Beverage of the Week: Marquis Philips Shiraz 2008

Any drink interacts with us in three basic ways - the eyes, the nose, the mouth. I've got my preferences and expectations for every kind of drink, but with red wine it's as follows:

1) I want to be able to hold it up and use it as a New Mexico sunshade.
2) I love catching fruit on the nose, but only squashed underneath something heavier and more complex - leather, cigar smoke, spices. It ought to smell like it's been sitting in the Masterpiece Theater study my wife claims I want.
3) I love fruity, dry wines - and that's not a contradiction. Big berries with low acidity, again smashed in-between deeper notes. The fruit shouldn't linger, but I should know it's there.

So, it's probably no surprise that Syrah tends to be a go-to wine for me. There's a lot of variety in the varietal (yuck yuck), but for big-thick-dry-fruit it's as safe a bet as any. The Australian product, which they insist on calling Shiraz just to get under my anal-retentive skin*, has become hugely popular in the last decade - mostly because they make plenty of mid-priced ones that you might call dumbed-down...or let's say, "more accessible." Marquis Philips, however, is a great example of what a simple Syrah/Shiraz ought to be - it ticks off everything on the list above. And while it's far from the deepest wine you'll ever have, it's something I could drink every damn night with satisfaction and without boredom.

It's currant black - you feel like you could make Rorsch blots with it. It's a silly preference, but I like having something in my glass that looks like it has some weight to it. The nose is big, ripe blueberries, black cherries and currant, with a hint of leather and grass - a little fruitier than I like, but the palate makes up for it. Up front it tastes like you've bit right into all those wild berries, but it quickly dries out - smoky, spicey, then gone. Yum.

Oh, and the critter on the bottle is called a "Roogle" - you may have seen other products from the winery under that name. Get it while you can - I've heard rumors they won't be making any more after the 2008 is gone.