Recently I was given a bottle of the 2009 Mollydooker “The Boxer” Shiraz to sample. Looking at the bottle, the label is quirky and fun, which reflects the winery owners take on enjoying good quality wine. The owners also do something unique with their wines, they inject nitrogen gas into the wine which acts as a natural preservative, and allows the wine to be drank young, instead of aging the wine. The nitrogen gas is used to protect the wine from oxygen so that they can reduce the amount of sulfites used in the wine.
When I poured the wine into the glass it had an incredible deep, dark purple color, and the aromas were intense. On the nose this wine had aromas of cherries, berries, dried black fruit, and spice. The flavors were incredible, with the cherries being the predominate flavor, followed by boysenberries, a hint of black currants, black olives, and pepper. The Boxer Shiraz had a nice jamminess to it, the tannins were light, and the finish was long and wonderful. This is a wine that you have to try, it is well worth it!

Jon

I am always on the lookout for good, affordable, everyday drinking wines, and the 2011 Fish Eye Pinot Grigio from South Eastern Australia delivered for me. This wine came in at right around $6 a bottle retail, and it was a nice light, refreshing Pinot Grigio. In the glass this wine had a nice straw yellow color to it, and on the nose were aromas of stone fruit, and tropical fruit as well. On the palate were flavors of peaches, apricots, pineapple, mango, and a slight touch of citrus. For the low price, this wine is a good buy and it is easy drinking on a warm summers day.

Jon

My wife and I enjoy drinking a glass or two of wine everyday, and my wife enjoys drinking red wines over whites, so I pulled out a bottle of the 2009 Rosemount Shiraz for her and I to sip on. The Rosemount Shiraz is an everyday drinking wine coming out of Australia, and is priced under 10$ for a bottle. The color of the wine was deep garnet, and on the nose the wine displayed aromas of blackberries, cherries, spice, and black pepper. However, in drinking this wine it was barely quaffable for me and my wife. It had characteristics of a cheap cooking wine, with a nasty bitterness on the front end. At first I thought it was just my palate as I had been sick for a few days prior to drinking the wine. But my wife concurred with me that this is a wine that was well below average for what we were expecting. I am one that will try to find something good in what I sample, but that is not the case with this wine. This would be a hard wine for me to recommend at all.

Jon

Penfolds Wines from Australia have been around for more than 160 years, and I have enjoyed drinking these wines for many years. The 2008 Koonunga Hill Shiraz/Cabernet blend is produced using 71% Shiraz, and 29% Cabernet Sauvignon. Penfolds first introduced their Koonunga Hill wines in 1976, and have continued to implement the philosophy of blending select parcels from South Australia into these wines.
In the glass this wine is an inky dark purple color, and it has aromas of blackberries, cherries, spice, and oak. The flavors are of blackberries, cherries, currants, tobacco, slight oak, and the ever present spice at the back of the palate from the Shiraz. While this is not a high-end wine by any means (retail between $8-9), it was a nice wine in that price range. It was a medium to full-bodied wine, with tannins that were not overwhelming, and a medium finish. This is an everyday drinking wine by Penfolds, and worthy of a try.

Jon