Eden Hall Shiraz Viognier

David Hall
Eden Hall
Shiraz Viognier
Single Vineyard
Eden Valley (Barossa Valley)
Springton, South Australia
2004
14.5%
$19.98 -- Costco, Austin, TX

Color: Dark blood red
Nose: Blackberry jam, plum, cilantro
Body: Medium, creamy
Front: Blueberries
Middle: Ripe cherry, pepper, sage
Back: Coffee,
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

Those who are closely following my every utterance will notice that I'm cheating.

I said I was done with the less-commonly consumed white varietal tasting, yet here we have a Viognier! It's just that it's also blended with Shiraz (95 Shiraz-5 Viognier for the curious). This is an Aussie experiment in a southern Rhone thing: if I remember correctly, for example, Cotes-du-Rhone wines can include a small percentage of white grapes, including Viognier.

This is unmistakably Australian, with big ripe fruit, strong personality, and that tangy thing at the end that I like so much in OZ wines. With a little ago on it, this I'd guess has calmed down a bit; I like it a lot, though it seems to lack a third level beyond the dark fruit and the tangyness. It's elegant, very easy to drink, and worth the price for a well-made, interesting wine. Tonight it was perfect paired with a chicken fajita soft taco.

Innocent Bystander Pinot Noir

Innocent Bystander
Pinot Noir
Victoria
Healesville, Victoria, Australia
2008
14.1%
$14.98 -- Wine Library, Springfield, NJ

Color: Medium garnet
Nose: Cherry, meat, chocolate
Body: Medium
Front: Raspberry
Middle: Chocolate-covered cherry cola

Back: Espresso, but very soft tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

Undoubtedly bearing one of the grimmest wine labels ever, this wine is nonetheless a real joy, and a shock. The shock has to do with the price of entry, which is low for a Pinot these days. The flavor is delightful: not super-complex, it's no Vosne-Romanee or Amour Fou. But it's balanced, tasty, interesting enough, and elegant. A mixture of grapes from eight different vineyards, this is a testament to its winemaker. Good with grilled lamb and, surprisingly perhaps, watermelon. I'm gonna get more: this bottle, if not its label, will make many guests happy!

Heartland Viognier & Pinot Gris

Heartland Wines
Viognier & Pinot Gris
South Australia
Dulwich, Australia
2007
13.5%
$12.54 -- Costco, Austin, TX

Color: Light to medium straw; oddly uninspiring
Nose: Aggressive apricot and something smoky; a little beach ball, a little lime
Body: Medium to full
Front: Peach
Middle: Lime, honeydew
Back: Lemon, spearmint
Burns clean?:
Cap: Screwcap

The varietal experimentation with whites continues. This time it's a blend of Viognier (77%) and Pinot Gris (23%). I'm not a big Pinot Gris fan, I must admit--few are the Pinots Gris that I will review on this blog, unless something extraordinary happens to my tastes!

But this is an interesting wine. It has charm; there are subtle flavors lurking in the mid-to-end palate.  You might not taste these if the wine is served too cold, though--still, I think it would please a lot of people and it doesn't have the acetone flavor one sometimes gets with Pinot Gris. It's good with brie and smoked almonds, unsurprisingly; it might be nice with fish, too, with it's fruitiness and nice balance.

Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz

Penfolds Wines
Shiraz
Magill, South Australia
2003
14.5%
$39.98 -- Twin Liquors, Austin, TX

Color: Inky red
Nose: Blackberry jam, smoke, eucalyptus
Body: Full and creamy
Front: Cassis
Middle: Raspberry, mint
Back: Chocolate, dusty tannins, clove
Burns clean?: 
Cap: Cork

This is a beautifully structured, rich, but subtle wine.  It needs a bit of time open, to be sure, and will cellar for a goodly while longer.  It feels a little closed, to me, compared to the last time I had it, so the 2003 may have gone a bit dormant.  Then again, I paired it with chili, the spice of which might have prejudiced the vino.  In the grand scheme of things, this is a much more elegant, French-style Syrah than one often gets (at least if one drinks the Syrahs that Caveat Emptyer has reviewed!) from Australia.  Dave Brubeck was on the stereo tonight--a good match for the wine.

