Rosemount Estate, Mudgee Hill of Gold Shiraz 2004 $9

My wife is possibly one of the most competitive people I have ever met.  I used to be the only runner in the family…now she does marathons.  I used to kick her butt in tennis…soundly…I mean “ha ha” butt kicking…after 5 years of lessons and playing a couple times a week…forgetaboutit.  She owns me.  So, I still run (not marathons) but really have lost interest in most things tennis, yet, today, the Australian Open is all over the family dvr.  Hmmm, wonder who did that?

Well, I might as well enjoy watching a little tennis with the wife, so, yesterday evening while we watch a taped match of Dagnabitz vs Blagojevich or somebody, I smiled, nodded politely at her comments on the game and blissfully sipped on a nice Autralian red, Mudgee Hill of Gold Shiraz 2004.

I carefully chose this red from my cellar today because of the special conditions that…, OK, you got me, you all know me, it’s not a cellar it’s a wine rack and… I chose this wine because it was the only Aussie vino I had stacked up there.  Just the same, here we go. 

WHAT OTHERS SAY: From Rosemount Estate website

This shiraz has a deep, rich colour immediately indicating an impressive concentration of flavours. On the nose there are lifted perfume and spice aromas with a deep core of plummy, peppery fruit. The palate reveals velvety, ripe, fine-grained tannins, in harmony with the oak and seductively spicy fruit. The finish is rich and long, with cinnamon, cloves and wild fruit notes promising much for a further five to eight years careful cellaring.

WHAT I THOUGHT: 

 RANKING: Good enough for my numb tongue!

Nice little sipping wine.  Fruity and not too full bodied as you would expect from a shiraz.  I did think the wine was a little bitter with a bit acidic feel on the tongue.  Still nice “swish and swirl” impact.  Deserves a nice glass just to watch the legs run around.  Not too oaky from aging like some shiraz I’ve had.  But again, I don’t know what I’m talking about so try it yourself.  At $9 you got little to lose.  Now I wonder if I can find a sport on tv with Pam Oliver on the sidelines? 

G’day from the wineoaf!

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Red Belly Black Australian Shiraz 2006 $7.99

 RANKING: SERVE TO GUESTS

This couldn’t work.  To kill bugs you have to crush them or spray them.  The pheromone baited trap for Japanese beetles just didn’t seem…well…lethal enough.  But the hummingbirds and bees (bees are disappearing from what I read?)were on the same trees and plants that the beetles were feasting on so a poison spray attack just didn’t seem like a great idea.  So I bought four traps and put them up around the trees that these bonzai beetles were treating as if they were at a  leafy buffet.

While I was baiting the traps, I accidentally got a little of the stink-bait on my hands, thus  as I’m walking towards the trees…it begins.  Almost out of nowhere these lousy navigators strafed me bouncing off of my neck, my head and mostly my hands!  I hung up the first trap and it was amazing!  It looked like a new singles bar had opened in beetle-town.  They swarmed all over the bag trap and the branches closest to it.  I finished putting up the rest of the traps and went to wash my hands (quickly so as not to be confused with a potential beetle mama).  Job well done…I opened a nice little Shiraz named after a poisonous Eastern Australian snake, the red belly black.  To my readers sorry, I couldn’t find a wine named after a beetle.    Just the same I really liked this Shiraz.

The next day I went out to check the traps. (Readers discretion advised on this next part) The bags were FULL!  Needing to swap out the bags I grabbed the side of the first one to unhook it and…yikes…it was alive!  The bag was moving and buzzing and pulsating and well..it was like a beetle rave!  How often was I going to have to do this??  Literally every day for a week.  That’s a lot of dead beetles.  Just the same, I am convinced.  Beetle traps are far more deadly than poisonous sprays.  Isn’t it amazing how sexdrive can make a beetle fall into a trap?  OR, is that only beetles? hmmm 

What Others Say: Tasting Notes
From Angoves’s website: “Deep purple with brooding red hues, this rich, full bodied wine shows ripe plum, cherry, and licorice fruit on the nose. This wine is ideal with your favourite red meat or hearty pasta dishes.”

What  I Thought: I enjoyed this wine quest…great little wine (why do people say that…this wine is the same size as the others.)surprisingly rich and fruity flavor.  I let this one air out a bit as I finished working in the yard and being assaulted by horny beetles.  Had this good cheap wine along with a hot dog right off the grill.  (I am such a gourmet chef right.)  Nice lasting finish with a good appearance in the glass.  Use full-mouthed stemware or a cool tumbler and serve this good cheap wine to guests.  Make sure and wash the beetle bringing pheromone off of your hands first..or not…that could be interesting.
Cheers from the Wine Oaf

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Red Knot Wine Australian Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Ranking:  Serve Proudly to Guests

I will admit I don’t know much about Australian wines.  Heck just trying to keep up with good cheap wines from California is a full time job.  (Wait, don’t you get paid for a job? hmmm)    But still I picked up this little red at at a local store without any great expectation except a new Wine Quest.  I ran into two surprises.  First…I got zorked!  I did not expect to get zorked.  I didn’t even know one could get zorked, but as I stood over the wine, corkscrew in hand…voila…  the ZORK!  (they wouldn’t really say “voila” in Australia, not rugged enough, they would say something like ” ‘Ere ya go mate!”)  Zorks are great!  They act like a cork but come out but unzipping the wrap that holds the zork in place.  They also go right back in to preserve the rest of the bottle for another day.  The second surprise was the wine itself.  Another good thing imported from Australia just like the… uh, the uh…Oh I don’t know, but I’m sure there is something else from Australia that we enjoy!

What Other Say:Deep red with purple hues. Blackberry and dark chocolate aromas, with hints of eucalypt and vanillan French and American Oak. A medium bodied wine, filled with ripe berry and dark cherry flavours, subtly enhanced with toasty oak. Fresh acidity complements the long, sweet fruit finish, resulting in a wine with immediate appear and varietal presence. http://www.redknotwine.com/wines/Cabernet07.php

 What I Thought: Very pleasant wine that delivers more than the ten dollar price would indicate.  Good full tongue Cabernet flavor.  Bold enough to serve with a nice thick cut of meat or a red-sauced pasta.  Definitely serve it to guests and let them open it.  Watch the look of surprise on their face as they get zorked!

Cheers from the Wine Oaf! 

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