Review and Rating: ***+ $$$ Thorpe Wines Reserve Shiraz, 2004, McLaren Vale, Australia

Review: The Thorpe Wines Reserve Shiraz, 2004, was part of the first vintage of wines produced by Nicole Thorpe from a 12-acre shiraz plot in McLaren Vale, primarily with the use of organic farming techniques. I've heard some good things about the line. I tried the entry-level Nymph cabernet sauvignon (from a mere 5 acre plot), but the reserve shiraz has a much stronger reputation, despite its small production.

In the glass, the reserve shiraz is completely opaque. You see hints of purple and burgundy just at the very edges. Deep, potent aromas blast from the glass, complex black cherry plus eggshell plus sleek oak.

On the palate, there is an acidic, tannic attack of fragrant violets, furthered by lightly sweet fruit around your mouth. A bit of cigar tobacco. Then the tannins come back for a second attack. Then the tannins attack for a final assault! Whoa. Needs some time, for sure. But real promise for the years ahead.

Good intensity. Alcohol is 14.0%, but this can work with food because of its bright acidity. Gonna let this decant for a day and see what's up. Three stars out of five now, with a plus for its juvenile strength.

Review and Rating: *** $$ Cigale Shiraz, 2004, Barossa Valley, Australia

Review: The Cigale Shiraz 2004 is rumored to be the shiraz component of the Parker 94-point, $50 Spinifex Shiraz/Viognier, though available at a much lower price point.

In the glass, it is a deep berry, muddy red. Aromas are quite berry-esque as well, reminiscent of creamy raspberries.


On the palate, the sensation is first of a fruity, full, sweet, berry-laden middle, moving to the sides of your mouth with an enveloping, thick, sweet-berry coating. Light tannins on the modest finish. This is almost reminiscent of California zin-based meritages, with spicy, sweet, raspberry components.

Three stars out of five.

Review and Rating: **** $ Turner & Cole Riesling Eden Valley, 2005, Australia

Review: The Turner & Cole Riesling Eden Valley, 2005, is a dry Australian riesling. In the glass, it is very light golden in color. Aromas are glinty, steely and bold. All minerals, no fruit in the nose. Very intriguing.

On the palate, you actually first get a chalky fruit up front, backed by the lingering minerality. A nice pucker in the upper palate. You don't even notice the acids, just recognize they are there. This is a very compelling riesling at a "practically free" price. Crazy, outstanding value, and four stars out of five. I would stay with it as my white wine for an evening, and I would also let it sit for a few years and see what it delivers then.

According to the retailer, "Dry riesling is an extremely popular category in Australia (though sadly not here), and at its finest, is probably Australia's greatest dry white wine. This is such a dry Australian riesling. Indeed, the viticulturist and winemaker who selected this for us (from Australia's greatest mid-sized winery) said it was the finest Australian riesling she had ever tasted. And I can believe it. The winery says 2005 "is sure to be ranked as one of the best riesling vintages on record" - and they've been making it (to great acclaim) since the 1950s! They describe it as "rich, minerally, crisp and zesty with a good structure, depth and length" and "sweet and floral aromas of nectarine, white currant, citrus blossom and lime zest, complexed with hints of gooseberry and white peach." There's both richness and texture here, as well as incredible precision and cut - as you might expect from a wine with a pH of 2.89! Like all of the best Australian dry Rieslings, it's one of the world's most versatile wines with food - yet is also quite satisfying (and endlessly faceted) on its own."

Review and Rating: ***+ $ Thorpe 2004 Nymph Cabernet Sauvignon, McLaren Vale, Australia

Review: The Thorpe 2004 Nymph Cabernet Sauvignon is an incredibly inexpensive red from well-regarded McLaren Vale in Australia. The bottle itself is brilliant and beautiful.

In the glass, this is deep, ruby/burgundy red - almost opaque in the middle. Inky like Welch's red grape juice. Aroma right from the bottle is that red, rubber balloon smell - that kind of funkiness usually blows off after awhile. A bit of red currant behind it.

