Bullcrap

I smell a rat...aka crap wine. The usually reliable "cheap" wine Torres, Sangre de Toro, 2006 has tumbled to the depths. The bubble gum, candy-like nose warned immediately that this was going to be a painful bottle to drink. Good colour but it's a lightweight, tastes of fake raspberry/cherry melted popsicle. Ugly. Crap, save the $13 and buy some fruit juice instead.
Jacob's Creek is one of Australia's success stories (in a business sense...). They make literally tons of wine, most is pretty pedestrian. However, their Reserve Shiraz sometimes is a winner, as it was in 2004 (90 points, Wine Spectator). Well, take the 2006 edition off that list please. It's dark enough in the glass but it smells like a freshly sanitized bathroom. Medium bodied, generic shiraz, a little earthy-dirty with OK plum fruit showing. This is certainly not your typical aussie fruit bomb reserve shiraz. And it winces when paired with food. An "OK" wine, use the $20 for something tastier.
Now for something a lot better - the small, family owned Hendry winery makes some nice wines. Their Block 7 Napa Valley Zinfandel 2004 so is pungent even the cork itself smells nice. Fresh baked bumbleberry pie... This is a fruit bomb - raspberries and redcurrants, but they stay nice and fresh glass after glass. Solid wine. Not for matching with serious food but I could drink it all night long. "Good", but it's a tad too expensive at $30 (bought in the USA).
Cheers!!
r