2002 Moulin St. George

I drank this and wrote notes about it ages ago, but I was too lazy to look up the name of it (I find it hard to remember things in a language that I don’t know). My memory was sparked by seeing that Jeff had reviewed this wine.

This tasted like a very typical Bordeaux to my unrefined palate. It went very well with the steak that I had cooked with some spicy rub on it, so it could hold its own very well. It was very full bodied, but it was not super strong (my wife enjoyed it, and she cannot stand most of the Shiraz that I drink).

If I see this again I will get it. Maybe it will help me get more used to French wine.

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.

2003 Justin Isosceles

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After killing the Grant Burge GSM we decided to open another bottle. Jeff did not have much of the GSM and was on a drinking mission, and I was just drunk enough to believe that more wine was a great idea (my hangover the next day would, however, prove otherwise). Jeff burrowed around his collection a bit, and consultation with his Justin aging chart told him that the Isosceles was ready to go.

I was happy that he did decide this – the Isosceles was a great cab. It had a hint of vanilla about it, and it had way more prescence in the glass than the GSM did. The flavour reminded me of the Penfolds Bin 707 a little bit (it has that same vanilla Cabernet feel to it), just slightly more subdued. There was also more smoothness and sugar in the 707, but considering the price points this is not surprising.

Looking around the tubes this is not exactly a cheap cab at around $50-$60 a bottle, but the quality was enough that I would definitely consider Justin the next time I want to try something Californian.

2002 Grant Burge Holy Trinity GSM

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As Jeff predicted, I am writing a review of this. It has been a while since we drank it but I have been blog lazy of late.

I gave this plenty of time to breathe and ate it with some lamb loin that I cooked roast style. As a wine to eat with my lamb I thought that it was eminently drinkable – I think that it paired quite well with the flavor of the flesh, and it was very smooth. To my drunken shame I killed half a bottle of it before taking the remainder to share with Jeff, and I enjoyed every drop.

Ultimately it was not the GSM that I hoped for though. Rosemount sets the bar with their offering, and the Holy Trinity cost me more than that, so on the value front it loses right away there. I think that The Steading is another better offering in the price range too – since I drank it I have been craving another bottle.

Personally, I think that Jeff was a little harsh on it. Perhaps this is just the kind of wine that does better with food, and that explains our slight difference of opinion.

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.

2004 Torbreck The Steading

Winery Page (you need to work through some flash)

I was looking around a local wine shop and I noticed this on a shelf for about 30 bucks. I have a bottle of slightly more premium Torbreck (The Struie) and I wanted to try something cheaper from Torbreck to see what I think of them. I figured that a GSM would be a perfect way to try things out.

I drank this bottle over a couple of different sittings, both times with some lamb loin that I had cooked up. I gave it some breathing time, and gave myself some breathing time after exspending 5000 calories getting the cork out of the bottle. That shiznit was in there tight!

The word of the day with The Steading is subtle. According to the website, this is a pretty heavy alcohol wine, but everything about it was smooth and subtle as I was drinking it. As far as flavor goes, it is not a pepper bomb like the fantastic Rosemount GSM. But it is 60% Grenache, and the proportions in these blends has a huge effect on the flavor.

Even after two nights of drinking this wine I don’t know what I feel about it. I quite enjoyed drinking it with my meal both times. It tasted incredibly well made. But it did not have as much of the appeal as some other wine (like the Pastor Fritz) that made me want to have just one more glass each time. I think that this understated elegance in the wine is something that a lot of people appreciate more than I do, and I suspect that I will want to have something more like this at some point in the future. There is also the question of what some time in bottle would do – I think that it might be work 30 bucks for me to find that out.

2002 Hill of Content Grenache Shiraz

Winery Page (closest thing that I could find)

I was wondering around PCC and this one caught my eye. Why did this one come home with me? I think that my decision process went something like this:

• It was a Grenache / Shiraz. The past few years I have started to appreciate Grenache blends, so I like to experiment with them.
• It was from 2002. This was a good year in Barossa, so this always helps me push over the edge.
• It was in the $10 – $20 sweet spot. Not cheap enough to be badly made, but not expensive enough to scare me off on a spring afternoon when I want a cheap addition to the collection.

I have been having a little bit here and there in the past few days. Jeff had some too, although I wonder if he remembers it. We tasted it with some other wines and I think that it was the last one we had.

I think that this was a nice drop for the price. It is a little peppery and very full bodied, which I like. It is a little bit strong tasting at first (14.5% alcohol may be the cause of this) but with a little bit of air it was a nice drink. The style is a bit different from what I normally drink, but based on this I will continue to shop for these kinds of blends at this price point.

2004 Hay Shed Hill Cabernet Shiraz Merlot

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I got this wine at a price that was a steal from a source that I trusted. On one hand there was the trepidation of having cheap wine (which is quite often disappointing if you have ever had good wine) and on the other hand there was the excitement of having something guilt free to drink in the house (I hate feeling like I am forced to open stuff early).

To my pleasant surprise this stuff was great. No ugly sour aftertaste, no strange bitter flavors and no overwhelming alcohol, which are the typical traits of really cheap wine that I don’t like. No hangover either (some wine is great tasting but you feel like a mule kicked you in the head when you wake up). What the wine did have is a pleasant, subtle flavor that was not marred by the prescence of Merlot (which is quite often something I don’t like to drink. Bad luck with Merlot, me).

Considering the pleasant flavor, lack of typical cheap wine bad attributes and lack of hangover this is something that I highly recommend you try, especially if you are a bit of a tightwad or delight in having good stuff for cheap. Just don’t expect that all wine at this price will taste this good.

2003 Fox Creek Shiraz Grenache

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Since I have not had a chance to pick up the wine that I have ordered for the past six months, I am starting to scrape the bottom of my “drink every day” barrel. By this I mean that I have drank all of the OK stuff that I want to drink, and that I have drank enough of the good stuff to know that I want to age some of it for a while (and forget the stuff in the fridge. That shit is Elliot Ness until my parents come back into town or Jeff throws a gauntlet down.

As I ummed and ahhed over what to drink, the Fox Creek Shiraz Grenache caught my eye. A quick search on the tubes tells me that this is not a super expensive bottle, so I decide to take the plunge. And I am glad that I did.

This stuff has that smooth earthy tone that a good Shiraz should have, with a bit of a peppery bite. Good alone or with some fine animal flesh, this is a great bottle. I wish now that I found this in 2002, since this is a McLaren Vale vineyard and 2003 was not quite the year that 2002 was (apparently).

Unless I am mistaken I don’t have any more, so I now need to attempt to procure some more when my wallet stops bleeding from Christmas (which will probably be next Christmas). If you like the Rosemount GSM or the heavier Penfolds Bin series (389, 128, anything with a numbered label) then you will love this.