Nice wines I have drunk recently - Red or White

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I haven’t cracked any of my ‘12 Rifle Range yet, love to hear how it’s coming along

As we all know when’s the ideal time to open a good red is very subjective, especially with big grapes like Cab Sav. In my opinion this one is drinking fantastic right now. Which vintage you’re drinking ATM?
 
As we all know when’s the ideal time to open a good red is very subjective, especially with big grapes like Cab Sav. In my opinion this one is drinking fantastic right now. Which vintage you’re drinking ATM?
I have been drinking older ‘05 to ‘12 Moppa, Rod n spur, Hand picked and local growers (Some purchased as museum releases) as well as Younger frugal farmer and black Shiraz.
The ‘12 RR was the first vintage of it I bought, and after tasting at the CD thought I would lay them down for about 10 years. Getting to try older Rockfords at Stonewall lunches a few years later confirmed to me that I like / love them (Rockford wines in general) with a bit of bottle age.
 
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Thought I'd pop in for some comment on these two, including observations about the bottles - inspired by Hokitika; although bottles don't effect my personal ratings.

I was turned onto the Stagiaire by this forum, so thanks for that guys. I like the bottle, midweight, good punt, minimal label with a sort of artistic take on gears (?) perhaps a meta comment on precision. Plays well into the 'I might be $25 but I make up for it by being culty and cool' aesthetic.

My notes mention a fantastic nose of strawberries and barnyard floor, a mid length palate of rhubarb, red berries, mushy strawberry with a touch of heat and an attractive bright colour palate. I didn't see much aging potential or complexity, despite reviews to the contrary. By day 2 this has evolved magnificently into a much leaner, more precise wine - I think I was wrong about age-ability. Really good and wish I had left more than one glass to go the distance; oh well, 11 left in the cellar.
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Achaval Ferrer is a passion purchase, borne out of a trip to Mendoza a few years back. Disclaimer: Achaval Ferrer made what I thought was the best Malbec I had in South America, and I drank a fair few... Strange bottle shape with a huge shoulder to catch sediment (strange because AFAIK Malbec not meant to be aged), heavy, big punt. I don't really like labels with crest-ish designs on them - feels a bit wanky. I think Achavel are big enough to just put their name on a bottle and leave it at that, a la Mosswood.

Iconic Medozan Malbec nose, I don't know how to describe except crushed violet, plums, five spice and star anise; so aromatic that you can't help but smell it even as you put the glass to the mouth. It sound silly writing this but I always think of chocolate cake that has beetroot in it when I smell Mendozan Malbec. Palate is lush, midweight tannins, fair kick of acid to balance out the fruit and chocolate - 'juicy'. Reasonably long. Inky dark with purple rim. So evocative of the region; smokey barbecues, completos, empanadas and cigars.
 

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I wouldn't picking up a few bottles of Malbec to drink in the short term. If I am only looking to spend $20-30 a bottle, am I better going domestically (Langhorne Crk seems to be a hotbed for the stuff) or grab some Argentinian bottles. Any recommendations?
 
I wouldn't picking up a few bottles of Malbec to drink in the short term. If I am only looking to spend $20-30 a bottle, am I better going domestically (Langhorne Crk seems to be a hotbed for the stuff) or grab some Argentinian bottles. Any recommendations?

Although I have a few recommendations for Argentinian Malbec (as per a few posts above) it's hard to source them in Australia.

This isn't a bad effort from Ferngrove: https://www.ferngrove.com.au/product/ferngrove-black-label-malbec/
 
Downed this sexy little number at Wooleen Station (I BYO'ed it). Damn it's good. In fact, (and I've said this before) Brash Higgins wines are all round really good. A producer worth seeking out.

Also wine related and will cover in my TR, you can see a door slightly ajar behind the snooker table. That leads down the wine cellar at Wooleen. Decently stocked with mainly WA wines. Not bad for a catttle stations out in the middle of nowhere!

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I wouldn't picking up a few bottles of Malbec to drink in the short term. If I am only looking to spend $20-30 a bottle, am I better going domestically (Langhorne Crk seems to be a hotbed for the stuff) or grab some Argentinian bottles. Any recommendations?

I buy Malbec from Bremerton. It's really good and have no hesitation in recommending it.
 

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