WTNs: Return to Down Under

Back in the land down under, facing a significantly narrower range of international wines and a taxation regime that’s ridiculous, but I’ve enjoyed a few wines of late anyway…
(The taxation regime as I understand it has a 29% wine tax, which is compounded with another 10% goods and sales tax based on retail value, both of which are then compounded with a 10% goods and sales tax - which means you can often buy the same Aussie wine for less overseas than you can buy it for in Australia! I think the big conglomerates in Australia must love this regime (which is probably partly why it exists) because it favours the sale of the kind of cheap, boring wine churned out by the big companies rather than boutique set-ups. Interestingly, since the tax isn’t based on ABV it also doesn’t discriminate against the wave of high-ABV wines Australia is producing so much of these days.)

Delatite Riesling 2006 A$18
Intense floral, lime and mineral flavours with a steely palate that has refreshing acidity and good length. This has great flavour, a tight palate (in a structurally appropriate way) that’s pleasantly austere. Not bad value either.

Jacob’s Creek Steingarten Riesling 2005 A$23
This is a more floral orientated Riesling, with some volatility, a mixture of lime and chalk, and became more lemony with air. The palate was more round than tight. It’s restrained and had some elegance to it (relatively speaking), but I didn’t find it very interesting to be honest. How it shows probably depends how you present it.

Kooyong Pinot Noir 2005 A$36
Forest berries, autumn leaves and some bloody game. It has a nice wildness to it (in as far as New World Pinots do). Pretty smooth on the palate with balancing acidity, a solid core of fruit, perhaps some sappy stem character, and good length. It has a reasonable amount of “Pinosity” for an Aussie Pinot at this price.

Stonier Pinot Noir Reserve 2006 A$42
This is one of the palest Pinots I’ve seen in a while. Quite a lifted, volatile nose that show more cherry blossom than cherry, plus strawberry that’s just about to start rotting. The palate is well balanced with good acidity and a moderate amount of smooth tannins but the finish is a bit short. A lighter style and not what I look for in Pinot either, plus the price point felt painful. However, this went surprisingly well with a green salad with French dressing: the wine became smoother and raspberry in flavour, and it stood up to the garlic and mustard in a way few wines could. It ended up being pretty enjoyable and I can see that this would have more potential as a good food pairing wine.

Glenguin Pokolbin Vineyard Shiraz 2002 A$40
Sweet dark berries, some Christmas spice, a volatile alcoholic whiff (14.5%). This has incredibly velvety tannins and good body. It’s intense core of dark fruit is quite impressive.

Krista Rolf Shiraz Grenache 1999
Nice old Barossa Shiraz showing blackberry/boysenberry and some tanned leather, with a smooth yet slightly astringent mouthfeel giving it textural interest.

Ben
Yes an oppressive tax regime - to which I'd also add that there must be an element of using it to force an export sales focus, plus the powerful breweries don't risk losing out to wine.

I presume the small winery rebate is still in place (I can't recall the figure, but IIRC something like a turnover of less than half a million dollars and the winery is exempt from WET).

Back to the wine... I've still not tried the Steingarten, but it's reputation is pretty high. The Delatite I have tried and think it's a wonderful wine, but AFAIK no longer available in UK.

regards

Ian

The taxation regime as I understand it has a 29% wine tax, which is compounded with another 10% goods and sales tax based on retail value, both of which are then compounded with a 10% goods and sales tax - which means you can often buy the same Aussie wine for less overseas than you can buy it for in Australia!

That sound like more than 50%! It makes the Belgian regime of modest fixed excise duty, ecotax plus VAT at 21% seem reasonable.

Both New Hampshire and Massachusets have no RETAIL tax on wine, as do some other states. That is not to say that the wine is not taxed, as it is at the wholesale and I'm sure other levels. You have to do some research to find out how much and by whom. Although this is not as transparent as other state and national tax systems, I'm confident that our is much lower than others!

[Jenise]

Back in the land down under, facing a significantly narrower range of international wines and a taxation regime that’s ridiculous, but I’ve enjoyed a few wines of late anyway…
(The taxation regime as I understand it has a 29% wine tax, which is compounded with another 10% goods and sales tax based on retail value, both of which are then compounded with a 10% goods and sales tax - which means you can often buy the same Aussie wine for less overseas than you can buy it for in Australia! I think the big conglomerates in Australia must love this regime (which is probably partly why it exists) because it favours the sale of the kind of cheap, boring wine churned out by the big companies rather than boutique set-ups. Interestingly, since the tax isn’t based on ABV it also doesn’t discriminate against the wave of high-ABV wines Australia is producing so much of these days.)

IIRC, the good thing about that tax, the one upside, is that it's not levied on cellar door sales, so wines sold at the winery are a bargain, relatively speaking, compared to regular retail. It must be a shock to Aussies wine-touring in other places like the U.S., where cellar door prices are generally higher than retail.

To me, the real shocker in Oz is the price of imported wines (except New Zealand). A basic Cotes du Rhone can be $30. It's one of the few places in the Western world that make BC wine prices look cheap!

Ian, I'm sure the forcing of export sales is a big part of it. AFAIK the rebate for small wineries (WET back on up to the first $1 million wholesale) still exists. But I think the tax regime still disadvantages the boutique producers in a way because their wines usually sell at higher prices and, since there is a tax based on retail value, these wines are treated as more of a luxury good that their counterparts.
Jenise, a lot of people are of the opinion that prices at cellar door aren't significantly cheaper than retail, but I've never really looked into it in any detail.
John, can't agree more about the price of imports!!

Ben, good to see that you haven't had a totally dry time there! No Hunter Valley Semillons? I would have thought you would have enjoyed them - but are they hard to find there as well?

-O

No Hunter Valley Semillons? I would have thought you would have enjoyed them - but are they hard to find there as well?

Good point! I haven't got round to any yet but I certainly intend to. The better (and older) ones are harder to find, but not too hard to find.