2007 Syncline Mourvedre Coyote Canyon Vineyard

We don't drink much Mourvedre...does anyone though? This bottle retails for about thirty bones and features a glass cork.

Cassiss, blackberry, menthol, and I'll be damned if I'm not getting a big dash of soy sauce.

Plum. Big ol' plum. Perhaps a drop of vanilla in a giant vat of chopped plums, but that's about it..

Just a bit of oak and mild spicy qualities on the finish with just a bit of raw meat, in a tartare sorta way.

Tasty? Yes. One-dimensional for the pricepoint? Yep.

Score: 87

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)

2005 Mourel Azurat Fitou

Nine bucks retail - end of bin sale knocked it down to four bones. This is a blend of 40% Mourvedre, 20% Syrah, 15% Grenache, and 15% Carignan.

The nose reminds me of a blackberry rolled in dirt.

Spicy - black pepper mostly. Earthy - like dry, caked dirt, with some leathery qualities. The fruit is dark - blackberry, black cherry - yet unrinsed fruit that has fallen on the ground.

Almost a minty thing comes out on the finish, but everything disappears quickly.

Can't argue with it - especially at four bucks - but even at nine, it ain't band. I stand by much cheap French wine is worth your time and this one certainly proves my point.

Wine: 6.5
Value: Yep

2006 Castano Monastrell Yecla

Castaño for those of you who are particular about their tildas. This is a monastrell - you may be familiar with it by its more common name, mourvedre. I don't recall what I paid for this or why, but online prices vary between six and ten dollars, so it's a cheap offering.

I get some cola components on the nose as well as some tart cherry.

Not unlike a light bodied California Pinot Noir - the peculiar blend of strong dark fruit combined with a strong dollop of funk and earth. Like dropping a blackberry in fertilizer and not washing it off before eating it. I am digging the fact that this is so light, many CA PNs don't work for me because the ones we've had tend to get a bit heavy, this is just about right.

I get just a bit of Twizzler on the finish.

This isn't a terribly complex wine, but it's very tasty, easy drinking, and a perfect summer red - chill it a bit and eat it with burgers or brats and you're good to go.

Wine: 7
Value: Definitely

2005 Monastrell Wrongo Dongo

Here we are with an $8 bottle of WANGO TANGO...oh wait...Wrongo Dongo...Nugent doesn't drink, that's right. I bought this one at World Market as it was a double whammy–-first, it was highly rated by Parker (or Wine Spectator...someone important) and second it knocked off another grape for our Wine Century Club application.

Fruity right off the bat, mild tannins, and a hint of spice. As far as I can tell, this wine has not seen oak and that’s very rarely a pro with red wine. There’s a harshness and burn on the finish that’s unappealing. The front and mid palate hit you with cherries, raspberries, and herbal notes. I get quite a bit of “green” on this–bell peppers, basil, strange flavors under the fruit. Fran feels it is comparable to Charles Shaw, I think that’s a low blow.

For an offbeat varietal, it’s interesting and worth giving a shot if you want something different and inexpensive.