brazoseagle Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 Fair enough. You might just not like the Aussie "big and fruity" wine profile, although there are certainly very elegant aussie wines you might just not be able to source them. Fair enough. You might just not like the Aussie "big and fruity" wine profile, although there are certainly very elegant aussie wines you might just not be able to source them. Big, jammy, viscous is right in my wheelhouse, what is not in my wheelhouse however is 2 ounces of sediment, bark, pencil shavings, lake vines and trash inside the bottle, which greatly effects the flavors. I found this problem in 3 different year bottles so far. I'm quiet sure that most of the good stuff is not exported to us, because I've had all tge ones I can get my hands on, and they just don't cut it. I was convinced to give this one a second try after Rob featured it in one if the Video reviews, but it was worse than the first time I had it. I will clarify that in the Video , Rob's bottle did not appear to contain mulch and twigs. I distributor once told me that Oz makes wines specifically for the US, and some of those aren't even sold in OZ, his example was the Greg Norman line. I want to clarify, I've had fantastic Shiraz, just not where I can regularly buy it, and The Boxer is heralded as good wine, but I can't see how that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headstand Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 David, I will trust your judgement on The Boxer. Personally I'm all about Old Word (minus ye olde Brett stink). A friend of mine who just llllllloves Aus Shiraz actually had me looking for The Boxer because he spoke so highly about it. The sad part for me is that after trying to cultivate his palate over the last four years I thought he was actually making progress - apparently not! Thanks for the heads up. PS, love all you Aus boys - you guys are the greatest. Love your Aus rules football too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wil Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Love your Aus rules football too. Careful now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanhan Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 All the wines I mentioned are available in the US. Try the Standish if you like your fruitbombs. wine-searcher is your friend. Also try Glaetzer's Anaperenna. You really want to stick with the shiraz's as cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir suffer from alcohol levels over 14%. A good pinot noir doesn't taste big so it won't fit your taste profile. Also try the Turkey Flat ‘Butchers Block Shiraz Grenache Mouverdre blend. Give the Layer Cake shiraz a look as well, its only 20 bucks or so. Sorry to hear about your experience with the Boxer. Over the past 3 years I've probably had one or two cases of Mollydooker (boxer, two left feet) with friends during bbq's and never experienced those problems. There is some sediment but then again it is an unfiltered wine - but the sediment should be evenly dispersed after you do their recommended "mollydooker shake" - a ff'ing weird thing if you ask me. The winemaker does come down for wine dinners to this neck of the woods so I will pass on your comments and see what the reaction is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brazoseagle Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 All the wines I mentioned are available in the US. Try the Standish if you like your fruitbombs. wine-searcher is your friend. Also try Glaetzer's Anaperenna. You really want to stick with the shiraz's as cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir suffer from alcohol levels over 14%. A good pinot noir doesn't taste big so it won't fit your taste profile. Also try the Turkey Flat ‘Butchers Block Shiraz Grenache Mouverdre blend. Give the Layer Cake shiraz a look as well, its only 20 bucks or so. Sorry to hear about your experience with the Boxer. Over the past 3 years I've probably had one or two cases of Mollydooker (boxer, two left feet) with friends during bbq's and never experienced those problems. There is some sediment but then again it is an unfiltered wine - but the sediment should be evenly dispersed after you do their recommended "mollydooker shake" - a ff'ing weird thing if you ask me. The winemaker does come down for wine dinners to this neck of the woods so I will pass on your comments and see what the reaction is... I've had the Layer Cake, also wasn't impressed, seemed to lack complex balance. I've had some Penfolds that are ok. With so much sediment in the boxer, it's hard to even comment on the taste profiles. I do actually like Pinot Noir. I don't just drink one kind of wine. It depends usually on what cuisine is being paired with it. I tend to stick to the French Bold Reds, California Jammy and Velvety Cabs, California fruity and thick Syrah's, and occasionally a light and complex Pinot or Burgandy or a vibrant old vine Zinfindel. I guess here's my problem summed up : Outside if the sediment issue, which was rediculous, as I mentioned, I've had many Austrailian Shiraz's. I am in no way a newbie to wine or a cheapskate about wine. (Especially Bordeaux). But I've paid $89.00 US for a bottle of Carnival of Love Shiraz, and as it was good, probably the best Shiraz that I can get my hands on, it wasn't as good as a $13.00 US bottle of 6th Sense Syrah from California. So far, it's just been disappointing to me that in order to find an Austraikian Shiraz that I like, I have to pay $90 bucks for it and its still not easy to find. The point is, all of the bottles that are readily available in the local grocery stores are crap, so availability is probably the biggest issue. If you combined the 8 closest grocery stores to me that have great selections, the most expensive bottle of Shiraz that is even carried is a $22 bottle of Greg Norman Swill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion21 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 David, I have had very good luck with Australian wines and I especially enjoy Mitolo. Mitolo's G.A.M is a very good, moderately priced, shiraz that I always enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perfectform Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Surprisingly, the "Maitre D" is my favorite 'dooker effort. I've been out of the wine loop for a while but you used to be able to get Two Hand's Brave Faces for about $20. A great value IMO. Also, give Clarendon Hills a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Wish Channel 9 would re-make "Chances". Ah, a little late night T&A from the early 90's... How about a remake of Number 96 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuzz Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 How about a remake of Number 96 Oohlala! I'm just old enough to remember sneaking a peak at some of the late night re-runs. Bring back the "Kicker Snipper" and the "Pantyhose Murderer"!