2009 Velvet Devil Merlot

This goes for about $12 retail and as you can see, is a rather eye catching label.

Straight up dark chocolate on the nose - usually I see chocolate covered something or another, but this is just chocolate.

More chocolate on the palate, but some cherry notes come through as well. Big, fruity, a touch sweet, not much for tannins, reasonable enough acid, but overall quite jammy.

Some more interesting things come through on the finish - more chocolate and cherry, but blueberry presents itself as well as some vanilla.

A gateway wine for the Yellow Tail lover in your life. If you're having a big party, this is worth serving, pair it with ribs or burgers and you're good to go - jammy and quaffable, but there's something in the background that tells you there's more than meets the eye.

Score: 85

2010 Charles and Charles Rose

It seems like we've had this before, but I see no review of it on this blog...I think it was a Ravinia pick. This one ran me eleven bones.

Strawberry jam on the nose.

A bit spicy...nice acidic backbone, tart cherry, raspberry, and peach tea...a very nice balance with fruit and spice blending together.

A peach tea sorta thing, perhaps even a fuzzy navel quality.

I've found straight up Syrah rose to be iffy....this one works nicely. For a hot weather quaffer, this works.

Score: 87

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+

2008 Boom Boom Syrah

I've seen this go for $16 to $20, so when the $15 pricetag at Costco caught my eye, I snagged a bottle.

Kind of a chocolate covered cherry nose.

Blueberry dominates with some chocolate and cherry....little in terms of tannins, earth, or even oak, but some nice acid with the fruit makes it quite approachable.

The finish is kind of interesting, sort of a blueberry infused green tea right away but it fades quite quickly.

Tasty stuff, but admittedly simple - for $15, I actually like it enough to buy it again. We'll be drinking a bottle of this tonight with Christmas Eve dinner and I think it will go well. It's fruity and smooth enough I can even see this working with some spicier foods like Mexican or Thai if you insist on red. I say it's worth a shot.

Score: 86

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

2006 Chateau Ste Michelle Canoe Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

You may recognize Chateau Ste Michelle as a producer of widely available inexpensive wines - reds, whites, and sparklers - many of them quite good. In Chicago you can pretty much find their wines at any grocery store. This one is from their higher end line which are somewhat less widely available, but a decent wine shop should have them.

A slightly tight nose - vanilla, plum, and oak. It does open a bit to bring some blueberry in time.

Chocolate, plum, cherry, a little bit of vanilla, a touch of menthol, and even a Twizzler quality seems to be coming through - definitely a fruit forward wine. Tannins are present, but just mild enough (and with enough of that candy quality) that I think I'd call this somewhat lacking in structure, though that gripe is minor.

A lengthy finish with cherry candy for the most part with just the tiniest bit of nutmeg.

I did have about half a bottle left over and retasted a day later - I give this wine props as it actually improved. The flavors are basically the same, but the tannins seem more pronounced with the balance more in line. If you bought this, sit on it for a year...

Quite tasty indeed. This is about $25 at retail and has received a ton of praise from the Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator....I'm less enthusiastic, but by no means do I completely dissent.

Score: 87

2007 KungFu Girl Riesling

I snagged this for around ten bucks because the label amused me, but now I'm wondering if I'm racist.

I can't say I get much of anything on the nose.

I'm thinking this is mostly white grapefruit - I'm detecting some red apple and maybe some pear, but the citrus thing is dominating. Sweet, but balanced reasonably well. I don't mind simple Rieslings, though simple with this profile doesn't work for me.

Some more orangey notes come through as well as an interesting sort of blueberry component on the finish.

The finish wins an extra half point with me since it's interesting, but I still can't say I'd recommend this unless you know Riesling and this sort of thing is your style.

Wine: 6.5
Value: No for me, but based on what you like perhaps...

2006 Working Girl Wines Our Handyman Red

We loved their rose, but how will the red hold up?

Some spices and tart cherries, almost like a reasonable Beaujolais.

A damn shame – extraordinarily simple. Nothing going on but strawberry. It's not bad, necessarily, there are no real flaws and nothing unpleasant, it's just overly simple – a bit of acid, no tannins, and no real depth.

