Orlando Wines.
Very dark purple, almost black, in the glass.
Red licorice and spices on the nose.
Quite thick and weighty in the mouth, very tangy, raspberry and black cherry fruit, black and red licorice, spicy, very peppery, slightly sweet, cinnamon, turning hot toward the finish.
A drying, slightly hot finish.
Purchased at $17.15 (Canadian).
Overall, the wine was pretty good, although I found the alcohol burn toward the end to be rather annoying.
Two interesting-odd things about this wine:
1. The bottle had a neck tag when I bought it, proudly proclaiming that Jacob's Creek Reserve Shiraz had won a gold medal at the 2007 China Wine and Spirit Competition. Of course, it was the 2005 vintage, and not the 2004, which has won this distinction!! "Hey, the wine you aren't buying won an award!!"
2. When I Googled Jacob's Creek to learn a bit more about the winery, I was required to indicate my date of birth before being allowed to view the winery web site. Boy, is that an example of big brother run amok. Not only are they concerned about underage drinking, they are also worried about underage reading.
