2005 Christine Andrew Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel

Bursting with cherry smells and juicy flavor, with an excellent bite in the finish. Some tart raspberries in there as well. I sucked down two glasses of this zin in record time during dinner...just couldn't get enough. The spicy finish is killer.

Unfortunately, any wine over $15, I consider a special occasion wine. I purchased the Christine Andrew Zinfandel for $17 at Sam's. I'll rate it a strong 6.5/10. A delicious choice, but I'm thinking there are better at this price point.

Oh, and another interesting note, Christine Andrew wines are owned by the popular Ironstone Vineyards. According to the press release announcing this, it nailed it's marketing demographic (at least the low end of it):

The brand is priced in the $12 to $15 retail segment and is aiming to target "the experienced wine consumer between the ages of 30 and 55,"

Tenimenti Angelini 2005 Toscana Rosso Tuttobene

Wow, a great buy for $7. On day 1, after an hour in the decanter, "very dry, very Italian, very good" was my reaction. It's day two and the dryness has subsided a bit and given way to more plumby goodness. My wife liked it more on day 2, but I enjoyed day 1. Nose full of spice & herbs. 50% Merlot, 30% Canaiolo, 20% Sangiovese.

I love the sleek looks of this bottle. I also love the font & logo (see the T & B?). That's the marketing guy in me, but I bet when most see sleek, simple, and sexy...with a $7 price tag, they won't pass it up. Bonus: the contents are excellent. 7/10 rating for this gem from Costco.

Weeknight Italian? This is your wine.

Berço do Infante Estremadura 2006 Reserve

This one caught my taste buds at the local Chicago/Lakeview wine shoppe, Armanetti's - they were having a tasting of several Portuguese reds a few weeks back. The Berco do Infante was the best of the bunch and had also been rated the #3 best value of 2007 by one of the big wine mags (therefore a must have for AWineAWeek.com).

After looking up the Wine Enthusiast rankings, indeed the Berco do Infante was on the list...but it was the 2005, not the 2006 as I was sold. Armanetti's pulled the ole bait and switch (er, taste & switch!). Further, Wine Enthusiast notates the 2005 as a $7 wine, I paid $9 for the 2006. Sadly for Armanetti's, I will no longer be shopping there to avoid further trickery (which is sad 'cause they have my fav scotch at a good deal).

On to the wine. It was what you'd expect out of a $9 wine, some highlights in a nice floral bouquet on the nose, and some lowlights in a very mild flavor and jammy aftertaste. Some subtle grapefruit tones in the early finish after you give the glass some big swirls. A bit sour on the finish. Average ranking: 5.5/10. Roll the dice on a different bottle and a different wine shop.

2006 Las Rocas de San Alejandro Garnacha

Average to sub-average wine from San Alejandro, Spain. I just haven't found a lot of inexpensive Spanish wine I love, so please send any recos. I grabbed this from Costco for $10 when I saw it had a 91 rating from the Wine Advocate. Further, Wine.com dropped the 2005 vintage at #59 on it's top 100 wines of 2007.

Las Rocas was fairly dry leaving a gummy flavor on the tongue with the finish. Peppery with heavy currant. Definitely have your toothbrush ready for when you are done with this one. I have to disagree with the pros and rank it at 4/10: steak marinade.