Yalumba Shiraz-Viognier

Name: Yalumba
Color: Red
Varietal: Shiraz (w/ Viognier)
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: Australia
Region: South Australia
Price: $10
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

This was first Shiraz we've had in a long time, even though we both love a good Shiraz from Australia...The Yalumba was mixed with a touch of Viognier, similar to the d'Arenberg Laughing Magpie that we love.

This wine was good, though not as great at the Magpie. It was fruity, but with a good tannic structure. It featured dark red and black fruit and had some good spice to it. The finish was medium in length and the wine was nice with and without food.

McWilliam's Pinot Noir

Name: McWilliam's Pinot Noir
Color: Red
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: Australia
Region: SE Australia
Price: $12
Stars: 4 (out of 5)


This was our first Australian Pinot Noir, and it definitely won't be the last...It was big and juicy with a much bigger body than I expected from a Pinot. It featured red berries, cherries, and some spice. It was very smooth and a bit more complex than I thought it would be. Overall, I was very pleased with the McWilliam's Pinot Noir. Good stuff!

Peter Lehmann Clancy's Red

Name: Peter Lehmann Clancy's Red
Color: Red
Varietal: Blend (Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot)
Vintage: 2005
Country/State: Australia
Region: Barossa
Price: $12
Stars: 4 (out of 5)


We've had this wine before and really liked it. It's a great blend of Shiraz, Cab, and Merlot with big, bold red and black fruit aromas and taste. It's also a touch peppery and spicy. I've found that this one really mellows and becomes even more smooth after sitting for a couple of hours. It was really nice on the second night.

We drank this last night with a rotisserie chicken and then again after dinner on its own. It's very good....smooth, soft, and delicious. It would be terrific with BBQ.

d'Arenberg Laughing Magpie

Name: d'Arenberg Laughing Magpie
Color: Red
Varietal: Blend (Shiraz/Viognier)
Vintage: 2006
Country/State: Australia
Region: McLaren Valley
Price: $25
Stars: 4.5 (out of 5)

We had the Laughing Magpie by d'Arenberg last night with homemade "chicken Bryan", the Carrabba's dish that Krista had a recipe for. The chicken was terrific, grilled with goat cheese and a tasty white wine butter sauce.

The wine was excellent. My uncle bought this bottle for me for my birthday last year and we managed to hold on to it all year. So when my birthday rolled around this year, I decided to pop the cork. It's a blend of Shiraz (95%) and a dash of Viognier (5%). It consistently receives high scores from the Stephen Tanzers and Robert Parkers of the world, and the 2006 was no exception. It's a full-bodied wine with aromas of red and dark berries. The flavors are bursting with blackberries, blueberries, and a cherries, with a hint of chocolate at the long finish. It was delicious, and I can't wait to drink it again.

One note - this was the first wine we've drunk with the aid of my new Vinturi wine aerator, which I received as a birthday present from Krista and the boys. I didn't do a real side by side test, with and without the Vinturi, but I was impressed with the smoothness of the wine. The owner of my favorite local wine store highly recommended it (the aerator), and I'm happy to have one of my own!

Stump Jump Shiraz

Name: Stump Jump Shiraz
Color: Red
Varietal: Shiraz
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: Australia
Region: McLaren Valley
Price: $10
Stars: 3.5 (out of 5)

The Stump Jump Shiraz was recently featured in the St. Petersburg Times as the Wine of the Week. When I saw a bottle on sale for $10, I picked one up. Krista and I have always enjoyed the big fruity, jammy taste of a good Shiraz from Australia, so we took it with us for our day after Christmas meal at her parents' house. This wine also placed in the Top 100 of Wine Spectator's best wines of 2009.

Unfortunately for us, the tasting of this wine was tainted by some poor glassware at the in-laws house. The first two glasses we tried were plagued by a soapy smell that over-powered the wine. After rinsing the glasses, we were able to salvage one, but I ended up drinking mine out of a green plastic disposable picnic cup. Still, the wine itself was as we expected, full of blackberry and raspberry flavors with a nice mouthfeel and a decent finish. We will definitely have to try it again with better glasses.

Lindeman's Shiraz

Name: Lindeman's Bin 50 Shiraz
Color: Red
Varietal: Shiraz
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: Australia
Region: SE Australia
Price: $6
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

This was a very inexpensive wine that I picked up based on its reputation as being a quality, budget-friendly wine...It definitely didn't disappoint. It didn't blow me away, but it was really enjoyable on its own and with food. I drank this bottle myself over two days, once with dinner (pizza) and the next night after dinner. It was a simple but typical Australian Shiraz -- fruit forward, red berries and blackberries, juicy, smooth, and easy-drinking. For the price, you can't go wrong.

Peter Lehmann Layers

Name: Peter Lehmann Layers
Color: White
Varietal: Blend (Pinot Gris/Muscat/Gewurtztraminer/Chardonnay/Semillon)
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: Australia
Region: Adelaide
Price: $15
Stars: 4.5 (out of 5)

I love this wine!! I had a glass at the Green Springs Bistro in Safety Harbor on my birthday, and have been searching for it ever since. I found it today at Lueken's Liquors in Dunedin, and quickly bought a bottle to have with my Father's Day dinner of scallops in a honey lime sauce...Both the meal and the wine were delicious.

