Hey Gary

It would be amazing if you could check out any of the Dalwhinnie wine range from Victoria. Also Jim Irvine’s Grand Merlot which is from Eden valley, it’s won a ton of medals and is just superb, it’s so viscous you almost have to chew it.

I’m a big big fan of Australian wine, I love the Shiraz and Chardonnays from Margaret River, Clare valley Riesling is great and they have so much interesting stuff if you look just under the surface. Also had a fabulous Botrytis Riesling from Tasmania.

Great show Gary, great to see the passion!

Hey Gary

It would be amazing if you could check out any of the Dalwhinnie wine range from Victoria. Also Jim Irvine’s Grand Merlot which is from Eden valley, it’s won a ton of medals and is just superb, it’s so viscous you almost have to chew it.

I’m a big big fan of Australian wine, I love the Shiraz and Chardonnays from Margaret River, Clare valley Riesling is great and they have so much interesting stuff if you look just under the surface. Also had a fabulous Botrytis Riesling from Tasmania.

Great show Gary, great to see the passion!

Haven’t had any great Australian wine. Several wines ranging from meh to not bad. Nice to see a couple good ones in this group.

QOTD: Santa is hopefully bringing me a nice bottle of wine to put away in hopes of starting a collection. Hopefully this will happen since Santa came early for the wife with and iPhone! Any suggestions for Santa?

“Innocent Bystander”. What does that have to do with the wine? How can anyone take a wine with a name like that seriously? It tells you nothing about where it was made.

I don’t get it with these new world wine makers and the silly names they give their wines. Why can’t they be more like AOC and name them for the area or chateau?

Anyway, it’s Aussie and at this price range they probably used oak chips.
Look what happens in France with that, Chateau Giscours scandal of ’98, and it was with their second wine and not the grand vin.

Australia scares me !

WpgGord, I’m with you on that.

Well done on finally doing the non Baroossa Aussie show Gary!

My next suggestion for an aussie show would be Hunter Valley show.
Have an earthy, leahery almost unoaked shiraz and some of the best semillons in the world form there…

QOTD: a 4 month hiking trip through the Patagoian Andes… see u all in May 🙂

Very Meh today GV, but that is usually Aussie wine for me. I do like some Mclaren Vale fruit, but only if its understated and more syrah like.

QOTD: Hopefully a complete set of Riedel wine glasses.

COOOOOOOL EPISODE

OOOOOOPPPS….. As i was tryin’ to say, COOOOOOOOL EPISODE wit GOOOOOOD
THUNDER!!! Got a little worried about Ya at the end there…….

qotd: Beats da Heck outta me??? A Lump o’ Coal, maybe…?… 🙂

Gary – your reaction to the Shiraz is why I’ve pretty much given up on Aussie Shiraz completely. So much other great wine to drink…

QOTD: Maybe a 42 inch HDTV, although that might wait until after the new year. My wife and I buy things for each other at the time we see them, and we don’t want for much, so we focus this time of year on spending quality time with family and friends (sharing great wine and wonderful food) instead of material stuff for ourselves; and spoiling our 6 nieces and nephews.

Thanks man, that Misha’s too cute.

QOTD: Santa is bringing me a newly remolded basement with bar/serving area and a respectable wine storage area!

Splinters in the mouth, that was funny stuff! Santa has already brought me health and prosperity, and that’s enough for me!

QOTD: I’m not really sure and that’s fine by me. Gifts should be a surprise–or off my Amazon wish list. 🙂

lol Gary. You looked so depressed by the Penley Estate. When I saw the wines lined up I thought it was the Cabernet and thought “Meh, OK wine I guess” then saw it was the Shiraz and thought “Uh oh”.

A lot of the Shiraz made in Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek and even the Clare Valley is just trying to imitate the lucrative Barossa style. Let it get slightly overripe, extract the crap out of it, mix it with American oak chips in an industrial-strength blender, slap some words like “rich” and “opulent” in the blurb and watch the money roll in. There’s also a lot of good, balanced wine being made, but unfortunately it’s the stuff least likely to be exported to the US I would guess. You certainly can’t trust Spectator to tell you what’s good and what isn’t. Was it Harvey Steinman who did the review? He, along with Jay Miller, is a running joke among wine nerds here.

