Penfolds, Koonunga Hill Shiraz, Barossa Valley

had to chuck this bottle. didn't seem corked but it was clearly flawed... alcohol and rotting wood...

pretty simple Shiraz. a little red fruit and spice on the nose. cherry cough syrup on the palate. don't want to stock up on it... but a bit of a relief after the first bottle was so wretched

Another half bottle. Cost $9. The nose is moderately aromatic and pleasant. The flavour is somewhat like an aged Cab., but with a little fruit. An average Aussie Shiraz. The aftertaste is short and hardly tannic at all. Tannins are almost absent. Mid-good (82.5).

I enjoyed this half bottle with a good Dominican cigar. Very good therewith. Another pleasant experience of a moderately-aged Australian Shiraz.

Wine for Dummies: Now here's an interesting wine, and one of my first Syrahs (aka Shiraz in Aussie-speak) that I've actually attempted a serious tasting. Saving the more pricey wines for when my abilities can appreciate them. In any case, this Shiraz has a very overpowering smell of alcohol initially. My "dummy" term to describe it would be "hot". However, once I let it hang-out awhile in my glass (like an hour), it began to disclose a fruitiness (blackberry?). This …

Half bottle cost only $9. Some fruitiness, but not especially complex. Not as good as the 2001 Penfolds South Australia Reserve, with which it was tasted. Good.

Australia and Rhone at Haukeland Sykehus (Haukeland Sykehus, Bergen, Norway) : Artificial and sweet nose. Some licorice. The two first wines of the flight are better. Better on the palate than on the nose. Fills the mouth, and there is something slightly bitter, spicy in the aftertaste that I like. Went ok with the food, but the nose keeps it from beeing a good experience.

Good blackberry and blueberry flavors, but also a lot of mouth drying tannins. It also seemed a bit hot. If we had more of this, I would definately let it rest a couple years before opening another. Good value though, if you can hold it for a while.

Like almost all of the Penfolds wines (yes, even the cheap ones), this needs to be kept for a few years before it will live up to its potential. A new wine in the KH range (the other reds are blends, this isn't) it is pretty good and certainly good value when purchased for less than $10 a bottle and drunk in 2008+