Jim Jim - Shiraz

Price: $9.99
Region: Australia
Year: 2008

It has unfortunately been a few weeks since I last sat down and wrote a review, and again, it hasn't been for lack of material. One of these days work will slow down, and I'll have a bit more free time to catch up on the backlog. In the meantime, I'm going to stick with what is fresh in my head, and that is a bottle of wine I tasted last Friday night. On my way home from work, I had to stop and pick up my son from one of the first field trips of the school year, so luckily my wife offered to stop by the store and pick me up a bottle of wine or two. On a few recent Fridays, I've stopped at the local convenience store on my way home and grabbed her a bottle of Coke with Lime, and she's stopped and grabbed me some wine. I know I'm the one who always makes out on the deal, but I'm not about to start complaining. She has a pretty good grasp of wines I have not tried yet, and this week was no different. She came home with two different wines that I had yet to try. I was kind of in the mood for a Shiraz, and sure enough she grabbed an Australian Shiraz I had seen on several occasions, but had never picked up. It was time to give Jim Jim a try.

It is obvious from first glance, that the a wine called Jim Jim, with a picture of a dog on the front is going to have some story behind it on the label, and sure enough, it did (I'll let you pick up a bottle to read for yourself). I don't think we had anything too intriguing for dinner, maybe just some sandwiches, but after a long week, I was really just looking forward to a nice glass of wine. Things were starting off on the right foot once I poured a glass. A very dark looking ruby colored wine filled my glass. I was expecting a very strong smelling wine, and while it was very pleasant, it definitely wasn't overpowering. To me, I smelled just a bit of fruit, maybe a little blackberry, but based on the bold color, and a bit of a mellow aroma, I wasn't sure which side the flavor would tend to lean towards. Luckily for me, it was a combination of both. I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth the wine was for a $10 bottle, and it really had a wonderful flavor, with great length. The taste just lingered on the palette for a few seconds, and then slowly faded. No hint of bitterness in this wine.Jim Jim (I just like saying that) was a real find in my opinion, and if my wife continues to come home with wines like this, I might just let her pick them all out.

Rating: 3.75 corks (One of the better $10 bottles I've had in a while)