Montclair Wine

[topt]

5 minutes ago, xylophone said:

Snag.........the bottle has an orange sticker so made and bottled in Thailand, again by Siam Winery!!

 

Would be a good bet that they import the grape juice, ferment and bottle it here. If so I wonder what the finished product will be like??

 

And Langhorne Creek produces some good wines, so why export the juice. Perhaps from a contract grower or oversupply; who knows?

Disappointing but until one of us try's it we will never know 

[xylophone]

46 minutes ago, topt said:

Disappointing but until one of us try's it we will never know 

OK, I await your feedback and comments! 

[eezergood]

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has anyone tried the tesco premium stuff ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 20/02/2018 at 2:12 PM, Argus Tuft said:

 

[xylophone]

58 minutes ago, eezergood said:

 

Strange post eezer!!! If it is related to the Tesco Premium range then yes I have tried many products in that range and find them excellent!

 

The selected wines are good and good value IMO.

[xylophone]

I don't know how many folks reading this are based in Phuket, so I may put this on the other Montclair red wine thread as well, however I found a little wine shop in Boat Lagoon (near Laguna) which specialises in high-end French and Australian wines mainly, and the owner Yves is a certified French Sommelier and wine educator and certainly knows his stuff.

 

So if anyone is looking for that special bottle for a special occasion, try visiting Wine square Ltd at;  www.winesquareltd.com    

[stuarty]

16 hours ago, xylophone said:

I don't know how many folks reading this are based in Phuket, so I may put this on the other Montclair red wine thread as well, however I found a little wine shop in Boat Lagoon Avenue (near Laguna) which specialises in high-end French and Australian wines mainly, and the owner Yves is a certified French Sommelier and wine educator and certainly knows his stuff.

 

 

[xylophone]

22 minutes ago, stuarty said:

 

Oops.............many thanks Stuarty!!

[eezergood]

4 hours ago, stuarty said:

 

Yves KNOWS his stuff for sure

 

[xylophone]

I remember some posters, way back in this thread “knocking” French wine, but the following article will throw some light on the French wine trade and the value/collectability of French wine………….something I invested in way back when.

 

Fine wine as an investment vehicle is yielding ever-bigger money.

 

Buying rare wines is like investing in a startup: You need 10 years of runway to see significant returns. But unlike a startup, an investment in wine is virtually guaranteed.

Had you allocated US$100,000 ($148,080) to Cult Wines, a British based wine portfolio manager, your money - which is to say your wine - would have returned an average of 13 per cent annually. In 2016, its index performance was actually 26 per cent. Read on………………..

 

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12092400 

 

PS. Forgot to add that I saw the Montclair and Siam Winery range yesterday in Tesco and the pricing and alcohol contents were all over the place......as well as in bottles, flexible plastic containers (reminded me of washing up liquid) and the boxes???

[madmitch]

20 hours ago, xylophone said:

 

 

PS. Forgot to add that I saw the Montclair and Siam Winery range yesterday in Tesco and the pricing and alcohol contents were all over the place......as well as in bottles, flexible plastic containers (reminded me of washing up liquid) and the boxes???

Washing up liquid bottles? Sounds about right. 

 

Siam Winery is owned by the Red Bull dynasty. I don't know if they've upset someone in the Government as they seem to be the hardest hit of anyone with the new taxes.

 

Just returned from Japan where wine is a civilised price, a decent bottle for around 300 baht, though it was so hot there I didn't really take advantage of this, preferring to drink beer, which is more expensive than Thailand but much better quality (apart from the sparkling sake in a can I bought by mistake, thinking it was beer!)

[xylophone]

6 hours ago, madmitch said:

Just returned from Japan where wine is a civilised price, a decent bottle for around 300 baht

Well I am still buying reasonably good wine at good prices here and have just stocked up by ordering about 48 bottles of various wines which I found by doing my homework as mentioned on this and other threads about wine.

 

Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile at 309 baht a bottle and a nice Aussie Shiraz for 419 baht a bottle, just to name but a few.

 

The bargains are out there if one cares to think outside of the square and do some research.

 

PS. Had to smile about the sparkling sake!

[eezergood]

On 7/21/2018 at 5:14 PM, xylophone said:

Well I am still buying reasonably good wine at good prices here and have just stocked up by ordering about 48 bottles of various wines which I found by doing my homework as mentioned on this and other threads about wine.

 

Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile at 309 baht a bottle and a nice Aussie Shiraz for 419 baht a bottle, just to name but a few.

