| Community Tasting Notes (average 86.3 pts. and median of 89 pts. in 32 notes) - hiding notes with no text |
| | Tasted by juffer on 8/21/2015: Last bottle, and this time I'll keep it short. Low alcohol, some residual sugar. Nose retains some cherry. So instead of tossing or using for cooking, drink it chilled as an aperitif wine, and it seems just fine and will be pleasantly enjoyable. (2174 views) |
| | Tasted by juffer on 9/4/2014 & rated 77 points: Wow, the reviews on this wine are all over the place, from love it to hate it. Usually when the spread is this great, there is a correlation between the scores and the total number of CT tasting notes of the person scoring the wine (for example, those who love it have contributed many tasting notes, those who hate it have contributed very few total CT tasting notes, or vice versa). For this particular wine, this does not appear to be the case. Some of those who contribute a lot love it and some who contribute a lot hate it. My own previous score (89) and number of tasting notes, appears to fall right about in the middle of the pack.
So, I am going to try something I've never done before. I'm going to taste it again but with a specific eye toward reacting to some of the posted notes.
So here goes:
First impressions relative to my own previous notes. Yech!!! When I tasted it previously I opened it as a dessert after a large meal, anticipating an over-ripe wine. Now I am tasting it on its own with no food. Definitely not a good way to drink this wine. In fact, I'm finding it outright unpleasant and am continuing only in the name of science! :). (But don't get me wrong - I'm not denying my previous experience - it was enjoyable consumed as dessert at the end of a meal).
Okay, so now on to what I set out to do, reacting to a few of the posted comments:
1. Sweet. Yes, and not just in terms of ripeness of the fruit. This wine clearly has residual sugar. I don't have a problem with that per se. (I love Spatburgunder from the rhiengau that has residual sugar). But the problem with this wine is that there isn't enough acidity to support the residual sugar when drunk on its own (maybe some of the acidity has also faded since the last tasting, since I seem to recall much more acidity).
2. Disjointed and spiky. I do remember this from my last experience. This seems to be less so now.
3. Elegant. No, sorry. Unusual, yes.
4. Flinty and mineral driven. I can't find this.
5. Crisp, acidic. I remember it as acidic But I think much of the acidity has now faded and is lacking.
6. Red berriers, rhubarb, guava. Yes, this seems spot on to me.
7. Kook aid, artificial flavor strawberries and jolly rancher. Yes, this also seems right to me. I think 6 and 7 are actually expressing similar characteristics, one expressed in negative terms and the other expressed in positive or neutral terms.
8. Thin. Yes, this is what surprised me on first tasting. I think it is thin on the fruit, with the viscosity coming from the residual sugar. But I didn't see this as necessarily bad when the wine was in balance, just very different.
So, my overall take away. I won't score it this time. If I did, it would be a much lower score joining those who scored in the 70's. But more importantly, I think the wine needs to be consumed in the right context. On its own, I find it undrinkable. Treated as a more alcoholic version of a rheingau spatlese spatburgunder, at the end of a meal or with bbq, it could be enjoyable again.
Actually, I changed my mind. It's more honest if I do score it since I think my overall assessment is that I was wrong with my previous score and agree with the low scorers (the loss of acidity since the previous tasting two years ago may also be contributing). (2854 views) |
| | Tasted by RobertDwyer on 12/2/2013 flawed bottle: Effervescent and strangely metallic. Loved prior bottles so I'm calling it flawed. Have 4 more bottles, will update on how those go. (3846 views) |
| | Tasted by muskie on 9/7/2013 & rated 88 points: a fruity ausy wine... went well with spicy BBQ ribs (3960 views) |
| | Tasted by austinbeeman- austinbeeman.com on 3/27/2013 & rated 85 points: Cloudy red color. Luscious candied raspberry nose. Ultra ripe (almost candied) fruit on the palate. Huge unpleasant acid. This is almost Zinfandel soda pop.
