The Auswine Forum

Discussed this with a few mates recently - are there labels you buy every year regardless of vintage or do you always pick and choose?

In my case there are only a handful of small producers I buy every year, Noon, Greenock Creek, Dutschke, Massena, Majella and Kaesler is starting a run too. The only corporate is Wynns Cabernet which I've been buying since the 1970 vintage and don't want to stop now.

Albeit Kalleske & Glaymond are very new, but having seen them up close I know they'll always produce interesting and often great wines so they are getting added to my always buy list too.

What about you guys?

Was doing more of the vertical stuff, but I think Wendouree are now the only ones I buy without considering vintage conditions, reviews, etc...

Rockford BP maybe.

Adair

Kay Brothers. Tim Adams.

If this had a vote on it I would have said bitznpieces but that would not be strictly true as I have bought from Noon every year since 1998. WHen I first started a cellar (in 1990) I was buying Wynns C/S and Bin 389 every year but stopped with the 1995 vintage as neither seemed worth it.

Now I concentrating on better vintages. Added to fact the 2002 was my son's birth year and I finally started earning more than bottle shop wages about 20% of my cellar is 2002 with 10% each for 96 and 98.

I've generally been a bitznpieces buyer from the start, and I'm getting fussier as I get older.

In the past I'd buy up on trusted labels in generally strong vintages (like 1990, 1996 and 1998), but now I'm really looking at each wine on its own merits and buying almost nothing on faith now.

2003 will be a classic vintage in this regard - I think TORB's early call on SA producing some exceptional stuff, absolute garbage and relatively little in between is looking spot on for that year.

There are some absolute crackers out there, but the small Winemaker's show last month showed there's a hell of a lot of average to below average reds out there too. Those buying on faith could wind up with either.

Cheers
Ian

Noons
Rockford BP and Black
Wendouree
Aberfeldy

and there are a few that make it most years
Pataluma Coonawarra
Orlando Lawson
Burge Family (something)
Veritas (something)
Classic McLaren (somthing)
Seppelts SR FRS

389 Every Year.

Wynns Cab every year.

Wolf Blass Yellow as a quaffer.

Brown Brothers Babbera

Petaluma Coonawarra

Orlando Jacaranda and St Hugo Most years

Mostly bitznpieces, but it has changed over the years. In the dim dark past (when I lived in Oz) I used to have verticals of things like Bin 389 and RedmanÂ’s Claret and some of the LindemanÂ’s 4 number Bin wines. These days the only true vertical I have is St Henri (going back to 1992). I have a few years of some German wines like Pfeffingen and Monchhof. But there are many wines that I will buy one or two bottles of each year just to try.

Mike

After 20 years of buying, it is only last year or two where I ceased this practice. In years gone by, would have ALWAYS bought Mount Mary, Wendouree, Noon, Giaconda, Grosset riesling, Grange irrespective of vintage conditions , price or any other factor. Now? None I buy every year - nope, not even Noon, Wendouree, Wild Duck, Rockford etc. I feel good. ONLY interested in the very best vintages - tasting inferior vintages 5 to 10 years down the track is not worth it to me. Just disappointing.

Too much good wine out there to persist in buying a particular wine every vintage. It is a bit daft really. Light and shade on vintage variation is fine but I would rather buy better wine.... I can only understand it as a show of support for a very small maker who really needs it....but then again if the wines are good enough they would sell anyway.

GW

None, really. Bought Mount Mary Quintet 5 out of the last 7 (would have bought 6 but a postal problem caught me out). Cullen & Grosset (two other mail lists of mine) are both a) very expensive from CD, and b) no longer that difficult to find any more, chiefly because of a) I think, so now I'm a fussy buyer. I only buy the big commercial makers when its a good year or a great price; there's very little post-98 Penfolds in the cellar, for example. Maybe only Tyrrells now will get something up for me every year, but not necessarily the same wines each time...

cheers,
Graeme

Only current ones are Chalambar (with the exception of the very ordinary 99) and Great Western/St Peters. Starting up some others, including Tyrrells Vat 1 and Rockford Rifle Range and Rod and Spur.

