Undressing the Grape

The Black Chook, Shiraz/Viognier 2006

As noted earlier in our musings, we had a fantastic experience with the West Cape Howe, 2005 Two Steps Shiraz/Viognier blend.  However, I was initially a bit hesitant to purchase a bottle of it because of a bad previous experience with a similar blend.

The Black Chook is a Shiraz/Viognier blend (95%/5% respectively) from the Langhorne Creek region of South Australia.  The 2005 vintage received very high ratings from Robert Parker (91 points in The Wine Advocate) and Josh Raynolds (90 points in International Wine Cellar).  For this reason, I had very high expectations when I purchased this bottle back in July.  In early August, we took it up to Pennsylvania with us and attempted to enjoy it as part of a relaxing evening with my brother.

Unfortunately, we were quite disappointed with the wine.  We rated the aroma a D, due to the overwhelming scent of formaldehyde, which hid the little bits of cherry and other berries that fought to make themselves noticeable.  We rated the taste a C, as the formaldehyde scent continued to overwhelm the berry flavors that could have been much more appreciated.  The wine was more drinkable than the scent initially led on, but even so it rated an overall C-.

As a concluding note, this wine had a screw cap, as did the West Cape Howe Two Steps.  We have since learned that while screw caps are becoming increasingly acceptable for quality wines (and indeed, the Two Steps was excellent), they can occasionally have a weird oxidizing effect which can give a wine a strong chemical aroma and flavor.  For this reason, combined with the high ratings from some of the renowned tasters, we are open to believing that we simply got a bad bottle of this wine.  It happens.  Upon drinking it, we were not remotely interested in buying this wine again.  But having learned about the wine and the rare, but possible, effects of screw-capped wines, we'd be open to trying another bottle of this some day.

Thunderstorms for hours and hours...

For those of you who live in the DC area, then you will most surely remember the magnificent thunderstorms we had less than a couple of weeks ago.  They were absolutely astonishing!  I just recently moved to Alexandria, but at that time, I was living in a beautiful studio apartment in the SW area with ground-to-ceiling windows that face trees and way over yonder.  I could not have asked for a better view that night.  Bright, powerful lightning bolts struck the ground every 5 minutes for at least two hours.  Illuminating and exposing the moist atmosphere with deep shades of purple, these clustered moments begged for dim candlight and, yes, a fantastic bottle of red to match the mood of the heavens above.  Earlier on in the summer, Benjamin had brought over a 2005 southern Australian red from the West Cape Howe winery in the Great Southern region, called Two Steps.  It is a blend of Shiraz (93%) and Viognier (7%).   It was as if God knew that we were supposed to save this particular bottle for this particular night.  Before I begin to explain the aroma and taste, you should know that together, Benjamin and myself gave it an overall A-  I am very confident that the nostalgic memory of wine has so much to do with the setting and environment in which it was tasted and smelled.  That being said, I will now indulge you in our take:  the aroma was a B+ - black pepper introduced itself first, with wisps of floral rose cleaving in.  There were also hints of nutmeg and pinches of faint oak.  The taste was outstanding!  The black pepper tones ensued, embedding its vocality on both sides of the tongue.  Nutmeg was close to follow, also layering itself on the sides of the tongue.  The rose essence blossomed delicately on the back of the tongue, and the entire mouth was engaged by subtle notes of oak.  The complexity and vulnerability of each scent and flavor from this wine complimented the environment outside that night.  It truly was a night to remember...