Nice wines I have drunk recently - Red or White

I quite like the Robert Parker rating system/scale

+ 1, I can't recall ever seeing Aussie reviews lower than 80 and yet too many wines I've tried and thought "OK but so what?"
 
The one that I had was 2013 despite it is saying 2016 on the gold sticker (I looked at the back label)

I think it doesn’t have a long term cellaring potential. 6-8 years max so you probably have 2-3 years to drink them - but check the vintage year on the back label
:) I think the “2016” relates to the year of the Award?
 
Sponsored Post

Struggling to use your Frequent Flyer Points?

Frequent Flyer Concierge takes the hard work out of finding award availability and redeeming your frequent flyer or credit card points for flights.

Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, the Frequent Flyer Concierge team at Frequent Flyer Concierge will help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

The Myattsfield Joseph Myatt Reserve tasting last night with both wine makers. Was great having their insights. They were totally open about everything which was really refreshing. The winery is in the Bickley Valley in the Perth Hills. Well worth a visit. The Reserve is their top of the wozza wine and only made when vintage allows. Rather than a specific blend, they're looking for a style. Worth seeking out and amazing value given the RRP is $45 and tiny quantities. The 2018 isn't yet released, but they brought it along for us to try. While approachable young, 10+ years of age does wonders.

20210714_211143.jpg
 
Dappled Appellation Chardonnay & Pinot Noir 2019/20

2019 Chardonnay is the pick of the bunch for me. One of the best Chardonnays I had < $30. So good now can only image how great it will become down the track.

2019 Pinot Noir was also very good but I wasn’t blown away by it as much as others here. Should have tasted side by side the Champs de Cerises single vineyard but could only score one bottle of that one which I’ll keep a bit longer.

2020 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir weren’t quite as good as previous vintage at first impression but fortunately I had to go away for few days and the bottles were left in the fridge. Both were much better after few days, my +1 had a glass of the PN each day and absolutely loved it. For me again Chardonnay was the star but off course it needs more time. Overall looks like another winning vintage for Dappled.

21F85CF1-DBB2-4766-AE7C-F9859F160ECE.jpeg
 
+ 1, I can't recall ever seeing Aussie reviews lower than 80 and yet too many wines I've tried and thought "OK but so what?"
It is nice to see Nicks give a fair bit of transparency into their ratings. The full breakdown can be seen on every wine listing page (never noticed it before).

The number can still be reverse engineered but at least there is a theoretical science behind it all.

 
Dappled Appellation Chardonnay & Pinot Noir 2019/20

2019 Chardonnay is the pick of the bunch for me. One of the best Chardonnays I had < $30. So good now can only image how great it will become down the track.

2019 Pinot Noir was also very good but I wasn’t blown away by it as much as others here. Should have tasted side by side the Champs de Cerises single vineyard but could only score one bottle of that one which I’ll keep a bit longer.

2020 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir weren’t quite as good as previous vintage at first impression but fortunately I had to go away for few days and the bottles were left in the fridge. Both were much better after few days, my +1 had a glass of the PN each day and absolutely loved it. For me again Chardonnay was the star but off course it needs more time. Overall looks like another winning vintage for Dappled.

View attachment 253168
I've got 8 (down from 12) of the 2019 chard sitting in the cellar, how long do you think I should wait until cracking some?

Kicking myself that I only bought 2 of the 19 PN, really liked the style, nice red cherries and structure belied the very light colour.
 
