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Like the last wine was an example of the good side of wine clubs; this wine is an example of the downside. It was part of our Wine Shop at Home shipment for March, and turns out to be a custom label second.
Custom labels, or vanity labels make popular gifts; frequently real estate agents or other personal service professionals will have some made up to give as thanks to their clients. Or perhaps you got married at a winery and wanted to give your guest a gift of your own "personal" wine. There's really nothing wrong with custom labels, except that they are rarely better than average.
What makes me believe that this is a custom label wine is that:
- There is no URL on the bottle
- Googling for Pura Vida returns no winery
- On the bottle it says "Cellared and Bottled by Terroir Napa Valley Wines"
- On the Terroir Napa Valley Wines web site they do not list the Pura Vida Label
- And the Wine Shop at Home resells custom labels straight from their web site.
I opened this bottle to accompany some BBQ venison tenderloin steaks. It had a light colour, like a pinot. First sniff gave me charcoal, shortly followed by fruit. very skinny legs only presented themselves at the end of the drain. Then a re-sniff gave me apricots and cherries.
The taste was light with definite oak. It had a boozy finish.
After the first 1/2 glass, I let it sit while I attended to the steaks.
The wine improved slightly with the accompanying meat. It aquired a smokey flavour.
The glass I had after dinner showed the spice and oak I expect from a cab. Why ruin a Zin with Bordeaux flavours???? It also did not open well as it acquired a slightly sour if not bitter taste after breathing in the bottle for a couple of hours.
The presentation was ok. It came with a real cork in a Bordeaux bottle, with no extra data on the label. The tasting notes that accompanied it gave good information about an AVA that I am not familiar with (Howell Mountain), but little about this wine in particular.
The Verdict:
Not so bad I wouldn't cook with it. Should be a $7 bottle of wine.| Style: | Bordeaux |
| Varietals: | Zinfandel |
| Appellation/Terrior: | Howell Mt., California |
| Vintage: | 2002 |
| Vintner: | Terroir Napa Valley Wines |
| Alcohol: | 15.2% by Volume |
| Price: | $18.39 |
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