Dan Murphy's and Other Wine Deals

You know what? I'm starting to think that CM is the rivers of wine retailing! A load of sh!te stock that no-one else can offload and dodgy cellar door prices when you go comparing to see if you really are getting a bargain.
Don't get me wrong - I'm in, big-time, for the likes of Moet NV at $26.77 (Xmas 2018) but almost everything else is cheap cough or wines I've never heard of.
Wines, of which, I have never heard..... Thank you, First Lord of the Admiralty
Regarding "never heard of"; I rang a wine buff friend tonight to appraise him of the most expensive Chardonnay's on offer at CM and to ask his advice. He and his two friends didn't recognise ANY of them other than the Oakridge. They were drinking Giaconda at the time....

Otherwise it's a known brand with a huge mark-up.
For example. Take the Limestone Ridge Trio 6-pack at $55 a bottle on CM..... with $100 off tonight. Lovely drop.
$330 less $100 is $230
But wait, here it is on Dan's for $228 !!
(well, it isn't ACTUALLY available on Dan's because it is "SOLD OUT" on Dan's - which probably means it was remaindered to CM on account of it being a rubbish vintage that no self-respecting wine aficionado would ever consider)

Cross reference the CM wines with DM and you'll see what I mean. Dans don't have the dud vintages ..... JUST SAYIN'

p.s.

OT
I'm sorry for being so miserable on such a wonderful evening
Mrs D went to Europe last night, at very short notice, on account of family illness so I'm lonely and melancholy.

OT/OT

She did NOT like the new SQ J A380 cocoon "non-flipover" seats. Hmmm !


DM Lindemann 14.pngLind CM.png
 
Duffa said:
You know what? I'm starting to think that CM is the rivers of wine retailing! A load of sh!te stock that no-one else can offload and dodgy cellar door prices when you go comparing to see if you really are getting a bargain.
Don't get me wrong - I'm in, big-time, for the likes of Moet NV at $26.77 (Xmas 2018) but almost everything else is cheap cough or wines I've never heard of.
Wines, of which, I have never heard..... Thank you, First Lord of the Admiralty
Regarding "never heard of"; I rang a wine buff friend tonight to appraise him of the most expensive Chardonnay's on offer at CM and to ask his advice. He and his two friends didn't recognise ANY of them other than the Oakridge. They were drinking Giaconda at the time....

Otherwise it's a known brand with a huge mark-up.
For example. Take the Limestone Ridge Trio 6-pack at $55 a bottle on CM..... with $100 off tonight. Lovely drop.
$330 less $100 is $230
But wait, here it is on Dan's for $228 !!
(well, it isn't ACTUALLY available on Dan's because it is "SOLD OUT" on Dan's - which probably means it was remaindered to CM on account of it being a rubbish vintage that no self-respecting wine aficionado would ever consider)

Cross reference the CM wines with DM and you'll see what I mean. Dans don't have the dud vintages ..... JUST SAYIN'

p.s.

OT
I'm sorry for being so miserable on such a wonderful evening
Mrs D went to Europe last night, at very short notice, on account of family illness so I'm lonely and melancholy.

OT/OT

She did NOT like the new SQ J A380 cocoon "non-flipover" seats. Hmmm !


View attachment 201777View attachment 201778
Click to expand...
Like with most things, there are gems in the rough. Yes cellarmasters sells alot of ****, but they have also provided us with the best deals, whether through incompetence or on purpose we will never know. I managed to snag multiple 389s, latours, Oakridge chardy, PJs, and torbreck sporrans (a gamble here) this time round. So although the majority of products are overpriced RRPs or exclusive products, there are always goodies to be picked up.
 
@Duffa, interesting you speak of Dan Murphy's. I have not indulged in cellar masters, but I truly think that Dans should be everyone's base position in pricing. I have never ever found a price at Dans that was artificially elevated - on the contrary they hold true to their company ethos of always offerring base prices as the lowest in Australia.

Sure, you can sometimes find a certain product at a cheaper price in some auction house, but Dans actually faithfullly price match every single product they sell. Hence after trying a few different avenues I have firmly settled on Dans. Especially their "under wraps" off loads. I know that these products are sold at great discounts due to commercial plans - excess stock, discontinued lines, lack of floor space, etc, but never due to inferior product. They simply are too big to dabble in anything that could harm their "best price" guarantee.
 
Excellent point, juddles - Dan's are regularly cheap and quick to match other prices (a few recent Aldi offers were matched before the weekly specials went live). It's a shame they're not always good on local availability or vintages, but they're keeping other sellers honest with their prices and customer service IMO.
 
Hi everyone, was needing some advice, or rather info.

