Montclair Wine

[xylophone]

Quote jdean: "I think the Bodegas Sauv. Blanc is not bad for a box white, but be careful! I have had 2 boxes spring a leak on me. Quite disturbing to open the fridge in the morning and find your wine is dripping everywhere!".

I am not a white wine drinker, however like you, another poster here, "Bcgardner" also finds the Bodegas Sauvignon Blanc a very drinkable white wine for what it is. Fortunately I have never had any box wine leak on me (yet) so perhaps I've got that to come!!

On the subject box wine, I went into the "Deli" here in Patong (at the north end of Rat-U-Thid Road) to see what wine they had in stock after their recent renovation. I was interested because a few years ago I helped the owner taste some of his wines with a view to having a wine sale because I thought some were too old and many were possibly off!! He was very good about this and welcomed my help, saying that although he was a wine enthusiast his knowledge was fairly limited.

Turns out that the majority of the ones I had picked as being "off" were and they were not hard to spot, for example, an everyday cheap Italian drinking plonk was still being sold at the full price even though it was seven years old, the same with a Beaujolais. Some of the older Australian wines held up a lot better and although they were past their peak, they were still drinkable if you like aged wine. Anyway he put a whole bunch of them on sale and cleared some of the old stock, with the proviso that if the wine was undrinkable, it could be exchanged.

Anyway on this visit I noticed that he had a few new box wines from Chile and Italy, as well as the "Jimberroo", "Cedar Creek" and "Bodegas Centenarius" that have been mentioned on this thread. I believe he used to have the Montclair, however seems to have foregone that particular wine in favour of the others.

For wine lovers, I noticed that he had also marked down a few of the older wines and must get back and try the "Rosemount Estate" Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006 which had been marked down to around 260 baht. Now one is taking a gamble with a wine of that age here in Thailand, however if it was a fairly robust and typical Australian red in its youth, then perhaps it has stood the test of time, although it will surely be past its best, but shouldn't have entered into the "off" category yet?

I did spot a few other wines which had been marked down for clearance and a couple of were very recent vintages, so it might be worth paying a visit and perusing what is on offer.

[xylophone]

Went into Big C in Patong and as usual looked around for any wine bargains to be had and there were none that stood out, at least none amongst the Australian wines which they had severely discounted a couple of months ago.

However I did spot one wine on special and it was an Italian wine from Pasqua, a well-known wine producing family, and it was labelled simply "Sangiovese" 2011. Now Sangiovese has many different expressions in wine throughout Italy, from the excellent Brunello di Montalcino to the everyday quaffing wines which go so well with pizza and pasta dishes, and so many in between.

This was on special at 299 baht and was the type of everyday quaffing wine which is popular in Italy. For me it made a change from the other more heavily fruit driven Australian wines that I had been drinking of late, so I bought a bottle to try.

Again, I stress it is an everyday quaffing wine with no pretensions of being anything else, however it was very pleasant with just a hint of strawberry on the nose, and a light fruitiness throughout with nothing exceptional on the palate apart from some soft fruit and a slightly dry finish.

I won't say it was delicious, however it was very drinkable and unfortunately the bottle was polished off in one sitting. If I had to place it amongst the quaffing wines in that price bracket, I would put it above the 2 to 3 L bottles of Italian wines which can be purchased (even though I think Pasqua do produce one of these wines) and on a similar level to the Montclair wines which can be purchased in bottle at the same price, however with a more delicate and refined structure.

I will certainly be buying a couple more bottles to have with the Italian dishes I make, and I would also suggest it may go well with some Thai dishes.

[Bcgardener]

Picked up a new wine to try at Wine Connection while in Bangkok last week. Brooks Lane cab sav. and chardonay, both 399 a bottle. First impressions on the red is alittle thin for a cab sav but quite nice drinking for the price. Nice rounded flavour with some fruit. All in all worth another bottle or two. The chardonay was very good for the price, much better than the price would indicate and is definately a starter for my new everyday drink, but as there is a glut of chardonay grapes in Australia, this probably to be expected

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[eezergood]

Wine connection has a vastly reduced selection over the last few months@!

Did pay their tea money?

[xylophone]

Wine connection has a vastly reduced selection over the last few months@!

Did pay their tea money?

Any good "specials" on offer??

