Ok, it is definitely time we had a wine thread as there seems to be a large number of 'buffs' amongst us. We' have cooking and photography already so why not wine.

Whilst shopping for bevearges for the GTG I took pot luck and bought a drop called "The Dark Side of the Moon" on spec. Well, why wouldn't you? It turned out to be a ripper of a Shiraz from Claymore Wines in the Clare Valley in SA (gotta hand it to the Croweaters, eh Grumpy). The vintage was '03 and the price $29.95 a bottle. OK, so it is expensive, but I would suspect acceptable in price for special occasions.

My wine guide reckons that the 04 and 05 vintages were better years so if the 03 is unavailable it shouldn't be an issue.

Rating...............a definite 4 stars out of 5.

Great idea for a thread….

This is my current wine of choice, and I have just bought a case of 2004 for Christmas.

Color: Rich crimson/purple. Nose: Black current, black berry fruits, savory aromas and complex spicy vanilla oak. Palate: Medium to full bodied with fine grained tannins. Good intensity of flavor and length. Dark liquor cheery, blackcurrent and a hint of chocolate. Oak:18 months on Frenck oak.[/b]

Yep! great Idea for a topic A.

At the moment my red of choice is Wirra Wirra CURCH BLOCK 04 from Mclaren Vale.Cab sav,shiraz, merlot blend.Its an easy drinking red blend that wont break the bank,I think it can be had for about $15-$18.

I am also really partial to Pinot as well,Scotchmans Hill or Stonier make some really good quality drops without getting to exxy.

Last night I had a lovely Cape Mentelle Marmaduke 2000(blend),found it lost in one of our cupboards.Very nice!One of the perks of owning a restaurant is the amount of samples we get given,I seem to have stockpiled a few to many,hic! Though I've opened a couple lately that have turned to vinegar

I am not one to go over the top with exxy wines but do enjoy a well made wine.

What worries my is the amount of boutique wineries that charge redicoulous prices for wins today,especially while theres such a glut.

Ok, it is definitely time we had a wine thread as there seems to be a large number of 'buffs' amongst us. We' have cooking and photography already so why not wine.

Whilst shopping for bevearges for the GTG I took pot luck and bought a drop called "The Dark Side of the Moon" on spec. Well, why wouldn't you? It turned out to be a ripper of a Shiraz from Claymore Wines in the Clare Valley in SA (gotta hand it to the Croweaters, eh Grumpy). The vintage was '03 and the price $29.95 a bottle. OK, so it is expensive, but I would suspect acceptable in price for special occasions.

My wine guide reckons that the 04 and 05 vintages were better years so if the 03 is unavailable it shouldn't be an issue.

Rating...............a definite 4 stars out of 5.

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Another Clare Valley Cab Sav I enjoy is the Leasingham Classic Clare 96. That I only have 1 bott left suggests someone enjoyed the rest too much At least 4.1 stars :biggrin:

http://www.leasingham-wines.com.au/classic.html

Was $25 through an auction but retails about double that

I'm quite partial to the Church Block myself Mr Mint, a nice drop.

You've probably gathered that I'm a bit of an everyday drinker, enjoying a glass with dinner each evening, so I tend to search around for economical drops and save the exxy stuff for special occasions. In fact my price limit for daily drinkers is $10 per bottle.

A recent find is Zilzie's Buloke Reserve Cab. Merlot 2003. An incredibly good wine for the bargain price of $9.99 a bottle if you hunt around a bit.

Well I just bought a case a D'Arenberg 1999 Ironestone Pressings -Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre...and a very well balanced red it is.

I also bought a case of the 2004 D'Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz.

This is one of the Biggest reds you can get,I'm also surprised the D'Arenberg have gone "Screwtop" for their showpiece red,It's a cracker....though about 10-12 years lying down would really give some Grand Kru a kick in the butt,it would let all the tannins settle,and given a gentle decant would rival or better a Grange

I drink with various restaurant somiliers,have done for years....the cheapest way to drink topshelf. :biggrin:

By the way,I can get almost any AUS or French wine at cost price [to the wine store that is,and landing tax has to be added,BUT NO MARKUP which is usally 40%] so if anybody wants anything special just PM me,I don't know how much it would cost you in shipping once I got it for you?

I'll only do this for the top of the range wines [ones you see at $70 to $200 a bottle retail,not really worthwhile otherwise]

But for an example ,I got the above 2 cases for $510,considering 1 bottle of dead arm would cost you around $75-80 normally retail, amd the Ironstone pressings is /if you can get it $50-60 a bottle]work it out.

By the way most of this topshelf stuff is only sold 6 bottles to the case.

Ahh, so many wines, so little time.

A current fav is an Ingoldby Cab-Sav '04 from McLaren Vale.

The local bottleshop had them at 2 for $20. :biggrin:

Tweaky, very interesting

I googled the items you mention.

How are these for pricing? http://www.cellarit.com/winelist/d'Are...=d'Arenberg

So I'm guessing 'Stones Green Ginger Wine ' doesn't get the nod?

dont know as much about wine as some of you other guys. genrally jsut buy on recommendations and so far liked what I've had.

one of my favs is the pepperjack cab sab

another one was a hardies cab sab with no artificial anythign in it - liked the taste of that.

our grape wine I planted along the fence a couple of years ago looks like its really taken off ! hehe might have about 100kg of grapes that I'll be wonderign what to do with. Its a shiraz grape so will be surfing the net looking for a wine making tips ! hehe

my grandad used ot make a nice port wine that the whole family used to get involved with making and enjoyed for a while after.

