Your best "value" wines of 2004

Hi Dale, Thanks for the list. Sad to say I'm not familiar with any of the wines

-except- HRM Rex, which I purchase by the case whenever I can find it on sale. I'll try your other suggestions.

Thanks, Dick R.

My number one value for money wine of the year is the Yalumba 'Y' Viognier 2004, of which I bought a number of bottles for $AU6.90 - and there was plenty of it around for under $9.00. Why wine of the year? Not just because it is inexpensive but because it epitomises what Australian winemakers do so well. That is, faultless winemaking combined with generosity of fruit.

See

Martin

The Rex Goliath Cabernet is light years ahead of the Pinot Noir. One of the best values I have had in a long time! I also thought that these were non-vintage wines. I'm sure the Cabernet was.

Sean

I've got to agree--the Cab has grown on me and the Merlot is a winner as well although it was the PN that first introduced me to Rex.

The first cases I bought were 2001, but the recent purchases are NV.

Ed Rasimus Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret) "When Thunder Rolled"

Hello Martin,

I have read nothing but greatness regarding viognier, with the 2004 Yalumba 'Y' typically receiving around 90/100, and the 2003 92+.

I shall be purchasing a number of bottles today to try and to share around. Most ppl I know are not big white drinkers, but this sounds like something special.

Thankyou for the heads up.

Mat.

P.S.: I always enjoy your often Australian-centred posts, so thanks a lot for them. When in Rome drink what the Romans drink. :)

If you can find a copy of the December 2004 issue of Decanter, there is a listing of top wines of 2004 tasted by Decanter. There are lists of best buys under 10 Pounds per bottle as well as more expensive wines. Many of the wines listed will not be available in all markets. However their listing of affordable Burgundy could be very useful in an area where it is very difficult to select good wine at a reasonable price. There are so many wines of all types listed, that surely you can find several of them in wine stores in locations other than the U.K. and London area.

My mailbox is always full to avoid spam. To contact me, erase snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net from my email address. Then add snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com . I do not check this box every day, so post if you need a quick response.

Hello,

I'm not sure if you were referring to my post [you replied to it, but might just have been replying to this thread], but London is about 30

I picked up a number of bottles of the Yalumba Y Series Viognier for AU$7.99 a bottle. The shelf was empty, so it must be a popular seller [little wine pun there for you].

I'm actually quite excited about it, and just waiting for a little hot weather. Something different.

Mat.

P.S.: Don't call me Shirley. :)

P.P.S.: 10 pounds would be about $24AU, which I can tell you is more than enough for a reasonable Oz quaffer here in Oz.

Hello,

I just re-read your post properly. :-\

Just ignore me, everyone else has the sense to. :)

Mat.

I just have to agree with the Rex Goliath. Where I live, it's about $9 or $10, but it's still a pretty good wine for everyday drinking. A good rec to my friends living in different states who do not have to pay the extra taxes on wine.

Available in SE Virginia and now (we moved in October) in eastern North Carolina: Hardy's 2002 Cabenet Sauvignon ($1.75 for 187ml, $15.99 for 3 liter box) Hans Schiller 2002 Piesporter Michelsburg (Riesling, $4.99 for 750ml) Hans Schiller 2001 Piesporter Auslese (Riesling, $8.99 for 750ml) Muirwood 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon (California, $10.99 for 750 ml) Rosemount Estate 2002 Traminer Riesling (Australian, $6.99 for 750ml) Shenandoah 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon (Virginia, $12.83 for 750ml) Horton 1998 Cabernet Franc (Virginia, $9.96 for 750ml) Barboursville 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon (Virginia, $14.99 for 750ml) Black Opal 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon (Austrailian, $6.99 for 750ml) Chateau Bellevue 2000 Bordeaux ($6.49 for 750ml)

None really super, but all were good value for money spent. (Actually, the Barboursville and Shenandoah compared well to Cabs at twice the price) Jim

I had a crack at this one. I'm not a big white man [only on hot summer days usually], but it was quite passable.

Fruit salad on the nose, but suprisingly dry considering the bouquet. Lovely slightly oily texture on the palate. Hints of melon type fruits without being a complete fruit platter. Lovely mid to long finish. In one bottle I noticed some alcoholic heat on the finish, didn't notice it on the other bottle I drank though. O, and it has a very light fizz which made it a little more interesting to me personally.

