Nice Wine 4 reasonable price?

[slong]

I am looking for a nice bottle of Red for a reasonable price...is this too much to ask! - the cheap Merlots and CS's in Tesco and Sainsburies are rank...the expensive ones arent much better!....any recommendations?

[Ace]

What do you expect going to a supermarket?
Get yer arse to Victoria Wines or any other wine merchant, not THAT much difference in price, but lots in quality

[Officer Dibble]

Time permitting; I go to my local wholesale wine merchant. It's in a unit in the industrial heart of the city and their main customer base is the catering/hospitality trade - but they have a nice showroom and anyone is welcome. The proprietors are two French dudes who know a thing or two about wines ?n? spirits. They source their own stock from various small chateaus and estates in France and the rest of Europe. These wines don't tend to fined their way onto supermarket shelves, as the chateaus in question are too small to service the industrial quantities that are required (cheaply) by supermarkets. However, small scale, hands on, winemaking by families who have been in the biz since Joan of Arc usually offer loads of character, individuality, and taste. They?re very reasonably priced too - roughly 30% below the cost of supermarket equivalents. I know they?re excellent value as I can compare the prices of their bubbly (all the big brands) directly with the ones on the shelves of supermarkets. When I go down there I buy a couple of assorted cases that will last me a month or two. The French dudes always greet me like an old pal and offer a glass of whatever they have open on the day, while talking me through the pros and cons of various estates, chateaus, and offering advice on really good wines at reasonable money. Truth be told, put a blindfold on me and I couldn't tell my Cabernet from my Shiraz. So, I always put myself in the hands of these wine guys. Which ones would they buy? They have never let me down.

Therefore, what I?d advise is, forget about supermarkets, and find out where your local wine merchants are. They are the ones in the know. They have the really interesting (and tasty) wines. Go and rap with them, ask their advice. Cheers.


Officer Dibble

[Deuce Bigolo]

Whats your definition of a reasonable price?



My first recommendation that I ever received was for Jamiesons Run from the much awarded South Australian Coonawarra region in Australia a few weeks ago,but thats a cabernet,shiraz,merlot mixture...smooth as silk,whatever vintage

Some of the New World(Chilean Merlots) wines are cheap as compared to the more established countries but like everything the older a red is the better it will taste but also the dearer it will be

As a general rule the older a Merlot is the better it should taste(if its been stored correctly)

cheers
B....OZ