An Inconvenient Yet Tasty Vintage

Intrigued by the title of this post? I finally had the opportunity this week to watch "An Inconvenient Truth", the documentary from Al Gore. It was very educational, but one thing that particularly jumped out at me, which will be very relevant to this blog, 2005 was the hottest year ever across the globe. What does this have to do with wine? If you've been reading my posts I frequently shower accolades on the Aussie 2005 vintage, so far I've yet to have a bad wine from this group. I'm not viticulturist but I do know that some grapes respond very well to lots of hot sun, the more robust varietals like Shiraz/Syrah for instance. The global warning threat is a serious problem, but it's fascinating to see that's there's a silver lining in this global disaster, intensely flavorful grapes!

Along this same "vine" of thought, I tasted the 2005 Rosenblum Heritage Clones last night. For $15 (on sale), I was not disappointed. It didn't match up to it's older 2004 brother in complexity, but it was an excellent drink. I liken it to licking the inside of a jelly jar, very jammy! The 2005 had a lot of the same flavor profiles of 2004, but it was a little more juvenile, with hints of tooty-fruity, believe it or not. I'm still very new to Petit Syrah but it seems Rosenblum knows what they are doing with this little grape.

Cheers!

Wine Shopping

Ok, I'm a bad boy, no posts in the last week or so. The big problem is, I have too many of the same bottle! I guess that is one downside of buying a case. Not so good for a wine blogger. Alas, it's by birthday this weekend and I will be making a wine run for some excellent values. Look for my next post next week!

Cheers,
Daniel

2004 Rosenblum Heritage Clones San Francisco Bay Petite Sirah

What a fine sandwich this is! If the wine on the right, is anything like the wine on the left, I'm going to be a happy camper. I had the opportunity to try the Heritage Clones Petite Sirah about a year ago. After casually taking a sip from the newly opened bottle I was immediately struck with intense fruit and a finish that went on for days. I leaned over to the fellow who brought the bottle and asked the price, $120 he said, or at least that's what I heard in the crowded restaurant. I made a mental note, now THIS is what an expensive bottle of wine should taste like! I was resigned however that I might never taste this wine again, at least at that price! For kicks I looked the wine up the next day online, and to my surprise it was only $20, not $120. Even better I was able to find it for $14.99, a steal in my opinion. I picked up a case and even gave them out as birthday gifts, this wine was so good. Sadly, like most excellent, fairly priced wines, the 2004 is very difficult to find now. I came across an auction today at $75 a bottle. Worth it? Perhaps... but pick up a bottle of the 2005 first. Retailing at only $15 a bottle, this might be a suitable replacement. I hope to pick-up a bottle myself shortly. Below are the adjective rich musings of Mr. Parker:

WA 90 "The 2005 Petite Sirah Heritage Clones is a full-bodied, flavorful, mouthfilling wine offering loads of peppery, blackberry, and cherry fruit, surprising density, a supple texture, and beautiful length and richness. This stunner should drink well for 5-8 years or longer."

WA 92 “There are nearly 10,000 cases of the stunning 2004 Petite Sirah Heritage Clone. A dense ruby/purple hue is accompanied by glorious aromas of creme de cassis, vanilla, incense, crushed rocks, blackberries, and smoke. It is a full-bodied, tannic, chewy, rich, pedal-to-the-metal effort with low acidity as well as ripe tannin. The latter two components will make it difficult to resist, but it should age well for 15-20 years.”

Everyone Wiki now: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petite_Sirah

Cheers!

A Real "Ball Buster"

Ok ok, I said "this" weekend not three weekend's ago for my next post, do you believe me? At any rate, I figured it's time to climb back on the proverbial vine with another wine review.

To be extremely honest, I picked this wine up because I liked the name. If the wine was awful, you could always have a good laugh afterwards at the name. But at $19 a bottle, it would be cheaper to stay home with a bag of popcorn and watch the Jerk on TMC and get more laughs.

The Ball Buster definitely lives up to its name, with explosive flavor and very high alcohol content. The legal limit for wines before being classified as a spirit is, 16%. Ball Buster was pushing this easy, even though the bottle read 15.8%.

I have to say I was wholly unimpressed and thought the high alcohol content took away from what would otherwise have been a very good wine. Even tasting at a cool 60 degrees Ball Buster was overwhelming. I tried this wine a few months back but I recall this being the consensus at the dinner party too.

The "expert" review: "A great value in full-throttle red wine from Barossa is Tait’s 2005 The Ball Buster. This cuvee is becoming an incredibly popular choice for addicts of what are pejoratively called “fruit bombs.” However, there is a lot more to this wine than just fruit, and that simplistic term is the vinous equivalent of phony baloney. This blend of 80% Shiraz, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Merlot was aged in old American and French oak for 12 months. It offers a dense purple color in addition to a big, rich perfume of blackberries, plums, chocolate syrup, and subtle wood in the background. Powerful and rich with loads of glycerin as well as hefty alcohol (15.8%), it is a classic example of an opulent, full-throttle Barossa red to consume over the next 4-5 years"