Tuesday, October 30, 2012

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

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

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

SOLD OUT

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

SOLD OUT

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

SOLD OUT

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

SOLD OUT

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

SOLD OUT

Thursday, October 11, 2012

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

SOLD OUT

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

SOLD OUT

Thursday, October 4, 2012

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 
SOLD OUT

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

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

SOLD OUT

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

SOLD OUT