The Wine Taster

Bellingham - Shiraz - 2007 - South Africa

2011-07-24T06:38:00.000-07:00

This was a marvellous find. Bought whilst on sale for £5 at the weekend reduced from 9 quid. I was making chilli con carne that evening and wanted to serve up a nice red. Now, I'm not supposed to be one of these people who immediately thinks because he got such a great deal on a reduced wine that it has to taste amazing; because you and I know, that just isn't the case. And I do fall naively into that category from time to time. An attribute to being human I suppose.

This Shiraz really set my meal off though. It's aged in American and French oak barrels for 12 months after fermenting which really gives it a rustic punch, and the added Viognier adds very subtle plummy overtones to the lingering taste. An absolute must by.....unless you can get the 'Bellingham Dragon's Lair', but thats another story.

Vina Maipo - Gran Reserva - Shiraz - 2010 - Chile

2011-05-17T15:07:00.000-07:00

I came across this wine whilst on a hunt for a cheap Shiraz some 7 months ago whilst out shopping with my girlfriend. As I'm sure you've all realised now, I'm a huge fan of the reds, whilst (unbeknown to you), my girlfriend favours the whites. We stumbled upon this; a Chilean from the Vina Maipo vineyards, south of Santiago. This is the Shiraz, but depending on where you are from will be labelled Shiraz or Syrah. Their website www.vinamaipo.com lists their entire stock availability. But for today, here's looking at the Gran Reserva.

As I've tried to tunnel away from my forever spiralling lust lust for Australian Shiraz (It's a real bummer, *hic*), this particular wine opened my eyes and made me far more interested in the geographic implications imposed upon grapes, where they thrive and generally what climates make grapes taste how they do. This Shiraz is really well balanced. It's a nice, smooth tipple with a very mature consistency. Normally I'm used to a snifter that punches me square in the mush with it's pluckiness or a wine which will tease on the fruits and blast with a long alcoholic sting and out-stay its welcome. This however: very nice. As far as food goes; this one has done the rounds over the months. I remember a fantastic lamb shank with dauphinoise potatoes and asparagus being made even more tremendous with a glass of this. As I remember, it was remarkable orange and duck pate. But culinary preference aside, this is just a remarkable wine.

8/10 - I'm a big fan of this particular wine; but must ease up off the marking until I can sample other wines from Vino Maipo

Jacobs creek - Pinot Noir - 2010 - Australia

2011-05-16T16:49:00.000-07:00

Here we have a Pinot Noir from acclaimed makers, Jacobs Creek. Made in 2010, this is a year or two younger than other wines tested on this blog. As I poured the glass and swirled it, I was suprised at how light it is compared to a shiraz or a merlot, and it's alcohol b eing at 12.5%, i was completely sure what to expect.

It has quite a complicated flavour. It has very delicate no4tes of cherries and strawberries - and I thopught quite plummy also. But certainly not as strong as a richer shiraz or cabernet. On tasting, I got the same subtlties as I did whilst smelling. It was a skew with mild under currents of fruit and berries, and also very subtle flavours of plum (I can't let the plum thing go).

6.5/10 - i wasn't bowled away with how delicatge this wine was. Certainly very good, but a bit to brittle in the flavour department.

Southern Block - Merlot/Malbec - 2009 - Australia

2011-05-16T04:02:00.000-07:00

This wine was on sale from £10.99 to £5.49. Another Co-Operative victory. As I've stated in earlier posts, this will be another wine which will disappear forever from said store's shelves once the offer has expired.

Purchased at the same time as the St. kitts - This is a New Zealand wine made from the infamous Hawkes Bay vineyard (http://www.hawkesbaynz.com/). Again, this is very fruity wine - very dark and quite pungent with dark fruits. To taste, the tartness of the grapes lingers dramatically. The first New Zealand wine I've reviewed so far. More to come, definitely.

