Kalbarri

This 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon from Southeastern Australia was another fairly high scoring wine. After the long string of Shiraz based wines, the group found the cab sauvignon wine a lot smoother and more easy going. This was a wine that would go well with food but could be enjoyed on its own.

The tasters found the nose to have a soft fruit hint like cranberry with some lavender. They also detected a taste that they agreed could only be described as "sweet tarts" - meaning the candy sweet tarts.

I missed a lot of the conversation as I was putting my son to bed( my wife and I host these tastings in our apartment), but I gathered that this wine although not blowing anyone's mind was definitely a crowd pleaser. One person wrote on their note card "love it."

I think this wine came from Ralph's grocery store - which always seems to have a hit or miss selection - so good job to Brown Bag agents James and Heather for bringing this find in.

Extra credit for the price. Both since it is below eight bucks and the decimal is so odd - .59.

RATING: 3.15 Screwcaps
LABEL: Kalbarri
GRAPE: Cabernet Sauvignon
PRICE: $7.59

Yalumba

A blend of Shiraz and Viognier, the 2006 Yalumba earned some really high marks. Again, this was a wine showing some really dark fruits like plum and boysenberry. It was also part of a string of dark, fruit forward wines at the Australia night tasting. What the tasters found, however, with this wine was that it was round in the mouth, balanced, and smooth.

Some found some tart cranberry and crisp pear on the nose - possibly because of the Viognier blended in.

At the end of the night, I took an informal poll, and three of BBS tasters voted it their favorite of the night - even though overall the Gemtree shiraz rated number one. And for those who didn't vote Yalumba their number one, they nominated it second station.

And for a shiraz that has a silky almost elegant finish - what's not to like?

RATING: 3.75 Screwcaps
LABEL: Yalumba
GRAPE: Shiraz/Viognier blend
PRICE: $10.99