N.V. Georges Dubœuf Cuvée Rouge Vin de Table Français

Six bucks at Trader Joe's, this was. Tricky review to write, this is. Judge a bottle for what it is, I must. Enough Yoda talk – this is, by design, a simple, quaffable wine that isn't meant to have serious analysis – a “table wine” - no grape, no region, no vintage....I can almost hear the winemaker telling me “shut up and drink it.”

I get nothing on the nose – maybe possibly an empty bag which used to contain some potting soil.

This is basically like a decent (and more expensive) Beaujolais (Villages, definitely better than Nouveau). Simple, easy to quaff, lots of acid, no discernible oak or complexity. Tart cherry is it for fruit, there's an odd wateriness in the mid palate with the mouth drying tannins and cheek puckering acid coming through at the back of the palate.

The tannins and acid stick around from the back palate into the finish with some sour berries, perhaps of the rasp family....black raspberry? Is there such a thing? If so, this is it – if not, crush some blackberries and some raspberries and mix the juice together.

I'll tell you what this wine is – a highly recommendable or, dare I say, ideal Thanksgiving wine. Great for an occasion where you don't want anything too fancy or expensive, something you can sit back and wash down a huge dinner with while enjoying good company.

I'm torn on how to rate this. It's not an 8 bottle of wine – in the grand scheme of things it's perhaps a 6 – but for what it is trying to be, a simple easy quaff, meant for casual enjoyment, it's an easy 10. In terms of QPR, a comparable Beaujolais would easily be double the price and for that I must sing this one's praises.

Wine: 8*
QPR: 10