Dan Murphy's and Other Wine Deals

10% sitewide @ My Wine Guy with ALLWINE10 - ends Tuesday

I have always held the opinion that James Halliday inflates his scores, but he has nothing on the cough from Sam Kim. Does anyone out there have a critic they actually trust?
  • The Wine Front (generally Gary Walsh and Mike Bennie more than Campbell Mattinson)
  • Jeremy Oliver
TWF is the only wine service for which I have a paid subscription
  • Huon Hooke & The Real Review, with past/present contributors such as Toni Paterson, Ralph Kyte-Powell
  • Tyson Stelzer
Unfortunately HH/TRR scores are not as freely accessible as previously

I've only ever had a free trial of Halliday Wine Companion, but even then, didn't make much use of it

Two others good for new/current releases:
As well as:
For general reviews and commentary:


Went back to Dan's to pick up a few more bottles.

They had Mount Pleasant Maurice O'Shea Shiraz for $75. Its pushing for what i like to pay for any wine, but does that sound like a good price? Think it may have been the 2009?

As well as 2013 Mount Langi Ghiran Langi Shiraz for $80, and 2008 Sorby Adams The Thing for $70 i think

2009 O'Shea at $75 would be good enough for me to consider - was in a mixed pack the other year


$216 is already very good price. This is how much I paid at VC two weeks ago for the same item. Now I’m tossing either to return one or keep both. Decisions decisions...
I know exactly how you feel :)

if you had told me it was $216 on clearnace, I would have jumped on it, but since its available to you for $159, decisions decisions decisions,

I think I answered my own question, there was a few left, so I might pick them all up

edit: they called me back, they got the stock code wrong and had zero stock!

I guess the question to answer is if you want both and the average price of $187.50 is worth it over having only one for $159?


Dan's Deception Bay in QLD had a huge clearance yesterday. Shopping trolleys at the front and then a section at the back. Fraser Gallop Parterre 2014 for $18, grant Burge Balthazar for $18, Glaetzer Anaperenna 2016 for $25, $20 for Killikanoon Covenant 2016, Pennies Bin 311 Chardy for $18 also, around $10 for paringa estate peninsular Pinot, Lethbridge menage a noir, and Kay brothers basket pressed Grenache. A bunch of other random deals on spirits also, and some nice looking German wines.

I cleared out the Parterre and Glaetzer, but everything else was available when I left, and they seemed to be brining more stock from out the back.

Deception Bay and other stores had most of these on clearance last year


I just saw Moss Wood at FC Sylvania for $20. It was all gone. I asked the 20 yr old worker if that price was legit? He told me it was but he bought them all yesterday.
Liquorland Concord staff told me that one lucky person managed to buy all the Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay for $20/bottle.

So first Mount Mary for $20, and now Moss Wood and Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay - what'll be next?!


I've been told by Dans staff that is against their policy for staff to buy clearance. At FC I've seen the staff running around during their lunch break grabbing bottles for themself... What i can't fathom is if Woolworths owns both Dan's and Langtons, why do they even do clearance? A lot of it would sell for more on Langtons surely

ie. Buying 2016 Penfolds Bin 150 for $30 at Dans yesterday, yet its selling (and getting bids) on Langtons at $70

logistical costs of moving stock
 
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$149 ;)



Mount Mary for $20?! Where??
The link shows photo of Cape Mentelle.
Yep, pretty sure that didn't happen... cape mentelle for $20 makes me cry all the same.

As for reviewers, I still buy a halliday sub each year as it rates a huge number of wines, is good for drink by dates, his tastes seem reasonably aligned with mine and I just deduct a point or two from his scores (three for woolies group aligned plonk) to bring them into line. I also trust Huon Hooke and Robert Parker, and will cross reference them against halliday rating where I can. Seems to work.
 
Yep, pretty sure that didn't happen... cape mentelle for $20 makes me cry all the same.

As for reviewers, I still buy a halliday sub each year as it rates a huge number of wines, is good for drink by dates, his tastes seem reasonably aligned with mine and I just deduct a point or two from his scores (three for woolies group aligned plonk) to bring them into line. I also trust Huon Hooke and Robert Parker, and will cross reference them against halliday rating where I can. Seems to work.

I reckon you need to deduct a good five points off Halliday's scores to get somewhere near the truth.
 
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Nothing at Newstead or Mt Gravatt in Brisbane. Mansfield only had Pierro chardonnay for $20 but it was all gone, I asked the manager if there was any left out the back and he said nope - one bloke cleaned out all 9 bottles they had the night before. Lucky bugger. What is interesting though is that I had already been through that store about 4 weeks ago and picked up some Art Series chardy for $60 and there was absolutely no sign of any Pierro in the store so it must have been either topped up subsequently or sent there from another store. When I spoke to an employee at a Vintage Cellars during the week she said they'd sent some of their cellar sale stock to other stores so who knows how their inventory systems work.

I'm over hunting now, it feels like they are just completely random and you have to get lucky at the right time. It is kind of time consuming to look and frustrating when you see the stickers still there with no product.
 
