Wine club deal: $1000 case for bargain hunters

For the first time in the history of the wine club we’re offering a dozen with a retail value of more than $1000 – with a saving of more than $700.

John Lehmann

@lehmannatlarge

4 min read

3:15PMNovember 27, 2024.

Updated 5:14PMNovember 29, 2024

Australian producers have some fine stock to offload, meaning big savings for wine lovers.

The origins of the term Black Friday are a little confused, but we can certainly think of more inspiring monikers.

“Cash-in Friday”, maybe, or “Supersave Friday”, or even “Wait, what? A $1000 case of superlative Australian wine discounted by 70% Friday”.

Forgive our excitement. Every quarter or so, our Secret Cellar comes around with some startling bargains, but this time the special dozen from The Australian Wine Club is unprecedented.

For the first time in the history of the wine club we’re offering a dozen with a retail value of more than $1000 – with a saving of more than $700. Yes, that’s a $700 saving on every carton. Per bottle, we’re talking an RRP of $83.75, down to $23.99.

It includes a highly rated 2016 Coonawarra cabernet sauvignon (RRP $130 a bottle) that’s drinking elegantly now but has serious cellaring potential. Members of the club tasting panel will be in the queue to purchase a case with an eye to future special occasions.

As followers of our wine club will know, the Secret Cellar wines are always excellent value and prove highly popular, even though there is by necessity a little dance involved. You won’t know exactly what these wines are until you open the box with excited anticipation.

That’s the trade-off: we don’t disclose the identity of each wine to protect the brands of the wineries involved. They are happy to offer such high-quality vintages to our club members under those circumstances in a bid to free up stock levels caused by the slowdown in export markets during Covid.

John Lehmann Wine Column 27/11/2024 - Lehmann on Secret Cellar Deals

Primarily that was led by China, of course, whose boycott of Australian wines from 2021 to earlier this year was a savage blow It wiped more than a billion dollars a year from Australia’s wine exports and contributed to a significant oversupply of wine in storage. By taking a gamble on these wines – and scoring the massive discount – you are in fact helping these producers move on to better days.

For two reasons, though, this is in no sense a gamble.

First there are the wines themselves: the Coonawarra cabernet was given 96 points by Sam Kim at Wine Orbit and Wine Showcase Magazine gave it a gold medal. Other wines in the pack include a 2021 Barossa Valley shiraz (RRP $80 a bottle) also given 96 points by Sam Kim and “totally ageworthy” in our tasting panel’s prosaic summation. The 2021 vintage was an absolute cracker.

Add to that a 2020 cabernet shiraz from Wrattonbully in SA, with an RRP of $50 a bottle, and given 97 points by Master of Wine Andrew Maillard and 96 points by the Halliday Wine Companion, plus a Clare Valley reserve shiraz from 2021 with an RRP of $75 a bottle and given 93 points by Wine Pilot.

The second reason these wines are a banker is our usual one: the insurance policy of the wine club’s guarantee that if you don’t like what you’re sent, for whatever reason, we will refund your order.

The only question left is which special occasions will be honoured by the opening of this dozen over the coming months and years. There is nothing black about this Friday!

For the first time in the history of the wine club we’re offering a dozen with a retail value of more than $1000 – with a saving of more than $700.

Barossa Valley Shiraz 2021

Opulent from the off, this offers rich blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, with dark plum and vanilla coming through too, plus Christmas cake spices, dried fruit and a hint of tobacco. It’s equally super ripe on the palate, with luscious dark fruit and a sprinkle of black pepper. The tannins are mellow and with balancing acidity leading to an excellent length. Pair with crispy-skin duck, pink in the middle and with a little plum sauce on the side. 14.5% alc, RRP $80 a bottle.

SPECIALS $71.99 in any dozen, $23.99 a bottle in our Secret Cellar dozen.

Clare Valley Reserve Shiraz 2021

The freshness lifts this as you breathe it in, with vibrant plum and blackberry notes augmented by spice and black pepper and a sprinkling of vanilla and cocoa. The palate is savoury and rich, offering black and blue fruits, cured meat and liquorice, with a creamy, silky mouthfeel. Fine tannins enable a good length. 14.8% alc, RRP $75 a bottle.

SPECIALS $65.99 in any dozen, $23.99 a bottle in our Secret Cellar dozen.

Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Certain aromas take you places and the first sniff of this is a passport to the Coonawarra – immediate earthy spice on the nose with ripe cassis and cigar box notes, plus dark cherry and vanilla. The dark fruit is on the palate too, amid a range of black olive, dark chocolate and eucalypt, hints of vanilla and an elegant balancing acidity pointing to that marvellous cellaring potential. (Equally, try a bottle now with a lamb ragu, just because you can.) 14.5% alc, RRP $130 a bottle.

SPECIALS $119.99 in any dozen, $23.99 a bottle in our Secret Cellar dozen.

Wrattonbully Cabernet Shiraz 2020

Think dark thoughts here: black olive and potent cassis on the nose, with black fruit, a fresh earthiness and herbaceous notes, dark chocolate and a hint of minerality. The palate is savoury upfront but decant for an hour and taste the black fruits unfold along with tapenade, after-dinner mints and cinnamon. The tannins are fine but persistent, and seeking a dream date with a piece of rib eye. 14% alc, RRP $50 a bottle.

SPECIALS $37.99 in any dozen, $23.99 a bottle in our Secret Cellar dozen.

SECRET CELLAR DOZEN: Three bottles of each wine above for $23.99 a bottle. Save $717.12.

Order online or phone 1300 765 359 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm AEST. Deals are available only while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine, LIQP770016550

John LehmannManaging Director - The Australian and News Prestige Network

John Lehmann is Managing Director of The Australian, the News Prestige Network and NSW mastheads including The Daily and Sunday Telegraphs. He was Editor of The Australian for four years, leading the masthead to two Newspaper of Year Awards and record audience growth. John believes that world-class storytelling and riveting content is the key to commercial success. Before taking on executive roles, he worked as an editor and reporter in Australia and the United States for 25 years, covering business, media, politics and crime. At the New York Post, he reported extensively on the September 11 terror attacks and hunt for Osama bin Laden. John is a former Editor at Large of The Daily Telegraph, where he helped create major advocacy campaigns including the Bradfield Oration, and has covered Olympic Games in the United States, Russia and Sydney. He also once ran a liquor distribution business and writes a weekly column for The Australian Wine Club, where he moonlights as Cellar Director.

@lehmannatlarge

John Lehmann