2005 Portteus Zinfandel

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You can also read a Review from Jeff for this one. We had a farewell dinner for him when he moved to San Francisco, and he brought this along to drink while we had lamb burgers at Lola.

This Zin had a nice strong flavour, and it went really well with the lamb burger. Zin goes well with lamb, it is true. What was interesting was that as the air got into this one you could really taste it transforming almost in real time. I was quite impressed with that.

I didn’t buy it, but as I recall the price was very reasonable. I recommend anybody who loves a Zin try this out.

2005 Ridge Zinfandel

One of my favorite California growers is Ridge. Their simple label designs are indicative of the simple, truthful wine that they produce. I have never had a bad wine from them, and they seem to be like the Penfolds of California to me.

The 2005 Ridge Zinfandel (I forget specifically which, which is a pity) had a very earthy flavour to it, and it was surprisingly translucent. I was expecting something darker. But it went very well with the lamb stir fry that I had with it. Very spicy overtones as well, which I quite liked.

As always, they did not fail to impress with this one. Next time I will remember specifically which Zin it is, if only to remind myself of this. It is a pity I did not visit Ridge when I was in Napa.

2005 Heartland Stickleback Red

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This is going for about 10 bucks in a variety of locations now, so I got half a case to keep around for the time when I need a drink and don’t want to feel guilty about what I am drinking. This is an interesting mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Grenache by Ben Glaetzer. These are all varieties that I like and a winemaker that I respect, so I figured that this was a good bet.

I must say that I was not blown away by this stuff but not terribly offended either. Perhaps this is a result of expectations set too high – it is in the price point where you should not expect much. It is well made enough (no headaches for me) and it went well with the food. Perhaps the blend is something that I need to get used to.

Certainly if you only want to spend 10 bucks on wine to take to a party or something you can do *far* worse than this. Plenty of wine at this price point tastes astringent or will have you feeling like a dissappointed horse kicked you in the head. My apologies if this sounds like faint praise, but faint praise is still praise.

2005 Domaines Tatiarra Cambrian Shiraz

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Jeff was getting married, and I wanted to bring something a little special to his wedding. I knew that his new father-in-law appreciates wine at least as much as I do, and his new bride’s uncle has very similar tastes to me. It was tough, though, because I did not have a lot of well aged stuff around (a weakness in my collection I think). But I did have 4 bottles of the Cambrian Shiraz lying around, and I was mighty curious to see if I was right to stock up on it.

And right I was. This stuff was great. I only had one glass, since there were 5 wine snobs and a couple of spectators tasting it. It was a deep dark colour, with a good balance of sugar and alcohol. There was a fantastic flavor and a full bodied taste to the wine, which I take to be the special terrior that the cambrian soil is supposed to imbibe into the wine.

I did drink this too soon, but the tannins were only there in a very slight form, which is very much to my taste. I can’t wait to try the other bottles in a few years time and see how it progresses.

2005 Slipstream Fastback McLaren Vale Shiraz

(no winery page found)

Jeff reviewed this one a while back and I finally opened a bottle to drink over a week whenever I wanted a glass. Yeah it might be a little young but I need to sacrifice some of the young stuff to bootstrap the kind of collection where you can regularly consume 5 year old bottles of wine.

My first initial comment is that this is very drinkable wine. No nasty heat in the mouth from the alcohol and when you let it sit for a bit there is a nice smooth flavour that lets you taste the soil. I think that the drinkability comes from the fact that it has a lightness about it, probably stemming from a good balance between the sugars and tannins.

I got this from the same place Jeff did at the same price. As he points out, this is a good wine for people to try who don’t believe that Australia can do anything between Yellowtail and Grange.

2005 Sons of Eden “Kennedy” Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre

(no winery page found)

I nabbed this one day when I saw it in a Real Estate Agency / Art Gallery / Wine Shop in Kirkland (I shit you not). I am a sucker for the GSM, and this one apparently was supposed to be good and priced at a point where I might believe it.

Tonight is the second night that I am partaking in this wonderful blend. It definitely has a hint of raspberry to it on the nose, and it is very rich and full bodied to drink without being hot in the mouth. I think that it is a bit young to be drinking though, because the tannins are stronger than the sugar. This is not a serious deficit, and something that I am sure some time in a cellar would do well to fix.

Today I noticed that Seattle Wine Co. has this in the 2004. I may just go down there and nag a bottle sometime to leave in the cellar for a year or two. This is a great GSM for having a relaxing meal or a quiet drink with somebody. Not as smooth as The Steading that I reviewed recently, but it is a bit cheaper and has a more aggressive style that some people like to go for at times.

