Rawson's Retreat, Cabernet Sauvignon, South Eastern Australia, Vintage 2004. From Penfolds.
~$10.00
(label to right is from 2003, 2004 is a bit different)
My first post will be about this wonderful and well priced wine. These are the types of wine that I look forward to finding and putting in this blog, excellent quality and exceptional value. Rawson's Retreat is a work horse for Penfolds being one of their bigger volume wines but it's value is unaffected. It is a reflection of the true Aussie style with ultra ripe notes, like their Shiraz, but being cab, it still has a nice soft tannin core. This is an easy drinking wine that is drinking nicely now and will go well with just about anything you serve on the Thanksgiving table but it will also benefit from a few more years of cellaring.

Color: Beautiful, dark ruby red with sharp purple edges and viscous legs.
Nose: This is a true aussie cab with the fruit forward cherry and strawberry but it has
nice dusty leather notes and hints of white pepper and mint.

Palate: Lots of tart acidity and a bit week in the mid-palate but with food it becomes much nicer. Tannins are soft helping to give the wine nice body. I had it with a tomato based shrimp pasta (it was excellent) and the acidity of the tomatoes balanced with the wines acidity and made the wine taste sweeter, they paired together very well. The wine is labeled at %14 alcohol but is smooth and not burning.

Overall: The wine on its own leaves you wanting more on the palate but with food it becomes nicer, for the price you can not ask for more on the nose and color is fantastic.

I give it a B+