For quite a while, in the beginning stages, this was my
running all-around favorite wine and nearly every shopping trip would involve 1
or more bottles of it…then, by a mannerism best described as capricious,
typical to the DABC, which is the alcohol controlling arm of the state of Utah,
it vanished entirely and has not been seen again. This may have been due to a
winery change, which I had understood them undergoing and indeed, the blend has
changed somewhat. In the past, it was Syrah, Zinfandel, Petit Syrah,
Tempranillo and Carignan. The newest blend is Petit Verdot, Zinfandel, Syrah,
Petit Syrah, which I managed to find easily and enjoy out of state, so perhaps
a return is imminent. They add and delete wines somewhat regularly, cycling
through with sometimes annoying frequency.
The previous version, as expected, was a lot richer. The new
one is considerably lighter, but the excellent taste and balance between a
hefty wine and a nice lighter one with just the right touch of astringency is
still there. This is one that is flexible enough to either go with food or
drink alone. This is also somewhat of a fruity wine, but not enough so that one
doesn’t forget that it’s a more sophisticated wine rather than some frivolous
oversweetened mess.
I wouldn’t call it particularly complex, but there are
various subtleties in there that show up here and there. Probably it’s not
something to sit around and mull over in the mouth, finding a variety of touch
tastes to identify, as its lightness and accessibility kind of precludes that.
One can experience most of what this wine has to offer without any of that,
which is a very drinkable aspect with somewhat low air time. Very few of the
wines on the list are ones I would spend any time seeking out; it’s just the
intent or that kind of list and this one follows that trend as well. If it’s at
hand, well worthwhile to pick up a bottle.
Formerly this was a Standard, but with this list as deep as
it is, there are simply a lot more wines I’ve discovered that are better than
this for the same price. For nostalgia, I’d definitely pick up a bottle here
and there if I ran across it and I’ve not seen it on SPA, let alone at all, for
quite some time, but it’s not quite up to the level of Standard, so thus a
Mixed.
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