2003 Penfold's Regional Selection Shiraz Coonawarra

A reliable producer, under $10 at the shop, and a “Limited Edition” on the label pretty much guaranteed I'd be picking this one up.

Black cherry on the nose with some notes of dried fruit.

Lots of black fruit – plum, black cherry, blackberry, even some prune. Some nice Shiraz spice with black pepper coming through the most. There's a slight touch of sweetness, but enough tannin and acid to balance it out.

The finish is spicy and fruity – a bit like spiced raisins.

A perfectly acceptable Shiraz for the price. I do prefer the more absurdly huge, and somewhat difficult to pair, Australian Shiraz, but give me a steak and I'd cheerfully pour a glass of this.

2005 Clay Station Viognier

A while back I picked this up for when I was in the mood for something different, I don't recall the price but it couldn't have been over $10. I don't know if I've ever purchased a bottle of Viognier before, but we've had it at tastings with no memorable results.

Lots of melon on the nose – honeydew mainly.

The palate is big on melon, lots of fruit, some floral – almost herbal tea – notes, a nice acidic zing, just the slightest touch of sweetness, and a small bite of alcohol. This may sound odd, but as the wine warms up, I get an almost fishy taste – and strangely, not in a bad way. Imagine taking a bite of salmon, taking a swig of wine, and swallowing it – wine and fish blending together nicely (and we're drinking this alone, so dinner is not interfering with my palate).

This has one of the longest finishes I've encountered in a white wine, long lasting notes of melon – mainly a muskmelon – not quite honeydew and not canteloupe, but somewhere in the family as well as some more of that herbal tea.

I'll be trying more Viognier in the near future, I think this is a varietal I can get behind.

N/V Cockatoo Ridge Brut

This one was $12 at my local wine shop and came with hearty recommendations from the owner.

A bit of honey on the palate and some crisp green apple.

The finish has some yellow apples – tart, but not sour – a bit of pear, and it lingers for a fair amount of time.

Basically, this is as good as you'll get for the money. Some nice flavors, but ultimately the typical tart, acidic, somewhat dry flavors we've come to expect at the pricepoint.

2005 Bistro Wine Pinot Noir

I found this one for about $8 at the local Costco a couple weeks back and felt that since we've had luck with cheap French Pinot Noirs I'd pick up a bottle.

I'm not getting a whole lot on the nose except for some cherry.

Perhaps the biggest thing I get on the palate is cola. In fact, the cola is such a large part a lot of the other flavors – cherry and strawberry are very muted.

The finish lingers for quite a while with cherry cola notes.

I'm sold. There's not a whole lot of complexity, but for $8 the fact that this has Pinot Noir characteristics and is well balanced is enough for me. This is a wine I'd gladly buy multiple bottles of.

2005 Two Hands Gnarly Dudes Barossa Valley Shiraz

Not to be confused with the Gnarly Head Zin, this is the Gnary Dudes Shiraz from Australia. I found this at Costco for $25, which is at least $5 than I've seen it elsewhere....being familiar with the producer I figured it may be worth a shot.

Black fruit and licorice on the nose.

The palate was very approachable immediately after opening. Big palate, lots of fruit, rather sweet actually, and not much tannin. Twizzlers, ripe strawberries, Rainier cherries, licorice, anise.

The finish lasts for a while with a bit of anise lingering.

I don't recall the last time I had a wine that really struck me as “sweet” as much as this does, dare I say that may lead one to think this one is cheap. Unlike cheap wine, this has some excellent depth and a lingering finish. It is a style that some may not like – and for a bit less money you can get Layer Cake or The Boxer so though I enjoyed it, I won't be picking this one up again.

2005 Trader Joe's Late Harvest Moscato Paso Robles

I saw this one for $5.99 at Trader Joe's and figured it would be worth a shot. The only “bad” dessert wine we've had was still perfectly drinkable, so I'm all for the gamble.

Orange on the nose.

Orange blossom, sweet tangerine, a bit of honey, and nice zing of acid. Very nicely balanced and not over the top sweet.

Maybe some floral notes on the finish, but that's a bit of a stretch – it disappears quickly.

For $6, why not? It's a simple dessert wine, not a whole lot of complexity but nice and drinkable after a meal – perhaps with a bit of ice cream. I'll probably be buying this again.

2005 Turn Me Riesling

This one grabbed my eye and for $8 I thought it was worth a shot.

Not much on the nose really, a bit of alcohol and that's about it.

The palate has some crisp apple, a bit of citrus, and some honey. Nicely balanced – it's a touch sweet but the acid does more than enough to balance it out.

