Viewing 33 posts - 1 through 33 (of 33 total)
  • red wine advice required please
  • xherbivorex
    Free Member

    okay, so i know pretty much nothing at all about wine and for some bizarre reason i have the task of buying a "full-bodied shiraz" for a friend of ours as a thanks for him recording/producing our band's demo for free. well, clearly i have no idea what would be a good purchase… we don't want to spend more than about 15-20 quid maximum (more than one bottle is a possibility) and i'd also rather not buy from a supermarket if possible.
    so… over to you.

    tails
    Free Member

    what kind of music do you make?

    twohats
    Free Member

    Ask your local wine merchant.

    http://www.majestic.co.uk/

    Or Oddbins

    http://www.oddbins.com/

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    samuri
    Free Member

    This is my own personal observation, so treat it as you will….

    Any wine over 7 quid a bottle, isn't worth it. They are all too thick, are too strong in flavour and don't add anything to the food you are eating with them (which IMO is one of the main reasons for drinking wine).

    For twenty quid, I'd buy a single malt.

    xherbivorex
    Free Member

    what kind of music do you make?

    erm… proper emo; that is, melodic punk rock heavily influenced by the mid 90s era bands like bob tilton, policy of 3, shotmaker, mineral etc etc… it's sort of hard to explain without sounding really pretentious but if you're aware of any of those bands then you'll know what i mean. we have no online presence so i can't provide you with a link to any mp3s or anything, but then again this is not the purpose of this thread anyway!

    xherbivorex
    Free Member

    i looked in booths in knutsford today and was somewhat overwhelmed by all of the different wines…

    samuri- cheers. i have no real idea of what makes a wine good; 20 quid was just a guide, if a 3 or 4 quid bottle is considered top quality then we'll just get him 3 or 4. he's not a spirit drinker at all and we don't just want to get him a crate of beer you know.

    samuri
    Free Member

    Right well in that case I'd say some of the 5-6 quid Lindemanns bottles. They're quite nice.

    tails
    Free Member

    Right well in that case I'd say some of the 5-6 quid Lindemanns bottles. They're quite nice.

    que stoner sneering and looking down his nose at you.

    the guy who runs this hotel is a wine master so if its on the list i can't be to shabby, then go buy it cheaper elsewhere

    no_eyed_deer
    Free Member

    This one's pretty good, from my experience:

    More info: http://www.scottishhampers.co.uk/item.html?id=14

    thejesmonddingo
    Full Member

    Penfolds make good Shiraz,the bin 28,or bin 128 should be in your price bracket,shop around,you may get one of each for £20.
    Ian

    crazy-legs
    Full Member

    If you can find it then "The Black Stump", a SE Australian Shiraz/Durif is very nice. About £8/bottle.
    Best bet is to go to a good independent wine merchant and ask for advice. A couple of bottles at about the £8-10 each mark. You *can* spend a lot more and I'd disagree with samuri by saying that some are well worth it.

    hora
    Free Member

    xherbivorex Willouhbys in Sale. They have some good stuff in there. Don't bother with Oddbins in Chorlton. Its gone massively downhill since the French took it over IMO.

    ijs445ra
    Free Member

    If you are looking at spending about £20 will not find better than this.

    Does a cheaper version as well which is very nice and you may even be able to get it at Tesco

    http://www.tesco.com/wine/product/details/default.aspx?searchBox=tim+adams&id=252420612

    crazy-legs
    Full Member

    Not bad hora but that's a Merlot not the requested "full bodied Shiraz". 😉
    And anyway, if you're going for a Merlot, get the Heritage Road Merlot:
    http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/sainsburys-price-comparison/Red_Wine/Heritage_Road_Merlot_750ml.html
    Sainsburys often do it at half price, when they do it sells out in minutes. I'll usually get a bottle whenever I'm in there (3 or 4 if it's half price!)

    hora
    Free Member

    Aye but I am a full-bodied Shiraz drinker and I still wouldnt grumble if someone offered me that fruit-packed ickle number! Saying that (Im sticking my neck out here, deep-redwine lovers tend to like more than one red). I even like light yet fruity Pinot Noirs.

    Gawd, talking about wine first thing in the morning 😕

    iamtheresurrection
    Full Member

    I'd pop into a local wine merchant and ask for a recommendation on a northern Rhone whine, which are generally shiraz based and not the obvious choice – Saint-Joseph might be a good place to start, Hermitage and Cote Rotie too, although might start to push the budget…

    catfood
    Free Member

    If your mate likes a full bodied shiraz then Barossa Valley ones tend to be very good, quite distictive and very drinkable, you can get a decent one for less than a tenner.