[eezergood]

Was all very blah..... unless you want to spend

[Bcgardener]

Wine Connection has just opened a large shop in Rayong (near me). Haven't paid a visit yet but from what I hear they have a very good range but as said above it does drift into high prices quite quickly with only a limited range at what I would call the everyday drinking price (under 500 baht). I did take the family to dinner at their restaurant near Patpong last week while we were in Bangkok. I thought the food was very good for the price particularly their cheese plate. A nice selection (five I think) of cheeses and plenty of it along with a small bread basket of brown and white bread for 250 Baht. The main thing I noticed was that the wine prices were the same in the restaurant as the adjoining shop i.e. no markup for service , glasses, ice bucket etc. That was great as a nice NZ Sauv Blanc was 850 baht with dinner unlike most places where you are looking at 1200 baht minimum for a very ordinary wine.

[grumpyoldman]

Wine Connection has just opened a large shop in Rayong (near me). Haven't paid a visit yet but from what I hear they have a very good range but as said above it does drift into high prices quite quickly with only a limited range at what I would call the everyday drinking price (under 500 baht). I did take the family to dinner at their restaurant near Patpong last week while we were in Bangkok. I thought the food was very good for the price particularly their cheese plate. A nice selection (five I think) of cheeses and plenty of it along with a small bread basket of brown and white bread for 250 Baht. The main thing I noticed was that the wine prices were the same in the restaurant as the adjoining shop i.e. no markup for service , glasses, ice bucket etc. That was great as a nice NZ Sauv Blanc was 850 baht with dinner unlike most places where you are looking at 1200 baht minimum for a very ordinary wine.

I need to find the bottomless bottle you have in your avatar.

[Bcgardener]

Visit to Wine Connection today and bought a few to try. Tonight an Italian ''Principesco'' Pinot grigio at 495 bottle. Unimpressed, nice initial taste but a very unpleasant almost earthy soil like finish and quite bitter aftertaste. One glass was enough. Second bottle, a Chilean blend of chardonay and sauv blanc from ''Libertas''. Much more pleasant and quite soft but a nice rounded taste. Never tried that blend before but it appears to work. The chardonay appears to soften the sauv blanc. This one was 440 Baht.

As for the avatar , I'm also looking for that bottle , preferably a really good 2008 Aussie shiraz from the Coonawarra.

Sent from my GT-P5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[grumpyoldman]

Visit to Wine Connection today and bought a few to try. Tonight an Italian ''Principesco'' Pinot grigio at 495 bottle. Unimpressed, nice initial taste but a very unpleasant almost earthy soil like finish and quite bitter aftertaste. One glass was enough. Second bottle, a Chilean blend of chardonay and sauv blanc from ''Libertas''. Much more pleasant and quite soft but a nice rounded taste. Never tried that blend before but it appears to work. The chardonay appears to soften the sauv blanc. This one was 440 Baht.

As for the avatar , I'm also looking for that bottle , preferably a really good 2008 Aussie shiraz from the Coonawarra.

Sent from my GT-P5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Never have understood the chard/sauv blend, can't say I like it very much.

I want one or the other. I like a crisp green apple refreshing sauv at times, or maybe a N.Z. passion fruit/kiwi fruit, don't really want it to be smoothed down. Chardonnay, I like the texture and fruit characteristics could do without heavy oak. In fact unoaked chardonnay is what I prefer. Viognier is something interesting along those lines too.

[xylophone]

Visit to Wine Connection today and bought a few to try. Tonight an Italian ''Principesco'' Pinot grigio at 495 bottle. Unimpressed, nice initial taste but a very unpleasant almost earthy soil like finish and quite bitter aftertaste. One glass was enough. Second bottle, a Chilean blend of chardonay and sauv blanc from ''Libertas''. Much more pleasant and quite soft but a nice rounded taste. Never tried that blend before but it appears to work. The chardonay appears to soften the sauv blanc. This one was 440 Baht.

As for the avatar , I'm also looking for that bottle , preferably a really good 2008 Aussie shiraz from the Coonawarra.

Sent from my GT-P5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Not much of a white wine drinker myself, although if I do I prefer the unoaked Chardonnay style made by Kim Crawford (NZ). Having said that there are some lovely Gewurtztraminer and Riesling wines now produced in NZ which have delicate floral notes, not unlike those of the better make German wines.

Tried a few Australian whites in my time and could never get on with Semillon wines or the blends, although there is more blending of the Australian white wines than one might think, because as I recall, a winemaker can add up to 15% of another white grape variety to his wine without disclosing it on the label.

For example an Australian Sauvignon Blanc could well have up to 15% Semillon added to it to give it a little bit more "body", and the same with other white wines.

The rules might have changed now, but that was the case a few years ago.

