2005 Redwood Creek Pinot Noir

I've been seeing this around and figured I'd give it a shot. A 1.5 liter bottle was $9, but I figured I’d just get a standard 750ml for $5.

Raspberry and blueberry on the nose.

The palate has a bit of cherry and wood, and that’s about it. No depth or complexity and only mild tannins.

Just a hint of spice on the finish.

It’s not bad, but there’s nothing really happening - if you want a Pinot Noir avoid this one, if you want a cheap, generic red wine, it’s passable.

2005 Redwood Creek Pinot Grigio

I had another coupon so I picked this one for under $5. I figured it was worth a shot.

A bit of grapefruit, but really not a whole lot on the nose.

The palate brings lime zest, a touch of honey, and a fair amount of white grapefruit.

A lemon-lime finish fades quickly but not before a somewhat astringent unpleasantness takes over.

Probably the worst Pinot Grigio I can recall drinking...still palatable, but there’s no reason to pick this up when there’s so many decent bottles in the same price range.

2004 Coteaux du Languedoc Picpoul-de-Pinet Ormarine

This was a special for $6 at a local wine shop and I figured it may be worth a shot.

I get a bit of stone fruit on the nose, Fran smells Lysol (I think it’s a mild citrus scent mixed with alcohol).

Grapefruit, lime zest, mild floral notes, spicy apricot and lots and lots of lemon.

A citrus rind finish lingers for some time.

Truly outstanding, especially at this price....a very nice, crisp, dry white wine that I’d strongly recommend.

2004 X Winery Red Blend

We’ve enjoyed this before at tastings and I found it for $10 so I gave it a shot. I could not figure out how to get a decent photo...so that’s the best I could do.

Licorice, vanilla, and cherry on the nose.

Cherry, oak, spice, and a lot of vanilla. This is a big fruity wine with not much in terms of tannins and even has some sweetness.

The finish lingers with distinct and clear cherry vanilla. Very nice.

An excellent wine and an exceptional bargain. Strongly recommended.

2005 Hartley Ostini Hitching Post St. Rita’s Earth Pinot Noir

I picked up this bottle based on a nice shelf talker and a vaguely sinister logo. At $25, I bought it for a special occasion...Fran’s last day at her old job seems like a good enough one for me.

Oak and raspberry on the nose.

Cherry, oak, berry, and cola on the palate. The tannins are mild to medium and the acid is present but not severe - a great food wine or fine by itself. We had it with salmon steaks but enjoyed most of the bottle alone.

Raspberry, funk, and root beer on the finish.

An excellent Pinot Noir, but of course, it’s not in our day to day price range. Should I find this one on sale I’d pick it up without hesitation.

2004 Red Bicyclette Chardonnay

Yep, another cheap Chardonnay from France. It was on sale and I figured it may be worth a shot.

Apple on the nose.

Some apple, cantaloupe, and grape on the palate, a somewhat buttery mouthfeel.

A generically fruity finish fades quickly.

Not bad at all, but certainly not great, no depth but enjoyable - which is saying a lot from a guy who detests Chardonnay. For a cheap supermarket wine, this isn’t bad.

N/V Cook’s Grand Reserve

We’ve had Cook’s before and I basically felt it was an acceptable drink, in an alcoholic soda sense, but not in a wine sense. I was in the mood for something simple and cheap so I figured I’d pick up a different Cook’s - the

White bread on the nose - really not much of anything.

The palate has some yeast and has something of a 7-Up quality to it though not as sweet.

The only taste on the finish is an odd chemical like mouthfeel.

If you’re throwing a party, you’re on a budget, you want to start it off with sparkling wine, yet you forgot to buy any, the party’s starting in a few minutes, the specialty wine store is closed, and you have to buy something at the grocery story - this will work fine. It’s cheap and it’s too blah to be offensive.

2005 Jacob’s Creek Shiraz

This was on sale at the local grocery store for about $5 and I figured I’d pick it up since two out of the three cheap Australian Shiraz that I’ve had have been pretty decent.

The nose has a sharp alcohol burn and just a suggestion of plum.

Raspberry, tart blueberry, cherry, anise, some medium tannins, not much oak, and a hint of carob. No spice or any distinct Shiraz elements...which is my frequent gripe with cheap Australian Shiraz - it’s certainly drinkable, but there’s no varietal characteristics.

Zero finish outside of a bit of quickly fading cherry cordial.

After a day, we tried this one again and it was the pretty good except for a very unsettling aftertaste - fecal matter? Not sure but it’s not pretty.

Not bad for a cheap grocery store find as long as you drink it in one sitting. I’d recommend it.

