QOTD:
Oh, I would have to say Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Artist Series

QOTD:2003 Clarendon Hills Brookman Shiraz

GREAT show! I don’t have a lot of experience with Australian wines yet, but am headed there next month and can’t wait! I do have a Mollydooker in my cellar. I may crack that open tomorrow night!

I like Aussie Wines…

QOTD: Penfold’s Koonunga Hill is my favorite Australian wine.

Had a Greg Norman Once, didn’t think it was all that much but a good one nonetheless.

Good Show.

Much better stuff, Gary…glad you bounced back from ep 615 (“the stoner episode” as it will be hereinafter referred to) with some good content. Solid guest, knowledgeable and enjoyable. Really like Australian reds too..

QOTD: Penfolds RWT

QOTD – 2005 Peter Lehmann Barossa Shiraz: 89 points: Aroma: cherry vanilla; Taste: some pepper & chocolate, full mouthfeel and pleasant silky finish; medium tannins; tastes not overly alcoholic; some complexity; highly agreeable by itself. Good value for money ($13.50 at Costco) and worth buying again.

QOTD: I love Rosemount Estate Shiraz.. I know its sort of the K-Mart blue light special of wines, but something about the taste really excites me. I could plow through a bottle of that right now if I didn’t have 12 patients to care for and was home!!

Gary: strong show. I really anjoyed this episode, but would have loved to hear of his pairing ideas with food… The more you can intertwine food and wine, the better off I for one would be as I would know what to cook for the misses!! Thanks!!

qotd – don’t have a specific favorite, but i recently enjoyed a bottle of two hands angels share shiraz. i have also really liked some torbreck offerings

Thanks Benjamin Christie.
I have that exact Penfolds Bin 389 but haven’t tried it yet.
QOTD: so far: Wolf Blass Black Label Cabernet Shiraz 2001.

QOTD: Haven’t had enough wines from Down Under recently to pick a favorite, but the last pretty good one I had was the R.L. Buller & Son Victoria Tawny

Mitolo Jester Shiraz is delish.

Re Bin 389-I think this wine was unfairly dissed. It is designed for the long haul and would be drinking very nicely at 10-15 years whilst the $15 wines will have long since given up the ghost.

just my 10c worth.

2004 Obsidian Shiraz…one of my favorite wines from around the world not just aulstrailia

Been watching for a while and finely decided it was time to make my first post. Good call on the penfolds I think all of there wines are getting over priced and over oaked. Current vintage of grange in our market is like $265 bones, CRAZY!!!

QQTD: Best wine I’ve had for the money is Elderton Command Shiraz.You can’t count out the Torbreck Runrig but who can afford it.

QOTD : Back when I was a struggling line cook making peanuts/hr. (around nine to seven years or so ago,) I would find a lot of value plays in Oz. I used to love the Penfold’s Bin 2 Shiraz/Mourvedre as my $9 splurge/open the wallet wine.

I think my palate has changed a since those days, because I am now finding much of Australia’s wines to be too overloaded – or something I don’t really like anymore.

As far as “best” ones that I’ve had or “favorite” – I loved and was blown away by the Marquis Phillips S9 when I had it about 5 years ago – so it was probably an ’99 – ’02 vintage.

Oddly enough, that Marquis Phillips replaced the Penfold’s Bin 389 (which was a reward for winning a staff contest in the restaurant) which had before that been the best and priciest Australian wine I had ever had to that point.

Great show.

QOTD: Right now I’d have to say either Torzi Matthews “Frost Dodger,” or the “Poor Thing” Grenache by R Wines (which you absolutely need to do a show on because it’s insane).

Not sure about this ep. Odd discordance between GV and his guest. Poor effort. Sorry, GV. You didn’t seem to be listening to the Aussie alc.

QOTD: No doubt…Mollydooker Carnival of Love 2006

Totally disagree with Ken P. Thought the synergy between guest and Gary was great.

Strange coincidence as I had someone come into my wine shop today and ask for some D’Ar Hermit Crab…and I managed to hunt down some 06 from the cellar. I may have to hunt it down myself tomorrow as well as some ‘Money Spider’ and ‘The Last Ditch’ which are also Rhone Valley white varietals.

QOTD – recently….um….Pillar Box Red 05

best Clare = 2004 Kilikanoon Covenant Shiraz
best Barossa = 2004 Rusden Boundaries Cab
best McLaren = 2005 Viottolo Nebbiolo

I recently tried the 2004 Clarendon Hills Hickinbotham Grenache, and it blew me away. Terrifically concentrated and focused fruit, with raspberries and strawberries for days. Perfectly balanced, with juicy acidity and a creamy texture, and enough tannin to give structure without a hint of dryness or bitterness. I also have some of the 2005 Two Hands Aerope Grenache in my cellar. Of course these wines are rather pricey, but they really show what Australian wines are capable of.

Not a fan of the Penfolds 389. Even for those who don’t mind all that oak, the fruit would be so much better served with a lighter touch. I’ve tried one of these after 10 years in the cellar, and was still unimpressed.

The Hermit Crab sounds like a real find. I’ll have to look for that one.

QOTD = Morilla Estate ’06 Pinot. It’s been a while though so I don’t remember it that clearly, but what I do remember was as a new wine drinker the bacon and leather on the nose just blew me away!

It’s a wine from Tasmania. I guess there’s not much from the island state in the U.S. eh?

The best wine I have had from Australia, would no doubt be the …

The blend is made up predominantly of fragrant, crisp Sauvignon Blanc balanced by finely structured, elegant Semillon with a dash of Pinot Gris for texture, spice and depth. An adaptable companion for any occasion, the Tryst White will complement a range of dishes from fresh seafood to Thai or even a diverse plate of antipasto, experimentation is the key! From nepenthe Website.

Was Benjamin talking Aussie dollars for the prices of the wines? I know the exchange rate was close to 1:1 for a while but I think we’re back up to one American bone being 1.5 Aussie bones or so. Just curious.

I started drinking Stump Jump some years ago basically because I’m into mountain biking and, well, it’s a mountain bike thing. I live in Spain and we don’t have a huge selection of Aussie wines but I’ve liked everything I’ve tried from D’arenberg so far.

The next time you have a snow virgin on the show you need to make them go outside and make a snow angel – some kind of initiation or something.

QOTD: Heartland Dolcetto Lagrein.. for that matter most of Ben Glaetzer wines(except stickleback…not really into them) He maybe a parker darling but love his wines.