discounted to ?5.09 Somerfield
(?6.99 list)

Hmm ... a rich and bright purple colour, faded and red at the rim. Distinctive sweet and confected Shiraz nose, but not particularly intense or powerful. Warmth immediately hits you, but it's not full-bodied, alcoholic to taste (although only 13.5 and not 15pct). Shortish, lukewarm and barely spicy finish. Where is my chocolate?!?!

Check out Burra Brook 2003 from M&S for a better example (although I'm no Shiraz expert), however this isn't too bad considering I was craving something easy to drink on its own.

Anyone any other Shiraz suggestions for those chocolatey easy-drinking moments?

Jon

just did a Shiraz under ?7 tasting, to be published next week.

favourite wine as follows:

"Our favourite wine wasn?t the best Shiraz I?ve ever tasted and I wouldn?t go crazy about it, but I did go out the next day and buy quite a few bottles because it?s better than expected and was reduced by ?1.50. (until Tuesday 10th). Palandri Pinnacle Shiraz has good presentation, being slick, shiny and black and is normally ?5.99 from Waitrose and Somerfield. The smell makes you sit up and take notice because along with the usual baked dark fruits, is something fresher and greener, like green peppers, and also fresh new oak. The taste has some coffee on it and is also herbal. It has great body, sweet fruit, but a dry finish. We loved it."

?5.99 is about right and ?4.49 is a steal. worth buying 6 bottles and gettign a further 5% off.

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mel

Ooo! Looking forward to next week's tasting article...

Thanks Mel.

Frustratingly, the system (my name for that place in the sky, where I send my articles) has been having technical probs over the weekend and in fact seems even more poorly this morning.

Here is the Over ?7 article. The Under ?7 tasting was only of 5 wines and Palandri Pinnacle, which is ?5.99 from Waitrose and Somerfield, absolutely romped home.

Shiraz over ?7

I had far too many samples sent for this tasting so have split them into two tastings. Next week, I?ll taste the wines under ?7. The overall quality was very good and we liked the wines very precisely in order of price. This makes us feel rather clever, but is a pity for those of us who?d like a ?7.99 to taste better than one for ?12.99. The Australians are great winemakers but also canny businessmen. Wines are priced according to their cost but also at the price that the producer or their marketing team thinks they will sell at. Prices may be set to fit into the rest of their range. They may already sell wines at ?4.99 and ?9.99 and need something in between. They may want a gentle step up for the ?4.99 drinkers and so may price accordingly.

Our favourite wine was Geoff Merrill, McLaren Vale Reserve Shiraz 2000, which is ?12.99 in Tesco?s Fine Wine Selection. We thought it smelt of stargazer lilies and since I had some in the kitchen we were able to confirm that it did. There was also a whiff of incense and fresh herbs. The wine had good structure. The tannin was evident but it had so much padding in the form of sweet fruit and richness that it didn?t seem excessive. For me, it was just a touch sweet, but I was in the minority.

St Hallett Barossa Shiraz 2003 and Kangarilla Road, McLaren Vale Shiraz 2003 tied for second place. St Hallett is ?9.99 at Thresher, or ?6.66 if you buy 3 and smelt of sweet vanilla and violets which, over the evening, switched to coffee. It tasted baked, as expected and the structure was evident but the wine was still silky.

Kangarilla Road is ?9.99 at Majestic, reduced to ?8.99 until 30th October. It smelt attractively of recently polished wooden furniture and had good texture. The alcohol seemed high to me.

My personal favourite was Tim Adams, Clare Valley Shiraz 2004, which is ?9.99 from Tesco. The panel only gave it 4th place. It smelt baked, which Caroline identified as black treacle. During the evening, it took on something more herbal. It had a nice rustic texture and a hint of black treacle on an otherwise fruity palate.

All the rest of the wines were ?7.99. Marks & Spencer?s Barossa Shiraz was very perfumed, in the way that shop-bought blackberries can be. It was rich and full with nice fresh acid in the mouth. Peter Lehmann Barossa Shiraz from Waitrose smelt of coffee creams and had a reasonable flavour, while being quite rough. Buckingham Estate Reserve Shiraz, from Morrisons smelt drainy initially, but this lifted to give something fruitier. However, it tasted young and cheap. Tesco?s Finest, Howcroft Vinyards smelt herby and reminded Lorraine of oregano on top of pizza. It tasted savoury with some liquorice. Our least favourite was Hardy?s Winemaker?s Parcel Shiraz, also from Morrisons, which smelt of rotting strawberries and tasted of strawberry flavouring.

Top Three

Geoff Merrill, McLaren Vale Reserve Shiraz 2000 ? Tesco Fine Wine Section - ?12.99
St Hallett, Barossa Shiraz 2003 ? Thresher - ?9.99/6.66
Kangarilla Road, McLaren Vale Shiraz 2003 ? Majestic - ?9.99/8.99

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mel