The Top Five Wine Suppliers of 2012

My top 5 fine wine suppliers of 2012 in order of dollars
De Bortoli
Haselgroves
Tyrrells
Westend
.Berton
Interesting......... 3 Riverina in origin, 1 Hunter but sources stuff from everywhere and the other McLaren Vale.
Four family owned and the other owned by a bunch of families.
And just as outstanding as the quality and value of the wines are the people I deal with. Thank you so much Mitch, Erin, Andrew and Mr Neville from De Bortoli; Big Jim and Nicole from Haselgrove; the delightful Helen from Tyrrells; the two lovelies Natalie and Kerrie Anne as well as the whole Calabria family from Westend; and Handsome Steve from Berton Vineyards.
It's the way it should be. Outstanding wines represented by outstanding people. A big contrast to the shareholder owned companies run by muppets who are far more concerned with their contracts and bonuses than long term multi generational viability.

Miceli 2001 Mornington Peninsula Rose Methode Champenoise

I haven't tasted a more exciting sparkling wine or Champagne in years. And at a mere, ridiculous $15 a bottle I have NEVER offered a better value one. To get that price we had to "buy the lot" and I had absolutely no hesitation. The flavour complexity is mesmerising and yet it still, remarkably, has some youthful zing which combines to create a truly outstanding wine. Here are Tony's tasting notes, which I found particularly interesting as they help explain how this wine has been created. It IS methode champenoise after all.
Here are the Miceli tasting notes:

Winemaker: Anthony Miceli
Picked: 26/3/01
Tiraged: 10/1/02 (Cope Williams, Romsey, under supervision).
Disgorged: First disgorged June 2003, in batches, matured on lees until just prior to
despatch (recently disgorged).
Winemaking: Picked at much less than normal ripeness, to retain acid levels and aiming to
achieve the fine and delicate flavours that set Champagne apart from many Australian
sparkling wines. A blend was made of the classic varieties Pinot Noir (74%), Chardonnay
(13%), and Pinot Gris (13%). Part of the blend was processed as white base juice, and
part of this wine is from ripe Pinot Noir, crushed, then pressed after 12 hours skin contact
to extract pink colour. This juice for the base wine was fermented warm (25-27 deg C) to
maximise vinosity rather than fruitiness.
The wine was tiraged at Kilchurn (Cope Williams) and then disgorged after more
than 6 years maturation on lees, with enough ready for sale and the remainder to be
freshly disgorged as required.
Oak: Nil
Malolactic Fermentation: 100%
Analysis: Alc 12.5 % /vol, pH 3.00, TA 9.2 g/l Sugar (doseage) 6.0 g/l
Tasting Notes
This wine is a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris, fermented in this bottle,
with yeast contact of more than 18 months. The blend of varieties gives structure and
complexity to the wine.
The colour is a brilliant very pale salmon pink.
The palate is rich and flavoursome, with creamy and toasty yeast, pinot noir fruit,
great length, and a clean dry finish.
Cellaring:
The nature of methode champenoise is that the maturation takes place in bottle prior to
disgorging, at which stage the wine is ready for consumption. For those who like bottle
development in the wines this wine will continue to gain richness, as does a table wine,
over 5-10 years (but at the expense of its sparkling character).
Winemakers Comments :
This wine is aimed at reproducing the spectrum of flavours and palate structure of
sparkling wines from Champagne. We feel this wine is comparable in style and quality,
and altogether different from most sparkling wines made in Australia. This is a more full
bodied wine, with the contribution of riper pinot character, and definitely not at all sweet.

Our Price: $15 per bottle by the dozen

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Eight dozen bottle stained pine Wine Rack

Bit of history here. It started off life at Redheads in Homebush and finished its retail life at Outstanding Wines in Toongabbie. It's held Grange, Hill of Grace, Graveyard and many far better buys.
It's a bit in the way at the moment and looking for a good home with Sydney or Central Coast delivery being negotiable.
Personally I'd whack a flat piece of pine on the top and use that as a display shelf

Our Price: $90
IN STOCK

Westend 2013 "Cool Climate" Shiraz

The joy of Riverina wine producers is that they consistently underprice their wines and they maintain this policy when they venture away from home turf.
Westend's "Cool Climate" range features wines sourced from areas like Tumbarumba, Buckland valley, King Valley and this shiraz from the Hilltops region of NSW. The 2009 was a Gold Medal winner at San Francisco and I believe this is even better.
I wrote before "Think Barwang without the price tag". An absolute bargain.

