The Auswine Forum

Purchased 2 bottle of Penfolds 707 99 vintage for $84 each - woohoo
Who else would like to brag/share their bargain/s of the year to date - come on you know you want too

regards
Richard

A good buy, if they've been cellared properly, but you will save a lot more money over a year by cultivating and supporting 2-3 independent wine merchants and buying much of your wine from them. With that and a fair bit of research and eyes open for super specials and occasional auction buys (and a fair bit of help from readers of my site and friends), I reckon I "save" about $5,000 some years, around $2,000 - $3,000 most years compared to what most people would regard as a good price.

I was pretty happy with my 96 T Hardy Cab Sauv for $58 at auction (incl commission and freight) but I'm factoring in a risk factor for cellaring. I also think it has gone cheaper at auction a few times this year - low $50's incl comm and freight. The best retail price I can find is $79.99 plus freight.

I think my best 2 buys this year have been 2002 St Henri at $53 and a magnum of the same wine for $120 and 2003 Maurice O'Shea at $38. (store error)

I've picked up lots of wines in the $30ish bracket this year at very friendly prices some of the best being:

Balgownie Cab 02 $19
Baileys 1920 03 $20
Tahbilk Cab 02 $14
Bests Bin 0 01 $31
Rosehill 00 $23
Cape Mentelle Cab 01 $35

as well as lots of Semillons, Rieslings and VP's that I like to cellar, sometimes at $10 to $15 off RRP in clearance sales.

ps: Thanks to Brian for your assistance and advice at various times during the year about vintages, tasting notes etc. I didn't follow it every time (probably to my drinking detriment in the future) but you did save me from making a couple of errors. Cheers

I guess the other point is that a bargain can be full price and a half-price special can be a rip-off. Finding a merchant who cares about the wines they stock can make for some great (full price) bargains.

FWIW Bin707 is currently available from UK supermarkets on 25% off special for ~ £28 (maybe about aus $70). Vintage is 2001 IIRC. Not a buy for me as I don't really appreciate the wine - but if you love it then the price you got is a bargain (even though it's cheaper here).

By way of example, last year we managed to get a bottle of 93 Ornellaia in Holland for ~ 25% less than UK equivalent price. The wine itself was very disappointing, so whilst we bought a 'bargain' we drank a rip-off

To answer the question though...
Good bargains for us this year have been some Masi Tupangato wines (from Argentina) which we'd enjoyed before and got for ~ 20% less than we'd previously paid.

Also 12 bottles of Craiglee Shiraz 1998, 6 bottles of Tower 1999 Coonawarra Cab Sav & 5 bottles of Tower Hunter Shiraz 00 - in total 23 bottles for ~ £88 at auction (including premium + delivery). Two bottles got smashed in transit, but despite that less than £4.50 per bottle (~ $11) has turned out to be the bargain I thought it was at the time. It's a good thing the UK dealers aren't generally clued up on aussie wine

regards

Ian

I recently bought a couple of bottles of 1995 Aberfeldy for $36. A fellow in the store had purchased a bottle of the same wine and said it was drinking just fine. I haven't opened mine. And last week I found a bottle of 2003 Torbreck Juveniles for $18 in the bargain bin (damaged labels and old stock they said).

A bottle shop at the Entrance had bottles of French sparkling wine in a bin marked "3 bottles for $10". The manager said the wine was being sold off because one in ten bottles were being returned for being flat, otherwise it was pretty good. Okay, I'll bite, so I bought a six-pack carton. Might be okay for the beach, poolside, or on a boat. Well, the first one was flat, it drank like a still wine but with a dry, crisp and refreshing bite that was just right served very cold with nuts, olives, cheese, pate and crackers. Subsequent bottles had their fizz, albeit weak, but it too was ideal for drinking on a boat in plastic tumblers for cocktail hour with the usual appetizers.

Good deals and bargains are fun, as is trying new wines.

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

Red Bigot wrote:A good buy, if they've been cellared properly, but you will save a lot more money over a year by cultivating and supporting 2-3 independent wine merchants and buying much of your wine from them. With that and a fair bit of research and eyes open for super specials and occasional auction buys (and a fair bit of help from readers of my site and friends), I reckon I "save" about $5,000 some years, around $2,000 - $3,000 most years compared to what most people would regard as a good price.

Agree wholeheartily RB - I support 2 independents in CBR as often as the wallet allows but now tend to find alot of my transactions are done online, but just could not pass up a bargain - I know this wines were layed down in a cabinet for the majority of their life, it is only been in the last month they have been upright - as they were a managers special. They are now taking there rightful place horizontal in the vintec

cheers
Richard

My best buy was a magnum of 1998 Taylors St Andrews Cabernet $50.95

I thought Grant Burge Filsell Shiraz 04 and Wolf Blass Grey Label Shiraz 04 each for ~$20 were pretty good value.

daz

A plug for our host, my best purchase in the last few months was x6 bottles of lazy ballerina shiraz 05 at ~$20 each.

Prior to that, a discounted mixed dozen direct from longhop (thanks for the heads-up on that offer brian).

Still a double magnum of 1961 Chateau Meyney, that I picked up for auction for $34. It was quite a magnificent wine for about 45 minutes, until it fell apart.

