THE widest, and to put it into perspective, most extraordinary range of great international wine vintages in WA is in the extensive cellars below the revamped Steve’s Wine Bar-Hotel at the end of Broadway on the Nedlands foreshore.
Recently, a friend wanted one of the world’s greatest wines as a gift and my immediate response was to race down to Steve’s, browse what is effectively a library of the world’s greatest wine names and vintages, and then return his phone call.
The range encompasses German, Bordeaux, sauternes and red and white burgundies, including many in magnums, double magnums and imperials.
Murray McHenry has collected millions of dollars worth of current and back vintages from all over the world, many imported exclusively for the Steve’s cellar.
The Bordeaux range includes vintages back to 1961, which is among the two or three greatest vintages since the 1940s.
When Murray, store manager Michael Hartley and James Majer first talked about this operation, they believed it would not only be the best wine range in WA but hopefully in the country. They must have gone close.
As with many of Perth’s premium wine merchants, these guys only stock wines they have tasted.
One of the great benefits to consumers is that prices are not lifted year by year on older vintages, so there are bargains to be had.
As an example, many of the museum stocks end up being cheaper than the current releases.
As compared with much of our slightly old-fashioned industry, these guys are moving with the times.
You can join the database either online or by dropping in, or you can be kept up to date with information on their wine tasting program and recommended wines through the Facebook group at www.steves.com.au.
Despite the amount of money tied up in the massive and largely very expensive wine portfolio, the Steve’s mark-up is significantly below that of the major chains and thus the 10 or 15 per cent off in volume buys equates to 20 or more per cent off from the big advertisers.
One of the bottle shop’s great benefits is the link to its upmarket and modern wine bar and restaurant area.
This means people who drop in for a snack or a meal, or just those who drop by for a glass of wine, can choose from either the wine list or the wine store.
The corkage on wines taken from the bottle shop through to the restaurant, at $20, is far cheaper than an equivalent bottle with normal mark-up in most restaurants. If the wine is more than $100 in the retail section, the corkage fee is waived.
Another of Steve’s drawcards, and this applies to both the restaurant area and the store, is the EnoMatic wine-dispensing system that has 32 wines available for self-serve tastings by the glass.
This allows for such wines as Grange Hermitage, Chateau Pichon Lalande, or August Clape’s Rhone Valley treasures available at most times.
The wines available under this format are changed regularly.
If you love wine and you have not been to the new Steve’s you need to get down there for your own benefit.