2005 Rolf Binder/Veritas Shiraz Hales

Type Red
Producer Rolf Binder/Veritas
Variety Shiraz
Designation n/a
Vineyard Hales
Country Australia
Region South Australia
SubRegion Barossa
Appellation Barossa Valley
Price $17.49



It's a screw top. No, it's a hat. The Wooden Guys are having fun starring in movies. We're all going to try it, then we'll get back to you.

Night One

This has huge fruit on the nose. There is no question this comes from a hot climate and the grapes were allowed to fully ripen and then some. It is saved from being a "fruit bomb" by the addition of a little Mouvedre and Grenache, adding some citrus peel and spice. Fruits on the palate are dark and jammy. The palate also has dried orange peel, pepper, and a grain or two of cayenne, not the flavor, just the kick. It takes a complete turn on the mid-palate, throwing out cocoa and coffee, even as the fruit and pepper linger. The finish is long and really lingers, particularly the dried citrus peel. Tannins are smooth, acids a tad stronger and just slightly out of balance. That might calm down on Night Two.





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2005 Rolf Binder/Veritas Heinrich

Type: Red
Producer: Rolf Binder/Veritas
Variety: Red Rhone Blend (Shiraz 55%, Mataro 30%, Grenache 15%)
Designation: Heinrich
Country: Australia
Region: South Australia
SubRegion: Barossa
Appellation: Barossa Valley



The Little Wooden Guy is disappointed, particularly after how well other Rolf Binder wines have performed here at 2 Days per Bottle.

Night One

The nose is earthy and fruity. The very first impression is loam, but it last only a fraction of a second before it is replaced by fruit. The fruit then shows some changes of its own, starting dark and thick, mulberry, elderberry, then thins to simpler cherry and blueberry.

On the palate, some black cherry, but the vanilla is overwhelming. I fear somebody took a small bottle of wine and tried to shove an entire oak tree into it.

Night Two

The earthiness is gone on Night Two. What is left on the nose is simple dark fruit and alcohol. Mixed dark and red fruits, elderberry, cranberry, and some black cherry make up the palate, unsweetened slightly bitter cranberry radiating out above the rest toward the finish. There is also a hint of orange peel, but not much. Vanilla and cedar are too prominent, but not as much as on Night One. There is also a bit of black pepper.

This is more of a mish-mash than a success. Other Rolf Binder wines have been terrific successes with good QPRs. Stick with them, and skip this one.

2005 Rolf Binder/Veritas Halliwell

Type Red
Producer Rolf Binder/Veritas
Variety 60% Shiraz 40% Grenache
Designation Halliwell
Country Australia
Region South Australia
SubRegion Barossa
Appellation Barossa Valley
Price $19.49



The Little Wooden Guy signals "TOUCHDOWN!" This is startlingly good stuff for the dollar. Heck, it's just good stuff.

Night One

The color is very dark, turning to purple-tinged scarlet at the edges.

The nose starts with a bit of barnyard must and earthiness, probably from the grenache. It also has plenty of fruit, starting with creamy blueberries, plus the dusty, fruity smell of a bag of dried strawberries. There is also a touch of fennel.

The palate is deep and rich, with a very smooth full mouth feel. Blueberries and blackberries in cream, plus a hint of licorice, open the attack. Some tart red fruit shows up on the mid-palate. Toward the finish, add vanilla and pepper. The finish is long. This is very nice, well balanced with fruit and sweet silky tannins.

Night Two

The nose of Night Two is still fruity, but darker than on Night One, adding blackberries and elderberries to the creamy blueberries. The pepper shows up earlier on Night Two, on the attack rather than toward the finish. The fennel is still there.

The attack is very prickly peppery plus loads of black fruit, especially blackberry and elderberry. Vanilla, ample and espresso glow on the mid-palate. Tannins are very smooth and sweet. Finish is long.

This is very good. When you factor in a price under $20, it is terrific. Grenache tempers the jammy fruitiness of Barossa Valley shiraz.

Peter Lehman Clancy's 2004

43% Shiraz
42% Cabernet Sauvignon
15% Merlot
14.5% alcohol
Barossa, Australia

Have you met the Big Wooden Guy yet? You can probably tell from the picture what he thought of this one.

From the bottlenotes:

Among the world's great wine drinking experiences. Clancy's has established itself as Australia's Legendary Red. A blend of Barossa Shiraz 43%, Cabernet Suavignon 42% and Merlot 15%. Clancy's provides consistent enjoyment with its rich flavours and smooth finish. The stuff of Legends!

First Night

This is a fruity wine. Black fruit is dominant, plums and currants, plus some black pepper and a little tobacco. Cherries from the Merlot were more obvious on the palate, where they joined the black fruit, though the plums and currants were still dominant. Tannins were very soft, as if the Merlot were the primary fruit rather than shiraz and cab. Tobacco and white pepper showed up on the midpalate.

Second Night

The alcohol is a lot more obvious on the nose the second night. I am really having to fight through a hot nose to find fruit. The fruit smells a bit sharper, blackberries instead of plums, to go with the currants. The black pepper is still there. After an hour or so the nose shows some sweetness in the form of maple/brown sugar at the very end.

This has changed completely since Night One. It is more full, rich, thick, and even sweet. The plums and currants are there at first, but black cherries come on strong on the midpalate. Those are followed by a mouthful of brown sugar, cloying and too sweet. The sugars ruin the finish. They leave an aftertaste of brown sugar instead of fruit. Tannins are very soft, so soft the wine lacks backbone. This was not a terribly impressive effort, and not one I could recommend.

Groom Shiraz 2004

Barossa Valley, South Australia
$34.98 in Indianapolis
13.03% alcohol
Maturation: 15 months, 100% American oak hogsheads
(25% new, 60% 1-year old, 15% 2-year old)

The little guy in the picture just loved this wine.