Our Price: $12 per bottle by the dozen

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It’s all about the GRAPE …

There are upwards of 2000 grape varieties that are used to create wine throughout the world.
Think about it. 2000!
Start counting and if you can get past 20 that you know or have tasted you are doing better than most.

So if you want to venture past a world of chardonnay and cabernet, sauvignon blanc and shiraz you may like to read on ..

 

Let’s start with some advice:

· BE BRAVE and experiment. If we recommend a “different” wine to you there’s no guarantee you’ll like it. But there is a guarantee that the wine is an outstanding value example of its variety or style. We wouldn’t have bought it otherwise

· NO GRAPE is inherently sweet or dry [the driest wine I’ve ever tasted was a gewürztraminer] They may lend themselves to a particular style but ultimately it depends on what the viticulturist achieves and the winemaker devises

· DON’T just buy in the same price window all the time. Try some of the bargain $5 efforts and treat yourself to the occasional $20+. Remember, we recommend the wines that over deliver not the ones that pay to be on our retail shelves.

 

· PLEASE remember to give me feedback. Tell me what you liked about a wine or what you didn’t like– IN YOUR OWN WORDS. It’s like a Wine Education course for free. You can see me in store, email me, post a comment on our wine weblog, become a friend on Facebook, a follower on Twitter or a skyper on Skype. Or you could even phone me if you received our email newsletters. It’s how we all learn.

 

 

 

Victory Point Margaret River "Mallee Root" 2007 Cabernet Malbec Merlot

I'd been waiting for this wine for quite some time now. I didn't know what it would be or where it would come from but I knew I needed something new and inspirational to add to the portfolio of reds that I'd been raving about for some time now. We had the shiraz market covered with Lunatiq and Stephen John but I wanted something a little older and Cabernet based. And so it came .......
The tasting bottle that arrived yesterday was accompanied by a note that there was very little stock. We tasted it today and immediately ordered 25% of what was available. Nudging perfection. A blend of 68% cabernet, 18% merlot and 14% malbec[ [yes, the order is not quite right on the label] that has been brilliantly combined to create one of the Reds of the Year. It's a seductive medium weight red that offers a new experience with every sip. The fruit is enticing but it's the interaction with the tannins that really has it humming. It was aged in small French oak [30% new] for 18 months and alcohol is an unobtrusive 14%. $18 is a joke of a price for a wine of this quality so you could really put some affordable class in your cellar with a dozen or so of this.

Our Price: $18 per bottle by the dozen

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Pindarie 2008 Barossa Shiraz

The 2010 vintage has just scored one of the rare 5* ratings in Winestate's 7th "World's Greatest Syrah/Shiraz Challenge [September/October 2012 issue]. Over 700 wines from around the world were assessed by 16 high profile winemakers, oenologists and an industry icon [Wolfgang Blass].  Their notes on the 2010 vintage were "Huge Christmas cake-like aromas with lovely earthy notes. Powerful oak driven palate but there is an excellent balance of tarry, cherry and raspberry flavours showing through." They could have been writing about this 2008 vintage which we have the last few dozen of. The only significant difference is that 2008 is probably a better wine than the 2010. Very highly recommended.

Our Price: $20 per bottle by the dozen

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Outstanding Wines 2010 Martinborough Pinot Noir

This is NOT your full-on Central Otago style. It's much more gamey with a soft seductive front palate that leads into plenty of power at the back. Very complex and one that should be gobbled up by fans of this style. Apparently under its producer's label it wholesales at $23 a bottle.

