Casillero del Diablo 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

I’m delighted to report that the Hendo Wine Rating (HWR) has gone global!  To date only Aussie wines have had the honour of a HWR, not because of any xenovinophobia (TM) on my part, but simply due to the abundance of great wine in Australia.

With my relocation, however, I now have countless European wines on my doorstep.

But I’m going to skip Europe and head first to South America.

Casillero del Diablo is a cab sav from Chile which we enjoyed recently with friends.  It originates from the Central Valley appelation and apparently contains hints of mocha and dark chocolate, though I’m not sure how to distinguish between them.

By now, though, I can distinguish between rubbish and good wine, and fortunately this falls into the latter category.

HWR:  4/5

Hollick 2004 Cab Sav

I was delightfully delighted by this Coonawarra drop.  It has an intense (in a good way) taste that pleasantly lingers.  Apparently it has excellent potential for cellaring so I may just have to acquire some more of it!

HWR:  4/5

The Worst Wine Ever

We recently tried a Deakin Estate Shiraz and I’m sorry to have to say that it wins the inaugural:

HWR* Garbage Award

To be fair, I’ve no way of knowing that there wasn’t a problem with this particular bottle.  We can rule out corking thanks to the screw-top.  Frankly, I’m not going to spend any time or money on research (aka buying another bottle) to find out whether it was a one-off or not.

* = Hendo Wine Rating

Riddoch 2005 Cab Shiraz

From the Coonawarra region and named after the Scottish immigrant and the region’s wine pioneer John Riddoch, this drop tastes of “Deep plum with some purple hues. The nose display mint and berry notes with chocolate and smokey oak aromas. Full flavoured and rounded palate with a pleasingly assertive tannin structure.”

HWR:  4/5

West Cape Howe Rosé 2007

We enjoyed this rosé recently with – wait for it – fish and chips.

It perfectly complemented the food (as any choice of wine should), and we were pleasantly surprised by our gamble to try a light, chilled red with fish, going against the old conventional wisdom.

James Bond would not be impressed.

HWR:  4/5

Massoni Pinot Noir 2001

This delightful pinot noir from Mornington, Victoria is aged for 18 months in French oak barrels.

It has “truly varietal characters of strawberry, some stem notes with some lovely fragrant notes of violets as well” and the “palate is plush and soft with excellent acidity and no obvious tannin”.  At least, that’s what they say.

More importantly, here’s what I say:

HWR:  4/5

West Cape Howe 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon

From South Australia, this cab sav tastes of “intense blackcurrant and ripe berries that are beautifully balanced with cedar, licorice and smoky oak”.  At least, that’s what the official line is.

It was quite nice but certainly benefited from a good decantation.  My first impression was that it was a touch bitter but thankfully that turned out to be a premature judgement.

HWR:  4/5

Taylors Jaraman Shiraz 2004

This lovely red is a multi-regional blend from McLaren Vale and Clare Valley (Australia).

Winorama scores it at 88 points (of a possible 100).

Hendo Wine Rating (HWR): 5/5