Cat Amongst the Pigeons- Nine Lives Shiraz 2009

So out of curiosity, I bought this wine yesterday. I had heard from a few different people that this wine ws a winner. It is from the Barossa Valley and won a silver medal at the Adelaide wine show in 2010. The wine is actually from Rosedale Wines, which is based in the Barossa Valley. Rosedale Wines is a huge commercial winery that produces several different types of reds but under various, different looking labels. I have had my disappointments with big commercial wines before but hey, its all part of the job.

I was pleasantly suprised by this wine. For a shiraz, it was very light and fruity. Virtually no oak at all. The tannins are very light. I was a bit dissappointed that the wine didnt last well in the bottle over night. Some wines, if you are lucky, taste just as good the next day. I generally see wines last a bit over 24 hours after you open them. Some wines oxidize more slowly or have taste profiles that are complimented by the oxidization taste. Wines that are more balanced between fruit and oak, and wines that are heavier and more rich are like that. This wine, being almost completely fruit and lighter than air did not respond as well to the oxidization that took place over night. No that it was undrinkable, but it certainly didnt taste as good as the night before.
Overall, I would recommend it to someone who is just looking to try a South Australian Red. It is light and easy to drink. A little one dimentional, but thats ok. Its nothing special, but you tend to find that quality in red wines like this that are mass produced by huge commercial wineries (especially at this price point). It wont disappoint the average wine-goer. At $19.99 a bottle, its cheap enough to give it a try.

I havent mentioned bottle design in any of my posts before, but at this stage I feel like it is something to consider. Bottle design is very important to a winemaker. Its the shape of the glass, and colors on the label, and the color and font of the label that make wines stand out to the inexperienced wine drinker. I have to admit, I am a little biased when it comes to labels. I find a lot of bottles from California are so loud and colorful, they seem like they are trying to cover up an inferior wine. Also the name of the wine can be a bit overdone as well. Apothic Red, Blasted Church, and Evil wines are perfect example of names, and/or artwork that is overdone. Simple, classy labels, glued to a tall dark bottle are what appeal to me.
The Cat Amongst the Pigeons wine bottle is a little bit on the cute side. Im not crazy about the name. The name is trying to say to much, and the label is a bit busy. Also, naming the wine nine lives shiraz is a little too cute. I dont mean to come off as cynical or a downer, but in my opinion flashy bottles like this are what attract the people who know nothing about wine. The smart wine drinker would know better. Or better yet, wouldnt judge a wine by its bottle. I guess I am not a pure wine critic.
Anyway, after that tangent, I would recommend it. Decent wine at a price that my wife wont kill me for buying. If you like this one, I would recommend the Petaringa Understudy, and the Undercover. Both are excellent wines, no cute labels, and produced by a smaller winery that spends a bit more time considering the final product in the bottle. They are a bit more money, but are certainly worth it.

Until next time...

Torbreck Old Vines- Grenache, Mourvedre, Shiraz blend 2007

I was pleasantly surprised with this wine. It is from the Barossa Valley from vines that are 100 years old.
Below are my tasting notes:

suprisingly sweet!!
spicy
ate with thai chicken pizza-sweet and spicy
complex flavors with the three wines-spicy,
sweet, and oakey
light tannins
good with dinner-very versatile good with
any food

Almost has a port like quality-tawny

Excellent- I really liked it, highly
recommended. $25
scored a 92 with reviewers

The Stump Jump 2009- d'Arenburg

This is my first experience with wine from d'Arenburg. The Stump Jump. The wine is named after a type of plough that was used to clear the Eucalyptus tree roots from the landscape where the vineyard is planted. The winery is quite old, established in 1912 in the Mclaren Vale. I have purchased a bottle of Dead Arm from this winemaker, but that is in the wine fridge saved for the long term. I can say that my first try of d'Arenburg was quite enjoyable.

Stump Jump is an entry level blend composed of Grenache, Shiraz, and Mourvedre. Usually I am not crazy about  blends but this one was very nice. The Shiraz was very noticeable although I don't have much experience with Grenache and Mourvedre. It had a well balanced flavor of fruit and oak. Very light tannins. One important thing to note is that the wine was much more enjoyable when it spent a good amount of time outside of the bottle. In fact, when I tried it again the next day to finish off the bottle I found it to be much more mellow and fruity. Being a cheaper bottle that we bought for about $20 it is one that I would highly recommend.

