John and Jane Thompson brought the winning wine.
Janie Farnsworth
The Tuesday Tasters were hosted by Cyndi Stampf. We also welcomed two new couples to our group, Dick and Cindy Sterling, and Bob and Ann Jones (Ann was out of town). We look forward to meeting Ann next month.
While the tasting was a night of Shiraz, there was a big difference in the wines. We had five wines to choose from. Our fifth place winner was the Layer Cake Shiraz brought by the John and Paula Saunders. The aromas of cocoa, warm spice and dark fruit are very powerful from the first whiff. In the mouth, the wine is layered with rich blackberry, dark cherries and hints of dark, creamy chocolate ganache. The finish lingers on, hanging on your palette while the fruit and spice flavors slowly change and fade.
The fourth place wine was brought by Cindy and Dick Sterling. This wine is also from Australia. This wine is dark and focused, offering blackberry, floral and black tea flavors, with crushed rock aromas informing the firm finish.
Number three was Francis Ford Coppola Syrah-Shiraz. Two names for one grape; Syrah is the French term for the wine grape that is called Shiraz in Australia. An impeccably-sourced Syrah that combines ripe fruit flavors with classic overtones of white pepper and toasted oak. This wine was brought by Darlene and Rick Lamb
The second place wine also comes from California. I love the name on this one. True Grit Reserve Petite Sirah brought by Bill and Joyce Marshall. This wine has heady aromas of ripe fruit, white pepper and vanilla, followed by an intense rush of fresh blackberry, dark chocolate, pepper and caramel flavors.
And our winner for the night of Shiraz tasting was a South Australian Wine. Rosemount Estate Diamond Label Shiraz 2014 was brought by John and Jane Thompson. With their distinctive bottle shape and their reputation for quality wines, Rosemount continue to innovate. Their Shiraz is a smoothly textured, richly flavored wine with blackberry and plum fruit characters supported by a touch of sweet vanillin oak. The tannins are soft, savory and lingering. I found this wine to be just slightly sweeter. It was my favorite.