Our Price: $15 per bottle by the dozen

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Haselgrove 2012 First Cut Pinot Grigio

Now here's a curio - it's a Haselgrove wine that isn't a bargain bin-end deleted label. It's just a regular run of the mill extreme bargain. I've frequently documented my disinterest in this style/variety and this one just emphasises how boring most of the others are. Its back label describes it perfectly "lively, zesty and fresh, showing elegant characters of nashi pear, white peach and a hint of grapefruit." This is a truly delicious crisp dry white that is a perfect alternative to sauvignon blanc. It's light and delicate yet offers delicious fruit character. Very highly recommended.

Our Price: $10 per bottle by the dozen

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Tyrrell's 2010 Rufus Stone McLaren Vale Shiraz

If you've already read about the Heathcote release you can save yourself some time as they are the same words that follow, if not please read on ........................
"It seems like forever that I've been raving about Tyrrell's Rufus Stone wines. They were the subject of my favourite ever newsletter " When Wally whacked Willy" and I acknowledge that part of the attraction is my New Forest heritage. But far more important is their consistent overdelivery which ranges from the satisfying to the extreme. Both the 2010 releases fall into the extreme category. In fact they share plenty in common: same winemaker, grape, vintage and alcohol. Only the region and the taste vary. The Heathcote is more seductive with an enticing berry fruit flavour that lingers to the end of an infinitely long palate while chocolate mocha dominates the McLaren Vale. Personally I'd be buying six of each, failing to decide which one is the favourite and then grabbing as much as the budget will allow. These are seriously undervalued wines."

Our Price: $18 per bottle by the dozen

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Tyrrell's 2010 Rufus Stone Heathcote Shiraz

It seems like forever that I've been raving about Tyrrell's Rufus Stone wines. They were the subject of my favourite ever newsletter " When Wally whacked Willy" and I acknowledge that part of the attraction is my New Forest heritage. But far more important is their consistent overdelivery which ranges from the satisfying to the extreme. Both the 2010 releases fall into the extreme category. In fact they share plenty in common: same winemaker, grape, vintage and alcohol. Only the region and the taste vary. The Heathcote is more seductive with an enticing berry fruit flavour that lingers to the end of an infinitely long palate while chocolate mocha dominates the McLaren Vale. Personally I'd be buying six of each, failing to decide which one is the favourite and then grabbing as much as the budget will allow. These are seriously undervalued wines.

Our Price: $18 per bottle by the dozen

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Matso's Mango Beer

The first beer to ever appear on this webblog and it's got Mango in it. Now that IS outstanding! It's brewed in Broome along with a Ginger Beer and a couple of more traditional styles but for me this is the star. On one hand it's like West Coast Cooler on steriods but it has the class and quality of Belgian fruit beers to make it a serious brew. And yes, there's no mistaking the mango content and yet it's dry and satisfying. It's expensive  but it probably deserves to be with the supplier having a clear policy of not offering  any discounts and there is of course that freight issue from Broome.

Our Price: $75 carton of twenty four 330ml bottles 
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Les Ligeriens 2011 Rose D'Anjou

Can't believe I'm raving about a French rose but once I tasted it there was no escape. It's as pretty as it looks with lovely floral aromatics and a pleasing degree of sweetness. Chill it right down and enjoy with a summer picnic

Our Price: $15 per bottle by the dozen

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Beach Head 2010 Margaret River Cabernet Merlot

I tasted this and ordered it on the spot. An outstanding red that totally overdelivers at this price which thankfully is why the rep showed it to me. And then I did a little research and found the producer's notes on their website. It's nice to be one of a selected few: "The 2010 Cabernet Merlot has also won Top Gold at Winewise and finished a gallant second in the trophy taste off. This wine has also received 95 points from James Halliday and 3 gold medals. This wine is now limited to cellar door, online through our website and at a few selected outlets around Australia."

