GSM with food

I was in Victoria a couple of weekends ago, and did some damage to my finances with wine buying. I have thus far only opened two. The Quail's Gate Old Vines Foch is not quite what I was expecting. I thought it would be lighter and fruitier, but it is quite concentrated and could probably use some ageing. It reminded me of Ontario reds that just don't seem to get enough heat. It was a bit rough, and had some meaty, green, coffee overtones. Not bad, and probably good with stronger meats.

The other that I have tried is also not quite what I was expecting. The D'Arenburg Ironstone Pressings Grenache/Shiraz/Mourvedre is not at all the friendly Aussie wine I am well acquainted with. It is also a great deal more expensive than said friendly wines. Very powerful, rather austere and likely good for several years in the cellar, it was not the easy drinking wine I was looking for. I'm not saying it's bad, not bad at all, quite great really, just more of a fancy roast dinner wine, than a lazy after work wine. However, I did nibble some tiny green olives that I also picked up in Victoria, and that really toned down the wine and made it much more easy to drink. Interesting, and very complimentary. I will be interested to try the other GSM I bought, and also to crack open the pricey celebratory bottle of Aussie Shiraz I bought several years ago. I am very curious to see what it tastes like - whether it is overpoweringly fruity, or a little more like the classier French-style Syrahs. We shall see...