Pillar Box Reserve

Henry's Drive Vignerons
Pillar Box Reserve
Shiraz
Padthaway, Australia
2007
15%
$15.98 -- Wine Library, Springfield, NJ


Color: Opaque blood red
Nose: Clove, blackberry jam, a little heat
Body: Full and creamy
Front: Blueberries, cafe au lait
Middle: Cherry, pepper, sage
Back: Asphalt, cedar
Burns clean?: Yes, mostly
Cap: Screwcap

Break out the roasted beets and the grilled lamb and the syrah.  It's winter. Pillar Box is, I assume (loyal readers, spank me if I am wrong), sort of a "second label" of Henry's Drive, which makes a killer syrah.  Back in the day I had the Pillar Box Red, and found it lovely, if uncomplex.  This is a step up in every way, and not terrifically more expensive.

One of the most interesting things about it to me is the texture of the wine.  The flavor profile isn't all that uncommon in Australian syrah.  There's a bit more going on in it than, say, the Marquis Philips wines, but they're a dollar or two cheaper and easier to find.  But they don't have the elegant roundness, the creamitude, of this bottle.

Howard Park Scotsdale Shiraz

Howard Park Wines
Scotsdale
Great Southern
Shiraz
Cowaramup, Western Australia2004
14.5%
$35.99 -- Chapel Hill, NC

Color: Deep garnet
Nose: Cheese fondue, pepper
Body: Full
Front: Currant
Middle: Cream, chocolate
Back: Blueberry, tannins, aromatic herbs
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

This is an enormous, rich, stunning wine. It's got nice acid with the curranty flavors, backed by a real creaminess and a hint of spiciness. This may be the peak of this vintage; it flattens out after about an hour open. But with about twenty minutes of air, it's spectacular: serve to friends!

This evening's accompaniment was Kat Edmonson on the stereo, and grilled rack of lamb with grilled yellow squash and a dried cherry red wine sauce on the plate. The lamb brings out the spice in the wine, even as the wine brings out the richness in the food--a happy pairing.

Razor's Edge Shiraz

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.

Razor's Edge Shiraz-Grenache

Razor's Edge Wines
Shiraz, Grenache
McLaren Vale
Adelaide, Australia
2006
14.5%
$11.88 -- Whole Foods, Austin, TX

Color: Deep red
Nose: Violets, pepper
Body: Medium
Front: Plums
Middle: Eucalyptus, brown sugar
Back: Violets, pepper, a little heat
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

With a little air, this wine opens into a lovely, floral, caramelly bottle of tastiness. Despite the step towards a Rhone blend implied in the blend, it's still very much an Australian experience: big fruit, richly tasty, straightforward in structure. So, so much better than the $12 I paid for it, and in these hard times (even though it's an import!) that counts for plenty.

I had it with Wilco and some baked chicken with chorizo, onion, tomato, and garlic, with a side of steamed squashes. It was good with the food, but better with the saltier stuff--the cheese was an aged goat cheese, for example, so quite salty, and killer with the wine.

Henry's Drive Dead Letter Office

Henry's Drive Vignerons
Dead Letter Office
Shiraz
McLaren Vale & Padthaway, Australia
2005
15%
$26.99 -- Rum Runner, Tucson, AZ

Color: Dark red
Nose: Cherry vanilla cola
Body: Medium to full
Front: Tart cherries, blueberry
Middle: Mocha pencils
Back: Mint-wrapper cedar
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

Henry's Drive makes some good wine. But of course, you never know! If it were baseball, this wine would bat fourth: not a lot of complexity, but plenty of power, likely to hit home runs with some drinkers and strike out with others. Drink it with friends, for two reasons (beyond the usual sociability): first, to watch the reactions, and second, because it has enough alcohol to put you in the hospital if you do it alone.

