2008 R Wines Southern Belle Shiraz

Whiskey with a splash of water, is just fine, whiskey and Shiraz?, well that’s a bit different. So, therefore, the Southern Belle Shiraz is different from every other wine reviewed on this site, first of all the Shiraz was partially aged for 18 months in American oak barrels that were previously used to age Pappy Van Winkle Kentucky Bourbon and secondly the alcohol content is 17.6% (that’s 35.2 proof for you whiskey folks). The wines importer, Dan Phillips, says “that it’s his sincerest hope that this wine offends every sommelier and Frenchman in the world.” The winemaker, Chris Ringland, makes fantastic wines and brings as much skill to the valued priced wines as he does to his more expensive efforts. Fruit forward, tasty wines, that have excellent balance and polish, if anyone can tame the over the top Bourbon barrels and the 17.6% alcohol, it’s Ringland.

The color is a beautiful almost black red with a blood red outer halo. Nice fresh black and blueberries at first and then the nose gets real interesting, leather, molasses, orange peel, petroleum jelly and vanilla. Wow, this is not your usual fruit bomb shiraz, dark fruit upfront and then coffee, toffee, black cherry cough drops, brown sugar, orange zest and oak spice. There are almost as many whiskey flavors as there is wine flavors. This is a rich, nuanced wine, even with the huge alcohol level and the bold whiskey barrel oak, there is a balance to the Southern Belle Shiraz, it feels more expensive than it actually is.

A very unique, must try wine. It may not be your go-to everyday wine, but this Southern Belle is an experience. It would really pair well with a full slab of ribs from your towns best BBQ pit.

If You Want To Know What The WineMakers Know, This Is The Book To Read

CheapWineFinder.com recently attended a tasting given by Chris Ringland of R Wines and Grateful Palate. In Chris’s presentation, he stated that if you really have an interest in wine, you need to read Emile Peynaud’s Knowing and Making Wine. The charts and diagrams contained in the book are essential to understanding wine.

Emile Peynaud is known as the Father of Modern Winemaking and revolutionized the way wine was made in Post World War 2, France. Knowing Wine and Making Wine goes from the basics, such as how to properly taste wine, to the chemistry involved in making wine.

This is a basic reference book for virtually every Winemaker in business today. While not a breezy summer read, there are worse ways of spending a beautiful summer’s day than expanding your knowledge of wine.

Knowing Wine and Making Wine is available on Amazon.com and Ebay, a new copy of the book sells for $88, but used copies are readily available. Google Books has a free preview of the first 48 pages available on-line for all you IPad users.

2007 Luchador Shiraz $13

100% Shiraz from grapes grown in the Barossa Valley (85%) and Langhorne Creek (15%) regions of Australia. 60% of the juice is aged in 2nd and 3rd use American oak, the rest is aged in stainless steel vats, so you will get some vanilla and spice from the oak, but not much in the way of aging properties. Parker rated the Luchador Shiraz at 90 pts, the 2006 vintage received a 92 pt. rating, I don’t know how much of the 2006 is available, but it might be worth seeking out. The alcohol content is 14.5%, which is downright tame for an Australian Shiraz.

Black cherry red in color with a strawberry halo. The nose is blueberry preserves, vanilla and some grassy notes in the background. The flavors burst out of the glass, rich blackberry, blueberry, plum and black Twizzlers, vanilla and oak spice on the mid-palate. Smooth almost sweet tannins and a lengthy vanilla Coke finish.

With a masked Mexican grappler on the label, you wouldn’t expect a well balanced, expertly crafted wine. Delicious with gobs of fresh fruit, but well structured, the Luchador would go well with a nice juicy steak and even better with some first class BBQ.

2008 Darby And Joan Chardonnay $10

Sourced from vineyards in the Riverland, Barossa Valley and Mclaren Vale regions of South Australia. Very small amounts of Riesling, Semillon and Verdelho were added to the Chardonnay, mainly to improve the acidity. The wine undergoes very little manipulation by the wine makers, wild fermentation, no malolactic fermentation, about 15% of the wine sees some aging in French oak barrels, the remainder is “on lees” for one year. The Darby and Joan Chardonnay was intended to be made as simply as possible, to showcase the Chardonnay grapes and not the winemakers bag of tricks.

Pale straw yellow in color. The nose is light melon, pear, a touch of vanilla and a hint of flowers, all very subtle. The flavor is velvety white peach and pear, a touch of acidity in the back of the palate, and then a decent light pear finish. The various textures and tastes are all well integrated, no one component leaps out.

An every day white wine, that can double as a food wine. Subtle and balanced, should drink well throuugh 2015.

2009 Diddley Bow Riesling $19

The grapes are sourced from the Frankland River Region (south of Perth) of Western Australia. Part of the Southern Gothic Series of wines by R Winery and Chris Ringland. 90 points Robert Parker.

The color is a crystal clear straw yellow. The nose is fresh lemons and flower garden, a beautiful and refreshing aroma. The flavor is not too tart grapefruit, lemon, some minerality, then a bit of sweetness in the mid palate with a burst of tangerine. The acidity and the sugar are very well balanced. The finish is a long lasting lemon/ lime.

A very delicious Riesling, not sweet and not too acidic, it has very clean, fresh flavors. The Diddley Bow Riesling has wonderful balance, it is very much a food wine. Enjoy it at an up-scale Asian joint.

2008 Marquis Philips Sarah’s Blend $13

This one is a little complicated, Marquis Philips was a collaboration between American Dan Philips and the Australian husband and wife winemaking team of Sparky and Sarah Marquis. Sarah and Sparky broke away to start their own project, Mollydooker (Aussie slang for a lefty) Wines and Dan Philips brought in Chris Ringland to take over the winemaking duties. Chris and Dan’s many wines are produced under the R Wines label, but the Marquis Philips brand had an excellent reputation and a strong following, so those wines continue, but without Sparky and Sarah Marquis. Chris Ringland, though, continues to do right by this line of wines.

