The 2006 Re: Serve Cabernet Sauvignon is a barrel selection of the winery’s best lots. It is a glass-coating opaque purple color with an alluring perfume of wood smoke, pencil lead, scorched earth, black currant, and blackberry liqueur. Dense, layered, and incipiently complex, this full-bodied Cabernet will be in its prime from 2013 to 2026. R Wines is the company founded by importer and bacon baron Dan Philips and the veteran vigneron Chris Ringland. It encompasses four familiar labels, Marquis Philips (designated MP in these listings), 3 Rings, Roogle, and Bitch, along with 13 others created especially for R Wines. As is usual for master marketer Philips, the packaging is amazingly creative but, more importantly, the wines consistently over-deliver from low end to high end. The conclusion of this report contains a list of Values $20 and Under. Twenty-four R Wines are noted, many of which offer exceptional bang-for-the buck. What follows are notes are for the R Wines over $20. The rest of the Shiraz were sourced from the highly regarded 60+-year-old Ebenezer vineyards of Adrian Hoffman who is a partner in the venture.Importer: Dan Philips, The Grateful Palate, Oxnard, CA; tel. (805) 278-9095

The 2005 Re Serve Cabernet Sauvignon is the product of 60-year-old vines with the wine spending 20 months in new French oak. It is a selection of the three best barrels of the R series. Opaque purple-colored, it offers an alluring array of toast, smoke, plum, blackberry, and black currant scents. Mouth-filling, it has gobs of fruit and a soft tannin blanket. Admirably combining elegance and power, it has impeccable balance which should result in a 20-30 year lifespan.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.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.Importer: Dan Philips, The Grateful Palate, Oxnard, CA; (805) 278-9095