    GrahamS
    Full Member

    Don't bother going to Majestic – they only sell six or more.

    If you want a "full bodied" Shiraz then go for Australian as they generally have far more body than old world wines.

    Any wine over 7 quid a bottle, isn't worth it. They are all too thick, are too strong in flavour

    I couldn't disagree more. The more expensive wine should have been cellared for a number of years, so it should generally be a more mellow and rounded flavour when compared to a younger wine.

    mavisto
    Free Member

    They may not be Shiraz, but they are both excellent full bodies reds

    Aldi St Émilion Grand Cru at £9.99 a bottle

    And if you want something a little different

    Tesco Reserve Californian Zinfandel a £4.81

    andyha
    Free Member

    Shaw & Smith Shiraz, 2007

    kiwijohn
    Full Member
    GrahamS
    Full Member

    Don't touch anything younger than a 2005.

    How about this:


    Rosemount Estate, Show Reserve McLaren Vale Langhorne Creek Shiraz 2003
    http://www.winedirect.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=94&products_id=4475

    RichPenny
    Free Member

    Personally have had good experiences with the following Australian producers who are widely available:

    St. Hallett
    Peter Lehman
    Heartland
    Heathcote
    Tyrells
    D'Arenburg
    Brokenwood

    All of them produce wines in your price bracket. If he's a wine buff and likely to cellar it, then it can be worth spending on one bottle. If he just likes his wine, then £7-£10 a bottle gets you some great wine. If he's asked for a full bodied Shiraz, then it's much more likely that he wants Aussie rather than French wine.

    flippinheckler
    Free Member

    Chilean Shiraz is rather good Mapio Valley, spend around £6-£8 pounds you should get a good few bottles, I have tried a fair few and IMO you cant go wrong they also do a good Merlot. Errazuriz Estate do some very nice wines.

    xherbivorex
    Free Member

    good work chaps, gives me stuff to think about. i'll probably pop round to carringtons later on and have a chat with them…
    but yeah, i was thinking australian would be the most likely choice. also, he's not a wine buff, he just likes it. so i'm not gonna drop a fortune on some crazy vintage as he'll just be drinking it with his missus rather than cellaring it.

    GrahamS
    Full Member

    Personally have had good experiences with the following Australian producers who are widely available…

    I've been to at least four of those vineyards 😀

    (lived in Adelaide for 9 months and spent many happy Sundays in Barrossa and McLaren Vale.

    RichPenny
    Free Member

    Hoping to visit the Barossa next year. I've been to the Lower Hunter which is nice.

    Keva
    Free Member

    south african and argentinian are worth a look.

    myfatherwasawolf
    Free Member

    Just go to the shop, buy some wine and stop being so lame. This is why (most) emo is so bloody awful. A bunch of nancy boys in Cheshire worrying about what wine to buy FFS.

    😉

    Stu_N
    Full Member

    French Syrahs tend to be quite a lot lighter than the Australians. Even if it's possible to find a £20 Cote Rotie or Hermitage I wouldn't touch it with a shitty stick. If you do want a French bottle, a St Joseph or Cornas would probably be the best bet but I'd go to an independent wine shop and get their recommendation. Likewise a lot of New Zealand (which is quite rare) and Chilean Shiraz is cool climate so relatively light.

    Of the Australian stuff, D'Arenberg Laughing Magpie is a particular favourite here – about £15 in Oddbins. It's pretty weighty but has a touch (5% maybe) of Viognier in there to soften the wine and make it slightly more mellow. Footbolt (about £11) and Lovegrass (about £10) are also good.

    I've had the Shaw and Smith stuff – is good as well.

    Would add Mitolo to the list of good Shiraz producers, their Jester is a bit weird but the GAM and Savitar are awesome (I think Savitar is out of budget but you might just get a bottle of GAM for £20).

    EDIT: Also Charles Melton stuff

    chakaping
    Free Member

    Tim Adams Shiraz (he does three types at different prices) is very nice too, available from Tesco but that shouldn't be held against it.

    I certainly can see the point in spending more than £10 on a botle of wine, but only if you choose well.

    GrahamS
    Full Member

    Of the Australian stuff, D'Arenberg Laughing Magpie is a particular favourite here

    seconded. Lovely drop that.

Viewing 33 posts - 1 through 33 (of 33 total)

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