Very much in the bits & pieces habit, partly as we've got more access to european (& ROW) wines here. The choice is so wide, that we'll be forever discovering new styles. Plus I hate getting into habit buys of anything!

Some wine which we've had repeat buys of are:
Tahbilk Marsanne
Houghton HWB
Leasingham Bin7
Wynns Cab
Bleasdale Frank Potts
Ch. Musar (Lebanon)
Ch Fuisse (Pouilly-Fuisse, France)
Masi Passo Doble (Argentina)
Martinborough Pinot Noir (NZ)
Newton-Forrest Cornerstone (NZ)
Cloudy Bay SB (NZ)

Though future repeat buys will be moving towards Italy, which is captivating our interest these days.

Ian

I've only been collecting for about 7 years, so I carry no baggage of past favourites. With the advent of the internet and forums and alike, I scoure the sites, read all the emails, notes, websites etc and pick the eyes out of only proven vintages.

At the moment only Aus wines + Oregon and NZ Pinot with the odd Barolo.

French wines are next on my list, but I fear the hit and miss of it all......

Majority bits and Pieces with the exception of RWT, Hill of Roses, Wendouree Rockford and Mount Edward (NZ). I have not had a long history of wine collection, so not many wines I bought as a verticle.

Other non-Australian I bought every year is Chateau Leoville Barton (since 02) and Clos Du Marquis (since 02).

nz is a lot more vintage variable so not many kiwi wines i consider buying every year

Every Vintage:

Cloudy Bay SB (its just the done thing - a spring tradition to down a bottle as winter fades into you memories to welcome the sun)
Te Mata Elston Chardonnay (except i missed one vintage - 98 too hot and too many good reds)
Eileen Hardy Shiraz (this one hurts as its not worth the $$ but i want the 10 yr vertical - im a sucker)
Unison Selection (every vintage ever made all 6 haha fantastic stuff every year )

Every good vintage:
Te Mata Coleraine (top coleraines are fantastic value but i leave most of the lesser vintages even though they are pretty good wines)

I am trying to limit to good vintages but the verticals without a miss are

Cullen CM
Petaluma Coonawarra
Grosset PH
RWT

Regards,
Ron.

Honestly? While I'd love to buy no matter what of selected wines, there are simply too many good wines out there to have everything of everything. Also, some of the wines I've been buying year-in year-out are becoming bloody expensive. So I need to ponder - Moss Wood, CullenCM, Quintet et - as good as they are - if I get these all the time, what am I missing out on if it means I can't also branch out and try all sorts of stuff that costs half? Sure, in a great vintage go get 'em, no questions asked, but often you only know this when it's too late!

Couldnt agree more Gregoire. In top vintages I will pay for top wine no questions asked but not other times. This is the reason I deleted Moss Woods and Cullens current order form from my e mail. They are dearer than ever but not better than ever.

Trent

I am a bit of an old faithful to some mailing lists and figure if I buy in the bad years, I'll get what I want in the good years. Plus with some of them, even their bad years are pretty good really.

Every year I buy:

Cloudy Bay Sav Blanc 12 (Yes, it is a tradition and summer wouldn't be the same without it and I'm going to add Rockford Alicant Bouchet 12 to that too)
Rockford BP 6 and Black 3
Mount Mary A mixed dozen in bad years and more in good providing allocation is there.
Grosset 6 PH and 6 W
Veritas 3-6 Hanish and a smattering of the rest to make a dozen
Noons 6 of each reserve

In good years, you can add a few Greenock Creek (cab and seven acres and sometimes RRs)
Torbreck (runrig if the bills are under control otherwise steading and sometimes juvenilles)
Seppelt - right across the range
Petaluma cabernet and riesling
Richmond Grove Watervale riesling
Tahbilk Marsanne
Wynns cab sav and JR
Mount Pleasant Elizabeth
Penfolds range (although a lot less these days)
Lakes Folly
Wild Duck Creek (according to allocation)
Leo Buring rieslings - varies

And then I pick the eyes out of a heap of other stuff, depending on vintage and price.

Doh! Last post mine. I kept wondering who the guest was that posted after me!