Shotfire - Barossa GSM

                  

Name: Shotfire
Varietal: 51% Grenache, 39% Shiraz, 10% Mourvedre

Region: Barossa Valley
Country: Australia
Year: 2020
Price: $16.95

Vintage Cellar Review: Black violet color. Aromas of blistered blackberry, sweet tea, carnation, and smoked meats with a slightly chewy, vibrant, dry-yet-fruity medium-to-full body and a seamless, amusing, medium-long cinna-mint finish with well-integrated, crunchy tannins and moderate oak flavor. An inky GSM from Down Under with bold flavors and well-integrated tannins. - 93

Flavors/Aromas: (Pg. 156) A blend that's notable enough to have it's own entry, this versatile food pairing wine imparts hints of raspberry, blackberry, rosemary, baking spices, and lavender on drinkers.

My Review: Clearly, my previously discussed reluctance to write tasting blogs on blended wines has greatly diminished! It helps that this blend is so well-known that tasting notes are readily available, which was one of the primary reasons why this wine caught my eye. While my first sniff revealed aromas of blackberry and carnation, I was unable to taste much of anything on my first sip except for PURE STRENGTH. Even though I did get a bit of raspberry jam, blackberry, and general spice on later tastes, it remained quite overpowering, to the point where I just let the glass sit out for a while in a sort of impromptu decanting. After this, I also found some black olive with an undercurrent of cinammon, which helped the wine to really step it up in the end. This GSM was generally pretty big, with more acidity than I am used to for my reds, but overall it was quite enjoyable.

Food Pairing: I had this wine with the same Italian Sausage w/ Peppers & Onions pasta sauce as the incoming Drink This Now! entry, this time served over spaghetti. Without the sauce there was very little effect and the wine's power, but the sauce's meatiness did combine and neutralize the spice somewhat, though it was still very noticeable.