2007 Clayhouse Vineyard Adobe Red

A red wine blend sourced from California’s Central Coast, Clayhouse Vineyards says that much of the fruit came from their Estate Vineyard in Paso Robles. The grapes used in the blend are 41% Zinfandel, 32% Petite Sirah, 16% Syrah, 5% Malbec, 4% Grenache and 2% Mourvedre. 15% of the wine has been aged in neutral oak barrels for 14 months. Alcohol content is 14.1%.

See thru burgundy red with a salmon pink halo. The nose is reminiscent of a fruit stand, plums, cherries , raspberries with a touch of vanilla infused oak. Tart cherry juice hit first, then a softer plums and strawberry. Tannins can be felt all over your mouth, but in a good way, it gives the wine a nice strong character. The Adobe Red smooths out at the mid-palate, tart cherry and the tannins fade away and a fresh juicy berry flavor takes over. The finish is mixed berries and vanilla, you will be tasting it 5 minutes after you put the glass down.

The Clayhouse Adobe Red is a well constructed, big, bold, good tasting wine. A rough and ready Red that also has a well mannered side. BBQ Ribs or Steak Fajitas would pair very well.

2006 Ten Mile “The Broken Road” Red Blend $10

This wine is an interesting blend of Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Barbera and Carignane. Sourced from several old vine vineyards in California and aged 14 months in French and American oak. Alcohol is a reasonable 14.1%.

When first tasting this wine there is a beautiful floral note with a slight hint of cherries.
The flavor is refreshingly light but still full flavored with the taste of cherry, plum and blackberries. The Carignane gives the wine an earthy grassy finish.

This wine would be great with lamb or steak with an herbal rub.

2008 Home Grown Farms Family Harvest Red $9

Home Grown Farms has a nice website that says virtually nothing about the wines. The grapes are a field blend grown in the Coastal Wine Country of California, but exactly where and by who, isn’t mentioned. Though field blend does suggest that this is a single vineyard wine. They say the blend is approximately  a third of each grape (Syrah, Petite Sirah and Barbera) and that the wine gets almost no oak. Home Grown Farms say this is the way the old time Italian farmers in the region made wine.

Wine Fun Fact : A field blend is when all the different varietals of grapes grown in a field are harvested all at the same time. The different types of grapes do not ripen at the same time, so they try to time it so they can get the most out out all the grapes. All the grapes all end up in the same fermentation tank, so every year the wine is a little bit different, since every year all the grapes are at a little bit different state of ripeness.

The color is deep dark opaque burgundy red. The nose is blueberries, cherries and a touch of a grassy note, very light, nothing overpowering. A nice silky mouthfeel, the flavors burst into your mouth. An explosion of smooth fruit flavors mixed in with tart fruit. Black cherry, chocolate, raspberry, licorice and Starburst candy. The finish is mostly blueberry with a light hint of chocolate.

Tons of vibrant fruit flavors in a bottle. Not a hugely complex or structured wine, what you see is what you get. But what you get is a well priced wine with a big juicy taste that is very satisfying.

2008 Glory Days Zinfandel $10

The Van Ruiten’s have been growing grapes in Lodi, California for over 50 years, but have been making their own wines since only 2000. The Glory Days Zin is 87% Zinfandel, 6% Petite Sirah, 5% Carignan (99 year old vines) and 2% Tannat.  Lodi is ground zero for the Zinfandel grape.

The color is blood plasma red, dark and rich. The nose is sweet cinnamon spice, red raspberry jam, clove and pepper. Jammy or jelly, you pick, rich fruit upfront, very tasty raspberry, blackberry, sweet cherry and then a dose of softer Altoids spice. Sweet tannins, then a nice, lip smackingly good blueberry finish. A rich, deep, balanced Zinfandel.

Like all good Zin’s, the Glory Days Zinfandel is custom made for the backyard BBQ. Throw some meat on the Weber Grill, pull the cork on the Glory Days Zin and all is right with the world, if only for an hour or two.