 

The bargains are out there if one cares to think outside of the square and do some research.

 

PS. Had to smile about the sparkling sake!

not to mention sparkling sake jelly!!!! 

Dont ask 

[GrantSmith]

13 hours ago, eezergood said:

not to mention sparkling sake jelly!!!! 

Dont ask 

You’ve changed man.. Hahaha

[vogie]

I have just ordered 4 litres of Peter Vella white wine from Tesco, it is 799baht, I have tried this before and I thought it was ok, what do the wine gurus think of it, surely there is nothing to touch it for value over here.

[eezergood]

10 hours ago, GrantSmith said:

You’ve changed man.. Hahaha

was just proposed to me! 

[xylophone]

10 hours ago, GrantSmith said:

You’ve changed man.. Hahaha

Hello again Grant, good to see you back again, haven't seen any posts from you in quite a while, have you been travelling??

[xylophone]

10 hours ago, vogie said:

I have just ordered 4 litres of Peter Vella white wine from Tesco, it is 799baht, I have tried this before and I thought it was ok, what do the wine gurus think of it, surely there is nothing to touch it for value over here.

I think it is another of the Siam Winery fruit wines (not 100% sure though) so about the same quality as their other stuff with fruit juice added...…...however may be acceptable as a cool drink on a hot day/night esp with ice added, if that's your thing.

[GrantSmith]

1 hour ago, eezergood said:

was just proposed to me! 

Suits you I reckon ?

[GrantSmith]

1 hour ago, xylophone said:

Hello again Grant, good to see you back again, haven't seen any posts from you in quite a while, have you been travelling??

Good morning sir, I'm about here and there... No recent travels to wine country (though one coming up in September), came back from Hong Kong recently though, now that's a wine drinkers heaven/haven! 

[xylophone]

7 hours ago, GrantSmith said:

Good morning sir, I'm about here and there... No recent travels to wine country (though one coming up in September), came back from Hong Kong recently though, now that's a wine drinkers heaven/haven! 

Just a little update for you...……apart from the debacle with Montclair fruit wines et al.

 

Managed to pick up some Two Hands Cane Cut Semillon "Angels Share" for my after dinner snifter...….luscious, sweet and lovely.

 

Also been picking up some end of line wines which are good "drinkers" and one in particular called Richmond Ridge Shiraz (Riverina area I think) which is very good for a price of 417 baht AND for a friend, managed to get 36 bottles of Chilean Merlot and CS at 309 baht a bottle.

 

So all is well in the wine area with a few special ones kept for those nights when only a special one will do.

 

Have you any knowledge of Richmond Ridge, Grant?

[GrantSmith]

On 7/25/2018 at 5:56 PM, xylophone said:

Just a little update for you...……apart from the debacle with Montclair fruit wines et al.

 

Managed to pick up some Two Hands Cane Cut Semillon "Angels Share" for my after dinner snifter...….luscious, sweet and lovely.

 

Also been picking up some end of line wines which are good "drinkers" and one in particular called Richmond Ridge Shiraz (Riverina area I think) which is very good for a price of 417 baht AND for a friend, managed to get 36 bottles of Chilean Merlot and CS at 309 baht a bottle.

 

So all is well in the wine area with a few special ones kept for those nights when only a special one will do.

 

Have you any knowledge of Richmond Ridge, Grant?

Ah yes,  the Montclair nonsense that continues to blight the market here. I do note that with last years taxation adjustment that their prices and wines of their ilk have almost doubled to the point where surely it’s no longer a viable proposition to continue doing what they’ve been doing. 

 

As for the Cane Cut Semillon from Two Hands, I’m a big fan of the ‘For Love or Money’ (Angel’s Share is one of their Shiraz) I’ve got a dozen or so in the cellar back in Australia, always have time for that wine. Did you pick it up on the cheap? They’ve changed importer again, they’re now with the Central Group so there should be a bit more visibility in the Central Food Halls around (I know that in Bangkok there is) the country.

 

As for Richmond Ridge, I’ve not had it myself but coming from that large region of “South Eastern Australia” I’m sure it lives up to its quaffable reputation.

 

Speaking of cheap “South Eastern Australia” wines, I was in a Villa Market the other night just surveying their offerings, nearly had a heart attack seeing “Yellowtail” for ฿600 a bottle! I actually laughed out loud.

 

Someone is really taking the P 1 55 with that price!

