I would love to be able to provide you oh reader with a review of this wine. It is a Tawny port-style wine from Australia named Hardy’s “Whiskers Blake” Classic Tawny which I bought for a mere $12.99.

However Mrs. Barbarian discovered it while I was away for a week and drank the entire thing! I had photographed it prior to opening so at least I know it existed.

She said it was great.

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.

The Vinagoth loves his Port wine. I’d sack and plunder my way through Portugal if I couldn’t just grab some at the local grocery. Good thing that eh? At least if you are Portugal!

Mind you this Port comes from Australia, so they are doing their part to save the Portuguese from the wrath of the Vinagoth. Great folks those Aussies.

I will admit to one serious weakness when it comes to wine; similar to Will Rogers and his acquaintances, I’ve never met a Port I did not like. I like some more than others, but I’ve never taken a sip of Port and not been a happy barbarian. So like sex & pizza, I’m convinced that it is impossible to not be happy when the Port glass is drained… unless of course there is no more Port to be found! Tawny, Ruby, Vintage, you name it, I like it. The only problem I have with Ports is keeping them around the house. Mrs Barbarian has a serious sweet tooth and any booze with a sweet side is hard to keep around. I’ll maybe get a glass then never see the bottle again. She’ll plunder my wine cabinet of anything sweet (Port, Drambuie, various liqueurs) so I’ve gotten in the habit of hiding them. Thankfully she’s rather short and has arms like a Tyrannosaur… short for her overall size. As such just perching my sweet stash on any shelf above my head is enough to keep her from seeing it, much less grasping and devouring it on sight. So Ports go on the top shelf, or hidden in some high spot until I’ve consumed my share. Once I’ve had my way with them I’ll put them within her stubby reach… a sacrifice to keep the atrox uxor at bay. Sweet offerings to soothe the savage beast.

This Penfolds is no exception. Sweet and tasty, it does the job quite well. I found it so nice I sucked down three big glasses of it last night and left the rest of the bottle on a lower shelf(!) for her to find. That should maintain the domestic peace around here for a while.