"Angel's Share"

Two Hands, "Angel's Share" Shiraz 2003 ($28) -- McLaren Vale, Australia. "Angel's share refers to the small amount of wine that evaporates from oak barrels while maturing. Medieval winemakers assumed that angels watched over the wines, and that they took their share." Sounds good to me. I liked this wine very much and it is very different from some of the other Australian Shiraz's I have tasted (Wolf Blass, Viking), which are stearner with a pepper nose. The soft fruits are well balanced with solid mid-palate, structure, smooth long finish. I am not usually very good at recommending food pairings, but we had this wine with a family dinner of boiled corned-beef and cabbage with roasted brussel sprouts. (Like I said, I really enjoyed this wine! Thank God!) This is an elegant, full-bodied wine that is drinkable now and should last for years. I can't tell you that it will get more complex with cellaring, but it is a great wine to buy in quantity and then sample over the next five years!