 

[eezergood]

10 hours ago, GrantSmith said:

Ah yes,  the Montclair nonsense that continues to blight the market here. I do note that with last years taxation adjustment that their prices and wines of their ilk have almost doubled to the point where surely it’s no longer a viable proposition to continue doing what they’ve been doing. 

 

As for the Cane Cut Semillon from Two Hands, I’m a big fan of the ‘For Love or Money’ (Angel’s Share is one of their Shiraz) I’ve got a dozen or so in the cellar back in Australia, always have time for that wine. Did you pick it up on the cheap? They’ve changed importer again, they’re now with the Central Group so there should be a bit more visibility in the Central Food Halls around (I know that in Bangkok there is) the country.

 

As for Richmond Ridge, I’ve not had it myself but coming from that large region of “South Eastern Australia” I’m sure it lives up to its quaffable reputation.

 

Speaking of cheap “South Eastern Australia” wines, I was in a Villa Market the other night just surveying their offerings, nearly had a heart attack seeing “Yellowtail” for ฿600 a bottle! I actually laughed out loud.

 

Someone is really taking the P 1 55 with that price!

 

was it a Yellowtail reserva......... ?

[GrantSmith]

15 minutes ago, eezergood said:

was it a Yellowtail reserva......... ?

Grand Cru I believe ???

[xylophone]

10 hours ago, GrantSmith said:

Ah yes,  the Montclair nonsense that continues to blight the market here. I do note that with last years taxation adjustment that their prices and wines of their ilk have almost doubled to the point where surely it’s no longer a viable proposition to continue doing what they’ve been doing. 

 

As for the Cane Cut Semillon from Two Hands, I’m a big fan of the ‘For Love or Money’ (Angel’s Share is one of their Shiraz) I’ve got a dozen or so in the cellar back in Australia, always have time for that wine. Did you pick it up on the cheap? They’ve changed importer again, they’re now with the Central Group so there should be a bit more visibility in the Central Food Halls around (I know that in Bangkok there is) the country.

 

As for Richmond Ridge, I’ve not had it myself but coming from that large region of “South Eastern Australia” I’m sure it lives up to its quaffable reputation.

 

Speaking of cheap “South Eastern Australia” wines, I was in a Villa Market the other night just surveying their offerings, nearly had a heart attack seeing “Yellowtail” for ฿600 a bottle! I actually laughed out loud.

 

Someone is really taking the P 1 55 with that price!

 

As regards Montclair, I think their marketing department need shooting, because they are all over the place with it – – flexible plastic containers, casks, bottles, and even selling wine from Langhorne Creek (I think it was this area) and it looks like it is brought in as grape juice and fermented here; all this at a premium price!

 

Not only that they have the Montclair cask version at 13% alcohol volume and the flexible plastic containers at 10%??

 

As I have said in many posts I can now pick up Australian wines, albeit from the Riverina and the like, for around 400 baht a bottle and some of them are good and belie their origins, such as the Richmond Ridge I spoke about, so why would one drink Montclair and its siblings?

 

As for your question, yes I did pick up the Cane Cut semillon at a discounted price

and you're quite right it was not the Angels Share (a Shiraz I've had quite a few times and it is a huge and well-made wine, but a little bit too "big" for my brain cell!) but "For love or Money".

 

So there are bargains around, but as for Yellowtail, another wine from the Riverina I believe, I have never taken to it as it's a very average wine IMO and certainly not worth 600 baht a bottle and I believe I have seen it over that price? As long as I can buy the Richmond Ridge Shiraz for around 400 baht a bottle as my everyday drinker, then that suits me fine (along with the very good wines at discounted prices I manage to pick up along the way).

 

I wonder if the days of adding fruit juice to wine are over? Just as I've written that I have reminded myself that there are people who will still be looking for price over quality and also convenience (cask), so perhaps it does have a place but nowhere near as prominent as it has been?

[xylophone]

On ‎7‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 11:39 PM, GrantSmith said:

Ah yes,  the Montclair nonsense that continues to blight the market here. I do note that with last years taxation adjustment that their prices and wines of their ilk have almost doubled to the point where surely it’s no longer a viable proposition to continue doing what they’ve been doing. 

Perhaps the Australian producers of the casks have started to cotton on to the "Montclair/Siam Winery" labelling ploy in an effort to sell more?

