29 February: It's time to have another go at Graysonline hopeless "Customer Service" system.  A couple of weeks ago I won a couple of lots in different daily auctions, but my credit card payment was declined as the expiry date had changed.  I got a couple of poorly constructed emails and followed the first and most obvious instruction and updated the expiry date.  Their systems can't seem to cope with that and they tried to debit again with the original expiry date and I received and replied to a few emails (marked Urgent!) with another person about one of the lots and heard nothing about the second.  The first lot was eventually charged and I later enquired re the second lot.  I have received no reply, even though it was a reply to a real person and not the generic system address.  If they want something from you it's all "urgent" and "take action by cob today", when you ask them something it's a lottery as to whether you get a reply, even in this case where they want money from me.  I was also cleaning out some purchasing records and noted that I bought some Henry Martin Sparkling Shiraz NV on Grays last August and the ORP was (fairly accurately as far as I could tell) listed as $240.  More recent and current sales listings have the ORP inflated to $420, a typo or in hope of attracting higher prices?

East End Cellars have listed the 2006 John Duval pair, the Entity Shiraz @ $44 and the Plexus SGM @ $35.  I suspect there may be slightly cheaper prices elsewhere as it trickles out, but if you want some of the Shiraz don't wait too long, it sells out quickly.

1stChoice in Victoria have Zema Estate Cabernet (2004?) @ $17.79/$16.90, if you don't have enough already it's worth stocking up there or at Dan's and get the same price on a 6-pack. (Thanks Stuart H).

I had an email from the General Manager of Wine Empire who saw my note on their new site (24 Feb). They had already seen my Do's and Don'ts page for merchants when they were setting up the site and intend to eventually carry 2,000 lines in stock.  All wines they list on their site should be in stock, hence the short delivery times.  They've already fixed the typos and image issues I mentioned and also moved to get listed on wine-searcher, and as a paying "sponsor" as well, which will ensure their listings appear for non-subscriber users and not only the "pro version" users. Maybe having this sort of Sydney-based competitor will cause Kemeny's to finally get their web-site act together, it's been about 3 years since they said they would have on-line ordering within 12 months.

28 February: I've started a new set of entries on the Featured Wine page (see link above) with the first of the Penfolds Bin red prices (389/407/128/28 only), with Vintage Cellars first cab off the rank.  (Thanks Peter S who dropped in and saw their prices).  The sweetener at VC is: Members will get a bonus cellar share (could be worth equivalent to $3-$5pb) for every straight or mixed six pack of the featured wines purchased.  Prices will be:
Bin 28 and 128 (05)        $25.99 or $23.39 by mixed or straight dozen;
Bin 138 (SGM) (06)        $26.99 or $24.29 by mixed or straight dozen;
Bin 407 (05)                   $37.99 or $34.19 by mixed or straight dozen;
Bin 389 (05)                   $46.99 or $42.29 by mixed or straight dozen;

A quick browse on wine-searcher shows Bin 389 2005 listed in USA for as low as $19.51AUD equivalent (9 listings under $28AUD) and in NZ for $28.04 AUD equivalent and we'll be lucky if we see it below $42.  That's almost enough to stop me buying it, even allowing for the punitive WET, Fosters disdain for local buyers is getting beyond a joke.  One report on Auswine forum lists a case buy of Bin 389 2005 for $29.99NZD pb = just over $26AUD.

Discount Wines have had for quite a while a long list of wines sourced from Negotiants/Yalumba on promotion in full 6 or 12 packs at pretty good prices.  For the next "couple of months" some of them from Negotiants are even cheaper, check out the items in red here.

It looks like the Voyager Estate Cabernet Merlot 2004 to be released next month will have a substantial price hike too, the new RRP (or at least CD price) is $60 (up from $45 for the 2003) according to the latest Voyager newsletter forwarded to my by Stuart H.  Maybe we've had it too good for the past few years, but price rises like this make me look for alternatives.  Coupled with a small 2007 vintage, Australian producers who can't contain price rises to a "reasonable" level will find their previous buyers looking elsewhere and that includes looking more closely at the increasingly available imported wines being promoted by the independent merchants, some offering pretty good value for money even in the under $50 price point.

