Selection this week was serendipitous. I had both boys with me in the liquor store, so the pressure was on. When I saw the special "Available only at NB Liquor" sale display, I pounced and hoped there would be a Shiraz. There was. It was $9.99, had a fun purple elephant on it (balancing on a step stool no less!), and it is called Balance - what a better name for the wine marking the half-way point of Saturday Shiraz? Plus, the label notes made me do a double take. It is a blend (Pinotage Shiraz), but you can't have everything.
Balance Pinotage Shiraz, South Africa 2010
$9.99
13.5% alc/vol.
"Rewards with whiffs of French oak, luscious ripe banana and subtle berry flavours. Pour a glass and we're sure you'll agree, Life is great!"
Wait, let's read that again.... BANANA??!??!? WTF??!?!?! I'm not a big fan of fruity wines, but I couldn't resist this unusual tasting note. However, the bananas & berries combined with the 2010 "vintage" year, plus the $9.99 price tag, in addition to the completely FLAT bottom of the bottle really lower my expectations for this wine. I assume it will be gross, but interesting to taste - and since I have some unsuspecting guest testers at least the bottle should be empty.
I can't in good conscience recommend this wine - or really even attempt to describe its taste. We could smell hint of banana, but not taste it. The first few sips were tolerable, but cold, and once the coldness wore off, the taste became unforgivable. It got worse with every sip. I dumped the rest of my glass (sacrilege!), along with my fellow guest-testers, and then the hostess was forced to dump the remainder of the bottle after we left. Luckily, another guest was thoughtful enough to bring Wolf Blass (Merlot) so the evening wasn't a total wash wine-wise (and it was great otherwise - lots of food and laughs).
Helpful Husband Tip: "I don't think it’s that bad - I'll finish your glass"
The man has a sickness.
LOL - your One-Line Review says it all.
ReplyDeleteGREAT company, HORRIBLE wine!! I was at the liquor store the other night and it was still on display and I almost had to yell at someone. No one should be subjected to that (except maybe Helpful Husband ;)).
ReplyDeleteI too was sucked into the cleaver marketing of this wine. Although I purchased the Cab. Sauv. version. It wasn't as bad as what your bottle sounded...but I will not be buying it EVER again!
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