2020.jpg

2020: Jackson Brooke pinot noir > Koerner Rolle vermentino > Ravensworth Long Way Around Tamar Valley pinot noir > Sparrow & Vine grenache
  • Jackson Brooke is the best new Australian pinot noir I've had in a while - highly recommended

chardonnay.jpg

chardonnay: 2018 Dexter > 2019 Dexter > 2018 Pipers Brook
  • Dexter still consistently one of my favourite chardonnays

grenache.jpg

2015 grenache: Lino Ramble Gomas > (2013) Cirillo 1850 > Purple Hands > Yalumba Old Bush Vine
  • my penultimate bottle of grenache first-love Gomas narrowly outclassed my first ever Cirillo 1850

Funny you post this, as I just grabbed some 2019 for $48 a bottle!
If my math is correct it’s $41.50 direct from the winery, seems a lot cheaper than the retail stores: Shop
yes, Marli Russell is one label that you should always ask retailers to price match the winery :)

You mean braver in terms of taking a risk with old wine? If so, I suppose there is a risk. I've had good experience with wine through that vendor. Also, if a wine is corked, he'll replace if possible, otherwise with something similar.
Yes, I meant with both being an old wine and cork. To be honest I didn’t know that it could be aged for that long.
yes, good Barbaresco/Barolo can be known for not reaching their peak until after 20-30yrs, and then holding for decades more - other examples of wines with long lives:

I would also add a variety as a factor over price.
This is a major factor many wine buyers/collectors seem to ignore. No matter how good a bargain is there are only so many bottles one can drink and having the same wine over and over again eventually gets boring. So much out there to explore…
there's nothing necessarily wrong with buying a heap of great wine cheap, it's all about value = benefits / costs

depending upon one's consumption, storage, time, finances, they could be drunk as everyday quaffers rather than saved for special occasions, or you could always gift or cook with them

i don't vary my water, milk, juice, tea, coffee, much, and if i drank as much wine as i did those, then it would probably be similar - if you find (a) wine boring, then it can't be that good :)

I think there's a misunderstanding here, it just seems like genuine interest into how you will manage a situation that I'm sure many here have gone through. With the rate of buying tending to exceed the rate of drinking, we tend to open more of the "good stuff" with company, leaving behind lesser bottles to collect dust. i.e. I remember purchasing clarendon hills stuff (not Astralis) a couple years back, simply because it was cheap. However, it eventuated that it would never end up in a nightly lineup, as there would be so much more interesting wines. Furthermore the premiumisation of our tastes is a real bummer as well, with the "drink now" bottles being neglected.

Now, there are people that are happy with $10 quaffers, nothing wrong with that, it's great on the wallet actually. But given your percieved interest in wine, it's natural that you may follow down the aforementioned path of no return :). I ended up giving alot to restaurants which earned me some brownie points. Even the more premium goods, i.e. 1er Bourgogne Rouges that I purchased because it was discounted, end up being flogged off as the quality of entry level Burgundy is pretty amazing. So, it's by no means a jab at you for buying discounted products, I am by far a bigger culprit at that, but rather how you will deal with it all later, particularly as some of the wines are not built to last.
I don't buy nearly as much as most people in here. I buy fairly expensive wine, but I also split plenty of deals with family or friends.

Most wine I buy has Cellar potential 10-20 years, so it doesn't concern me. I'm drinking bottles from 1995, that's why I buy to cellar. Infact, you'd be hard pressed finding me comment on any cheap $5-15 wines on the forum unless it's BWS clearance where it's been $40 down to $15-18. But I'm buying 2-3 bottles, not cases.

The LL $10 deal, was simply a one off and I slowly chew through them because like many others I'm not buying $5-10 wines monthly.

So, the answer to your question is quite simple. It's very easy to drink 20-30 bottles over a few years alone, let alone if I share with visitors.

So I really don't understand this discussion, because I'm not sure where you get this notion that I'm buying bucket loads of cheap wine which apparently I won't drink.

