The 2005 Shiraz “First Class” was barrel-fermented and aged for 18 months in new and 1 year French and American oak. More complex aromatically, it has a lovely bouquet of toast, smoke, cedar, lavender, blueberry, and blackberry. Opulent, velvety, and seamless, it has great depth, spicy blue and black fruit flavors with hints of licorice and chocolate, and a very long finish. Drink it over the next 10 years. The Boarding Pass label is just that, a dead ringer for an airplane boarding pass. According to Dan Philips, it is like going on a trip to Australia without leaving home while the First Class is a luxury upgrade. Aside from the humor, these two wines have more in common with Fed-Ex, delivering the goods right on time. 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