The Auswine Forum

Hi guys
Hope someone can please help me select a 30th bday present for a friend of mine. I dont know anything about wines so dont have a clue whats good out there. Went Dan murphy's today and there was just too much there to know whats any good. All i know is he likes Penfolds 389 in the past and red wine only basically. Most likely we plan to get him a bottle of Penfolds 389 which we saw at DM Glen Waverley but it was a 2003 vintage i think? is that any good? we heard the 1998 is a good one to get but cant find any.
Anyways any tips of what selection you guys would get? we want to get atleast one bottle thats 50-70bucks and the rest priced anywhere upto 50-60 i guess. While at Dan Murphy we were recommended Wynn Coonawarra Michael 1998 and Bowen Estate Coonawarra Shiraz 2000.
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks in advance
TC

Ask Gavin to put a pack together for you, or just search the Auswine reds selection and read the reviews.

Indeed Gavin has a great selection (to browse hit the image in the top left hand corner of your screen).

Based on your comments I might be tempted to go for just six wines, with the one (as planned) at ~ $60 and the other five averaging around $20 each.

There's oodles of choice for a great bottle at $60, but good $20 wines take a little more finding.

- Consider a bottle of Tokay or Muscat which is a great Australian classic style. Gavin for instance has Baileys, Campbells and Seppelt at around $17-$20 a bottle

There's been some good threads in recent times on the subject, try a search or these links for starters:

http://forum.auswine.com.au/viewtopic.p ... alue+wines

http://forum.auswine.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=5133

The question of vintage might be influenced by whether your friend would want to share the wine with you and thus want to drink it immediately, or whether they have a cellar or wine fridge and would like something to put aside for a few years. If it's the former, then it's worth looking for a "mature vintage", i.e. a wine that's already developed nicely and is drinking nicely now, or one "for cellaring" where the wine is expected to improve over the years.

A mature vintage might be (say) a 1994 Bin 389, whilst one for cellaring might be the 2002 of the same wine. A good merchant will be able to judge the difference clearly.

As a wine lover I really appreciate when friends or rellies get me well chosen wine and really like them getting wines I've never had before, so don't worry too much about matching exactly to your friends palate - something slightly out of their normal experience can be a bonus rather than an issue.

Best of luck

regards

Ian

If he likes 389 maybe go one better and spend $60 on one Penfolds St Henri?? I like the 2001 as it to me more interesting, but there are many around that like the 2002, neither are duds though. Good for the cellar and an aussie classic steeped in history

Then as suggested some good $20ish wine? Id go classics. i dunno maybe some wynns cab, saltrams mamre brook shiraz, as suggested above a good muscat or tokahy may spice up the pack a bit or a half bottle of de bortoli noble one, bottle of mt pleasant elibabeth semillon etc

According to another thread Halliday has given the 2005 Brokenwood Semillon a very good review.

As a very general rule look for 2002 and 2004 SA reds (but there are exceptions) 98 and 96 were good years but you will probably be paying a premium for back vintage or museum releases.

2001 was good in Margaret River. 2000 was good in the Hunter. Victoria has had pretty good years for the last 3-4.

What about Langi Shiraz, or Seppelt Great Western Shiraz.

If I was going to have $160 spent on me I'd probably want you to buy 2-3 wines. I can buy 5 x $20 wines myself. For a gift I don't want a mixed dozen, I want something special. My choices from Gavin's cellar would be:

Penfolds St Henri 2002 $72. A classic, highly recognisable and has prestige attached to it. Your friend will know it's quality whether they are a wine buff or a casual enjoyer of wine. Craig likes the 2001. I haven't tried either but I like the St Henri style. Ric's comments (torbwine.com) about the prunes which are echoed by Halliday turns me towards the 2002.

Mt Langi Shiraz 2003 $54.99. Another classic. Well known among buffs and casual drinkers. Getting excellent reviews.

Marius Symphony Shiraz 2004. Something a little different they may not have heard of. Adds a bit of mystery to the mix. Excellent review from Winefront.

