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This wine was one of the ones that I bought at The Grocery Outlet. It is the only one that i bought that day where I had any previous knowledge the winery - I had Jessie's Grove's "Earth, Zin, and Fire" before.
The presentation was OK. It's a Rhône varietal, yet they chose to package it in a Bordeaux bottle. The labeling gives some good history. Good history is important in selecting a wine that you know nothing about, because if they have been making wine long enough to have a history, then presumably they are not screwing it up too badly. The bottle is encased in sediment around the shoulder, which is god, given the age of this wine - the sediment is in the correct place making it reasonable to believe that it has been stored properly.
The real cork was enclosed in foil and on one side, it had about 5/8 inch of penetration. Doug bought the same wine and had much more penetration on his. Oddly enough given the amount of sediment on the shoulder and the penetrated cork, it did not leave a prominent tattoo.
It had a deep, old colour and raisons on the nose. I usually associate the raison smell with Botrytis, but if that were the case here I am positive that the label would have mentioned it.
After the swirl, red fruit emerged on the nose, along with caramelized onions. Yumm. For all of that, it was light and airy, with a hint of salt and pepper.
Searching Jerssie's Grove's website for Carignane (it isn't all that common a varietal after all) shows only an old vine Lodi Carignane being bottled today. I wonder if this is the same wine, just re-labled now that Old Vine is in vogue?
The Verdict:
Good value. If The Grocery Outlet still has it in stock, I'll be sure to acquire some more.| Style: | Rhône |
| Varietals: | Carignane |
| Appellation/Terrior: | Lodi, California |
| Vintage: | 2003 |
| Vintner: | Jessie's Grove |
| Alcohol: | 13.0% by Volume |
| Price: | $3.99 from a liquidator |
