Razor's Edge Wines
Shiraz
McLaren Vale
Adelaide, Australia
2006
14.5%
$11.69 -- Whole Foods, Austin, TX
Color: Deep red, purple tinge
Nose: Spicy blueberries and fish sauce
Body: Medium to full
Front: Blueberries
Middle: Mocha
Back: Tobacco, a little wood
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap
Inspired by criticism from a reader of this blog, and by the excellent value represented by the Razor's Edge Shiraz-Grenache, I decided to try the company's straight-up Shiraz. "Straight Up Shiraz"--that's a pretty good label. I claim it! It's deliciously priapic.
At any rate, way better than "Razor's Edge," especially for something as peaceful as wine. I could launch into all kinds of poststructuralist qualifications--it's a straight razor on the label, so it's about shaving, ostensibly, potentially revealing, as in elegantly conveyed terroir, the "true face" of the soil--or historicist ones, claiming the back label's rationale for the name. Except that the back label's explanation is kind of trite and lame. So I say: change the name!
Still, what really matters is in the bottle, and about that I have few complaints. I think I prefer the blend to this, but it's up there with Luchador and the various Marquis Phillips wines in terms of good stuff at this price. I'm enjoying listening to Denitia Odigie's "Pioneer" as I drink it.
