This is the best OT thread ever. I too tried the Ghost Pines and thought it was excellent (and I’m not even into merlot typically) — thanks for the tip TG!
barnaby33 made some offline suggestions I thought I’d pass along for the group as I found it helpful. He is a wine genius btw and I can personally attest that his wine fridge is actually bigger than his apartment (he somehow manipulates spacetime to fit it in there).
Anyhoozle, I am into “fruit forward” wines; my favorites are usually zinfandel but Josh believes (and I agree from my experience) that Aussie shiraz is typically the best bang for the buck for fruit forward wines.
For vintages, he said: “From Oz any 05 will be best, 06 second best, if its an 03 skip it.”
He specifically recommended Marquis Phillips as a brand and Sarah’s Blend in particular. I got a $12 06 Sarah’s Blend from Costco and it was quite good, though I wouldn’t really put it in the screaming deal category like the Ghost Pines. I will look for the 05.
Anyway, thanks to all the wine nerds for the tips… and if anyone comes across any great deals for Australian shiraz feel free to post. 🙂
