Budget Wine Review 4

Spiral Wines 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon-$4.99 at Trader Joe's.  Easy to drink cab with some blackberry.  A bit simple but very cheap and really not bad.  You might like it for the price.  Very mild recommendation, but don’t expect miracles.

3 Girls 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon-Regularly $12.99 on sale at Cost Plus for $6.99.  This was given 94 points by somebody and a gold medal at the California State Fair and was also recommended by a staff person in the wine section at Cost Plus.  It is easy enough to drink but basically a one dimensional “fruit bomb.”  I don’t know how it scored so high.  You might like it, but I didn’t.  Not recommended by me, but maybe I’m missing something.

Maxwell Creek 2010 Sauvignon Blanc-$12.99 on sale at Safeway for $9.49.  Slight nose of grapefruit with melon and grapefruit on the palate.  Dry but balanced.  Okay finish.  At less than $10 on sale, it is a bargain. Mildly ecommended at this price level.

Marietta “Old Vine Red Lot #51” Red Blend-$9.99 at Cost Plus minus a 20% sale.  This has been described as a “killer zin” and Robert Parker is quoted as calling this, “One of California’s Iconic value Wines.”  Despite this and a recommendation by staff  at Cost Plus, to me it was a total “fruit bomb” with  too much sweetness and no complexity or balance.  I did not like it at all and couldn’t finish it, which is very unusual.  (And I didn’t even save the rest for cooking.)   I can’t recommend it.  I could be terribly wrong, or maybe a gremlin got into the bottle. If you like one-dimensional over ripe fruit with nothing else, maybe you will like it.  Pass.