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevn Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Here's a couple that I like that are balanced enough to drink with food... 1998 Fox Creek Reserve 1998 E&E Black Pepper Shiraz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Gargett Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 david, sounds like a problem with a section of the bottlng. i know that parker has pushed the 'non-flitered' aspects of winemaking but that sounds way too extreme. sparky a very interesting character. made the early fox creek wines, the reserve shiraz was stunning. has various lines. has been very successul in the states and often we don't even see his wines. he does go the full throttle style which can be way over te top for many people. i think we reviewed the velvet glove and a few oters on videos on spitbucket. from memory, they were not our most loved wines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Gargett Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Here's a couple that I like that are balanced enough to drink with food... 1998 Fox Creek Reserve 1998 E&E Black Pepper Shiraz interesting choices as sparky also made the fox creek 98 reserve (and i agree, a terrific wine) as well as the mollydooker's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Gargett Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 I distributor once told me that Oz makes wines specifically for the US, and some of those aren't even sold in OZ, his example was the Greg Norman line. yes, a lot of winemakers make wine specifically for export. but i don't necessarily see anything wrong with it. often, i wish they didn't as i'd love to see some of those wines here. the greg norman wines are slightly different. he wanted his own line, talked to mildara blass (i think that is what they were then - now part of treasury) and they came up with the line. he works with head winemaker chris hatcher. i never see them so can't comment. i did hear that the year he first released one, it was not a separate wine, as they hve been since then, but that mildara took a quantity of another of their wines and rebranded it as a 'greg norman' wine. nothig wrong with that i suppose though seems strange. what was amusing was that i believe that both wines made the wine spec's 'top 100' for the year, though the one under the norman label was ranked far higher than the other, same, wine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nino Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 I'll go for anything having Wolf Blass on the bottle, never been disappointed ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brazoseagle Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 yes, a lot of winemakers make wine specifically for export. but i don't necessarily see anything wrong with it. often, i wish they didn't as i'd love to see some of those wines here. the greg norman wines are slightly different. he wanted his own line, talked to mildara blass (i think that is what they were then - now part of treasury) and they came up with the line. he works with head winemaker chris hatcher. i never see them so can't comment. i did hear that the year he first released one, it was not a separate wine, as they hve been since then, but that mildara took a quantity of another of their wines and rebranded it as a 'greg norman' wine. nothig wrong with that i suppose though seems strange. what was amusing was that i believe that both wines made the wine spec's 'top 100' for the year, though the one under the norman label was ranked far higher than the other, same, wine. Yeah I think the issue here, at least in the Dallas area, is availiability. There just seems to not be any on the shelves from Australia under $30 that are pleasant. I'm not saying they don't exist by any means, I just can't find them in Dallas, which is frustrating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thechenman Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Dave...it's tough to go wrong with Two Hands in my opinion, but an Aussie wine I've had a lot of luck with is the Vasse Felix Cabernet. It's not Shiraz, but I found it to be pretty damn good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuzz Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Dave...it's tough to go wrong with Two Hands in my opinion, but an Aussie wine I've had a lot of luck with is the Vasse Felix Cabernet. It's not Shiraz, but I found it to be pretty damn good. Vasse Felix make a lovely Shiraz from 40 year old vines. If you can find it, the Vasse Felix Heytesbury Cabernets is a bloody awesome drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brazoseagle Posted December 20, 2012 Author Share Posted December 20, 2012 Here is a general selection of Oz Reds at the two best retailers in Dallas. Let me know some good picks. I need to pick some up for Christmas gifts. http://www.totalwine.com/eng/categories/wine/australia%7Cred-wine http://www.specsonline.com/cgi-bin/showpage?pageid=search&keyword=&inclass=Wine&webclass=Wine&subclass=503&origin=®ion=&size=&Sortby=Name&pricefrom=&pricethru=& Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wil Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Haven't tried too many from the totalwine site. Seems to be a fair bit of lower end stuff. But some worth trying: - Tyrell's Rufus Stone shiraz http://www.totalwine...n-vale/93203750 - D'Arenberg Laughing Magpie shiraz viognier (haven't tried this myself, but have tried a lot of their other wines which are usually good) http://www.totalwine...ognier/99326750 - Penfolds St Henri shiraz (it's pricey, but a beautiful wine - i have a few bottles in the cellar) http://www.totalwine...shiraz/11471750 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wil Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 From the other site: - D'Arenberg Custodian grenache - really great value grenache in my opinion - Penfold Bin 28 Kalimna shiraz - big, aussie shiraz (that is a great price too) - Penley Estate Phoenix Cab Sav - great value Coonawarra cabernet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wil Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 lol and so much Yellowtail!! There are some great Aussie wines on those websites though. Interested to hear what others suggest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuzz Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Good selection, Wil. Specsonline: Glaetzer Wallace Shiraz Grenache (though pretty much anything from Glaetzer is great) Schild Estate Shiraz Torbreck The Struie Shiraz Wild Duck Shiraz Total Wine: Shotfire Ridge Shiraz (the Quartage is also nice) Tyrell's Vat 9 Shiraz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maverickdrinker Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Some of my favorites D'Arenberg Ironstone pressings, Dead arm Penfolds RWT, Bin 28 Kalima, Grange Torbreck The Struie Schild Estate Amon RA Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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