A Tasting of the Alice White Wines of Australia

Alice White is an intriguing line of Australian wines. Founded in 1996, it is known for its color coded labels, and provides a range of varietals including Riesling, Lexia, Chardonnay, Red Lexia, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Pinot Noir. Merlot and a combination of Cabernet and Shiraz. The Alice White line is a bit of a Hollywood darling, featured on popular daytime TV shows, like Oprah and The View. It is typically described as a line reasonably-priced, tasty wines. In fact, I found these wine not only reasonably-priced, but "practically free"! So consider this another installment in my "take one for the team" series.

Alice White Shiraz ***

Review: Alice White Shiraz is a popular house shiraz, showing an excellent price point. Shiraz is one of Australia's most widely-recognized grapes (spelled "syrah" in some other parts of the world).

Let's try the Australian classic first, the shiraz. In the glass this is deep red, almost opaque in the middle, moving towards purple at the edge. Aromas from the glass are mild, clean, sweet and slightly bright, with tiny hints (not unpleasant) of a helium balloon.

On the palate, the Alice White Shiraz sings with a much louder voice. It is round, sweet and bold on the mid-palate, offering an engaging "hook" into the wine. The sweet red cherries and hint of plums migrate out from this middle, trickling with light, sweet acids down the sides of your mouth. The finish is clean, coming on with just a light touch of sweet tannins. Yummy.

I would come back to this wine again. Three stars out of five on the Spirit of Wine scale. At it's "practically free" price, that makes the Alice White Shiraz an outstanding value. It also means that the shiraz is the highest scoring of the three Alice White wines sampled - a confirmation that shiraz continues to rule in Australia!

Alice White Cabernet Sauvignon **+

Review: The Alice White Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% cabernet, taken from various vineyards in the south eastern Australia region.

In the glass, The Alice White Cabernet is medium deep ruddy red. Aromas are shy, indeed, although reminiscent of classical cabernet varietals. On the palate, there is a bright, plum fruit as a first point of attack, crisp and clean. The finish does not linger, but vanishes fairly quickly with a burst of inky fruit and sugar. Not a bad overall showing, and I would be inclined to try this again with a couple years of age (not too many).

So two stars on the Spirit of Wine scale, with a plus for this future potential.

Alice White Cabernet Shiraz **+

Review: This is my first trial of the The Cabernet Shiraz is a blend of 60% cabernet sauvignon and 40% shiraz.

I'm sipping at cool cellar temperatures. In the glass the Alice White Cabernet Shiraz is a deep dark red; not quite opaque, but not quite translucent either. Upon swirling, modest fruity aromas are apparent, clean and cherry-ish - reminds me of some of the central coast California cabs. On the palate, a moderately full center of bushy fruit appears. Very clean, though not layered or aromatic. A cluster of violets mingle with the cherry on the sides of the mouth, moving towards a fairly brief, though once-again clean, finish.

Two stars out of five on the Spirit of Wine scale, with a plus because there is nothing to offend (though I'm not sure inoffensive should REALLY warrant a plus). I'm not drawn to it, so I cannot award the third star.