ON THE NOSE:
Supple fruity nose of deep cherry and anise, but also lots of eucalyptus and some nice vegetal aromas of bell pepper and even some celery. Present, too, is some dark chocolate and some creaminess due, most likely, to some oak barreling. This is a decent nose, though it doesn’t offer anything too unique.
ON THE PALATE:
Some nice dark cherry fruit here, and the eucalyptus comes through strongly on the palate as well. This is not quite the fruit-bomb we anticipated, and for that we are grateful. Black pepper is here too, but my god that eucalyptus really comes through, sometimes reminding us more of Turkish bay leaves; we often confuse these two, or perhaps it is best to say that this feature in a wine is not necessarily one or the other, but a meld of the two (perhaps!). Medium- to full-bodies mouthfeel but shy on tannic structure, which we did not anticipate. The finish is somewhat subdued with the acidic part of the palate lasting longer than the actual taste. This wine is pleasant and tasty, but where are the tannins? This Australian offering is robust enough, but the structure – structure, not taste – is more reminiscent of a Chianti than a Shiraz/Cab blend. Still, we don’t hate this wine, which, I suppose, is not a great endorsement either. I paid $11 for this bottle and I can think of several others I’ve had in the past few months that shined far brighter (the Argentinean Navarrita Merlot and the Cline Red Truck, both at the $8 price-point) than this contender. AGAIN, though, there is something nice about this guy – maybe it’s the simple fact that it is not overly sugarfied, and offers more than mere ripe fruit; certainly these are admirable and relatively unusual traits for an Australian cheapie. Yes, I think that’s why I like this: it isn’t a cliché, and that, dear reader, is a breath of fresh air.
At the same time we cannot wholly recommend this wine at this price-point. While we try like hell not to RATE a wine based on its price, the tasting notes can and should surely reflect price as a consideration, and we honestly believe that those who write tasting notes should certainly keep this in mind as they put their thoughts to paper (um, so to speak, as none of my notes have actually made it to paper, but instead reside in the digital domain). At $8 or $9 for this bottle we may be singing a different tune, and this bottle may be bought for that elsewhere, as we notice that our local merchants in this part of Virginia charge $2 to $10 more a bottle than I can buy elsewhere online, though shipping charges often increase the overall cost. Whatever the case, this wine would be a great $8 wine, but at $11 it draws more serious competition.
At the end of the evening, and the end of the bottle, we are pleased with the offering, and THAT is worth something, because we have had so many poor bottles lately that this Australian contribution finds a nice niche in our hearts. Maybe that’s partly due to the 14.8% alcohol content; we feel pleasant, and happy we are at home! Buy it again? Nah. Drink it again? If at a party this was an open bottle, we would certainly give it another whirl. Be well, drink well, and do well in all that you do.
(Click here for an explanation of our ratings ...)
Our Rating: 87
Would we drink it again? 
Yeah, I guess, if you offered me a bottle I would drink it as opposed to dump it. If I found one open at a party I would quaff it.
Would we buy it again? 
No. We'd rather have a Navarrita Merlot or Cline Red Truck any day!