Friday, April 17, 2009

The Reserve [yellow tail] 2008 Shiraz

"The [yellow tail] 'Reserve Shiraz' has intense concentrated fruit flavors with aromas of ripe cherries, blackberries, chocolate and mocha. Delving deeper into this complex wine, cracked pepper and spice fragrance are apparent with with sweet French oak aromas always present. The vanilla softness on the nose takes you into a full palate crammed with ripe fruits reminiscent of a basket of sweet summer berries. Seamless and well structured tannins complete this full bodied red wine."

I want some of whatever those Australians are smoking. My own well-trained palate, on the other hand, detects notes of bitterness, anxiety, frustration, loneliness, and American Spirit cigarettes. Delving deeper into this colourful yellow bottle, a bouquet of sour grapes and alcohol marks a smooth transition to bleary, fleeting relief. Goes well with an undercooked grilled cheese sandwich.

RATING: $3 more than the other shiraz.

(Image from www.wjdeutsch.com. And just how is one supposed to delineate "ripe cherries [and] blackberries" from a "basket of sweet summer berries," anyway?)

33 comments:

Justine said...

When I read the first paragraph I was thirsty.

Then I read yours and was nauseous.

Thanks

John said...

You got something against grilled cheese sandwiches?

DCP said...

To me the way people talk about wine is the second most fake thing in the world, next to the way people talk about poetry. Maybe our resident wine expert, Bryan, can toss in his two cents on the matter?

Walter Benjamin and the Mechanical Reproductions (the band) said...

that dued shouldnt use the passive voice yo

LoCo said...

Weird! I just poured half a bottle of this stuff down the drain. Back when I could drink the whole bottle in one sitting, I loved it. However I corked it for 2 days and then it had the consistency of syrup. Ick. We can do better than an $8.99 bottle, surely?

laurie said...

I've never bothered to pay the extra $3 for this because the wine clerk at Publix once told me it wasn't worth it. *sigh* I really miss Publix.

laurie said...

Also, if I want to drink shitty Shiraz, I'll just buy $3 chuck from Trader Joe's like a normal person.

Chris said...

When I come up to Dallas remind me to buy you a glass of wine instead of liquor or beer, John.

Walter Benjamin and the Mechanical Reproductions (the band) said...

this wines reserved for inducing vomiting

Robyn said...

For the price, I really like this stuff. Or maybe I just like it because when I drink it I am reminded of the happy day I found it at the 7/11 by my apt. in Mokdong. My fond memories of the time I spent in SK are few, so I hold on tight to the ones I do have.

McT's Girlfriend said...

Yellow Tail Shiraz is my congregation's preferred sacramental wine. With its heavenly aromas, sweet cheery and blackberry flavors, it is modest yet praiseworthy. It's a pleasurable accompanyment to the Body of Christ, steak or fish, but also enjoyable on its own and makes a great party wine. I give it 89 points. We go through a case of this every Sunday

Walter Benjamin and the Mechanical Reproductions (the band) said...

lol

Walter Benjamin and the Mechanical Reproductions (the band) said...

yall crazy yall com up w/ som crazy ass fakeposters

John said...

So my horoscope said my comic enthusiasm might be perceived as aggression today. Fucked if I know what they're talking about. I'm gonna go shave my head.

Bryan said...

As usual, I agree with Glenn - though it's totally possible to talk about the flavors of wine in a way that's legitimate (after doing some experiential tasting - you CAN get different flavors/textures/aromas) - trusting the description on the label is like trusting Glenn Beck to give you a good description of a current event (Oh yeah! Topical!)

That having been said, I wouldn't touch Yellowtail with YOUR tongues, dear readers. My experience with the wines produced by them is that they're wines for people who don't like wine - overoaked, jammy to the point of ridiculous, and (usually) without a balanced structure (alcohol/acidity) to make up for the big, fake flavors.

You can talk about wine without making up ridiculous flavors from whole cloth, or without sounding like a jerkface, it just seems improbable that the wineries themselves would do that.

(Also, having never tried this wine, maybe I'm totally off with my opinions - but also, maybe not.)

John said...

I like shiraz, and [yellow tail] doesn't bother me. Then again, I like just about anything as long as it hasn't been fortified with antifreeze and ethanol.

John said...

I don't know wine but I do know pipe tobacco. I think it's important to remember that the subtle flavours identified by the connaisseur are the product of a complex interaction between the wine/'backy/whatever, the body chemistry of the taster, the age and handling of the product, and the Proustian (*snoot snoot*) interaction between the taster's sense-memory and imagination. The line between creative imagination and phony bullshit isn't always clear in such endeavors, but when you factor in motivation (trying to sell a product, trying to sound "cool," sincere, amateur enthusiasm, etc.) can usually spot a phony.

John said...

"you can," I mean.

Walter Benjamin and the Mechanical Reproductions (the band) said...

holy fuck look at all those words

Walter Benjamin and the Mechanical Reproductions (the band) said...

can someone read that and tell me wat i. jon said

John said...

Basically, every taster is inventive, but there's a line between someone whose creative taste buds "bestow" flavour through sense-memory association and liars who just make stuff up to sound cool.

I wish you weren't so stupid, nBNL.

Walter Benjamin and the Mechanical Reproductions (the band) said...

to be fare i didnt read brians post iether

John said...

Where's Lipstickmom123 these days, anyway?

Walter Benjamin and the Mechanical Reproductions (the band) said...

she died

Walter Benjamin and the Mechanical Reproductions (the band) said...

or mabe she went on a cruise w/e wat am i her bf

John said...

I bet she's drinking mai-tais at 3 in the afternoon and hitting on cabin boys. She'll probably come back with a horrible tan.

John said...

It occurs to me that I use far too many hyphens.

Walter Benjamin and the Mechanical Reproductions (the band) said...

i mistook your comic enthusiasm for aggression

John said...

enthusiwhat?

LoCo said...

Brian can you advise me on cheese pairings? Or is that a whole other ball of wax?

John said...

Parmesan, straight, in thumb sized chunks. Big plate of sauteed asparagus. Doesn't matter what whine.

Bryan said...

Sure - I'm not an expert-expert, but I know a couple of things about wine/cheese. Fire away.

John said...

Ha ha "whine." And here I am dissing Freud 8 posts up.