Winestate Magazine’s Big Event is a real Challenge for Consumers
Why? Because the winners are hard to find out there. Their prices are pretty steep already, and there’s no discount relief in retail land because you won’t find these wines there. Please stay with me and I’ll explain. Winestate collects over 500 wines from all over the world every year and chooses the best overall, plus the best in various price groups. Let’s go down the list:
1st place overall: Bird in Hand Nest Egg Shiraz 2010 – $108 at Cellarit . After a long hunt, I found some of the wine at this unfamiliar site. Parker’s rating for the wine is 91 points so it may not be worth over $100. The 2012 is on the winery’s website for $99
2nd place overall: Guigal Ex voto Ermitage 2010. Cannot find an Australian source for this wine, and there’s no sign of anyone importing it. Overseas listing suggest a price around US$200.
3rd place overall – Wolf Blass Medlands Vineyard Platinum Label Shiraz 2010 – $199 / case at the winery. No, it’s not a misprint but it’s a one-bottle case. It’s only fitting that Wolfie’s best comes in its own box and wears a bow tie.
Winestate’s best wines of 2013
At least there’s some consistency here, because this was also the top red in Winestate’s best of 2013 late last year. Just to keep you informed, here are the Category winners on that occasion:
Shiraz: Wolf Blass Medlands Vineyard Platinum Label Barossa Shiraz 2010 (Aust)
Cabernet & Blends: Devil’s Lair Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (Aust)
Pinot Noir: Lowburn Ferry Skeleton Creek Central Otago Pinot Noir 2011 (NZ)
Merlot & Blends: Leconfield Coonawarra Merlot 2012 (Aust)
Alternative Red: Palmer Margaret River Malbec 2011 (Aust)
Chardonnay: Fromm La Strada Marlborough Chardonnay 2010 (NZ)
Semillon: Pokolbin Estate Semillon 2004 (Aust)
Sauvignon Blanc: Selaks Winemakers Favourite Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2012 (NZ)
Sweet: Vidal Legacy Series Noble Semillon 2011 (NZ)
Riesling: Richmond Grove Watervale Riesling 2012 (Aust)
Pinot Grigio/Gris: Hawkshead Gibbston Central Otago Pinot Gris 2012 (NZ)
Alternative White: Tahbilk 1927 Marsanne 2004 (Aust)
Fortified: Morris of Rutherglen Old Premium Rare Liqueur Tokay NV (Aust)
Sparkling: Coldstream Hills Yarra Valley Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir 2009 (Aust)
World’s Greatest Shiraz Challenge – Category Winners
$15 – $20 – Wolf Blass Red label Shiraz Grenache. How judges keep falling for these industrial concoctions is beyond us.
$15 – $20 – Taylors Shiraz 2013 – $12 at Dan M’s. If you like the Taylors fruit bomb style, this could be the deal of the month for you.
$20 – $25 – Sanguine Progeny Heathcote Shiraz 2013 – $19 by the dozen at Winelistaustralia or $22 at Winesnob in a mixed case.
$25 to $30 – Gumpara Victors Old Vine Barossa Valley Shiraz 2012 – $59 for a 3-pack at TasDeals. Very hard to find as well, the winery has already sold out of the 2013.
$30 – $35 – Mockingbird Hill Reserve Clare Valley Shiraz 2012. This wine is made from Clare fruit by Woolworths at its Dorrien winery in the Barossa, and sold through its Cellarmasters online store (and DJ’s and the usual suspects down that line). Cellarmasters has none left, nor does DJ’s).
Some Surprises
Last year’s challenge was won by a Grant Burge with a $28 Filsel 2010 Shiraz. No such luck this year, but let’s have a look at what we can find:
Metala Shiraz Cabernet 2012 – 4.5/5. S14 at Dan M’s. Gets 92 points from the Winefront, and 91 from us.
Seppelt Chalambar Grampians Shiraz 2012 – 4.5/5. $18 at Kemenys. 95 from JH, 91 from the Winefront – about the same as our score.
Pepperjack Shiraz 2012 – 4.5/5. $17 at Dan M’s. We’ve been telling you what a bargain this is for quite a while. Nice to have it confirmed.
Some big names that didn’t score well and prove our point that spending more doesn’t translate to higher quality include
- Seppelt St Peters Shiraz 2012 – $75, 3.5/5
- Rosemount Balmoral Shiraz 2012 – $75, 3/5
- Saltram Marble Quarry Road Barossa Valley Shiraz 2012 – $90, 3/5
- half a dozen $100 reds from d’Arenberg – all 3/5
Kim
