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$20 US??


Not around here.
We had this again on Saturday night with big fat cheeseburgers. The label reminds me of an old-fashioned pancake mix box.

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Block 6 is running about $75-85 here Gavin. Just more gouging of us greedy Americans I guess. We are suckers for that good Aussie juice.

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To some extent thats true. The Block Six retails here for $40 from the winery if you are on the mailing list. The US official importer pays the same price (less about 40% tax) which equates to A$24 or about US$18.25.

Even allowing for expenses, its not a bad profit, but then you guys are prepared to pay for it. In Oz we have more sense but then we are not as well off as you guys are financially.

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Torb,

Who'd want to follow the irreverent rantings of "The Opinionated Red Bigot" (TORB) who takes nothing seriously except possibly the good plonk?

(To those who don't know why I said the above, go visit torb's website)

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Rev,

Over 1,000 people have read Chapter One of the Victorian Tour Diary in two weeks so there must be a load of very sick puppies out there.

Buying it locally and shipping it over is a good idea but you don't have to get pallets of the stuff to do it. There is a half way option, its called "Gavin" at Auswine. His prices are reasonable, he doesn't charge like Jessie James and his service is good. (For the record I have no association with him except being a satisfied customer.)

• 2001 Kay Brothers Shiraz Hillside Vineyard [McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia] 94 pts. (4/14/2004)
  Wow, this is a nice step up from the Amery Shiraz. I popped and poured with no decanting, instead opting to enjoy two glasses very slowly and let them develop in the glass. I'm eager to see what the remaining 2/3-bottle does tomorrow. The nose shows woodsmoke, blueberry, some medicial smells of eucalyptus, pepper, soaring violet and blueberry. Lovely! However, the high point of this wine is the stunningly expansive entry, as this wine just fills your mouth and attacks every millimeter of your palate with dark, medicinal flavors intermingled with juicy blackberry, all layered over a very powerful structure and spiced with sweet American oak. This doesn't show the sweet attack of a Marquis Phillips, rather this shows lovely balance, brooding and power in a much more elegant and reserved way. However, this IS an Aussie after all, and compared to wines from other realms this certainly smacks you over the heads with a blast of fruit and structure and surprisingly lively acid.
  
  The longer I sit with this wine, the more I enjoy it and the more complexity and length it reveals. This stuff really has serious depth to it. I can barely imagine what the Block 6 will be like when I eventually get around to that!
  DAY 2: This has smoothed out even more with a day of air and still shows very nice purity of fruit with much more integration of wood. I actually liked it more on day 1 than day 2, but it is lovely stuff, surprisingly lithe and powerful.
  
• 2001 Kay Brothers Shiraz Amery Vineyard [McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia] 91 pts. (3/17/2004)
  This is a pretty delicious Shiraz that hit the spot. Raspberry moves to blackberry on the nose, very pure and powerful. On the palate this is very plush and powerful without being overbearing. In fact, it is refreshingly lithe compared to what I was expecting. More pure fruit envelops your palate along with some toasty oak and vanilla. This is quite monolithic right now, but I suspect it will open up overnight.
  DAY 2: Now we're talking. This has really rounded out to show some pepper, licorice and a hint of oak-induced mint. It has all of the elegance it did yesterday and more complexity. This frankly seems pretty restrained and closed, but it is awfully pure and tasty. I don't get all the way to 93-95 as RMP did, but it is an easy 91 points.