[Bcgardener]

Visit to Wine Connection today and bought a few to try. Tonight an Italian ''Principesco'' Pinot grigio at 495 bottle. Unimpressed, nice initial taste but a very unpleasant almost earthy soil like finish and quite bitter aftertaste. One glass was enough. Second bottle, a Chilean blend of chardonay and sauv blanc from ''Libertas''. Much more pleasant and quite soft but a nice rounded taste. Never tried that blend before but it appears to work. The chardonay appears to soften the sauv blanc. This one was 440 Baht.

As for the avatar , I'm also looking for that bottle , preferably a really good 2008 Aussie shiraz from the Coonawarra.

Sent from my GT-P5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Not much of a white wine drinker myself, although if I do I prefer the unoaked Chardonnay style made by Kim Crawford (NZ). Having said that there are some lovely Gewurtztraminer and Riesling wines now produced in NZ which have delicate floral notes, not unlike those of the better make German wines.

Tried a few Australian whites in my time and could never get on with Semillon wines or the blends, although there is more blending of the Australian white wines than one might think, because as I recall, a winemaker can add up to 15% of another white grape variety to his wine without disclosing it on the label.

For example an Australian Sauvignon Blanc could well have up to 15% Semillon added to it to give it a little bit more "body", and the same with other white wines.

The rules might have changed now, but that was the case a few years ago.

I have to agree on the semillon . I really don't like any of the semillon /sauvignon blanc blends. Adding the semillon is obviously done to keep the price down as it is a much higher yield grape I believe.

Most of the Kim Crawford wines are good. Their sauvignon blanc is one of the best I have tried and the Chardonnay is also very good. Friendship Mart in Pattaya recently had old stock (2009) of the unlocked Chardonnay reduced to 600 baht. I bought one bottle but it had a slightly unusual after taste, not bad, just not what I thought it should be. I guess poor storage had caused some issues with the wine.

I am off to Sydney at the end of the week for work so some good wine at reasonable prices are definitely on the agenda. A friend has some mid 2000 vintages of Redman Shiraz put aside for me, something to bring back with me.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[xylophone]

Visit to Wine Connection today and bought a few to try. Tonight an Italian ''Principesco'' Pinot grigio at 495 bottle. Unimpressed, nice initial taste but a very unpleasant almost earthy soil like finish and quite bitter aftertaste. One glass was enough. Second bottle, a Chilean blend of chardonay and sauv blanc from ''Libertas''. Much more pleasant and quite soft but a nice rounded taste. Never tried that blend before but it appears to work. The chardonay appears to soften the sauv blanc. This one was 440 Baht.

As for the avatar , I'm also looking for that bottle , preferably a really good 2008 Aussie shiraz from the Coonawarra.

Sent from my GT-P5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Not much of a white wine drinker myself, although if I do I prefer the unoaked Chardonnay style made by Kim Crawford (NZ). Having said that there are some lovely Gewurtztraminer and Riesling wines now produced in NZ which have delicate floral notes, not unlike those of the better make German wines.

Tried a few Australian whites in my time and could never get on with Semillon wines or the blends, although there is more blending of the Australian white wines than one might think, because as I recall, a winemaker can add up to 15% of another white grape variety to his wine without disclosing it on the label.

For example an Australian Sauvignon Blanc could well have up to 15% Semillon added to it to give it a little bit more "body", and the same with other white wines.

The rules might have changed now, but that was the case a few years ago.

I have to agree on the semillon . I really don't like any of the semillon /sauvignon blanc blends. Adding the semillon is obviously done to keep the price down as it is a much higher yield grape I believe.

Most of the Kim Crawford wines are good. Their sauvignon blanc is one of the best I have tried and the Chardonnay is also very good. Friendship Mart in Pattaya recently had old stock (2009) of the unlocked Chardonnay reduced to 600 baht. I bought one bottle but it had a slightly unusual after taste, not bad, just not what I thought it should be. I guess poor storage had caused some issues with the wine.

I am off to Sydney at the end of the week for work so some good wine at reasonable prices are definitely on the agenda. A friend has some mid 2000 vintages of Redman Shiraz put aside for me, something to bring back with me.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Sorry to hear about your experience with the Kim Crawford unoaked Chardonnay, such a shame when it is such a good wine. Sounds like we are on the same page with the white wine blends, but to be honest as I said, my white wine tastes are not that broad.

I have tried Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne (grapes from the northern Rhône) wines but haven't taken to them either, although some Aussie winemakers, as well as American winemakers are still experimenting with these grapes.