From the winemaker:

Overall, the 2004 vintage in Australia proved to be quite a challenge for winemakers and viticulturists. A roller-coaster ride, in fact. After the drought conditions of 2003 the high winter rainfall that followed was most welcome. We were off to a great start, and our hopes soared. In contrast, December, mid-season for vine growth, was the hottest we had seen in 10 years. January brought mild, windy weather but was followed by searing heat in February. Thankfully toward the end of the month the heat wave broke, and the rest of the vintage saw cool, sunny days that allowed the fruit to ripen slowly under much more gentle conditions. Harvest itself was late, well into April.

The 2004 Shiraz typifies our desire to allow the vineyard and the climatic conditions of the year to be expressed in the resultant wine. This wine is deep and rich in color, interestingly exhibiting characters of white and black peppercorn, classic characteristics of Shiraz grown in cooler climates. This is representative, along with slightly lower p/h and alcohol content, of the mild, cool finish to the season. The wine is earthy with plum undertones and has beautiful, natural acidity evident on the finish. This is a delicious food friendly wine that will age for many years. Enjoy!

FIRST NIGHT

The color was deep garnet. The nose gave up dark cherries and plums, pepper and nutmeg. It was wonderfully promising, offering a suggestion of a well-balanced wine. it kept that promise, too, opening with cherries, plums, vanilla and white pepper, then caramel and blackberry. It was fruity, but a strong backbone of smooth tannins and good acidity gave it great balance.

SECOND NIGHT

I did not put the bottle back in the cellar between night one and night two, so the second night was tasted at room temperature. The nose on night two was plums and raspberries. The palate opened with blueberry, plums and vanilla, with a midpalate of black fruit and a bit of oak. Tannins were even softer than the night before, even silky, and the backbone was still firm enough to balance the sweetness.

This wine was not cheap, at $34 a bottle, but I would put this up against any $50-$75 big name Australian shiraz, and have another bottle left to drink later. Maybe the key was a mere 25% new oak, rather than the 100% new oak of the big blowsy fruit bombs floating over from the land down under these days.

Yalumba Shiraz & Viognier 2004

Barossa, South Australia
95% Shiraz, 5% Viognier

This is a blend I usually like, but this one was too sweet. The second night showed big improvement, but still not something I would run out and buy again.

FIRST NIGHT

The first aromas out of the glass were brown sugar and maple. Several minutes later some red berries showed up and, curiously, a bit of cucumber. The palate started with black fruit and plum skins, then the brown sugar and vanilla took over in an overly-sweet midpalate. The finish was short and too much like a Sweet Tart for my personal tastes.

SECOND NIGHT

The nose was better balanced on night two, showing cherry and vanilla, but not overpoweringly sweet. Strawberry and black cherry were up front on the palate, vanilla and pepper joined on the midpalate. That was the first hint of spice, or balance. The finish was mid-length with obvious alcohol. It was far better than the first night, so if you have some of this hang on to it for a while or decant it. But, unless you like big sweet vanilla fruit, don't run out now to get your wine store's last bottle.

Shotfire Ridge Barossa Cuvee 2004

Thorne-Clarke
Australia, Barossa Valley
Cab. Sauv., Cab. Franc, Petite Verdot, Malbec, and Merlot
13.9% alcohol
$29.99

From the maker:

The colour is a deep inky purple. There is an intense lifted perfume nose of great complexity. The predominant aromas are of berry and liquorice fruit support by spicy French oak. The palate is full bodied and complex due to the five varieties used in the blend. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc provide wonderful upfront berry fruits, the Malbec and Petit Verdot provide great depth of flavour and intensity, while the Merlot gives the palate a wonderful suppleness. The grainy tannins add to the rich mouthfeel of the wine. There is awesome length to this wine with the berry fruit and spicy oak lingering.

I have rarely been as underwhelmed by a wine as I was by this one, ON THE FIRST NIGHT (read on for a great second-night surprise). It was not BAD, it just utterly, completely, and perfectly failed to be good. Sure, there were blackberries and vanilla, plus a hint of pepper on the nose, but that was it. Well, not exactly "it," because I forgot to mention the alcohol. Even after an hour in the glass this smelled hot. At this price point from Australia, $22 (and marked down from $29!), I expect a second layer, something more than generic fruit.

The palate was equally disappointing - blackberry, a bit of blueberry, some pepper, then, well, nothing, nada, squat. Midpalate? What midpalate? This just sat there, doing nothing, like a rock in front of the lawn mower. You're surprised it's there, you hope it will move, but it won't. Eventually, you have to mow around it or go pick it up. This wine was like that. Swish it around, breathe in some air, move it around your tongue, nothing. Eventually, all you can do is spit or swallow (why, oh why, does that have to sound so dirty?) and move on.

Mind you, I did say this wasn't BAD. It was not overoaked, too fruity, too tannic, or anything obviously bad. It just completely failed to be good.

Maybe it will be better the second night. Come back and we'll find out together.

Second night, and the first impression on the nose is still alcohol. The nose is more complex the second night. Sure, the blackberries are still there, but so is some olive, some pepper, and cherry.

The palate is far better, too. There is black and red fruit, blackberries and cherries. Chocolate follows, and mocha lingers. This is a far better wine on night two. It has dusty tannins and a medium length finish.

Wow! This wine has absolutely turned itself entirely around overnight. What does this mean? Maybe it just needs a boatload of decanting, but I suspect it needed several more years in the cellar to do it justice. This is a good wine now, one that deserves some time to mature. It is also fascinating how much it changed over a single night, even though it was well-sealed the whole time. The initial shot of air, plus some time to process it, made this wine grow up in a hurry. I wonder how it would have been if it had been able to mature slowly in the bottle.