EmailBest Reviewed
Best wine under $12
- Best bargain red wine Las Rocas de San Alejandro Garnacha 2005 *Est. $11
- Best bargain white wine Aveleda Vinho Verde Quinta da Aveleda *Est. $6
- Top budget red, suitable for aging Yellow Tail The Reserve Shiraz 2005 *Est. $11
- Best "box" white wine Dtour 2004 Macon-Villages *Est. $40
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Top budget red, suitable for aging
- Widely available
- Good for aspiring wine collectors
- Complex, elegant and well-balanced
- Can stand up to several years of aging
- Becoming more difficult to find on store shelves
- Yellow Tail name not impressive to some wine connoisseurs
Wine Spectator published the most detailed review of this wine. Editors chose it for their top-100 list from the thousands of wines they blind-taste annually. We found few professional reviews of this wine, perhaps because Yellow Tail is a mass-market label that some connoisseurs consider down-market.
Critics agree that Yellow Tail the Reserve Shiraz 2005 from Australia is among the best red wines in its price class. Not only is it a great wine to drink now, it also should only improve with a few years of aging. Critics say this fine-grained, well-balanced red is full of blueberry, black currant, plum and spice. The 2005 is becoming more difficult to find on store shelves, however. Consumers posting to Wine.com give this wine fairly high scores in a few reviews, although some say it's too sweet. If you're looking for an inexpensive wine with a bit more cachet, reviewers suggest Pillar Box Padthaway Red 2006 (*est. $12).
Our Sources
1. Wine SpectatorDetails/Subscribe
A number of wines costing $13 or less appear in this roundup of the magazine's top 100 wines of 2007, including Yellow Tail Shiraz South Eastern Australia the Reserve 2005. Editors call it "bright, lively, harmonious and generous."
Review: The Top 100 of 2007, Editors of Wine Spectator, Dec. 2007
This wine earns an average of 85.8 points out of 100 in 24 consumer reviews. Some reviewers say it's too sweet, while others say it explodes with fruit and has a longer finish than you'd expect in this price range.
Review: 2005 Yellow Tail (Yellowtail) Shiraz the Reserve Casella Estate, Contributors to CellarTracker.com
3. Wine.com
The three reviews posted here are mostly positive, with one reviewer saying it's a better wine than most in this price class.
Review: Reviews of Yellow Tail the Reserve Shiraz 2005, Contributors to Wine.com
4. Corkd.com
Four consumers give this an average rating of 83.2 stars out of 100. One says it tastes artificial, but three are happy with it.
Review: Casella Wines 2005 Yellow Tail Reserve Shiraz, Contributors to Corkd.com