Nayan wrote:Still a double magnum of 1961 Chateau Meyney, that I picked up for auction for $34. It was quite a magnificent wine for about 45 minutes, until it fell apart.

I hate to mention it Nayan, but that was last year that you got it (it was the auction before I got my 1970 magnum)

As for me, well I've been pretty lucky so far this year (touch wood) with some pretty keen buys at auction (that said it is getting tougher), but as usual the actual proof is in the drinking which would narrow it down to these:

The superb 1989 Stonewell magnum we had last week for just $85, and the brilliant 1988 John Riddoch a couple of weeks before for just over $44 (both including commission).

Cheers,
Ian

3 * 1986 JR for $48pb a few months back and the first bottle drunk was a cracker.

1983 St Henri for $52 I think is ok.

$100 for magnums of 1998 Jack Mann

Jacobs Creek Limited Release Shiraz Cabernet 1998. Now on special at $28 nzd. Bought 12, drank 3 (all superb) ... so bought another 12.

At this price, perhaps the most over-delivering red wine I have ever drunk. I feel guilty as I'd been carefully hoarding 2 bottles of this wine and suddenly my Riedels floweth over.

Isn't that annoying (well not really I suppose) when you splash out and get 1-2 bottles of a wine you think is or will be special or rare and then 12 months later it's being discounted all over the place.

I suppose if it is a good wine then you just buy up big but you are pi$$ed off you paid full price for your first couple of bottles.

I managed to get 8 2002 8th Maker at $100 a bottle off a connection from Wolf Blass and have been offereed more at $90. Also got some 2002 Saltram No. 1 for $40 - bit of a steal really!! Magnum of 02 St Henri for $120 as well and 04 St Peters for $42 after 2 lots of discounts. All in all a pretty good year.

I found a bottle of 1986 Tyrrell's HVD Semillon for $20. I still don't know if the wine is any good since I haven't opened it but consider it a good buy. If you can buy an old bottle for about a dollar for each year of age, its a good buy.

I was also able to get a bottle of 1986 John's Blend for $30. Funnily enough I expect the Tyrrell's HVD will be the better wine.

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

n4sir wrote:I hate to mention it Nayan, but that was last year that you got it (it was the auction before I got my 1970 magnum)

Whoops! Didn't read the OP properly.

Aussie cabs & blends are often dirt cheap here. In the last few months I've picked up (USD) 1996 Henschke Abbots Prayer for $15 (two were corked unfortunately), 1998 Joseph Moda Amarone $8 and 1998 Jacaranda Ridge $19.

Mahmoud Ali wrote:I found a bottle of 1986 Tyrrell's HVD Semillon for $20. I still don't know if the wine is any good since I haven't opened it but consider it a good buy. If you can buy an old bottle for about a dollar for each year of age, its a good buy.

I was also able to get a bottle of 1986 John's Blend for $30. Funnily enough I expect the Tyrrell's HVD will be the better wine.

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

You are probably right, the John's Blend is more usually a 10 year proposition rather than a 20 year one, but 86 was a good vintage and if you like very mature wines you may be lucky. The JB would have been about $15 on release in 1989.

Thanks Brian, I was hoping that the '86 vintage would help the John's Blend survive that extra bit longer. I had a '75 Lindemans Auburn Burgundy in 2001 that was just starting to leak and it was a beauty. I don't think it was a wine that was supposed to last over 25 years (the cork certainly didn't) but somehow it got overlooked in the cellar. It gives me hope.

On the topic of bargains, I walked into a bottle shop today and saw some 1995 "cellar release" wines from d'Arenberg, the High Trellis Cabernet and the d'Arry's Original. They were priced at $20, the same price as the 2004s. Now thats a bit too much for the '04s but a more than fair price for the '95s I reckon. I opted for a few of the '95 d'Arry's Original, they have a reputation for aging well.

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

There is only ONE thing I can brag about lately. I was in Cambodia, saw children hospital operated by a Swiss doctor and made a donation, less than a bottle of Cheval Blanc 2000, but I find that the best bargain I ever found, considering how much medical help this donation will provide to the poorest country I ever visited.

Some 02s - Arakoon Doyen and Hewitson Old Garden - for $20 each.

Rosemount Reserve Cab 94 - $12 each.

PL Mentor 89 - $21 each. I'm trying to corner the market on this one.

Kieran

Kieran, Kieran, Kieran, where did you find the '89 Mentor? I understand you want to "corner the market" on this one but surely you can leave one bottle in the store. I didn't know they made a Mentor back in the '80s. In Canada all I saw was their regular cabernet and I still have a bottle of the 1988.

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

PS: I wouldn't mind knowing where you found the '94 Rosemount Reserve Cabernet for $12. Fantastic price.

Mahmoud Ali wrote:Kieran, Kieran, Kieran, where did you find the '89 Mentor? I understand you want to "corner the market" on this one but surely you can leave one bottle in the store. I didn't know they made a Mentor back in the '80s. In Canada all I saw was their regular cabernet and I still have a bottle of the 1988.

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

PS: I wouldn't mind knowing where you found the '94 Rosemount Reserve Cabernet for $12. Fantastic price.

All from Langtons.

The Mentor was at that point called PL Cabernet Shiraz Merlot Malbec or something. The name came later.

Kieran