2005 Voga Pinot Grigio

Check out that fancy bottle - I never claimed to not be a sucker for a marketing ploy, but I’ve been putting this one off, alas the allure of an $8 light white to pair with enchiladas convinced me to grab a bottle.

I don’t know if I’ve ever had a terrible Pinot Grigio, but I know I’ve never had a phenomenal one....this one is no exception.

Fresh citrus and slate on the nose.

Lime and mineral notes on the palate. A bit of sweetness and slight acid - no complexity, but I certainly didn’t expect much.

The finish fades quickly but is all lime.

Not bad, certainly not great, but a fine quaffer for spicy faire. For a chic bottle, perhaps for a party with casual wine drinkers - this would be a fine bottle to bring.

2005 Bell’agio Chianti

Many times I’ll read about Chianti and I see comments about wicker basket bottles swill....I know I’ve seen these bottles before but I realize we’ve never actually tried one. On sale for $6 I couldn’t see a reason not to pick up a bottle.

Some sharp acid, cherry, mild oak, and not much in terms of tannins. Nothing interesting, but I can’t say I’m offended.

No finish.

Many people don’t like to “waste” fancy wine on cheap food like frozen pizza - I personally don’t have a problem with it - but if you do, this can’t be much better or worse than any of the other Chianti at this price.

2004 Tramonto’s Red Chianti

This is the namesake wine of Rick Tramonto. Rick owns the ultra high end restaurant Tru and you may have recently seen him on Iron Chef with his partner Gale Gand. He recently opened three restaurants in Wheeling and we picked this up after eating breakfast at Osteria di Tramonto (http://www.cenitare.com/). This one ran me $18. The cork says Casa Vinicola Dreolino.

I get some raspberry and earth on the nose.

Cherry, cinammon, earth, funk, black tea, and medium tannins. I’ve never tasted black tea in wine before and this one just screams it. I typically expect a somewhat sharp acidic bite from Chianti and this does not have one at all - it’s fairly smooth. We had this with some baked mostaccioli and Boca sausage and it went extremely well.

The finish brings out some nice herbal and earthy notes.

Is it worth $18? Human nature leads to bias, and just by knowing what it is, I know I’m probably giving this more of a chance than I normally would...if the label said “Gabbiano” instead of “Tramonto,” how would I feel? It’s an inherent problem with not pouring wine blind.

At the very least, this is worthwhile as a souvenir or a gift for that special foodie in your life who couldn’t be there. I feel this is almost certainly the finest straight up Chianti I’ve had and if this was on the menu by the bottle for even $30 I'd have it with dinner.

N/V Galena Cellars Late Harvest Gewurtztraminer

Galena Cellars is one of the strongest wineries in Illinois....we’ve tried quite a few of their wines and they’re usually fairly solid. I had this one at a tasting some time ago and liked it enough to pick up a 375 ml bottle for about $15.

A bit of stone fruit on the nose - maybe apricot or nectarine.

Very nice and smooth on the palate - a bit of spice, peach pie, apricot, and honey.

The finish has some nice spicy notes that linger.

Clean, sweet, balanced, and refreshing: an excellent dessert wine at this price - strongly recommended.

2005 Glamour Puss East Coast Pinot Noir

A $10 Pinot Noir with a cutesy label....how good can it be? I intended to find out.

Earth and raspberry on the nose.

The palate has some mild tannic backbone, with raspberry, cherry, earth, and chocolate.

The finish brings out some sassafras notes.

This is probably the biggest shock I’ve had since trying The Little Penguin - this is not only not bad, it’s actually pretty good...sometimes people ask why I bother with "obvious" bad wines: I present you with why I do.

Some distinct Pinot notes and nice structure - I would recommend this firmly. Certainly the best under $10 Pinot I’ve had and better than many at the $15 range.

2005 Mollydooker Two Left Feet

Late one evening, I saw this bottle of wine at a local wine shop but knew nothing about it - the label jumped out at me, but I figured “eh, I’ll jot down the name and come back in a few days after I find some reviews.” I tend to avoid picking up random bottles if it’s over $10 - this one was $20.

Every review I found was a rave, so I went back to the shop on my lunch the following day - sold out! They had maybe 20 cases, and between 8:30 one night and 1 pm the next day, they sold it out. While browsing at another wine shop a few weeks later, I found it again and snatched it up. Poking around online, you can find this ranging from $30 to $50.

Does it live up the hype?

The nose stings with alcohol but otherwise is somewhat muted.

