The Auswine Forum

Has anyone heard from Roger at all?
I'm guessing it has been pretty stressful sorting through all the emails - I hope you are all ok Roger.

I don’t know Roger and am a recent newbie to his mailing list, but I saw a post from him on TWF about half a dozen members getting some ‘19 vintage Shiraz as the ‘18 ran out, and someone helping with packing decided to do it without his knowledge and apologising (for want of a better word) that there was really nothing he could now do about it.

Fame when trying to retire would be tiring.....

A good man that I wish I had discovered a decade or more earlier than I did, and had the opportunity to meet - my hats off to you Roger.

I feel a bit the same way. Had a Sympatico shiraz a few years ago and thought - wow, a McLaren Vale shiraz with proper structure. Wish I knew about this winery earlier. Bought some 2017 via host Gavin last year and have only sampled the odd bottle but still been fairly impressed. But heard about the retirement and thought - bugger, that one's flown the coop then.
Graeme

Roger hung up his pruning shears with the 19 vintage, sold a lot his wines to the faithful and probably heading off into retirement with a few cases to keep him occupied. Hell of a nice guy who feeds and waters you when you help out with vintage. Some awesome pies from a local bakery and some fun with options games at days end. He then sends you on your way with a few bottles of his wine. I'm holding mine for a while as a memory of my days in Adelaide. Not sure what's happening with his vineyards although I reckon there will be, if not already, a lot of interest from locals and the big boys.

Hi Team - This year I was a first year mailing list member for Marius (and also new to wine forums). Within 20 minutes of receiving Roger's email/order letter, I sent my form back with a request for 4x each of the Symphony, Symposium and Simpatico. I opted to do the direct electronic funds transfer, with the slight hope that maybe issuing a refund could be more trouble than it's worth. I included the receipt for the EFT with my order form. Within a few days of this, I received an Aus Post notification and the wine arrived on the 14th of September. Maybe my plan worked, and I apologise in advance to anyone that hasn't received anything, or if I have "jumped the queue" with regards to older members - I just thought I would share this to assist with any insite as to the success of an order etc....

xwwines wrote:Hi Team - This year I was a first year mailing list member for Marius (and also new to wine forums). Within 20 minutes of receiving Roger's email/order letter, I sent my form back with a request for 4x each of the Symphony, Symposium and Simpatico. I opted to do the direct electronic funds transfer, with the slight hope that maybe issuing a refund could be more trouble than it's worth. I included the receipt for the EFT with my order form. Within a few days of this, I received an Aus Post notification and the wine arrived on the 14th of September. Maybe my plan worked, and I apologise in advance to anyone that hasn't received anything, or if I have "jumped the queue" with regards to older members - I just thought I would share this to assist with any insite as to the success of an order etc....

crack one of each open and post some tasting notes soon?

I'm also a relatively new member of the mailing list, and was also lucky to be at my PC when the email came out. I put in a modest order, and was very happy to see it was fulfilled in its entirety. I also ordered some from Gavin as a backup...
I've been backfilling other vintages where possible budget-wise, and now Marius wines make up the largest number of bottles in my cellar from a single producer.

Keen bidding at auction. Was outbid mostly but secured a few Marius of recent.

Perhaps it will be a cult wine in a decade. That's how these things pan out.

JamieBahrain wrote:Keen bidding at auction. Was outbid mostly but secured a few Marius of recent.

Perhaps it will be a cult wine in a decade. That's how these things pan out.

I hope so Jamie - not that I've ever sold a bottle of wine in my life.

Always nice sharing bottles with others that are hard to get.

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Ben,

Why do people not understand that an email conversation, or any conversation for that matter, between two people is just that; a conversation between two people.

To repeat that conversation on a public forum, with a somewhat negative twist, certainly does not inspire me to continue that conversation, or partake in any other conversation with you, to be honest.

Roger

Roger,

Why do you not understand that your wines are in high demand and loyal customers are going to vent their disappointment at missing out, particularly if they feel you are not making an effort to "spread the love equally". See all threads about wendouree distribution etc etc.

bdellabosca, fwiw my personal experience with Roger's mailing list made me feel like I was not valued. Iirc also about how Roger wanted to distribute his wines. PM me if you want someone to talk to.

Alex,

Not really surprised that you didn't feel valued as that is what I told you before I struck you off the list.

All these experts with absolutely no experience that know better than me about how to run a small winery.

This year was far from perfect but there have been only two years, this year and 2014, when more than a handful have missed out.

As for loyal customers venting their disappointment that would be Ben plus who?

Roger

Some pretty disappointing posts in this thread. Come on people, we are better than that.

I missed out, I didn't even get a chance to send a form before the follow up came through. I was actually pretty happy that it went so well for him given the current state of the world.

There are plenty of other small producers making great wines, support them now that Roger has ridden off into the sunset, and be happy for him. He has provided us all with some great wines over the years that we can sit down and talk and marvel about.

Loyal customer here, part of the picking brigade, who sends RP much love and positivity. Roger should be rewarded, not punished, for putting in a system over the years that gives most a chance to buy if patient. His penultimate release and retirement news was always going to spike demand. Heck, I might crack an 18 now that it’s on the mind

Spot on, Dave.

Why do people expect the world to run the way that benefits them?

I have been buying Roger's wines since the 2003 and should give up some of my allocation so that other people can get in on the last ever vintages? F$%k that.

Rewarding loyal customers is a dying art.

Cheers

Michael

I started this thread as a genuine reach out to make sure Roger was ok.
I'm sorry if it has hurt anyone as it was never my intention.

I’m with you Michael. F..ck that. I’m not in the let’s all of sudden look after the newbies. Life doesn’t need over complicating and some systems suit for a reason.

By the way thanks Roger. Great wines and I have many to enjoy over the next 20 years.

wiggum wrote: F..ck that. I’m not in the let’s all of sudden look after the newbies. Life doesn’t need over complicating and some systems suit for a reason.

Hahaaha. Love this thread now. Geez the Wendouree allocation system has the newbies wanting similar. Wonder if any of the Wendouree newbies are Marius oldies?

I aimed to have a mixed case of Marius buried in my cellar for retirement. I was OK with the secondary market as a source as prices not too inflated. Slowly I expect the wines to have a lot more specialist attention on the auction scene. Age-worthy, wines with a yarn and no longer made. Seems obvious to me.

Jamie - it all depends on your definition of newbie. In my case for both Wendouree and Marius I don’t consider myself a newbie as in both cases a 15 vintage purchase history I s loyal customer territory (albeit not black signature unlike yourself) in my book.

Thought I would add that just for clarity.

Yes it does depend on definition.

Old World wine mailing lists can go back generations and members tend to be very quietly looked after. Chave for example. Or even in my experience Bartolo Mascarello- I wouldn't dream of telling Maria Teresa how to allocate her wines btw. I get six and a magnum which considering the price of the 2016 vintage is better than an MCC membership.

The Wendouree debate does seem to be leaning toward "they should" allocate more fairly. But as Lita told me years ago, there's no such thing as a Wendouree allocation, giving them a good berth to deal with the pushy and persuasive in society.

Croquet King wrote:I started this thread as a genuine reach out to make sure Roger was ok.
I'm sorry if it has hurt anyone as it was never my intention.

I think we have at the very least established that Roger is alive and in true fighting form!

I don't think you have hurt anyone Mr King.

Cheers

Michael

wiggum wrote:I’m with you Michael. F..ck that. I’m not in the let’s all of sudden look after the newbies. Life doesn’t need over complicating and some systems suit for a reason.

By the way thanks Roger. Great wines and I have many to enjoy over the next 20 years.

My aim is to drink the last bottle of each wine/vintage with 20 years bottle age. I hope to still be drinking the 2019s in 2039 for my 70th! I think that still allows me to drink 9 or 10 bottles a year until then.....

Cheers

Michael

PS Not a Wendouree newbie.

If you missed out, it's not the end of the world. Buy something else. No point complaining. If the winery can't supply you, they can't supply you. There's plenty more great wines out there.

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For what it's worth, I bought a few vintages from different sources from the 2003 vintage onwards and started buying from Roger in 2010.

For those that don't know, he did reward loyalty by having a pre-release mailing list which started with the 2013 vintage after 2012 sold out so quickly and many missed out, which caused a "blow up" as well.

Correct me if I'm wrong here Roger, but I believe everyone that was on the mailing list was offered a spot on the pre-release list. I was smart enough to take that offer up. There are limits on the amounts that can be purchased and they are sold before any reviews come out, so you are buying on trust. Having said that, every wine I've ever had of the Marius has been excellent. At the time I didn't believe Roger would release a sub standard wine so was more than happy to sign up.