An interesting experience when I was at the Ogier vineyard in the northern Rhône (some of the best red Cote Rotie you will ever taste) and I asked Stephan, the winemaker, how much Viognier they added to their Cote Rotie, as I believe up to 20% was/is allowed to be added to soften the sometimes tannic end product (in its early life anyway), and he was a little indignant with his answer stating that they didn't add any, however there were some "white grapes" growing in amongst their Syrah vines, however they were mostly eaten by the grape pickers!!

I couldn't figure that out, but maybe he wanted to make a statement that their wines were so "perfect" that the addition of anything else was not necessary, especially a white grape to a red wine. And anyway as I was a guest I was not about to step into unfamiliar territory, and just kept tasting some of his new production which was still in barrels – – and although young and nowhere near ready, you could tell they were classy wines, with or without the addition of Viognier!!.

[eezergood]

COMPLETELY not in this price range BUT - I have discovred that you can buy Two Hands wines here at Wine Gallery, about THB2000 a bottle but drink like a much more expensive bottle. One of my faves, special occasion wine from home

[xylophone]

COMPLETELY not in this price range BUT - I have discovred that you can buy Two Hands wines here at Wine Gallery, about THB2000 a bottle but drink like a much more expensive bottle. One of my faves, special occasion wine from home

Not that I'll be buying case loads, but where is the "Wine Gallery"??

[eezergood]

Tesco lotus on the bypass - inside the complex!

[eezergood]

Worth a try budy - not an veryday drinker I suspect!

[xylophone]

Tesco lotus on the bypass - inside the complex!

Have been in there a couple of time but didn't realise that was the name (duhh)!

Must take some time to look through it with a little more attention......and may be tempted to give "Two Hands" a try as every now and then I need to get away from the everyday drinkers. The only problem with paying high prices for good wine in the likes of Villa Market is that they will not refund money if the wine is off AND the storage is questionable, whereas this place is fully air conditioned as I recall.

Will visit within the next week!

[xylophone]

Wine tasting update: I did actually try a couple of glasses of Montclair the other night at a friend's bar when I was eating my dinner and as it had been so long since I tasted it, I was quite surprised because it is an easy drinker and I can see how it got to be quite a bestseller.

1). Lenotti Le Crosare Ripasso Valpolicella 2009. Managed to acquire a bottle of this to try although it was around 1000 baht, as the Valpolicella made with the Ripasso method is a favourite of mine. Very basically, the red grapes used to make the well-known Italian blockbuster wine, Amarone, are picked and dried before they are crushed and fermented. This concentrates the flavours and produces a wine which often has an alcohol content of over 15%, as well as some pretty harsh tannins when it is young.

The crushed grape skins etc are kept and used in the fermentation of the Valpolicella Ripasso (meaning re-passed) and it gives the wine an extra dimension, not only in colour but in body, nose and taste. This wine was four years old and took time to open up in the glass, and when it did there was a faint aroma of black cherries/black plums evident, with that taste carrying through to the middle palate and although the finish was not huge, there was still that flavour. Although it was 14%, you wouldn't have known it because it was so smooth and had no rough edges to it, with the tannins being soft-ish and the wine itself having a few layers of "flavours" (multi dimensional in my terms). Altogether a very lovely wine enjoyed by one Aussie and one Kiwi.

2). Noticed a new addition in Big C, "Two Vines" Cabernet Sauvignon from Colombia Crest, based in Washington State USA. The other wine I had tried from Washington State was a superb Chateau Ste Michelle Syrah so I thought I'd give this one a try.

Unfortunately it was one of those flabby wines that seem to occupy the lower end of the scale in the USA (priced at 549 baht here) and really had nothing going for it with just a faint nose of some fairly indiscernible fruit. Could have been a Merlot as nothing distinguished this wine from every day run-of-the-mill stuff. One-dimensional with soft tannins and would ideally suit a box wine.

Absolutely no comparison with the "Little Yering" Cabernet/Shiraz 2009 currently on sale for 528 baht, as this wine is streets above the "Two Vines".

[eezergood]

Lenotti also produce a stunning crisp, light & very quaffable Pinot Grigio. I think about the THB500 mark AMAZING value

WIth the new tax laws coming into effecto today, the situation is looking much worse for wine!

[jocko]

Stand By.

www.grapewallofchina.com

[xylophone]

Lenotti also produce a stunning crisp, light & very quaffable Pinot Grigio. I think about the THB500 mark AMAZING value

WIth the new tax laws coming into effecto today, the situation is looking much worse for wine!

As regards the new tax laws coming into effect, I didn't notice much change in the prices of the wines at Big C and Villa Market, although a few seem to have increased – – perhaps they are allowing the old stock to go out on old prices which would be fair.