Backup would be Majella Cabernet 2003. Also check out the St Peters and St Hallet Old Block in Gavin's Auswine Cellar Section.

thanks for the replies guys!
most likely i will get the Penfolds St henri as couple of you guys have suggested.
Im also interested in getting a wine that would last 20yrs as well. Something he can bring out on his 50th. Can anyone suggest something around the $50 mark? I might try to get a Seppelt St Peters 2002 which ive read in another post thaat would make the distant and from Gavins website it looks around my price range. Will the Seppelt St peters 2004 last the distant as well if kept properly?
Also Mt Langi Shiraz 2003 and Marius Symphony Shiraz 2004 how long would they keep before they are past their best?

Very unlikely you can get the 02 St Peters for less than about $100. It was selling for that at auction a month after release.

Kieran

yeah 02 st peters you coulda bought in aussie at auction for $100 or pulled it off a dusty shelf in NZ for NZ$42 which is what about $5.50 AU?? hehe

20 year wine? St henri will do that from a good vintage. Im currently drinking 93, which was supposed to be a less than great vintage and I reckon even that has a decade left in it!!

oops ok i must have looked at the wrong one then
thanks for the tip craig ill get him the penfolds st henri and if i can find a penfold 389 98 or 96 get him that as well but i doubt id be able to find one this late. Rest ill just have a look at ratcatchers recommendation at Dan murphy's or what the staff recommends maybe. Thanks for the help guys! have to get all the wines today hopefully since his bday is today. I know left it a bit late
But thanks again everyone for the help and contribution, much appreciated.
TC

The St Henri probably would have made the 20 years better than or at least as well as St Peters.

I agree with Ratty - St Henri is probably the safer bet??

Also in 20 years time St Henri will still be a classic. St Peters may also be a classic but it may also just be a past fad?? Who knows!!???!!

hey guys
thanks again for all your help. I finally got all the wine for his present with 2 and a half hours to go. Dunno if i made a good choice but wine buying is very hard for someone who doesnt have a clue about wines or specifically what the person likes besides red wine
Anyways i end up choosing the following 4 wines:
Penfolds St Henri 2002.
Brown Brothers Patricia Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
Craiglee Shiraz 2003
and
Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
all up $162. Was considering the Mt Langi but i thought the Craiglee was good value and plus i could also get the Wynns on top with the difference.
Hopefully i did ok there was just too many to choose from. I was thinking in the end theres so many good wines out there you couldnt really go wrong. Anyways will let you guys know if he liked them, if there is anyone out there is interested in knowing , and will surely mention all the great help i got from you guys.
Anyone know how long each of these wine should be cellared (if thats the correct term?) before they reach their peak drinking period?
TC

tbcha1 wrote:ill just have a look at ratcatchers recommendation at Dan murphy's or what the staff recommends maybe. TC

Classic, hilarious

tbcha1 wrote:hey guys
thanks again for all your help. I finally got all the wine for his present with 2 and a half hours to go. Dunno if i made a good choice but wine buying is very hard for someone who doesnt have a clue about wines or specifically what the person likes besides red wine
Anyways i end up choosing the following 4 wines:
Penfolds St Henri 2002.
Brown Brothers Patricia Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
Craiglee Shiraz 2003
and
Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
all up $162. Was considering the Mt Langi but i thought the Craiglee was good value and plus i could also get the Wynns on top with the difference.
Hopefully i did ok there was just too many to choose from. I was thinking in the end theres so many good wines out there you couldnt really go wrong. Anyways will let you guys know if he liked them, if there is anyone out there is interested in knowing , and will surely mention all the great help i got from you guys.
Anyone know how long each of these wine should be cellared (if thats the correct term?) before they reach their peak drinking period?
TC

Nice selection, indeed the sort of selection that would hold a great deal of interest for a red wine fan (in particular an excellent variety of styles).
Well, if someone gave me those wines then I'd be pretty happy!
regards
Ian

Pity you didn't get the Wynns 03 that's very nice. Has a better rep than the 02 I've not tried and is better than the 01 that's also pretty good.

Good selection though as Ian noted and I'm sure your friend will enjoy them all!

Cheers

daz