Bought this wine at my local BevMo a few weeks back ... for $10. I was actually looking for it based on a recommendation from the Wine Blue Book in November. This is a monthly wine newsletter that gives value recommendations of wines based on ratings from the popular critics and price.
What first caught my eye was the label ... quite intriguing. :halfgrinw
(Note - this pic is from their website. )
I tried this and was very surprised. While not hugely complex, it did have some nice fresh / sweet aromas and the taste was clean and smooth. The aromas were mostly dark cherry, strawberry and grape jelly. The taste was of tart cherry + raspberry with a slight bitterness (dark tea?). The finish had some dry tannins, smoke and spice. It went very well with ham, stuffing, green beans and sweet potatoes. Overall I think this is a very good value and will buy this again.
Update: Tried this again later in the evening without food and the experience was much different. The fruit flavors were much more subdued and the tea/vegetal bitterness was more pronounced. My final opinion is that this wine is much better with food. On it's own it really comes up short. Also, it's better if you consume quickly as it tends to lose it flavor components somewhat quickly when exposed to air.
What first caught my eye was the label ... quite intriguing. :halfgrinw
(Note - this pic is from their website. )
I tried this and was very surprised. While not hugely complex, it did have some nice fresh / sweet aromas and the taste was clean and smooth. The aromas were mostly dark cherry, strawberry and grape jelly. The taste was of tart cherry + raspberry with a slight bitterness (dark tea?). The finish had some dry tannins, smoke and spice. It went very well with ham, stuffing, green beans and sweet potatoes. Overall I think this is a very good value and will buy this again.
Update: Tried this again later in the evening without food and the experience was much different. The fruit flavors were much more subdued and the tea/vegetal bitterness was more pronounced. My final opinion is that this wine is much better with food. On it's own it really comes up short. Also, it's better if you consume quickly as it tends to lose it flavor components somewhat quickly when exposed to air.
