Tasting - Rubus Shiraz 2013, Barossa, Australia

• Rubus Shiraz 2013, Barossa, Australia
• Shiraz
• Barossa
• Australia
• 2013
• $15.95
• Wine Searcher Reviews: 
• http://www.wine-searcher.com/wine-415261-2013-rubus-wine-selections-shiraz-barossa-australia

My Review:

Color: Intensely dark purple, nearly black, with very tiny rims of dark red. Opaque.

Nose: The first thing that hits me is an overtone of smokiness overtop very concentrated and ripe dark berries and spices. Aromas include smoke, blackberries, black currant, sugar plum, licorice, and cinnamon.

Palate:

• Acidity = 2.5/5
• Alcohol = 4/5
• Body = 5/5
• Fruit = 2.5/5
• Tannin = 4/5

I've never had an Australian shiraz, which apparently are supposed to be big. This one is massive. It's attack is incredibly robust (hence the name) with a concentrated explosion of blackberries, black currant, smokiness, licorice, cinnamon, red sugar plum, and surprisingly well rounded and soft tannins, though their presence is clearly there. I liked the balance between the fruit and oak, even though this wine is pretty harsh on the baking spices, most notably cinnamon, which I despise. Good balance and a good heavy oaked red.

I had this with some leftover Italian sausage. My mouth was like a war and Australia's wine annihilated Italy's sausage. The body of the wine is far too huge for a sausage to make a difference. The sausage was completely overpowered by the spices of the wine, but the sausage also made the wine taste more acidic and bitter, so the combination really did not work well. This wine needs a fat slab of steak or beef to match up with its heavy body.