Wine thread

[Bazal]

2023 David Hook Pecorino. Was on clearance at Uncle Daniels, presumably because of the vintage given they had 2024's elsewhere. Anyway...

Yes, it's a grape, not a Roman cheese. Native to Marche on the east coast of Italy, it's a super underrated and underutilised grape IMO. Best younger than this, but this one is really clean and saline. Lime juice cordial, white flowers even hinting at elderflower, white stonefruit turning towards preserved lemon and mineral salts and pithy acidity that leaves you salivating. There's texture too, juicy and quite full in the middle, but it finishes electrically clean.

Super for a 39 degree evening on the front deck.

 

[Bazal]

2022 Taylors Cab Sav. Shock horror!

Did not buy it, was a gift someone else got, they don't drink, they gave it to me to dispose of. Been a while so even though I've never been a fan of their reds, might as well.

It's got about a thousand gold medals on the label. Couldn't tell you why.

There's nothing wrong with it. It's soft, fruit driven, approachable. Blueberry and blackcurrant jam, chocolate oak. Not much else though, and it's jammy as shit. Not really any structure, especially for a cabernet. Drinkable but wouldn't buy it myself unless there were very few options

 

[Rudy]

2022 Taylors Cab Sav. Shock horror!

Did not buy it, was a gift someone else got, they don't drink, they gave it to me to dispose of. Been a while so even though I've never been a fan of their reds, might as well.

It's got about a thousand gold medals on the label. Couldn't tell you why.

There's nothing wrong with it. It's soft, fruit driven, approachable. Blueberry and blackcurrant jam, chocolate oak. Not much else though, and it's jammy as shit. Not really any structure, especially for a cabernet. Drinkable but wouldn't buy it myself unless there were very few options

Bazal, would you ever drink this, below? I quite like it, I get it because it's so cheap but doesn't taste that nasty. It's 9 dollars for a 1 litre bottle.

I'd be keen to hear your thoughts (if you've ever drank anything like this), since you are a wine connoisseur and I drink this cheap stuff all the time. (well, not ALL the time, but you know what I mean).

 

[Bazal]

Bazal, would you ever drink this, below? I quite like it, I get it because it's so cheap but doesn't taste that nasty. It's 9 dollars for a 1 litre bottle.

I'd be keen to hear your thoughts (if you've ever drank anything like this), since you are a wine connoisseur and I drink this cheap stuff all the time. (well, not ALL the time, but you know what I mean).

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I have definitely drunk it tbh. I didn't especially like it but not because of the price, Hardy's cheaper styles just aren't for me.

Of all the reasons I might turn my nose up at a wine, price isn't on the list at all. I don't expect a cheap wine to blow me away but anyone who equates price with enjoyment isn't a wine fan, they're a wine snob. In fact I'd say those of us who regularly (or at least, previously regularly) post in here would gush equally over a $12 wine that tastes like a $25 bottle as we would over a posh bottle.

One of my favourite experiences in Italy was a serious Chianti wine tour. But just as great was this tiny old trattoria in Rome with a ten euro plate of pasta and a five euro carafe of a local red from the hills that I could never find anywhere else.

When I worked at the (other) evil empire my go to reds just for drinking were a $6 Rioja and an $8 Nero d'Avola. We also had a $10 french sav blanc that was money. Expensive wine can be awesome, but sometimes the cheap, easy and fun stuff is the best.

 

[horrie hastings]

Bazal, would you ever drink this, below? I quite like it, I get it because it's so cheap but doesn't taste that nasty. It's 9 dollars for a 1 litre bottle.

I'd be keen to hear your thoughts (if you've ever drank anything like this), since you are a wine connoisseur and I drink this cheap stuff all the time. (well, not ALL the time, but you know what I mean).

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I used to buy that and have it as my cooking wine to have in the fridge but it is really isn't even up to standard to have as a cooking wine now . I ended up buying the Liquorland Clean Skin Chardonnay for a cooking wine when they had it on at $3 a bottle clearance price and it sh*tted over the Hardys and that is saying a lot.

And no i'm not dissing you because you like the wine and it is a good price point for $9 for 1000 mls ( mind you i only ever payed $6-$7 dollars for it when using it ) . Wine comes down to personal taste and you enjoy which is good, at the moment i am drinking PepperJack Match Made Chardonnay which Liquorland cleared out for $6 a bottle, it isn't the best chardonnay i ever had but at $6 a bottle i don't feel guilty about opening a bottle if i want an extra glass and it is no where near one of the worst wines i have ever had.

Bazal mentioned the $6 Riojja, , the Arandon label at Liquorland is a great example of what a decent wine at a great price point was.

 

[horrie hastings]

Not sure how good this is but my local Liquorland has this as clearance at $7 a bottle, an Italian Chardonnay, bought a couple of bottles to see what its like, if not the best it will end up as cooking wine .

 

[Bazal]

La Cantina Dolcetto 2023. King Valley.