 

There was a time when the casks from the likes of Gossips, Castle Creek, Bodegas Valley etc would have a pretty full description of what was in the cask written on the side and it always mentioned that this wine was a particular grape variety, with added fruit juice, so it was clear for all to see, whereas Montclair et al always had it in print that was hidden away, so to speak.

 

Now these producers have taken a leaf out of the Siam Winery book, because there is no description anywhere and tucked away in the corner are the words "Fruit Wine".

 

[GrantSmith]

On 7/27/2018 at 10:33 AM, xylophone said:

As regards Montclair, I think their marketing department need shooting, because they are all over the place with it – – flexible plastic containers, casks, bottles, and even selling wine from Langhorne Creek (I think it was this area) and it looks like it is brought in as grape juice and fermented here; all this at a premium price!

 

Not only that they have the Montclair cask version at 13% alcohol volume and the flexible plastic containers at 10%??

 

As I have said in many posts I can now pick up Australian wines, albeit from the Riverina and the like, for around 400 baht a bottle and some of them are good and belie their origins, such as the Richmond Ridge I spoke about, so why would one drink Montclair and its siblings?

 

As for your question, yes I did pick up the Cane Cut semillon at a discounted price

and you're quite right it was not the Angels Share (a Shiraz I've had quite a few times and it is a huge and well-made wine, but a little bit too "big" for my brain cell!) but "For love or Money".

 

So there are bargains around, but as for Yellowtail, another wine from the Riverina I believe, I have never taken to it as it's a very average wine IMO and certainly not worth 600 baht a bottle and I believe I have seen it over that price? As long as I can buy the Richmond Ridge Shiraz for around 400 baht a bottle as my everyday drinker, then that suits me fine (along with the very good wines at discounted prices I manage to pick up along the way).

 

I wonder if the days of adding fruit juice to wine are over? Just as I've written that I have reminded myself that there are people who will still be looking for price over quality and also convenience (cask), so perhaps it does have a place but nowhere near as prominent as it has been?

 

Possibly the various forms of packaging for Montclair comes from an oversupply issue probably based on forecasts from previous years, got caught out with new changes and left holding the baby (so to speak) or maybe they're using the multi-packaging approach to get rid of excess liquid, which possibly accounts for the fluctuations in alcohols. A 3% variation is cause for concern too. Not an alarming send out a health warning concern, just from a consumption concern. 

 

The Richmond Ridge wine you've been mentioning had me googling to see what the comparative price was in back home, suffice to say, I couldn't find it listed on the usual suspects but google threw up some UK retailers which were/are selling it for £8.50 which is only slightly cheaper than it is available here. Curious as to who the owner of the brand is though.

 

16 hours ago, xylophone said:

Perhaps the Australian producers of the casks have started to cotton on to the "Montclair/Siam Winery" labelling ploy in an effort to sell more?

 

There was a time when the casks from the likes of Gossips, Castle Creek, Bodegas Valley etc would have a pretty full description of what was in the cask written on the side and it always mentioned that this wine was a particular grape variety, with added fruit juice, so it was clear for all to see, whereas Montclair et al always had it in print that was hidden away, so to speak.

 

Now these producers have taken a leaf out of the Siam Winery book, because there is no description anywhere and tucked away in the corner are the words "Fruit Wine".

 

I would think it's not in their interest to flaunt any loopholes especially with Wine Australia on a bit of a warpath at the moment as far as labeling goes. Add to that the new requirement for importers to submit their products for analysis would also be cause for concern with regards to any deceptive labeling efforts.

 

[madmitch]

1 hour ago, GrantSmith said:

 

Add to that the new requirement for importers to submit their products for analysis would also be cause for concern with regards to any deceptive labeling efforts.

 

I might apply for a job in the testing department! I don't think it's on the reserved list!

[GrantSmith]

1 hour ago, madmitch said:

I might apply for a job in the testing department! I don't think it's on the reserved list!

if only it were that black and white ?

[GrantSmith]

Just for something different... ?

 

ICYMI... or you've been living under a rock in Nakhon Nowhere.. there is no "new" taxes on wine or any alcohol for that matter... but don't let that stop any frugal farang get in the way of a good story...

[Rig Pig]

Reasonable Wine in Phuket. A challenge at best. I recently found a "real" wine in a two litre jug at the Village Mart. Australian Castle Creek Bin 569, two litres 600 baht, not a great wine by any measure but well chilled it will serve as a table wine. I normally buy three bottles at Tops for 600 per bottle. If you buy three of the Castle Creek jugs you get eight bottles for 225 baht each. A reasonable price!