N/V Stones Throw Winery Red Table Wine (MAM edition)

We recently took a trip to the Milwaukee Art Museum and I noticed they had two wines for sale. I picked up the bottle and noticed it was produce by Stone’s Throw Winery, which we’ve had some good luck with, so I picked it up at $16. This is a blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, and Carignane.

The nose is a bit funky, lots of earth, tobacco, tar, plus alcohol and a bit of blackberry.

The palate has a strange funk to it—perhaps from the Carignane–but it’s not a bad thing. I’d almost refer to this as “muddy”....there’s a lot going on, but it’s all just sort blending together, not much is really jumping out. Imagine putting black pepper in boysenberry jam, spreading it on toast, dropping it on the floor, picking it up, and licking it.

And the odd thing about it all.....that’s a good thing. Some nice tannins come through on the back palate and there’s quite a bit of acid. It’s skirting the fine line between balanced and too acidic though so I’d say serve it with food.

The finish immediately hits you with currants and then fades with some dirt, but does fade fairly quickly.

Is it worth $16? Seeing as some portion of the price went to the art museum, I say yes. Bravo to the Milwaukee Art Museum and Stone’s Throw for making a decent and real wine (I’d bet a White Zinfandel would sell better but standards are important). If you’re at the museum, give this a whirl.