I was talking to a female member of our species when she told me she like chocolate - I then told her that some wines taste and smell exactly like chocolate.....
Okay in retrospect I shouldn't have promised something that I couldn't provide - so thats why I'm asking for help~~
Could someone please recommend a wine with an obvious chocolate aroma/flavor that is widely available (something that sorta hits you in the face)?
The quick answer is McLaren Vale Shiraz. Barossa and Langhorne can do it as well.
I haven't tried too many current releases that are widely available so I can't help. No wait. Try and get hold of the 2007 Kalleske JMK port. Very chocolate! I also like the 2006 but that is more fruity and not what you had in mind methinks.
cheers
Carl
Bartenders are supposed to have people skills. Or was it people are supposed to have bartending skills?
The last wine I had which really smelled chocolately/coconutty was Jacobs Creek Centenary Hill Shiraz 2002, but that's no longer available. I'd assume they follow a similar oak treatment, though, from vintage to vintage, so it might be worth looking at the current release (which is either '04, or '05 by now). I'd also suggest that younger wines would show more chocolatey character than older wines, as the aromas I associate with "chocolate" would, I expect, fade with time, and perhaps become something quite different in an aged wine. I of course have no scientific proof to back any of this up. Those are just my guesses.
I had a Two Hands Gnarly Dudes Barossa Shiraz 2008 last night which was rich, ripe, slightly sweet with raspberries and a bit of chocolate on the finish. Should be easy to find and under $20 too.
Cheers TiggerK
Last edited by TiggerK on Thu May 13, 2010 9:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
Agree with Wayno here, remember having a Lawson's 1999 a couple of years ago that was just like a pepermint crisp chocolate bar on especially the nose but palate also. Delicious wine.
At the broadest level, chocolate can be a varietal character of Shiraz, and it can also appear from high toast oak. A lot of the suggestions here fit one or both of these.
I've found the various Dutschke Shiraz have been chocolately in the past,
the cleanskin versions of the 2005 Chateau Reynella Basket Pressed Shiraz I have are very chocolatey after they have been allowed to open up for a couple of hours, so I dare say that the labelled version will be much the same albeit without the 1 in 5 risk of cork taint (I know, you get what you pay for, but they were much less than 80% of the price of the labelled one).
