Sydney sticker shock - no affordable fine Oz Shiraz?

At a conference in Sydney, and in my innocence was planning to pick up a few bottles of fine Australian Shiraz to take home, as it is practically nonexistent on my home turf. I used to buy such wines pre 9/11 in the BBR shop at Heathrow, alas that fine establishment is long gone and I avoid Heathrow like the plague anyhow. But but but I am convinced that I used to get wines such as those listed below in the $30 price range in those bygone days, whereas the prices I am seeing in Sydney now are e.g.:

Elderton Command Shiraz 2012 - Aus $ 108
Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 2014 - Aus $ 100
D'Arenberg The Dead Arm Shiraz 2013 - Aus $ 70

Can somebody enlighten me? What happened to pricing of fine Oz Shiraz? Any recommendations for solutions?

Thanks in advance

[David M. Bueker]

Yow!

The St. Henri is $60 (USD) near me, up from $45 several years ago.

The Elderton generally runs $75 USD these days.

Throw in the exchange rate...though the St. Henri still seems high by 25%.

[Jenise]

The last Elderton Command I bought cost somewhere in the mid 30's. You're not wrong, we've seen the same kind of inflation here. As a consequence there is almost no Australian wine in my area but for the mass market goop--oh, and Mollydooker.

[David M. Bueker]

And Mollydooker is just a different kind of goop.

[Jenise]

And Mollydooker is just a different kind of goop.

Indeed it is. But in my area people actually seek out the brand, whereas the other Aussies they just buy because they're full frontal and cheap.

David, Jenise - thanks for sharing. Maybe one should buy these wines as a speculative investment, but drinking one's investments makes it difficult to recoup...

Any Australians still on this forum who can recommend still affordable alternatives?

[Jenise]

Let's see if we can scare up David Lole. I sure wish this software allowed tagging, like Facebook!

Leaving Sydney shortly, first time in a while that I passed through a wine producing country of note and am not carrying any wine home with me. The few wines I tasted at different outlets in Sydney were by and large drinkable yet forgettable, nothing tasted had enough character to warrant the hassle of checking a bag on my three flights home. I hope that somebody somewhere in Australia is still producing Shiraz with character at an affordable price, but I could not find any. C'est la vie...