Strawberries on the finish.

Not at all bad, but disappointingly simple. For ten bucks, there are all sorts of “bad” wines out there, this is perhaps best saved for those new to red wine or for a hot day when you're not in the mood for a white.

Wine: 6
Value: For those intimidated by red wine - yes. For anyone else - no.

2007 Olympic Cellars Rose the Riveter

This bottle was ten bucks at the local shop. I've never denied being a sucker for a cool label and the guy working said it was a strong offering.

A note on proper serving temperatures: when I first opened this bottle, poured a glass knowing it was somewhat too cold and my reaction was: “this is boring and flabby” - read on for what a wine I think of this wine when it's cool, but not cold.

Peach and strawberry on the nose.

Nice – same as the nose really – peach and strawberry with a nectarine punch in the face. Fruity, but not really sweet, “just on the edge of off-dry” I'd call it. I'd say this has just the right amount of acid which gives this a great balance. A slight bit of cherry is hanging out in the mid-palate.

The finish is insane. Strawberry and nectarine all the way – they last for an absurd length of time and are almost pure fruit though there is a hit of black pepper.

The other day I gave a very low score to a rose because you it was dull, especially in the price range – the reason why that wine isn't worth drinking is because of bottles like this. This is easily in my top five roses of all time.

Wine: 9
QPR: 9

2006 Hogue Columbia Valley Riesling

Hogue is a reliable producer and I grabbed this because it was on sale for about seven dollars.

Mostly apricot on the nose.

Great stuff – a bit of spice, a bit of sugar, and a bit of acid – as balanced as you'll get, especially at the price. The palate is all lightly spiced stone fruit – peaches, nectarines, apricots. Sweet enough I'd almost call it Auslese in style.

The acid lingers as well as more of that nice stone fruit.

On the second day, almost all the stone fruit went away and was replaced with grapefruit. Nose, palate, finish – all pink grapefruit with a bit of zest and rind on the palate. The balance of sugar and acid was still acceptable but the flavor structure changed.

If you're interested in QPR, and you like your Rieslings with some sweetness, you can't go wrong here.

2004 Hogue Genesis Riesling

This has been on the rack for quite a while and I figured it was time to open it up.

Pineapple and do I detect a bit of gasoline on the nose?

A fairly bold Riesling – lots of tropical fruit, stone fruit, a sharp acidic zing, and a fair amount of sweetness. Pineapple, papaya, apricot, grapefruit, some floral notes, and a bit of minerality.

Pineapple lingers on the finish.

This ran me just about $8 – a great bargain. I look forward to snagging a bottle of a newer vintage.

2004 Januik Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley

We had this one at a tasting a while back and I was so impressed by it I picked up a bottle at $25.

Vanilla on the nose.

Vanilla, oak, tobacco, cherry, and blackberry on the palate with medium tannins.

The finish lingers with some fruit - I’m thinking prune mainly - and fades gently away to tobacco.

Not bad at all, it’s a strong wine and one that I’d recommend even at the price.

N/V Chateau Ste Michelle Brut Columbia Valley Sparkling Wine

The well known brand that's available anywhere for under $9.

No nose.

The palate is lemony....no toast, a slightest hint of yeast....just some generic citrus...I actually am having flashbacks to my childhood and that drink “Five Alive.” Large, flimsy bubbles that dissipate quickly.

The finish leaves the mouth with a strange syrupy coating....some interesting floral notes but just an unsettle honey feel.

Quaffable and just a touch too sweet. We’ve had some good bottles right around this price range, this is fine, but after we’ve tried a bunch of sparklers right at this price point I’d put this low on my list. It just tastes cheap, sadly.

2003 Whitman Cellars Narcissa Red Wine

The is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc and ran us right around $15. We let it open for around two hours and to me the Cabernet Sauvignon was the dominant grape but as it opens further into hour four the Syrah has really come through.

Alcohol, oak, spice, and black fruit on the nose.