On the palate, a rich profusion of upfront flavors - deep, dark violets bouncing in a friendly way on your tongue. Touch of acid, touch of sugar, touch of tannin. Friendly balance. Not heavily layered. Could age awhile. Three stars out of five. Excellent value.

According to the retailer, "From prime, low-yield McLaren Vale fruit, in the more moderate, ocean-influenced part of the valley, they're dark, lush, very rich and mouth-filling, but just perfectly balanced, velvety-smooth, wonderful wines."

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After a full day of decanting, the funkiness blew off, and the balance of the wine really came together. Adding a plus to the three stars for that balance.

Review and Rating: ***+ $$ Gary Vaynerchuk's 101 Wines Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight and Bring Thunder to your World, 2008, New Jersey

Review:
My biggest problem with Gary Vaynerchuk's new book, "101 Wines Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight and Bring Thunder to your World", is illustrated in the matchup below:


Vaynerchuk's "101 Wines" fails to make a single reference to my favorite line of wines: Mollydooker! Above you can see that Mollydooker's 2005 The Boxer is about to give Gary a well-deserved uppercut.

All that said, "101 Wines", is, first and foremost, a delightful read. Bringing a Gen X'ers language and attitude to the quaintly-rigid pursuit of winetasting, Vaynerchuk provides a real service.

Where else could you find this kind of description of a Languedoc red wine: "Remember that classic SNL skit about the Bass-o-matic? This wine is the Buffal-o-matic, like gamy buffalo meat in a blender, along with some stunning fruit that is interesting and structured."

This quote represents both the good news and the bad news of this book. If you are not tuned to Gen-X experiences and language, the book will be a real challenge. (ie, if you have not watched several seasons of SNL, or, heaven forbid, don't know what SNL means!). And, be forewarned, this generation-appropriate language can be quite harsh - complete with expletives that many of us would have been loath to express in front of our parents. But if you are tuned to this era, the book will open you to the world of wines in a way no other printed matter can.

Now, here are some things this book is NOT: 1) a guide to modestly-priced value wines (in my quick assessment, the median-level price of wines mentioned in the book is somewhere around $30 US a bottle - half of the wines above $30, half below); 2) a book that will give you a complete understanding of the world of wine (it gives you great insights based around the specific examples used - sort of like getting an understanding of Paris from the snapshots and videos taken by your neighbor); 3) a book with a great deal of shelf life (the wine descriptions are quite specific to their vintages); 4) a wine shopping list (availability is spotty - in many cases, there are only a few hundred or fewer cases imported. In a quick sampling, less than half of the wines I queried were available from Vaynerchuk's own Winelibrary.com site.)

But, with all these caveats, this is a fun book - one that makes you hunger to expand your repertoire of wines, and rush to try a bottle of Hungarian Tokaji or Argentinian Torrontes. Consider the geographic and style varieties in Vaynerchuk's top 10 wines:
1) A French Sauterne (Doisy-Vedrines, 2005, $39)
2) A Bordeaux Red (Cos d'Estournel, 2005, $250)
3) A Chilean Sauvignon Blanc (Felipe Edwards, 2007, $14)
4) An Israeli Red Blend (Tishbi, 2004, $60)
5) An Italian Fruili White Blend (Radikon, 2002, $43)
6) A Lebanese Red Blend (Wardy, 2006, $80)
7) A French Loire Valley Chenin Blanc (de Rycke, 2005, $23)
8) A Brut Champagne (Bedel, NV, $70)
9) A Sonoma Old Vine Zinfandel (Bucklin, 2005, $35)
10) A Washington State Cabernet (Boudreaux Cellars, 2004, $40)

Using the Spirit of Wine rating scheme, Gary Vaynerchuk's "101 Wines" gets three stars out of five (because I would return to the guide again, but not stick with it exclusively), with a plus for pleasant readability. It is a decent value because at a discounted $13, the paperback book is very modestly priced.