The Aussies further distinguish themselves by continuing to make a large amount of junk, which they think they can sell, and may yet, when it should be thrown away. This is based on large government subsidies to grape growers and so on. The EU is also experiencing the same problem. An MP in Glasgow has a bill in the House of Commons to get all the left-over wine in Europe distributed for free to his elderly constituents. He is sick of the urban poor paying taxes to support the rural rich, he told me. He is not a big wine drinker, but more like a big wine thinker.

The head of Simeon wines in Australia, David Clarke, last week told his shareholders that the wines all producers currently have in storage, but can’t sell, won’t be gone until 2009. Three years to sell the wines they’ve already made. The company posted an AUS$11.55 million loss for the year ending June 2006. Snowball that idea and some 2010 vintages will still be around in 2015. These are wines that should be drunk sooner than later.

The 2004 Grove Mill Sauvignon Blanc is a stunner, £7. Good with anything, even spicy sausage: tropical fruits on the nose; dry finish, light on the tongue. Two days later, the wine had mellowed to being almost buttery. It was smoother than Brazilian legs during Carnival. 8.5.

2001 was not so good for California and Bonterra’s Cabernet from that year shows it. Watery and thin, little identity, no wonder many bottles of it are available to buy now – though it’s not a complete wash-up. It was drinkable as a table wine. Serve with dinner. 7.7

Same for 2004 Valdevieso Merlot. It holds it own, but can’t hold your attention. 7.7.

The ‘Taste the Difference’ 2003 Connawarra Cabernet from the grocer Sainsbury’s was on sale for half-off, £4. Odd, the wine is brand new, but its ‘normal’ price is listed at around £8, when it was never available before. This smacks of a corporate direct marketing selling technique, but the wine was aptly named. The difference tasted was that the wine was closer to liquor in terms of alcohol content. The fumes alone are flammable. Hard to taste anything else when a wine is pimped out with so much silly sauce. A day later, ripe fruits, mainly blackberry, tinge of oak, still strong. Price was right though. Eight pounds would be a joke. 7.0.

Finally the 2003 Heartland Petit Verdot from the Limestone Coast of Australia. Poor Petit Verdot can’t hold its own in Bordeaux. It’s mainly used to add aroma while toning down the strength of the Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlots grown there.

Didn’t you know most Bordeaux are blends? Two other grapes are rarely used, so those are the big four. Whites will see Sauvignon Blanc, Semillion and sometimes Muscadelle. Burgundy will with be Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Want more on France, just ask.

The Heartland gave off wild aromas violets, black cherry but still very rustic, like an old leather belt that will never give up holding onto pants. Also a bit of rust and a hint of mint. But, the label threw me. It was a picture of a shovel ploughing, by lantern light, into what appeared to be a steaming pile of steamy little rocks. It’s as if the winemaker moonlights in the fabled dung mines of the Naracoorte Caves. 8.9 points, mainly for controlling a late harvest grape most people won’t bother with.

Insert BIG FINISH here.

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