Fetzer Shiraz 2009

Ages ago I heard somewhere that this wine was good. I can't remember where, and I have been meaning to try it ever since. It's not a 'great' wine, but a potential bargain.

I find it very difficult to enjoy red wine in this hot weather (it's 25C in my house at the moment), so it's not in optimal conditions that I try this. But try it I did.

It's OK. Very strong nose of red berries, plus hot alcohol (although that might have something to so with the heat). Interesting chocolate notes too. All in all not bad for the money.

For those that are interested, Fetzer is an organic winery (the largest in California), they power their operation with 100% green energy and they employ a number of other 'green' practices.

Fetzer

Shiraz 2009

California, USA

£5.69 (with 25% off)

Waitrose Wine Direct

2.5/5

Brewery Hill Reserve Shiraz 2008

I had a late night tonight with my brother-in-law, drinking wine and eating chicken wings (hey, I'm Canadian so they're an obsession) in my kitchen. I probably should have saved a nice bottle like this for a quieter occasion, but Kieron was nice enough to babysit for us last night so I wasn't about to get stingy with the wine.

This is a noticeable upgrade from the Brewery Hill entry-level bottling I had earlier in the week. It has a more complex nose, denser fruit on the palate and a concentrated, gravelly, long finish. I probably could have put it under the microscope a bit more but from the first whiff I could tell it was quality.

An interesting tidbit from the Naked Wines website: the winemaker of Brewery Hill, Jock Harvey, has been shortlisted for the 2010 Winemaker of the Year. I have no idea who awards this prize, or when the winner is announced, but he says if he wins, he will use the prize money to produce a Shiraz/Sangiovese blend just for Naked Wines. Now that would be interesting to try.

Brewery Hill

Reserve Shiraz 2008

South Australia

Naked Wines

£11.99

3.5/5

Brewery Hill Shiraz 2008

This is the third bottle from my Naked Wines taster pack.

I don't mean to be flippant, but it basically does what it says on the tin. It's Aussie Shiraz. It's quite full-on too - really rich fruit, high in alcohol but not ridiculous at 14% - despite what the image says - my bottle says 14%, not that I really mind anyway.

Apparently 90% of Naked Wine's sales are to its 'Angels' - basically members who pay into their account and can use the money to purchase wines. When they make a purchase they get 33% cash back, so if you're an Angel this wine only costs you £5.27 instead of the list price of £7.99. Not bad value - I was wondering where the 'preferential rates' they advertise were. Now we know, and I would much rather give my money to a small, independent winemaker than a huge drinks conglomerate.

Brewery Hill

Shiraz 2008

South Eastern Australia

Naked Wines

£7.99

3/5

Wine Society Sampler

I mentioned the other day that I bought a bunch of stuff from The Wine Society. Because it's been a rather hectic past few days (not too hectic for wine though), I have managed to try a few more of these wines, but haven't managed a neat and tidy post for each.

So I'm just going to mention them here, along with a few thoughts about each one. They were tasted in various states of sobriety, but I do remember which ones we got excited about and which ones were duds. Here goes:

The Society's Claret (NV). £5.95. It's tempting to turn your nose up to a non-vintage claret, but why? Blending different vintages hopefully irons out the rough spots, and produces a consistent, affordable and drinkable product. This is relatively decent, a good mix of fruit, tannin and drinkability. I wouldn't call it thrilling, but that's OK. 2.5/5

The Society's St. Emilion 2006. £9.95. This was OK, probably about what you'd expect for a tenner. More refined than the NV Claret, but not sure I'd buy it again simply because I think there is better value out there. 3/5

Chateau Bois Joly Cotes de Castillion 2005. £7.25. This is probably what I'd go for if I were to buy a load of Claret. This right-bank appellation punches above its weight for the prices it gets. Good vintage, lots of tasty sour-cherry fruit and grippy tannin. 3.5/5

The Society's French Full Red NV. £4.95. Tastes cheap, is cheap. Not terrible, but not my thing really. 2/5

Grant Burge Benchmark Shiraz 2008. £5.95. This was delicious. It was one of the ones consumed fairly uh, late at night, but I we all loved it. Not your typical woody, boring Aussie Shiraz. This was wildly fruity with a touch of oak. Should cost more than this, but I'm glad it doesn't (and I'm hoping it doesn't sell out). Bonus half-point for great value. 4/5

Hilltop Estates Cserszegi 2009. £4.95. This idea with this was to find a good cheap aromatic white. Advertised as 'between Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer in style', this sounds like it would be right up my alley. It isn't. It's sour, dilute and just doesn't taste very good. 1/5

I've got a couple of others to try yet, and will hopefully be able to post 'normal' blog entries about them.

Finca Flichman Gestos Shiraz 2008

This is the second Shiraz from Argentina that I've had recently, and didn't enjoy.

Right off the bat it has a cheap smell, and a harsh, woody palate. Cheap oakiness combined with a rough, smoky flavour makes for a memorable experience - for all the wrong reasons. My fiancée wouldn't even drink it. She had one sip and it sent a shiver through her, and not in a good way. I bravely choked it down, reluctant to pour £6 down the drain. It didn't really get any better.

I don't feel I'm informed enough to generalize, but maybe Shiraz/Syrah isn't Argentina's thing? Or maybe it's not my thing. They obviously have their Malbec, and they do good blends, but I thought why not try something off the beaten path once in a while? Well, here's why not.

