The Chairman goes on vacation, and leaves us with a cut-price theme (presumably to avoid missing out on anything wonderful). Still, we found various ways around the $30 limit, including special deals, quite a few of Andrew’s Secret Labels, and occasionally diving into history! That’s all without taking the easy way out and just bringing endless Rieslings. And whatever was lacking in absolute quality was made up for in volume! Yes, Geoffrey cheated with the last two reds, obviously.
- NV Louis Auger Champagne - France, Champagne
{diam, 12%} [Stephen] Back in 2018 this was just $27. For some reason it’s now around $42. Not the bargain it was, nor quite the wine either. Steely aromas, citrus fruit, minimum yeast. Light-medium-bodied fizz, with fierily lean fruit, although not unripe. Medium/large vigorous bubbles, gentle acidity. Not terribly distinctive, but there’s nothing wrong with it. Short/medium length finish. No longer a bargain though. - 2023 First Creek Wines Fiano Limited Release Small Batch - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
{screwcap, 12.5%} [DavidM] Around $30, perhaps with mates rates a bit. Light nose, youthful. Floral and talc powder aroma. Tart palate for flavour; it’s not the medium acidity giving this its steely edge. A little bit grassy in flavour. No oak, short/medium finish. Feels very primary still; this might benefit from a few years of cellaring. - 2024 Rowlee Wines Riesling Single Vineyard - Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Orange
{screwcap, 11.7%} [Andrew] Muted, almost closed nose. Lychee, marshmallow. On the palate it has a sherbert richness that speaks of a bit of residual sugar plumping this up; it’s not off-dry but the marginal alcohol is a bit of a give-away. It’s light-bodied, with low/medium acidity, and a short/medium finish. A glass or two is fine, but that’s enough. Walk-up price is ~$35, but less if you know where to ask! - 2019 McGuigan Sémillon Bin 9000 - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
{screwcap, 11.5%} [Andrew] Another $40 wine available on the sly for ~$18 I gather. This is very advanced for six years, with browning hay and smoke on the nose. It’s almost a fume blanc style on the palate, with grass and smoke and “you’d-swear-it-was-oak” flavours. Light-medium weight, low/medium acidity. Even palate, medium length finish. Not bad and great value for the secret price. Best to drink soon though. - 2018 Degen Chardonnay - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
{screwcap, 12%} [Adam - guest] Another $40-ish wine that’s available for $25 when things are tough. Developing wine, throwback style. Buttery and woody – a bit of a vanilla slice in a glass. Full-bodied chardonnay, medium acidity, lots of oak evident on the palate but it’s not overdone, just a bit unfashionable these days. Medium length finish. Ready to drink. - 2022 Gérard Bertrand L'Indomptable de Cigalus Blanc - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Vin de Pays d'Oc
{cork, 14%} [Graeme] Twenty-nine bucks gets you this blend of chardonnay, viognier and sauvignon blanc, which tastes exactly the way you’d expect. Quite full-bodied, with sweaty, spicy, pear aromas and flavours. There’s a beeswax texture (and assumed flavour!) to it as well. Medium acidity and a medium length finish that concludes just on the bitter side. Doubt cellaring will benefit, but it’s pretty good at the moment. - 2023 Harewood Estate Pinot Noir Flux - V - Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Great Southern
{screwcap, 14%} [Matti - guest] Pale, semi-translucent garnet colour. Youthjful, lively bubble-gum aromas. Floral, rose-petal. The palate is rather like a rosé on steroids, with lolly-fruit ripe fruit (but not sugary sweet). It’s light-bodied, with medium acidity and only the faintest gritty tannins and a quite short dry finish. Doesn’t impress by itself, but I could see it lifting with food. Around $27, so a challenging price for pinot! - 2023 Purple Hands Wines Old Vine Grenache - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
