Blah. A boring Australian Blend: Terra Barossa

Ok, so I have a propensity for European wines (aka, the Old World). I like the complexity. I like the dirt. I like the minerals. But I do appreciate a big fruit bomb from time to time (three delicious words: Clarendon Hills Grenache). But it takes an awesome New World Wine for me to fall in love...so I say to Terra Barossa, "um, I think we're better off as friends..."

The Wine: Terra-Barossa Cuvee (Thorn-Clarke is the producer), Estate Grown
Grape: It's a blend. I would guess Cab, Shiraz, and probably some Merlot or Cab Franc. I looked on the wine notes and it doesn't specify for this vintage.
Vintage: 2006
Price: $9.98 in Atlanta

Where it's from: Here's where it all gets murky. So the wine says that it's a product of Australia, but it also lists "Barossa Wines" somewhere else on the label. The Barossa Wines placement on the label looks like its part of the brand name. Quite confusing and there's a big distinction between Austalian Wine (usually bad) and the Barossa wine (usually fab). I should report them to the gov't...not that they would do anything about it...

Normal Description: This wine is uber dark, but lighter around the edges. Blends are cool animals -- colors are always pretty awesome to analyze (although, caveat emptor -- color normally doesn't say much about the wine's flavor). It's got a ton of sediment in it but don't be scared off by the particles collecting at the bottom of your glass. Embrace the nature...remember that wine is an agricultural product. Young, tannic wines can sometimes throw sediment. You can decant it if it will make you feel better.

I'm sure one of you is going to give me a hard time for turning into a Southerner, but I swear that this wine smells like fried chicken or fried turkey. It's got game (like chicken not basketball), for sure...not unpleasant but game-y and slightly greasy-smelling. What can you expect? That's Aussie Shiraz for you. I picked up cinnamon, coffee, and some unidentified perfume-y odor too, but the prominent scent was still chik-fil-et, despite all the second layer of normal wine smells.

So the other thing I should mention about this wine -- I have no cilia left in my nose. 14%+ alcohol will burn your nose (great for men. I guess you can throw away the clippers and just use this wine to take care of that issue).

Flavors were not what I expected and, honestly, not very good. Besides some acid and tannin there were hints of sour cherry, some slight vanilla and cinnamon. Mostly the wine was tart and not very fruity OR minerally. Blah.

Got snap or is it crap?: CRAP. There's so much other stuff out there to try. Spend your $10 on something tastier. I guarantee you can easily find something to top this for the same price or better.