Yalumba Barossa Patchwork Shiraz 2008 - $18

David: Dark purple, almost black. Nose of black currant, a little rubber, chocolate and a little violet. Full bodied. Good acidity balance. Delicious dark fruits. Raisin and blueberry with liquorish. Strong but soft tannins. Quite delightful.
Score: 4.2/5

Franck Balthazar Syrah 2009 - $18

Northern Rhone near Cornas.

David: Dark Purple. Nose of raspberry tart, iron. Raspberry fruit has decent acidity and structure. Tannins are powerful but smooth. Finishes with fruity grape. Pretty good but a little disappointing given the prestigious growing area.
Score: 3.9/5

Wolf Blass Shiraz President's Selection 2008 - $18

David: Completely opaque, black purple. Nose smells like a burning tire. A really extreme shiraz burnt nose. Full bodied. Little fruit. Like biting into a piece of black liquorish, beef jerky. Huge tannins. Some spice. Long finish. Clearly a well made wine but it is a little over the top for my tastes. A shiraz made in the extreme-shiraz way. The wine actually drank better on the second day. The nose lost the burnt tire and it became more likable.
Score: 4.1/5

Yellow Tail Shiraz Cabernet 2009 - $7

David: Medium purple in color. Nose of plum. Prominent oak aromas, vanilla. A tad much but not so bad. Fruity with a little sweetness. Classic Yellow Tail likibility and lack of complexity. Gentle tannins. As usual, a decent wine for the price.
Score: 3.8/5

Rocky Gully Shiraz Viognier 2007 - $14

95% Shiraz. 5% Viognier.

David: Medium purple in color. Nose of plum and currant, pomegranate , toasted oak and chocolate. Full bodied, medium acidity. Tasty dark red fruits on the palate. Soft tannins. Decent structure. Pretty good finish.
Score: 3.9/5

Taltarni Pyrenees Shiraz 2005 - $22

David: Dark purple in color. Nose of ripe plum, rose petal and iron-rich soil. Full bodied. Rich blueberry and raisin fruit with high acidity. Very ripe with big tannins. This might be a good wine to age. Long blueberry finish.
Score: 4.0/5

Yellow Tail Shiraz 2009 - $6

David: Yellow tail is the best selling wine in America. It is cheap, six-bucks. One would think it would not be very good (think Carlo Rossi) but I find it surprisingly good and certainly a good value at six bucks. Maybe the unwashed masses are really getting some taste for wine?

Medium dark purple red in color. Nose is cherry with a little raspberry, quite fruity with oaky vanilla. Big fruit on the palate, ripe cherry and plum. Good acidity is balanced with a little sweetness. A little bit of shiraz, smoked meatiness. The acidity picks up again on he back end and tart cherry runs into a long finish. Decent structure if not overly complex. Definitely tasty and versatile with food. It is no surprise, given the price and effective marketing why this is America's top selling wine.
Score:3.8/5

Chateau Ste. Michelle Syrah 2006 - $9

David: Purple in color. Nose, its best feature, of smoked meats, black current and earth. Full bodied and chewy, medium acidity. Good fruit. Not much for spice or tannins and finish is subdued but decent. Pretty good value but not too exciting.
Score: 3.8/5

Two Oceans Shiraz 2008 - $7

A shiraz from South Africa named after the confluence of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.

David: Color is light reddish purple. Nose of black cherry, strawberry and vanilla with dusty earth. Medium to light bodied with good acidity and copious amounts of red and black fruit. Tannins are barely noticeable but the tart fruit manages to supply sufficient structure. Finish is a bit quick but pleasant enough. Not terribly complex but for $7 this is quite a bargain.
Score: 3.9/5

Layer Cake Shiraz 2008 - $14

David: Purple in color. Nose of spice box, coffee and ripe dark fruits. Full body and rich mouthfeel. Low acidity. Ripe plums and black cherry. Firm tannins. Long chewy finish. Blackberry liquor lingers in the mouth.
Score: 4.0/5

Jessica: Delicious shiraz. Jammy full-bodied taste, long finish that saturates your mouth with dark fruits. Very ripe fruits, well balanced tannins. Hint of earthiness and graphite.
Score: 4.2/5

Marquis Philips Shiraz 2006 - $9 (half-bottle)

David: Dark garnet in color. A big nose brings a great variety of aromas including dried herbs, baking spices, earth, cedar, tar and rich dark fruits. Concentrated black cherry and black raspberry and molasses on the palate. Mild acidity and firm tannins. Ends with blueberry syrup, liquorish and spice.
Score: 3.9/5