Our Price: $17 per bottle by the dozen

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Haselgrove 2009 Bella Vigna Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon

BIN END SUPER SPECIAL
As Haselgrove reposition themselves as a McLaren Vale/Adelaide Hills producer this Coonawarra gem appears to be surplus to their needs.
Don't think too much about this one, just grab a bottle or twelve taste it and order more before we run out



RRP: $25 Our Price: $15 per bottle by the dozen

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Cruickshank 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

How do you make an old fashioned Hunter Shiraz style red wine from Cabernet Sauvignon? Simple, get the Cruickshanks to make it. This is upper Hunter fruit which has soaked up plenty of lower Hunter terroir. It's earthy and fruit driven at the same time. There's so much flavour it's almost a meal on its own with a sensible 13.5% alcohol. It's so different to the squeaky clean reds from the southern states and in its own right so much more exciting.
This is not a red for everyone [although it should be] but it will be one of the great buys of the year for all of you who understand what I'm on about.

Its feral and funky, a tad barnyardy and very highly recommended.

Our Price: $14 per bottle by the dozen

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Crate 31 Cabernet Merlot

This is a red with serious grunt from the same people that make the YellowTail wines. Nose, colour and palate all indicate a wine well above $10. Absolutely sensational at this price and not surprisingly one of our biggest selling reds.

Our Price: $5 per bottle by the dozen

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Haselgrove 2009 Vincent's Breeze Cabernet Sauvignon

You never quite know what's going to happen with Haselgroves. What I do know is that for the last few years we've offered some truly outstanding bargains under their Vincent's Breeze label. This one is McLaren Vale fruit that really overdelivers at a mere $10. We have the final stocks of this vintage and who knows whether there will be a 2010 release.

Our Price: $10 per bottle by the dozen

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Cruickshank 2011 Verdelho

I like dealing with the Cruickshanks. John must be well into his 80s by now and young Andrew is a tad older than me. Father and son represent the quintessential hands-on small Australian producer that WE ALL must support.
Andrew even delivers the wine as he did yesterday, proudly photographed by his recently acquired $5 delivery van.
They make their whites like their reds with lashings of flavour. Made from upper Hunter Valley fruit this just about sums up the style of verdelho that I really enjoy. Plenty of palate weight leading to a clean fresh acid finish with volumes of layered tropical fruit flavour that doesn't taste like sauvignon blanc..

Our Price: $11 per bottle by the dozen
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The Warburn 1164 Varietal Mixed Red Dozen

I've been told that Warburn are now Australia's 8th largest wine producer. They produce a huge amount of remarkably quaffable budget wine and a few delightful surprises like the Stephendale and these.
What an extraordinary range of four red wines that totally over deliver in value.This dozen contains three bottles each of 2009 Eden Valley Pinot Noir, 2007 Barossa Valley Old Vine Shiraz, 2007 Barossa Valley Merlot and 2009 NSW Montepulciano.
All four are in superb condition with years in front of them. All offer a rich opulence paired with their own individual varietal characters.
I'm hard pressed to pick a favourite - they are all so good

RRP: $216  
Our Price: $156
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Totino Estate 2008 Adelaide Hills Shiraz

They squeezed a bottle and a half of flavour into this one with so much going on in the glass you'll have trouble concentrating.
If you're a little bit jaded with perfectly pleasant, verging on bland red wines this is the one for you. It's a big, rich red with the oak that St Henri missed out on and the fruit to balance it. This is an extreme bargain. Also picked up a Highly Commended gong at the 2012 Sydney International Wine Competition.
The bad news is that there wasn't much to begin with and sadly we scored the last 5 dozen.

Our Price: $17 per bottle by the dozen

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Ballast Stone 2010 Steeple Jack Shiraz

Picked up a Blue-Gold medal at the 2012 Sydney International Wine Competition for wines matched with food.
The fruit is probably, largely McLaren Vale and this is a wine that punches far above its weight. Lovely supple juicy red, medium weight with everything in balance. Strange name, garish red label but as always it's the stuff inside that counts. Within a day of first sales cellar door customers were already returning for repeat purchases.

