TK 2003 Adelaide Hills 2003 Reserve Pinot Noir

HALF PRICE PREMIUM PINOT

I was talking to the distributor earlier this week and he slipped it into the conversation that he still had some. I was really surprised. It was offered to us back in January at the same price as the standard TK Pinot Noir. "What's wrong with it?' I not surprisingly asked. Absolutely nothing, came the reply. Apparently they just need to discretely move some stock.
We ordered some, I took a bottle home and pulled the cork. It was an absolute cracker and a truly outstanding way to kick of 2008. We sold out and ordered more and sold out of that. We now have more.
This is a top class Pinot at an amazingly low price.

RRP: $40
Our Price: $20 per bottle

SOLD OUT

Witchmount "Scarlett" 2004 Shiraz Cabernet

ONE OF THE SILLIEST WINE LABELS ..... EVER!

We first saw this wine sometime last year. Based on the wholesale price we would have been looking at retailing it for around $20 but the label was so inappropriate that we unanimously declined the offer to taste it.
What a difference a year makes.
We have just bought the last remaining stock and can offer this premium Victorian red for just $10 a bottle. Our opinion of the label hasn't changed. Naked women, even rear views, just aren't appropriate for wine labels and it looks like the market has agreed. [Not sure what the market thought about the Captain Jack chardonnay - yep, a front on male nude]

This is a serious red with a silly label. It's medium weight with 14% alcohol and only 12 months in both French and US oak. Shiraz and cabernet almost seem like an old fashioned blend nowadays but it still works. Both contribute their varietal notes and I reckon it will be drinking at its peak over the next two years.

RRP: $17 - $20
Our Price: $10 per bottle

OUT OF STOCK

Tyrrell's 2004 Brokenback Shiraz

The nose is unmistakeable, classic earthy Hunter. I've never been comfortable with the "sweaty saddle" adjective as to me it's not a particularly compelling endorsement. This one has it but in an attractive appealing way that I've rarely encountered.
The earthiness continues on the palate but there is none of the dirt stink that characterises so many Hunter shiraz. This also offers a rich roundness of fruit that carries on to an incredible length. This is an outstanding red that is a must for lovers of Hunter quality and an absolute must for anyone who's never been convinced. Enjoy now or confidently cellar.

RRP: $c24
Our Price: $18 per bottle

OUT OF STOCK

Penfolds 2002 Grange Shiraz

SUPER SPECIAL $405 per bottle

SOLD OUT

Pirramimma 2004 Stocks Hill Cabernet Sauvignon

Max Lake, Pirramimma and the overturned truck.

Sometime in the '90s, in a period that was definitely not early, a tad after mid and way before late, I was at a Trade wine tasting. I've been to many tastings in all the other periods, heaps in the '80s and the trend has continued through the current decade but this was the only tasting I'd ever encountered Max Lake. Max, of course, is the medico who created his eponymous Folly in the lower Hunter Valley well before most of us had any interest in wine.

About 3 minutes after I tasted the Pirramimma 1995 Stocks Hill Shiraz, so did Max. And started waxing lyrical about the wine that I'd just bought every last bottle of. I was pretty chuffed. A small crowd gathered and listened to Max continue waxing. I wondered how many had tasted a relatively unfashionable label and been blind to the quality of the wine.
But Pirramimma, to their credit, honoured my order and we were all glad they did. Half way up the Hume HIghway the truck overturned and there was a sad loss of many bottles of a very fine red. The phone call came - "Do you want us to take it back?"
"No way", I replied. So Pirramimma were grateful and after we spent days sifting through the debris we managed to salvage far more than we expected. Obviously the labels were stained and scratched but that all became part of the heroic fame of the outstanding red that survived the truck crash.

So when a new distributor showed me a bottle of the 2004 Stocks Hill Cabernet Sauvignon and their wholesale special I couldn't wait to twist the top. They might have changed the labels but thankfully, not the winemaking style. This is good old fashioned McLaren Vale cabernet. The 14% alcohol is fairly overt on the nose while the tannins and wood front up the palate. But the real charm is the fruit which kicks in half way through and goes on and on. We road tested it over 3 days and I suggest this is perfect for medium term cellaring. Not a huge saving off cellar door price but it's fantastic value at anything under $20.

RRP: $15 cellar door
Our Price: $14 per bottle