Give $20, Get $20. Refer a Friend Today!

Curious Vine 2006 Rustom Jee Pughouse Shiraz Grenache

Curious Vine 2006 Rustom Jee Pughouse Shiraz Grenache

What We Say 2006 Rustom Jee Pughouse Shiraz Grenache

SECRET SAVINGS ALERT:

Subscribe to our Daily Dispatch (above) and you’ll always know what our Top Secret coupon code of the day is. Every day we issue a new members-only code that entitles you to have Ground Shipping included on orders of six or more and, sometimes, an added discount!

Mission Codename: The Sandbox

Operative: Agent Petite Verdot

Objective: Send junior Operative, Agent Petite Verdot, to Australia, to retrieve an outstanding Aussie wine

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Rustom Jee

Wine Subject: 2006 Pughouse Shiraz Grenache Blend

Winemaker: Michael Scholz

Backgrounder: For toady’s mission we send new Wine Spies Operative, Agent Petite Verdot, down under, where she discovers Rustom Jee Winery. Headed by 6th-generation Australian winemaker, Michael Scholz, Rustom Jee makes wines from Estate grapes in Australia’s fables Barossa Valley. While in Australia, Agent Petite Verdot makes an alarming discovery: Rustom Jee’s winemaker is also the head winemaker at St. Supery Winery, a Wine Spies Operative favorite, in Napa!

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – A stunning dark purple, with a foreboding and nearly black core. The wine lightens to a genuine mulberry hue, just at the rim

Smell – This wine has a lot to offer on the nose! Very woody at first pour (a combination of forest floor and toasted cedar) mellowing out after 15 to 20 minutes of being opened. Tart cherry and cinnamon are accentuated with soft sugared cranberry. A touch of leather (yes I know, I am a self professed hater of the descriptor leather, but it exists, and I love the aroma when its authentic) and pepper. After decanting, bold big berry and a light green pepper hint appears towards the end. Then, a strong anise finishes off the nose

Feel – This wine has a liquid Silk mouth feel that gradually becomes more full bodied and smooth as you sip it

Taste – Supple dark fruit leads the way, with blackberry and chicory, tart cherry and licorice. As the wine stretches out, flavors ruby ripe plumb, red currant and a hint of eucalyptus emerge

Finish – The soft tannins in this delicious Aussie red make for a lengthy and very elegant finish

Conclusion – Complex yet easy and even fun to drink, this dynamic wine has a lot to offer. Beautifully structured through and through, this is a great wine to drink all by itself but would pair beautifully with calamari fritti, bacon wrapped pork chops – which is what I paired this wine with – or a nice peppered NY Steak! Any fan of Aussie Shiraz will love this delicious and balanced wine.

Mission Report:

WINEMAKER INTERVIEW

AGENT RED: Greetings, Michael. We are thrilled to be showing your wine today. Thanks so much for taking some time to answer questions for our Operatives today.

WINEMAKER: Michael Scholz

RED: Was there a specific experience in your life that inspired your love of wine?

WINEMAKER: I was fortunate enough to grow up on a vineyard right in the middle of Australia’s most renowned wine district. As a kid, I spent all my time in and around the vineyards, whether it be playing in and around the small creek or helping out in the vineyard.

RED: What wine or winemaker has most influenced your winemaking style?

WINEMAKER: I had a great opportunity to work with Frank Newman who had spent time at the helm of Grange.

RED: Who do you make wine for?

WINEMAKER: Winemaking and grape growing is the only thing that I know, and I reckon it’s a pretty cool thing to do. I want consumers to get a kick out of my wines, but I always work to put a wine in the bottle that I really like myself. After all, the word is that red wine is pretty good for you.

RED: Please tell me a little bit about the wine we are featuring today.

WINEMAKER: The “PUGHOUSE” Blend is a Shiraz based wine laced with a little Grenache to give it some slight spice and lifted aromas. Grenache having a softer structure, allows us to present a wine that offers Shiraz richness with a slightly more supple finish. The vines that produce this wine are grown on my family’s 6th Generation Estate in the Barossa.

RED: What is your favorite pairing with today’s wine?

WINEMAKER: In Australia we would pair it with a rack of lamb and maybe some potato gratin. However I think it is excellent with a char-grilled BBQ steak.