Deliciously complex - oak, tobacco, black pepper, blackberry, cherry, anise, plum (prune?), vanilla, and coffee. Booming, New World fruit bomb, I didn’t even bother trying to pair it - maybe with some sort of red meat, but we just slowly enjoyed it over the course of an evening.

The finish brings out some blackberry jam, oak, some dried fruit, chocolate, and a bit of alcohol burn.

I hate to give into the hype, but goddamn this is a good bottle of wine. If you find it, grab it.

1998 Dom Perignon Champagne Brut

Yep, Dom. After busting her ass at her current employer for 3+ years, Fran just accepted a new job - better pay, better hours, better work environment. When I heard this I thought it warranted something extremely special. So, why not Dom?

Strong nose - with mainly lemon, bread, and yeast.

Toast, toast, and more toast on the palate. Everything is tightly blended, pear, crisp apple, lemon, a bit of berry, yeast. It’s perhaps a bit too acidic, we opened this when it was quite cold and I’d almost call it harsh. As it opened and warmed up, the harshness faded some but there was still a bit of astringency.

As soon the finish starts you get a burst of berry - black, blue, and raspberry, and fades to lemon and finally exceptionally long lasting yeasty notes.

As much as we’re not disappointed, I can’t say it’s worth the price. The difference between this and one the non-vintage bottles that sell for half the price just seems marginal to my tastes.

2005 Estancia Monterey Pinot Noir Pinnacles Ranches

In my quest for a strong, affordable Pinot Noir I decided to give this one a shot, which ran me about $15 at the local supermarket.

Red fruit on the nose - strawberry mainly - and some alcohol.

Strawberry on the palate with a bit of root beer. Low tannins, smooth drinking all around, not much acid.

The finish brings out some dirt and oak and a Twizzler like taste.

A solid bottle of wine, but missing some of that Pinot funk I’ve come to love. It’s not the dream Pinot for $15 that I’ve been hunting, but it’s a damn good one.

2004 Vega Sindoa Cabernet Sauvignon/Tempranillo

We used to drink this wine quite a bit a while back. In fact I’d say we got into something of a “wine rut” with this where I would just buy a few bottles of this and drink it as our “house wine.” It’s been quite a while, and I noticed a positive review in Wine Spectator so I thought it would be fun to give it another shot. This one goes for $8.

Plum, oak, and anise on the nose.

This one needs time to open...I’m going to say at least two hours. Smokey oak, earth, cedar, fairly strong tannins, lots of interesting herbs, and perhaps some raspberry. The tempranillo does come through giving this a distinctly Spanish taste.

The finish brings out some wood - oak and cedar - notes but fade fairly fast.

We only had a glass each when we opened it, so we had the rest of the bottle the next day: The tannins have smoothed out and a fair amount of fruit has come forward. Cherry, blackberry, some herbal notes.

An interesting, complex, and bold wine that is almost unheard of at this price. I’d almost say this is better on the second day. I doubt you’d do better for under $10.

2004 Vision Cellars Pinot Noir Chileno Valley Vineyard Marin County

Earth and herbs with chocolate and raspberry notes with a bit of berry.

Licorice, cola, cherry, strawberry, and oak on the palate. Do I detect a bit of rhubarb? A nice acidic zing, but nicely balanced all around immediately after opening and after letting it open for a while.

The finish brings out some raspberry.

Not a bad bottle at all. If you can find it for under $20 I’d say pick it up.

N/V Lisennes Cremant de Bordeaux Brut

We’ve never had a sparkling Bordeaux before, so I gave this one a shot at $14.

On the nose I get yeast and it took me over an hour to place it, but now that I hit it: marzipan.

Citrus on the palate - lemon, lime, orange, tangerine...whether it’s a legitimate taste or an influence from the nose or not, I taste marzipan as well. I’m one of these strange people that love marzipan.

A bit of yeast on the finish as well as some lemon zest.

It seems to me there is a strange line....if a sparkling wine is under $12 it’s probably not great....$13 to $25 and it’s remarkably better....and I’m sure there are higher levels but I can’t afford to learn those. At $14 this is clearly in that medium level - nice complexity, long lasting bubbles, smooth texture, goes with anything - a great wine and one I’d recommend.

2005 Turning Leaf Riesling

I’m a sucker who was drawn in by the $5 pricetag even thought I was looking for beer, not wine.

The nose brings out some white grapefruit, grapes,

The palate is a bit flabby - there is some acid, some spice, grapes, and orange zest.

The finish is grapey....like the yellow grapes you see in the grocery store.

It’s $5 and it tastes like it. I can’t recommend it other than I can say that Riesling is a difficult wine to completely botch - it’s certainly drinkable, but you can just do so much better for just a bit more.