A quick glance at the chain adverts and I couldn't be bothered checking out any of them.  Penfolds tastings locally seem to be Saturday from 12 noon until 3pm at 1stChoice and 6pm at DM.

The new GWD email just landed, including a Normans Chais Clarendon Shiraz 2006 @ $18.95 and quoting a somewhat historical "Don't Pay" price of $45.95 and a James Halliday quote "The quality of the Chais Clarendon range is exemplary."  referring to "previous vintages" and dating as far as I can see from the winery profile on Winepros circa 2002 and vintage 1998 and several owners of the brand ago, there is no entry for Normans or Chais Clarendon in the 2008 Wine Companion.   The wine may be worth a try, despite the dated material in the advertising. The listed winemaker, Ivan Limb has an interesting and lengthy wine industry background, apart from Orlando (he seems to have left there in 1993) he is Chairman of  Cockatoo Ridge and now his own Limb Estate Wines made at Trevor Jones in the Barossa.  Normans is now apparently owned by Cockatoo Ridge, a type of "virtual wine company" that contracts out almost everything except admin and marketing.  From the 2007 Cockatoo Ridge Annual Report: "The historic Norman’s Wines label was given a new lease of life with the product range offered for sale only through a direct mail and on-line marketing service. In a partnership with Victorian-based Get Wines Direct, the Normans brand has been re-established as a significant brand in their portfolio."

26 February: Kemeny's are "guaranteeing" they will have the best prices on the new Penfolds Bin releases, Wine List Australia has them loaded without prices, ready to go.  The best general prices on Penfolds seem to be in the first week or two, so jump in when you have tasted the wines and see a price you are reasonably happy to pay.  St Henri 2004 won't be out until May, I'm only buying the Bin 389 2005, and maybe St Henri 2004 when I see a price, all the others above 389 price are out of my comfort zone now.  There should be tastings at various places this weekend.

Wine List Australia has Bremerton Selkirk Shiraz 2006 @ $17.99/$215.  I wonder what will be the pricing on the Old Adam 2005 when it is released?

If you want to see how they make a merlot-dominant wine in Bordeaux, Boccaccio claims to have a good one in Chateau Teyssier (St Emilion Grand Cru) 2005, $32.99 in halves, $59.99 in 750ml bottles.

24 February: Another new wine e-tailer hits the 'net. Wine Empire, this one has done a lot of things right.  They have a well-designed web site (a few typos and minor glitches, some images not showing), substantial and eclectic range of wine (I don't think it really is "Australia's largest selection of wine you can buy online", seems to be less than 1,000 wines listed, WLA has 1,732, a few others over 1,000), freight-inclusive prices that are reasonably competitive (but not as good as the best of the e-tailers).  Club members get an extra 5% off listed prices. Many of the wines are available in full 6-pack/dozen case lots, this often indicates the e-tailer orders the wine when you do, but they claim next-day delivery, so maybe they do hold stock or work with a friendly wholesaler.  Sydney-based.  Now they just need to get their wines listed on wine-searcher and it will be easy to see if they are in the hunt or not.

This page should load slightly faster now, I've removed the Google adverts as the balance has ticked over the $100 payment point.  Since April 2007 they have generated a total of USD224.

Talking about smart web site design, the guys at Nillumbik Cellars (Wine List Australia) have got it in spades, they have at least four domain names each presenting essentially the same wines and info via quite different user interface templates. Plus a specialised Penfolds Grange site.  I don't know who the web developer is, but that's pretty smart stuff, even if the aesthetic results aren't always great.  If you are curious, have a look at the links on the top or bottom of this page to see the various formats they use for each domain.  The three entries for every wine on wine-searcher.com is just a nuisance though.

23 February: Kemeny's advert in the Weekend Australia (it's not online yet) has a few that might interest.  Jacobs Ck St Hugo Coonawarra Cabernet 204 @ $29, with a free magnum of the same wine with each dozen bought. Also Serafino McLarenVale Shiraz 2004 @ $19.99, buy 6 get one free and if you buy a dozen wines you can get a case of Robertson's Well Cabernet 2005 for just under $120/case.

Something to look at when tasting the new release Penfolds range, there is a new Koonunga Hill Seventy-Six Shiraz-Cabernet 2006 that aims to re-create the original quality of those early releases.  Not sure of the price, probably $20+, maybe $19.90 or so on opening special, JO was fairly impressed, giving it a point less and a slightly longer drinking window than the Bin 389 2005.  (I'm told this is for on-premise trade only, ie restaurants.  If the JO drinking window of 2018-2026 is correct that seems a strange move.)

