Mont Clair Red WIne

[giddyup]

3 minutes ago, SkyRider said:

At the time that the Mont Clair boxes disappeared, I also didn't Castle Creek. If I had seen the 2 liter Castle Creek before I bought the higher price bottles, I probably would have gone that route.  I had actually gotten use to the cheaper wine.  But since I've had much better tasting bottles, and I tried a little bit of Mont Clair that I had left, it tasted horrible, comparatively.  I feel like I can't go back to the cheaper wines now, the higher priced bottles just taste so much better.  

No doubt.

[dick dasterdly]

5 minutes ago, SkyRider said:

At the time that the Mont Clair boxes disappeared, I also didn't Castle Creek. If I had seen the 2 liter Castle Creek before I bought the higher price bottles, I probably would have gone that route.  I had actually gotten use to the cheaper wine.  But since I've had much better tasting bottles, and I tried a little bit of Mont Clair that I had left, it tasted horrible, comparatively.  I feel like I can't go back to the cheaper wines now, the higher priced bottles just taste so much better.  

Forced into trying Castle Creek (by the non-availability of Mont Clair) - I re-discovered hangovers....

[giddyup]

22 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

Forced into trying Castle Creek (by the non-availability of Mont Clair) - I re-discovered hangovers....

Anything with alcohol in it will give you a hangover if you drink enough of it. I limit myself to a glass a day. Montclair isn't exactly vintage wine and I find Castle Creek to be equally as good/bad. Always said my taste buds peaked at $5.99 anyway.

Edited April 14, 2018 by giddyup

[xylophone]

2 hours ago, SkyRider said:

I can't find Prophan on the net.  Where is Prophan located? 

Phuket.................and you aren't?

[xylophone]

15 hours ago, siamcrut said:

No egg powder in our wine!

PS. No, but antifreeze perhaps!! 

[rossd]

On ‎3‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 7:22 PM, SkyRider said:

WOW! Thank you so much for the very detailed information Xylophone. 

 

I tried a box of Gossips fruit wine 5 years ago, it was absolutely horrible.

 

I haven't been able to get to Villa, to try your recommendations - even if I could, it would be between 2:00 and 5:00 pm, and I wouldn't have been able to buy anyway (annoying!).

 

At Foodland today, I saw 3 bottles which I think might be worth trying. 

 

Hardys, Verietal Range, 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2015, 549 baht (I might be wrong, but I think I may have tried this years ago, and didn't like it at all.)

 

Merlot Nero D'Avola, Terre Siciliane, 2015, 555 baht.

 

Angove, Long Row, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2014, 499 baht. 

 

(I have pics of the bottles, front and back, if anyone would like me to post them, just let me know).  

 

Since my last box of Mont Clair is almost finished, and I can't find it stocked anywhere, anymore - I bought a Yellow Tail, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2016, 599 baht - at Foodland today.  (Wish they had the Yellow Tail, Cabernet Shiraz, that's delicious.)

Drinking the Yellow Tail Cab now, and what a difference compared to Mont Clair!  No turning back now...  

 

 

 

 

 

Mont Clair is now being sold in 3 litre boxes at Avenue Villa for 1,500 Baht.

[giddyup]

1 minute ago, rossd said:

Mont Clair is now being sold in 3 litre boxes at Avenue Villa for 1,500 Baht.

Ridiculous price considering the 2 litre bottles sold for 450 baht. It's virtually doubled in price.

[Jeremia Juxtaposed]

1 hour ago, rossd said:

Mont Clair is now being sold in 3 litre boxes at Avenue Villa for 1,500 Baht.

And as I have mentioned earlier on this thread I am still getting Castle Creek 5ltrs box for 880 Baht ( That was Tuesday - I shan't be going again til the 20th though). 

[ukrules]

2 hours ago, Jeremia Juxtaposed said:

And as I have mentioned earlier on this thread I am still getting Castle Creek 5ltrs box for 880 Baht ( That was Tuesday - I shan't be going again til the 20th though). 

I wonder if this is something to do with Australia being in the ASEAN area ?

[churchill]

14 minutes ago, ukrules said:

I wonder if this is something to do with Australia being in the ASEAN area ?

