Tasting - Black Opal Shiraz

The fourth wine they had available at The Vintage Cellar's wine tasting Thursday was the Black Opal Shiraz. This 2011 wine is from the Southeastern region of Australia. The grape variety used to make this wine is Syrah. The Vintage Cellar had this wine bottle priced at $5.95.

In the Vintage Cellar's review of this Shiraz, they stated, "The Black Opal wines are sourced from vineyards found in South Australia along the Limestone Coast, at Langhorne Creek and in the infamous Barossa Valley. Black Opal Shiraz is rich red in the glass. Aromas of blackberry, pepper and spice followed with rich plum flavors round out the palate. Soft tannins give structure to the fruit-driven palate."

As for my own review of this wine, I thought it had a big alcohol smell to it, then it slowly gave you a little blackberry underneath it. Upon tasting this, it was the first time I was immediately able to detect a strong pepper taste. In the Gary V videos we watch, he has described a lot of the red wines as having a peppery taste. I've never really found it in any of the reds I've tried up until now, so it was definitely interesting to finally experience that distinct taste in a wine. Although the Vintage Cellar described this wine as "fruit-driven," aside from the blackberry, I didn't really get any fruit/sweetness at all from this wine. I could definitely taste the heaviness of this wine in my mouth, however.

I did not taste this wine paired with any food.