Dan Murphy's and Other Wine Deals

[Agenor]

What is the customer service at Skye usually like? Ordered Friday heard nothing apart from order confirmation and email re ETA on delivery time has gone unanswered

Not great. Delivery is very slow. On my last one, I got a different vintage than what I ordered (and I specifically wanted that vintage, so I got the cough about it), I sent an email to inform them about it. I got to talk to someone the next day, but it ended with 'I will call you back tomorrow to fix things' and 2 weeks later I'm still waiting for the call back...

 

[1erCru]

Of the dowie doole? Maybe they sold more then they thought they would, I ordered Friday and it was delivered on Monday to Melbourne. Interested to see what others think of it though, I wasn't a fan but can't be bothered returning the rest.

Needs a very good decant or a couple more years in the bottle. Was banging on day 2 but a bit hot on day 1 without given any time to open up. It'll be lovely jubley in a few years if you like that sort of style.

 

[AUElwood]

Langtons Carpe Diem is on today

 

[Nanachi]

Langtons Carpe Diem is on today

I still don't see a petrus for $10, i'm out.

Side note, those corky wynn black labels for 22.50$ are so tempting, i just wish they had free shipping

 

[jstew20]

Hi all, I’m just looking for opinions on the various mystery deal style online stores out there.

Are these deals in any way reliable? Are any of the sites more reliable than others?

Like I’m aware if I’m buying a case of wine for $15 a bottle that reportedly has an RRP of $50+ there’s almost no chance it’s actually a 50 dollar bottle of wine. But is it even a 15 dollar bottle or is it just companies playing funny buggers to offload garbage they can’t sell otherwise?

Just an average Joe who likes a bottle here and there and is hoping to save a few bucks buying a few cases to have on hand rather than going down and picking random bottles off the shelf at the supermarket.

 

[Nanachi]

Hi all, I’m just looking for opinions on the various mystery deal style online stores out there.

Are these deals in any way reliable? Are any of the sites more reliable than others?

Like I’m aware if I’m buying a case of wine for $15 a bottle that reportedly has an RRP of $50+ there’s almost no chance it’s actually a 50 dollar bottle of wine. But is it even a 15 dollar bottle or is it just companies playing funny buggers to offload garbage they can’t sell otherwise?

Just an average Joe who likes a bottle here and there and is hoping to save a few bucks buying a few cases to have on hand rather than going down and picking random bottles off the shelf at the supermarket.

Happy to provide my opinion, a lot of sites offer "mystery" deals these days, if you have any specific site you question the legitimacy of please ask us here to get feedback from anyone that's purchased from them before.

In terms of the quality of the mystery wine packs where they say you're saving 74% of the RRP - most of the time yeah, these are relatively inflated prices however in my experience, if i'm paying 15$ for a bottle that was advertised for RRP 50$, it's usually tasted what i would expect to be closer to a 20-25$ bottle.

There are some brands out there like for example the 1847 / grand pappy brand who have RRP's of 320? 480? 450? 350? Cant recall exactly, but around those ranges for their "top end" and are frequently discounted to 49$ a bottle packs, or 59$ a bottle packs, people that have tasted those bottles have usually mentioned they're rather good, perhaps around the 60-80$ range, but no where near the 300/400 range.

So if that helps a bit, the general consensus i'd say is that you do get some value in terms of overall quality usually. However the most important thing is individual tastes, if you're partial to specific styles or varietals, then getting a blind pack might give you only 3-4 bottles out of the 12 that you actually enjoyed as opposed to perhaps just getting a 6pack of a well reviewed shiraz of the season that everyone's going crazy for (for example recently there was a powell&sons/Neldner road shiraz that was on winestar for i think 20$ or 25$ a bottle - but in a 12pack? and consensus upon buyers was that it was very good value.)

 

[coonarossa]

Hi all, I’m just looking for opinions on the various mystery deal style online stores out there.

Are these deals in any way reliable? Are any of the sites more reliable than others?

Like I’m aware if I’m buying a case of wine for $15 a bottle that reportedly has an RRP of $50+ there’s almost no chance it’s actually a 50 dollar bottle of wine. But is it even a 15 dollar bottle or is it just companies playing funny buggers to offload garbage they can’t sell otherwise?

Just an average Joe who likes a bottle here and there and is hoping to save a few bucks buying a few cases to have on hand rather than going down and picking random bottles off the shelf at the supermarket.

Yes. 1702 pages is proof that there are always deals worth considering, depending on your preferences and budget.
You can generally look in these pages or use Google to identify mystery wines - don't buy blind!
The key is working out what grape varietal, style, region etc you like., and whether you have it with food etc etc
Sites like vinomofo allow you to return wine you don't like.

 

[jstew20]

Happy to provide my opinion, a lot of sites offer "mystery" deals these days, if you have any specific site you question the legitimacy of please ask us here to get feedback from anyone that's purchased from them before.

