Shir-azz

Mollydooker “The Boxer” Shiraz, 2008

/ thewinesnob / Leave a comment

FYI- this wine is not for the faint of heart!  This is serious stuff, people.  Big and Nasty.  This wine INVENTED big and nasty.  Actually, it would have been Sarah and Sparky Marquis, the winemakers- and their track record has proven that they’re pretty darn good at it, too!  None of their red wines have ever scored below 90 points!  That’s impressive.  Wine Spectator gave this vintage 91 points- I’m anticipating Parker will give it a few more, just cause he’s like that.  Maybe a 94, is my guess.

I’ll be honest.  I was disillusioned with the Mollydooker thing for a while.  The last vintage of Boxer I tried was the 2006, and I thought it was awkward… big and bold, but not balanced enough to pull it off.  It still scored 90 points, but I was turned off to the whole thing.  In fact, I was not even looking forward to trying this new batch of Mollydooker’s, because I was expecting them to be “all bark, but no bite”, if you know what I mean.

Au contraire!  This stuff rocks.  Plain and simple.   It may be a bit over-the-top in style for some of you out there- it’s jammy and rich, so if that’s not your thing, definitely skip it.  But if it IS your thing- for heavens sake, BUY IT.  This wine is bright, fun, spicy, and layered with flavors of  blueberries, pomegranates, vanilla, tobacco, hazelnuts, and sheer POWER.  It’s rich-blooded, smooth and sexy.  For all you Mad Men fans out there… this wine is Don Draper.  He is a man of steel, with his slicked back head of black hair.  He can drink scotch and smoke cigarettes all day and go out and seduce clients all night.  Commanding, and almost forceful.  Just enough to make you want him more.  Look at me, I’m swooning just thinking about Don Draper.  Apologies to anyone who doesn’t watch Mad Men… but you really should start.

mollyboxer

There are several Mollydooker wines in stock all over town right now- but look for this cute little left-handed Boxer dude on the bottle to make sure you get The Boxer.  We’ll be selling quite a few of them at the wine sale TODAY (Saturday, the 15th) at Cellar on Greene- there is a Cabernet (The Maitre’D) and a Cab-Shiraz blend (Two Left Feet), all of which we’ll be selling for $26 a bottle!  But TRUST ME- they will not last long, and we only get a certain amount!!  So you must act fast.  I’m typing furiously in an attempt to get this out in time for you to read it and get yourself down to the wine sale to see us!   So, these are my parting words- wine sale.  today.  12-2.  See you there!

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Luchador Shir-azz

/ thewinesnob / 3 Comments

Sometimes I like to say “Shir-azz,” and pronounce the “azz” like you’re saying “raspberry.”  Just try it- “Shir-aazzz.”  It’s a lot of fun to say.  Now say “Shir-ahhz,” like you’re supposed to.  Not quite as fun.  Now, while we’re still on pronunciations, here’s a quote from the bottle of Luchador Shiraz:

“Luchador (luch-a-door)  Function: noun.  Usage: Spanish word.  1.) fighter.  2.)wrestler.  3.) a wine that will body slam your tounge.” 

True story!  it will, indeed.

Moving on!  Luchador has been a top favorite at Cellar since we opened.  Everyone seems to get a big kick out of the bottle-

luchador

The dude on the front’s name is “El Diamante!”  Once again, the bottle gives us a nice little Bio on our friend El Diamante- “El Diamante rubs spicy peppers in his eyes and has had five wives.  The hammerhead is his favorite shark and he loves spooning.” 

I love this!  It’s quirky.  And sometimes, when there is so much emphasis put on packaging and such, the wine isn’t really all that good- but this wine IS!  It’s big and bold, but not overly oaked or heavy or inky.  I find it really difficult to find a Shiraz that I like in this price point ($17 ) because I usually find that they’re all fruit-oak bombs, without a nice core to hold them up.  Luchador has a spicy, exotic nose- with blackberry, blueberry, licorice, light vanilla, and a bit of smoke.  It is big, but not a monstrosity.  It has a nice touch of elegance that makes it really people-friendly.  And it’s MANLY.  I would say this wine reminds me of Russell Crowe- but ONLY when he was in Gladiator… not the scruffy, long-haired, disheveled look he’s been going for lately.  Not a fan. 

We’re currently pouring this By-the-glass at Cellar & Solstice- or you can pick up a bottle to take home for $17.  Wine Advocate gave it 90 points!  Hot damn!  Another 90-point wine.  Enjoy!