Nothing at Newstead or Mt Gravatt in Brisbane. Mansfield only had Pierro chardonnay for $20 but it was all gone, I asked the manager if there was any left out the back and he said nope - one bloke cleaned out all 9 bottles they had the night before. Lucky bugger. What is interesting though is that I had already been through that store about 4 weeks ago and picked up some Art Series chardy for $60 and there was absolutely no sign of any Pierro in the store so it must have been either topped up subsequently or sent there from another store. When I spoke to an employee at a Vintage Cellars during the week she said they'd sent some of their cellar sale stock to other stores so who knows how their inventory systems work.

I'm over hunting now, it feels like they are just completely random and you have to get lucky at the right time. It is kind of time consuming to look and frustrating when you see the stickers still there with no product.
[/QUOTE/]. Arts series is a great buy! Thank you for the update.
 
Those phantom $20 dockets at FC don't make sense. Premium wines were allegedly sitting on the shelves for weeks in various stores after already being discounted by at least 50% and the moment they go down further some “lucky bugger” comes in and scoop them up. No way. It must have been either one of the employees or their friends who bought the lot.
 
Those phantom $20 dockets at FC don't make sense. Premium wines were allegedly sitting on the shelves for weeks in various stores after already being discounted by at least 50% and the moment they go down further some “lucky bugger” comes in and scoop them up. No way. It must have been either one of the employees or their friends who bought the lot.

I know that Liquorland Concord had about 6 bottles of Art Series Chardonnay left on Tuesday night for $60 (I was there and only bought one). I don’t know when it was discounted down to $20 but apparently someone bought them all only yesterday.
 
I reckon you need to deduct a good five points of Halliday's scores to get somewhere near the truth.
The one 'truth' is surely not a thing when it comes to scoring wine. But anyhoo, by that logic my 2012 quintet I just scrounged is a mere 92pts.... booooo! Maybe you're going in a tiny bit hard there?
 
The one 'truth' is surely not a thing when it comes to scoring wine. But anyhoo, by that logic my 2012 quintet I just scrounged is a mere 92pts.... booooo! Maybe you're going in a tiny bit hard there?

As we all know, wine is such a subjective thing.

Your comment about a mere 92 points, like that's a poor rating. I think that's exactly a reflection of the ridiculous points inflation that goes on with Australian wine reviewers. 92 is considered an excellent/outstanding wine and about where I'd expect that wine to fall (I've not had it myself). A quick look on CellarTracker confirms this, so my general rule, IMHO, that Halliday scores need about 5 points knocked off stands.
 
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Those phantom $20 dockets at FC don't make sense. Premium wines were allegedly sitting on the shelves for weeks in various stores after already being discounted by at least 50% and the moment they go down further some “lucky bugger” comes in and scoop them up. No way. It must have been either one of the employees or their friends who bought the lot.

A long time ago I used to work with a BWS (not in the store but in an adjacent capacity). The manager picked up that I liked wine and eventually hooked me into the play. At the time it seemed random when a wine would go on clearance, probably driven by lack of sales nationally (rather than any predictable store-specific factors). If the wine was good then the second it went on sale all or most stock would disappear out the back. Every two weeks an extra 20% would come off, to a max of 80%. Once we hit 80% then we bought all the bottles.

As a young student I didn't realise the quality of wine that I was getting - Yattarna for $20 is one that sticks strongly in the mind. Upon reflection the practice was morally dubious, if not outright stealing from an employer. However, i'd be surprised if the practice doesn't still happen.

FWIW, if staff are buying stock that has been on shelves with no funny business conducted then I'd say good on them. Everyone deserves a chance to try some premium wine; there wouldn't be many other perks of that job.
 
A long time ago I used to work with a BWS (not in the store but in an adjacent capacity). The manager picked up that I liked wine and eventually hooked me into the play. At the time it seemed random when a wine would go on clearance, probably driven by lack of sales nationally (rather than any predictable store-specific factors). If the wine was good then the second it went on sale all or most stock would disappear out the back. Every two weeks an extra 20% would come off, to a max of 80%. Once we hit 80% then we bought all the bottles.

As a young student I didn't realise the quality of wine that I was getting - Yattarna for $20 is one that sticks strongly in the mind. Upon reflection the practice was morally dubious, if not outright stealing from an employer. However, i'd be surprised if the practice doesn't still happen.

FWIW, if staff are buying stock that has been on shelves with no funny business conducted then I'd say good on them. Everyone deserves a chance to try some premium wine; there wouldn't be many other perks of that job.

Agree 100%. I have no problem with staff buying goods on clearance as long as it’s legit. When the VC clearance began one of the store managers had no issues admitting he got most of the good bargains for himself and his staff as soon as they went on clearance. There is no need to tell stories about lucky customers and no need to leave dockets on empty shelves. I don’t think the hard working people at those wineries would be happy to see their most premium wines being advertised for a fraction of the price.
 
Not Really Deals related - But I went to the Granite Belt this weekend in Queensland & was blown away by just how great the wine was up that way - In particular the Wines at Symphony Hill - If you are local - do yourself a favour and drive up for a day or a weekend.
 

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