Our Price: $9 per bottle by the dozen
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Tyrrell's 2009 "Lunatiq" Heathcote Shiraz

This is Tyrrell's non-Hunter flagship red and it is an absolute beauty.
Our cellar door single bottle price is $35 and as I tell everyone it's the best value red we have. Easily $50+ quality. It was the star during a short break at Hamilton Island in 2011 and I've put a dozen aside to enjoy over the next decade.
For Heathcote alcohol is a sensible 13.9% and while there's plenty of opulence there are glorious tannins and balancing acid. The excitement of every sip is that it reveals a new aspect of its complexity. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

Our Price: $29 per bottle by the dozen 
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Ringbolt 2010 Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon

The respected auction house Langtons has stamped its authority on the wine market with its Classification System that rates wines as Exceptional, Outstanding [GOT TO LOVE THAT ONE!], Excellent and Distinguished. It's a fine system in that it continually evolves and this link is a worthwhile read.
http://www.langtons.com.au/Wine/ClassificationExplained.aspx

The usual suspects are featured in the highest categories but I wonder how long it will be before Ringbolt Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon charges up the Classifications. I believe the first vintage was 2001 and it's chalked up a dazzling show record since then. Akin to one of these TV talent shows [Wow, what a voice and you're only 16] this is "what a wine and it's only $20!" It regularly outscored wines many times its price such as Penfolds flagship cabernet 707.

This is an outstanding example of Margaret River Cabernet without the inflated price tag. You can read all about it here
http://www.ringbolt.com/product.asp?p=338
Sensible 13.5% a/v and plenty of acid suggest a long and rewarding cellar life - ie it needs a fair bit of breathing right now. It showed up best on the reliable Kitchen Bench Test on day four.

Wholesale is just under $19 so the days of being $20 should be long gone. BUT NOT YET!

Our Price: $18 per bottle by the dozen  

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Three Tales 2014 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

"The BEST sauvignon blanc buy we've ever offered?????

It's a big call but one I'm very, very comfortable with.
The sign outside the cellar door reads "As good as Cloudy Bay and only $14.99" which is a bit misleading as it's quite possibly better and a mere $12 per bottle by the dozen.

"For someone who is just about "over" sauvignon blanc I reckon I probably rejected a tasting bottle from the rep sometime late last year with words like "It's too expensive and I've got the stuff coming out of every orifice." What's the point of tasting yet another one and rejecting it because we already have plenty of that style.
So I'm very grateful to the lads who brought a bottle in for me to taste last week. They were so enthusiastic that I just had to try it and they were spot on - sensational stuff. They were buying it from another source so I was happy to beat that price and share it with everyone else as long as you realise that $12 is an extremely sharp price.

And the wine? Well it's got just about everything. There's lashings of the popular, fashionable tropical fruit salad balanced beautifully with more traditional herbaceous, grassy characters. Every sip reveals a new layer of flavour so every bottle is a really exciting experience as opposed to so many that show all with the first sip.Add to this an equally balanced palate weight and texture and I reckon you're close to the perfect wine of this style. And it's only 12.5% alcohol!
Sadly it's pushed aside my previous favourite, Wither Hills and as far as I'm concerned it wipes the floor with Oyster Bay."

Those were the notes for the 2011 vintage. Three vintages later, nothing has changed.


Our Price: $12 per bottle by the dozen:  

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Haselgrove HRS 2009 Adelaide Hills Reserve Viognier

THE BEST BACK LABEL NOTES EVER?
They'd be pretty close as they describe this gem of a wine perfectly:
"Our 2009 Reserve was produced from a single vineyard. The grapes were half fermented in tank and then transferred to three and four year old French oak barriques for completion. The wine was then lees stirred for 5 months. The winemakers have successfully preserved varietal distinction whilst developing multiple layers of flavour. The wine displays intense varietal aromas of peach and apricot. This combines with mineral characters on the palate to produce a flavoursome wine with a balanced lively finish with creamy toasty notes. Styles as a food wine it is best served fresh and slightly chilled with baked fish and white meat."

The key is layers of flavour in a wine that is still fresh and vibrant. $10 is a joke of a price for a wine of extreme quality and drinkability.


