Tonight's Wine:
RED HEADS STUDIO BARREL MONKEYS 2005 SHIRAZ
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J: Lots of scents flying around in the glass. All berry fruits. We carried this wine last year and the year before--but not this vintage. We haven't had it in since we sold out of the previous vintage.
K: Toast and jam! Actual toast scents. But you can't go wrong with a wine that states clearly on the label, and I quote, "WHY THE BARREL MONKEY IS A SEXUAL MISFIT." Barrel Monkey being, of course, a lakey who works in a winery.
J: Ohhhh, I think we know a few of those who are both. This wine is definately earthy, woody, mossy...
K: My nose could be completely off at the moment--allergies--but I get a slight, fresh crisp scent here. Like when you break a stalk of celery in half.
J: This wine is completely opaque. There's a larger meniscus on this than most other wines.
K: It does. A big raspberry-colored ring around the surface of the wine.
FIRST SIP
J: Okay, my first sip gave me spicy fruit. But the subsequent swallow showed no spice at all. Maybe it's because I haven't had wine in a week.
K: Some online reviews of this wine talked about dryness. I don't find there to be ANY dryness whatsoever. There's a kiss of tannin at the finish, but it's almost indescernable. I think there's a ridiculous amount of black fruit--black plum, blackberry, black cherry--and a tiny bit of black licorice. But more like the RJ's organic black licorice we have, which is more molasses-like.
J: Like real black licorice, not Twizzlers.
K: It's a very simple wine, don't you think?
J: Yeah. Complex, no. Delicious, yes.
K: What's the term Matt loves to abuse? Fruit bomb?
J: Exactly.
K: It's just so good. Now that i've had more of it, the tannin is building at the finish. It still doesn't overwhelm. Actually, it makes the finish longer.
J: This would be a good wine for someone making the jump from white wines to red. Everyone is terrified of "dry" wines--the belief that if something isn't sweet, it's dry.
K: Oh yeah! This would be a great transition wine! I don't want to use the word approchable, because it's overused.
J: This shiraz is $18.50, has a 16.0 ABV-
K: Jeez. Might as well be port.
J: Anyway, it's not as huge as some huge fruit wines--zinfandel and cab drinkers would be amiable to this.
K: And it would be good with anything grilled. Or salami. The pepperoni and panetini we were eating brings a little spice to the wine.
J: But definately not that Jarlsberg! No swiss cheese with this. Kills the flavor.
K: We are the masters of finding food that DOESN'T go with our wine.
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That's this week's submission! Drop in and see us sometime soon. Or just come by Beerfest on Saturday, May 16th--our biggest event of the year. Live music, food, 75+ beers, and mass amounts of merriment.
