The Price: The retail price is $49.99
This is a wine review that I expected to take a long time to come together because the wine has not yet made it to my local wine shops, and I was a bit reluctant to spend the $50 on a bottle of what I thought may just be a novelty wine. Tim, from Mendocino Wine Company, was kind enough to get a bottle of the Kick Ass Red along with a bottle of the Mike Ditka 2005 Chardonay and the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon (look for reviews of the Chardonay and Cabernet Sauvignon soon). I am greatly appreciative of his efforts!
As a long time football fan, I have the utmost respect and fondness for Mike Ditka. He embodies the spirit of the Man's Man. A guy who is nicknamed Iron Mike is just damned tough! So I was a bit taken aback by the Mike Ditka line of wines. I would expect Mike Ditka cigars or Mike Ditka Single-Malt Scotch long before I would think of Mike Ditka wines. As a result, I really expected the wine to be little more than a novelty - something fun to bring out on game day, but not a "real" wine. Was I ever wrong! I was delightfully surprised by the quality of this wine. It is great wine, well worth the retail price, and very much a wine to enjoy now and buy a few extra bottles to cellar away for several years. This wine is game-winning-touchdown-pass good! It's the Chicago Bears Winning Superbowl XX good! It is Iron Mike good. And that's saying a lot.
The wine label is very nicely done (see top right of this review). In an age where labels are so often polluted with pictures of trucks, old ladies and dogs, the label on this wine is a very dignified looking monogram with a small caricature of Mike Ditka below the initials. It is very classy and dignified. The border, text and drawing on the label are gold, set on a black background.
The wine is a very rich, deep, dark red. The deepness of color portends the complexity and developed character of the wine. It has a fruity scent of cherry with a blackberry undertone. The wine has a very well developed, complex flavor. It has a predominately blackberry flavor with a subtle vanilla flavor and a mild pepper finish. With every sip, I like this wine more and more. It has a very silky, pleasant mouth feel. The folks at Mendocino really did a fantastic job in creating this wine, and I look forward to sampling more of their wines in the future.
One of the most memorable moments of Mike Ditka's career, for me personally, was when he was released from his coaching duties by the Chicago Bears. In the nearly-tearful press conference, he ended by saying, "Mike Ditka will survive." That statement really stuck with me through the years, I have thought about those words when I've been in difficult situations. Why I bring this up now is that it strikes me that the one time great NFL player and coach has changed gears and worked to create a great wine. Indeed, Mike Ditka has survived. And flourished.
1 comment:
Nice review! Now break some of that Kick Ass Red out and share with your work mates!
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