A winery of contradictions in a way. In one hand it's old school, no nonsense Italian roots, ancient looking labels, based in a sandstone chapel. On the other, every wine is preservative free, vegan friendly, minimal intervention as much as possible.

Tbh it's just cos they do things the old way. But these days it feels contradictory. Anyway I loved their wines.

This is super. 11% abv, very much drink now. Clean and fresh, with plenty of fruit but a dry, moreish finish. Cherries, raspberries, a little cola, red apple crunch. Nothing snobby, nothing complex, just made for drinking, really.

 

[Bazal]

Brown Brothers Limited Release Gamay

Another King Valley boot filler. Brown Brothers still get a bad rap IMO. Sure, they make some lolly water, but tbh that's just smart marketing. They also make very serious and high quality wines. This is the latter

Vibrant and super crunchy. It comes across first up as all berry...cranberries, raspberry, sour cherry. Maybe some Szechuan pepper, that citrus pepper fragrance. But dig under that and there's also earth and a kind of vey light, almost brie-mould mushroom character that gives it depth and interest.

 

[horrie hastings]

Brown Brothers Limited Release Gamay

Another King Valley boot filler. Brown Brothers still get a bad rap IMO. Sure, they make some lolly water, but tbh that's just smart marketing. They also make very serious and high quality wines. This is the latter

Vibrant and super crunchy. It comes across first up as all berry...cranberries, raspberry, sour cherry. Maybe some Szechuan pepper, that citrus pepper fragrance. But dig under that and there's also earth and a kind of vey light, almost brie-mould mushroom character that gives it depth and interest.

That'ts interesting your comments on Gamay, i have a couple of bottles from Cuppit's Winery and like you describe you get the berry, sour cherry and light pepper but i was trying to put my finger on the lingering after taste and you hit the nail on the head, the slight mould cheese and a bit mushroom.
The Gamay for Cuppit's is grown in Tumbarumba, the taster opened a bottle for us to try and gave us the bottle to have that night as we were staying on site, so nice that we bought a couple more bottles the next day. Lightly chilled i think its at its best.

 

[horrie hastings]

RIP Liquorland 3582 Marrickville Metro.

Well i was at Quaffers Waterloo when it closed, was at Liquorland Kensington when it closed but luckily i had retired not long before 3582 Marrickville Metro closed. Feels funny now walking into the centre and seeing the old place closed for good.

 

[Drew-Sta]

RIP Liquorland 3582 Marrickville Metro.

Well i was at Quaffers Waterloo when it closed, was at Liquorland Kensington when it closed but luckily i had retired not long before 3582 Marrickville Metro closed. Feels funny now walking into the centre and seeing the old place closed for good.


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Did you find out why they shuttered it? It's attached to a Coles, yeah? Strange they'd shut it given the foot traffic.

 

[horrie hastings]

Did you find out why they shuttered it? It's attached to a Coles, yeah? Strange they'd shut it given the foot traffic.

No it was a stand a lone shop in the old side of the centre. There is one attached to Coles on the newer side. Think it was more that the store needed a complete refurb and also since the configurations of the loading docks when the new part of the centre opened meant we lost the dock at our back door and pallets had to taken through the main shopping centre. Sales wise it was doing so much better than the one attached to Coles. All it has really done now is give BWS open slather on the old and more popular side of the centre.

 

[Drew-Sta]

No it was a stand a lone shop in the old side of the centre. There is one attached to Coles on the newer side. Think it was more that the store needed a complete refurb and also since the configurations of the loading docks when the new part of the centre opened meant we lost the dock at our back door and pallets had to taken through the main shopping centre. Sales wise it was doing so much better than the one attached to Coles. All it has really done now is give BWS open slather on the old and more popular side of the centre.

Coles again identifying their absolute lack of common sense in the scheme of store placement.

 

[Drew-Sta]

Here's one for you @horrie hastings & @Bazal - I had my first teroldego the other day. So good I bought a few more bottles. Grown and made by the Chalmers family.

Ripper wine; like all the best parts of Gamay, Nero and Grenache rolled into one.

 

[Bazal]

2024 Singlefile Single Vineyard Frankland River Shiraz.

The inkiest purple thing, for a Shiraz anyway. Nose of plums, dried rose, and winter spice. I also get a little raspberry vinegar note but that could be the end of this flu.

Intense dark fruits, the plum of course but also cherries and mulberry. I always find Frankland Shiraz has a kind of doughy character too? Probably my palate, but it's definitely here, a raw cookie dough type note. Dark chocolate, mulled wine spice, a lot of elegance along with the intensity. Will live a while too.

Very glad I joined the wine club

ETA - 5 hours after opening and as the structure of it has opened up it's developed this real black tea tannic undertone and a super linear mineral backbone. Really good cool(er) climate shiraz

 

[Drew-Sta]

Endeavour - 17% decline. Coles - 3-5% decline.

Welcome to the reset.

 

[Bazal]

Endeavour - 17% decline. Coles - 3-5% decline.

Welcome to the reset.