Now the perfect match, musically, for this wine, is Jace Everett's song "Bad Things." Given that Mr. Everett's tune is the theme song for the HBO vampire series True Blood, the color of this wine seems about right...

Water Wheel Memsie

Water Wheel Vineyards
Memsie
Shiraz, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon
Bendigo, Australia
2005
14.8%
$9.88 -- Whole Foods, Austin, TX

Color: Deep garnet
Nose: Cassis, mint
Body: Medium
Front: Eucalyptus
Middle: Raspberry, chocolate
Back: Cedar
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

I'm a bit astounded that I got this bottle for this price. Perhaps no one knows what is inside it? It's not the most body-full Shiraz, nor the longest on the palate. But it's a great tasting wine, with super-interesting flavors. The nose is strongly fruity and minty, but the palate opens up rapidly into a range of dark flavors, not all of which I've managed to capture above.

For those of you less interested in subtle flavors and more in effects, please note that this wine is powerfully strong, but does not taste that way. I'll write you letters in jail.

Luchador Shiraz

R Wines
Luchador
Shiraz
Barossa Valley
Eastwood, Australia
2006
15.5%
$13.88 at Whole Foods, Austin, TX

Color: Dark ruby
Nose: Charred lamb, blueberries
Body: Full
Front: Creamy blueberries
Middle: Gravelly chocolate
Back: Maple syrup, sawdust
Burns clean?:
Cap: Screwcap

Another Grateful Palate import, and another stellar deal. The nose on this one is delovely; complex and strange. They bill this as a non-wine-expert's wine, and without question you'll like it if you want a wine that'll please a wide range of people. Equally true, it would seem odd to bring a wine with this label--an homage to the Mexican wrestler Malo--to a dinner party. But honestly, it'll make anybody happy who likes a good Shiraz: it's layered, good with food, and so strong that one glass will make the truth begin to flow like money around the mat at a wrestling match.

Tough, too, is Tom Waits's "Filipino Box Spring Hog," which is a perfect pairing with this wine. Just note that this sucker is 15.5%, so don't try to drink even one glass of it within the space of that song...

NB: I decanted 1/2 the bottle and put the cap back on almost immediately. 24 hours later, what was in the bottle tasted like caramel and chocolate. No fruit, no spice: dessert. Really, really good dessert.

Thorpe Reserve Cabernet

Thorpe Wines
Cabernet Sauvignon
Reserve
McLaren Vale, Australia
2004
14.0%
$25.99 at Carolina Wine Co., Chapel Hill, NC

Color: Dark reddish-purple
Nose: Violets, clove, Fernet Branca
Body: Full
Front: Blueberries and eucalyptus
Middle: Pepper; a hint of anchovy
Back: Rosemary and caramelized onions; after an hour or so, dusty tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This is one of the most herbal Cabernets I've tasted. Very interesting, right out of the bottle. Good after a couple of hours, too, and the (comparatively) low alcohol content means you get to enjoy it the entire time. Lively and quick, just like St. Nick! Actually, it's not quick; it's got quite a long delivery. The mintiness goes beautifully with both French onion soup (with Parrano cheese) and the latest record from The Ditty Bops.

Fascinating too is that Thorpe Wines's parent company is a drilling company. No, my fellow Texans, not that kind of drilling--they drill for water. It is, after all, Australia. I hope the water they find is as good as the wine they make.

Mollydooker Two Left Feet

Mollydooker Wines
Two Left FeetShiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon
McLaren Vale, Australia
2006
16.0%
$21.99 in Chapel Hill, NC

Color: Deep red with purple tinge
Nose: Blueberries and mocha
Body: Full
Front: Buttery berries
Middle: Peppery basil
Back: Chocolate, olive
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

Continuing my pilgrimage through the Mollydooker collection, I linger at Two Left Feet for a moment. This has the profile of all the Marquis wines: bigness, forwardness, unabashedness, and then, after it's opened up for a bit, complexity. It's a lesson in befriending certain kinds of personalities. Wait for it, go with it, watch carefully, and you might be rewarded. Spend too much time with them, you get really smashed. They're cheap, and crowd-pleasers. How far can we take this metaphor? It's okay, I'm done.