21 February: Dan Murphy walks all over 1stChoice again this week.  Taylors Estate range plus a 24-pack of Bitburger beer for $155, Glaetzer Wallace Shiraz-Grenache 2006 @ $16.70/$15.90, Mt Langi Ghiran Cliff Edge Shiraz 2004 $20.90/$19.90, Elderton Cabernet 2004 $19.90/$18.90, Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 $26.90/$25.60 and Zema Estate 2004 Cabernet or Shiraz @ $20.80/$19.80 ($18.80/$17.90 in Vic, thanks Stuart), plus there seemed to be some other fairly good prices in-store when I visited this morning.  Quite a few wines in the premium area were 1-2 vintages behind current though, some stock isn't moving too well.  They also have taken down the big price cards down the centre of each bulk rack in the main area of the store, it looks a lot more open now.

Both Chains have the Thorn Clarke Quartage 2006 at around $18.70/$17.80, if you are a member of The Wine Society you get it fr $16.99 currently. (Thanks Daz for the info).

20 February: My Viking Grand Shiraz 2005 (screwcap) arrived today.  I can report that it weighs in at 14.0%, has no sign of reductive character and approximates TORB's TN for the Diam-sealed version.  It's ripe and sweet-fruited now, but has the balance and backbone to cellar, great buy @ $19.95 from Get Wines Direct (see 14 February for links etc.)

Ross Duke (French Wine Centre) has a new Stock List and mixed-case offer out, PDF files here:  Wines, Order Form.  Note that the Champagne prices are about $4pb more than the pre-arrival offer.

The Boccaccio email this week is full of new release Chardonnay and Pinot, amongst these there is the Mayer Big Betty Yarra Valley Shiraz 2006 that Gary W raved about on Winorama, it's $29.99, but Cloudwine have it at $28.

Nicks have listed the Woodstock The Stocks Shiraz 2005 @ $42.99, that's $3 more than they were selling the 2004 and about $5 more than the best current price for the 2004, so maybe wait for other offers on this one, but probably just a wholesale price rise.  If you've forgiven Peter Douglas for a couple of the Cabernets he made at Gartner Family before they folded, you may want to try the 2004 Coonawarra Cabernet under his own label, $21.99.

The Wine List Australia email this week ended up in my spam folder for some reason, but they have a couple of wines of interest, maybe more if you are after chardonnay and pinot that did well at the Sydney Wine show.  The ones that caught my eye were the Lake Breeze 2005 pair, the Cabernet Sauvignon @ $17.99/$210 and the Bernoota Shiraz-Cabernet @ $16.99 / $200.

More money needed, Voyager Estate Cabernet Merlot 2004 should be available early March, supposedly even better than the 2003.   I still need to increase the ratio of Cabernet/blends in my cellar.

I forgot to mention, after the Champagne, what do you think my White Drinking Friend (WDF) drank on his 60th birthday?  It was a 1981 Grange that had been sitting in his passive (and a bit warm) under-house cellar for over 15 years.  Ullaged to just below the neck, the cork was stained the full length, but came out in one piece, the wine was in very good condition, really only just starting to brick in colour and getting into the nearing maturity flavours.  Not one of the greatest vintages, but a classy wine and only 12.6% a/v.

18 February: It's not long to the new Penfolds Bin releases, the first offers have been documented on the Boccaccio Forum.  Looks like the Bin 389 2005 will be available at least as low as $42 (RRP apparently $58), if you can get it at that price or less you will be buying the (IMO) best of this line since 1998 and possibly since 1996, I've already sent an enquiry to my favourite e-tailer.

