Campo Viejo 2005 Crianza Rioja

The Winery: Campo Viejo
The Wine:  2005 Crianza Rioja
The Price:  $9.99 at QFC

I've discussed Spanish wines previously when I reviewed the Campo Viejo 2001 Gran Reserva Rioja.  So I won't rehash what I said before, other than to state that Crianzas are younger wines.  This wine is aged in oak for 12 months before being bottled.

The bottle for this wine was stopped with a natural cork and decanted an hour and a quarter before tasting.

The wine is very dark purple, with very light penetrating through the wine in the glass.   It has aromas of blackberry, plum and vanilla.

It's a fairly flat wine, without a lot of flavor.  It's not bad, it just doesn't pack enough of a flavor punch.  It has plum and blackberry flavors with a very slight pepper finish.  I really wish there was more flavor to the wine.  I like the flavors that are there, I just want more of them.

I doubt I'll buy this wine again.  There are plenty of $10 wines that have more flavor than this.  If you're a fan of mildly flavored wines, this could be something you'd like.   

Rustenberg John X Merriman 2006

The Winery:  Rustenberg
The Wine:  John X Merriman 2006
The Price:  $28 at Jack Cellars

Rustenberg is located in the Stellenbosch region of South Africa.  The wine is a blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 13% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Fran and 1% Malbec.  The bottle was stopped with a natural cork and was decanted an hour before tasting.

This is a deep purple wine.  It has aromas of plums, tobacco and pepper.  It has a big, fruity blend of plum and cherry flavors with a pepper finish.  This is an extremely good wine.  Although I tend towards the NW Pinot Noirs, this is a great, fun wine.  I recommend giving it a taste.   

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Errazuriz 2006 Single Vineyard Carmenère

The Winery:  Errazuriz
The Wine:  2006 Single Vineyard Carmenère 
The Price:  $18 at Jack Cellars

Errazuriz is a Chilean winery that was founded in 1870.  This wine is single sourced from the Don Maximiano Estate.

Carmenère grapes were commonly grown in the Bordeaux region of France, and elsewhere throughout Europe.  In 1867, an outbreak of Phylloxera wiped out many vineyards and nearly caused the extinction of Carmenère.  The Carmenère vines in Chile were unaffected by the Phylloxera epidemic, and the grapes have thrived there.

The wine bottle was stopped with a natural cork, and was decanted just over an hour before tasting.

The wine is a very dark purple.  It has aromas of blackberries, bell peppers with a spicy black pepper undertone.

The wine has a fruity blackberry flavor at its base, and a very pronounced black pepper finish.  If you don't like a peppery wine, then this is not a good wine for you.  I really like the wine, however.  The flavor is well balanced and is very smooth. 

McManis Family Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

The Winery: McManis Family Vineyards
The Wine: 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon
The Price: $9.99 at QFC (marked down from $12.99)

This review was inspired by a few things. First, I've been trying to not review just Northwest wines, so I'm always looking for wines that are widely available throughout the country (and world). Second, I've been reviewing higher priced wines lately, so I'm trying to reel it in and review some sub-$10.00 wines. And finally, I happened to sample a bottle of McManis Petite Sirah recently which, while I didn't review it, was quite good.

This bottle of wine was stopped with a natural cork and was decanted about 45 minutes before tasting.

The wine is a very dark purple. It has aromas of blackberry and plum. This is a very nice wine. It has flavors of blackberry, cherry, chocolate and cinnamon. I like this wine a lot. It's a very good wine for the price. It's absolutely ready to drink now.

Rive Della Chiesa Prosecco

The Winery: Rive Della Chiesa
The Wine: Prosecco Frizzante
The Price: $11.99 at Central Market

If it's not obvious from the name, this is an Italian wine. It is made from 100% Prosecco grapes. And for those who don't know, frizzante wines are wines that are fizzy. They're less bubbly than sparkling wine, but definitely have a light effervescence to them.

This wine is pale yellow in color and emits steady streams of tiny bubbles. It has aromas of apple, lemon and grass.

This is a semi-dry wine. It has an apple flavor with a hint of pineapple and peaches. It's kind of a fun wine. I like the fizz - it's a nice change of pace from the same old white wines. It's definitely no replacement for a quality Champagne or sparkling white wine, but it is a good wine to have in rotation and would be fun to pull out for friends at a barbecue or dinner party.