RED: In your opinion, what makes the Barossa Valley so special?

WINEMAKER: The Barossa has proven to be a magic place to grow Shiraz. We also see excellent Grenache being produced. That is of course the essence of this blend. I guess the opportunity is due to the good sunshine and cool night time breezes, along with the shallow soils, for an excellent combination that allows us to grow vines to produce such great colour, structure and flavour.

RED: What is occupying your time at the winery these days?

WINEMAKER: There is a new vintage gearing up right now, which makes for lots of work in an effort to produce another terrific season of wines.

RED: How would you recommend people approach your wines and wine in general?

WINEMAKER: These are structured wines that are dense, flavourful and enjoyable.

RED: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

WINEMAKER: My Great Great Great Grandfather had the strength, courage and vision to settle this property. He was the first to settle this land, and it has not ever changed hands, remaining in the SCHOLZ family today. I am fortunate to be the 6th Generation on this old property and wish to present wines with an essence of this estate in the Barossa Valley.

RED: Thank you so much for your time. We learned a lot about you – and your wine. Keep up the great work, we are big fans!

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Borassa Valley, in Australia, can be seen in this satellite photo.

Read Full Review
Hide Full Review

What the Winery Says Curious Vine

Curious Vine
Curious Vine

About This Wine:

This wine exhibits tremendous hues of deep vibrant reds and purples. Aromas of cranberry, dark cherry, raspberry and cola dominate with contributions of anise, white pepper and a dusty sense of terroir. Flavors follow with black cherry, background hints of blackberry, pepper and a subtle leathery note of maturation. This is a structured yet approachable wine with a long and graceful finish.

About The Winery:

Curious Vine is a wine company created by Michael & Amy Scholz in 2008.

Michael was born and raised in a small town in South Australia called Light Pass. The original Scholz ancestors to settle in this area did so in the early 1800’s. The Scholz family still holds all land rights to this parcel of land and Michael is of the sixth generation. Light Pass is located in the Barossa Valley, one of the premier grape growing regions of Australia. As many families did in the 1800’s, the Scholz’s took advantage of the ideal growing conditions and began farming. There are eighty year old vines still thriving on the land today.

Due to the great fortune of growing up on a very old Barossa Valley wine property Michael & Amy wanted to focus on an opportunity to create wines from this unique growing region of the world.

With Michael’s 15 years experience producing wine in both Napa & Sonoma County and Amy’s background in food and wine sales it seemed as if they finally had the tools to create what Michael had envisioned for years, to create & present wines from the family estate.

With that thought in mind they created Curious Vine to facilitate the import of their wine from Australia into the states. Their first wine is proudly presented under the label Rustom Jee.

About The Winemaker:

Michael graduated from Roseworthy College in 1985 and gained winemaking experience in the United States, France and South Africa before returning to California.
He was a winemaker at Iron Horse Vineyards, Sonoma then Chief Winemaker at St. Supery, Napa Valley for five years. In late 2001 he joined an Australian owned winery, Wattle Creek, in the Alexander Valley,Sonoma where he worked until 2009. Harvest 2009, sees Michael return to St Supery in the Napa Valley. Michael is an avid swimmer and in his free time you will find him in the pool or on his road bike.

Technical Analysis:

APPELLATION: BAROSSA VALLEY

BLEND: 89% SHIRAZ 11% GRENACHE

PH: 6.59

TOTAL ACIDITY: 6.44 g/L

RESIDUAL SUGAR: <0.02%

WINE ALCOHOL: 14.6%

OAK: 22% NEW FRENCH, 44% 2yr old FRENCH, 34% 4yr old AMERICAN

OAK AGEING: 29 MONTHS

TOTAL CASE PRODUCTION: 267

Curious Vine 2006 Rustom Jee Pughouse Shiraz Grenache 750ml Wine Bottle
Offer Expired Feb 27, 2010 at 11:59 pm
Register to get notified when this wine is back in stock:
Sign Up For Free
Curious Vine 2006 Rustom Jee Pughouse Shiraz Grenache 750ml Wine Bottle
Offer Expired Feb 27, 2010 at 11:59 pm
Register to get notified when this wine is back in stock:
Sign Up For Free