2009 Mollydooker, "The Boxer", Shiraz, Australia

Terry post:

It was in 2004 that one of our wine reps came through the door with an odd-sounding Shiraz offering from Australia: Mollydooker. I'd never heard of the brand and it was one of maybe nine wines I sampled that day.

Now almost seven years later I remember the tasting and my notes from that meeting: "...huge...powerful...amazing...dark purple - almost black in the glass...dark berries...tar(?)..."

We carried the wine for a year and then we took it off the list. The problem was that Mollydooker is a small brand and it was nearly impossible to keep it in stock. And in the restaurant business, it is better to remove it from the wine list completely than to disappoint customers who see it and want to buy it.

It is with that background that I opened a bottle of the 2009 Mollydooker Boxer this rainy afternoon on the porch, sat back and enjoyed.

My impressions: Very dark garnet in the glass. Dark berries and cocoa on the nose. Mildly acidic with noticeable tannins at the finish.

The wine is a powerhouse of flavors with dark berries and mild acidity being the most prominent attributes. It is a glass-staining giant deserving your time and attention.

Superb.

Highly recommended.

$24.99 at Blue Wind Gourmet in Lexington Park, MD.