2009 Owen Roe Sinister Hand

I dig this label a lot - we had this wine a few years back, so let's see how the 2009 is - about $24 retail on this blend of 70% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 3% Mourvedre, 2% Counoise. (Wine Century Club nerds take note - you don't see Counoise often.)

Black raspberry (or perhaps super dark strawberry) in that stem, leaf, tea sorta way.

Raspberry dominates along with dark cherry, and almost a Juicy Fruit gum sorta thing - what flavor is Juicy Fruit? Something vaguely tropical, papaya or peach I suppose. A nice touch of oak, some vanilla comes through, and a reasonable acid, give it some balance, but it's definitely a juicy, fruit forward sorta wine.

Licorice, black and red, with some of the sweetness included, linger on the finish.

Certainly a lighter style red, but it's all put together nicely - if you like fruity, Grenache based wines, this is for you. If you haven't had a fruity, Grenache based blend, this is a good one to start with...some can be a tad over the top and this one is pretty well integrated.

Score: 88+

2007 Domaine Charvin Vin de Pays de la Principauté d'Orange à côté

It really does need to be repeated - put your young red wines in some sort of decanter for at least an hour before drinking. This wine was extremely tight for the first ninety minutes or so and really didn't come together until hour three. Eleven bucks at Binny's - many places online have it for fifteen - I snagged a bottle on a whim thanks to a Parker 90 point rave.

The nose has something kind of strange, almost a buffalo wing sauce quality comes through on the nose - spice as in hot pepper spice. There's also a cherry candy - red Starburst - thing.

Cherry and strawberry candy, generic sort of red fruit, with a dash of black pepper, menthol, and a bit of cigar, all with a slightly medicinal back palate. This is fairly light in body - when I think of medicinal wine, I think heavy and viscous, not so much here, which makes what can be perceived as a flaw into an interesting quirky quality.

More of that medicinal, menthol, minty, and cherry thing linger on the finish.

This was apparently aged for eighteen months in concrete - I'm not sure I've encountered a wine not aged in either steel or oak. Concrete...fascinating... Personally, I'd sit on this wine for another year or so before opening. I'm less thrilled than Parker, but considering the eleven dollar price tag, I also can't bash it.

Score: 85

2007 Cline Cashmere GSM

When I was a little girl in Panama, a rich American came to our town and he was wearing the softest most beautiful sweater. I said to him, "what do you call this most beautiful fabric?" and he said "they call it cashmere."

I repeated the words "cashmere, cashmere."

My friend Georgie bought a bottle of this. At retail this goes for about $15, but we had this at a restaurant so it ran us - ahem - considerably more.

This is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre.

A big nose dominated with black fruit - cassis, plum, even some ultraripe blackberry.

For such a big nose, this is a rather smooth, soft - basically mild mannered - wine. Strawberry, cherry, black pepper, sassafras, cassis dominate - tannins present and smooth with acid well integrated.

A tad - just a tad - of heat on the finish with cherry and cassis lingering.

This is certainly a solid bottle - easy drinking, smooth, and enjoyable.

Strange thing about this bottle....it has a small red dot right on the front.

Score: 87* (*not blind)

N/V R Winery Bitch Bubbly

Nine bucks - a sparkling grenache, why not?

A light nose with very little going on beyond some white bread.

Interesting. Very interesting.... Take a somewhat sweet, large bodied rose and add a dash of carbonation. It's so different I almost don't know how to take it. Once again – big in body with pineapple, vanilla, papaya, and strawberry dominating the palate. Sweet and viscous – without the fizz to lighten it up a bit I might not be so forgiving, but it adds a nice dimension.

A tropical fruit mish mash for a finish – almost the sort of finish you'd expect from a Hurricane or some such adult beverage.

I'm gonna say give this one a go, but you gotta make sure you know what you're getting into – full bodied, pink, rather sweet – the sorta thing you'll eat with a frozen pizza or Big Macs and not think twice about. Hell, this could conceivably work at a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

Wine: 6
Value: Sure

2005 Bodegas Atteca Old Vines

I WANNA DRINK THIS WINE SO BAD I CAN TASTE IT – HUH? – ATTECA! ATTECA! ATTECA! ATTECA! REMEMBER ATTECA?

I know, I know, too easy.

Right around fourteen bucks this one is – it's been sitting in the wine fridge for quite a while, so I popped it open.

This review may be somewhat biased seeing as the last five bottles of wine we've consumed have been Yellow Tail, because right off the bat this just smells amazing. A really nice blend of light cherry, mint, and herbs. There is a garbage like component that I usually dig, but haven't hit on lately, so it's weirding me out a bit.

