One for the red wine drinking dog lovers.

THE LAB 2014 LISBOA RED BLEND

This is a Liquorland own label that I found last week in their Broome store. The vintage, price and origin surprised me. The fact that it was a multi blend didn't - those Portuguese just can't help themselves.

It's a medium weight red in perfect condition with the promise of further cellaring rewards. It may be a little feral barnyardy for some tastes which is why I scored it a 4. I suggest grabbing a bottle and tasting it over 3 days. See what you think. You may be rushing back for more.

GRAPE VARIETIES: A quadruple blend of Castelao, Tempranillo, Shiraz and Touriga Nacional
REGION: Lisboa, Portugal
A/V: 13%
PRICE: $9
FROM: Liquorland
RATING: 4/5 from me

Two Outstanding Bargains from Zilzie

These two are currently on offer from Liquorland at a mere $8. And since I reckon anything under $12 for these is good value, $8 must be a bargain worth having a look at.

Both are medium weight reds in perfect balance. The shiraz shows a little more charry oak than I'd prefer but that hasn't stopped it from picking up a gold and silver medal. The cabernet shows plenty of cassis fruit and will probably find more admirers. 

ZILZIE ESTATE 2017 SHIRAZ
REGION: Karadoc, NW Victoria
A/V: 13.5%
PRICE: $8
FROM: Liquorland
RATING: 4.5/5 from me


ZILZIE ESTATE 2018 CABERNET SAUVIGNON
REGION: Karadoc, NW Victoria
A/V: 14%
PRICE: $8
FROM: Liquorland
RATING: 5/5 from me

What would Dr Lindeman have thought of this nonsense?

LINDEMAN'S 2018 GENTLEMAN'S SELECTION RULE NO. 10 LISTEN UP BATCH N0. 5 2018 SHIRAZ

I hope I've put everything in the right order but this is a wine you need to drink with an iPhone rather than a glass. Turn to the back label and do this, scan that and experience something or other.

The front label is an absolute nonsense but then so many are nowadays. They're coming from big producers who need to keep their marketing staff occupied. And despite the addition of fortified wine it's an OK drink at $12. It's chunky and solid with absolutely no dazzle. You may enjoy it but don't pay anymore than this.

GRAPE VARIETIES: Shiraz
REGION: South Eastern Australia
A/V: 14.5%
PRICE: $12 discounted from $22
FROM: Liquorland
RATING: 3/5 from me at $12

This wine is an absolute crime

19 CRIMES "THE UPRISING" 2018 RED WINE

This aberration is on a heavily reduced price promotion this week at Liquorland. Don't be tempted. 

The big hook on the label is that its been "Aged 30 days in rum barrels". Now who thought that was a good idea? The back label reveals that "a portion"copped that treatment and that's the only detail about the wine that appears.

Now I regularly bang on about balance in a wine. It's important. The only reason to buy this is to see what I'm not looking for. It's one dimensional with jammy sweetness that made me think of McGuigan's Black Label on steriods.

GRAPE VARIETIES: Who knows? Who cares?
REGION: South Eastern Australia
A/V: 12%
PRICE: $12 marked down from $18
FROM: Liquorland
RATING: 1/5 from me

Another Outstanding Winner from Taylors

TAYLORS 2017 CABERNET SAUVIGNON

Like the others in this range this wine suffers from huge price fluctuations. It's also a strong buy recommendation at this price and below.
And like the Shiraz it's a beautifully balanced mid weight red but featuring French oak instead of American.

REGION: Clare Valley, South Australia
A/V: 14%
PRICE: $15
FROM: Liquorland
RATING: 5/5 from me at this price

JIM BARRY WINES, CLARE VALLEY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The Jim Barry Cellar Door is an absolute MUST to visit. For me they are to Riesling in the Clare Valley, like Tyrrells are to Semillon in the Hunter. Their tasting lineup is more a priceless education than an enticement to buy. With extraordinary generosity they offer the opportunity to taste their current vintages, from a variety of diverse riesling vineyards, with old vintages from the same vineyards. 

Their reds are equally impressive with a $40 offer on the McCrae Wood impossible to resist. You''ll also be offered a taste of back vintages. It really is a WOW experience

You'll have no trouble finding their 2018 Watervale Riesling pretty much everywhere. It's the one with the distintictive W label and the 2018 features a substantial amount of gold bling

GRAPE VARIETIES: Riesling, 2018 vintage
REGION: Watervale,Clare Valley, South Australia
A/V: 12.5%
PRICE: $20 maximum
FROM: just about everywhere
RATING: 5/5 from me

AT THIS PRICE IT GETS TOP MARKS

TAYLORS 2017 SHIRAZ
The severe market price variations of this wine distract from how good it really is. The cellar door price is $20 and I've seen it as low as $11 in the last year. Dan Woolworths have it at $16 at the moment while Liquorland pip them by a dollar.
At $15 this is a very worthy red to either drink now or cellar. There's lashings of flavour on a rich mid weight palate. The slightly overt American oak can be forgiven at this price plus it will settle down with time. Well worth a try.

GRAPE VARIETIES: Shiraz
REGION: Clare Valley, South Australia
A/V: 14%
PRICE: $15
FROM: Liquorland
RATING: 5/5 from me

HALF PRICE SPECIAL! ... REALLY?

ATIRU 2018 MARLBOROUGH SAUVIGNON BLANC

Liquorland have this on their shelves marked down from $22* to $11. Is it worth $22? No way. Is it worth $11? Definitely but only if you like the style which is far removed from the popular mainstream Marlborough taste.

This is quite textural and full bodied with the palate weight you're more likely to find in New Zealand Pinot Gris. If you like those you'll rate this much higher than I do. 

GRAPE VARIETIES: Sauvignon Blanc
REGION: Marlborough, New Zealand
A/V: 12.5% 
PRICE: $11
FROM: Liquorland
RATING: 3/5

* What annoys me about this most of all is that this is a Liquorland controlled label. So they are determining, what appears to me to be, a vastly inflated regular shelf price. The market isn't setting the price, they are. 

Our first taste of 2019 and it's a beauty

                                          JACOB'S CREEK 2019 RIESLING

This is a dazzling little crisp dry white that I picked this up at Liquorland in Broome for just $8. I then did a search and discovered Dan Murphy have it and the range on at a mere $5,95. That really is ridiculous but make sure you are buying the new vintage. It's very possible they may still have the 2018 on their shelves. I haven't tasted that but it would be unlikely it's better than this.

A/V: 11.7% 
PRICE: $5.95 - $8
FROM: Dan Murphy/ Liquorland
RATING: 5/5 from me at anything under $10