More Aussie Red

We tried another sparkling red that I ordered from Drinks Direct the other night. This was the 2007 vintage Black Queen sparkling shiraz from Peter Lehmann. My husband liked this more than I did, as to me it smelled and tasted like raisins, which instantly ruins a wine for me. My husband thought it had 'port-like' flavours (yes, raisin-y port!). At any rate, it was nowhere near as good as the Turkey Flat we had just previously drunk, I would recommend that over this wine.

This Was No Turkey

I love it when a wine exceeds my expectations. I had ordered a mixed case of wine from Drinks Direct, which included several sparkling red wines. Good sparkling reds are fantastic, but bad ones are really horrible. They're kind of a niche drinking market, so there's not that much information out there about them and it can be a bit hit or miss. But I took a chance and ordered several that I hadn't seen before. We tried the first one last night - and it was wonderful!!

This was a sparkling shiraz from Turkey Flat Vineyards. It had loads of fizz when we poured it and smelled of plums, ripe cherries, and a touch of chocolate. My mouth was watering, hoping it would taste as good as it smelled. It tasted of cherries, with a bit of prune finish - and it was completely desert-dry, not a touch of sweetness to it. What a relief, and what a pleasure to drink.

Funnily enough, I had spotted the still shiraz from the same vineyard at a shop and bought it thinking it would be interesting to compare the still to the sparkling wine. I'm really looking forward to trying the still wine now...and to ordering more of the sparkling!! This is one I'll enjoy all summer with grilled steaks, the perfect accompaniment to a BBQ.

While the Cat's Away...

My husband was in Paris for the last few days. When he goes away, I like to treat myself to something different, cheap, and sparkling - something I can pop open, have a glass with dinner, and leave in the fridge to try again another night - a bit of a guilty pleasure.

This time around, I bought a sparkling shiraz rose from McGuigan vineyards in Australia. It was around £9 for the bottle, and it's supposed to be 'perfect for savoury canapes'. Over the last few days, I've had it with pizza, vegetarian curry, and Chinese dumplings. While the wine did stand up to the food, I have to say, it's not one of my favourites.

It does have a lovely, fruity, ripe red berry start. But that's the best of it. It's a sparkling wine the way San Pellegrino is a sparkling water - you can feel a bit of fizz on your tongue, but that's it by way of bubbles. And that lovely fruitiness at the start? Turns into a very sour cherry on the finish.

That said, it's a very alcoholic sparkler - 13%. I hadn't noticed it when I purchased the wine, but checked the bottle after dozing off after my first glass!! Good thing my husband wasn't around to hear me snoring...