I am a little bit intrigued - I just ended up with some bottles of Clarendon Hills merlot. I am certainly no expert on wines, especially aussie ones, but I made this purchase out of curiosity (and perhaps a sufferring as Dr Ralph has with the inability to pass up what could be a "great bargain" :) )

This was a purchase via Dan Murphys under-wraps thing - all I knew was that it was going to be a 2013 sth aussie merlot, with a standard price of $74.99, but being sold for $14.90 as an "under wraps". I figured I could not go too wrong with this. I know something of how Dans handles their wines, so was not worried about the condition of the wine. But I did wonder, and still do, why the enormous discount?

I am an amateur in aussie wines, so did not even know of Clarendon until this is what I picked up through this mystery purchase. And although I have not tried it yet (probably not the best time being 5am after a long nights work) I am already impressed by the bottle. I do love as part of my enjoyment of wine the physical side - a good heavy bottle and a cork. I might just lug one down to Tassie one day and get a couple of fellow AFF wine snobs to drink one with me :)

But the thing that is most intriguing me is the label. I have included a photo below, and there are a couple of things that do not make sense to me. First is the vintage - the bottles I have are 2014, as opposed to the offer which stated 2013. But the other thing is that the label includes in the red script that it is from Blewitt Springs. Despite having a look on the net, the only images I can see of Clarendon merlots have the red script "Clarendon". And searches (at this tired late hour) only show up Blewitt Springs + Clarendon with a grenache.

Maybe I am too tired to think straight, but was pondering if the reason Dans are selling these at such a price is due to a mislabelling issue? Or am I just revealing my ignorance?

Hi Juddles,

I was reading your post in another thread, while you were reading mine!
I think we are on the same page - if a $74 wine is being sold for $15, then something is wrong.
 
roshea said:
Excellent point, juddles - Dan's are regularly cheap and quick to match other prices (a few recent Aldi offers were matched before the weekly specials went live). It's a shame they're not always good on local availability or vintages, but they're keeping other sellers honest with their prices and customer service IMO.
Click to expand...

I am unaware of any other bottleshop that offers the same variety as Dans - and also that through their sheer throughput I can understand that it is hard to keep their hundreds of outlets all having availability of every product at every moment in time. But am finding that if I am prepared to get stock sent rather than pickup, they are quite good.
 
Duffa said:
Hi everyone, was needing some advice, or rather info.

I am a little bit intrigued - I just ended up with some bottles of Clarendon Hills merlot. I am certainly no expert on wines, especially aussie ones, but I made this purchase out of curiosity (and perhaps a sufferring as Dr Ralph has with the inability to pass up what could be a "great bargain" :) )

This was a purchase via Dan Murphys under-wraps thing - all I knew was that it was going to be a 2013 sth aussie merlot, with a standard price of $74.99, but being sold for $14.90 as an "under wraps". I figured I could not go too wrong with this. I know something of how Dans handles their wines, so was not worried about the condition of the wine. But I did wonder, and still do, why the enormous discount?

I am an amateur in aussie wines, so did not even know of Clarendon until this is what I picked up through this mystery purchase. And although I have not tried it yet (probably not the best time being 5am after a long nights work) I am already impressed by the bottle. I do love as part of my enjoyment of wine the physical side - a good heavy bottle and a cork. I might just lug one down to Tassie one day and get a couple of fellow AFF wine snobs to drink one with me :)

But the thing that is most intriguing me is the label. I have included a photo below, and there are a couple of things that do not make sense to me. First is the vintage - the bottles I have are 2014, as opposed to the offer which stated 2013. But the other thing is that the label includes in the red script that it is from Blewitt Springs. Despite having a look on the net, the only images I can see of Clarendon merlots have the red script "Clarendon". And searches (at this tired late hour) only show up Blewitt Springs + Clarendon with a grenache.

Maybe I am too tired to think straight, but was pondering if the reason Dans are selling these at such a price is due to a mislabelling issue? Or am I just revealing my ignorance?

Hi Juddles,

I was reading your post in another thread, while you were reading mine!
I think we are on the same page - if a $74 wine is being sold for $15, then something is wrong.
Click to expand...

Trust me, nothing wrong with the actual product involved, - after trying it at that price I went in for seconds, and then thirds :) Am still trying to fathom that bargain!! :)
 
Duffa said:
Agreed. That wine is a lovely drop
Click to expand...

The mystery merlot is still showing as available. The Clarendon Hills Merlot 2014 (says 2013 on the site). I also grabbed a 6 of the Clarendon Hills cab sav when they had it also as a "under-wraps" special - am trying it right now - again - very nice and a bargain at the price :)

I will not attempt to do tasting notes - but will instead take a bottle or two to a near meet up with the AFF ultimate wine snob of @JohnM :)
 
Duffa said:
You know what? I'm starting to think that CM is the rivers of wine retailing! A load of sh!te stock that no-one else can offload and dodgy cellar door prices when you go comparing to see if you really are getting a bargain.
Click to expand...