This is completely from memory, so I cannot give anything more detailed. Everyone I know including seasoned chardonnay exponents quite enjoyed it. Relatively high alcohol at 14% I think it is.

So I would definately drink again, though preferably in hotter weather, at a BBQ etc. I think chardonnay drinkers and those who don't like their whites syrupy-sweet will enjoy this one, and a steal at the price.

Vat youse want AD or BC? For AD I had a Arbor Must Mango Mouvedre dat vas drinkable. The docs say wine & mine medications, zoloft, wellbutrin,lasix and st john's shvance, don't go to well, so what do they know......

I vent tru mine files for 2004 BC and saw dat I excually had a berry wine made by a guy named Magog on the occasion of his grandson's briss. If I recall the moil vas Sheckie da Knife and da wine was a tad astringent, but compared to the late harvest retsina I vas pushing it made a nice quaff, vot mit chick peas and roasted monk fish, cept dey didn't call it monk fish den but scrod.

J.Murray Fefferman worlds oldest juice peddler as told to, voibatim yet, to

snipped-for-privacy@aol.comdamnspam (Dale Williams) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m29.aol.com:

The best Quality Price Ratio wine was Farron Ridge French Red Premium at

Second would be Montinore Estate Muller - Thurgau 2003. Isn't that variety an American-European Hybrid? I only bought it because of the price, 3.49 a bottle, on sale. It reminded me of a German variety, not a specific one, sorta like riesling, but better.

My favorite value wine (first two are QPR favorites) would be Trader Joe's Somona County Cabernet Franc (6.99 I think). It has gotten me on the look- out for Cabernet Franc.

Alas, all the above are only available occasionally.

Muller-Thurgau is a German variety...but not a vinifera-labrusca hybrid. I've always heard and read that it was Riesling-Sylvaner cross, but have recently read somewhere (can't remember where) that it may be a cross of two Riesling clones. Then again, I may have read that about Scheurebe instead.

I'm glad you enjoyed the wine (and for $3.49 it's got to be hard to complain too much), but Muller-Thurgau is generally only thought of as better than Riesling in terms of yield and ripening consistency. Scheurebe, on the other hand, while not the grape that Riesling is, can produce wines with a lot more character.

I may be wrong, but I believe Muller-Thurgau is the most widely planted grape in Germany now.

Jim

"Jim" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...

That was true 30 years ago, now Riesling leads with 20% of the area, Müller-Thurgau 16%, Silvaner 5.7% and Kerner 4.9%.

Newer research shows that M-T is a cross of Riesling and Madeleine Royale. The modern name for M-T, Rivaner, reflects the old belief that it was a cross of Riesling and Sylvaner.

On the other hand, the variety Rieslaner is, indeed, a real cross of Riesling and Sylvaner! hth Anders

So, are you calling em an old fart? I did turn 40 this year. Seriously, thanks for the correction...and the good news that M-T is on the wane.

Thanks...what is Madeleine Royale? Is this one of the crossings from the lab of Dr. Scheu? Or is this a "pure" (whatever the proper term for that is) variety?

Thanks for the education,

Jim

It was probably true less than 30yrs ago too, my reference book is from 1976 (so I'm an even older fart I'd think :-)

I didn't know myself, but found easily this, loosely translated from German "This white grape is a variety of Chasselas (Gutedel in German) and a very popular table grape. It ripens early and carries big berries with a hint of Muskat. It is supposedly identical to the variety Chasselas de Courtiller and one of these both is the father of M-T".

Nice to know Anders

"Jim" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

It may just be that a Willamette Valley (Oregon State) Muller-Turgau is better than the run of Rieslings I usually get. (Usually Washington State, occasionally German in the under $10 variety.)

Or it may be that the particular vinyard was the ideal place for that particular grape.

"Jim Lovejoy" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@nventure.com...

Of course, imho. The M-T in Germany is normally an easy, high-yielding grape constituting the backbone of most cheap blends. However, a few high-class wines have been made from this grape too, for instance this one: Baden, Weingut Schlör, 94 Punkte, 61.36 ?

If yields are kept down and soil and climate are optimal, even this workhorse could be stunning. Anders