2008 Chariot Gypsy Red Wine Blend $5

A Trader Joe’s exculsive, a red wine blend, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel and Sangiovese, sourced from vineyards in Napa Valley, Sonoma, San Joachim and Monterey, California. Like most Trader Joe’s wine the internet does not have much information on how the wine was made, but for five bucks, you get what you get.

The color is a dark opaque crimson red with a strawberry halo. The nose is dark fruit, plums, slate dust and light herbs. The taste is red licorice, Frango Mints then a reasonable finish of blueberries and cola. A very drinkable wine for $5. Not the most structured wine, but I’m not complaining. This wine has a lot to offer for this price range.

2007 Dancing Bull Zinfandel $7

A few years back, the Rancho Zabaco Zinfandel (the Rancho part is gone now) was a reliable cheap big, bold, gnarly Zin. A rough but somehow pleasing wine. The Rancho Zabaco name has been spun off to a higher end line of wines and the Dancing Bull has been left to fight the supermarket wine wars. The website for the Dancing Bull Zin has not been updated since the 2005 vintage. Maybe how the wine was made wasn’t all that exciting to talk about.

The color is a nice deep dark burgundy red with pinkish edges. The nose is dark fruit, plums and berries and a bit of alcohol, nothing too interesting. Mouth feel is a little watery. The flavor is almost all fruit, blueberry, raspberry jam with just a hint of vanilla, then the blast of spice that Zin’s are know for. The tannins are a little out of balance, but for seven bucks you don’t often get everything. The finish is a touch on the watery side and fades quickly.

A decent Zinfandel for $7, not especially complicated or nuanced, but the taste has nice bright fruit. I think I preferred the old rough and ready version of this wine. But if your low on cash and your jonesing for Zinfandel, this isn’t a bad choice.

2007 The Show Cabernet Sauvignon $13

A California Cab by the Three Thieves and Rebel Wine. They don’t own vineyards, they source the grapes from wherever they can get the most bang for the buck. In this case, the Central Coast, Mendocino, Lodi, Napa Valley, Lake County and Sonoma. The 2005 Vintage got huge buzz as the best low price Cab around. Since they are at the mercy of the market to get the best grapes at the right price, this wine can fluctuate in taste from year to year.  85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Petite Sirah, with the other 4% split between Merlot and Cab Franc. Aged in French and American Oak.

Well, they got the color right, deep dark cherry red with strawberry highlights. Not a lot going on with the nose, some red fruit, some vanilla and not a whole lot more. Nice mouth feel, almost oily, it really brings the flavor to all points in your mouth. The taste is intense cherry softened by vanilla, not super complex, but good tasting. Good cherry cola finish.  The tannins are very light, I don’t think you want to age The Show, definitely a drink it now wine.

A lighter style Cab, this won’t turn the heads of the Silver Oak crowd, but a good alternative to Shiraz or Malbec. A tasty sipper, drink this while playing Xbox360, it will make any game a little more interesting.

2007 Spellbound Petite Sirah – $15

Spellbound means a lot of different things to me – there’s the Siouxsie & the Banshees song, the AC/DC song (both from ’81), the Hitchcock movie, the Paula Abdul album. For you geeks there’s the spellchecker for Firefox and the video game. But last night, it meant nothing but this rich approachable Petite Sirah from Lodi. That’s in California, folks.

But get this – because of its simple but effective black label with a moon on it (pictured) – to the chick next to me at the bar, it meant she should enjoy some too, because it made her think of the movie “New Moon” in theaters Friday as they say (yes, she was younger, thanks for asking).

It’s murky crimson like a Romanian lake and on the nose reminds you of, well same said lake. Actually, she said it reminded her of her home aquarium when she opens the lid to feed the fish.

Up front, this wine has  some nice structure – decent backbone and supple tannins. The mid-palate is “floaty” and hovers at the top of your mouth, but then the finish disappears like a vampire in a Polaroid.

Mondavi’s grandson Rob is the vampire behind this line. Drink it with pizza, steak (stake, get it?) or turkey chili. And drink it with your vampire or werewolf friends.