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.