In terms of the quality of the mystery wine packs where they say you're saving 74% of the RRP - most of the time yeah, these are relatively inflated prices however in my experience, if i'm paying 15$ for a bottle that was advertised for RRP 50$, it's usually tasted what i would expect to be closer to a 20-25$ bottle.

There are some brands out there like for example the 1847 / grand pappy brand who have RRP's of 320? 480? 450? 350? Cant recall exactly, but around those ranges for their "top end" and are frequently discounted to 49$ a bottle packs, or 59$ a bottle packs, people that have tasted those bottles have usually mentioned they're rather good, perhaps around the 60-80$ range, but no where near the 300/400 range.

So if that helps a bit, the general consensus i'd say is that you do get some value in terms of overall quality usually. However the most important thing is individual tastes, if you're partial to specific styles or varietals, then getting a blind pack might give you only 3-4 bottles out of the 12 that you actually enjoyed as opposed to perhaps just getting a 6pack of a well reviewed shiraz of the season that everyone's going crazy for (for example recently there was a powell&sons/Neldner road shiraz that was on winestar for i think 20$ or 25$ a bottle - but in a 12pack? and consensus upon buyers was that it was very good value.)

Yeah thanks for that.

At the moment I’ve been looking at Winestar, and towards the lower end of the budget for now, 15 or 20 bucks a bottle. At the very least I can work out what wines they actually are and see any reviews that have been posted on them. If I stick to bottles that have favourable reviews at least they shouldn’t be too bad.

Honestly as long as it’s as good as the bottles I’m paying 15 or 20 for down at my local bottle shop I won’t be upset about it.

 

[redbigot]

Hi all, I’m just looking for opinions on the various mystery deal style online stores out there.

Are these deals in any way reliable? Are any of the sites more reliable than others?

Like I’m aware if I’m buying a case of wine for $15 a bottle that reportedly has an RRP of $50+ there’s almost no chance it’s actually a 50 dollar bottle of wine. But is it even a 15 dollar bottle or is it just companies playing funny buggers to offload garbage they can’t sell otherwise?

Just an average Joe who likes a bottle here and there and is hoping to save a few bucks buying a few cases to have on hand rather than going down and picking random bottles off the shelf at the supermarket.

There are heaps of "mystery" deals at many merchants now.
I generally don't buy unless I know what the wine is, it's usually pretty easy to work out. The exception is Vinomofo, on the rare occasion I can't work it out and I am too lazy to ask them to tell me (or it's a weekend), I'll sometimes buy as their free return policy is a safeguard.
I have bought "mystery" wines from (in rough order of volume/frequency) Vinomofo, Winestar (poor returns policy but easy to identify the wines), The Wine Collective, Nicks, Wines Direct, Dan Murphy, Winetopia/United Cellars, Dozen Deals (rarely, but some decent deals) and Langtons.

The whole fake RRP/low sell price is a bit out of hand, over the top, stupid in the extreme, insulting to the intelligence, etc., but there still are some decent deals amongst them. Yes, there are even some real discounts, the recent Mitolo and Pennys Hill offers are decent discounts on some pretty good wines.

With good information from here and elsewhere you will do much better than buying the pretty labels on the shelf at DM or elsewhere.

 

[Dr Ralph]

Are these deals in any way reliable? Are any of the sites more reliable than others?

That's one of the purposes of this thread. As @coonarossa indicates, more than 1700 pages of discussion over a decade gives you your answer.

You might also want to check this thread with over 1200 pages of discussion:

D

Thread 'Vinomofo Wine Deals'

Aug 21, 2013

In case anyone wants to know today's vinomofo deal.


The secret deal is Tyrell's Lunatiq Heathcote 2010 Shiraz @ $22/bottle.


The black market deal is Hand Crafted by Geoff Hardy 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon @$9/bottle.

• DrSammyLee
• deals wine
• Replies: 24,556
• Forum: Wine Deals (including "Secret" Deals)

• 

 

[WrenchHammerMcTool]

I still don't see a petrus for $10, i'm out.

Side note, those corky wynn black labels for 22.50$ are so tempting, i just wish they had free shipping

Couple of others
$150 Astralis 2011 (auction $229)
$165 Robert Voerzio Barolo del Comune di La Morra, 2019

 

[burmans]

I’d say Mystery deals are often definitely worth it but you also definitely need to do some research(not all deals are equal). This site is a good start or RedBigot has an excellent paid site.

One thing to keep in mind, just because one reviewer thinks it’s good, you may not. Over time you learn which reviewers tastes matches yours. Some reviewers always score high (eg Sam Kim), for me a 94 point Mattinson review trumps a 97 from Sam Kim, and I tend to agree with RedBigot/Realreview reviews. But that’s my view, you may prefer different styles and find others whose opinions better match.

 

[jstew20]

Thanks for the advice. Until now I hadn’t even looked at VinoMofo. Some of their non mystery specials look like they’re pretty good value. Combined with their great returns policy, seems like as good a place as any to dip my toe in. Will keep an eye on this and the VinoMofo threads in future as well to look out for well regarded bottles on special.

