image from www.darenberg.com.au

Yet another Australian wine featured on the blog? Hey, I call them as I see them, and if it means changing my mind and admitting that he doesn’t know everything that he thinks he knows, that’s what makes me the wine writer I am.

Or, to quote a wine drinker named danielbleier on CellarTracker (the blog’s unofficial wine inventory software): “This is what I am looking for in a $10 wine.”

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The Stump Jump ($12, sample, widely available), is a blend of red Rhone varietals that includes grenache, and it is all of that. Since it’s Australian, there is lots and lots of red fruit (black cherry?) and it’s not shy about the fruit, either. But the wine is far from one dimensional, with a bit of a middle and even a finish and some tannins — things most cheap Aussie wines don’t bother with since they’re only concerned with making the fruit explode in your mouth. And did I mention that the alcohol is only 14 percent, which is practically nothing for an Australian wine?

One caveat: The Stump Jump, despite its relative subtlety, does need hearty, stick to your ribs food. It is still Australian, and trying to drink this by itself would be an adventure in wine tasting. I drank it with with roasted pork country-style ribs, a fine fit, and it would have paired equally as well if I had smoked the ribs.