The World Goblet Round 1: Australia vs. Chile
While scanning the World Cup groups in order to plan our daytime drinking over the next month, Gut Check noticed that most of the great wine-producing nations are represented in the tournament field, including all of those with a reputation for crafting good, value-priced wines. Because Gut Check never saw a value we didn't like, we resolved to stage our own tournament to determine the 2010 World Goblet Champion.
Australia has gained prominence as a source of inexpensive wines, but many of these are gloppy reds with too much alcohol and residual sugar, or oaky, one-dimensional whites. Chile, too, has long been a pillar of the grocery aisles, and today we open what has become its signature red variety, carménerè, a grape with its roots in Bordeaux (where it's now all but forgotten).
This is a group stage match; three points for a win, one point for a draw.
To view all 2010 World Goblet matches to date, click here...
Next: On to the match!...
2007 Boarding Pass Shiraz South Australia ($11)
Dave Nelson Two heavyweights face off in this Round 1 action...
Very dark purple in the glass. Yes, this one hits you in the honker with big ripe fruit, but it stops short of smelling like Smucker's. As $11 shirazes go, this one borders on elegant, and a drinker's patience is rewarded with some earthy, spicy elements. Its aromatic wallop carries through to the flavor -- plenty of sweet fruit, but some underlying tannic bitterness to balance. Not much on the the finish, but that's hardly a shortcoming. A nice effort from Australian importer Dan Philips of the Grateful Palate, and winemaker Chris Ringland, that was just as good on the second day.
2007 Santa Ema Carménère Reserve ($11)
Clear, light purple. A deep breath proves much more restrained on the nose than the Boarding Pass, with cool blueberry and cranberry leading the way. There's a really prominent dill note, along with a bitter streak that, unfortunately, carries over to become the defining flavor. Time out of the bottle reveals only a hard tannic character that makes the wine even less appealing. A disappointment.
Result: Australia
While big Aussie shirazes don't usually trip Gut Check's trigger, this one was well above average. With the Chilean offering little, this match turned out as one-sided as Sunday's Australia - Germany match in South Africa -- only with the Australians doing the ass-kicking.
Group C Standings:
|
Country |
W |
L |
T |
Pts |
|
Australia |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
Germany |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
United States |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Chile |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
Email to Friend
Write to Editor
Print Article