This is starts off very smooth and the tannins only kick in towards the end. Tobacco, chocolate covered cherries, oak, a bit of bell pepper, and some plum are all on the palate. Fran gets tart blueberry and black pepper....I see the pepper, but I get no berry fruit at all.

The finish has a slight burn and lots of oak with some plum and cinnamon.

An excellent bottle of wine, and one I’d gladly buy again.

2005 Murphy’s Law Red Wine

I’m not sure what’s in this one, but the 2004 has Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Sangiovesse. I’m going to guess it’s some blend of those, though this winery also has vineyard which produce Syrah, Grenache, and Blaufrankish.

Oak, spice, and berries...blackberry it seems...on the nose.

Smooth and medium bodied...I think I can actually taste the Sangiovesse. Blackberry, raspberry, cherry, mild oak, a hint of anise, and mild tannins.

The finish has oak and cherry...it fades somewhat quickly but is pleasant.

Not bad at all. It's light enough and well balanced so this can really be paired with anything. Give it a shot.

2005 Eroica Riesling

This is a label put out by Chateau Ste Michelle and goes for around $20 a bottle. The wine was originally called Bonaparte, but after Napoleon declared himself emperor the winemaker violently scratched out the name “Bonaparte” and replaced it with “Eroica.”

My apologies for the sad attempt at humor.

The nose is peaches and tropical fruit.

The palate...well, I have to say this is probably one of the finest Rieslings we’ve had in some time, and by far the best American Riesling we’ve ever had. Crisp, tangy acid, a very nice bit of sweetness–perfectly balanced. Lots of peaches on the palate, some nectarine, tangerine, a bit limey, even some strawberry, and some nice minerals,

A clean finish, except for a bit of tropical fruit...pineapple perhaps, but I can’t help but think banana...lingers slightly for quite some time.

Impressive to the say the least. Strongly recommended.

2002 Chateau Ste Michelle Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

This is a common wine that you can find just about anywhere, the retail prices ranges from $12-15 but I was able to use a sale, a quantity discount, and “holiday special” to my advantage and paid $8. Since wine really isn’t perishable, if you encounter a good deal, you may as well go for it.

The nose brings cherries, licorice, a bit of chocolate, and I even get some marzipan. And now that I have typed that, I am now craving marzipan.

The palate is nice and smooth. Cherries, blackberries, oak, anise, with smooth tannins. It’s an easy drinking wine but does have some backbone so it will hold up well with food. We had it with potato and onion pierogi and it went well.

The finish starts off with leather and gradually fades to cherries with a bit of vanilla.

I have to say I’m impressed. I’d buy this again, even at the $12 price range, and would be more than happy to serve it to guests. If you see this one for under $10, do not hesitate--pick it up.

This is the lowest level Cab that Chateau Ste Michelle offers, if this is their $12 wine, I will not hesitate picking up their $30 label (Cold Creek) next time a special occasion calls for it.

2005 Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling

This winery does some higher end wines, but this one...a Columbia Valley 2005 Riesling is in the $10 range depending where you shop. I got this one on sale for $8.99. Just so we're not confusing it with a $40 bottle.

Right off the bat, I like Rieslings, but I will freely admit I like cheap Rieslings. The expensive ones often have descriptions like like "a hint of gasoline on nose"....I've smelled that, and quite frankly I avoid it.

So, here we are.

The appearance on this is very light yellow, there's very little color really, which is about right.

The nose is mellow. I don't smell much of anything, though Fran detects a hint of honeydew melon.

On the tongue, we both feel the bite of alcohol. I taste slightly unripe nectarine with a kick of minerals. It's not terribly pleasant to be honest. It's certainly not "bad" but for the money I'd rather grab a bottle of "Relax" which will probably be discussed at some point in the future. This is by no means sweet, there's fruit of course, but there's no question this is a dry Riesling. Perhaps that's part of the reason I don't like it. I need a bit of sweetness with my acidity.

On the finish, the minerals linger for a surprisingly long time and the drying effect lasts.

We just didn't care for it. This winery makes some good sparkling wine that I'll be picking up sooner or later and writing about I'm sure.