Shottesbrooke 2010 Estate Range McLaren Vale Merlot

Nick Holmes kicked off McLaren Vale's Shottesbrooke way back in 1984. He was one of the nice guys of the Australian wine industry who I really enjoyed catching up with during the Trade Show season each year.
They seem like distant memories now with Trade Shows not what they used to be and Nick more in the background nowadays. I've sold plenty of their wines in past years but the contact lapsed.

But now they're back under the care of Wayne the Bird who is very much of the old school and understands I do need to taste wines before I recommend them [you'd be surprised how many reps just don't get that] So eleven days ago Wayne brought in 7 open bottles for me to try. The two cheapies were perfectly pleasant but there are plenty of those around. It was the five Estate wines that wowed me and while we don't particularly need another Sauvignon Blanc or Shiraz at the moment, they were too good ignore.

My favourite, just nudging the cabernet, is this. Produced from 30yo vines they were planted to provide a blending option with Cabernet but Nick realised that this Merlot excelled as a stand alone variety. A happy accident perhaps but this is the best Merlot I've tasted in years. A medium weight, complex, intriguing red in perfect balance. This will be one of our stars over the next few months,
 Our Price: $17 per bottle by the dozen

SOLD OUT

McWilliams "1877" 2008 Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon

BETTER THAN GRANGE?

Every winery in Australia has its "flagship" red and many of these represent the finest wine buys out there. These are the wines made from the very best fruit and hand crafted by winemakers striving for perfection. In 99% of instances these wines are offered between $30 and $100. Good luck to Penfolds if they can command a wholesale price over $600 but I'm just not interested in that game.

A month ago I detoured through the Hunter on my way back to Sydney. I stopped and speed tasted at two wineries: Hope Estate and McWilliams. The Hope range has really improved in the last few years but I found this standout at McWilliams.

This is one of the finest reds I've tasted in my 30+ years of sipping, spitting or swallowing. It's the ultimate special occasion red at a price that doesn't make you compelled to leave it in the cellar for the REALLY special occasion that never happens.

McWilliams have pooled their resources to combine fruit from Coonawarra, McLaren Vale and the NSW Hilltops and then whacked it in French oak for 20 months. While there's a lot to be said about single vineyard purity I'll happily support this blending of 2 grapes from 3 regions if it creates a wine like this.

Congratulations to the winemakers responsible. While great fruit is the responsibility of the viticulturalist, some very talented winemaking put this together.

Our Price: $55 per bottle by the dozen

SOLD OUT

Stolen Block Clare Valley Reds

This is a Private Label Brand from Australia's largest liquor wholesaler and as always we have to buy a case, try a bottle at our expense and then make a decision. It was pretty easy. These are well made, well presented wines that over deliver at the price point.

The two reds are medium bodied, 14.5% a/v, jampacked with fruit but DESPERATELY need time in the cellar. We road tested them over 4 days and they were drinking superbly by the final glass.

Both the cabernet sauvignon and shiraz are from the 2011 vintage

Our Price: $8 per bottle by the dozen

SOLD OUT

Every home should have one

It's not quite up there with the USB wine stick
http://outstandingwines.blogspot.com.au/2008/11/usb-wine-device.html
which still makes me laugh after all these years, but it still brings a chuckle.
Thanks Tony Freeman.

Haselgrove 2010 "Bella Vigna" McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon

They've sold out but we've still got a few of this beauty.

Here's how Haselgroves described one of their gems
"Fresh blackberry and red currant with hints of mint and menthol. Savoury finish with a hint of slightly charred oak balance the velvety tannins and tight acidity with the primary fruit flavours. Enjoy now or cellar for up to ten years to enhance complexity."

This could be regarded as a collectors item. New management has flicked the Italian themes developed by their predecessor as a tribute to the Italian owners of Haselgroves and gone to Celtic symbolism. I wonder what will happen next?


RRP:$25.50

Our Price: $18 per bottle by the dozen

SOLD OUT

Gum Creek Estate 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon

Here's a cheap and cheerful offering from the
Riverina at close to half price. It's a very quaffable medium bodied red that's way better than $7.
We only started with 20 dozen so not a lot left.

Our Price: $ 7 per bottle by the dozen

SOLD OUT

Cruickshank Wines 2009 Two Cabernets

This has been quite a success for the family for a number of vintages now with a Hunter Valley Wine show trophy back in the early 2000's. It's a seamless blend with the Cabernet Franc really supporting the Cabernet Sauvignon - and I'd argue way better than shiraz does when it's blended with cab sauv. Alcohol is a sensible 13% with the fruit from their vineyard at Denman in the upper Hunter Valley.

At 4 years old it's drinking superbly now with the promise of a few more years to come but at this price I suspect it will be quaffed much faster than that.
RRP:$17.50

Our Price: $13 per bottle by the dozen

SOLD OUT

Tierra del Fuego Gran Reserva Estate Bottled 2006 Merlot

This is a stunning red. Gloriously developed, incredibly complex, medium bodied with that earthy funky character that polarises people. Don't go near it if you only like squeaky clean fruit bombs from the Barossa. But if you're an experimenter, always up for something different with quality, you'll love this Chilean classic

And the problem? The cork. It's the luck of the draw but some are quite crumbly. If you have an Ah So cork removal device which I last triumphantly used at Peter Sexton's 60th Birthday Bash you'll be fine, otherwise you may have to do a bit of straining. The upside is that the wine is offered at half its well deserved original price.

RRP:$30

Our Price: $15 per bottle by the dozen

SOLD OUT 

Deen De Bortoli Vat 4 2010 Petit Verdot

It's opulent without being over-extractive, beautifully balanced with lovely intense spicy fruit sufficiently supported by acid, wood and tannins to stop it being a simple fruit bomb.

Once again this variety, one fifth of the Bordeaux blend, proves its adaptability to the warm climes of Australia. I'm surprised there's not more of it grown here.
 Our Price: $11 per bottle by the dozen
SOLD OUT

Deen De Bortoli Vat 1 2013 Durif

It may not be up to the Three Bridges standard [and if it was it would be a bit silly offering both] but there is none better at this price point.
It's a delicious medium bodied red that's the perfect introduction to one of our favourite red varieties.

Our Price: $11 per bottle by the dozen

SOLD OUT