This one is a bit better with food, I think, than some of the straight shirazes. It was stunning with a brisket I brought home this evening, and not bad with kalamata olives, either.

Mollydooker The Boxer Shiraz

Mollydooker Wines
The Boxer
Shiraz
McLaren Vale, Australia
2006
16.0%
$23.99 in Chapel Hill, NC

Color: Inky strawberry
Nose: Berries, graham cracker, a little heat
Body: Full
Front: Cassis
Middle: Ice cream sandwich
Back: Blueberry, pepper
Burns clean?: Yes, if you don’t drink too much
Cap: Screwcap

This another excellent wine made by Sarah and Sparky Marquis (which I think is pronounced markwiss). It’s a whopper, true to its name. But the metaphor breaks down quickly: this is not one to go into the ring with alone. Bring friends and tag team unless you are a Fight Club aficionado. Strong as it is, the texture is soft and sparkly.

Like most things, it needs to breathe a bit. Once it opens up it’s astonishingly complex. If you get a newer one, consider this unusual recommendation by the winery. And I’m serious about the ice cream sandwich, by all that is holy. Oddly a good combination, all things considered, with the Stilton I’m eating tonight from the world-famous Wheatsville Co-op.

Note, 13 January 2010: I tried the 2008, with a chicken and chorizo stew. Raspberry jam, black cherry, pie, a little hint of mint, and plenty of oak lending a nice creaminess (like the 2006), without too much of a milk flavor. I think I like this more, actually, than the 2006, and it has enough fruitiness in there to develop for a little while.

Strong Arms Shiraz

R Wines
Strong Arms Shiraz
Shiraz
McLaren Vale
Eastwood, Australia2006
15.5%
$11.99 -- Whole Foods, Austin, TX

Color: Deep red
Nose: Blueberry with a hint of cinnamon
Body: Full
Front: Blueberries
Middle: Dirt, creamy vanilla
Back: Cedar, okra?
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

One of my bloggin' colleagues writes that at some point in your wine-drinking days, "you stop following individual grapes or regions and begin chasing individual winemakers and importers." I believe we're on the same page when I say that it's not that the latter two entities are a better indicator of quality--but that you're probably in tune with their taste. Tuning is more important, because wine is for pleasure.

The first time I really asked with interest who an importer was, it was just after sharing a bottle of Henry's Drive Shiraz with my friend Todd. Good lord, it was good, and I'd never seen it before. THE GRATEFUL PALATE, OXNARD, CA. Watching for this on the back label has never led me astray, and it didn't with Strong Arms Shiraz, either.

A lot of wines have groovy packaging and not much else. In the case of this wine and the others imported by Grateful Palate, it's an attention to style that extends to every part of the operation, apparently, from grapes to fact sheets to leveraging value: good luck finding another $12 wine with more complexity, subtlety, and intensity than this. Everyone seems to benefit from this outfit; it's like magic--check out not just the label art, by Mel Kadel, but the way Grateful Palate took the time A) to go for six different images and B) make a separate PDF out of each.

(I've seen Kadel's art compared to Sendak and Gorey, but it seems to me perhaps as much like a Kathe Kollwitz, cheered up by Roald Dahl, collaborates with Shel Silverstein type of thing. Sick, wrong, and lovely!)

Food matters to The Grateful Palate. The best sign of their attention to detail is that they have not only great wines, but a Bacon of the Month Club. I didn't do justice to the wine by pairing it with cajun roasted chicken (though the onions came out splendidly), but with edamame (also lightly cajun, just to be perverse) the shiraz was harmonic.

