Bleasdale Langhorne Crossing

Grapes: Cabernet sauvignon (52 percent), malbec (27 percent), shiraz (15 percent), petit verdot (6 percent)

Region: Langhorne Creek, Southern Australia

Vintage: 2006

Price: $11.99

In the glass: Bleasdale Langhorne Crossing is a deep blood-ruby red with clearly purple-colored streaks and a dense core to red rim definition with high viscosity.

On the nose: There is a serious onslaught of concentrated berry jam, extracted blackberry juice, sweetish ripe cherries, phenolics, oak wood references, black currant juice, crushed peppercorns and even raspberries, making it very multidimensional. There are hints of eucalyptus and candied violets as well.

On the palate: This mouth-filling wine is a hugely internationally styled and concentrated red and black berry compote with sweet violets, loads of cherry jam, chewy cranberry fruit, minerals and soft vanilla from oak. It has a superbly delineated midpalate with wonderfully supple tannins and a lengthy finish, which lingers with spices and pepper.

Odds and ends: Australian wines have suffered a recent decline in sales in this country, but winemakers still are producing lots of exciting and excellently priced selections from some of the finest areas of viticulture Down Under. Bleasdale Langhorne Crossing is a nice representation of the important "less than $15" category in the market and should be tried. Packaged as most Australian wines are nowadays with the practical screwcap, you can easily enjoy a couple of glasses of this stylish wine and save the rest for the next day or two. Try it with a late summer crown roast of lamb. Drink this wine now through 2011.

Gil Lempert-Schwarz’s wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89016-0749, or e-mail him at gil@winevegas.com.