2005 Kangarilla Road Shiraz Viognier

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I just took a sip of this, and I can already tell that it is a winner. Not in the aged 8 years Bin 707 sense, but in the everyday drinker sense. For the price (around 20 bucks) this stuff is pretty smooth, and it has a great combination of fruit and pepper, with just a whiff of the sandstone terrior. According to the winemakers, the Viognier adds a citrusy touch to the palate, but I must admit that I am not refined enough to tell. In a blind test I would have this pegged as just a Shiraz (and at 92% Shiraz, you should forgive me).

I am surprised at how ready to drink it was, being a 2005. Many of the 2005 wines that I have tasted felt like they needed another few years in bottle. This wine is definitely a drink now, but I think that another couple of years could settle it down some and give it some more smoothness.

What it most reminds me of is Penfolds Bin 128. Jeff, Raphael and I used to drink that stuff by the case (literally). I actually don’t have any left anymore, despite exclaiming that I wanted to see how it aged (tasted too bloody good for the price was the problem). I would get a case of this stuff too, but I am in an experimental period at the moment (evidenced by some of the more recent aquisitions, shotgunning purchases across all of South Australia). After I get some more tasting done (in the next couple of months) I might start leaning more towards what Jeff is doing and concentrate purchases more.

2005 Madcap Pastor Fritz Shiraz

(madcap seemingly not in Internets)

With my wife out of town, I wanted to open up something cool to take my mind off things. Enter the Pastor Fritz, which was lazing around the wine rack with 4 bottles, its only sin being the lack of aging. What the hey, I said, it was only $20 a bottle and hence might be OK now.

I prepared the wine by opening it up and leaving in the fridge for forty minutes (this is something good to do when you have not had the wine in a cellar at 12 degrees Celsius). After this treatment it was very drinkable indeed.

This is the typical Barossa valley big Shiraz taste. I shared the leftovers with Vinny and Jeff last night, and Jeff claimed it was like chomping into a big block of limestone. They both quite liked it though, and Jeff is right that there is a lot of the sandstone coast terroir in this wine. There is also alcohol in spades (15%) and a great gummy dark fruit taste about it. The two extra days in the fridge, cap on, helped it along rather nicely.

Overall this is right up my alley and my style of wine, so if I ever see it on offer again I will get more of it. I think with some more age it will become slightly more subtle, and by this I mean like Vic Mackey on a good day rather than Vic Mackey on a bad day. Good thing that I have 3 more bottles, hopefully I can constrain myself and wait a year between each bottle.

Note of interest – this was a screwcap wine. I am seeing this more and more out of Australia lately. While I love the ceremony of the cork (and collecting them), for drinking a nice bottle of red during the week nothing beats unscrewing a cap, pouring and then screwing the cap back on.

Mitolo GAM redux

Last night I finished off the GAM. When I opened it before, I only drank half of the bottle (showing more constraint than usual despite how I liked the stuff) and left the other half in the food fridge, with only the cold and the original cork stuffed most of the way back on to preserve it.

Wine does not last too long under those conditions, and I decided that I really liked the stuff, so I only waited a couple of days before drinking the rest. It actually improved over those two days. My (very unscientific) assessment of the situation is that being in the fridge for two days sealed the way it was opened it up just the right amount to let me know what it would have been like to decant for a couple of hours before drinking. The restraints were lifted up a little and it was now brimming with way more nose and taste, and all of it was good. The meatiness of the wine was accentuated nicely and the fruits were easier to taste as well.

I liked it so much I got another couple of bottles (I offered to buy a case if it was discounted further but they did not budge). I will have to save this stuff carefully – I really want to taste it after a few years of storage. This is what Penfolds means by “The Rewards of Patience”.

2005 Mitolo GAM Shiraz

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I saw this on sale at Whole Foods and I had to get some – I have heard many good things about this wine, and I have some squirelled away already, so seeing it on special made me exciteable and loosened the cobwebs in my wallet.

When I got home the temptation was to stack it away and leave for a few years, but curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to know just how good it is, and the price point was enough for me to dare to try.

Am I ever glad that I did. On the nose it is not super powerful, but it opened up a little after I let it be for 30 minutes while I got my chicken and pasta ready. When I first tasted it, the first word that comes to mind is balanced. This is a subtle wine that does not blow you away initially with some amazing flavour, but it also does not curl your tongue instantly with some fetid wierd taste like so many badly made Merlots do.

One thing that is interesting is that it does have a nice subtle flavour on the back end. As some other reviews mention, this wine hides the 15% alcohol level extremely well – I think that this is a sign that the winemaker has tamed the almighty Australian shiraz.

I am going to keep collecting this wine – my gut instinct tells me that the best is yet to come for the 2004 and 2005 vintages that I have. I think that more time in the bottle will make this even smoother and hence make the flavours more pronounced.