Surprise, surprise, the 2005 Chapel Hill Cabernet Sauvignon ($21) quite easily topped the rankings ahead of a dead-heated more expensive pair of 2005 MclarenVale Cabernets (Wirra Wiira The Angelus 2005 and d'Arenberg Coppermine Rd 2005, both about $50) and then the Vasse Felix MR Cabernet 2005 (I liked this more than most of the group), trailing at the rear end was the leaner more savoury 2004 CJ Pask Declaration Cab-Merlot-Malbec (despite the resident New Zealander ranking it first as "the only non-over-ripe wine there", but well ahead of the abysmal and green 2005 Rosemount Show Reserve Mudgee Cabernet Sauvignon.  Another surprise was the amount of sediment in the Chapel Hill Cabernet, I wasn't expecting it and nearly choked on the very crunchy last mouthful of a half-glass I poured from the last in the bottle at the restaurant after the tasting, it seems so be a mixture of crystalline tartrates and tannins, not sure if it's a good sign though.

17 February: As I half-expected, my note on 14 February below regarding non-replacement of a corked wine resulted in an apologetic email from Jules at NSC, indicating an equivalent replacement was being organised and offering a refund of the purchase price as well.  I'm perfectly happy with the replacement offered and declined the generous additional refund offer.  Thanks Jules, I guess things can get missed when you go on leave for a month.

16 February: Cloudwine are offering both the 2001 and 2004 Ladbroke Grove Killian Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra) @ $40 pb.  Winorama TN on the 2004 here.

Whilst looking at Winorama I noticed the positive review of the new vintage of Hewitson Old Garden Mourvedre (2006), it's $50 ex-Hewitson or $39.99 at W*.

15 February: Reflecting on the good wines tasted on our recent trip, I think the best was on the first day, (appropriately) the Bests Thomson Family Shiraz 2005 was the best shiraz I've tasted in a long time, even better than the Dalwhinnie Eagle Shiraz we tried the next day.  It won't be released until late this year, or maybe early next year, I'm saving already.  If you want to try something similar, the 2001 and 2004 vintages are still around at $110-$120 pb, (or on Langton's Auction) with some 2001 being listed at Nicks for $89.99.

15 February: Reflecting on the good wines tasted on our recent trip, I think the best was on the first day, (appropriately) the Bests Thomson Family Shiraz 2005 was the best shiraz I've tasted in a long time, even better than the Dalwhinnie Eagle Shiraz we tried the next day.  It won't be released until late this year, or maybe early next year, I'm saving already.  If you want to try something similar, the 2001 and 2004 vintages are still around at $110-$120 pb, (or on Langton's Auction) with some 2001 being listed at Nicks for $89.99.

14 February: I've not bought much from North Sydney Cellars, my last purchase included a 6-pack of Prunotto Barbaresco 2000, a lovely wine.  Unfortunately the first one I tried was corked and was promptly replaced by NSC.  I included 2 bottles in the wine selection for a wine-group dinner just before Christmas and struck another corked bottle.  I contacted NSC and their initial reaction was positive, offering an equivalent wine or a refund. Unfortunately Jules went on leave for a month before the transaction was finalised and no-one else there seemed to want to run with it.  My last of several emails a week ago remains unanswered, so I assume they want me to just stop bothering them.  One bit of information I did glean from the emails is that Negociants, the importer, is reluctant to replace corked bottles, so they would probably have to wear the cost.  It seems this sort of stuff is too small for the ACCC to bother with, so flouting of various aspects the TPA is fairly common in various sectors of the wine industry.  I guess I'm not much of a loss as a customer to NSC, I'm sure I'll get better service from Boccaccio if any of the 6 Prunotto Barbaresco 2004 I bought there should turn out to be corked.

If you want to see an example of a 16% a/v wine that has balance and a degree of "restraint", the recently released Buller's Calliope Durif 2004 fits the bill (under screwcap).  Also the sweet-fruited voluptuous Calliope Shiraz 2004 has settled nicely in bottle (under cork) in the 9 months since release, if you found the sweet fruit too much on release, it might be worth another try. Apart from a couple of 6-packs of sparkling reds (Tahbilk and Brown Brothers), these were the only wines I bought on the trip, but there are some forthcoming releases (and maybe a couple of current releases) that might make the buy list once the wines tasted on the trip are assessed in the calm of hindsight.

The local hill (Mt Roger) that the Weimaraners usually take me up for their walk seemed a little steeper this morning...

If you like a full-throttle Barossa Shiraz, the Get Wines Direct Viking Grand Shiraz 2005 might be worth a buy @ $19.95, the TORB TN here.  Note that the Parker comment relates to the 2004 vintage, not the 2005 and the price ex-winery is $30.  TORB's note says sealed under Diam, GWD indicates screwcap or cork as alternatives.  There are TN on TORBWine for the other two Viking offerings as well.

