they were closing out some Grateful Palate wines a few months back so
I picked up in addition to ones, I knew like Boarding Pass and First
Class, 2 bottles of Chris Ringland Shiraz 2008 Barossa.

talk about big and jammy with a lot of backbone, but hidden behind all
that wine (about as jammy as I can handle) was a whopping 16.5%
alcohol. This one would overpower a lamb meal as well. I was thinking
atfirst a great steak wine, but on second thought it was sort of one
of those drink it with strong cheddar and crackers and hope you don't
have to drive for about a week.

On Mar 6, 11:18*am, Joseph Coulter > wrote:
> they were closing out some Grateful Palate wines a few months back so
> I picked up in addition to ones, I knew like Boarding Pass and First
> Class, 2 bottles of Chris Ringland Shiraz 2008 Barossa.
>
> talk about big and jammy with a lot of backbone, but hidden behind all
> that wine (about as jammy as I can handle) was a whopping 16.5%
> alcohol. This one would overpower a lamb meal as well. I was thinking
> atfirst a great steak wine, but on second thought it was sort of one
> of those drink it with strong cheddar and crackers and hope you don't
> have to drive for about a week.

Your description reminds me of a few of the 1970's California wines
that were huge monsters in every way. Some of the David Bruce and
Martin Ray wines from that era are good examples. I remember that a
critic said that one such monster red might be the perfect match for
mastodon steak. I tasted one of Bruce's Rieslings that was fermented
dry and had over 16 percent alcohol. In Germany the grapes used to
make this wine likely would have been made into a sweet Auslese or BA
wine. Bruce's dry Riesling had very high acid content as well as high
alcohol content. I did not drink much, as it nearly seared your
tonsils on the way down.

On Mar 6, 10:18*am, Joseph Coulter > wrote:
> they were closing out some Grateful Palate wines a few months back so
> I picked up in addition to ones, I knew like Boarding Pass and First
> Class, 2 bottles of Chris Ringland Shiraz 2008 Barossa.
>
> talk about big and jammy with a lot of backbone, but hidden behind all
> that wine (about as jammy as I can handle) was a whopping 16.5%
> alcohol. This one would overpower a lamb meal as well. I was thinking
> atfirst a great steak wine, but on second thought it was sort of one
> of those drink it with strong cheddar and crackers and hope you don't
> have to drive for about a week.

That kind of alcohol content (which legally could even be higher by a
%) is port without the port benefits. I think that is poor wine making
and a symptom of Australian wine making today. I don't enjoy that type
of wine.

On Mon, 7 Mar 2011 16:49:43 -0800 (PST), lleichtman
> wrote:

>On Mar 6, 10:18*am, Joseph Coulter > wrote:
>> they were closing out some Grateful Palate wines a few months back so
>> I picked up in addition to ones, I knew like Boarding Pass and First
>> Class, 2 bottles of Chris Ringland Shiraz 2008 Barossa.
>>
>> talk about big and jammy with a lot of backbone, but hidden behind all
>> that wine (about as jammy as I can handle) was a whopping 16.5%
>> alcohol. This one would overpower a lamb meal as well. I was thinking
>> atfirst a great steak wine, but on second thought it was sort of one
>> of those drink it with strong cheddar and crackers and hope you don't
>> have to drive for about a week.
>
>That kind of alcohol content (which legally could even be higher by a
>%) is port without the port benefits. I think that is poor wine making
>and a symptom of Australian wine making today. I don't enjoy that type
>of wine.
As attractive as it sort of was, I would have to agree. The only thing
that saved it wa that it wasn't overly oaked so you could taste the
fruit and it did have, courtesy of the alcohol, a hell of a potent
nose.