The 2006 Sarah's Blend is composed of 60% Shiraz 28% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Merlot and Cabernet Franc. It was barrel-fermented and aged in seasoned French oak for 12 months. Deep crimson-colored it yields a complex aromatic array of cedar spice box clove pepper cassis and blueberry. Full-bodied fruit-driven and intensely flavored this layered blend has a 45-second finish. Drink it over the next 8 years. 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.The Marquis Philips wines have established a six year track record of delivering a big bang for the buck. The wines are now made by a team put together by Dan Philips and Chris Ringland with absolutely no change in quality. Starting with the 2006 vintage however all of the fruit is sourced from McLaren Vale. The other change of note is that Merlot has been dropped from the program primarily because of the difficulty of finding Merlot good enough to merit the M-P label.