A short note on this one. A pleasant nose, cherried fruits and spice, but the palate, despite having dark cherry fruits with plums and some lovely spices, is too hot, with the alcohol slicing through the palate and wrecking the balance. Think Darth Vader, a light sabre and Luke Skywalker. A tough wine to drink. $20ish. 15.0% abv, but tastes like more. Drink now. 82-84 points.

Had a glass of this last night with some brie, and it was then into the fridge. Today it is out on the stage again, and I cannot believe I’m saying this, but this one is a real glass stainer. An inky purple red in colour. A youthful nose; yeasty red fruits, vanilla, red cherries and black cherries, interlaced with warm summery spices and a bit of earth and minerals. Good length. Quite acid dominant really. Dusty dry tannins and dried mushrooms on the finish. Very similar flavour profile to the GSZ I tasted recently. Sealed under screwcap. $32 from the cellar door. 14.7% abv. 91 points.

A GZSS blend. Incidentally, I had 4.1L Ford GZSS in the 80s. Two dual throat Webers and it used to go like a rocket. Anyway, the wine: 51% Grenache, 24% Zinfandel, 14% Shiraz and 11% Souzao from their Draycott and Olive Hill vineyards. Prominent Szechuan pepper and ripe fruits on the nose. The palate is a bit syrupy, red currant jelly, plums, peppery spices, and thumpingly strong. But it is balanced; no raisins or overripe characters. Just everything turned up to 11. 15.5% abv. Sealed under screwcap. My heart says ‘yes’, my mouth says ‘yes’, but my liver has abstained.

Fresh off the truck, or at least, fresh from the Post Office. Two bottles tried, with very similar results. Oh, I don’t know about the breakdown of Grenache, Mataro and Shiraz; it’s not on the back label, but might be on the Rockford website. Firstly, I love the nose: gorgeous florals and spices, nothing sweet or confected, finely detailed. There is also freshness and zest on the palate, cherry and spiced strawberry fruits, light but structured. I like this one. The alcohol shows a bit, but I think I am being picky. 14.5% abv. $24 from the cellar door. Drink 2012-2017+. 90 points.

I’ve been reading Campbell Mattinson’s “Why The French Hate Us”, a potted collection of thoughts and musing on the subject of wine, and one thing I have taken from the book is that I should really take more interest in where my wine comes from and who is making it. To this end, I will in the future eschew stores such as Dans and the producers who generate wine in large volumes (from farms of stainless steel). Which is a long-winded introduction to this wine. A dry ground Grenache and a museum release from a small producer in the Barossa Valley.

Subtitled as a “Dry Grown Grenache”. Stood upright and decanted for an hour, as per the winemaker’s recommendations. A nose showing soft spices, nougat, caramel, cream and earth. The palate is soft too, in the raspberry and wood spices spectrum, good length, but a bit alcoholic on the finish. Full flavoured but not heavy, nor slippery. Says 15%, but I’ve had worse. Certainly not running out of oomph. Leave longer I reckon if you’re so inclined, though I am a little bit concerned by the alcohol. Was about $27 for the bottle in the museum dozen that contained three other wines also from the 2005 vintage. Drink now-2015+. 88-90 points.

1st night: straight off the bat, in a word, “yuck”. Burnt coconut oak, and red fruits running a distant 5th on the nose. The palate is thin and acidic, with char and a coconut essence through the mid-palate. Where is the fruit? I think I’ve tried this before and I cannot remember it being this bad. In the fridge; tomorrow awaits.

2nd night: well the ugly duckling is a beautiful swan; I am amazed. All the coconut has gone “stage left”, and the fruit has come to the fore. A touch of leaf from the Cabernet and plummy fruits from the Shiraz; the classic Australian blend is a winner again. Drink 2015+. 91 points. Was around the $35 mark from memory.

A Barossa producer I don’t know much about. This wine is a GSZ. Sounds like a car; a Toyota GSZ? A blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Zinfandel, and though I am not sure of the exact relative proportions, I believe it only has 6% Zinfandel. Nice aromatics, ripe fruits like cherries and plums, with summery spices, mixed spice and cinnamon; nothing too exotic – maybe a touch of Szechuan. A fruity palate too, again with fresh spices, some sweetness and good length, and raspberry acidity. Very tidy, and a very gluggable. About $32 from the cellar door. 89 points. 14.6% abv. Drink now-2015.

How could I resist? Though I am not listening to AC/DC as per the serving suggestion on the back label; something a bit more sedate for me I think. Produced by Warburn Estate in the Riverina district, apparently from Barossa fruit. Plums with some cedar and spice. A cheap and abrasive palate, thinly fruited and hollow. A vinegary acidic finish. Okay for drunken guests at 11pm, but tough going otherwise. 13.5% abv, sealed under screwcap. $15 from Dan Murphys, which is about $10 too much. 80 points.

I had 2008 version of this wine recently, and I think this is a better wine. Still quite sweetly fruited, but nothing green or bitter like that other wine. This one is lush and plump and juicy. Oozing it in fact. A blend of 55% Shiraz, 35% grenache and 10% Mourvédre. Palate is as big fruited as the nose suggests, dark plum, black cherry and five spice, and a Szechuan lift. Nicely balanced, not especially complicated at the moment, but it is hard to stop drinking it. Sealed under screwcap. Under $20 at Dans at the moment I think, and I’m happy to have a six pack in the cellar. 14.5% abv. Drink 2013-2019. 88 points.

Next cab off the rank is a Pyramid Valley Pinot Noir….

I have had a tough time wrestling some enjoyment out of a Cabernet based wine (review below), so was expecting a lot from this wine. A blend of 69% Grenache, 16% Mataro and 15% Syrah. Raspberry confection on the nose, with spices and a sulfury reductive character. The palate is fruity and zestful, some yeast and jubilant fruit, raspberries and cherries, and ginger notes, with sour cherries on the finish. Difficult to assess because of its youth, and lightness of the palate is surprising given it is primarily from the Barossa Valley (with 15% Eden Valley Shiraz). $40 is the RRP. 13.6% abv. Drink 2014+. 89+ points.