RRP: $20 -$18

Our Price: $10 per bottle by the dozen  

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Wine Men of Gotham 2011 Sauvignon Blanc

One of the most bizarre labels of all time [sorry Bruce] sets a new benchmark for quality, quaffable, super cheap Sauvignon Blanc. Very highly recommended and make sure you read the back label - what were they thinking? [sorry again Bruce]


Our Price: $7 per bottle by the dozen

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Stephendale 2011 Sauvignon Blanc

Griffith's Warburn Estate is at it again with a new label that has taken anonymity to the extreme. We've put them on the retail shelves and I have trouble finding them. There's a big S which makes sense when any other inspiration fails and a small illustration of a rural gate which is hardly going to have retail buyers [who can never remember names of wines] rushing back to buy the wine with the gate on the label.
But the stuff inside is sensational.
There are two Barossa reds which are both chunky fruit driven numbers ready to drink now and over the next couple of years. A/v on both is $13.5%. There is also a ridiculously quaffable NZ sauvignon blanc. It's not regional specific and I suspect bulk juice is shipped here for bottling. Makes sense if they can do a wine of this quality at the price..

Our Price: $8 per bottle by the dozen

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Stephen John 2009 Basket Pressed Clare Valley Shiraz

The 2006 and 2008 were both favourites with all of us and we now have our second load of the even better 2009. Stephen's cellar door price is $25 and I reckon that's seriously undervalued. This should be $40+.
Full bodied, complex, elegant, multi-layered this is a truly outstanding red wine.
Our Price: $20 per bottle by the dozen 

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Sutherlands Creek Pinot Noir

If there is a better quality, lower priced Pinot Noir in Australia I haven't tasted it. It's Geelong fruit, apparently quite close to Bannockburn, but a fraction of the price. Alcohol is just 12.5%a/v but it's bursting with varietal fruit on a superbly balanced palate. Highly recommended for bargain hunters and pinotphiles.

Our Price: $12 per bottle by the dozen

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Chateau Tanunda 2011 "The Chateau" Eden Valley Riesling

Apparently the 2011 Eden Valley vintage growing conditions vintage were just about perfect. Rainfall at just the right time and cooler than recent years.

I could believe that tasting this wine. To me it's the South Australian equivalent of top drawer Hunter Semillon. Bone dry with glorious citrus fruit, searing acidity and a mere 10.5% a/v. Cellar for 10 to 15 years or drink over the next five.
Our Price: $15 per bottle by the dozen
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Lindemans 2006 Reserve Bottle Fermented Pinot Noir Chardonnay Pinot Meunier

Complex, mature gem drinking at its peak this is one of the most absurd bargains available on the market today. We've had the 1999 and 2004 vintages prior to this and they have all been equally impressive.

Our Price: $12 per bottle by the dozen
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Lindemans 2011 Hunter Valley Semillon

This would have been the first semillon I ever bought. It would probably have been the 1975 vintage and it certainly wouldn't have been labelled Semillon. It was either Hunter Valley Riesling, White Burgundy or Chablis but they were all Semillon. Thank goodness one of the iconic names in Australian wine is still producing THE Australian white. And for what it's worth the label is truly beautiful. It pays homage to the past while eliminating its mess of typefaces.

Our Price: $15 per bottle by the dozen

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Seppelt 2008 St Peters Shiraz

Seppelt's flagship red - the pick of the crop from Victoria's Grampians

Our Price: $49 per bottle by the dozen
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Seppelt 2009 Chalambar Shiraz

An old name that has nudged up in price to maintain its quality - but at least it hasn't been lost like so many others.

Our Price: $19 per bottle by the dozen

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Leo Buring 2008 Leopold Riesling

Our Price: $32 per bottle by the dozen

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Leo Buring 2010 Leonay Riesling

Our Price: $28 per bottle by the dozen

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Rosemount 2008 Balmoral Syrah

Rosemount's flagship red - and it's from McLaren Vale!
Our Price: $49 per bottle by the dozen

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Leo Buring 2011 Clare Valley Dry Riesling

One of the great names in Australian riesling has made a triumphant return to Outstanding Wines. Intensely dry with lashings of citrus fruit, this is classic Clare at a bargain basement price.


Our Price: $14 per bottle by the dozen

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Seppelt Salinger 2008 Vintage Cuvee

Website Super Special
Trophy Winner 2011 Adelaide Wine Show - the Hurtle and Norman Walker Trophy for best sparkling wine in show.