The finish lingers with some grapefruit.

I really didn't expect a whole lot but this is a very nice Riesling.

2006 Kirland Central Otago Pinot Noir

Since we've had some decent luck with the Kirkland label before, I figured I'd grab a bottle of this at $17.

Not much else but earth on the nose.

Even after two full hours of airtime this one was still tight. A fair amount of dirt, funk, forest floor, some green notes, and raspberry.

The finish lasts for a while starting with cherry, then dirt comes through, and finally it trails off with lingering raspberry.

Maybe it needs some more time in the cellar, but this one is a bit too tight at this point. While there's some nice complexity and a bit of varietal characteristic,I think it would be worth picking up a bottle and sitting on it for a while to see what happens.

2004 Fox Valley Winery Heritage Collection

I felt like supporting a local(ish) winery and saw this one for $15. We've visited this winery about a year ago and felt they were easily one of the better wineries in Illinois. If I had one gripe, it was that all their dry reds were a bit expensive. This is a blend of Chambourccin and Frontenac – two common Midwest varietals.

Funk and cherry on the nose.

Earth, funk, dirt, even some barnyard, oak, cherry and raspberry on the palate – outstanding depth not only from the region but for the price in general. Low tannin overall.

The finish comes through with some earthy notes, a touch of oak, and perhaps some berry.

I have to say this is much better than I anticipated it being. If I had to compare it to anything, I'd say a nice Chianti Classico. If you see this – or if you're in the area – I strongly recommend both the wine and the winery.

2005 Mollydooker The Boxer Shiraz

Well, it's great to be back – The Wineauxs have been on hiatus for close to two months. We moved and have slowly been settling in. Our updates will be back to their typical frequency – at least a couple times a week – and we have a whole wine fridge full of interesting bottles we look forward to writing about.

I've been sitting on this bottle for a while, mainly because I love the label art. Since I recently picked up a bottle of the 2006 vintage I figured I may as well crack this one open.

A note on color – I don't recall seeing a wine this dark recently...it's nearly black.

This one punches you in the nose with jam, dark plum, blackberry, and the like.

The palate can best be described as explosive. Huge berry and plum, a touch of alcohol, jam to the tenth degree, and some cocoa supporting it all. After some time in the decanter, dark chocolate became very pronounced. Virtually no tannin.

The finish lingers with, no shock, black fruit and chocolate.

I suspect this is a fairly polarizing wine – people who like this sort of thing would be in love with this, but if giant, jammy, fruit bomb doesn't sound appealing then I'd say steer clear. A while back we gushed about an Australian Shiraz called Layer Cake – this is on par with that one for sure. If you can find this one, give it a shot.

2004 Ditka's Da Coach Merlot

I found this one for $9 and figured since Ditka's Pinot Grigio wasn't that bad, perhaps this would be worth a shot.

Cherry, but mainly black pepper on the nose.

The palate is mainly cherry, a bit of blackberry, some pepper, and spice and a nice zing of acid. If this is not the lightest bodied Merlot we've had, it's certainly up there – it's almost more of a Pinot Noir body.

There's really not much in the finish other than lingering tannin and just a bit of cherry.

Ditka's wines are shockingly good, no offense to da coach. This is a solid, smooth wine – nothing complicated, but for $9 it works well.

2001 Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico

While we've had plenty of lower end Chianti, I don't remember ever even trying a higher end one. I was poking around our local Costco and noticed this one for just under $30 so I jumped on it since it has received strong reviews.

Earth and oak on the nose, a bit of cherry, some plum, and a lot of that Italian funk.

A bit of strawberry, some nice smooth tannin, a whole lot of earth and funk, some anise, some oak, some smoke, and a hint of dried black fruit – prune or raisin, a bit of barbecue sauce, and some cherry – tart and dried – as well.

This wine has a finish and a half. It starts with strawberry, fades with some tobacco, and oak notes linger for well over a minute.

An excellent wine and one I'd recommend to fans of Chianti. We like the cheaper stuff so this splurge was a nice change of pace – a bigger, denser, and deeper change of pace that I very much enjoyed but certainly wouldn't want to just randomly crack open. If you're having a special Italian dinner, skip the Gabbiano and grab something like this.

2006 Menage a Trois Rose

It's hot and sticky which means I grabbed a rose. We've had this one for a while and I think I paid around $9.

A bit of strawberry and a touch of cinnamon on the nose.

The palate is actually a bit spicy...actually a slight bit of tannin, cinnamon, some raspberry and cherry. At best this is off dry, definitely not sweet.