 

Mont Clair seems now a lot more expensive than the Australian boxes or even 2 litre bottles by at least 50% .. unless the Australian wines go up in price how can Mont Clair  survive .

[SkyRider]

4 hours ago, xylophone said:

Phuket.................and you aren't?

Whoops, sorry. I made the mistake of assuming you were in Bangkok.  I'm in Bangkok.  

[SkyRider]

4 hours ago, giddyup said:

Ridiculous price considering the 2 litre bottles sold for 450 baht. It's virtually doubled in price.

I was buying Mont Clair in 10 liter boxes for 1499 baht. That would be about 150 per bottle.

 

1500 baht would be about 500 baht per bottle.  That's more then tripling in price. 

 

I've seen the 3 liter boxes for 999 and for 1199 - either way, that's still way too expensive for that wine.  

Edited April 14, 2018 by SkyRider

[SkyRider]

30 minutes ago, churchill said:

 

Mont Clair seems now a lot more expensive than the Australian boxes or even 2 litre bottles by at least 50% .. unless the Australian wines go up in price how can Mont Clair  survive .

How can it survive?  That's what I'm wondering.  I'm wondering, who would buy it at these, prices, actually more then tripling in some stores. 

[xylophone]

40 minutes ago, SkyRider said:

Whoops, sorry. I made the mistake of assuming you were in Bangkok.  I'm in Bangkok.  

In that case seek out the following importer cos they import both Hopes End and Butterfly Ridge Aussie wines, and if it anything like a similar venture here, you can buy from them direct.

 

GALAXY FOOD AND BEVERAGE CO., LTD.
Address	45/99 MU 5 SOI PHROM SUPHA THANON BANGBON 3 LAK SONG, BANG KHAE, BANGKOK

[mgthom63]

10 hours ago, SkyRider said:

How can it survive?  That's what I'm wondering.  I'm wondering, who would buy it at these, prices, actually more then tripling in some stores. 

My apologies for making a post about a non-Thailand purchase...but I've just bought what is probably the cheapest bottle of plonk I've ever bought in 35+ years...so thought it might put the crazy Thailand prices into perspective.

 

My local supermarket (in Des Moines, US) was offering 1.5L bottles of Turning Leaf Cabernet Sauvignon at a discounted price of $5 USD.  They also had Pinot Grigio by the same winery at the same price.

 

I haven't tried it yet...and I'm not expecting a very pleasant experience...but has anyone ever tasted it before?  I thought it might be fun to compare this to Mont Clair, even if it just ends up in my next pasta dish!  

 

 

Edited April 14, 2018 by mgthom63

[ukrules]

26 minutes ago, mgthom63 said:

I haven't tried it yet...and I'm not expecting a very pleasant experience...but has anyone ever tasted it before?

 

I think I might have tried this years back, I can't remember what it was like though. I do remember the name, I probably picked it up in Tesco in the UK.

 

That's around 160 baht, very cheap. I like some of the Gallo wines, nice cheap table wine - all more than 500 Baht a bottle here and that's for the cheapest one they make. More than double the UK price.

 

[mgthom63]

5 minutes ago, ukrules said:

 

I think I might have tried this years back, I can't remember what it was like though. I do remember the name, I probably picked it up in Tesco in the UK.

 

That's around 160 baht, very cheap. I like some of the Gallo wines, nice cheap table wine - all more than 500 Baht a bottle here and that's for the cheapest one they make. More than double the UK price.

 

Thanks @ukrules.  I'll post my impressions when I get round to sampling it.  I couldn't resist taking a gamble at 160 baht, even when in the US where I can often find great deals!

Edited April 14, 2018 by mgthom63

[xylophone]

4 hours ago, mgthom63 said:

Thanks @ukrules.  I'll post my impressions when I get round to sampling it.  I couldn't resist taking a gamble at 160 baht, even when in the US where I can often find great deals!

Not too many years back I was able to buy 'cleanskins' wine in Oz (surplus wine, no producer mentioned, but just the area) for A$2.95 a bottle (75 baht) and it was good.

 

The last time over there I was able to buy it for about A$6.95 a bottle (174 baht)..........Oz is not called "The Lucky Country" for nothing!! 

 

Compared to Montclair it was great!

[SkyRider]

14 hours ago, xylophone said:

In that case seek out the following importer cos they import both Hopes End and Butterfly Ridge Aussie wines, and if it anything like a similar venture here, you can buy from them direct.

