Hardy's 2008 Shiraz

after a nice leap to the higher end side it is back to reality and the less expensive wine. i needed a red that i could enjoy and had not tried anything from the hardy's line of boxed wines. i read a few decent reviews in wine magazines about their wines and decided to give it a try. the nose was immediately full of fruit, with red raspberry and black cherry coming through. after a bit i started to get a little more spice notes, mostly cinnamon. on the palate, a very balanced fruit forward, jammy wine, with flavors of plums and black cherries, followed by pepper and after opening up, i got some really nice chocolate notes on the finish. this is not a complex wine. very easy drinking slightly tannic red. good wine for your friday night pizza or winter stew. sells for about $16 (that's the equivalent of $4 a bottle. a bargain you may not want to pass up for an every day red).