Poor Reds

This is a pretty common brand.  I’ve seen this wine in grocery stores and I think Trader Joes as well.  It’s typically around $15 I believe.  But there’s a catch… this here is the “Vintner’s Blend”.  Near as I can tell from reading their site… they take the kegs that weren’t quite good enough… a little too much oak, a little too much fruit… and blend them together in the hopes of salvaging something salable that brings out the best in all of them while covering over the worst.  Looks like this sub-brand typically runs $10, but Nugget had it on sale this week for $5.99.  So what the heck!

First impression is this thing is inky black in the glass.  A good first sign, for me anyway.  It has a good nose though I think I’m still a little too stuffy to pick out any particular notes.

Now the taste… warm fruit.  Nothing distinct that I can tell, but strong rich fruit… not bright.  Nothing is bursting out in fireworks.  In fact the flavors are quite mellow and well mixed.  A little earthy and woody, but again not too much.  It all feels very well balanced.  A band with no lead.  And that’s ok for me in a wine, especially one to eat with.  I like it.  Another one that’s growing on me the more I drink it.  I think it would be great with cheese or a roast.

**** (4 stars)

This entry was posted on February 5, 2009 at 4:49 am and is filed under Cabernet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.