Torbreck “Woodcutter’s Shiraz”

Torbreck Barossa Valley 2005 Woodcutter’s Shiraz $20.99

For a guy who flogs Petite Sirah damn near every week, I rarely consume the similarly named, but completely unrelated Syrah/Shiraz varietal. It isn’t that I don’t like it… I do. In fact there are very few red wines I don’t like. Mrs. barbarian likes Syrah, so I bring some home now and then. I have no idea what caught my eye about this wine in the store. It cost me about a buck more than I’m usually willing to pay. I didn’t take any notes when I bought it… perhaps I grabbed the wrong thing off the shelf. Not unheard of… trust me. I normally have excellent eye/hand coordination but my eye goes on a total walkabout when in the wine section… the hands are on their own.

I cooked up a “mixed grill” on the BBQ, a little chicken, a little steak… you know, the flesh of lesser beasts, while the wife killed some vegetable matter for the table. Since I bought this for the better half of the Barbarian household I honestly expected high praise from her end of the table. I think it has been too long for her under the tyranny of my wandering palette that she’s forgotten what she liked about syrah. She liked it, but didn’t think it was amazing. I on the other hand thought it was fine. Might stand a few more months in the cellar but a pretty damn good shiraz as is.

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