Price: $9
Maker: Goats do Roam Wine Company, Paarl, South Africa
Varietal: Shiraz – Pinotage blend
Packaging: 750 ml bottle, screw cap
Alcohol: 14%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Goats do Roam Red 2005 is part of a group of humorously named wines (think “Côte du Rhône”) that also includes Bored Doe and Goat Door. This wine is a blend of Shiraz and Pinotage with Cinsaut, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Merlot, Carignan, Gamay and Cabernet added. Its aroma is earthy and spicy, with some ripe berry notes. The flavor is well balanced, with cherry and currant notes, a bit of oak, and smooth tannins and spice in the finish. Breathing definitely helped this wine – initially, it was a bit thin, and some air brought out the flavor and improved the balance.
This wine has received a fair amount of attention by bloggers. Kim of WineLog said, “It’s a great wine on multiple accounts: taste, color, price, uniqueness, and versatility.” Cheap Wine Reviews liked it well enough to say, “I will be purchasing this wine many more times.” Taste T.O. termed it a “pleasant, but on the whole forgettable wine.” Strictly Tastings said, “it’s not on my list for Santa.” Soup For 1 describes it as, “a wine that I know and love.” Diary Writing and Bedtime Stories had a somewhat different take on the wine, noting, “And if you want a bottle to sip away a glass or maybe two with a friend – this is a great candidate. However, it will demolish any food you serve with it. I suppose what I mean is that it has so much flavour intensity and punch that you won’t taste your food much.” The Wineaux strongly recommend Goats Do Roam by itself or for pairing with food. Budget Vino said, “really drinkable… definitely buy it.” Benito’s Wine Reviews said, “a great table wine… definitely recommended.”
Visit the Goats do Roam website for more information about the wine and the winery.
That is a lot of blog coverage for a wine. Shows you how important marketing is. All of the funny-named wines seem very popular on our site. To the point where I feel I need to try them to stay up-to-speed on what the trendy kids are drinking.
Next on my list is “Dog Tail Watchdog White”. They had samples of it at the wine store last time I went and it wasn’t bad. Funny name – check, low price – check, flavor holds up – check (though we’ll see when I get a full bottle).
Dog Tail Watchdog White at WineLog:
http://www.winelog.net/wines/wine/28936
Thanks for the link.
Hey – thanks for the link!
This is a great site – keep up the good work, I’ll be revisiting frequently.
I agree with Jason. Marketing definitely got me interested in trying this one out. It was worth the time.
Standing out on the shelf among a few hundred other wines is tough – clearly, the interesting graphic and amusing name worked for Goats do Roam.
If you haven’t tried it yet, the slightly higher priced Goats Do Roam In Villages is a fabulous one. Hard to find, but well worth the hunt (and the $12-$14 price tag). I’ll admit though, it was the humor in the packaging that originally set me onto this wine, and I’m so very glad it was worth it!
Thanks for the recommendation, Liz. I saw that one on their website, but haven’t spotted it in a local shop yet.