The Booze Review: Mad Fish 2001 Shiraz

[solipsistnation]

Rated 84 by Wine Spectator. The line between 86 (Jacob's Creek 2001 Shiraz) and 84 is wide indeed. The Jacob's Creek is a really amazing 8-dollar bottle. This is a passable 12-dollar tipple. It's not foul, but it's definitely table wine for slurpin' down rather than something you'd haul out for guests. I probably won't pick up any more, even if the price goes down. I have a Mad Fish Chardonnay that was rated somewhat higher, however, and if we can ever find something to eat that goes with it, I'm sure it'll be superior. This, eh. Not bad. Not good, but not bad.

Along with this, I am having bits of french bread with hunks of raclette, AKA the "My GOD what is that STENCH?" cheese. Raclette is a strange one. On its own, if you just take it out of the fridge or the cooler or the Cheese Cave or whatever, raclette has a disconcerting moist rind and a striking pungent and undeniably unwholesome odor. jehanna will leave the room if a hunk of raclette is opened to the air. Personally, I don't find it as repulsive as she does, but it's certainly not a scent to tickle the appetite.

Raclette was the first cheese to appear when my brother signed me up for a Cheese Of The Month Club, and I suspect it was there to weed out anyone who wasn't SERIOUS about their cheese. The rich odor, heavy and redolent with the pungency of unpleasant damp things and forgotten socks, is enough to drive all but the most discerning cheese fiends far, far away.

Once melted, however, raclette becomes sweet and creamy and gorgeous. It has an amazing firm mouth feel and, with fresh-baked bread, has become one of my favorite evening treats. Visitors to certain social events taking place early next month will most definitely be offered slabs of this finest of stenchful dairy products along with the undoubtedly striking array of booze. I'm also planning on celebrating with the bottle of Barros 1977 Colheita that has been beckoning me from a certain local boozeteria. (65 bucks.) Of course, my current version of fresh-baked bread soft of implies that I opened a refridgerated can in order to bake it, but hey, it's better than slapping the cheese down on a hunk of Wonder Bread brand packing material and microwaving it until molten.

To summarize:

2001 Mad Fish Shiraz -- recommended if there's nothing else worthwhile, and decent for less than 8 bucks a bottle, but Jacob's Creek is far preferable if you're looking for an Aussie Shiraz.

raclette, the cheese -- yum yum!

Comments

[dariusk.livejournal.com]

I love smelly cheese.

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

In that case, raclette can be your friend.

Have you had the port and stilton experience?

[dariusk.livejournal.com]

Ugh, I'm not such a fan of port (except the amber variety). I tried the port in Portugal, but most of my drinking there was spent with the green wine, which I found much more to my liking.

Port tends to make a cheese a lot more oily, to my taste. I mean, not literally, but that's the feeling I get when I have the two... cheeseport shakes anyone?

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

Hm. That's interesting. I think it depends on the port and the cheese... (and by "amber" you mean "tawny," right? 8)

[dariusk.livejournal.com]

Actually, I referring to "Spaniard's Piss". But I guess "tawny" is a little more elegant.

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

I think that in this case I will bow to your obviously extensive experience with "Spaniard's Piss."

[purple-terror.livejournal.com]

If you ever find yourself bereft of common sense and a wallet with too much money in it, high thee to Brookline to the liquor mart on Comm Ave. My wallet cried out in terror as I wandered through the aisles picking out well known names (Batard-Montrachet, Corton). I nearly fainted at seeing the massive cooler full of CASES of Haut-Brion, Mouton-Rothschild, Petrus. And that wasn't even the locked "rare wine" room. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I'm thinking of opening up my Warre 85 in a few weeks for my birthday. Yummmmmmmmm.

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

Hmm, a wine store in Brookline. Why am I not surprised that it contains this sort of selection? :) Wow, though.

[purple-terror.livejournal.com]

The best part is that it looks like a cheapo liquor store from the front. The do have a pretty wide selection, so good, cheap stuff can be found amongst the giants.

[mikecap.livejournal.com]

I tried the Jacob's Creek at a wine tasting at Cyprian Keyes - very good stuff indeed.

[quaintance.livejournal.com]

While I haven't tried raclette, I recently was appalled by how strongly cold Camembert smells. I'm imagining that raclette is much stronger?

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

Stronger and more... penetrating.

And it has a disconcerting moist sticky rind, like if you'd let it get damp or something.

[greyarea.livejournal.com]

"Cheese of the month" club? What a brilliant idea. I wonder if there's a similar thing over here?

Smelly cheese is good (he says, having just eaten a load of roquefort for breakfast)...

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

Probably. It was from an internet site, anyway-- igourmet.com, I think.