Being from NZ I obviously don’t know your market… and aussie shiraz has failed to disappear over here. For me though, it kind of has because other than the odd “ready to drink” wine or tasting event I haven’t really bought any since about '98. I felt “reliable” wines such as Henschke and Penfolds changed their styles in ways I didn’t like during the 90s while also escalating sharply in price. Now that I’ve run down most of my stocks and had some lovely drops from the cellar, I wonder whether I should get a few again. What are some suggestions in the $40-$60 bracket with decent balance and moderate (or even just integratable) oak?
You should trawl a few retailer websites in Oz to give you a feel for what’s out there.
One of my favs,
Bests Bin 0 or Bin 1 (won the Jimmy Watson this year)
Dalwhinnie Moonambel Shiraz
Glaetzer Bishop Shiraz
Mount Langi Cliff Edge Shiraz
Mt Pleasant Maurice O’Shea Shiraz
Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz
Tahbilk Shiraz
Teusner Albert Shiraz
Turkey Flat Shiraz
Heaps to choose from. If anyone wants to flick me a retailer website from their country with some Aussie wines on it, I’m happy to give my opinion on which I reckon would be good drinking.
I heard the owner of Chateau Tanunda is moving over to the US for a couple of years to help try and push his brand, so that would be one to look out for.
We had a Torbreck with some age a few weeks ago and it was spectacular.
agree–I’ve always liked that wine. We have also aged them with success.
But I must admit that my cellar shows zero bottles form Australia right now.
But I must admit that my cellar shows zero bottles form Australia right now.
A very sorry state of affairs indeed.
I heard the owner of Chateau Tanunda is moving over to the US for a couple of years to help try and push his brand, so that would be one to look out for.
I’d be a little wary of this winery. Has the potential to produce the unbalanced over-oaked fruit-bombs that got us in all this trouble to begin with. Similar concern with Teusner wines.
Agree that the long-overdue drop in the Aussie dollar should make a difference (but will near-enough kill my Burg-buying).
Seppelt makes good wines, in particular the St Peter shiraz for around $50. Also a cracking Drumborg riesling. A quick search on wine-searcher shows next to no Voyager Estate (Margaret River) available in the US. This is in my top 3 QPR wineries every year. Their shiraz is fabulous for $33 and only their high end Cab Sav is over $50. They don’t even have a US distributor! Someone ITB ask them for a sample of their range and you won’t look back. Clonakilla O’Raida and Lerida Shiraz/Viognier from Canberra are under $40. So too the range of Samuel’s Gorge wines (McLaren Vale). Agree with the Turkey Flat call, and Sons of Eden are also making big but beautifully balanced wines in the Barossa (love Ruggabellus as well). Not quite sure where to look in Heathcote at the moment. All of thes should be 20% cheaper in the States.
Am enjoying the Aussie flavour, hence the undue length of my posts.
That is one of the the main problems. The high AUD makes any sort of comeback very difficult…A lot of great wine in Australia but in comparison to what else is out there, they just don’t present fabulous value…so along with getting lumped into the whole fruit bomb category, people aren’t giving them a chance when they’re priced at what they’re priced at right now.
I’m not sure I’d lump CA in there…I actually think in that mid range CA has equally as bad value…but that is a different subject…As Jaime said, once the AUD drops a bit you’ll start seeing people take a few more risks and hopefully that starts changing the perception of what is available out of Australia. Right now I’m seeing more Hunter Valley stuff make it to the US…but the pricing isn’t great…They’re expensive enough for people to look at safer options they know they’ll like…
But as far as what I see as good value and really under-appreciated is Aussie Riesling…It is relatively cheap (some of it is anyways), very ageable…and I think it’ll surprise a lot of people that haven’t tried it. You’re seeing more of it make its way overseas…a lot of sommeliers have picked up on it…so we’ll se. Aussie Semillon would be a great pick except for it is so hard to find…I’m not sure I’d bother…I think Total Wine is stock Tyrrells Vat 1 (which I think is the best example out there) but it is still way too young for people to appreciate Semillon and there aren’t enough other examples of ones with some age where people will pick up on it.
I think stuff from Victoria will become more popular if people get a chance to try stuff from there…and I see a lot of wine geeks liking stuff from the Hunter Valley…although I don’t think it has overall appeal to the masses…
Please no. I don’t think I could take that much hype 
But a Jose Pastor of Australia would be great!
The wines I know I really like (e.g., Henschke, Mt. Mary, Wendouree) are both hard to find and expensive when you see them.
Being ITB I think there is still some perception problems with Aussie wines, and now I think a lot of people have left the premium wines behind while “graduating” to wines from other areas of the world. I think here’s still too many decent wines hiding under funny labels that stress the gimmick over the appellation and winery/winemaker.
Garagiste themselves did a booming Aussie business before the collapse. Starting w/ late '90’s vintages up through the 05’s, they were the go-to for wines like Amon-ra, Clonakilla, Lost Highway project, Massena, Mitolo and others. If the market came back, I’m sure they’d be ready…
expect that yummy Aussie Mystery Case offer any day… ![[stirthepothal.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/f40faec63ca1018898a40805efbf9f0066a3d205.gif "[stirthepothal.gif]"){kind=small}
Jon is probably lurking on this thread, drooling on his keyboard…
Seriously though, if he were to bring those wines in at reasonable prices, I’d start buying from him again. He really ferrets out some interesting stuff, you just have to wear your hyperbolic filters when you read his offers.