You should be aware that many/most of the wines sold by Cellarmasters are made by Cellarmasters/Dorrien Estates or are made exclusively for them by other producers, therefore it is impossible to compare prices elsewhere, except occasionally when some are offered via Wine Market or (infrequently) Dan Murphy. There are actually some pretty good wines made in-house there, but you have to buy them at the right time/price and be prepared to send it back if it's not up to expectations.

The way the whole Woolworths/Dan Murphy/Cellarmasters/Wine Market/Langtons/BWS liquor sales operates is either genius or insanity, there were more signs of insanity than genius in 2019, as they prepare to be hived off from the mothership in some (as yet unknown) fashion.

I bought heaps more from the various arms of that octopus in 2019 than ever before, but I don't think they made a lot of money out of those purchases.
From half-price gin, half-price Anaperenna, $100 vouchers, crazy clearance prices at DM and BWS, I and my friends and Forum subscribers enjoyed patiently playing the game and reaping the bargains on good wine and spirits and some free beer from BWS for me.

Long may the insanity prevail.
 
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SleepyPolarBear said:
Like with most things, there are gems in the rough. Yes cellarmasters sells alot of ****, but they have also provided us with the best deals, whether through incompetence or on purpose we will never know. I managed to snag multiple 389s, latours, Oakridge chardy, PJs, and torbreck sporrans (a gamble here) this time round. So although the majority of products are overpriced RRPs or exclusive products, there are always goodies to be picked up.
Click to expand...
Was quite tempted to pick up a case of the sporran, but ultimately didn't. Would be interested to hear how you find it!
 
baragh said:
Was quite tempted to pick up a case of the sporran, but ultimately didn't. Would be interested to hear how you find it!
Click to expand...
It’s terrible. ;) You should leave it on the shelf for the rest of us.

It’s so bad that with the recent deal I went back for another dozen at ~$19 a btl after all the usual discounts.:D

@QF WP and I chatted with the Torbreck rep at a recent function. He said Sporran is made for CM and is better than Woodcutters and just below The Struie. Of course, a salesman would say that.

I’ve not had The Struie, but it is at least on-par, perhaps slightly better than Woodcutters.

YMMV.
 
Captain Halliday said:
It’s terrible. ;) You should leave it on the shelf for the rest of us.

It’s so bad that with the recent deal I went back for another dozen at ~$19 a btl after all the usual discounts.:D

@QF WP and I chatted with the Torbreck rep at a recent function. He said Sporran is made for CM and is better than Woodcutters and just below The Struie. Of course, a salesman would say that.

I’ve not had The Struie, but it is at least on-par, perhaps slightly better than Woodcutters.

YMMV.
Click to expand...
Hahahaha nooo that's not what I wanted to hear 😁😁😁
Thanks for the feedback, may have to pick up a 6 pack at the next $100 off sale
 
Kohen said:
looking for best way to utilise the $75 Amex credit on non Shiraz purchases - any crackers spotted?
Click to expand...
ha. was just looking at that this morning. Was kind of hoping for a better cash back deal to come along

looking at the Confidential:

LANGTONS Confidential LVIII Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 6 Pack, Margaret River 2012 | Langton's Fine Wines

LANGTONS Confidential LVIII Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 6 Pack, Margaret River 2012
www.langtons.com.au
I think could be

Australia's Fine Wine Specialist | Buy Wine Online | Vintage Cellars

www.vintagecellars.com.au www.vintagecellars.com.au
Brings it down to roughly $34 a bottle

then there is:

LANGTONS Confidential L Shiraz 6 Pack, Great Southern 2015 | Langton's Fine Wines

LANGTONS Confidential L Shiraz 6 Pack, Great Southern 2015
www.langtons.com.au
which I think could be:
(although its a Shiraz)
Down to $24 a btl

edit: I could be wrong with those guesses however so please beware
 
Last edited:
mouseman99 said:
ha. was just looking at that this morning. Was kind of hoping for a better cash back deal to come along

looking at the Confidential:

LANGTONS Confidential LVIII Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 6 Pack, Margaret River 2012 | Langton's Fine Wines

LANGTONS Confidential LVIII Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 6 Pack, Margaret River 2012
www.langtons.com.au
I think could be

Australia's Fine Wine Specialist | Buy Wine Online | Vintage Cellars

www.vintagecellars.com.au www.vintagecellars.com.au
Brings it down to roughly $34 a bottle
Click to expand...

Good price for an exceptional wine!
 

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