Liquor Prince have finally achieved a new web site, with online sales, however the About Us blurb is out of date already, as the owners have placed the business on the market and Barry Joseph has left for other pastures, probably outside of the retail part of the wine industry.

13 February: Wine List Australia has found some more stock of the John Duval Entity Shiraz 2005 and is offering it at $39.99/$474.  The 2006 release may be soon, The Ed in Adelaide is holding a dinner on Monday 25th Feb with John Duval as the feature and tasting the 2006 pair plus a Reserve 2005 'Eligio' Shiraz.

12 February: There is lightning, thunder and some rain in Beechworth this morning, hopefully just enough to freshen up the vines pre-vintage and not too much to cause problems. I hope it washes off the thick layer of dust on the car. Things are starting to blur a little now, Bendigo saw some mixed results, Ch Leamon is bottling next week (instead of the usual October), so didn't have any Reserves available, did a lot of driving (down some wrong roads and back at times) and had a great dinner at Whirrakee restaurant in the centre of Bendigo, byo kindly arranged by Paul Jenkins of Turners Crossing who makes a drinkable Shiraz-Viognier and a very classy The Cut Shiraz in a bottle with the deepest punt I've ever seen. Heathcote started well with a long chat and  tasting of all the current Jasper Hill wines with Ron Laughton and a few barrel samples.  It was a bit patchy from there on, but some quite credible wines (and a lovely gourmet pie) at Flynns, some good reds at Munari and Downing Estate, no Merindoc on tasting at Shelmerdine. Dinner at Emue Inn was very good, even if the first two wines we opened were corked or otherwise undrinkable, the second two made up for it, including a Summerfield Indulgence 2001 kindly given to us by Mark Summerfield, this wine is the best barrel of their shiraz, is reserved for family and friends and is not sold.

Yesterday morning we struck it lucky at Tahbilk, they have a big range of museum stock going back to 1983 available for tasting from Feb 9-17, we tried enough to convince us that the Tahbilk drinking windows they regularly list in newsletters isn't as fanciful as it first seems.  The 2002 Eric Stevens Purbrick (Reserve) Cabernet was the pick of the current top-level wines.  Mitchelton was less successful, with Ric spitting the dummy on the 2003 Print Label because he doesn't like the flavour profile or hint of charry oak. Baileys do indeed seem to be getting back in form, with the 2006 1920's Block the standout, even better than the 2004 1904 Block. At Beechworth last night we dined at The Ox and Hound with Russell Bourne (and wife Megan) of Battely and Keppel Smith of Savaterre, Keppel forced us to drink his half-decent Chardonnay, but I had no qualms about asking for a second glass of the 2005 Pinot, it's pretty good now and needs a few more years yet to show it's best.  The Battely 2005 Syrah is excellent, but the Durif didn't show as well on the night.  Good food, interesting conversation and lovely dinner company, it should make good reading when Ric writes it up.

09 February: Here are just a few highlights of the Victorian trip so far.  Mount Langi Ghiran have a flash new tasting room at the front of the winery and the Langi Shiraz is in top form, 2004 still available. At the small end of the scale, Clayfield are producing some good reds (and were also exceptionally hospitable, we had dinner with Simon and his lovely wife Kay).  The hospitality was also outstanding at Bests, with Viv Thomson and the new winemaker Adam showing us the range including the unreleased Bin No. O 2005 and a sneak preview of the 2005 Thomson Family Shiraz (a stunning "complete" wine already).  The pattern continued at Seppelts, where Emma Wood showed us all the current and next release reds (2006 vintage wines are all looking good) and topped it off with one of their hand-disgorged and liqueured trial batches of the 2004 Show Sparkling Shiraz, not due out until 2010 or later. A pretty special way to start the trip.

On to the Pyrenees and after a quick stop to try the Sallys Hill / Sallys Paddock reds (Sally's Hill Cabernet and the Sally's Paddock 2005 the standouts), we spent about 3 hours at Dalwhinnie, where David Jones made Ric take a bit of unaccustomed exercise tramping his hilly vineyard before showing us his wines, including the new reds due out next month  A great line-up of wines.  Dinner at Warrenmang with Dave Milne (Cellar Master, Sales and Export) was a very pleasant experience, with excellent food and good wine (after one corked one from the older wines we brought), the 2004 Black Puma Shiraz is a very good wine too.

