Back for another round of my thoughts on the latest Dan Murphy sales for the week starting 23 June 2011. The NSW and VIC specials are the same according to the web page.
I’ll give you a summary of yes recommendations, the Mehhh list, then my wine of the week.
It is good to know that these wines are only a part of Fine Wine Buyers Guide 8th Edition sale and will be available for the next 5 weeks,,,you can pick up the brochure in store for free and it has some good articles about the Barossa Valley and ageing wines.
RED
RED: Thorn Clarke Sandpiper 09 Barossa: $13.60- get it.Very good example of a nice fat barossan shiraz for the price, very much worth it. Probably save around $2-3 and will impress your friends with your knowledge that this is a super value barossan.
RED: Glaetzer Bishop Shiraz 09 Barossa:$ 28.20 per bottle- the Glaetzer family are barossa legends and if you wanna fork out for a good wine, this will do it. However, at this price you are only saving about $2 off the normal price.
RED: Vasse Felix Cabernet Merlot 2009 Margaret River: $16.70 per bottle (save about $3-4- if you have ever heard of the Holmes a Court family then you know the owners of this place.They make some damn nice wines here (check the Chardonnay too) and this will be a killer food wine. Let it breathe for an hour (ie open it, pour a glass, then let the bottle stand open…you can drink the glass if you want), and tell your friends how WA is making some of the worlds best Cab/Merlot these days.
Margaret River is generally recognised as Australia’s best place to make Cab/Merlot (these are the main grapes in Bordeaux reds, and Margaret River has very similar growing conditions to Bordeaux) .
RED: see wine of the week
RED: The Maverick…don’t know enough about it but it would give you an intro taste of what the Chapoutier Chateauneuf du pape would be like…but an Australian version of the same grape blend. Or just get the Schild Estate GMS for $15
The Mehhhh list: Murray Street, Craftsman, Turkey Flat, St Hallet- Not cause I think they are bad, I just thing the others are a better bet.
Cheapie: Hardys for $7.30, go for it. More consistent than a Cleanskin and should be a decent wine. Skip the Penfolds Rawsons Retreat, it is cheap in all ways.
WHITE
WHITE: Amiri Sauvignon Blanc 2010 New Zealand: $7.90 (Save about $0.80)- DMs home brand, crisp, sweet and has some tropical flavours. Not a big saving though. For a Sauv Blanc experiment, get the Clifford bay for $14 too and get a friend to test you if you can pick the more expensive in seperate glasses. Hint: the clifford bay will be drier (ie not as sweet)
WHITE MAYBE: McWilliams Mt Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon: $11.50 – one of the best hunter valley value semillons around. Expect it to taste a little watery with oil in it, then some lemon and talc powder,,,all in a good way. Prob not a winter wine, but if you want you can throw this in your dark wine storage area and keep it for years. Or just buy DMs Cellar release 2003 for $18 and get the toast and butter flavours of aged semillon.
I say maybe because I personally dont like hunter valley semillon that much.
WHITE: Vasse felix Chardonnay 2009 Margaret River WA: $16.70- as I said before, vasse felix can be relied on. Should be a cracker for any white meats, fish and chips, pasta with cheese sauce or on its own.
The Mehhh list: The individual Selection, Brown Brothers, Cape Mentelle, Goundrey, Somerton- either not interesting to me or not really a good value at the price.
WINE OF THE WEEK:
– Gemtree Blodstone Shiraz 2009 McLaren Vale: $15.70 per bottle
This is worth a look for the price. You will save about $4-5 off the normal price and you can tell your friends about your commitment to green natural wines. I haven’t tried it but have had an eye on this producer for a while.
For those who haven’t been to Adelaide, the McLaren Vale is an area just 30 min drive south of the central Adelaide. It is one of the most awesome places to see: rolling hills, the cliff and beach coastline 5-10 minutes drive away, and awesome wines and all the artisan cheesy creative food things that come with that.
And they make great wine. If you like huge chocolate and jam red wines then get something from the barossa (north of Adelaide). McLaren Vale reds are generally more medium bodied and more like a tap on the shoulder than a punch in the face.
This winery works on Organic and Biodynamic principles,,,broadly speaking Organic means natural growing and production without chemicals and promoting a natural system. Biodynamic is Supernatural, using natural land energies, energised preparations and moon phases among many things. Sounds crazy, but the special care and natural approach lead to consistently good wines worldwide.
This extra care normally adds substantially to the price tag, so it is worth giving this one a try at this price.
I will try to keep this more concise in the future. I would appreciate any feedback on info layout. My recommendations are, as always, solely my own opinion.
- WINEDUCATION - 