२००२ Chateau Reynella Grenache, McLaren Vale, Australia

This was a wine that I stood in the wine shop holding for a few minutes doing a quick positive/negative analysis to determine if it should come home or not. It made it. In the positive category is that it is a Grenache from McLaren Vale, Australia. McLaren Vale is a pretty amazing wine region, and we reviewed the De Lisio Shiraz earlier from there and it did kick ass. Grenache is an ideal grape to grow in McLaren Vale, as most Rhone varietals are, and John Reynell is a highly respected old school Australian wine pioneer. His arrival dates back to 1838 (not sure if that was by choice or not... ) and in 1842 he released his first wine.

In the negative category is the fact that Chateau Reynella is a pretty huge winery. Almost like a wine factory. We tend toward the smaller, family run, hands-on wineries in our wine buying choices... more of the craft of wine vs. the enterprise. Another concern was the words "Basket Pressed" right on the front of the label. Now, basket pressed is not a bad thing. In fact, it is an incredibly involved traditional method of pressing the fruit that ostensibly results in superior quality juice. On its face, this would be a good thing to trumpet about any wine. In this case, I worried that it was the result of a careful marketing study conducted with a multitude of focus groups. Was I being watched at that very moment?

Well, obviously the wine came home and we opened and decanted for an hour before tasting. When we did we found a really bright and fresh smelling wine. The nose was full of concentrated raspberry and ripe strawberry, with a little wet soil. The palate delivered more raspberry along with cranberry, and earth and coffee in the finish. There were tannins, but they were in check and only added to what was really solid structure in the wine. Medium bodied, this is a great food wine and I would recommend something a little more rich to contrast well with the brightness of the fruit. This Grenache is definitely on par with the Domaine Lafage that we tasted last month, though with more focus on the fruit. My only knock would be the $10 price difference with the Lafage.

cost - $22.00

winecommando rating (1-10) - 8.25

2002 Kaesler Avignon, Barossa Valley, Australia

This wine presents another great immigrant wine story. Sadly, though, this immigrant story begins with a wayward German (that's not really sad, just my bias). No Italians make up the players in Kaesler's history, thus ruining my standing theory on all great wines coming from wineries/vineyards originally founded by Italian immigrants. But I digress.

It was a German shoemaker, Gottfried Kaesler, who arrived in South Australia in 1845 and set in motion the events that would put this wine on our table 162 years later. Gottfried landed in Australia and fulfilled his dream of becoming a farmer. He chose his land carefully, and built his farm in the Barossa Valley which would become one of Australia's preeminent wine producing areas. Back then, Gottfried and his sons were not sure which vines would survive the Australian climate, so they planted many different grape varietals as an initial trial-and-error to see which might survive, and eventually thrive.

They found that the Rhone varietals of Syrah (Shiraz in Australia) and Grenache were especially suited for the rigors of the sun and weather of the southern hemisphere. It was on these grapes, and the Southern Rhone style of winemaking, that the Kaesler family began to focus and over the years hone with each successive vintage.

This wine is named "Avignon" because it is a blend that matches that from Chateauneuf-du-Pape in Southern France, Avignon being the cultural capital of Provence. The blend is what is affectionately referred to as "GSM," an acronym for Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. In this wine it is 58%G, 31%S and 9%M. It is also blended with 2% Viognier, so I guess that makes this one a GSMV.

We decanted this wine for two hours before tasting, and it was good thing we did. When we tasted we could tell that the wine was still in the process of opening up. It was massive. We let it sit while we made dinner and when we came back to it we both exclaimed out loud that it kicked ass. The nose is amazing. We smelled toffee and vanilla, rich roasted vegetables, and something akin to the smell of baking bread. This wine had us, before we even tasted. The palate was full of cherry, more toffee but with a slight burnt edge to it... almost like the burnt sugar on top of a creme-brule. There was a consistent earthy, vegetal quality behind everything that carried through to the finish. This wine was not so much elegant as it was just really damn interesting. And delicious. We would classify it as heavier bodied, but balanced with a long finish. It is a FANTASTIC food wine (at less than half the price of good Chateauneuf-du-Pape) and I could see pairing it with anything from a great piece of beef seared on the grill to hearty stews. It made me crave rustic food with lots of herbs. I would love to have this wine with cassoulet and really crusty warm bread. I'm starving.

cost - $23.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 9.25

2004 De Lisio Krystina Shiraz, McLaren Vale, Australia

Inky. Dark. Rich. Intense. That pretty much describes this wine. It knocked us over after spending months drinking mostly pinot noir, sauvignon blanc and Burgundian chardonnay. This wine came out swinging.

Shiraz in Australia is what the syrah grape is called in most of the rest of the world. The name Shiraz comes from the area of the Persian Empire where legend locates the origination of this grape. That whole area, what is northern Iran into southern Georgia, is considered by some to be the birthplace of the wine we drink today. I'm sure the Romans would like some credit as well, but they were just the messengers... right? Wrong. Genetic testing of cuttings from both areas have proven that the syrah vines of the Rhone Valley region in France were in fact native to that area and not transplanted "original" Shiraz vines. It still makes for a good story, though. Syrah cuttings from the Rhone Valley made their way to Australia during the 1830's, and became Shiraz through a number of labeling mistakes. Today, Shiraz makes up about 40% of the vineyards of Australia and in many ways has become an obsession with the Australian wine industry.

The winemaker, Tony De Lisio, is an Italian immigrant (il mio fratello!) to Australia and has been working with wine in McLaren Vale for over thirty years. He is a veteran, and a very well respected winemaker. He chooses only the best fruit for his wines, and labors over them intently.

Back to this particular wine. It is named after his wife, Krystina, and he points out that this is because of the incredible support required to be able to create such excellent wines (it says so right on the bottle). It is excellent, and quite potent. We decanted it and the color was so deep and intense that light hardly penetrated it at all. The nose was full and rich with blackberries and a notable sweetness. The palate was explosive with big berry flavors, really subtle tannin and terrific structure. I can't imagine what this wine will be like in five years or so, but it was wonderful to try it now. Normally, we do not favor wines that are so intense and often find them to be too over-the-top. Despite the intensity and massiveness, there was still a very balanced quality to this wine. It was a great surprise and a nice departure from our traditional choices. This would be a terrific wine with beef tenderloin or a rich bison preparation. I cannot wait to try more wines from Tony De Lisio. Buon lavoro!

cost - $41.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 9