7/10 - sweet entry and tart lingerings. Very palatable

St. Kitts - Barossa Valley - Shiraz - 2009

2011-05-15T15:04:00.000-07:00

Good evening, wine tasters. I'm back this evening with a lovely little Australian - St. Kitts Shiraz. I picked this from a Co-Operative. The offers at the Co-Operative change quite radically as I've mentioned in previous posts. This particular beauty was picked up at half price - reduced from 10.99 to 5.49 and for the price - very rewarding.

As I've speculated before; and I'm sure a lot of you will agree, the pricing of wine is something else altogether. I don't work in retail, and even my introduction to it whilst at university was anything but fruitful. i think it's the same problem as it is with anything when pricing mark up for profit. I just have a problem with something being marked up so astronomically high, that the foreseeable future could see the item being reduced by 50%. How? if the stated trade RRP is what it says it is, theres over a 50% mark up for profit alone. And so I feel cheated, discouraged and start thinking about quitting drinking. On the other hand.......bargain!!

This wine is packed with fruit. Absolutely packed. If you like wine (as a snifter or a finess) and you happen to live near a co-operative store, pick up a bottle, you will not be disappointed.

I've never sampled anything from the Barossa Vineyards before but it's now going on the list (more info at http://www.barossa.com/). It's crammed with jammy tones of raspberry and subtly oaky. It's a 13.5%, but not overpowering in the slightest. In fact, the fruit punches on immediately sampling this delicious treat but then fades considerably fast. Not even the slightest lingering of acid or alcohol - it just goes. Unfortunately, this makes you feel like you haven't actually sampled it and in turn becomes very moreish. So be careful; because it would be very easy to get carried away with.

8/10 - Australian mid price Shiraz's are usually 10 a penny, but this is a remarkable wine. I'll certainly be keeping my eyes peeled for more Barossa Valley offerings in the future
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Wolf Blass - Yellow Label: Cabernet Sauvignon - 2009 - South Australia

2011-05-10T15:17:00.000-07:00

It was only a matter of time before one of my favourites received it's day in court, and I thought sooner rather than later. A habit I'm trying to reform is to branch out from Australian wines; wines I see as safe bet. And it's wines like this which have encased that 'safe bet' in a concert block. Ladies and gentlemen;, allow me to introduce you to the Wolf Blass Yellow Label .

You see; I, as well as most of you, really like wine...but I don't know an awful lot about it. i mean; I know bits and pieces. I know regions and I know what I like, but if Hugh Johnson came in and wiggled his glasses and then ran off a list of 200 wines which were better - I'd be defending this beaut! It's just beautiful, everything (almost)p about it is aesthetic charm. It's a drink, but a stunning drink. It has this deep crimson glow to it. It might feel like I'm over romanticising this just a tad, but seriously - I have never bought a wine under a tenner which gave so much. I'll prepare a closer inspection.

On a closer look, and although a little difficult to make out, you can just about make out the outer ring. It's sort of like a big grape solar eclipse. Anyway, the picture bares little to the physical presence of the wine. I'm doing the traditional swishy-swirly thing that professional upper class dudes do to oxygenate the wine and release it's flavour. It smells like it's packed with berries. Raspberries, strawberries, blackberries. If I could defend it as 4 of my 5 fruits a day - I would. It's very dark - which is great. Usually, at least I find, that wines can have the habit of smelling too strong on the alcohol side. In which case, it wouldn't be dismissive thinking people just skipped to the taste; which ruins the fun really. Having the fruity smell of a gorgeous wine like this - along with it's looks and of course, it's taste - is by definition, a well spent evening.

9/10 - This is one of my favourites. More to come but I'm holding out for improvement. This wine can carry itself, and for the price, is easily worth it's reputation on market shelves.

