What I’m drinking last Wednesday 2011.11.16

Went over to the parents as usual last Wednesday and got to sample 2 bottles today!

McWilliams Regional collection, Barossa Valley Shiraz 2002

Pepperjack Cabernet Sauvignon, Barossa 2009

We tried the McWilliams Shiraz first (14% alco). This guy goes for about $16 bucks and was decanted for around 2.5 hours. Straight up the nose is white pepper and spices with plums, very ripe plums to the point where their over ripe. There is some rose petals and floral notes in there also. On the palate, the attack is quite strong with a lot of sweetness and vanilla bits, guessing French/usa oak combo? Its spicy in the front and then flows into dark cherries, nice rounded mouth feel with a touch of green. Finish is long and nice, grippy tannins, definitely white pepper and a touch of heat from the alcohol.

Solid wine, definitely what you would expect from Barossa reds. Though not the style I like right now, it’s still a good solid drinking wine with bags of flavour. Good value for the price for sure.

Pepperjack came next. We opened the bottle and aerated it into a decanter for about 30 mins, a bit rushed cos it was a bit last minute. FYI, this guy is 13.5% alco. Sniffing this wine brought up starfruit. Yep, starfruit. Fresh little green bits also, some raw broccoli, not very sweet and some bits of tar/road/gravel in there. Definitely an interesting nose. The taste was a bit of a disappointment though. Flat of the attack, mid palate is spicy but bitter and flabby (not enough acidity to balance). There is a sweetness in the background, its integrated but not pronounced. There are also dry aspects to this wine. The acid comes in at the end but it’s astringent coupled with powdery tannins.

Not sure this is a good wine, could be a bit young. It is more complex than the McWilliams but not as pleasant to drink. I found it a bit unbalanced and too harsh in the mid and back end. Also, the alcohol comes through on this wine even though there is less alcohol in this than the previous. Not good. What I do like about this wine is it hides the presence of oak on the nose and palate. At $20, I think we can do much better.

Happy tastings!

Kenny