Ballast Stone - Petit Verdot

Price: $20.00
Region: Australia
Year: 2005

Well, the World Series is over, so I have a little extra time tonight. Was really hoping for a game 7 to route on the Phillies, but no such luck this year. Instead, I am writing my second review from this past weekend. Another of the wines I picked up at a recent wine tasting I attended. This one is again a little more then the average I have been reviewing lately, but it was another recommendation from a friend, so I thought I'd give it a try. As I have written many times, I enjoy many of the Australian wines I have tasted, many of which happen to be Shiraz. This was is a Petit Verdot, and I'll be the first to admit I'm not exactly sure of the "normal" characteristics of this wine. I think that made this choice all the more interesting to me.

We were not in the mood for pizza again last Friday, so we decided on a local sandwich shop. I didn't have anything special, so it wasn't really about matching this wine up with anything in particular, but just a relaxing Friday evening with the family, and a bottle of wine. The first thing I noticed when I poured a glass of this Petit Verdot, was a very "grapey" looking wine. That may sound kind of odd, but that was the first thing that came to mind. It had a purplish tone, but not deep dark purple. It was a little lighter, kind of like grape jelly, but with good clarity (definitely not cloudy). After enjoying the color, I took a good sniff of the wine. I would say it was a bit sweet smelling, and kind of floral. Not exactly what I was expecting, but very pleasant to be sure. So far, I was enjoying the uniqueness of this wine, and I wasn't disappointed when I took a sip. The flavor hit immediately, and had very good length. It had a bit of spiciness to it, but I would say not as much as your typical Australian Shiraz. The nice flavor hung around on the pallet for a bit, with no bad aftertaste. This was a great change of pace, and given the opportunity, would definitely give it another try.

Rating: 3.75 (A nice change of pace)