05 October 2010

Taste Test: GraysOnline Wine Samples (3 Oct 2010)

http://www.graysonline.com/wine


Affordable & Quaffable Wines

Thanks to Karl from First Rate for contacting me about taste testing some wine samples from GraysOnline. I received 2 bottles each of a Riesling, Shiraz and Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc. I shared the Clare Valley Estate Riesling 2009 and Jorgensen Hill McLaren Vale Shiraz 2008 with a dinner table of 7 people and the Pirramimma Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2010 at two dinners of 8 people and 7 people. Everyone agreed the wines were very drinkable. The light tasting Riesling wasn't too overly sweet. The uncomplicated Shiraz had a light bouquet and taste without too much tannin — more like a merlot than a shiraz was commented. I tend to prefer more depth in flavour and bouquet but it would be do quite nicely as an everyday/BBQ/casual dinner style wine. The Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc was slightly sweeter than your usual sauvignon blanc and probably good for those you don't like their dessert wines too sweet — I tend to prefer the more sticky sweeter versions like a Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora or Nobel One Botrytis Semillon.

I tried to checked the retail prices of the wines and it seems they might be only sold through GraysOnline through a bidding system. I couldn't work out an estimated price for the Clare Valley Estate Riesling 2009 but the Jorgensen Hill McLaren Vale Shiraz 2008 had bidding prices around $39 for 12 bottles which is only $3.25 per bottle and the Pirramimma Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2010 was getting auction bids of $29 for 6 bottles which is around $4.83 per bottle. For such a drinkable selection of wines that's incredible value and I think would suit anyone buying in bulk for a party, cafe or even restaurant — perhaps even to stock up at home for your ready home cellar.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: Selection provided was very drinkable, Very reasonable prices to be found online
CONS: Need to bid or order online and wait for delivery, Limited to what's available online, Minimum order of a case
MUST TRY: Checking out the specials available for bulk orders


Clare Valley Estate Defender of the Faith Riesling 2009


Jorgensen Hill McLaren Vale Shiraz 2008

Jorgensen Hill McLaren Vale Shiraz 2008
Auction bid: $39 for 12 bottles = $3.25 per bottle


Pirramimma Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2010


Pirramimma Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2010
Auction bid: $29 for 6 bottles = $4.83 per bottle

2 comments:

Sarah D said...

Grays is great for good cheap wine! Only thing is be careful to get new rather than older wines as i have had an experience where several wines in a case were oxidised (normally only happens when wines are too old or through poor storage).

Simon Leong said...

hi sarah, thanks for the tip. sounds like a great website to get cheap wines :-)

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