Colonial Estate Envoy 2005

This is an example of my favourite style of Australian wine. It is fruity, but not dominated by fruit; it is elegant in style, but not austere; and it has all kinds of other interesting flavours. I noted blackberry and plum, minerals, earth, fungus, tar, smoke, maybe sage, pepper, cloves, and violets. Really. It is very well balanced and smooth on the palate, and long. The tannins are fine but firm.

It is possible that the smoke flavor I detected was from the duck breast Norman was roasting at the time, not the wine. (We did have to open all of the doors and windows to clear the smoke from the house.) It is also possible that my 93 rating was influenced by the exceptionally good mood I was in the evening we opened this wine, but in any event I would have rated it at least 92 and it is excellent value at $37.

Price: $37.16
Score: 89 (downgraded from Kelly's original score of 93 in light of comments and subsequent tasting)
Value: 3.5/5
Region: Australia, Barossa Valley
Grape: Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvèdre
Tasted: March 2009
UPC: 9338498004806

d'Arenberg The Stump Jump Red 2006

This is a guest post on the d'Arenberg Stump Jump Red, which is a GSM blend of 48% Grenache, 28% Shiraz and 24% Mourvedre (24%). Kathy, Ted and Dean shared it (non-blind) over dinner.

Dean: "Moss and wet earth, red berry and cloves on the nose. smooth mouthfeel with licorice and berry notes, and firm tannins. Well structured and nicely balanced. Fruit forward now but could develop nicely after 3-4 years in the cellar."

Kathy: "Way too fruity, too sweet, almost candied. Not a fan, couldn't finish the glass."

Ted: "Balanced, with firm but not overbearing tannins. fruit forward, with some spice from the shiraz that compensates for the somewhat candied characteristics, presumably from the grenache. Overall, an interesting wine that is drinking well now and at under $20, very good value for money. Much much better than the entry level Australians from Lindemans, Penfolds or Rosemount. Score: 86 value for money: 4/5"

Note that both Kathy and Ted remarked on the candied characteristics. That's something I have come to recognize in lower price Grenache (in the same way that lower priced Merlot reminds me of Bazooka Joe bubble gum - which I hate). Some people don't mind that characteristic in a wine, while others - like Kathy - hate it. Best to know where you stand when you think about picking up this wine. And if you don't know where you stand on the candy issue, try this wine and find out.

The score and value are Ted's. Wine Spectator also gave this an 86.

Price: $16.79
Value: 4/5
Score: 86
Tasted: Oct 2008
ANBL UPC: 9311832314007