Anyways, please let this thread return to its purpose. I'm sure no one wants it clogged up.
it great that you're buying wine for family and friends, perhaps somewhat like @redbigot

it's also great that you're posting so enthusiastically - it seems like you're in the early eager stages of wine appreciation, trying and buying loads, enjoying and figuring out what you like - hence we want to help you avoid pitfalls that we've encountered ourselves, in order that you can benefit from our experiences and don't have to learn the hard way

you've previously posted that you're not a big drinker, maybe having only a bottle a week, and now you've mentioned it being very easy to drink 20-30 bottles over a few years alone:
  • 20-30 bottles over a few years is, say, 10 bottles a year, less than a dozen
  • 1 bottle a week is about 50 a year, 4 doz/yr or 1 dozen per quarter (3mths)
  • 10 doz/yr is 10 bottles per month, or 2-3 bottles per week
even if you're lucky enough to have plenty of storage, we're just worried that you might be buying too much, too quickly
 
Haven't been keeping track of this thread, but I probably should have... interesting drinking and discussion. Sorry for the long post...
  • my penultimate bottle of grenache first-love Gomas narrowly outclassed my first ever Cirillo 1850
May have to look for the Gomas then, I thought Cirillo Ancestor Vines was really good.
2020 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir weren’t quite as good as previous vintage at first impression but fortunately I had to go away for few days and the bottles were left in the fridge
Shaun said it was a leaner vintage, '20 Chard I didn't find that interesting but also did think it was better day 2. I did really enjoy last years SV release, so might check that out this year, but not really keen on grabbing 6 bottles.
it's also great that you're posting so enthusiastically - it seems like you're in the early eager stages of wine appreciation, trying and buying loads, enjoying and figuring out what you like - hence we want to help you avoid pitfalls that we've encountered ourselves, in order that you can benefit from our experiences and don't have to learn the hard way
Where was my advice? I feel like your posts have rapidly propelled spending 🤪

However, it eventuated that it would never end up in a nightly lineup, as there would be so much more interesting wines. Furthermore the premiumisation of our tastes is a real bummer as well, with the "drink now" bottles being neglected.
I think this is really useful experience and advice - over the past two years, I think we have drastically scaled our wine purchases, variety of drinking, knowledge etc. What has been a recent realisation is a lot of the bottles we acquired early on are unlikely to be drunk (which isn't even that long ago). Even recent purchases are likely to be neglected, though I have also moved significantly from a target acquisition cost of 30 p/b.

Seems like many hobbies of mine, focused/intense interest phase leads to excess, which ends up being scaled back to more moderate levels? For wine it seems like many seem to keep reaching for the next lofty height - doesn't seem sustainable for us at least.

Random smattering of wines over the last little while.
- Luke Lambert Neb = <3
- Sami Odi and Standish = cult status validated for us
- Mount Pleasant 100th event = epic
- Rest were good, can live with or without.

Comando G is an impressive Grenache, or Garnacha, that punches above its price. MoC is very nice too but needs more time to mellow down.
Useful - love the Comando G, have a bottle of MoC which sounds like we shouldn't open yet.

Normally I’m not big fan of GSM but this one is really nice. Distinctive red fruit flavours yet quite savoury at the same time. Easy drinking but complex enough to make it interesting.
Yep great wine, thought I picked up more '18 instead of the '16 I was shipped :(

Also rate the Farr Shiraz (so underrated compared to the PNs - don't think it's cough syrup like, but much more incredible with a bit of air). I found Timo Mayer's stuff quite elegant, but lighter than I prefer, may seek out the Nebb.

Drank beautifully with the Waygu beef at Home | Mayura Station | Full-Blood Wagyu Beef More photos of the food to come
Have to say we didn't enjoy the bottle we opened, tannic, dense and very in your face. How long did you decant for?

