Moderately Priced Wines from Australia — “Two Hands” and “Mollydooker”
Last week, I was on the road and tried very much to be satisfied with the wine offered in the hotel. I was out for five days in Philadelphia, and I could take it for only so long. I had enjoyed a good bottle with a dear friend at dinner one night, yet found myself longing for a richer and deeper expression of the grape. I found the wine store and set my sights on Shiraz. I do so knowing that an Aussie wine will be a big, lush and very approachable. I shy away from young cabernets, since they do need some time to unfold.
Gems from “Down Under”
The holidays have passed — hopefully filled with good times, family and friends that warmed the season. Presents are unwrapped, put away; and, if you have young children, they could even be broken by now! With the season passed, what would be really good is to find great drinking wine that doesn’t cost a lot.
Well, here are a couple of Australian go-to wines from Mollydooker that are in wide distribution and – in my estimation – deliver a great bang for the buck. I have been drinking Mollydooker wines since the very first vintage in 2007. One is a Shiraz (called Syrah in the US, but it’s the same grape) and the other a Cabernet. These descriptors and ratings are from Wine Spectator.
Shiraz from McLaren Vale in Australia: Mitolo’s 2011 Jester
I travel frequently, and yet I still want to enjoy good wine on the road. The challenge with that is expense and aging. We all know what happens in restaurants with the prices. I appreciate that everyone needs to make a living, yet sometimes the price for a nice bottle is not in the budget. Aging is a challenge, as well. Many bottles available in retail outlets are young wines and, sad to say, it is a shame to drink a wine before its time.
One of the go-to varietals for me when I am traveling is Australian Shiraz. Remember, this is the same grape as Syrah, but the Aussies and the South Africans call it Shiraz. (Let me know if you want to know the back-story as to why.) What I have found is that these young wines are approachable now and will provide great fruit and soft tannins. For me, they are quite enjoyable in the dinner setting at a restaurant. The best part of the story, though, is that many good ones are quite economical.
What?? A “Ball Buster”??
Forgive me. I had no intention of offending anyone with the title of this post, but this is a wine that caught my eye for the obvious reason. I was traveling, as I do frequently, and I was shopping for wine for dinner. Out of necessity, I have a list of fine wine shops throughout the country. One of those stores is Lukas Liquor in Overland Park, Kansas. I was in Kansas City for a few days recently and had a chance to have a nice dinner at J. Alexander’s. One of the best aspects of this restaurant is that there is NO corkage fee.
So, before dinner, I stopped at Lukas and was exploring the Australian section. This label caught my eye. “What the heck,” I thought, “It’s only a $16.00 experiment.” I knew that one of the advantages of Shiraz from Australia is that it can be drunk young.
The Ball Buster was a perfect accompaniment to my dinner.