WineLife365

Posts Tagged ‘Shiraz’

It’s not very often that a little ‘ole bottle of red wine can make the hair on the back of my neck stand up – but this red wine sent shivers down both my back and throat, and stamped a purple “toof” grin  on my face for 4 straight nights – count’em 1,2,3,4.

This unruly Aussie red smacked my chops around the room on nights 1 & 2, then said, “Come to Papa” on night 3, and finally surrendered on night 4 saying, “Let’s you and me be friends.” 

This wine is one of four red wines in the d’Arenberg wine portfolio that they playfully named “The Four Musketeers Red”.

The Musketeer red that I had the pleasure of wrastlin’ around with over a four night span was their 2006 “The Footbolt” Shiraz from McLaren Vale, Australia.  This humungous Fruit Bomb, compliments of The Land of Oz has received a lot of attention and accolades from industry big shots like Parker, Wine Spectator and the International Wine Cellar.  After tasting this wine for the first time, I can now see why they all made such a big deal about it.

Here’s the skinny on this wine straight from the winemaker’s mouth:

 “Aromas of dark red fruits, black olive and beef stock open into notes of blueberries and licorice with a savory dried herb edge. The palate shows great balance with blueberry and mulberry fruits, spices and a hint of white pepper on the finish. As always The Footbolt is a very approachable wine in its youth but has the capacity to age for many years”

I’m not so sure if I’d agree with the “a very approachable wine in its youth” part, but…

Here’s my take on the 2006 d’Arenberg Footbolt Shiraz:

• Night #1:  “Holy Cow!… How in the world can anyone just crack the lid off of this sucker and live to talk about it the next morning.”  This wine was breathing fire and told me to come back tomorrow.
• Night #2:  “Hmmm, Excuse Me Sir?? May I please drink you tonight?”  The 2006 Footbolt’s response:  “Man Up partner and we can talk about it.”
• Night #3:  “Are you ready now for us to be friends?”  The 2006 Footbolt’s response:  “Sure, lets get to know one another a little bit better tonight.”
• Night #4:  “You’re actually not the tough little S.O.B. that I thought you were on night #1.  I’m actually starting to like you a whole lot Mr. Footbolt!”  The 2006 Footbolt’s response – “I’m glad you like me kid.  Now you and I can be BFFs.”

If you’d like to learn more about this wine and the rich tradition of winemaking at d’ Arenberg, check out their website.

Share and Enjoy!

Hide Sites

From: California

Price: $8.99

I love trying new wines, and the fact that this wine was an American-made Shiraz priced under $10, it really sparked my curiosity.

I was expecting and hoping for a great inexpensive American-style Shiraz that possessed some or all of that great Australian big ripe fruit and spice flavor to which I have become accustomed.  Unfortunately, the 2005 Ironstone Vineyards Shiraz fell short of meeting my expectations.  This Shiraz is rather watery and had little to no spice to it.  A pepperoni and sausage pizza couldn’t even breathe some excitement into this American Shiraz.  It was just ok to me.

I give the 2005 Ironstone Vineyards Shiraz 2 Stars.  At $8.99 a bottle, you’ve got several better choices “Down Under”.

WineLife365 Rating: 2-Star

Share and Enjoy!

Hide Sites

From: Australia

Price: $15.00

Wow! What a long name for a wine… say it with me – 2007 The Winner’s Tank “Eskadale Vineyard” Shiraz Langhorne Creek.  With a mouthful of a name, this wine has to be good, right?

Fortunately, it is.  In fact, it’s very good.  This Shiraz has a dynamite raspberry and cherry flavor. The flavors do linger around a bit, but not long enough for you to say, “Wow, what am I drinking!?”.  The only minor flaw that I tasted in this wine was that it tasted “hot” to me.  “Hot” meaning that the alcohol level of this wine was poking through the fruit flavors.  This Shiraz does contain 15.3% alcohol, which means it’s some high octane juice.

This wine definitely needs food to go along with it.  This ain’t a sipping kind of wine.  2007 The Winner’s Tank “Eskadale Vineyard” Shiraz Langhorne Creek is a very good Australian Shiraz and it definitely has some complex flavors.  I highly recommend that you try it. 

WineLife365 Rating: 3-Star 

Share and Enjoy!