We opened a Meshach '13 last night, which is pretty decent - vanilla, oak, a bit of meatiness, plenty of acid.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20210711_204216_769.jpg
    IMG_20210711_204216_769.jpg
    102.5 KB · Views: 23
  • IMG_20210710_205559_542.jpg
    IMG_20210710_205559_542.jpg
    217.2 KB · Views: 20
  • IMG_20210704_190347_197.jpg
    IMG_20210704_190347_197.jpg
    239.2 KB · Views: 20
  • IMG_20210627_182126_409.jpg
    IMG_20210627_182126_409.jpg
    384.6 KB · Views: 22
  • IMG_20210618_204542_809.jpg
    IMG_20210618_204542_809.jpg
    202.5 KB · Views: 24
  • IMG_20210614_215606_469.jpg
    IMG_20210614_215606_469.jpg
    159.6 KB · Views: 26
  • IMG_20210614_213221_680.jpg
    IMG_20210614_213221_680.jpg
    176 KB · Views: 25
  • IMG_20210607_203100_669.jpg
    IMG_20210607_203100_669.jpg
    234.7 KB · Views: 25
  • IMG_20210604_233019_477.jpg
    IMG_20210604_233019_477.jpg
    161.3 KB · Views: 23
Last edited:
I've got 8 (down from 12) of the 2019 chard sitting in the cellar, how long do you think I should wait until cracking some?

Kicking myself that I only bought 2 of the 19 PN, really liked the style, nice red cherries and structure belied the very light colour.

I’d say 4-5 years maybe, they don’t seem to be made for long term storage.

Same as you I also got only 2 of the 19 PN but it’s ok there some other good PNs at this price point such as Hoddles Creek and Garagiste Le Stagiaire.

there's nothing necessarily wrong with buying a heap of great wine cheap, it's all about value = benefits / costs

depending upon one's consumption, storage, time, finances, they could be drunk as everyday quaffers rather than saved for special occasions, or you could always gift or cook with them

i don't vary my water, milk, juice, tea, coffee, much, and if i drank as much wine as i did those, then it would probably be similar - if you find (a) wine boring, then it can't be that good :)

Agree there’s nothing wrong with buying heaps of wine, if you have a plan what to do with it.

Reminds me of an interesting conversation with the operations manager of a big storage facility I use saying he’s constantly amazed by how many people pass away leaving behind so much expensive old wine (which they may or may not bought cheap back then but what difference does it make). Also, apparently, there are quite a lot of collectors who aren’t young anymore and already have heaps of bottles in storage yet they keep buying more! I hope all those people can afford this expensive hobby but I’m afraid it may become an addiction so need to be mindful of that.
 
Quite stunning. One hour breathing.


4AD68730-4860-4102-BC95-72344AAEBE21.jpeg6C35D91E-8FC8-45A0-A20D-CFE38902D601.jpegFBC69BC1-2949-40FB-9AF1-D2A49D12C31E.jpeg
 
I’d say 4-5 years maybe, they don’t seem to be made for long term storage.

Same as you I also got only 2 of the 19 PN but it’s ok there some other good PNs at this price point such as Hoddles Creek and Garagiste Le Stagiaire.



Agree there’s nothing wrong with buying heaps of wine, if you have a plan what to do with it.

Reminds me of an interesting conversation with the operations manager of a big storage facility I use saying he’s constantly amazed by how many people pass away leaving behind so much expensive old wine (which they may or may not bought cheap back then but what difference does it make). Also, apparently, there are quite a lot of collectors who aren’t young anymore and already have heaps of bottles in storage yet they keep buying more! I hope all those people can afford this expensive hobby but I’m afraid it may become an addiction so need to be mindful of that.
If you haven’t read this then I’d highly recommend it. The main characters were regularly buying wine from deceased estates and divorces but it they got another opportunity too good to pass up: Stalin's Wine Cellar : Baker, John, Place, Nick: Amazon.com.au: Books
 
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

Attachments

  • 20210719_000130.jpg
    20210719_000130.jpg
    231.7 KB · Views: 19
  • Screenshot_20210719-000318_Instagram.jpg
    Screenshot_20210719-000318_Instagram.jpg
    227.6 KB · Views: 19

Enhance your AFF viewing experience!!

From just $6 we'll remove all advertisements so that you can enjoy a cleaner and uninterupted viewing experience.

And you'll be supporting us so that we can continue to provide this valuable resource :)


Sample AFF with no advertisements? More..
Back
Top