In many ways, this wine sort of sums up what the HSC is all
about. You have here a very moderately priced wine that would be fine to take
or bring nearly anywhere. It is not really an ultra-cheapie, but at the same
time, it wouldn’t be out of place with wines costing much more, say 4 or 5
times the cost of this one, maybe even more. It is Blend and that blend is of
some of the heavier ones, Syrah, old-vine Zin, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite
Syrah, yet it does not drink that way at all.
This should be a somewhat aggressive and heavy wine, yet,
while not quite light, the body is not imposing at all. The taste is something
far more fruity. In fact, if someone asked me for an example of fruit-forward,
this would be among my short list to choose. There is a decent depth to this as
well, but it is balanced and structured extremely well and holds that nearly
all the way through, one of the beauties of wine, I’d say, in that it doesn’t
require constant agitation to keep all the elements in play. I’m not sure if
stunning is too strong of a word to use for this one, but it is both
spectacular and delicious.
This goes a long way to sort of bring to the fore that a
blend, when done right, is nearly always competition for my favorite type of
wine. It’s been quite a while now that I make it a habit to check the blend
area of my favorite wine store in Salt Lake in the hopes I’m rewarded by gems
such as this, which more than makes up for the more frequently misfires. Much
of the HSC testing and drinking is frequently done to sort of establish
favorites. My favorite region, by quite a margin, is the southern part of
Italy, though California, with entries like this, keeps on banging my door,
perhaps to remind me that while other parts of the world may be more famous,
California can more than hold its own in terms of quality. Quite simply, some
of the best wines in the world are made within the bounds of the United States
and they produce wine just as good as – and frequently better than – anyone
else on the planet.
This one I’ve never seen on SPA, but it is relatively new to
the shelves, so that could change. It is low-priced enough at $12 or so that I
wouldn’t ever hesitate to pick up a bottle, making it a Standard. It’s also one
of the few I’m semi-interested in storing, just to see the complexions of it
change and any of those wines I’ve mentioned tend to be good for racking. Then
again, though, it is aged, so that strategy may not work. It is certainly one
that is eminently drinkable now.