Hide Sites

From: Australia

Price: $9.95

The 2006 McWilliams Hanwood Estate Shiraz is one of best single-grape red wines that I’ve tasted so far in 2009.  One of my other favorite single-grape red wines was the 2007 Castillo del Baron Monastrell from Spain.

The 2006 McWilliams Shiraz is a very good value Shiraz for under $10 bucks.  It has great cherry, plum, and raspberry flavors with some really nice spice on the finish.  The winemakers do a very nice job with adding just the right amount of American and French oak.  However, it just falls short of 4 stars because it’s not strong enough on it’s own.  It requires just the right type of food to give it an added boost.  I recommend barbecue meats as a pairing for this wine.

For being 100% Shiraz, this red wine has a lot going on.  At only $10, I’d drink this any day of the week.  The McWilliams is a great value wine and a crowd pleaser.  

WineLife365 Rating: 3-Star

Share and Enjoy!

Hide Sites

If your dinners during the work week have been nothing but salads, limp spaghetti with watery tomato sauce or anything with “Mc” in the name, then its time to treat yourself to a big old juicy piece of steak this weekend.  It’s just starting to get warm outside, which means its time to fire up the grill and have the smell of a great dinner drive your neighbors insane with envy.

There’s nothing too complicated about this recipe – it’s just a piece of All-American beef with some red wine sauce on it…or for those who speak in “foo foo poo poo” terms – filet mignon with Chianti sauce.  Why filet?  Because you’re treating yourself, that’s why.  So here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll need to do for this recipe:

The meat:

Filet mignon steak (you deserve it!)- quantity equal to the number of people you are serving.  Be gentle with the seasonings though – there’s a wine recommendation that I’ll give you to pair with this steak dish and you’ll definitely NOT want your steak to overpower the awesome wine.  As for the steak “rub”, sprinkle on a bit of kosher salt, garlic powder, cumin, and caraway.  Caraway?  Yeah, I saw it in the cabinet and was feeling a bit “nutty” (pun intended) so I used it.  That’s it.  If you let it sit for a while before grilling, the spices will have a chance to mingle a bit with the steak.  But if you’re in a hurry and starving to death then get thee meat to thy grill.  Cook meat to desired doneness and remove from grill.

The sauce:

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet.  Cook a chopped medium onion until soft.  Throw in 1/4 pound pancetta (TIP: Trader Joes sells a nice 1/4lb container of pancetta…already chopped) and 1/2lb of sliced mushrooms (Note: if shrooms aren’t your thing or you’re not trying to please some fungus loving guests, then leave them out). Cook it all up for a couple minutes. Next, pour in: 1/3 cup beef broth, 1/4 cup of chopped parsley, and 1/2 cup of red wine (I used a Syrah/Malbec blend from a bottle that was already open-yeah yeah, the recipe called for Chianti, but I didn’t have any, IMPROVISE people, IMPROVISE).  Bring all this to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.  This recipe may seem a bit “complicated” but trust me, it’s really not – I could have summarized it by giving you a list of the 7 ingredients and saying “throw them all into a skillet, bring it all to a boil, and then let it simmer”.

When your steaks are done grilling, put them into the sauce, cover the pan, and let the filets soak up some of that sauce.

As a side, you can take a couple potatoes (plan on 1 per person), slice in half, and then cut the halves again so you’ve got some “fries”.  Coat with olive oil, sprinkle on some kosher salt.  Cook in a 425 degree oven for 30 minutes (note the time – probably want to start these before you start grilling your steaks) or until brown and slightly crispy.  Sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese and parsley when you take them out of the oven.

So now for that wine to pair with your meat and potatoes dinner (can I get a caveman or Tim the Toolman grunt?).  Try the Shingleback Shiraz (Australia) circa 2005.  You can find a review of this wine in yesterday’s post (5/2/09).  As Emeril LeGasse would say – “BAM!”  If your local wine retailer doesn’t carry the 2005 Shingleback Aussie Shiraz, then give this recipe a go with another ball-buster Shiraz from either the Barossa Valley or McLaren Vale wine region in Australia. Expect to pay about $20 for an Aussie red with some real gusto.

Bon Appetit!

Share and Enjoy!

Hide Sites