Buying wine in Australia - anything worth dragging back here?

WINE TALK
1

I have friend who is now in Australia. She decided she wants to bring back some wine and sent me an email. I told her that saving a few bucks on stuff she could get here is not worth the trouble. She is in Sidney and says there is a very good shop across the street from her hotel. Can you think of anything that is hard to find here and worth bringing back? “I don’t like blueberry pancake syrup” is not a helpful suggestion and “DRC” is out of her price range.

2

Easy. Wendouree.

3

+1.

Also, Rockford Basket Press Shiraz (I’m confident Keith won’t agree with me on that)

4

Wines you may not see in the States;

Kooyong
Oakridge
Arrivo (fabulous Adelaide Hills Nebbiolo)
Grosset (great Rieslings)
Balnaves (very good Coonawarra Cabernet)
Yarra Yering
Bespoke Bros
Vigna Cantina (great old vine Trebbiano)
Brokenwood
Holyman
Wedouree
Ashton Hills
David Franz

5

Wendouree makes awful formulaic high alcohol, over oaked, over extracted fruit bombs that fall over in the cellar after 18 months. Please never ever buy or taste these wines or mention them on a wine board either.

Thanks for your cooperation and support!

Brodie

6

Large format Grange.

7

Some Mad Dog for sure… [thumbs-up.gif]

8

Schild Estate. I hear they make a killer shiraz for the local market.

9

I woud third or fourth Wendouree. That said they are appreciated in their local market and pretty hard to find retail at reasonable prices. You can get hem regularly on the langtons auctions. http://www.langtons.au as I remember.

also If she lives in Sydney, she is very near Hunter Valley, and if you want something interesting, many stores there will have older late release vintages of Tyrells Vat 1 Semillon or Mt Pleasant Elizabeth or Lovedale Semillons. I really enjoy them are are great food wines with real ageability. Also will not break the bank. they are singular wines, and not for everyone, but I for one really like them and wish I had more in my cellar. I’ve also liked Keith Tulloch’s white (cant remember if it was all semillon) less intellectual but also very approachable/enjoyable at a very low price. Not a barn burner but quite good. that said with the US dollar in the toilet, it may not be that affordable to bring wine.

Hope that helps
Just thought about Brokenwood ILR semillon and also their Graveyard Shiraz

10

Semillon, Semillon, Semillon.

11

Hunter Valley Semillon is a definite(Mt Pleasant Lovedale). Lakes Folly Cabernet is a small production and something you don’t see in the US much. Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz one for aging and not a Barossa bomb. Tasmanian Pinots and bubbles.
regards,
Brian

12

Giaconda
Tyrrell’s Vat 1

Agreed.

13

Not to rain on the parade, but most of our Penfold’s Grange goes to Australia, because it is cheaper here than there. Apparently, alcohol is taxed so heavily, we get Australian wine cheaper than the locals do.

Therefore, buy only what’s not available in the US.

14

Jeremy’s list is a good one to work from, but a number of those wines actually do have importers in the US (but just try finding the wines!) I usually get to Oz once a year and if I bring anything back, it tends to be Rockford Black Shiraz, anything from Ashton Hills, the occasional Wendouree* if I can source it at a price that I can rationalize as being in the neighborhood of “reasonable”, and, as others have recommended, great aged Hunter Semillon from Tyrell and McWilliams. I’ve also been known to haul back some weird stuff like Rockford’s rosé (Alicante, IIRC) and sparkling Shiraz that never seems to make it over here.

DF

*I also try to find anything I can from Galah, as it’s made by Stephen George (of Ashton Hills and “consultant” at Wendouree) from the Wendouree vineyard sources but vinified separately. The Galah sparkling Shiraz is off the charts, if you go in for that sort of thing.

15

'98 Wendouree completely reshaped my thinking of Aussie Shiraz… just needs to be planted in the right places and treated by the right hands.

Also, look for back vintage Vat 1 and Vat 47 Tyrrell’s Semillon

16

Mount Pleasant Wines Shiraz Maurice O’Shea

and

Tamburlaine Merlot Members Reserve

17

+1 for the Tyrells Vat 1 Semillon and Mt Pleasant Elizabeth. Friends brought these back from Australia and we loved them both. I could not find them here in the states.

18

Jay - a different approach, and the one I’d take is not to get anything that’s like another Shiraz or Cab. I have some Kooyong, Grosset, Balnaves Cab w some age and Yarra Yering. If you want, one day I’ll drink some w you. But they’re doing more. The Australians are planting grapes from Portugal and Spain and from elsewhere - grapes that are typically grown in hot, dry environments and that just didn’t get the world’s attention because they weren’t French at the right time. I’d go with some of those.

There’s Tempranillo, Touriga Nacional, Petit Sirah, etc.