So for those complaining that Roger's system is unfair, I rigorously beg to differ. Next to Rockford (Stonewallers), I think how Roger does it is the fairest way of doing it. Because of the popularity of Roger's wines, especially with the 2018's being the penultimate vintage, there was always going to be a problem. But unlike Wendouree, which seems to be somewhat of a lottery, Roger's system rewards long term loyal buyers.

In days gone by, I never heard people whinging about not being able to buy Rockford Basket Press. If Rockford had an abundance of BP, then after all the Stonewallers had had their bite of the cherry and come a certain time of the year, it went in the main cellar door and was available to the public. You only became a Stonewaller through buying their other wines for a period of time (showing loyalty). There are numerous other wineries that have similar supply and demand issues. I get a bit miffed by Wendouree, as there seems to be no logic to the way they allocate their wines. When long term buyers are missing out to newbies, I personally don't think that is right, or a good way to do business. I guess Wendouree are in the extremely enviable position of being massively over subscribed and having a very desirable product.

As Michael and Wiggum said, I'm also not in it to help newbies out either. I only buy a 6 pack of each wine every vintage. I share a couple with a mate, but apart from that, they take pride of place in my cellar. I have never sold a Marius wine at Auction and never would. You rarely see them there anyway so pretty much all Roger's loyal customers must be happy to cellar and drink them rather than flicking for a quick buck.

Next year should be interesting.....

Cheers
Ian

I'm not going to comment on the above posts but will offer an insight into how a cult winery in the Napa Valley handles mailing list customers when they release their wine. People on the mailing list are sent a menu of the wines on release with an allocation of bottles based on past purchases. They are given a closing date by which time they have to respond and their allocation is secure right up to that time. The winery releases almost a dozen wines, propriety blends and single vineyards, and since the prices range between US$95 and $500 they are dealing in bottles not cases (I presume). In addition to their allocation they are given a "Wish List" where they can ask for wines they were not allocated. When the allocation is closed any wines not taken up in allocation are then used to grant wishes.

Seems like a good system since loyal customers are rewarded and there is no rush to get in first.

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

PS: The reason I know about this is because even though the wines are not currently available in Canada I happened to stumble across a back vintage of one of their wines and was digging around for information on the winery and their wines.

I've a friend in Italy, his father made Barbaresco from the Cru Pajore from the sixties to the eighties. One day he woke up, gave the game away and sailed the Mediterranean, living a hermit on remote islands and generally, enjoying his retirement as idiosyncratically as his wines. He sold his plot to Gaja in the eighties- who, incidentally, haven't made a great single vineyard wine from the site yet and I'm guessing, apart from a bizarre blend ( Sito Moresco ), the rest of the fruit goes into their Barbaresco classico.

Now his wines are quite legendary amongst the Piedmont cognoscenti. Well rested bottles are very good to excellent and command high prices.

Snap forward a decade or so and the McLaren Vale. A no-longer made wine with a story to tell. A history of excellent reviews from WF and I'm supposing, some excellent future reports of how they've cellared ( in screw cap too ). Limited bottles available as the True Blue hold onto them with pride and place in their cellars. What a legend. A first for the Southern Vales? The region is noisy and wayward in terms of Aussie classics.

You all should chivvying Roger for his wines even if none available.....

JamieBahrain wrote:A no-longer made wine with a story to tell. A history of excellent reviews from WF and I'm supposing, some excellent future reports of how they've cellared ( in screw cap too ). Limited bottles available as the True Blue hold onto them with pride and place in their cellars. What a legend. A first for the Southern Vales? The region is noisy and wayward in terms of Aussie classics.

Don't forget being serious literary characters (both Roger and his wine) in a novel by a Booker winning author - DBC Pierre. Lights Out In Wonderland. A surreal, rollicking rollercoaster of a read.

Garry Walsh still has (I believe) numbers of the 2002(?) under both cork and screwcap, so Roger's disdain for the former and support for the latter will continue to be tested into the future.

The legend will live on in the wine.

Cheers

Michael

Don't understand all the gnashing of teeth here. Just buy them on Langtons when they appear, they're still pretty affordable in the grand scheme of things.

Or just go buy some other well-made McLaren Vale shiraz, there's oceans of it out there.

It's all just new release hype, don't fall for the FOMO.