$29.99 to $19.99 OH retail
www.austinbeeman.com (4660 views) |
| | Tasted by nick.dean on 1/11/2013: This is too thin. It is more colored water than wine. (3250 views) |
| | Tasted by RobertDwyer on 1/3/2013 & rated 90 points: Utterly delicious. A luscious and refreshing respite from wines with drying tannins and a dour personality. Great buy south of $20. New world lovers unite! Down with the pleasure haters. :) I'm kidding. Different strokes for different folks. (3053 views) |
| | Tasted by Not647f on 12/1/2012 & rated 74 points: This was sweet and reminded me of nothing so much as Kool Aid, and I am not drinking the Kool Aid of the other reviews. The nose was okay, a little floral. Definitely red berries in the front palate--okay, artificial flavor strawberries and Jolly Rancher (not a compliment coming from me--I dreaded getting those at Halloween). Then just an aftertaste like hummingbird food. Put it next to the stove, but not even sure I can cook with something this sweet. (2271 views) |
| | Tasted by VinLancaster on 10/21/2012 & rated 71 points: 10/21/12: Horrible sweet plonk. It is thin, highly sugared and hot (like watery berry syrup). Maybe IHOP should sell it. No improvement on day 3, 4, 5, etc
Someone gave this to me as a humorous "what not to buy" sample and they were dead on! (1747 views) |
| | Tasted by mocamro on 10/17/2012: this is very good, maybe Outstanding...lots of sweet red fruit, but also good sappy/spice flavors (2085 views) |
| | Tasted by RPerro on 10/7/2012 & rated 87 points: Poured through Vinturi into decanter. Best tasting on day 3. Day 1 was overpowering fruit. Way too sweet, absolutely over the top fruitbomb. Day 2 it had settled down some, but was quite smooth and enjoyable on day 3, with nice subtle secondary flavors that were hidden behind the wall of sweet fruit on days prior. Good stuff, but needs time. For $8 at Grocery Outlet, I'm not going to complain! (1755 views) |
| | Tasted by christophee on 9/15/2012 & rated 78 points: Blood garnet with med-lite viscosity in the glass. Cherry, Sprite and minerals on the nose. Med-lite body and effervescent with cherry cola, sprite, strawberry, citrus and licorice on the palate. Spiky and disjointed. Med-short finish. On closeout at Grocery Outlet. (1840 views) |
| | Tasted by Kelliepeterson on 8/25/2012 & rated 90 points: I recall being excited to drink this when I bought it and then promptly started drinking lots of pinot noir. So it sat for a while.
Appears ruby approaching garnet in the glass with a healthy watery edge. Dried cherries and a bit of muted mint on the nose. Sensual mouth feel, medium body and medium-long finish. Would absolutely buy again. (2138 views) |
| | Tasted by cjlapointe11@yahoo.com on 8/9/2012 & rated 86 points: Sweet. Dry after taste. (2100 views) |
| | Tasted by juffer on 8/2/2012 & rated 89 points: I thought I had figured out that I had to spend a lot to get any form of elegance or uniqueness in an Australian wine. This delivers both at a great QPR. It has the sensation of being very light, despite the fact that the mid palate is very rich. The nose is like one of those strawberry guava juice drinks. The tannins are very soft, but there is some decent acidity for the finish. None of the typical spiciness of a grenache. I would have liked just a bit more structure, but at $18 this is pretty impressive. I doubt many would peg this as an under twenty dollar Aussie grenache if tasted blind. (1987 views) |
| | Tasted by drphil on 7/15/2012 & rated 89 points: Light color with a wonderful red cherry nose. Sweet tart cherry on the palate. Excellent with grilled pork chops in a Bing cherry sauce. Very nice on its own as well. (2404 views) |
| | Tasted by tomherer on 6/21/2012 & rated 89 points: Nose of red berries, very interesting flavor profile. Lots of unique secondary flavors, like rhubarb, guava, and citrus pith. Very nice, light frame and tannins, medium finish. Like it for its complexity and individuality, but the primary fruit flavors are simple and very ripe, with not enough acidity to make it truly balanced or refreshing. Would be outstanding otherwise, great QPR regardless. (3051 views) |
| | Tasted by targa72e on 4/24/2012: very sweet. did not like (2305 views) |
| | Tasted by DStone on 11/6/2011 & rated 90 points: Crisp, rather acidic grenache. Nice wine to drink by itself and will pair well with many types of food, staying in the background. Will buy again. (2738 views) |
| | Tasted by jljones on 10/31/2011 & rated 91 points: Drinking great right out of the bottle. Plus QPR. (2670 views) |
| | Tasted by vegasoenophile on 5/15/2011 & rated 94 points: Flinty and mineral driven. Oddly light in the glass, given the amount of rich flavor through and through. Delicious wine!
- WS Grand Tour 2011 (2340 views) |
| | Tasted by Ben Christiansen on 2/28/2011: Super nutty across the palate. Also very soft and very Grenachy. (2798 views) |
| | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
