Mile High's Wine of the Week: September 18th
Red Knot McLaren Vale Shiraz 2012
Regular Price:
$14.99
Sale Price:
$8.99
Sale End:
9/21/2014
Score:
90 Points Wine Spectator "Smart Buy"
You’ve got to love a good glass of Shiraz, right? You know, one of those rich, ripe, robust Aussie reds? We know that we sure do so this week we negotiated some bargain basement pricing on a fantastic McLaren Vale Shiraz that was built with pleasure in mind. The 2012 Red Knot Shiraz is deep and dark in the glass with a sultry bouquet that just begs to be noticed. Give it a few minutes to breathe and scents of warm blueberry cobbler, pencil shavings, anise, and wilted violets will make their way to the foreground. Then go in for a sip and the promises of the nose are immediately fulfilled. Sweet fruit bursts onto the scene at first. Ripe plum, blackberry, and fig bathe your palate in juicy goodness. Then as they begin to fade appealing flavors of olive tapenade, liquified minerals, and peppery spice appear to take their places. The finish is a little chunky with a pleasant boozy character that is classic Australian. Pour this at your end of summer party and your guests will rave. Or stash a case in the basement and pop a bottle whenever you’re feeling like a pleasant glass of red this winter. But whatever you do, don’t pass this deal up. It is too good to last!
On to the Tasting Notes:
Australian wine in general and Shiraz specifically has been much maligned over the last few years. And while that is certainly unfortunate for quite a few Aussie winemakers, it’s certainly working to your benefit this week. Under ordinary circumstances there’s no way that the 2012 Red Knot Shiraz would be a nine dollar bottle of wine. It has real character. It’s not just some generic critter wine. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t one to squirrel away with the intention of popping a bottle to honor your newborn’s 21st birthday but it is a mighty good little drinker.
I found that my bottle needed a bit of time to open up after I pulled the Zork (yes it has a zork that needs to be unwound before you pull it from the bottle but don’t let that worry you because it’s an Australian wine and that’s just how they roll down under). Once I poured a glass and swirled and sniffed and swirled some more it really started to pop. Dark scents of roasted fruit, licorice, tar, and a bit of thyme crept up from the glass making my mouth water for that first sip. So I dove right in and had a sip. At first it seemed to be somewhat linear and focused with a fine pop of dark berry flavor at the front. But when I went back in for a second sip that’s when it started to get interesting. It was warm and spicy with layers of blueberry and cassis on top of black currant, grilled thyme, raspberry jam, dark chocolate, and savory black olive. The finish lacked a bit of refinement but was no less pleasant than any other part of the wine had been. It slowly faded leaving a warm sensation of peppery spice in its wake.
Food Pairing:
This juicy Shiraz will make a great party wine since it’s so juicy and pleasant to sip. But it would work equally well as a pairing for one of those great bacon blue cheese burgers that we all long for but know better than to eat too often.
You MUST mention this special or print it out to receive the price on the above wine.
This price expires 9/21/2014 at 6pm and is limited to in-store quantities.
No rain checks given. Call (303) 936-0272 to reserve bottles with a credit card.