The finish actually lingers longer than I'd expect and yes, it's all berries and spice. I just looked at the label and this is a blend of Merlot, Syrah, and Gewurztraminer – the spice is not shocking at all now that I read that.

In a word – spicy. In another word – strange. Not bad at all, if you know roses I'd suggest picking up a bottle, it's certainly unique and quite enjoyable. If you're new to roses – and you're afraid they're all like White Zinfandel, this will smash that stereotype.

N/V Candoni Moscato d'Italia Terre di Chieti

Fran was reading a wine book – I forget which, but some sort of “beginner's guide” of sorts – and in it, the author mentioned that as a very broad rule the more subtle the wine label the more expensive the wine. I present you with this Moscato from Italy that I picked up for $6 on a whim.

A bit of orange on the nose and not much else.

Citrus notes on the palate – orange, grapefruit, some tangerine perhaps. This one has a little bit of fizz that gives it a nice extra dimension. At only 6.5% alcohol, one can indulge in this one.

Not much finish except for some lingering honey-tinged sweetness and maybe, you guessed it, some citrus notes.

For $6, you really can't go wrong. It's a simple, quaffable wine that I can't argue with...great by itself on a hot day, with dessert, or even with spicy food.

2005 Fetzer Valley Oaks Merlot

We recently went to a wine fest and Fetzer had a booth promoting all the environmentally friendly aspects of the winery – using biodiesel, solar power, etc. Being a fan of that sort of thing – and a fan of Fetzer's Gewurz – I felt persuaded to pick up some other varietals and see how they hold up.

The palate has a bit of spice and a whole lot of berry and plum. With only mild tannins, a tiny hint of oak, and a bit of sweetness, I'd be tempted to call it a fruit bomb.

No real finish except for raspberry and perhaps a hint of a chocolate and spice – dare I say, mole?

I paid $6 for this and I pretty much got what I expected – a thoroughly drinkable red that's a bit too sweet on its own, but set me up with a bottle of this and a slice of pizza and I'll be content.

2005 Coppola Sofia Carneros Pinot Noir Rose

We were having some Indian takeout on a nice summer day and I figured I'd grab a bottle of rose. I stopped by a local shop who had very little in terms of rose, so I was stuck with this one for about $9.


Perhaps a bit of earth on the nose.

I get some strawberry, some earth, just a bit of tannin but certainly still smooth. Fruity, but not sweet at all.

Not much finish really.

As with just about all the Coppola wines I've had, it's certainly not bad, a decent wine for the price, but by no means groundbreaking.

2006 Marco Real Garnacha Rose

I dropped by the local wine shop as I had a hankering for a rose. This one came strongly recommended and was about $12.

A bit of strawberry on the nose.

The palate is a nice blend of strawberry, bing cherry, and just a slightest hint of cinnamon....a nice bit of acid and a touch of sweetness make this nicely balanced.

The finish has a nice spicy zing to it.

I’d put this on the list of my top three favorite roses....strongly recommended.

1996 Lynfred Winery Cabernet Sauvignon

I was browsing a department store and found this labeled $11 - I knew from visiting the winery that this bottle sells for far more at the winery itself - $40 in fact. The capsule felt good so I grabbed it.

Deep plum, ripe black fruit, and oak on the nose.

Mild, smooth tannins, deep black fruit - ultraripe blackberry, plum - actually, prune - dark chocolate, cassis, and a bit of tobacco on the palate. Complex and deep - impressive to say the least, especially coming from Illinois.

The finish has a bit of prune and tobacco.

I gotta say, if I found this again for $11, I'd buy a bunch of it, but if I had $40 to burn I would look elsewhere.

2005 Argyle Pinot Noir

I picked this up for $17 at a local wine shop as I seem to recall reading good things about this producer.

Spice and earth on the nose, not much fruit.

A slight burn, a bit of earth, funk, anise, cherry, and chocolate.

The chocolate is a bit more pronounced on the finish but disappears quickly.

Perfectly acceptable though I can't help but think it's not really worth the pricetag...perhaps if I found it on sale for under $15.

2004 Januik Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley

We had this one at a tasting a while back and I was so impressed by it I picked up a bottle at $25.

Vanilla on the nose.

Vanilla, oak, tobacco, cherry, and blackberry on the palate with medium tannins.

The finish lingers with some fruit - I’m thinking prune mainly - and fades gently away to tobacco.

Not bad at all, it’s a strong wine and one that I’d recommend even at the price.