Finca Flichman

Gestos Shiraz 2008

Medonza, Argentina

Waitrose

£5.49 (£6.99)

1.5/5

Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2006

Penfolds Koonunga Hill is a multi-region (Barossa, McLaren Vale, and Coonawarra) blend of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. OK, I admit that I ran out and bought 2 bottles of this because I heard that it received 91 points from The Wine Advocate. Not only that, but it only costs £7.99. What's there not to like?

Turns out not a lot, but not a lot to like either. It has an almost sour, fruitcake nose with smoky red fruit on the palate, followed by some grippy tannins. I thought it improved slightly overnight in an opened bottle. This tastes to me like any other £8 Australian red blend.

It's OK, but I don't see what the big deal is. Perhaps the 91 points is a myth? I can't back up the claim because I don't subscribe to The Wine Advocate, so apologies for possibly perpetuating hearsay.

Penfolds

Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2006

South Australia

Waitrose

£7.99

3/5

Peter Lehmann Barossa Shiraz 2006

I usually enjoy Peter Lehmann's under £10 reds as they make good quaffing wines, and Barossa Valley Shiraz is probably my favourite type of quaffing wine.

Although this wine has all the things I like about this style of wine - the rich, deep fruit flavours, alcoholic warmth and general accessibility, I am starting to find the oak a bit distracting. It's not woody oak, it's the vanilla. It's starting to resemble wine with vanilla extract added. Although I really like Clancy's, I was starting to notice the strong vanilla notes in it as well.

Perhaps it's just too much of a good thing - over the summer we had several bottles of Peter Lehmann Barossa Valley reds. I don't actually think Shiraz is a great summer wine (despite all these wine writers endlessly recommending it for BBQs).

Lastly, I think it could also benefit a few more years in the bottle to help tame the oak, as it's still remarkably fresh.

Peter Lehmann
Barossa Shiraz 2006
Barossa Valley, Australia
Waitrose
3/5

Tesco Finest San Juan Shiraz 2007

A friend of mine has encouraged me to try more Argentine wines.  I've had a couple recently, and overall the impression  I get is a good one.  This particular one is a Shiraz from the San Juan province.

I've said before I don't really like Rhone wines that much (bear with me), and perhaps I'm just not a Syrah fan.  For the record, Syrah and Shiraz are the same grape.  Traditionally it's called the former in France and the latter in Australia, but now the two terms are used globally, and I think the style the producer is trying to emulate (or the target market) decides what name to use.

It's always interesting to learn what you like and dislike about different wines, and why.  It's starting to look like I only really appreciate Shiraz when it's from Australia, particularly the Barossa Valley.  This wine (despite the Shiraz tag) reminds me more of a Rhone wine.  It's leaner and less fruity than a Barossa Shiraz, and I thought it had a bit of a woody aftertaste.   It also had a very high alcohol content (14.5%), which seemed a bit out of whack.

Tesco

Tesco Finest San Juan Shiraz 2007

San Juan, Argentina

£5.99 (from around £8)

2.5/5

Waitrose Reserve Shiraz, St Hallett 2006

I first tried this wine a couple of months ago, but for some reason didn't blog about it. I think I wasn't too impressed, or maybe it was because we tried it after a couple of other wines and couldn't really form a proper impression about it.

This own-label red is made by respected producer St. Hallett. It is a fine example of Barossa Shiraz at its best...rich, fruity, oaky and alcoholic. This is the kind of wine that (I think) is perfect to drink on its own. Why do you need food when you can taste wood, berries, and spice in the wine? Saying that, we had it with steak and it was fine with that as well.

I think this is what Australia does best. Look out for this on offer...I think when I had it the first time is was £5.99, which is very good value.

Waitrose
St. Hallett Barossa Shiraz
Waitrose
~£8-9
3.5/5

Wakefield Estate Shiraz 2007

Wakefield wines that's Taylors in Australia) get a lot of positive press here in the UK, but I'm not sure I see why. They produce decent, good value Aussie wines, but are they really anything special? I've tried both the Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz (both available from Majestic), and have been underwhelmed by both.

Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of big, bold Australian reds, or even "elegant" ones (except maybe Jim Barry). These kind of fall in between. They are correctly made, and priced well, but I felt they were ultimately kind of boring, and not really worthy of all the raving from the wine press. If you like this style by all means load up, they are great for quaffing (which is what I bought them for), but don't expect it to blow your mind. I can't really fault them though, so they get a 3.

Wakefield
Shiraz 2007
Clare Valley, Australia
Majestic
£5.99 (when you buy 2 bottles)
3/5

St. Hallett Gamekeeper's Reserve 2007

This wine won the Australian "red rhone varietals under £10" trophy at the 2008 Decanter World Wine Awards. It's available in Sainsbury's and Waitrose, so I decided to pick up a bottle to see what all the fuss is about. Annoyingly, I paid £7.99 for it at Sainsbury's, only to find out that it's only £6.99 at Waitrose.

I'm starting to think I don't really like Rhone blends (that includes Chateauneuf-du-Pape). I don't really like the bouquet, it reminds me of cheap wine. I don't know if it's the grenache, or the warmer climates that produce these wines, but I'm usually disappointed. It's almost like the Shiraz/Syrah is being diluted with other varieties to produce a lighter bodied wine.

This wine has its moments though. It's well made, in that it's concentrated and flavourful. I'm also getting some minty, smoky aromas. I was all prepared to slag it off actually, but it has definitely improved in the glass over the past hour, with the powerful Shiraz flavours coming through. It is also keenly priced.

Interestingly, I also picked up a Waitrose own-label Barossa Shiraz, which is also made by St. Hallett. Looking forward to trying that one.

St. Hallett
Gamekeeper's Reserve 2007
Barossa, Australia
Waitrose/Sainsbury's
£6.99/£7.99
3/5