So I was reading through the latest KL Wines “New Arrivals” email, and the only entry for Australia was… wait for it… a “pink Moscato”.
Wow, thats a bit sad…
Brought a few boxes of mixed wines to drink while we are spending
the month of July at our cottage on the Eastern shore of Lake Winnipeg.
Pulled a couple of bottles to accompany our chicken kabobs which I
cooked on an open grill. Selected a 2009 Domaine Barat Chablis
Cote de Lechet, along with a 1999 Lloyd Reserve Shiraz from Coriole’s
vineyard in McLaren Vale. It was stunningly good - high fill, deep black
colour with a narrow rim; rich spices and black fruit on the nose; rich and
full on the palate with wonderful texture blending the acids and remaining
tannins with the enormous blackberry fruit; long on the finish where the fruit
carries the day - sweet edged. Noted the alcohol on the label at 14,5%, but
absolutely no heat. I don’t know if this vintage was a good one, but this wine
is a winner .
Still one or two remaining in my small cooler at the cottage, so this will be a
choice again.
Hank ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
In fact, that’s a real conundrum for Australia and many other places. I just read something somewhere about labels and how the “newer” generation of wine drinkers is attracted to wines for the fun, irreverent labels. So you don’t put “Chateau” anything on it because the hip people are so hip they know that a wine from a chateau can’t be any good. Instead you slap on labels that range from simply lame to outright stupid - e.g., Skinny Girl, the Bitch, etc.
And the Australian “critter” labels fall into that category. But eventually you’re in a position where you have to show that you’re grown-up and you don’t bring a bottle of the Bitch to a meeting where you’re trying to get someone to invest in your company, donate money to your charity, or give you some business, whatever it may be. So having conditioned new drinkers to think “Australian wine = fun”, Australia takes a hit when those same people want a “serious” wine and eschew the Australian wines for something else.
Of course, Bordeaux has the opposite problem - every year or so they come up with a campaign to convince people that there’s some cool factor to Bordeaux wine and of course, there isn’t. Outside of the classified growths, there are producers who wish they could sell lower-priced stuff like the Australians used to. The only problem is that the Australian wines really are kind of tasty and fun.
In any event, I think the Australians need to do 2 things. First, they need to make people aware of the fact that there is wine beyond Barossa and more importantly, beyond Shiraz. I like Barossa Shiraz, but that’s not all there is.
Second, they need to demonstrate that for more money, you’re not just getting more of the same. In other words, if you get gobs of fruit and 15.1% alcohol at $20, paying $90 should get you more than just even bigger gobs of fruit and 16.8% alcohol. With something from Piedmont, which I’m drinking right now, or something from Rioja or the N. Rhone or hell, even Beaujolais, you pay more and for the most part, you’re getting a wine that will develop additional complexity with time and that you will enjoy even more in 10 or 20 years than you do today.
With all due respect, I’m not sure why you recommended such obscure wineries to people overseas - I doubt most Australians have heard or tasted the ones you mentioned (Spinifex maybe the exception). Most of these wineries haven’t even been around for 10 years.
If Australia is to start being marketed successfully and viably overseas, it has to be with wineries with at least some tenure, with wines that have a track record.
The following should be the backbone of Australia’s wine drive:
Cullen, Mount Mary, Yarra Yering, Giaconda, Yeringberg, Rockford, Clonakilla, Tyrrells, Mount Pleasant, Brokenwood, Seppelt, Howard Park, Moss Wood, Voyager Estate, Woodlands, Henschke, Bindi, Grosset, Leeuwin Estate, Petaluma, Craiglee, Castagna.
Skip Penfolds and Bass Phillip, both poor value in an international context. Torbreck is still very much in the fruit bomb Parker style (and poor value as well).
Well, lots of people on this board appreciate recommendations for geeky obscure wines. Wine-searcher showed me tim smith and spinifex both being available in the US at reasonable pricing so I’ll definitely give at least one of them a try.
+1 Found multiple stores in NYC carrying Tim Smith and I plan on trying one based on Jeremy’s recommendation. Sounds like a shift away from what is available to the masses in the US at the ~$30 price point (in my limited experience) and I appreciate that he presented some producers I’m not familiar with. Most that I’m familiar with, I tend to avoid due to poor experiences in the past. Not all, but many. Will be nice to try something new.
I’m not sure where you’re from Jon, but many of us are interested. And recall, many CA wines were around for 5 minutes before getting massive domestic, and by extension, international exposure in the wine community…
I think you’re both right. It is great to learn some obscure small producers who are worth seeking out.
But I think Jon was also right that Ruggabellus, Rojomoma and Sami-Odi aren’t going to steer the aircraft carrier of public opinion on Aussie wines back into a positive direction either, it will take the wineries with bigger presence, name recognition and history to do that, with quality, style and pricing that gets people to take a new look.
Any idea where to even find these wines stateside?