Good to see the Innocent Bystander getting a run out. Thought your review of the Mulberry Tree was spot on as well. If you do a future Australian show I would keep checking out Victoria and maybe Margaret River in an attempt to expand palates. For relatively inexpensive Shiraz, maybe check out a Victorian Shiraz Viognier (Yering Station, De Bortoli among others), something from Clonakilla, or a Margaret River example.

Hey Gary – great show. I usually find Aussie wine (regardless of varietal) to be like that last one you reviewed and so I almost never buy them. I’ve tried other areas than Barrosa, too, I just never seem to get lucky. I’m going to keep an eye out for the Innocent Bystander and give that a shot.

What up Gary!

Promised to comment on the last ep BUT I loved this one so here I am!
I say: awesome episode. I can’t get over how you’re being so extremely YOU and this makes the show very interesting to watch.

QOTD: A kalimba. It’s the most wonderfull african little musical instrument. Youtube it!

QOYD: In 2010 I would like to see a mobile WLTV website which makes it easier to comment from an iPhone. (Seriously what is this, 2008?)

Ha! Be well!

I love the label on the first wine!
Yeah, @castello I was wondering about the big-ass-glass myself! @GV what kind is it?

QOTD: I think this is the first year I haven’t been able to think of anything I wanted besides a little music (& wine, of course!)

Great show! 1st time to reply but have been watching your show for a while. Santa has a package of your “Gary’s Monthly Wine Club” under the tree. Can’t wait to open it up!

Winkie Winkie… Gary Veeee… like the “you with a little bit of me… whether they like it or not” Glad that part is back. Not so sure about the winkie thang. Makes me think of Sarah Palin… not that there’s anything wrong with that! 😉

Soooooo…have NO clue what Santa is bringing me this year. I haven’t given my wife even a hint of what I’d like so I guess she and St. Nick are on their own… Good/honest review today.

sipping on the Yalumba Museum Muscat right now…wonderful after dinner dessert substitute, and what a deal at winelibrary.com.

Thanks much to gary, kmurph and the rest of the crew…shipped some wine down to FL where we were meeting up with family…brothers, parents, and granparents, and everyone really appreciated it. You guys do it like no one else.

I’m from Cali and have lived in Australia for the past 3 years. You shouldn’t apologize for your attitude about this region. You are spot on. It’s a disgrace. Aussies pride themselves on massive, over-ripened, mega-oaked reds. Mornington and Yarra have some decent Pinot and Chard but anything grown in warm climates tastes like an IHOP syrup suicide – besides making you really heavy-headed drunk and hungover. The average Aussie consumer doesn’t know any better because 1) they live on an island with no alternatives, 2) imports are unaffordable (due to shipping, taxes, and thus, demand), 3) they’ll drink Australian simply because it is Australian (their beer is even worse), and 4) they like loads of alcohol. A vigneron that I met in Barossa last year had a motto “bigger is best, bugger the rest.” When I moved here, wine finally overtook beer in consumed alcoholic bevs. However, I feel as though this massive influx of “beginner’s palettes” that initially got hooked on the sugary stuff is starting to mature. The winemakers are recently going through a massive surplus and scratching their heads. Hopefully this forces them to start making some interesting wines rather than catering to the novice consumer.

P.S. The “Mint” you got out of the Cab is Eucalypt taint. I guarantee 4 of 5 cabs that you taste from here are going to have that same characteristic. Some claim it to be a distinct regional characteristic. Maybe so, but it doesn’t take long until you get sick of it. Yuck.

GARY!!!!
You know I love you, but Im afraid we’re going to have to take a time-out. Still no Bday wishes..and so ..Im forced to break-up with you.
Im sorry…

QOTD: Santa’s bringing me the love of family and friends.. 🙂 (and a Red Rider BB Gun!!)

I’m almost certain Santa is brining me two books…a Clint Eastwood biography and a copy of “Crush It”!!! I want them early, but my wonderful wife said I had to wait… I’ll be trying the Innocent Bystander soon. I’m now worried about the Marquis Phillips in my cooler…Have a great Christmas Gary, thanks for bringing the Thunder.

Nice Hacksaw Jim Duggan reference…

EJ