Good supermarket red. I didn’t love the 2009, but the 2010 seems to be back in the groove of past vintages. #vinegeek #vinegeekapproved
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Tag Archives: Shiraz
With a Name Like Stickleback…
Tuesday night I opened a bottle of Stickleback Red 2008 from the Aussie winery Heartland. It was a Costco grab that intrigued me with it’s mix of grapes: the back label says it’s a blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Shiraz, 5% Lagrein and 4% Dolcetto.
Tastes more like 100% Smuckers.
This is a major dark berry fruitbomb. If that’s your thing, this wine is a bargain at around $10. It delivers a lotta JAM for your HAM…ilton. (groan)
It was way too much for my Taco Tuesday dinner, but actually worked pretty well with dessert — a super-sweet s’mores-like brownie thing. If you’re into drinking red wine with chocolate (me: not so much), this might be your new favorite wine.
I really wanted to like this because of the unusual blend, not to mention the oddity of Lagrein and Dolcetto in Australia at all, but this wine just isn’t a style that appeals to me these days.
Cleavage Creek Trio
I am long overdue to review these wines from Cleavage Creek, kindly provided as samples by the winery. I had been waiting to do some sort of tie-in with Breast Cancer Awareness Month or something like that (Cleavage Creek donates 10% of gross sales to various breast cancer research organizations.) When I heard the awful news last month that the winery’s owner Budge Brown had died in a plane crash, I knew I couldn’t wait any longer. Rest in Peace, Budge.
Note: each of these wines is priced at $18, though I received them as press samples from the winery.
Cleavage Creek Tracy Hills Merlot-Shiraz 2007
Tasting notes: Though it’s labeled “Merlot-Shiraz” it’s more Shiraz (67%) than Merlot (33%). Using the Aussie name for Syrah, tips you off to the style. Very dark in the glass. The nose is fruit-forward and fumey. A little something sour or pickley in there, too. On the palate, the wine delivers loads of sweet (almost pruney), fruit but wrapped in a smooth texture that I think many will like. It’s big and full-bodied, reminding me of Zins with punny names like Zinsanity or Livin’ in Zin. There is a note in the background, perhaps a faint Syrah-ian peppery prickle, that keeps it from total mayhem. Finishes cleaner than you’d expect; despite its’ fruitbombiness, I’m left wanting another sip. C+
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Cleavage Creek Tracy Hills Secret Red 2007
Tasting notes: The website says it’s 73% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Shiraz, leaving 15% unknown (that’s the Secret, I guess). On the nose, it starts out more subtle with the fruit than the Merlot-Shiraz, but by day two has opened up considerably with a heady red & black fruit aroma. I also get a bit of the pickled note I got on the Merlot-Shiraz. On the palate, it’s certainly fruit-forward with big cherry/berry flavors, but a cranberry tartness keep things in check. Finishes clean. My favorite of the three. B-
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Cleavage Creek Tracy Hills Chardonnay 2008
Tasting notes: A pretty appley/melony nose, half-buried by oak. On the palate, the oak dominates the faint melon & honey flavors. Waxy-textured, it could use more acid. Kinda what I expect from a new world Chardonnay. The nose makes me wonder what might have been if they’d dialed back the oak and let the fruit shine. C
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Overall, these are well-made fruit-forward wines. Not the style I’m into these days, but plenty of people will like these. And you can’t beat the cause.
Shiraz Tastes Good: Penfold’s Thomas Hyland Shiraz 2006
Aussie Shiraz is approaching Merlot-backlash territory in terms of becoming a wine style that some people wouldn’t be caught dead drinking (à la Sideways). Maybe that’s just in wine geek circles (not sure I have the most objective perspective on these things), but that’s where it starts, right?
But there’s usually a reason a wine style becomes popular: it tastes good. And that’s what we have here, folks. A Shiraz that tastes good. If you like wine that tastes good, give it a try.
Producer: Penfold’s, the Thomas Hyland series
Grapes: Shiraz (presumably 100%, though Penfold’s website doesn’t have current tech sheet)
Appellation: Adelaide (Australia)
Vineyards: It appears to be a blend from across the region, though no detail is provided on the bottle or website.
Vintage: 2006
Winemaking: They state on the website that there is some new oak used for this wine, but the latest tech sheet they provide is for the 2003 vintage, which states used French and American barrels were used. So who knows.
Alcohol: I failed to note it before recycling the bottle. And, again, the website let me down.
Price: About $12
My tasting notes: Nice, intense nose full of dark berry juice, white pepper and other spices, along with some stemmy/dusty notes. On the palate, the wine delivers dense dark fruit (spiced plum comes to mind) and soft, polished tannins. It may be a bit jammy, but there is some snap to it. It has decent length with an almost cinnamon gum finish.
Overall impression: I would happily drink this again. It may not be a cerebral wine, but it’s very tasty and a nice example of its type, in my opinion. B
Free association: You know what else just tastes good? Hot dogs.
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebusybrain/ / CC BY 2.0
More info:
If you like 90-point validation, this wine got a 91 point review from The Wine News.
Other reviews at CellarTracker (avg: 88)
Sylvan Springs Hard Yards Shiraz 2007 McLaren Vale
Producer: Sylvan Springs
Grapes: Shiraz (presumably 100%, but it doesn’t say so on the tech sheet)
Appellation: McLaren Vale (Australia)
Vineyard: Soils are “grey sand over ironstone gravel layer over orange permeable clay.” At least some of the fruit comes from the Blewitt Springs sub-region.
Winemaking: No new oak – the wine spent 12 months in a mix of 2-4 year old French and American oak barrels.
Alcohol: 14.6%
Price: I paid around $12 or $13 at Costco. I found the receipt: $10.99
My tasting notes: Big, wild, brambly fruit on the nose along with floral/violet and cedar notes. It’s a bit “fumey” from the alcohol. On the palate, it’s dense and weighty, hitting you with smooth-textured, mouth-filling blackberry and black currant flavors with an herbal edge. Despite the extracted fruit, it manages to feel tense, muscular – I even wrote down lean, though that’s often used to indicate lack of fruit, which isn’t the case here. There’s a very nice minerality as well and it finishes with a pleasant little sharpness or bitterness.
Overall impression: This is striking the right chord for me tonight. Give me expressive fruit, but balanced with minerality and acid, and I’m a happy wino. B+
Free association:
More info:
2000 cases produced.
This wine was scored 90 points by Jay Miller in Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate.