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Update: special parcel of wines from Majestic

Because of the massive demand generated, the special Majestic parcel of St Hallett wines announced last week (see below) has now almost sold out, and many stores will not have enough left for the advertised tasting weekend, this Friday to Sunday (8th-10th February). However, they've come up with another super deal, slashing the price of three wines from the Tatachilla winery in McLaren Vale. These prices run from Friday 8th February to Sunday 10th February only.

The wines are:

  • Tatachilla McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 1999
    Was £8.99, now Save £4 = £4.99
  • Tatachilla Breakneck Creek Chardonnay 2000
    Was £4.99, now Save £1.50 = £3.49
  • Tatachilla Breakneck Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 2000
    Was £5.49, now Save £1.50 = £3.99

Please note: these deals only take effect from tommorrow (Friday 8th February) morning, and finish on Sunday evening. 

My verdict on these wines
Tatachilla 'Breakneck Creek' Chardonnay 2000
Full yellow gold colour, with a lovely, rich smoky/buttery nose. On the palate it is rich and full flavoured. Good value. Very good

I haven't tried the 1999 Cabernet, but here's my note on the 1998:
Tatachilla Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 McLaren Vale
The Tatachilla wines are all pretty impressive in their full-on, no-holds-barred style, but this is probably my favourite. This opulent Cabernet is an opaque purple/black colour with a full nose of blackcurrants and herbs. The dense palate shows sweet blackcurrant fruit and some minerality. Very good/excellent 

Haven't tried the 2000 Breakneck Creek cabernet, but here's my note on the 1999:
Tatachilla 'Breakneck Creek' Cabernet Sauvignon 1999, South Australia
A lovely, rich, soft easy drinking Cabernet, showing sweet berry and blackcurrant fruit with a touch of vanilla. It has good concentration and a rich, creamy texture. A nice cheapie. Very good

The details of the St Hallett offer, plus other special parcels, are below. If you can still find any of the St Hallett wines, tuck in!

Majestic Wine Warehouses have a habit of unearthing special parcels of wines at very attractive prices, and the new list, launched today, sees some more one-off deals that look very tempting.

First, some wines from Barossa producer St Hallett. I've got a bit of a soft spot for their wines as this was one of the wineries I visited on my first trip to Australia, some six years ago. The full list of the wines Majestic have (as of 29th January) is as follows: 

  • St Hallett Semillon 1998 £3.99 
  • St Hallett Chardonnay 2000 £3.99
  • St Hallett Chardonnay 1999 £3.99
  • St Hallett Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 1999 £4.99
  • St Hallett Blackwell Shiraz 1997 £6.99
  • St Hallett Gamekeeper Red 2000 £4.49
  • St Hallett Gamekeeper Red 1999 £4.49
  • St Hallett Cabernet Merlot 1998 £4.99 
  • St Hallett Poachers White 2000 £3.49 
  • St Hallett Riesling 2000 £3.99 
  • St Hallett Faith Shiraz 1997 Magnums £8.99 

Why are these wines being sold at these low prices (approx 40% discount)? Excess stock, apparently. Don't expect them to hang around too long. Just four of these are featured on the website, but your local store will probably have a larger spread. For the record, I bought four each of the Semillon, Chardonnay and Gamekeeper's reserve, and a couple of the Riesling.  

There's also more of the Durney Cabernet Sauvignon 1994 at a ridiculously low price of £3.99 if you buy 2 or more. Majestic have 1100 cases of this wine left. It's not flawless (the fruit is starting to recede a bit and the spicy oak is too dominant), but it is quite a serious wine. Forgive the football analogy, but I'd liken it to Manchester City (by most standards a premiership club) playing in Division 2 (which they did a couple of seasons ago): a slightly flawed £12 wine, but a stunning £4 bottle. The story behind this wine is that the new owner of Durney (a banker called Mr Heller) wanted to clear the cellars, so Majestic were able to get the wine at a fraction of its normal price. 

The other parcels, with quantities and prices, are as follows:

Pio Cesare sought-after Piedmont producer

  • Nebbiolo d'Alba 1998, DOC Pio Cesare Special Parcel £11.49 - 200 cases
  • Barolo 1997, DOCG Pio Cesare Special Parcel £19.99 - 70 cases
  • Barolo 1997, DOCG Ornato Vineyard Pio Cesare Special Parcel £29.99 - 50 cases

Alejandro Fernandez Celebrity winemaker from the Ribera del Duero in Spain

  • Condado de Haza 1999, Alejandro Fernandez, Ribero del Duero £7.99 - 600 cases
  • Pesquera Crianza 1998/99, Alejandro Fernandez, Ribero del Duero Special Parcel £9.99 - 900 cases
  • Pesquera Tinto Reserva 1997/98, Alejandro Fernandez, Ribero del Duero £19.99 Special Offer £18.99 - 400 cases
  • Pesquera Reserva Magnums 1997/98, Alejandro Fernandez, Ribero del Duero Special Parcel £39.99 - 300 6 packs
  • Pesquera Gran Reserva 1995/96, Alejandro Fernandez, Ribero del Duero £49.99 Special Offer £44.99 - 60 cases

You heard it first on wineanorak.com!

Contact details: see the Majestic Wine website to find your closest branch, or order from the selection available on the website.