Vino Keeno, The Grapevine for the Recreational Wino

Tait The Ball Buster 2005
$15

Wine Label says:
G’day Mates,
I don’t know what aromas and flavors you’ll find when you try this wine – wine appreciation is so subjective and often too pretentious for my liking. I make my wines the way i like them – big, thick, juicy an deep in color. I wanted to name this wine “Michelle’s Block” – after my wife. But that conjures up visions of a soft and elegant sort of wine – and trust me mates, this little beauty is nothing like that. She’s broad shouldered, built like a stallion and she packs an intensity of flavor – like only the Barossa can deliver. She’s what I call “The Ball Buster” mate…and so is this wine! Enjoy it – Cheers! Bruno Tait – winemaker

Rabbi Tuchman says: This wine was recommended to me by my favorite wino at Binny’s: Julio. I loved the name of the wine and knew it would be good if Julio recommended as he also turned us on to Justin The Orphan.

So I’m in a grumpy mood, the kids are screaming, the dog is driving me nuts and has been relegated to the crate (again) and I was thirsty. Conveniently, it’s a screw top too.

I was in the mood for an “I don’t want to take anymore shit” kind of wine and this fit the bill. Or it is fitting the bill as I’ve only downed the first glass and plan on drinking the better part of the bottle. He wasn’t kidding about the color. Very dark. Shiraz with attitude. I like that. There is also a little Cabernet and Merlot in the blend but it’s mostly Shiraz. I’m not in the mood for a formal review (and Bruno wouldn’t want me to do it anyway) but suffice to say that this tasty bottle will find it’s way onto my wine rack again soon. The price is right and the boldness of flavors totally work… whether you are pissy or not.

Orogeny Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2004
$22

Rabbi Tuchman says:
We were invited to a friends house for lobster on Father’s day. Yeah, it’s a tough gig. Since we tend to drink more red wine, it was my mission to pick up some Chardonnay while I was out shopping for the meal. I tend to struggle when buying wine because I get intimidated easily. So I bought a bottle of Merryvale Chard which we have had before (and it is very good) and then went out on a limb and picked up this one because I thought it looked good. We usually enjoy stuff from the Russian River valley so it wasn’t a total stab in the dark.

Turns out my instincts were good. This was a very nice bottle. It had a fruity nose and that buttery taste that we really enjoy in our Chardonnays. My better half also picked up on pear, carmel and oak.

We are definitely going to pick up some more bottles of this for Summers on the back deck. This bottle disappeared way too fast.

WebWino says:
Had I posted this review in June when the good Rabbi originally sent it to me, it would have made more sense with the references to Father’s Day and the Summer. It is not the good Rabbi who is confused… just me!