We stayed at Summerfield in Moonambel overnight and are off to Bendigo this morning.

Ric is till having major problems with his hosting service, he can't load any updates at present.

06 February: Updates will be sparse over the next week, I'm off with TORB doing a trip around parts of the wine areas of Victoria, starting at the Grampians and working our way back via Pyrenees, Bendigo, Heathcote, Nagambie, Beechworth and Rutherglen.  I'll try and post any standout wines we encounter, depends on what internet connectivity I have.  No wineries today. just travel to Ararat.

The new Matt's Specials for February are up, see left panel.  Offers include Pirathon by Kalleske Shiraz 2006 for $20 (but Boccaccio are offering this for $18.99, see current newsletter in the left panel too).  I don't have time to go through it right now, but the Gemtree Tatty Rd blend 2005 and Uncut Shiraz 2006 could be worth a look.  As ever, email Matt and mention this site so Care Australia benefits from each purchase.

05 February: W* weekly offers are up, Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 @ $27.99 (but Wine List Australia has it for $26.99) and Houghton Jack Mann Cab blend 2001 @ $75 (Boccaccio had it a while back at $69.99 but appears to have sold out).

04 February: The cleanskin WA Shiraz at Get Wines Direct is the Capel Vale Debut Shiraz 2005, RRP about $18, available labelled at Discount Wines for $12.95+freight, so forget the $21.95 claimed "Don't Pay" price.  The results listed seem to be from the 2007 Adelaide Show, not the 2006, see Class 19 here (pdf).  They also abbreviated Lincoln's note from Winorama, leaving off "Quite a reserved nose," at the front and "Full bodied and very young with firmish tannins that need a year or two. Not one if you are averse to Viognier characteristics." at the end  I thought they may have learned their lesson on selective quoting of TN after Ric made them remove a partial TN attributed to him a while back.  It also only scored a Bronze at the 2007 NWS, but a 2005 Capel Vale Shiraz (not listed as the Debut) did win the top gold in class 44 at the 2006 NWS.  There is a Capel Vale "Regional" Shiraz with an RRP of about $21.95. 

02 February: I have been thinking of compiling a list of wines that have jumped significantly in price, either for a current vintage or on release of a new vintage, but quickly realised there wasn't much point in doing that.  There isn't anything we can really do about the price increases, other than move on to another wine if one of our regular buys increases in price past our personal QPR cut off.  Anyway, one you may want to jump on at under $60, or maybe under $55 for "old" stock, is the St Hallett Old Block 2004 Shiraz, the retailer LUC plus GST is now over $58, so the $59.99 prices currently offered won't last long.  A friend saw it at Woden 1stChoice (ACT) for just under $52 case price.  I was updating the Glaetzer entries on the featured wine page and noticed that in April 2007 there were a few places offering the Petaluma Coonawarra 2004 @ $39.99, now the cheapest price is $44.99, saw one e-tailer claiming the RRP is now $71.

01 February: Auswine is offering the new Pirathon by Kalleske Shiraz 2006 @24.99.  The wine should be pretty good, but as the 2005 is still around at $19.99 there may be better prices to be had on the 2006 by waiting. Update:  East End Cellars has it for $21 + freight and I hear Matt from Premium Wines Direct will be offering it by the case for $20 incl. freight.

Speaking of patience, on Graysonline auctions there have been more verifiable good wines and good prices in the whites than in the reds recently.  So I've been buying a few whites for those friends who still indulge in such things.  One standout recently was the Sandalford MR Chardonnay 2004, I'd seen it attract spirited bidding up to about $124++ a 6-pack, or $25.50pb delivered (street price $25-$30).  I put in a few lower bids and eventually scored a 6-pack for $74++ or $15.85 delivered.  I served it masked to my white-wine-drinking (WWD) friends and they jumped at it.  So I tried to get some more, again seeing it go for more than $100++  in some auctions and down to about $69++ in others.  Last night I put in another low bid and this morning had an email saying I'd scored 2 6-packs for $54++ each or $12.02pb delivered.  There are another 2x2 6-packs in a couple of the auctions running today.