The Trader Joe's Petit Reserve Paso Robles Meritage 2014 is a $7.99 Trader Joe's exclusive and is a blend of Merlot, Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from vineyards in Paso Robles (about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco) inside the Central Coast AVA. The back label says this blend was "vinted and bottled by Familia Nueva Vineyards" which is the name a large … [Read more...]
Vigilance Cimarron 2014
The Vigilance Cimarron 2014 is 79% Syrah, 8% Grenache, 7% Mourvedre, and 6% Petite Verdot sourced from vineyards located in several AVAs inside the Lake County AVA which is inside the larger North Coast AVA of Northern California. Lake County is north of Napa, Mendocino is north and west and Sonoma is south and west. A fun fact about Lake County is that it was the largest … [Read more...]
Intuition Red Blend 2014
The Intuition Red Blend 2014 consists of Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Malbec sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA. The interesting thing here is the inclusion of medium-bodied Pinot Noir in the blend with full-bodied grapes. Pinot Noir grapes are expensive and difficult to grow and other than Champagne are seldom seen in blends, so … [Read more...]
Dearly Beloved I Thee Red 2015
The Dearly Beloved I Thee Red 2015 is Red blend found at Trader Joe's ($7.99) made from grapes grown in the Central Coast AVA of California. This is a TJ's wine that has been around for a while, we first reviewed the 2009 vintage. Dearly Beloved is one of the Truett-Hurst labels, they specialize in selling wines thru Trader Joe's, Target, Kroger, Albertson's, and Total stores. … [Read more...]
Ménage à Trois Midnight Red 2014
The Ménage à Trois Midnight Red 2014 is a blend of 49% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petite Sirah, and 7% Petit Verdot sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA. The Ménage à Trois brand was founded about 20 years ago as a left-over wine after the original winery bottled their main line of wines. They took the 3 grapes with the most remaining wine and … [Read more...]