{screwcap, 14%} [Andrew] Very joven style – seems like the kind of wine you’d drink by the bucket during harvest. Plummy/fruity aromas, oak-free, tending to cordial-like. Very light on the palate, rose & musk flavours, short finish. Bit too short and dilute, really, even if the secret deal brings it from $45 to $20. - 2009 Metala Shiraz - Cabernet - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, Langhorne Creek
{screwcap, 14.5%} [Adam-guest] Was well under $30 back in the day, and likely made from better material than the current bottling, which has maintained a suspiciously cheap price over the decades. Classic old Langhorne, with spice, leather, eucalypt. Soft vanilla oak. Medium weight, a little simple, with the alcohol now starting to show through and the tannins disappearing fast. Objectively would have been better some years ago, but still very enjoyable. - 2019 Fighting Gully Road Shiraz - Australia, Victoria, North East, Beechworth
{screwcap, 14%} [Paul] Around $30, a bit on special. Polished, developing-but-restrained nose of dark blackberry and soft oak. Gentle light/medium weight palate, with medium powdery tannins and low/medium acidity. A bit dilute, otherwise OK. Seems to ride a little on alcohol for the finish – drink up. - 2018 Lights Valley Shiraz The Colonel's Selection - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
{diam, 14.5%} [Glenn] Mildly oaked chocolaty shiraz, decently ripe. Medium weight, with medium acid and soft dusty tannins. Easy drinker with plenty of presence and a short/medium length finish. Online special for $20 I think, which is actually pretty decent value for money for a seven-year-old. Not really a keeper though. - 2022 Berrigan Wines Shiraz Shining Rock Vineyard - Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills
{screwcap, 14.1%} [Andrew] Around $40, but $20 for those in the know. Youthful cool-climate shiraz – blackberry and spice, with a hint of chocolate on the palate. Medium weight, low/medium chalky tannins. Solid mid-palate too, medium length finish. Good for five to eight years of cellaring. - 2018 Joseph Castan Corbières Chateau Croix d'Aumèdes Cuvee Reserve - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Corbières
{cork, 14.5%} [Adam-guest] A 40/30/30 mix of 70-year-old Carignan, Syrah, Grenache. All for $19. The nose is a faint tunnel of ripe fruit and black jam. It’s a rustic but gentle palate of medium weight and patchy blackberry flavours, with soft powdery tannin and medium acidity. Short/medium length dry savoury finish. Satisfying enough, more for the novelty of its grapes than actual flavour impact. Ready to drink. - 2018 Burge Family Cabernet Sauvignon Draycott - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
{cork, 15%} [Geoffrey] Violets, iodine, currants. Tending a bit to raisin. Close to full-bodied, but a lot of that is heat. Dense flavours, lowish acid. I didn’t particularly note the tannins. Oak in balance, in that context. Lavish flavours, aging but not really evolving. Slight mid-palate dip. Probably at peak, given the style. - 2022 Bodega Bouza Monte Vide Eu - Uruguay, Canelones, Montevideo
{cork, 13.5%} [Geoffrey] Barrel selection & blend. Nowhere near $30! Deep currant nose. Black ink. Fruit-driven, despite a soft waft of oak. Palate is medium weight, dominated by briary blackcurrant flavours. Maybe hinting a bit at roasted, raisin characters too. Low powdery tannins (the tannat is well-controlled). The merlot does struggle to fill the mid-palate; no complaints otherwise. Medium length finish. Not sure about aging; before its ten I suspect. - 2021 De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Sémillon - Australia, New South Wales, Big Rivers, Riverina
{375ml, screwcap, 10%} [Stephen] $32 for a half these days. That’s not too bad over the last forty years or so. Sweet wine’s a hard sell I reckon. Honey and apricot. Plenty of botrytis, in the usual style. Fully sweet, medium weight, medium acid, but this toys with a cloying texture. Best over the next five years. - 2022 Château Lapinesse - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
{375ml, screwcap, 13.5%} [Stephen] Glassy aromas, honey, rice bran! Medium dry palate, light-bodied, with a transparent, synthetic sort of texture, not the richness you associate with top Sauternes. Might work better with cheese, certainly not a sweet dessert. Wouldn’t bet on aging.