Another dinner party, more wines

Went to another small dinner last night. We had the Oyster Bay Chardonnay again; it is Helen's new favourite. No complaints here, it comes with a screw cap now and this year's vintage is just as good as last year's althought that is to be expected with a mass produced wine. Tasty, tasty.

I also had a sploosh of the Santa Rita Reserva Sauvignon Blanc before I moved on to the red. Coming from Chile, it is a nice Sauv Blanc with very present flavours of gooseberry, lime zest, grass, nettle, cat pee, etc., and very acidic and crisp. Normal for Sauvignon Blanc from a cooler region. If that is what you're after, go for it. At $16.40 it's not a bad price for a good example of Sauv Blanc. Pair this with light, leaner meals like fish, salad etc.

The red we had was one I hadn't seen before and apparently is a new addition to the liquor store listing. Oxford Landing Shiraz ($15.60) from Australia. A very nice, well priced Australian Shiraz. Not too complicated and easy to drink with nice flavours of smoked meat, spice, ripe red and black fruits, blackberries and perhaps a touch of menthol and chocolate. It almost tasted like someone put a drop of Jagermeister in my glass, which I found interesting. I liked it, and at that price I would be happy to have it again. If you like Shiraz, you should like this. It is fruity enough to be very accessable, yet has some subtle flavours to give it a bit of interest.