Rockford 2006 Rod & Spur Cabernet Shiraz

I've remarked previously about the longevity of old habits and still haven't quite got my head around the concept of a fifty-cents-less-than-thirty-bucks red as a  Saturday night dinner for one accompaniment but it's about time to start considering the contents of the annual Rockfoed order.

With a France-Wales Rugby World Cup game on the box and a big old-fashioned lumparump for dinner the idea of a big old-fashioned red had a certain je ne sais quoi.

And, of course, I could make up my mind about including the current vintage  (the 2008) in the order...

Rockford 2006 Rod & Spur Cabernet Shiraz (4.5* $29.50) Cabernet dominant this time around (63/37%), deep red in the glass savoury leathery nose with berries and blackcurrants, not quite full-bodied but not exactly restrained either, rounded mouthfeel and silky tannins that ran all the way along the palate. Both varieties in this classic blend bring their own elements to the party and they've meshed together very nicely after five years. Could well have gone on for around a decade, but with limited cellaring space that five year span looks about right for these parts. Reorder? I definitely think so.

Helm 2008 Cabernet Shiraz

When a Facebook friend posted a link to a YouTube video of the old Let's Do the Time Warp from Rocky Horror I found myself thinking, "Yes, that's fine. I remember that, but, seriously, do I really want to go back there?"

Now, I'm probably coming over as hypocritical since I've been known to bang on endlessly about stuff from the late sixties and am currently working on a Rear View of the Small Faces Ogden's Nut Gone Flake.

When that's finished, anyone interested will find it here, but don't hold your breath.

No, that do I really want to go back there refers to something I noted in passing, recognize whenever it re-emerges, but won't have me going out of the way to investigate. I never got around to seeing Rocky Horror, and don't have any intention of going out of my was to remedy a situation that I don't personally see as a problem.

Which is pretty much the way I feel about a wine that comes in a style that seems awfully familiar, decidedly retro, rather pleasant in its own way but several miles removed from the red wines I've been sampling recently. In a world where even north-eastern Victorian Durif is coming through soft and rounded at significantly lower alc/vol levels (I'd point to earlier reviews of the Baileys of Glenrowan Durif and Petit Sirah as rxamples of what I'm talking about) this one comes across as a distinct exercise in retrospect.

Fine if that sort of thing floats your boat, but in this case we're in roughly the same territory as the catamaran that spends most of its time beached about a kilometre from the Little House of Concrete.

Helm 2008 Cabernet Shiraz (3.5* $35) Deep coloured, high alcohol oaky nose with plenty of big fruit across the palate and tannins that take you back to the days before winemakers started using words like feminine to describe a red wine, this comes across as a decided blast from the past which is fine in itself but the price tag won't have me lining up for more. Fine, that means an extra bottle of Riesling (or something else) in the next order.