Wine: Penfolds Rawsons Retreat
Type: Shiraz Cabernet
Year: 2008
Price: $5.40
Date: 31/07/2009
Reason for purchase: Number 5 on the May half dozen.
Review: At this price there can be no expectations. But it is seriously hard to fault once you keep this in mind.
There is a nice fruity start, which moves to a quite mellow aftertaste. There are no unpleasant moments, which you'll find in similar wines of this price.
The only criticism would be a slight sharpness when you first taste. Not really acidic, but most likely its lack of age. Hard to tell if a wine of this price would mature over time in the bottle, or whether its mellow flavours were bottled that way to help it drink straight away.
No matter its faults, this is quite a nice drop, which is accentuated by its bargain basement price. I might buy another bottle to try soon, and if it matches my previous expectations, might be worth buying a case to keep the weekday table supplied.
Rating: 8/10 -DF-
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Warburn Premium Reserve Barossa Cabernet Merlot 2008
Wine: Warburn Premium Reserve Barossa
Type: Cabernet Merlot
Year: 2008
Price: $8.50
Date: 24/06/2009
Reason for purchase: Another of the batch from May.
Review: This has some nice fruity flavours that come through at the start of each mouthful. However there is a bit of a heavy aftertaste that isn't particularly welcome.
There is a bit of balance between the softer Merlot parts and the heavier Cabernet parts, making this an alright drink.
The whole point of this under $10 challenge is to find out which wines are worth persevering with, and those that are just plain vinegar. This one is closer to the vinegar mark, and given it's getting closer to the $10 mark than some of the others, not highly recommended.
Rating: 6/10 -DF-
Type: Cabernet Merlot
Year: 2008
Price: $8.50
Date: 24/06/2009
Reason for purchase: Another of the batch from May.
Review: This has some nice fruity flavours that come through at the start of each mouthful. However there is a bit of a heavy aftertaste that isn't particularly welcome.
There is a bit of balance between the softer Merlot parts and the heavier Cabernet parts, making this an alright drink.
The whole point of this under $10 challenge is to find out which wines are worth persevering with, and those that are just plain vinegar. This one is closer to the vinegar mark, and given it's getting closer to the $10 mark than some of the others, not highly recommended.
Rating: 6/10 -DF-
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Lindemans Cawarra Cabernet Merlot 2007
Wine: Lindemans Cawarra
Type: Cabernet Merlot
Year: 2007
Price: $4.75
Date: 13/05/2009
Reason for purchase: Another one in the cheap batch from May.
Review: For under $5 I wasn't expecting much... if anything from this bottle. But it was a pleasant surprise.
It has a very pleasant, fruity taste, with no acid and a nice mellow after taste. I would put this as a simple everyday wine, especially for those looking for something that is really soft and slightly sweet tasting.
Simply put, it could well be the red cordial of wines, with a price tag to match. Not exactly a wine you'd put out to impress friends, but one to drink when you don't want the stigma of a Rose bottle on your table.
Rating: 7/10 -DF-
Type: Cabernet Merlot
Year: 2007
Price: $4.75
Date: 13/05/2009
Reason for purchase: Another one in the cheap batch from May.
Review: For under $5 I wasn't expecting much... if anything from this bottle. But it was a pleasant surprise.
It has a very pleasant, fruity taste, with no acid and a nice mellow after taste. I would put this as a simple everyday wine, especially for those looking for something that is really soft and slightly sweet tasting.
Simply put, it could well be the red cordial of wines, with a price tag to match. Not exactly a wine you'd put out to impress friends, but one to drink when you don't want the stigma of a Rose bottle on your table.
Rating: 7/10 -DF-
Angove Long Row Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
Wine: Angove Long Row
Type: Cabernet Sauvignon
Year: 2007
Price: $7.60
Date: 5/06/2009
Reason for purchase: On the hunt for a cheap table wine.
Review: I bought this one back in May along with a collection of other wines under $10 in the hopes of finding a cheap drinkable table wine, without the cheap undrinkable taste.
