Vinomofo Wine Deals

My notes suggested it was a deeply frustrating wine, in the sense that it had those big full bodied fruit characteristics (in the manner you expect from a III Associates wine) but was thrown out of whack by an underlying sourness & lack of length. Suspect volatile acidity, but I'm far from a wine professional so take that with a grain of salt. Either way, it killed off the pleasure enough to see them returned.
Thanks for the extra info, I might try one tonight. Interestingly the guy that liked the Black Bay found the III Associates Sparkling Squid Ink a little bitter and sour, whereas I didn't see that.
 
I've bought the II Associates Black Bay Shiraz 2016 after a good report from someone who bought it (haven't tried it yet)....
I bought the Black Bay but it's in the cellar so haven't had one yet. Bought on reputatiuon - never had a bad III Associates. Mate who also bought it said it was good. Sorry no TNs
 
I bought the Black Bay but it's in the cellar so haven't had one yet. Bought on reputatiuon - never had a bad III Associates. Mate who also bought it said it was good. Sorry no TNs
I used to buy a bit of III Associates direct, when they had the special sales, they still call me occasionally.
But I've had issues with more recent wines, particularly the Sparkling Squid Ink. The batch I bought direct pre-vinomofo days had a problem with a couple of bottles in that they had weird "chemical" flavours and were quite unpleasant drinking.
When the first Sparkling Squid Ink appeared on Vinomofo, advertised with the old glass printed label and arriving in a cheap paper lable and lesser quality bottle I was concerned that it was a made for VM batch as it wasn't as good as I thought it should be. I tried to procure a bottle from the winery to compare, but they sent me a Giant Squid Ink instead and I gave up and sent the Sparkling Squid Ink back.

I only bought the Black Bay as a friend whose palate I trust liked it. I tried one of my recent buy last night. Unfortunately it wasn't as he described it, more along the lines on that reported by wine-muller above. It started off reasonably well, nice nose, reasonable fruit, a bit subdued even after decanting via an aerator, but there is a line of fresh acid that worked Ok for a while with food, but by the last glass had turned into that weird "chemical" flavour/texture I remember from the original Sparkling Squid Ink, it really wasn't like drinking a normal table wine. I don't remember striking this character in any other wine than from III Associates and I'm completely baffled as to the reason for it. But I'll be sending it back rather than try another bottle.

Also, the friend that liked the Black Bay didn't like the Sparkling Squid Ink so much, finding "There is a hardness in the middle that I dont like much, its slightly bitter, and a bit sour. " Not what I found at all. I will try another bottle of this, I have 11 left and 6 going to a friend, so I need to confirm my first impressions.

Life's too short to dwell on these sort of things, a wine gets one chance to impress, that's it. Next time they call I'll ask to be taken off the list.
Update: I just received an email saying my access to the MVIII Accociates site has expired, someone is watching!
 
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Thanks redbigot, I'll pull one of the Black Bay bottltes from the cellar and give it a try. I got them when first offerred. I always wonder about large discounts from VM for wines that should sell without 50% discounts.
 
The 2017 Mount Avoca Back Blocks shiraz has appeared ($35-->$12.50). Pervious vintages were mixed; one batch had a distinct spritziness but others were good. Has anyone tried the 2017?
 
I used to buy a bit of III Associates direct, when they had the special sales, they still call me occasionally.
But I've had issues with more recent wines, particularly the Sparkling Squid Ink. The batch I bought direct pre-vinomofo days had a problem with a couple of bottles in that they had weird "chemical" flavours and were quite unpleasant drinking.
When the first Sparkling Squid Ink appeared on Vinomofo, advertised with the old glass printed label and arriving in a cheap paper lable and lesser quality bottle I was concerned that it was a made for VM batch as it wasn't as good as I thought it should be. I tried to procure a bottle from the winery to compare, but they sent me a Giant Squid Ink instead and I gave up and sent the Sparkling Squid Ink back.