So I'm guessing 'Stones Green Ginger Wine ' doesn't get the nod?

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I 've seen stones ginger wine being made ! hehe

Thought I'd chime in with a few favorites of mine.

Almost anything from Petaluma but especially the Reisling and the Chard. Suckfizzles Stella Bella. Bullers Muscat. Hoplers Noble reserve (the 1981 if you can find it is mindblowingly good). Penfolds 707 and 407 and 389.

I like Marlborough Sav Blancs and Martinborough Pinot Noirs - I find one can't go wrong there, even if they are around the ~$20 mark average (more in the restaurant of course, but usually ~ $40)

At home, I buy casks 7 at a time as Mrs Norpus has trouble holding bottles steady after the first two

Don't know if any vines were destroyed today in the Clare Valley but my mother and other relatives live there and were evacuated because of fire. It wasn't real big but it did cause some concerns and damage.

Almost anything from Petaluma but especially the Reisling and the Chard. Suckfizzles Stella Bella. Bullers Muscat. Hoplers Noble reserve (the 1981 if you can find it is mindblowingly good). Penfolds 707 and 407 and 389.[/b]

Those are my favourites too Bin 407 = junior 707. Bin 389 = junior Grange. Not too surprising that the 389 is so good as it's fermented in french oak barrels that contained the previous vintage of Grange. I bought a cheap lot of 1984 Bin 389's for $25 a bottle. Every bottle was corked, but the auction had a no return policy. Still, after a good airing most of the damp carboard smell went away and the wine was still enjoyable.

I also enjoy experimenting with different grape varieties and i'm amazed at how different the same grape can taste from different countries. West Australian Zinfandels have an intense berry flavour with very strong chocolate and exceedingly stiff tannins. I left a bottle of Cape Mentelle Zin at Norpus' so maybe he can chime in with his impression California is also known for its Zinfandels, but these are softer and easier to drink. In fact they are as soft as a Merlot. The first time I tasted one, I had served it with a substantial beef meal thinking that it would hold up. I was wrong - it was so anaemic that I wondered if it really was a Zin. My guests thought I was making a fuss when I insisted on sealing it and opening a bottle of Aussie Cab Sav instead.

My other "discovery" is white Viogner. French Viogners are dry and flinty in the classic style. Australian Viogners are completely different - so full of fruit (fresh melon especially) that a single swig leaves your mouth smelling of flowers. The one to drink is Stonehaven. Very reasonably priced at $16 a bottle, and leaves the more expensive ($40) Yalumba in the dust. This makes an ideal alternative for a Sauvignon Blanc for serving with a vegetarian appetizer, especially one which is innovative and herby.

Other grape varieties I have enjoyed trying - straight Mouvedre, straight grenache, and white Zinfandels. Chenin is another West Australian classic which I do not enjoy. Too sweet and not enough character. It's OK when served at a hot summer picnic but I would rather drink a cold rose.

Sorry for rambling ... I love wine

Amf,I'm also a big fan of Viognier.My abosolout fav is fom the Mornington Peninsula.This is my benchmark Viogvier.Sorry but the name escapes me right ot the mo,I'll get back to you with it? :blush:

Amf,I'm also a big fan of Viognier.My abosolout fav is fom the Mornington Peninsula.This is my benchmark Viogvier.Sorry but the name escapes me right ot the mo,I'll get back to you with it? :blush:

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T'Gallant?

T'Gallant?

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It was on the tip of my tongue,Its actually Elgee Park (Family Reserve Viognier).

T'Gallant makes some great Pinot Gris'(Tribute) and Pinot Grigio though.

I hope everybody that has read this thred has seen the movie "Sideways"

A sudo buddy/on the road movie for wine buffs........Not the merlot,[if you have seen it you would get the joke]

We had some bad luck on xmas day

3 nice bottles in a row! were corked

Tintara 96

Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir (with a stelvin cap!!) - the other one I drank a week before was great

96 Barossa

All three were purchased/stored in different places so no pattern discernable. We formed a hypothesis that the very dry weather we are having here is drying out the corks?? Which provoked more fear for our other botts in storage

It really put a dampener on the chrissy dinner until the effects of some cheaper red substitutes started to kick in all was well (or unwell) in the end :biggrin:

We had some bad luck on xmas day

3 nice bottles in a row! were corked

Tintara 96

Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir (with a stelvin cap!!) - the other one I drank a week before was great

96 Barossa

All three were purchased/stored in different places so no pattern discernable. We formed a hypothesis that the very dry weather we are having here is drying out the corks?? Which provoked more fear for our other botts in storage

It really put a dampener on the chrissy dinner until the effects of some cheaper red substitutes started to kick in all was well (or unwell) in the end :biggrin:

[/b]

hehe serves you right for cellaring. nothing lasts long enough at our place to go in any cellar, not that we have one.

maybe you need one of those special climate control fridges noprus ?