Dan Murphys matches 1st Choice Liquor
Great name that, 1st Choice Liquor. With all the negatives the word liquor drags up, you wonder why the marketing geniuses at the big grocery chains haven’t flung this word on the rubbish pile. LiquorLand is another one. Sorry, can’t suppress the marketer in me.
Now, to the subject of today’s post: liquid bargains. Here’s the short list from DM starting with something a bit different:
- Red Hill Estate Chardonnay 2009 and Pinot Noir 2009 for $14.95
This is an established Mornington Peninsula Winery that gets a 5-star rating from James Halliday’s team. You’ll rarely see Mornington Peninsula wines at these prices, but Red Hill is not in the same league as Kooyong IMHO.
I don’t know the Pinot Noir, but JH gives it 91 points so it may be worth trying. 13.6%. The Chardonnay is pretty fair, with a fruit driven nose, really concentrated fruit on mid palate and reasonable length and finesse. About 90 points in my book. JH says it’s a wine for cellaring at the right price and gives it 94. 13%.
Now to the $10 bargains.
- Goundrey Homestead unwooded Chardonnay 2010 or 2011 - $9
I’ve always liked this fresh ‘mouthful of grapes’ style as a wine to drink when you don’t want to think. It has plenty of soft chardonnay fruit and good length, and it slips down the hatch with no trouble at all. A real bargain.
- Annie’s Lane reds and whites for $10
My take on the reds is this: the 2009 shiraz is a keeper, still a bit dense and closed. The Cabernet Merlot 2009 is a plush velvet armchair in a classy brothel, there are a lot of obvious charms here but it’s almost too plush and lacks firm underpinnings so it’s best enjoyed sooner rather than later.
The whites from Annie’s Lane are a mixed bag. The 2011 Riesling is not a patch on the old Quelltaler Rieslings that once came from this Clare Valley estate. A bit underdone in the fruit department at 12 % alcohol, and a little spotty on the palate but there’some citrus fruit and good length. There's a faint hint of saccharine sweetness which I find off-putting. Halliday gives it 94 points so perhaps I’m being too harsh with an 88 rating. Still, for 10 bucks there are few Riesling options outside the Riverland.
Chardonnay doesn’t find clear expression in the Clare, and the Annie's Lane Chadonnay 2011 is 12% alcohol which an elegant Riesling can get away with but a more robust Chardonnay can’t. The result is a pretty bland, almost anemic white.
- Toi Toi Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 - $9.40
Toi Toi is a native Kiwi grass, not what a Polish Princess says to you when she wishes you good luck on a skiing trip. The wine is more in the typical tropical fruit than the grass spectrum. If you like that style, then this is as good as the other cheap options from this overcrowded area. If you’re looking for herbaceous complexity, don’t look here.
- Wynns Coonawarra Estate Shiraz 2010 - $10.75
As I said in a previous post, wine writers tend to wax lyrical about this perennial bargain. Here's Jeremy Oliver in Gourmet Traveller:
'Remarkable for its price, this classically medium-bodied Coonawarra shiraz has a heady, musky bouquet whose vibrant, peppery aromas of cassis, dark plum and berries knit tightly with fresh, faintly charry mocha-like oak. It’s velvet smooth, long and elegant, with a charmingly supple presence of spicy fruit, gentle tannins and racy acids, finishing with genuine persistence and style. We are indeed the lucky country.'
I don't think it's that special, but it's pretty decent value for money. It is clean and well-made and well-balanced with good fruit and no off notes, so I'm happy to give it 90.
- Richmond Grove Watervale Riesling 2005 - $19
Yes, this is closer to $20 but it’s a wonderful aged Riesling from the Clare, and a real bargain. This one you have to buy online from DM – there’s none in the shops. It’s won several golds but don’t let that put you off. 94/100 points from James Halliday; 95/100 points from Huon Hooke in Australian Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine; highly recommended by Peter Forrestal.
http://danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_914833/richmond-grove-riesling-2005
Dan Murphys still has the de Bortoli Botrytis Semillon on offer for just over 10 bucks a half bottle. You won't buy a better sticky than this at the price, that's for sure.
Good drinking
Kim
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