Cheers!

 

[Tannin]

Thanks for the advice. Until now I hadn’t even looked at VinoMofo. Some of their non mystery specials look like they’re pretty good value. Combined with their great returns policy, seems like as good a place as any to dip my toe in. Will keep an eye on this and the VinoMofo threads in future as well to look out for well regarded bottles on special.

Much better value at Winestar than VM in my view, but you often have to buy 12. Make sure you sign up for their newsletter as it makes identifying mystery wines a breeze. As others mentioned, this forum is a good source but taste is subjective, so you'll need to gradually learn for yourself which wine regions you like most, which grape, which winery, etc etc.

And, remember, the best/most popular wines will almost never turn into mystery lots - the goal of mystery is usually to shift excess stock (or dodgy VM "deals"). So if you fall in love with a wine or winery, just pay whatever it is without eternally hoping it turns into a mystery lot.

 

[Dr Ralph]

And, remember, the best/most popular wines will almost never turn into mystery lots

Completely disagree with this statement.

'Mystery wines' have become a normal way of many businesses selling techniques.

 

[Nanachi]

One thing i will also mention, one of the best sources for finding good quality bottles at discounted prices is "qaz", however to get these deals you have to be logged on to the QFF forums at 11:50pm daily for one of his magical lore drops, and the deals always expire at midnight so you need quick fingers.

 

[iamsuperandrew]

One thing i will also mention, one of the best sources for finding good quality bottles at discounted prices is "qaz", however to get these deals you have to be logged on to the QFF forums at 11:50pm daily for one of his magical lore drops, and the deals always expire at midnight so you need quick fingers.

sorry what Qaz? and by QFF forums do you mean on here?

 

[Learned_One]

Much better value at Winestar than VM in my view, but you often have to buy 12. Make sure you sign up for their newsletter as it makes identifying mystery wines a breeze. As others mentioned, this forum is a good source but taste is subjective, so you'll need to gradually learn for yourself which wine regions you like most, which grape, which winery, etc etc.

And, remember, the best/most popular wines will almost never turn into mystery lots - the goal of mystery is usually to shift excess stock (or dodgy VM "deals"). So if you fall in love with a wine or winery, just pay whatever it is without eternally hoping it turns into a mystery lot.

I would lean towards Tannin's comments. I have been buying from Winestar - and I have brought a lot, as my wife can attest - for over ten years. With careful selection, I have rarely encountered a dud from Winestar, and their genuine price reductions can sometimes be mindblowingly good. Admittedly, you are often forced into buying a dozen to take advantage of their deals, but I have no problem with that. I have also bought plenty from Vinomofo, but the level of hyperbole on their site is now just too much for my brain, and our recently more limited ability to accurately identify some of their offerings has left me basically ignoring them. I don't think there is any hard and fast rule, but for what it's worth, some of those who inhabit this forum are nigh on experts and certainly worth a read.

 

[Nanachi]

sorry what Qaz? and by QFF forums do you mean on here?

My bad, QFF and AFF just get me the same way, search the user "qaz", when he posts, it's always loaded with such a large variety of different wines at good discounts, perhaps on clearance or irregular sale prices that aren't as common to come by.

 

[redbigot]

I would lean towards Tannin's comments. I have been buying from Winestar - and I have brought a lot, as my wife can attest - for over ten years. With careful selection, I have rarely encountered a dud from Winestar, and their genuine price reductions can sometimes be mindblowingly good. Admittedly, you are often forced into buying a dozen to take advantage of their deals, but I have no problem with that. I have also bought plenty from Vinomofo, but the level of hyperbole on their site is now just too much for my brain, and our recently more limited ability to accurately identify some of their offerings has left me basically ignoring them. I don't think there is any hard and fast rule, but for what it's worth, some of those who inhabit this forum are nigh on experts and certainly worth a read.

I've been buying from Winestar since they started online in 1997. I've probably bought more in the last few years since the advent of "mystery" wines, enabling even sharper prices. Some of the deals are so good that I'll pay the $10 non-dozen surcharge. Bert even does a (very) occasional extra discount codes for me and my mob. Cimicky Cellar Selection Shiraz, Neldner Road, Passing Clouds Shiraz and Graeme's Shiraz-Cabernet are the best recent buys, plus more Mitolo GAM 2021 cheaper than at VM.

With Vinomofo, I can still usually quickly identify any wine that has more than one review score listed and many of those with only one and if not they'll tell you if you call and ask. Penny's Hill Footprint, Palliser Pinot, Ghost Rock SV Pinots x 3, Punch Lances Close Planted Pinots, Head Ancestor Vine Shiraz the best of recent buys. There has recently been a few other merchants picking up a few of the VM offerings and doing significantly better prices, so it seems VM have more margin than you might expect, I guess they have to cover the free return policy.