Majella's The Musician Cab/Shiraz 2009

So I decided to give this one a shot. I have seen it at BCLS for the past few months and have been curious about it. It caught my attention for two reasons, one is that it is from the Coonawarra, and the other is that it was rated rather nicely at 90 pts at BCLS. Before I bought it I had never heard of Majella. I took a look at their website and found that they are a relatively small vineyard in the Coonawarra. The website was decent but definitely had a family run feel to it. Not that I am against family run vineyards, but it seemed to give it a bit of a cheaper feel.

Upon tasting the wine, I was surprised. Not necessarily in a positive way. The wine was surprisingly spicy and well oaked. It had very little fruit to it. The wine reminded me of a sangiovese that I tried from Desert Winds winery in Washington, except it wasnt as smooth and the taste was more harsh. Very spicy and would be well served with pasta, and tomato sauce. Overall I wasn't too impressed. I just wasnt too happy with the taste. It was very strong and over powering at times. I struggled to finish the first glass. I hate to say a Coonawarra wine was this dissappointing, so I will try it again tomorrow night. Perhaps I new day will help. As of now, I cant recommend it.

Wynns' Coonawarra Estate Shiraz

I said in my last post that I was excited for these latest two wines I have sampled recently. In this second post, I will review the Wynn's Coonawarra Estate Shiraz. This wine is there basic Shiraz that they produce out of the Coonawarra region.

Unfortunately, this review will be a bit short. The Shiraz was good, but not great. I would say that over all I liked the Yalumba Menzies better than this red. Now, I should mention that this wine is still a pretty good wine. However, it lacks anything special. Its just a basic Shiraz, a good Shiraz, but basic none the less. You can find better wines at this price range. It would be a good wine to share with some wine novices but a more selective taster wont be as impressed.

Yalumba Menzies The Cigar 2009

The following two posts are of two wines that I am excited to try. Both wines are in the $25 range which means that they are potentially good wines to enjoy on a regular basis. Today I am reviewing Yalumba's The Cigar from Yalumba's Menzies vineyard. Yalumba named the wine The cigar after the shape of the terra rossa soil in the Coonawarra region where the vineyard is located. Menzies is one of their premiere vineyards, so I am excited to give this one a try.
The wine is a cab sav, which is a nice change from all the shiraz I have been sampling recently. I have had less experience in tasting cab sav wines so this will further my experience with this type of grape. Lets take a look at what Yalumba is offering with this wine:

The very first thing I noticed with this wine was the very light tannins. Virtually no grippy tannins to be noticed. The wine is a bit heavy in texture. It would be excellent with some seafood, or chicken. It seemed very well oaked, something that is not quite as noticeable with shiraz, at least in terms of what I have tried. Very bold flavor. It is certainly worth a taste and it is a very good value for what you are getting. The coonawarra produces excellent wines and this is no exception. It is a very well done cab sav. I would be interested in camparing it with the iconic Bin 707 from Penfolds and compare. perhaps one day...
NExt up wil be a shiraz from Wynns Coonawarra Estate. It is their entry level shiraz, similar to this wine from Yalumba. I am hoping that it will be as recommendable as this wine is for anyone looking for a great wine at a decent price, from an excellent region in SA.

Henschke Mount Edelstone 2004

My family came up to Vancouver this weekend to visit Jenn and I. I decided to take my dad to Everything Wine in North Vancouver and needless to say he was impressed with the selection. While buying wine in Canada is more expensive, I have found that the more expensive bottles don't vary in price as much as cheaper bottles. My dad went to the vintage room and found a bottle of Henschke Mount Edelstone shiraz. This particular red was one of his favorites when we were living in Australia. The bottle cost $160. $40 a glass. WOW. I knew we were in for a treat.

First, some background on Henschke and its wines. This red is from Eden Valley which is around the area where Mclaren Vale is located. The vineyard, which this wine is specifically picked from, was planted in 1912. This is the same location Hill of Grace, possibly Australia's most expensive and exclusive reds is produced. 

Wine Description

Deep red with violet hues. Rich aromas of spicy plums, blackberries, anise and sage oil with hints of tar, pepper and cedar. The intensely fruited palate is concentrated, rich and lush with excellent balance, velvety tannins and a long finish.

Overall I found Mount Edelstone to be quite nice. It needed about 45+ minutes out of the bottle to allow its flavor to come out. I was pleasantly surprised at the sugar content of this wine. I found it a bit sweet which was a nice change to the more tart shiraz I have sampled. Tannins were very light, and the wine was very well balanced. 

This is an empty bottle I intend to keep, so far it is the most expensive wine I have ever tried. It was a very expensive treat at $160, so I cant say I would recommend it for anyone who doesn't take red wine seriously. If you are someone who appreciates reds, then I would recommend you take this one and savor it. It is not a casual bottle to buy on your way to the grocery store. 

Eat it with meat and potatoes, its a shiraz.