With a bit of airtime, this presents as a smooth cherry and cassis filled wine with quite a bit of earthy and herbal notes – sassafras, eucalyptus – and even a hint of cola. With a bit more time I get a distinct raspberry quality- almost like it was spiked with a shot of a raspberry dessert wine. I opened this without paying much attention to it and was drinking this under the impression it was a California Zin – the Old Vines thing - but it's a Spanish Garnacha. Quite interesting.

Earth and dirt on the finish with more raspberry notes.

So what do we have here? A wine that's clearly well made, certainly a good value, and overall quite tasty – that being said, if you're looking for a classic Spanish Garnacha this is probably not for you.

Wine: 7
Values: Yep

2001 Hutton Vale Grenache Mataro

This was a birthday gift from a friend of mine and I figured it would be worth opening.

A big and jammy nose – blackberry, super ripe plum, and a dose of chocolate.

At first, this was a bit of a surprise on the palate – I figured I'd be getting all sorts of fruit but the big thing that hits me right away is spice – black pepper and dried green spice – basil mostly. Loads of chocolate, or maybe more precisely carob, and some rich, black fruit, plus tobacco, and a punch of vanilla.

A menthol quality also comes through as the wine opens which is fairly potent on the mid palate as well as some heavy medicine/cough syrup qualities – this is a quality that in small doses I enjoy and I feel it's about right here – though it may turn some people off. After a few hours, the fruit comes forward right away and some interesting garbagey notes begin showing up.

Vanilla lingers for a while but raspberry notes stick around for well over a minute.

One of the finest wines we've had from Australia. Big and bold, but not absurd like many Aussie wines, excellent depth, and certainly a wine I'd recommend.

Wine: 9.5
QPR: Gift

2006 Vino Sin Ley G4 Grenache

I don't recall why I bought this – it's been on the rack for a while, it either came recommended from the wine shop or we tried at a tasting and dug it...either way, this is about ten bucks.

Earthy and chocolatey notes on the nose.

Earth, cherry, and chocolate. Not a whole lot of oak or tannins – this is a very nice, smooth wine. Well made and a great value.

There's a bit of heat on the finish with some more of that dark chocolate.

For $10, this is an obvious recommendation – a solid and well-made Old World Grenache which I'm a big fan of.

2006 Bitch Grenache

How can I pass this label and name up? This was $10 at the local wine shop.

Strawberry and Twizzlers on the nose.

Fruity with a bit of burn. Sharp acid – almost too sharp, the alcohol also burns to a near uncomfortable level. The palate is mostly strawberries and a bit of earth and burnt coffee.

More of those burnt coffee notes linger on the finish.

If I had to compare this to anything I'd say it's like a Beaujolais on steroids. It's not bad, but somewhat atypical of a New World Grenache - as long as you know that, it's not a bad bottle. Too good to send to your ex on Valentine's Day and not good enough to buy your current sweetheart who's "taken the word back."

2006 Marco Real Garnacha Rose

I dropped by the local wine shop as I had a hankering for a rose. This one came strongly recommended and was about $12.

A bit of strawberry on the nose.

The palate is a nice blend of strawberry, bing cherry, and just a slightest hint of cinnamon....a nice bit of acid and a touch of sweetness make this nicely balanced.

The finish has a nice spicy zing to it.

I’d put this on the list of my top three favorite roses....strongly recommended.

2002 Clarendon Hills Old Vines Grenache, Blewitt Springs Vineyard

I decided to open a special occasion wine due to some bad news coming down the pipe. This retails at about $50 a bottle.

I get plenty of wood and anise on the nose with some miscellaneous black fruit. Plums maybe.

This a nice full bodied Grenache. Incredibly smooth, loads of fruit, wood, and anise just blend together perfectly. The tannins are firm yet silky. The fruit is mainly raspberry (ripe, rich, farmer’s market quality raspberries that were picked only hours before you ate them) with a hint of black cherry. The oak is smokey, and there’s a lot of smooth anise. There's even a suggestion of Cherry Coke. Fran gets dark chocolate on the finish, all I get is anise and it lasts for well over a minute.

Perfectly balanced, incredibly smooth, an extremely long finish...this is phenomenal. When you consider the quality, the price tag is no shock.

2003 Mas Donis Capcanes

This is a Grenache Syrah blend, but I’m not sure the percentages. If I had to guess I’d say mostly Grenache.

I get some berries and oak on the nose with a hint of plums.

It's got some nice pepper on the palate along with blackberry and raspberry that give it some fruit, but overall I’d call this oaky. The tannins are smooth and overall, the wine is fairly light. The finish is oaky and I taste some tobacco. If you like wine with a lot of wood, this is for you. To me, it may be a little too woody, but certainly not to a point that I wouldn’t have it again.

I picked this up for $11 and at that price it’s a bargain as there’s a lot of complexity here. It’s distinctly “Spanish” and “Old World” so if you’re looking for a big California style fruit bomb, you may be disappointed so know what you’re getting. I had this with a plate of pasta and it worked out very well.