R Wines is a new company founded by importer and marketing genius, Dan Philips, along with co-owner, renowned winemaker, Chris Ringland. Winemakers for R Wines are Chris Ringland, Lisa Wetherell, Andrew Hercock, and John Hughes. It encompasses four familiar labels, Marquis Philips, 3 Rings, Roogle, and Bitch, along with 13 others created especially for R Wines. Needless to say, the packaging of these wines is amazingly creative but, more importantly, what is in the bottle consistently over-delivers from low-end to high-end. The R series features Cabernet Sauvignon from the Barossa and a Rose of Cabernet Sauvignon from McLaren Vale. The labels portray different takes on the letter “R”. Consumers owe it to themselves to read the witty back labels. The Marquis Philips wines have established a six year track record of delivering a big bang for the buck. The wines are now made by a team put together by Dan Philips and Chris Ringland with absolutely no change in quality. Starting with the 2006 vintage, however, all of the fruit is sourced from McLaren Vale. The other change of note is that Merlot has been dropped from the program, primarily because of the difficulty of finding Merlot good enough to merit the M-P label.

Rating

Dark, dense and spicy, with a pulsating core of plum, black cherry and loads of exotic spices, lingering on the generous, distinctly peppery, unsweetened-chocolate finish. This pedal-to-the-metal Shiraz needs time to soften. Best from 2009 through 2016. 10,000 cases made. –HS Wine Spectator 91 points (Oct 15 2006) The aim of this project, a partnership between importer Dan Philips, renowned winemaker Chris Ringland, and famed grape grower David Hickinbotham, is to offer good value Shiraz from relatively old vine Barossa fruit from vineyards in the Kalimna, Gomersol, and Vinevale sectors. There are 9,000 cases of this voluptuous, supple-textured 2004. Its dense purple color is accompanied by a flamboyant, extroverted bouquet of blackberries, white flowers, earth, and background oak. The wine offers pure, supple, blackberry and cassis fruit intermixed with hints of graphite and camphor. Consume this excellent value over the next 3-4 years. Robert Parker 91 points (Oct 2005)