South Africa Shiraz

I tasted another red wine from the Dark Continent. The 2005 Neil Ellis Sincerely Shiraz. I think I liked the pinotage I had the other night better, but it was all right. It had a gorgeous dark purple color. I really liked the nose on this one. It was chock full of blueberries! I adore blueberries and haven't smelled or tasted it in a wine for a long time. However, along with the blueberries came an awkward petroleum/soak/plastic smell. It came across on the palate as well. It was not too heavy and hand sone nice red cherry and blueberry flavors that give way to more earthy notes on the mid palate. After an our or so the strange petroleum/soap had diminished significantly, but it was still there. It has a really nice mouth feel right up front but was a little thin on the end. Overall

Dark purple red color. Blueberries on the nose with hints of petroleum, like plastic and soap. Not too heavy on the palate with nice red cherry and blueberry flavors giving way to earthy flavors. It has a slightly soapy taste with that strange petroleum flavor that mostly blew off after an hour or so. It had a nice mouth feel up front but was a little thin on the end.

From CA to Australia

I've got three wines to talk about tonight. The first is from Australia. Everyone has heard of Yellow Tail. I find their mainstream wines to be rather boring and one dimensional. However, if you pay just a couple bucks more you get something actually worth drinking. Their "reserve" line of wines tend to be a significant step up from their regular fare. I like their reserve shiraz the best I would say. The 2006 had a gorgeous deep dark color. On the nose I got a complex mixture of vanilla and spice mingling with blackberries and coffee. There were nice big dark fruit flavors and cocoa on the palate and the wine had solid tannins. The only flaw I detected was that the alcohol was out of balance a bit. You did notice the hotness of the ethanol. Other than that for it's 12 buck price point it is not a bad wine at all.

I also got a taste of California recently. The first is a cabernet sauvignon from Napa valley. This is also a step up from their average "California" cabernet. I had the 2004 vintage last evening. It had nice plum and cherry aromas that carried through on the palate. There were chocolate flavors mingling with the fruit. The chocolate mostly came out on the mid palate. The finish was a little bit short but it was certainly a solid cab for $12.

This evening I made a wonderful garlic, ginger, soy, mirin glazed fish for dinner. I was looking for a crisp fruit sauvignon blanc to go with it. I was first thinking of one from New Zealand but I stumbled across a bottle fo the 2005 Kenwood from Sonoma county. This one paired very nicely with the steelhead trout tonight. It had a very pleasant nose of pears and grapefruit. It tasted of green apples and citrus. It had a nice silky texture and a reasonably long finish. There were also very nice grass and herbal components that married with dinner. It had a crisp enough acidity to cut through the fish. Overall I've had 3 for 3 this weekend.

Have your cake and drink it too

Let them drink cake is about right. I want to talk about this wine I had last night. A great effort from the Barossa Valley of Australia. This is a 2006 Shiraz appropriately labeled Layer Cake. It is produced by Pure Love Wines in Tanunda. I paid about 12 bucks for ir. I want to share what is written on the back label as I think it sets the stage for how I will describe my experience with the cake.

My old grandfather made and enjoyed wine for 80 years. He told me the soil in which the vines lived were a layer cake. He said the wine, if properly made, was like a great layer cake, fruit, mocha and chocolate, hits of spice and rich, always rich. 'Never pass up a layer cake', he would say. I have always loved those words. ~A. Orlando

This description is absolutely accurate. The color layer: This wine had a deep rich almost black color. A great indicator of things to come. The aroma layer: The nose is attacked by layers of fruit and earth. Notes of black plums and black cherries overlayed on top of leather and musty soil permeated the nose. The rather high 14.9% alcohol was apparent on the nose and the tongue when the bottle was first opened, but after being decanted for an hour or two it diminished and became harmonious with the wine. The taste layer: How do you describe the heavy weight and lusciousness that this wine delivers on the palate. This wine HAS to breathe for a while before it expresses its true layers. When first opened it tasted out of balance with various flavors darting in and out but not supporting each other. After being decanted for some time the palate is first attacked by a heavy fruit of blackberries and plums mixed with hints of cherries and the slightest touch of raspberries. This was mingling with rich, earthy cocoa and leather. After airing this all came into resonance to provide a rich and satiny experience. A long finish this 'fruit bomb' was not the typical heavy, fakey, fruity Australian shiraz that we all know and tolerate. This one really appealed to my palate after it was tamed a bit. Next time I'll let it decant for at least six hours.

Another very pleasing wine I had last evening was a zinfandel from Mendocino county in California. The 2003 Edmeades had a very high alcohol 15% alcohol level but it was not out of balance at all. I actually think the alcohol helped to tame the big fruit and kept it in check. The nose was full of raspberries, chocolate and black pepper. On the palate the red fruits danced in the mouth probably waltzing around with the alcohol. The chocolate notes were present but not obtrusive. The only negative thing for me was the smoky flavors that stood out a bit too much. This is undoubtedly due to the toasted oak. I am not a big fan of the smoky oak. I found it overall a nice and enjoyable wine that I would definitely drink again.