Good Morning Gentle Readers,
Ten bucks US is too much for this wine, there are simply too many attractive alternatives. That isn't to say it's a bad wine, though it has a bit too much cloying sweet cherry for my palate. That might not bother you. It is a blend of 37% Syrah, 43% Merlot, and 20% Zinfandel, mostly sourced from the North Valley. That would be the San Joaquin Valley, better known as the Central Valley of California. The winery is in Acampo, which is, essentially, Lodi.
The wine is not a bad Tuesday night wine. Good with pasta or pizza. Definitely improves with air. Give it a good sloshing in the decanter, which will help the sweet cherry on the backside, but not the fumes on the nose. Fumey is a TWC technical term meaning that there is a predominant aroma of alcohol. Behind that there are aromas of red fruit and a little whiff of grenadine.
Winery Tasting Notes:
The 2010 Red Blend has aromas of mocha, vanilla, and spice that give way to a silky texture along with rich flavors of raspberries and chocolate that are truly uninhibited.
Once again, TWC's rule about kitsch and cool factor kicks in. Quite often, the cool factor of the label is inversely proportional to the quality of the wine. This one comes closer to selling sensual and uninhibited than some do, but, it sells at 42% above TWC's Standardized Wine Price/Value Ratio®. It is a perfect $6.99 wine.
UPDATE: This wine is available at Sam's Club in So Cal for $6.98.
Bonus:
As Ever,
TWC
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