 

GALAXY FOOD AND BEVERAGE CO., LTD.
Address	45/99 MU 5 SOI PHROM SUPHA THANON BANGBON 3 LAK SONG, BANG KHAE, BANGKOK

Thanks again xylophone, I'll definitely check this out.     

[Henryford]

16 hours ago, SkyRider said:

I was buying Mont Clair in 10 liter boxes for 1499 baht. That would be about 150 per bottle.

 

1500 baht would be about 500 baht per bottle.  That's more then tripling in price. 

 

I've seen the 3 liter boxes for 999 and for 1199 - either way, that's still way too expensive for that wine.  

I used to buy the 10 litre for 1499, which is 150 per litre or about 100 baht a bottle. Even with a big tax increase i can't see why the price has risen so much.

[Jeremia Juxtaposed]

5 minutes ago, Henryford said:

I used to buy the 10 litre for 1499, which is 150 per litre or about 100 baht a bottle. Even with a big tax increase i can't see why the price has risen so much.

Has anybody noticed any price increase in bars or restaurants? 

 

I refused to pay 100/120 baht for a small glass of Mont Clair at the old price so it'll be interesting to see how they are handling things.... I remember going into The Robin Hood, Pattaya and seeing a UK Wetherspoons style wine pump at the bar....but the server ignored the pumps, went to the fridge and poured out a small glass from a Mont Clair box, I swear it was empty after 2 chugs!!!!

[Jeremia Juxtaposed]

17 hours ago, ukrules said:

I wonder if this is something to do with Australia being in the ASEAN area ?

I have no idea but it's an interesting point you make there!!

[meatboy]

what I saw the other day was a secretly filmed lab,[you now where] of wine and xo brandy being,with all the right lable's being copied and what was put in the bottles would frighten anyone to give up wine and brandy for life.

[Jeremia Juxtaposed]

16 minutes ago, meatboy said:

what I saw the other day was a secretly filmed lab,[you now where] of wine and xo brandy being,with all the right lable's being copied and what was put in the bottles would frighten anyone to give up wine and brandy for life.

I drink Hongthong straight and am able to spot a fake one - eventually I discovered that the date stamp on the label of the fake was a lighter shade of black .... or was it darker......Bugger! I'll just have to go check...

[xylophone]

22 minutes ago, meatboy said:

what I saw the other day was a secretly filmed lab,[you now where] of wine and xo brandy being,with all the right lable's being copied and what was put in the bottles would frighten anyone to give up wine and brandy for life.

Maybe this guy has the answer as to what to do with that swill..........

 

 As we get older we sometimes begin to doubt our ability to "make a difference" in the world.

 

It is at these times that our hopes are boosted by the remarkable achievements of other "seniors" who have found the courage to take on challenges that would make many of us wither.

 

Harold Schlumberg is such a person:

 

 

 

THIS IS QUOTED FROM HAROLD:

 

"I've often been asked, 'What do you do now that you're retired?'

 

Well...I'm fortunate to have a chemical engineering background and one of the things I enjoy most is converting beer, wine and whiskey into urine. It's rewarding, uplifting, satisfying and fulfilling. I do it every day and I really enjoy it."

 

Harold should be an inspiration to us all.

 

 

[The manic]

On 4/5/2018 at 10:53 AM, xylophone said:

True but it does have something going for it....................

 

The guy is in the wine importing and distribution game so has some knowledge; it seems feasible; have seen similar comments published in LOS and so it would seem to make sense, along with the revenue gathering aspect.

 

Really can't see any other reason for it, so I'll settle for that now until something better comes along!!

I feel the flaw is in the subjective 'rot gut' pejorative.  I am a whiskey lover and wine drinker. However, in Thailand  I frequently drink Sangsom. Never get a hangover. Never get upset stomach. I wish could say the same about my other drinking bouts.

[xylophone]

On ‎15‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 10:08 AM, Henryford said:

I used to buy the 10 litre for 1499, which is 150 per litre or about 100 baht a bottle. Even with a big tax increase i can't see why the price has risen so much.

I have just noticed some 5 L boxes of wines from South Africa, called "Africa Horizon" in Villa Market and wondered if anyone else had seen it.