I only bought the Black Bay as a friend whose palate I trust liked it. I tried one of my recent buy last night. Unfortunately it wasn't as he described it, more along the lines on that reported by wine-muller above. It started off reasonably well, nice nose, reasonable fruit, a bit subdued even after decanting via an aerator, but there is a line of fresh acid that worked Ok for a while with food, but by the last glass had turned into that weird "chemical" flavour/texture I remember from the original Sparkling Squid Ink, it really wasn't like drinking a normal table wine. I don't remember striking this character in any other wine than from III Associates and I'm completely baffled as to the reason for it. But I'll be sending it back rather than try another bottle.

Also, the friend that liked the Black Bay didn't like the Sparkling Squid Ink so much, finding "There is a hardness in the middle that I dont like much, its slightly bitter, and a bit sour. " Not what I found at all. I will try another bottle of this, I have 11 left and 6 going to a friend, so I need to confirm my first impressions.

Life's too short to dwell on these sort of things, a wine gets one chance to impress, that's it. Next time they call I'll ask to be taken off the list.
Update: I just received an email saying my access to the MVIII Accociates site has expired, someone is watching!
Thanks RB, based on this, I cancelled my order for the sparkling Shiraz. The reviews in Dan Murphy site is very bad as all.
 
Thanks RB, based on this, I cancelled my order for the sparkling Shiraz. The reviews in Dan Murphy site is very bad as all.

The $25 Secret Selection Sparkling Shiraz on Dan Murphy is Rose Kentish, not III Associates. The Rose Kentish new batch has no dosage and is very dry.

I tried another III Associates Sparkling Shiraz NV from Vinomofo yesterday with a different group of friends that hadn't tried the first bottle and eveyone liked it.
 
The $25 Secret Selection Sparkling Shiraz on Dan Murphy is Rose Kentish, not III Associates. The Rose Kentish new batch has no dosage and is very dry.

I tried another III Associates Sparkling Shiraz NV from Vinomofo yesterday with a different group of friends that hadn't tried the first bottle and eveyone liked it.
I cancelled my iii associates sparking Shiraz order with vinomofo. Reviews of this wine in Dan Murphy are bad. Yes, I ordered DM secret before and returned
 
I cancelled my iii associates sparking Shiraz order with vinomofo. Reviews of this wine in Dan Murphy are bad. Yes, I ordered DM secret before and returned
Do you have a link to the DM Sparkling Squid Ink page, can't find it myself.
 
I always wonder about large discounts from VM for wines that should sell without 50% discounts.

Indeed. What sets off alarm bells in this particular case is a new range being released, marked as "sold out" on the producers website within a week of release, yet still being available on sites like VM at heavily discounted rates months later. It raises all kinds of questions, in particular whether the wine was ever actually available & sold at the advertised RRP.
 
Thank you, I hadn't seen those, very interesting. I can relate to some of the negative comments on the original batch I bought, but oddly not all bottles were affected.
 
Sounds like bottle some variation - ie quality control issues at III Associates.
Shame becasue historically the Squid Ink varieties have been very good IMO.
 
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Just received an email advising there is a $25 credit in my account that expires tomorrow 6.00pm. - applied at checkout so may be targeted
 
I’m seeing the Filsell come up at VM but also elsewhere. Does anyone know why it’s going for such heavily discounted prices? I would have thought that the markdown strategy on such a label could cause some damage to their brand?
 
I’m seeing the Filsell come up at VM but also elsewhere. Does anyone know why it’s going for such heavily discounted prices? I would have thought that the markdown strategy on such a label could cause some damage to their brand?
How much are they selling for? Do you have the link? Thank you
 
I have almost run out of my stash of Glenlofty Shiraz and SV and am starting to look for a replacement - can anyone advise if the Mount Avoca Back Block shiraz, being from the same region, is of a similar style and comparable etc - or totally different...

If it is different style all together - how do members rate it as an easy going quaffer.

Current vintage on the Fo is 2017
 
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