Tag Archives: red blend

Red Wine Review: Murrieta’s Well The Spur

Murrieta’s Well The Spur 2009 | Livermore Valley, California, USA

A few months back, I reviewed the 2008 vintage of Murrieta’s Well The Spur. Now, the 2009.

The suggestion was to enjoy this wine with food from the grill. Unfortunately, I live in a place where grills are verboten — which kills me, because I love grilling — so I had to improvise.

Since I don’t have a grill, I instead turned the toaster oven on “broil” and popped in a sliced vidalia onion and small filet mignon. Those two items were joined by fresh kale sauteed with bacon and onions and a sweet potato. Guess what? The Spur was a wonderful match with everything. As you might expect, it was particularly tasty with the beef, as it unlocked delicious flavors of sweet red raspberry, some black fruits, licorice, and cocoa.

The fruity nose and juicy, almost jammy upfront flavors of this wine threw me off, because my initial impression was one of “typical sweet California blend.” However, that thought flew out the window quickly, as the midpalate and finish whacked me with ample acidity and firm tannins — so much so that this wine became difficult to enjoy on its own. For me, that’s a good thing, because in my mind, wine belongs on the table, to be drunk with food.

The PR kit suggested barbecue, and I agree. The screwcap closure certainly makes it especially BBQ / picnic friendly. Would I buy this and bring it to an outdoor dinner party / picnic / barbecue? Absolutely — and I’d expect it to be a crowd-pleaser.

Find this wine at a retailer near you using Wine-Searcher

Disclosure: I received this wine as a press sample

This wine was also reviewed by The Frugal Wine Snob, Drinkhacker, and Pull That Cork, among others (if you reviewed it, or see another review, let me know in the comments).

Red Blend Wine Review: Apothic Red

Apothic Red 2009 | California

Usually I drink wine with food. I almost always eat food with wine. Sometimes, though, I like to have a glass of wine with nuttin’. In those cases, the “cocktail wines” are an ideal choice. And on this particular night, I wanted a “cocktail red” — something to sip on its own, that wouldn’t be too tannic, but have some richness and flavor. Oak wouldn’t be a major issue, because generally speaking, oak tastes good when food is not present. So I opened up this bottle, which was sent to me by a very nice PR person.

Apothic Red is a blend of Syrah, Zinfandel, and Merlot. It helps to know that, but I really do believe I can taste all three varietals in the blend. The nose is a pleasant, inviting blend of vanilla, butterscotch, red berries, and black cherry — for me, the butterscotch is dominant in the aroma. Strange, I know — since when does a red wine smell like butterscotch? When it’s been whacked with American oak (barrel or chips? who knows? who cares?). In the mouth it has sweet flavors of ripe raspberry, chocolate, maraschino cherry, and boysenberry syrup (like what you get at IHOP). However, it finishes dry, with a balanced level of mild tannins and puckering acidity. It was exactly what I was seeking on this particular evening. I’m not sure I’d try to match it with food — I don’t know where I’d begin. Maybe General Tsao’s chicken or a similarly sweet dish from the Chinese take-out menu? It’s not sweet like a Yellow Tail or Hob Nob wine, but it’s not all that far from it, either — I would say it is a good stepping stone from critter reds to more “serious” ones, because it does finish relatively dry and it has nicely integrated tannins and acidity. Without question, a crowd pleaser — bring it to your next party where people will be drinking wine as though it were a cocktail.

Find Apothic Red at a retailer near you using Wine-Searcher, Vinquire, or WineZap

Disclosure: I received this wine as a press sample