 

It is what is called an "aromatised wine" which means that it has something added to it, but quite what, is not on the label, however at just over 1000 baht for 5 L it might be worthwhile for those folk who drink fruit wine to check it out and report back.

 

On another subject on here, I have been mentioning quite a few Chilean wines which may be worth checking out and I did mention that some of them seem to be a little "rustic" and I thought I would explain that a little more – –

 

Most of the Chilean wines I have tasted and have posted about have been from the lower price brackets and are therefore some of the lower end wines that Chile produces. So as Meatloaf has said, "if you're looking for a Ruby in a mountain of rocks........" you won't find one, but what you may find is a wine which is not a fruit wine and is better than the likes of Montclair.

 

Chile has a varied climate and is sometimes referred to as "cool climate" and I think a lot of these cheaper wines come from areas like that where the sunshine hours and heat are limited. That can play havoc with the Cabernet Sauvignon grape and produce something which is called an "herbaceous/green" wine; this because there has not been enough heat over a long enough period of time to get rid of something called methoxypyrazines, which are responsible for this herbaceous "flavour".

 

Bordeaux which can have similar problems with temperature, can also suffer from this, especially where the predominant grape is Cabernet Sauvignon.

 

So, persevere with the cheaper Chilean wines and see what you think, and perhaps try some with a little bottle age as this may help, and also the 2016 vintage was variable, so they are not exactly the pick of the bunch. Sorry about the pun – – partly intended!

[janclaes47]

12 minutes ago, xylophone said:

I have just noticed some 5 L boxes of wines from South Africa, called "Africa Horizon" in Villa Market and wondered if anyone else had seen it.

 

It is what is called an "aromatised wine" which means that it has something added to it, but quite what, is not on the label, however at just over 1000 baht for 5 L it might be worthwhile for those folk who drink fruit wine to check it out and report back.

I did mention this in another thread a few weeks ago, and you even replied to that post.

 

I had the red wine and however I don't favor red, I was pleasantly surprised.

 

I haven't tried the white, because all boxes carry a date of 2 years or older, while the red was something like 18 months.

 

It is available from foodland and few other locations in Pattaya, at a lower price than what you saw in Villa, and all carry those same aged dates.

 

It is also strange to me that it African Horizon wasn't to be seen anywhere about 6 months ago, and is now at once available in large quantities and different locations, but 2 years old.

 

I also think it doesn't mention the word wine anywhere on the box, but aromatized alcoholic beverage instead. It doesn't even mention from which grapes it was made.

 

 

Edited April 16, 2018 by janclaes47

[xylophone]

1 hour ago, janclaes47 said:

I did mention this in another thread a few weeks ago, and you even replied to that post.

Sorry about that Jan............old age setting in now perhaps!!!

 

1 hour ago, janclaes47 said:

I also think it doesn't mention the word wine anywhere on the box, but aromatized alcoholic beverage instead. It doesn't even mention from which grapes it was made.

Hmmm.......I can't remember that, but some research does suggest that the grape varieties could be Pinotage and Cinsault, which in itself is strange because Pinotage is actually a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault (Cinsaut) anyway!

 

Cinsault was once widely planted for its yield, but can make fairly poor wine because of this and It is poss that this wine has some of that in it as the mainstay, hence the price........but "aromatized" with what?

 

[janclaes47]

8 minutes ago, xylophone said:

Sorry about that Jan............old age setting in now perhaps!!!

 

Hmmm.......I can't remember that, but some research does suggest that the grape varieties could be Pinotage and Cinsault, which in itself is strange because Pinotage is actually a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault (Cinsaut) anyway!

 

Cinsault was once widely planted for its yield, but can make fairly poor wine because of this and It is poss that this wine has some of that in it as the mainstay, hence the price........but "aromatized" with what?

 

Definitely no mention of any grape sort on the box, but as I said I kinda liked the red version, which is rare because it didn't have any bitter after taste which many of the cheap wines have.

 

Also the age of the boxes worried me. I know a wine can kept for many years when stored in the right conditions, but is this also the case with an adulterated product?

 

Another thing that makes me suspicious is where does this +2 year old boxes come from at once, as they weren't available previously.

 

It surely doesn't takes 2 years to ship and import them.