The Sarah’s Blend is 63% Shiraz, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc, all sourced from the McLaren Vale Region of South Australia. Aged for 12 months in French and American oak, the alcohol content is 16% (in Australia the alcohol content listed on the label only has to be within 1 1/2% of the actual alcohol content, so this could be as high as 17 1/2%). The 2008 vintage received 91 points in Wine advocate and the previous 7 vintages each received at least 90 pts. So this has been a consistently excellent value priced wine.

Deep dark opaque crimson in color. Interesting nose, fig newtons, dark fruit and a light scent of freshly mowed grass. A big mouth feel, viscous, milky, the flavors burst into your mouth. A very rich taste, chocolate milk, raspberry jam, a touch of vanilla and fresh blueberries in cream. The blueberries and cream continue on to the finish and slowly fade away. The tannins are silky smooth and well integrated. A luscious tasting red blend, this is a wine you can sit back and drink with friends or will pair well with beef or pork.

P.S. The animal on the label is a Roogle, which is a combination of the Australian Kangaroo or Roo and the American Eagle.

Chateau Chateau Skulls – $17

Old World Wines vs New World Wines, Terrior vs Manipulated, Earthy vs Fruity. There has been a bit of a shift happening in the wine world, Australian wine sales are off 23%, stores that used to stock 100 different Aussie labels, not stock half that amount. There has been a backlash in the Wine Press, Australian wines are often described as “fruit bombs” or “over extracted”. I don’t quite get the change in attitude, Australian wines are every bit as good now as they were when they were the hottest wines going. So, times and tastes change and R winery is rolling with the changes. The Chateau Chateau series of wine is intended to show the terroir, the effects of Australian soil and weather conditions on the Grenache grape. They have a line of single vineyard vines all done in an “Old World” style. Skulls is the entry level wine for Chateau Chateau and has a very cool label, look at it one way and it is a surreal painting of a man falling from a tree, look at it again and it is a human skull.

Skulls is a french style blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Mataro (another name for Mourvedre or Monastrell) no oak, aged in stainless steel. This is the entry level wine and it is not single vineyard,but sourced from vineyards all over South Australia. The nose is nice jammy cooked dark fruit with a touch of spice, the color is a see thru burgundy. The flavor has dark fruit in the lead, but it has mushroom, stewed meat element too. A very interesting transition on your palate from fruit to the savory flavors and then a nice long finish. All the flavors are well blended, nothing jarring, a slight bite from the tannins at first but that goes away with the second sip. All the delicious fruit you would expect from an Australian wine, but it still has that French funky, earthy thing going on, the best of both worlds.  Interesting flavors and the label is pretty cool, this one is a winner.

R Wines Bitch Bubbly – $9

Now here’s something a little different, a sparkler made from Grenache with some Shiraz added into the mix. R Wines has been making their regular Bitch Grenache for a while now and it has always been a popular wine for women to give to their female friends. Turning that Grenache into bubbly is a brilliant idea. R Wines is a collaboration between Dan Phillips (who is one of the people who put  Australian wine on the map) and Chris Ringland ( who is commonly referred to as a “Rockstar” winemaker). These guys know wine and when they come to a vineyard looking for grapes for a new project, growers greet them with open arms. R Wines make some of the most consistently excellent, value priced wines on the planet.

It’s got a 1970′s soda pop top and not a cork and cage like most bubbly, so bring a bottle opener. The Bitch Bubbly is a very easy to drink Sparkler, sweet, but not too sweet, loads of ripe sliced strawberries in a bowl of fresh milk. The body is light, bubbles take the flavor to your taste buds then disappear. I found that the bottle was empty very quickly, it’s one of those fun wines that entice you to take the next sip and then the next. Not super complex and not a substitute for a French Grower/Producer Champagne, but a fun, party wine. Good times in a bottle, Bitch Bubbly should be included in your New Years Eve plans or maybe just your Tuesday night plans. It’s always time for a little bubbly.

2007 Ringland Ebenezer Shiraz – $18

We reviewed the 2006 Ebenezer Shiraz a few months ago and loved it, the 2007 Ebenezer is even better. This is classic Barrosa Valley Shiraz, it is the kind of wine that put Australia on the wine world map. At $17.99 it is an incredible value, I dare you to blind taste the Ebenezer with Shiraz’s selling for three or four times it’s price and see if you can identify this as the under $20 wine. The grapes are sourced from the premier Ebenezer Vineyard and Chris Ringland is a world class vintner. The color is a classy ruby red, the nose is rich dark fruit, the taste is black cherry, blueberries, plums and a touch of spice with smooth tannins, the mouth feel is lush and the finish is looooooong smooth cherry vanilla. You can pay more for a Shiraz, but the Ebenezer will hold it’s own in any company.

Get it here or call (847) 776-1000 for an awesome deal.

2007 Strong Arms Shiraz

I picked this up at a local bottle shop on sale for $9.99. This Shiraz is from R Wineries and the wine maker is Chris Ringland.  WS gave the 2007 vintage 89 pts and the 2006 91 pts. Now when I have an under $10 wine, I just want it to taste good and be a decent representative of the grape varietal. The Strong Arms gave me all that and more, it’s got nice dark fruit upfront, a bit of a spicy mid-palate and a decent finish. A nicely put together wine. I was a little worried by the alcohol content as I first tasted it, but by the second or third sip it mellowed out. All in all a very nice effort for the price range. Nice label, too.

Get it HERE for $10.99.

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