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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