stupid too.
Of all the Grosset I have, about 2 mixed dozen of different PH and WV vintages and a couple of 6 packs of the Gaia, I have never purchased a bottle from the CD...the chains are always cheaper...sometimes considerably. Suspect it won't be long before we see the hundred dollar Clare or EV Rizza...bet the marketing wizz kids at Henschke have been pondering that one for a while now.

cheers craig

sjw_11 wrote:It pains me to do this but I am going to give a gong to Grosset not so much on the absolute pricing (although its getting hefty) but for the rapid increases-

The 2016 Gaia, just released, now weighs in at $87/bottle vs last year $75 and the year before $74- an 18% price increase over 2-yrs.

Looking back in my records, the 2010 in 2013 was just $60/bottle- a 6.4% per annum increase. Almost approaching Penfolds-esque levels of escalation.

OK I have to slightly back track on this... apparently their website incorrectly charged me the non-member price. The member price is $80 not $87... so not quite such a dramatic increase. Mea culpa.