McGuigan THE BLACK LABEL

[mrdutton]

1999 McGuigan The Black Label Shiraz and Grenache from south eastern Australia by Brian McGuigan Wines, Ltd, Hunter Valley, Australia. Label says 13% Alcohol and the price tag at the "upscale shop" was $8.79 which means it might be purchased for as little as $6.50 in the big volume stores.

This blend of 55% Shiraz and 45% Grenache sounded good, but lacked the herbal spicy flavors of a really good shiraz. I think the grenache mellowed out the shiraz just a bit too much.

Really fruity, one would almost think this thing really was sweet. However, for the back porch with a bit of a chill on the wine and a decent hamburger, it might not be to bad.

Most importantly, the wife like it! Said it was really good! (She still likes white zin, so have patience.)

Me, I'll take the Big House Red over this any day.

[Drew]

I have to agree...I'm not much of a McGuigan fan either. All of their wines that I've sampled seem out of balance.

Drew

[cpurvis]

Sounds like 'wife wine' for my house too MrD.

cp

[Innkeeper]

Prefer the Rosemont Grenache/Shiraz at about the same price or less. As Drew would say, a little better balanced. Another fruit bomb.

[chittychattykathy]

Serious "entry level" red wine, like 555 as well. It's a great wine for me to sell to folks who are weaning themselves off of white zin). These and the Rosemont, IMHO, are part of the "toaster oven" category of wines. [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]

[winoweenie]

I'd like a case. WW [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]

[Drew]

WW...you must be thirsty.

Drew

[winecollector]

Drew- he uses in place of freon in his air conditioner

[mrdutton]

I just kinda wonder what is going to happen to Rosemount, now that they've been bought-out by their competitors.

I sure hope they don't change too much.

[cpurvis]

Tried the Rosemount Grenache / Shiraz and...my wife liked it. Seems a quaffer rather than food wine. Lush blackberry rushing in upfront followed by touch of black pepper mid-palate. With lightly spiced what's-in-the-fridge-fajitas, picked up signif. more black pepper & some white pepper. cp

[cpurvis]

Retried the Rosemount last night with a Wine Speculator rec pairing & found it worth the effort:

Potato and Olive Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs thyme
5 cups water
1 1/2 pounds thin-skinned potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups whole green olives (not pitted), slivered
1 pound Roma tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine
1 loaf French bread, sliced

---------------------------------------------

In a large saucepan, combine the olive oil, onion, bay leaf, thyme and about 1/2 cup of the water. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover the pan and let cook over moderate heat until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.

Add the potatoes, the remaining water and about 2 teaspoons salt. Return to a boil, cover the pan, lower the heat and let boil gently for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are falling apart. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Puree the soup in a food mill or with a hand blender. Return it to the pan and add the slivered olives. Taste, and adjust for seasoning; the olives will be salty, so it may not need more salt, but this soup likes pepper.

Meanwhile, in a nonaluminum skillet, combine the tomatoes, olive oil and red wine. Season lightly with salt and pepper, then boil the mixture until the wine evaporates, about 10 minutes. Taste, and adjust for seasoning.

Serve the soup with a spoonful of the tomato mixture as garnish. Pass the remaining tomato mixture to spoon onto French bread slices. Serves 6.

Good stuff. cp

[tomstevenson]

To answer MrDutton's wonderings (I just kinda wonder what is going to happen to Rosemount, now that they've been bought-out by their competitors. I sure hope they don't change too much.), the inside track is that Rosemount's winemaking hierarchy is in control, with bulk-blending out, regional head winemakers in, and Rosemounts Phil Shaw in overall charge.
Tom

[Innkeeper]

Have been enjoying the '99 Rosemount GS over the last couple of months. Tonight it was the perfect foil for an eclectic dinner of leftover smoked chicken, green beans, batter fried eggplant, and biscuits. Wonderful, and cleaned out the fridge prior to a quick getaway.