Muro Di Vino Barbera Piemonte 2009 - Italy

2011-05-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

Hey wine tasters. I picked this up in a local co-op. The Co-Operative (UK) being notorious for discounting wines, placing them on offer, and then banishing the wines from all existance as soon as the offer has finished. Remarkable. This wine however is not. Going on the price guide (was 7.99, reduced to 3.99), reduction or not, it's not a handy gauge of what to expect. It has hints of plum and indeed cherries, but on tasting, theres a very very fast punch of fruits which dies down very quickly and leaves a taste some place between acidic and bitter. Not overly acidic or bitter but somehow doesn't seemed balanced when the fruit had a plush immediacy. Grown in the Piemonte region of Italy, and bottled in Forli I think my Italian wines need to be broadened-but if this wine is anything to go by; I can't say I'm eagerly sitting in anticipation.

Smell: 5

Taste: 6, then 4

Overall: 5 - sampled without food, which may make the difference with a meat accompaniment. Fruity high-end which dissipates too quickly.

Snapper Cove -Australia -Shiraz -2010

2011-05-03T15:08:00.000-07:00

I've found myself smack bang in familiar territory here. I coaxed myself from out of a corner and started a blog on wine, and how better to do it with the king - an Australian Shiraz. Now, theres a lot of pomposity related to Shiraz. I speculate that is has something to do with the wide-marketing strategies of Jacobs Creek and Wolfblass, who I'm sure you all know are mid-shelf titans in the wine industry. With this bestowed accolade also comes a toll, one which won't be oppugned in the foreseeable future. There's a visual implementation to this; the down-and-out homeless bloke seen in the movies is drinking the cheapest table wine from the off licence. The toff-nosed beret wearing socialist student is sipping on a chateauneuf du pape he acquired from his father's cellar under the cover of night (property is theft), and then there are the Francis Bacon's of this world who are three sheets to the wind and shell out anything between three grand and infinity for an old old vintagely old vino. Now; If you, like me, are a fan of a Jacobs Creek Grenache - that puts us between hobo Bobby and Fidel Arsestro.

The Snapper Cove is imported through Marks and Spencer's of England. A very big retail chain which deals in quality goods (most of the time!). I don't usually buy wine from M&S as on occasion I have been landed with an absolute stinker, however this bottle does not perpetuate the grudge. It's fruity, lively and not too strong considering the trademark 13.5% which is typical of a lot of shiraz. The alcohol sits back and gives way to it's flavour which for it's fairly priced 6.99, there is a lot to it. It smells as good as it tastes, and am going to cut this one short as if I may start waffling on again. Okay, so I'll wrap it up:

8/10 - deep and rich but a bit too young to show off it's potential. Still, a very nice drop.

Buying shit wine at shit supermarkets part 2

2011-04-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

If you're perplexed to the extent that you couldn't rationalise why I didn't mention shit wine in the last part: don't worry. It's self-explanatory that shit wine is sold in supermarkets. i think it's a matter of value and principle...and also location preference. No doubt everyone reading this has had the urge to lash out on the 25 pound chateauneuf du pape but then had a glimmer of insight to ask "Is that what it costs really?". I mean 'Really?'. I don't know. For all I know, when I go into an Asda (for USA viewers: Walmart) or Sainsburys (for USA viewers: Walmart's next wife), I haven't the slightest knowledge to whether the prices have been doctored and they haven't in fact budged the prices up to then reduce them. It's all poppy cock. At least on a singluar bottle of wine. We can take this across the field to Majhestic wine merchants; if I purchase a box of 6 shiraz at 7.99 a bottle:

7.99x6 = 47.94 per case but if bought in a case form is actually 5.99x6 = 35.94 - a saving of 8 pounds respectively. But how do we know that the 7.99 price wasn'rt just invented to make the box deal look a beter deal? I don't know. In fact, unless you invented the conspiracy, my guess is a lot of people don't know. But we're not here for 'who dun it's?', we're not here for conspiracy we're here for a cheeky drop and the love of the grape and so it shall stay. Regardless of how the likes of rat merchant Sainsburys or pesky oddbins my be trying top drain our purse, our passion is not for sale and we will be about our wits whilst pursuing our passion.

Decanters at the ready.....and.....pour!