Yalumba Shiraz Viognier 2007 - $11

David: Yalumba uses Viognier, a white grape, added to Shiraz to create this wine. Nose of ripe plum, cedar, and coffee. Plums, plums, plums on palate, ripe and rich with a hint of spice. Fine, subtle tannins layer well against the ripeness and high acidity.
Score: 3.9/5

Jessica: Blackberries flavor the wine along with graphite and spice. A mild vanilla layer included. Dark purple. Mild tannins. Instantly enjoyable sloshiness with long finish.
4.2/5

d'Arenberg - The Stump Jump Shiraz 2008 - $10

David: Garnet red. Nose of raspberries. Powerful Dark fruit, raspberries and
black currants on the palate with rich tannins and moderate spice and
moderate acidity.
Score: 3.8/5

Jessica: This wine took a little bit to open up. At first it tasted harsh and astringent. Then it opened up revealing fruits and a mild sweetness. Some spice.
4.1/5

Sterling Vintner's Collection Syrah 2007 - $9

David: Dark red tending toward purple. Nose of black currant and black cherry. Full bodied and rich. The spice and tannins come on early and strong and dominate over every other aspect. Some liquorish and blueberry as well. Not particularly well integrated or balanced. Improves a bit when opened a while; Vanilla becomes apparent on the nose and displays a bit more layering, and softness.
Score: 2.5/5

Pillar Box Red 2007 - Australia - $13

David: 65% Shiraz, 25% Cabernet, 10% Merlot. Dark garnet in color. Aroma of dark fruits, spearmint. Full bodied with jammy fruits and firm, somewhat harsh tannins though it mellows some after being opened a while. Earthy and dense. Long finish with spice and finally blueberries lingering.
Score: 3.5/5

Jessica: Liked it over time. My first taste I thought: generic, boring. But it did open up, mixing smokiness w/fruitiness. I agreed with the suggestion of a cigar-box scent and picked up strawberry fruits when I sloshed it around in my mouth. In the end, was quite earthy and berry, not bitter, but well-rounded.
Score: 4.1/5

Jip Jip Rocks Shiraz 2007 - $15

David: Black cherry and raspberry nose with some cedar. Big dark fruit hits the palette and evolves elegantly into spicier notes and firm tannins. The last bit was quite gritty. Would benefit from some decanting and possibly some further aging.
Score: 4.4/5

Jessica: A delicious mouthful of flavors. Combining sweet and spicy, succulent length and mouth-puckering satisfaction. I love the balance in this wine. The bitterness of the tannins is not overwhelming but enough to add the complexity to the mellow fruits. There was a hint of tartness here too, like a ripe plum. Loved it.
Score: 4.8/5

Jacobs's Creek Shiraz 2007 - $6

David: For $5.99 (at Jewell with preferred card), I was not expecting much and in fact the wine does not fail to live up to its $5.99 price tag. The nose indicates nice dark fruit and vanilla. So far so good. On first taste, the dark fruit comes quickly followed by some slight tannic harshness followed by a little mild pepper. All very quickly and without a lot of complexity. The wine overall is not terrible but it a little dull and flat. By the time you are at your second glass, the flavor seems to melt away and you are left with a rather thin, simple wine. Not bad for $5.99. Many wines at this price point are simply terrible. But not exactly something that makes me want to order a case. There must be much better bargain wines out there.
Score: 2.3/5

Jessica: During a rough night with the kids, this wine was perfectly drinkable and brought about desired effect. However it is true that it was much less flavor than the wines we have been adapting ourselves to. This wine was flat, a bitter taste permeates. This bitterness clashed even with the dark chocolate I ate it with. Perhaps eating it with cheese would provide more of a base to balance it out. Regardless, would not buy again.

2/5

Senorio de Barahonda Nabuko 2007 - Spanish Red Blend - $15

David:
Nabuko is of equal parts Monastrell and Syrah grapes. This red Spanish wine is a deep ruby red in color. The taste starts with powerful tart fruit, blueberries, plums, and has a long ending, leaving some spice tastes in the mouth. This paired well with pan seared rib eye and grilled vegetables.
Score: 4.4/5

Jessica:

We had this with steak and manchego cheese. It was delightful. A dark red that sat well against the fatty steak. Would go well with dark chocolate. Agree with above.
4/5