Did try a wine I hadn't seen before at Villa Market which was called "Tapas" by Berberana (Spanish producer) and although it was at the cheaper end of the market, it was at least a wine by a famous producer. However the old saying "you get what you pay for" certainly came true and the wine was lacking in just about anything to recommend it other than the fact it was made from grapes and was drinkable!

[emubob]

Will be interesting to see the price increases across various outlets over the coming weeks. Just back from a little alcohol shopping and noticed a lot of new prices. My favourite single malt whiskies have all gone up 150bht a bottle sadly. I noticed that some of the Jacobs Creek was now 600bht+ a bottle so around a 70bht increase I think from memory. I don't buy wine at this retailer often so not too sure the before and after prices on all their wines.

Sad to say that for those who like to drink good wines and whiskies that it is going to be a bit more expensive. Will become more difficult to find decent wines for less than 500bht. I reckon there will be an increase in people drinking box wine so Mont Clair sales may actually increase! I bought a box of Cedar Creek last week for the first time to give it a try and it is fairly average but drinkable. The problem with buying a box though is that it is too easy to have a glass or two every night with dinner!

Anyhow, if anyone notices the wines they buy increase in price it would be interesting for all to know by how much.

Have a great weekend everyone!

[eezergood]

The price increases, as far as i can see, being done on a case by case basis!!

The landed stock should not be subject to increases, the bonded stock will be! Of course you have those people that will rort you and try to bend you over!

[xylophone]

The price increases, as far as i can see, being done on a case by case basis!!

The landed stock should not be subject to increases, the bonded stock will be! Of course you have those people that will rort you and try to bend you over!

Went into Wine Connection in Jungceylon to check out the prices and all prices were as they always have been, no change there. So I asked a couple of the ladies who appeared to be doing some sort of stocktaking, what the situation was as regards price increases and she said that as of October 1, ALL Wines in the store would be increasing in price by 100 baht!!

This didn't sound right so I said, "every bottle?" and she said, "about 100 baht". I have assumed, rightly or wrongly, that she means on average.

It would appear that all the wine in the store is increasing in price, even that which has been on display for some time and therefore purchased prior to the tax increase (rightly or wrongly).

Might want to do some wine shopping prior to October 1!!

[xylophone]

The price increases, as far as i can see, being done on a case by case basis!!

The landed stock should not be subject to increases, the bonded stock will be! Of course you have those people that will rort you and try to bend you over!

Not so with Villa Market Chalong I would suggest!!

Some moderate price increases, however the shocker was the fact that the Little Yering 2009 Cab/Shiraz which was on sale at 525 baht, is now 799 baht!!!!

Checked Big C just after and still at 528 baht there.

[laislica]

I am confused:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/671582-luxury-tax-heinecke-congratulates-thai-govt-for-its-business-savvy/?utm_source=newsletter-20131001-0747&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

This article seems to suggest that wine tax will reduce?

[eezergood]

I am confused:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/671582-luxury-tax-heinecke-congratulates-thai-govt-for-its-business-savvy/?utm_source=newsletter-20131001-0747&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

This article seems to suggest that wine tax will reduce?

It wont & hasn't

[xylophone]

I am confused:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/671582-luxury-tax-heinecke-congratulates-thai-govt-for-its-business-savvy/?utm_source=newsletter-20131001-0747&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

This article seems to suggest that wine tax will reduce?

It wont & hasn't

I posted that I was surprised at the increase on Little Yering 2009 of 52% at Villa Market, well it has gone up by the same at Big C!!

Really can't see how that can be justified??

Whereas when I visited Wine Connection they said that their price increases had been put on hold?

[eezergood]

I am confused:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/671582-luxury-tax-heinecke-congratulates-thai-govt-for-its-business-savvy/?utm_source=newsletter-20131001-0747&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

This article seems to suggest that wine tax will reduce?

It wont & hasn't

I posted that I was surprised at the increase on Little Yering 2009 of 52% at Villa Market, well it has gone up by the same at Big C!!

Really can't see how that can be justified??

Whereas when I visited Wine Connection they said that their price increases had been put on hold?

Landed stock is free to sell at current prices, bonded is subject to a silly tax. This is a number picked by a deity, set by the moon phase and controlled by which water bowl the heavenly cat drinks from - or some such nonsense. Or they want to rort people.

Huzzah I cry, although a tad to soon I think, as in 2015 new ASEAN imposed laws SHOULD relieve some of the tax pressure.