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A $12 Sicilian Red With Some Attitude

Here’s an inexpensive, widely-available wine that hits the sweet spot for my palate: It’s worth noting that I found the 2006 a few weeks after tasting this 2007 and didn’t like it nearly as much. Look for the 2007. _________ Image credit: Illuminaut via Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/illuminaut/3996050349 An offering to the SEO gods: PLANETA La Segreta Rosso [...]

Vacqueyras-on-a-Stick

— Price: I paid $16.81 via Garagiste. — Like a fruit punch popsicle on a stone stick. Vibrating with energy. Meaty. Full. Hot. B

M. Chapoutier Domaine de Bila-Haut ‘Occultum Lapidem’ 2007

Price: Around $25 Image link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dobrych/4552132976/ ————– I’m experimenting with this new review format. I thought it would be cool to take the free association image I would typically insert in a post and give it more impact by making it the primary feature, with the text for bottle info (just the basics) and my tasting [...]

#ChileBlends Tasting

Way back in October, Wines of Chile held a twitter tasting of red blends from Chile (hashtag: #ChileBlends). I had signed up for the tasting and received the wine, but a family emergency kept me from being able to participate on the night of the event. That also coincided with this blog going into a [...]

Bonny Doon Syrah “Le Pousseur” 2007

I’ll admit to having a geekcrush on Randall Grahm, president-for-life of Bonny Doon Vineyard. So take my opinion on his wines with a grain of salt. You can geekcrush on him, too, here and here and here and here and here. FYI: “Le Pousseur” translates to “the pusher”. ____________________________ Producer: Bonny Doon Vineyard Grapes: 100% [...]

Mourvèdre Monday #23: Becker Vineyards Prairie Rotie 2007

Mourvèdre Monday finally makes it to Texas. Becker is a big name in the Texas wine scene. I’ve tried quite a few of their wines over the years with mixed results. I had high hopes for their “Prairie Rotie” — a Southern Rhône blend of Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah and Carignan (though the name is a [...]

Mourvèdre Monday #21: Cline Cashmere 2008

I always look forward to opening another bottle of wine from Cline Cellars. Cashmere is their GSM blend (Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre) and in their latest release – the 2008 –  they’ve upped the share of Mourvèdre in the blend. Your favorite blogger’s favorite grape is now the lead dog at 44%. (Let’s all pretend [...]

Mourvèdre Monday #18: Lorca 2006

I already had a bottle of the 2008 Lorca waiting for it’s turn on Mourvèdre Monday when I saw this 2006 stacked up at Costco. I had high hopes this could be another nice Costco find. I originally intended to do a mini-vertical and open both of these at the same time for this post, [...]

Mourvèdre Monday #17: Carro Tinto 2008

This wine always catches my eye on the shelf, with it’s orange label and simple design. I’ve had past vintages and like it pretty well, so let’s see what’s up with the 2008. Carro Tinto 2008 Producer: Bodega Señorio de Barahonda. They put out 10 or 12 different bottlings of Monastrell or Monastrell blends under [...]

Mourvèdre Monday #16: Sierra Salinas ‘Mo’ 2006

It’s been a little while since a Spanish Monastrell has made an appearance on Mourvèdre Monday. This one comes from Sierra Salinas in the Alicante region focused on the Monastrell grape. Producer: Bodegas Sierra Salinas Grapes: Primarily Monastrell (the Spanish name for Mourvèdre), with Garnacha Tintorera (which is not Garnacha/Grenache, but the same as Alicante [...]

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