Every review of this wine online mentions that it is a "melange" of flavors from five white grapes (Pinot Gris, Muscat, Gewurtztraminer, Chardonnay, and Semillon). Since I'm a product of a public school system, you won't find me using the word melange in any of my postings. The word "blend" works just fine for me. When wine geeks start throwing around words like melange, cassis, anise, or malolactic fermenation, I start to feel like Jefe when El Guapo asks him, "Would you say I have a plethora of pinatas?"

My man, Jefe, would be completely confused by some of the terminology used to describe wine!


The Peter Lehmann Layers was very crisp, refreshing, and extremely easy drinking. It had an aroma and taste of lemon, lime, peach, and pear. It was very well balanced and smooth.

Razor's Edge

Name: Razor's Edge
Color: Red
Varietal: Blend (Shiraz/Grenache)
Vintage: 2006
Country/State: Australia
Region: McLaren Vale
Price: $15
Stars: 4.5 (out of 5)

The Razor's Edge Shiraz was one of the wines that really got me excited about wine when I first drank it last summer. Therefore, I had high expectations for this one, a blend of Shiraz and Grenache, that received a high score (91 points) from Robert Parker. I don't generally put a lot of stock in wine scores by "experts" but sometimes they help as a frame of reference. I usually get much more use out of postings by a few trusted wine bloggers. I also have never been led wrong by Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher of the Wall Street Journal's Tastings columns.

We had this wine with a Mother's Day dinner of grilled steaks and twice baked potatoes, after the kids went to bed. I actually decanted this wine for 30-45 minutes, primarily because it's a big Australian red that could be kept for 8-10 years. I don't have enough experience with decanting to tell if it helped or not, but it definitely didn't hurt...The wine was smooth and ready to drink with a nice long finish. The taste and nose were very similar - blackberry, raspberry, cherry, with some spice and pepper. The wine paired excellently with the steaks, and was also very nice on its own after dinner. I've actually seen this wine sell for $10-12 online. I paid $15 for it and still thought it was a great value for the money.

Red Guitar and Mark Davidson White

Name: Red Guitar
Color: Red
Varietal: Blend (Tempranillo/Garnacha)
Vintage: 2006
Country/State: Spain
Region: Navarra
Price: $10
Stars: 4.5 (out of 5)






Name: Mark Davidson
Color: White
Varietal: Blend (Chardonnay/Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc)
Vintage: NV
Country/State: Australia
Region: SE Australia
Price: $10
Stars: 4.5 (out of 5)

We enjoyed both of these wines at a dinner party at our house last night with a few friends. We've had each of these wines within the past few months and really liked them, so we were anxious to share them. They both went over very well, especially the Red Guitar. It paired excellently with the lasagna that we served. The Red Guitar is a Spanish blend of Tempranillo and Garnacha (Grenache). It's incredibly smooth and highly drinkable; fruity without being too sweet.

The Mark Davidson was just as I remembered it when I last had it in March. Here are the notes I made at that time --- http://blueandwine.blogspot.com/2009/03/mark-davidson-white-blend.html

These wines are quickly becoming two of our favorites. We continue to have great success with blended wines. They just seem to be tastier than most of the standard varietals we've had.

Peter Lehmann Clancy's Red

Name: Peter Lehmann Clancy's Red
Color: Red
Varietal: Blend (Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot)
Vintage: 2005
Country/State: Australia
Region: Barossa
Price: $11
Stars: 4 (out of 5)


Another red blend that was right in our comfort zone. This is really a type of wine that Krista and I both enjoy very much. It's really hard not to like wines like this. Sort of medium to full bodied, but very smooth and easy to drink. I definitely picked up on the red fruits -- cherries, strawberries, with some bold blackberry and a little bit of peppery spice. There was something else on the back end that I really couldn't place, but it was very enjoyable. I guess I'm still learning to identify all the possible smells and tastes. The color was a deep plum and it had a nice structure and weight. I bought this bottle for $11 at Total Wines. We drank it with a gourmet meal of chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese (one of our kids' favorites)!!

Mark Davidson White Blend

Name: Mark Davidson
Color: White
Varietal: Blend (Chardonnay/Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc)
Vintage: NV
Country/State: Australia
Region: SE Australia
Price: $10

Stars: 4.5 (out of 5)


Excellent!! A very interesting, full-bodied white blend results in a really tasty, smooth wine. White citrus tropical fruit dominates the nose, with some creamy vanilla notes from the portion of the chardonnay that gets fermented in oak. The wine was a brilliant, almost fluorescent yellow color in the glass. We both tasted green apples, like eating Jolly Rancher sour green apple candies, with some grapefruit and cream. We enjoyed this wine with a chicken ring that Krista made. I bought this wine at Ed's Fine Wines, based on a recommendation of the store clerk. We have had Mark Davidson's Shiraz in the past and really enjoyed it, too......

As for a comparison to a UK player, I'm going with Keith Bogans. This wine was a nice blend of three grapes; Bogans had a nice blend of talent, toughness, and heart. I was surprised by how much I liked this wine, just like I was surprised by the great senior season Keith had, bouncing back from a disappointing junior year. He carried the Cats to a perfect record in the SEC, an SEC tournament title, and probably would have taken the team to the Final Four if he hadn't hurt his ankle in the Sweet Sixteen. He was hobbled as D-Wade and Marquette beat UK in the Elite Eight that year. Great player, really good wine.