This Cab Sav is a nice easy drinker, with no over-powering flavours. There is a fair bit of acid when you first taste, but it drops away pretty quickly... perhaps a little too quickly. This leaves a bit of an emptiness, as there isn't a lot of flavour left over.
Still a nice wine to grab off the shelf when you're on a budget, and drink over dinner.
Rating: 7/10 -DF-
Type: Cabernet Sauvignon
Year: 2007
Price: $7.60
Date: 5/06/2009
Reason for purchase: On the hunt for a cheap table wine.
Review: I bought this one back in May along with a collection of other wines under $10 in the hopes of finding a cheap drinkable table wine, without the cheap undrinkable taste.
This Cab Sav is a nice easy drinker, with no over-powering flavours. There is a fair bit of acid when you first taste, but it drops away pretty quickly... perhaps a little too quickly. This leaves a bit of an emptiness, as there isn't a lot of flavour left over.
Still a nice wine to grab off the shelf when you're on a budget, and drink over dinner.
Rating: 7/10 -DF-
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Warburn Estate Gossips Merlot 2008
Type: Merlot
Year: 2008
Price: $6.00
Date: 17/11/2009
Reason for purchase: Given to me to try.
Review: Well I can't say no to free wine (thanks to a colleague), so I cracked this cheap red to try over dinner.
It starts soft and pretty much stays there. Nothing wrong with that, but if like a gutsy red you'll need to look elsewhere.
The flavour is nice and fruity and is a great easy drinker when you feel like something a bit lighter, and don't want any pepper.
Definately one I'll purchase as a regular table wine, and cheap to boot!
Rating: 8/10 -DF-
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Pauletts Polish Hill River Shiraz 2005
Type: Shiraz
Year: 2005
Price: $19.00
Date: 4/11/2009
Reason for purchase: I decided that drinking was more fun than going to the gym
Review: As recommended by the bottle shop guy, this apparently is the best value shiraz under 20 bucks. I'm always a fan of the Clare Valley shiraz, so easily handed over (not my) $20.
Given it's had a bit of aging, it is a nicely rounded shiraz that has mellowed out enough to be quite easy to drink. The bottle actually has "the complexity of oak" written, which is oddly true. I don't normally believe what the bottle has on it, but this one really has a nice oak flavour. Right on the money!
If your a fan of shiraz, this one is certainly recommend.
Rating: 8/10 -DF-
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Aspen Estate Merlot 2008
Wine: Aspen Estate
Type: Merlot
Year: 2008
Price: $5.70
Date: 9/05/2009
Reason for purchase: I was poor
Review: Nice mellow wine, as you would expect from Merlot. Easy starter with no real explosion of flavour and quickly fizzles out.
Nice easy drinker, but lacks any great flavour.
Perhaps keep a bottle handy in the pantry for when the non-wine drinkers arrive. It's subtle taste shouldn't offend their lack of vino taste buds.
Rating: 6/10 -DF-
Type: Merlot
Year: 2008
Price: $5.70
Date: 9/05/2009
Reason for purchase: I was poor
Review: Nice mellow wine, as you would expect from Merlot. Easy starter with no real explosion of flavour and quickly fizzles out.
Nice easy drinker, but lacks any great flavour.
Perhaps keep a bottle handy in the pantry for when the non-wine drinkers arrive. It's subtle taste shouldn't offend their lack of vino taste buds.
Rating: 6/10 -DF-
Monday, November 2, 2009
First post
Hi and welcome to cheesr! The greatest booze blog around.
Our alcoholic experts want to scour the Australian landscape to find our great drops of red, white, beer and spirits, with an easy to understand ranking system.
Quite simply if we think it tastes good, we'll say it without talking about tannins or pallate or hopping... Just plain english thanks, and a score out of 10!
Please enjoy our blog as much as we enjoyed drinking to create it.
Our alcoholic experts want to scour the Australian landscape to find our great drops of red, white, beer and spirits, with an easy to understand ranking system.
Quite simply if we think it tastes good, we'll say it without talking about tannins or pallate or hopping... Just plain english thanks, and a score out of 10!
Please enjoy our blog as much as we enjoyed drinking to create it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)