Issue XXXIV: Ball-Buster Edition

Tait Ball-Buster [Blend]

Sometimes you can get a clue from the whiff right after you open a bottle of wine. Even before it hits some air time, assuming it’s a red, of course, the odor just smells delicious right out of the gate. This is one such wine.

As a blend from Australia, if you guessed it was mostly Syrah/Shiraz, you’d be on the money. They complement that with Cabernet Sauvignon and a splash, comparatively of Merlot, so this wine is big and delivers in equal measure. You may be tempted to discount it because of the name, which means exactly what you think it does, but you’d be missing a fine wine, if you did.

Deep, dark, rich and full of complexity, this is a wine that combines the wonderful taste of Syrah and banks in enough astringency to keep it from getting too dull. If there was one wine that really captures a lot of the nuances of wine, this would be a good candidate. Silky and slightly sweet, it has a very nice finish and a balance and temperament that works well to a sipping session. Now, admittedly, there is very little, if any, finesse, but they clearly were not going for that. If you like Syrahs, this is a good choice.

As to frequency, it is one that I’ve yet to see on SPA, but is pricey enough, pushing the upper limits for inclusion to the list, that I wouldn’t typically reach for it, considering that I think there are frequently better values to be had. If I wasn’t in an area with such a selection, though, that might be different and accessibility definitely would probably play into frequency here, though I might be inclined to give as a gift. All that aside, the ultimate category for this one is Mixed.

Issue XXXIII: Fat Bastard Cabernet Sauvignon Edition

Guy & Thierry Fat Bastard Cabernet Sauvignon

One of the things the HSC likes to do, one of the “tricks”, I suppose, as it were, is to mine the various wineries of their other spoils, meaning, of course, when we stumble or otherwise come upon a wine we find favorable enough to add to the list, we then will sort of sort through and pick up companion, sibling bottles, perhaps, in the rest of the line of a given winery or vineyard. So, from the halls of Guy & Thierry, purveyors of one of our favorite standby cooking Chardonnays, also from the  Fat Bastard line, comes this gem, which I spied on a random walk through the aisles of the wine store.

The “fat bastard” moniker is intended to reference the “roundness” of the wine. “Roundness” refers to an aspect that could best be described as a lack of astringency, the anti-astringency, perhaps. It typically either refers to a full maturation or to tannins which are softer and less abrasive in nature. For a casual sipping wine, this is quite ideal. However, Cabs in general are big, bad bruisers and this one is definitely a Cab, so there is a lot of boldness and smashing flavor and some tannins that are not quite entirely tamed. What this means is a bit of hardness to offset the largely silky and smooth nature of this wine, but not enough astringency to either be assertive or disruptive.

Cabs can also tend to easily get clunky and heavy and though this one didn’t, it wouldn’t really be a Cab if it didn’t at least approach it, which this one did. I did find it a great testimony to the skill of the Fat Bastard folks, though and while I’m not a huge Cab fan, if I felt the urge and couldn’t find a bottle of Sean Minor, this, though not quite as tasty, would definitely be a solid substitution.

All in all, though, this is more of a Mixed. I do see the Chardonnay on SPA from time to time, but never this one. If I did, I may or may not pick one up and I do like it well enough to buy it at a full price, whether it was on SPA or not, but not enough for it to be the automatic of a Standard.