Mollydooker Blue Eyed Boy

Mollydooker Wines
Blue Eyed Boy
Shiraz
McLaren Vale, Australia
2006
16.0%
$45.50 -- Pastiche Wine Shop, Tucson, AZ
Color: Deep creamy red
Nose: Raspberry, brambles, heat
Body: Full
Front: Blueberries, cream
Middle: White pepper
Back: Plums, jam, perhaps a little cocoa
Burns clean?: Somewhat; don't drink too much at a sitting.
Cap: Screwcap

This is a big, playful wine, true to the Sparky Marquis style. If there are tannins, I can't taste them. It's not the synesthetic experience that a wine like Possum is, but it's spicy and jammy and dark out of all proportion to what is normally understood to go by the name of wine. Let it sit open a bit; it's hot and tight out of the bottle.

Longview Cabernet

Longview Vineyard
Cabernet Sauvignon
Adelaide Hills, Macclesfield, Australia
2006
14.2%
$27.99 -- Highlands, NC

Color: Deep purpley red
Nose: Blueberry
Body: Heavy
Front: Mint
Middle: Blueberry
Back: Creamy oak, tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

I can't taste any of the things the back label claims are in it, but I like it anyway. Like lots of Australian cabernets, it doesn't taste like what I think of as cabernet. but it's good stuff nonetheless, and not hot at all. Good with food, but it hasn't got the tannic backbone to stand up to really hearty fare.

Marquis Philips Sarah's Blend

Marquis Philips
Sarah's Blend
Shiraz; Cabernet; Merlot
Australia
2004
15%
$14.99 -- Chapel Hill, NC

Color: Deep purple
Nose: Caramel and berries
Body: Heavy
Front: Creamy blueberries
Middle: A little heat; peppery
Back: Mesquite, and, oddly, cucumber
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

A big bomb of loveliness, but with a little alcoholic burn. Really good if you want something bold, interestingly structured, and fruity (but not sweet). The 2005 tastes better to me right now, so this one may be on the way out. Now, these people don't like it, but what do they know?

Note (23 Nov 2009): I tasted the 2007 vintage. Blueberry jam and cherry on the nose, blueberries, chocolate, red currant, soft coffeelike tannins. I'm going to pair it with grilled lamb and roasted fingerling potatoes, and I'm expecting a tasty synergy. $13.99 at Spec's in Austin, TX, still 15% abv.

Possums Vineyard Shiraz

Possums McLaren Vineyards
ShirazMcLaren Vale, Australia
2003
15%
$25 – Chapel Hill, NC

Color: Deep red, a slight tinge of purple
Nose: Creamy, vanilla, coffee
Body: Dense
Front: Creamy caramel
Middle: Pepper, coffee, cedar
Back: Maybe a little plum
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

The cork on this wine smelled so good when I pulled it that I almost ate it for dinner. There's only the remotest hint that this substance was derived from fruit. It's an astounding synesthesia. At this percentage, it ought to be hot, but there's none of that. This is what cigars ought to taste like. This is what dessert ought to taste like. This is what everything ought to taste like.

Note (Dec. 2, 2007): A friend shared the 2002 vintage of this wine with me last night and it was fabulastic; even better than the '03.

Henry's Drive Shiraz

Henry's Drive Vignerons
Shiraz
Padthaway, Australia
2003
16%
$36 – Somewhere in Chapel Hill, NC

Color: Thick ruby red, a very slight tinge of purple
Nose: Almost amarettoey, cedar, surprisingly unhot given the %
Body: Full
Front: Creamy cassis
Middle: Spicy--outright peppery, then just a peek of something flowery like honeysuckle, even
Back: A trifle hot; but like a sipping whiskey--wood, leathery like a football. That's right, I said football. An American football.
Burns clean?: Yes; in fact, might be a bit binding!
Cap: Cork

The transitions between the structural stages of this wine are very, very smooth. The hotness in the end of the taste fades after it's been open awhile, and that's when you can get in trouble, because it stays smooth and gets even more complex. There's something slightly overripe (maybe meaty?) in the nose that makes the bouquet really interesting; I'm as happy to sniff it as to drink it. This is made by the Australian half of the Aussie-CA combo who make Marquis-Phillips wines, and like the Sarah's Blend (named for Sarah Marquis) it's a whopper. I like this one better, though.