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:  

SOLD OUT

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  

SOLD OUT

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

SOLD OUT

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

SOLD OUT

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 

SOLD OUT 

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

SOLD OUT

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
SOLD OUT

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
SOLD OUT

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

SOLD OUT

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
SOLD OUT