Our Price: $22 per bottle by the dozen

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WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE TV FOOD PROGRAMME PRESENTERS?

I vote for Rick Stein and Janella Purcell.
And do you dislike TV cooking competitions as much as I do?

Rosemount 2010 District Release McLaren Vale Shiraz

2011 NATIONAL WINE SHOW TROPHY WINNER - BEST SHIRAZ PREMIUM CLASSES


The day after I opened a bottle of this I could still taste it. This is classic undervalued McLaren Vale. It's a rich intense mouthfiller that as the tasting notes say offers "lashings" of everything. Enjoy over the next 5 years

Media Release 25 November 2011

Trophy win for Rosemount at National Wine Show of Australia

The Rosemount winemaking team is celebrating after winning a Trophy at the National Wine Show of Australia in Canberra last night. The Wolf Blass Trophy for Best Shiraz Premium Classes was awarded to the 2010 Rosemount District Release McLaren Vale Shiraz.

Rosemount Winemaker Randall Cummins says: “I’m delighted with the result. Since first release the response to our regional range of wines has been tremendous and the Trophy win at the National Wine Show of Australia is recognition for the entire Rosemount winemaking team.”

In addition to the Trophy, the 2010 Rosemount District Release McLaren Vale Shiraz has been awarded an impressive 4 Gold and 3 Silver medals on the national wine show circuit in 2011. The Rosemount District Release range of wines highlights the importance of Rosemount's viticulture and the winemaker’s emphasis on the regional expression of fruit selection.

The 2010 District Release McLaren Vale Shiraz is dark red in colour with purple hues. An excellent expression of regional McLaren Vale Shiraz with generous lashings of dark plums, liquorice and dark chocolate, supported by hints of raspberry and spice.

The Rosemount District Release McLaren Vale Shiraz is available at leading retail stores nationally at RRP $19.99.

About the National Wine Show of Australia:

The National Wine Show of Australia is Australia’s premier national show for table wines, sparkling wines, fortified wines and brandy. The Show invites entries from across Australia in premium, commercial and aged classes for table, sparkling and fortified wines, and brandy. The purpose of the Show is to judge and promote the best of the best Australian wines. Wines must qualify through Australian regional and capital city wine shows to enter the premium, premium gold and single vineyard classes.

The premium and single vineyard classes are open to award winning wines only. Entries in the premium gold classes must be gold award winning wines.

Our Price: $16 per bottle by the dozen

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Croser Non Vintage

One of the most famous names in Oz sparkling wines is now a lot more affordable with the release of Croser NV. It first hit the shelves in 2009 and is a Pinot Noir Chardonnay blend from the Adelaide Hills.
Apparently it combines current vintage Croser with parcels of older vintages and we don't think there's anything better at this price point.

Our Price: $20 per bottle by the dozen

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Jim Barry 2011 Watervale Riesling

WEBSITE SUPER SPECIAL
One of the stars of a recent riesling tasting we conducted.
Here are their tasting notes with which I totally concur apart from the ginger reference. I must have missed someting there

"This Jim Barry Riesling is classic Watervale—lemons, limes and a wonderfully clean, crisp finish. Just like a deliciously fresh party in your mouth. Enjoy!

Sight: Hay like appearance with green hues

Smell: Aromas on ginger, spicey preserved lemon and fresh lime juice

Taste: Tight, aromatic and textural with a spine of natural grape acidity and a zesty, clean finish

Time: A wine created to be enjoyed upon release but also having the character to be cellared into the next decade to increase the complexity already apparent."

Our Price: $14 per bottle by the dozen

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Westend Estate 2009 Three Bridges Botrytis Semillon

WEBSITE SUPER SPECIAL
This is top class Riverina botrytis semillon at a very special price.

Here are the tasting notes from one of our favourite makers
"Light golden in colour, Golden Mist exhibits an elegant bouquet of pineapple, marmalade and Botrytis characters. The luscious palate of peach and citrus flavours combines with botrytis sweetness, finishing with a slight touch of refreshing acidity. A young wine which will age gracefully over the next several years further developing the characteristics renowned of this style of wine."

Our Price: $17 per bottle by the dozenSOLD OUT