justagrape.com » 2.5 Trophies

Santa Ema Merlot (Chile, 2007)

Mike — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:31:32 +0000

	This wine is a Merlot from Chile that we picked up while perusing the wine isles at our local Costco. We couldn’t resit it with a bold “90 points” baked right into the neck label.
	$9 from Costco.

Smells sweet with cloves and strong vanilla Tastes much dryer than it smells Blackberry and very aggressive vanilla tastes that grow stronger as the wine opens up. Like a smooth talking friend who is super nice but then one day suddenly get’s on your case about what is a non-issue and will not let it go… makes you want new friends.

The Vine Yard Cabernet Franc (Washington, 2007)

Eddie — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:40:32 +0000

	This is a Cabernet Franc from Walla Walla Wines in Washington.
	$8 from Fresh & Easy

Strong alcohol aroma with a berry background. Harsh in the mouth pre-decanting. Mellows out some after decanting for some time, but still very one dimensional. Undertones of vanilla. Generic and manufactured overall making it a somewhat boring wine. Ordinary and generic tasting… Sort of like a little boy who gets a transformer action figure bit it does not transform… Sure it is still a transformer, but it does not do anything… disappointing.

Berberana Dragon Tempranillo (Spain, 2006)

Mike — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:00:43 +0000

	This is a Tempranillo from Spain that we picked up at Total Wine and had it with homemade tortilla soup with fresh avocado and tortilla strips.
	$8 from Total Wine

Smells like bubble gum initially with dark berries in the middle followed my mint at the finish. Taste is very tart. One dimensional plumb flavors. Improved greatly with decanting. This wine is easy to drink and does not offend… Sort of like a macro-brewed beer… it feels mass produced to appeal to a wide variety of tastes.

Casillero del Diablo (Chile, 2007)

Mike — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:18:17 +0000

	Casillero del Diablo Concha Y Toro is a Cabernet from Chile. We would really like to try this same bottle again after a year or two of aging. This is a companion review to the 2006 vintage of the same wine. We recommend the 2006 for right now.
	$9 from Fresh & Easy

Fruitier aroma than the 2006. Aroma of leafy greens with a bit of fruit. Abrasive harsh bite in the taste. Too harsh and minerally. The harshness diminishes any positives and overpowers everything else. Not quite as refined as her older sister. This wine seems to be stuck in the terrible twos. Maybe with some aging and maturity she will develop and fulfill the promise of her older sibling

Big House The Slammer (California, 2005)

Mike — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:34:12 +0000

	This is a California Syrah from Santa Cruz. This is a cousin wine of Big House Red that we reviewed earlier.
	$11 from Safeway.

Smells of cinnamon and wet earth. Hints of peach in the taste. Tastes of boysenberry. This wine would be much better with a good solid 1/2 pound cheeseburger fresh off the grill. While this wine is O.K…..I am not sure that I would be willing to go to the Slammer for this bottle.

Pine & Post Merlot (Washington, 2006)

Mike — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:51:16 +0000

	This wine is a Merlot from Washington. We each had this wine on separate occasions and we both liked it a lot. I had mine with some friends from our condo while we had cigars and all my friends really liked it as did I. That being said…..the second time I had this wine was tonight and for some reason it did not appeal to us as much as it did before. It was much to light to go with the meal we had and found it was easily overpowered.
	$7 from Fresh & Easy

Very light and subtle aromas of fruit. Bold cherry off the start, but disappears quickly. Light plumb tastes in the finish. Overall mouth feel is very light and watery. A bit mundane overall but not a bad wine for sharing with friends on a summer day. It is kinda like going to the movies with your sister….sure you may have a good time with her and enjoy the show but it still is a movie with your sibling.

Bogle Merlot (California, 2006)

Eddie — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:57:47 +0000

	This is a Merlot from California. This is actually our second review of this wine… we lost the notes on the first review so in theory, this review is more refined than our first.
	$9 from Trader Joes

Earthy smells, soil and roots. Flat and one dimensional. Very standard and typical tasting table wine. Like going camping in the Pacific Northwest in the spring…While it may rain and there is something enjoyable about the way the forest smells afterwards…you really feel like you missed out on something great due to the weather.

Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon (2006, Australia)

Mike — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:43:22 +0000

	This wine is a Cabernet from South Australia wine producer Wolf Blass.
	$19 CAD Purchased from British Columbia Liquor

Aromas of spices and cherries. Decanting is recommended. Full bodied and bold with a smooth finish. Great with dark chocolate for with desert or a hearty meal at dinner.

Recoleta Blend (Argentina, 2007)

Mike — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:43:15 +0000

	This is a Malbec Bonarda Blend from Argentina.
	$5 from Fresh & Easy

Very light scents of fruit with a predominant alcohol smell Strong tastes of blackberry at first Hints of pipe tobacco follow the fruit A lot of body but the flavors are not defined….they tend to meld together A bit unrefined and boisterous….like the obnoxious friend everyone has in their circle… You can handle him in small doses and you don’t really hate him….you just need to limit your time with him before he becomes a little too much.

House Wine Blend (Washington, 2005)

Mike — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:44:38 +0000

	This wine is a blend of Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, Malbec and Cabernet Franc from the Columbia Valley in Washington State. Overall it was not too bad. though for the price you could do a lot better than this. It tended to ba a bit on the boring side.
	$10 from Fry’s

Aromas of sulfer and dark berries Quite tart at the beginning. Hints of green apple. Simple, smooth and medium bodied. A little generic and run-of-the-mill tasting. It did not offend but did not overly excite either…a few posts back we talked about a wine being like a plain looking librarian that when she took her hair down and glasses off you said Wow ……well….this wine is like the librarian that takes her glasses off and lets her hair down and you say….Yup…still a librarian.

Tapena Garnacha (Spain, 2005)

Mike — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:39:50 +0000

	This wine is a Garnacha from Spain. We highly recommended the Tempranillo from Tapena, so I thought I’d give the Garnacha a try. This wine would be enjoyed much more by someone who prefers sweeter wine. We enjoy dryer wines, so go ahead and add a trophy if you think you like sweeter wines.
	$10 from Bashas

Very ripe aromas of berries and cherries. Has a strong sweet taste, especially before decanting. Tastes of almond, vanilla and jammy berries. Decanting is highly recommended as it mellows the wine out quite a bit. *This wine is like that sweet and naive girl you meet one day. Once you get to know her though, you realize that she’s actually not that naive at all… but still very sweet.*

Layer Cake Shiraz (Australia, 2005)

Mike — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 13:44:19 +0000

	This wine is a Shiraz from the Barossa Valley in South Australia. This is our first review of a Shiraz wine. Shiraz wines are the same as Syrah (or Sirah) wines with the difference being that they are from Australia.
	$12 Purchased at Cost Plus World Market

Rich and dark with purple hues. Aromas of blackberries and chocolate. Tastes of vanilla, spice and berries. Would go best with big flavored foods. Bold and a little harsh with the alcohol taste coming through. I was expecting this wine to be layered with goodness and many different dimensions. Instead, this wine was more like a layer cake that sat in the sun all day, and the layers all kind of melted together. Not horrible, but I was disappointed.

XS Red Cabernet Sauvignon (California, 2005)

Eddie — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:24:11 +0000

	This is a Cabernet Sauvignon from California.
	$6

Fruity bouquet Middle of the road in terms of sweetness A little harsh right out of the bottle Plums and cherries in the initial taste then fades very fast A bit boring and run of the mill. This wine does not excite or entice you. Like going on a blind date and having nothing in common with the person you were set up with.