Luigi Bosca Reserva, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007

White or Red: Red

Grape(s): Cabernet Sauvignon
Origin: Argentina

Vintage: 2007
Price: $15.00

Overall:
Moss and I seem to have a pattern evolving: reds from South America.  This is not by mistake- ask any wine snob and they'll tell you the up-and-comers are evolving from this corner.  Prices (cheap) are reflective of their current position on the wine stage.

Plums, great coffee and tobacco mingle together here to make the BEST Cab we've posted.  It's soft, elegant and extremely well-balanced.  It has this rustic red appearance that I've only seen in wines over 30 years old.  And yeah, it tastes like an old-timer too (that's a good thing!).  The smell on this evokes imagery of dusting off a cask in Pop's basement and sampling it right from the barrel-like it's been there forever.  Top quality wine at a great price.  With cocky confidence I'd serve it to my in-laws, mom, boss or Gadhafi. 

Ahead of the Dorgan I posted last week and the Whitehaven from a month ago, this is my top recommendation so far for Semi-Pro. 

Please let it breathe.  Don't be quick on the draw.

Dorgan Cellars, Petite Syrah, 2007

White or Red: Red

Grape(s): Petite Syrah

Origin: Lodi, CA
Vintage: 2007
Price: $15.00

Overall:
I am further convinced that the fewer words I can use to describe a wine the better it is.  So in just three words: Blueberry (not in a sweet way, think pancakes). Soft. Smooth.

It's all kind of dark blue/purplely with a smell of ripe blueberry, a tasty note of dark chocolate and the slightest hint of mint (herb) (I had three glasses to eek out the mint thing).

I recently went to Costco and bought a bag of goodness called "Brookside, Dark Chocolate Acai with Blueberry".  The label reads, "the perfect pairing of sweetened real fruit pieces, made from a blend of acai berry juice, blueberry juice.... dipped in extra smooth dark chocolate to create this decadent taste sensation." 

Ok. If you can envision this Scooby snack in wine form and think it would taste amazing, you're going to LOVE this wine.  This is going straight to my top 3.

In case you got stoked about the bag of goodness...

Liberty School, Chardonnay 2005

White or Red: White Grape(s): Chardonnay
Origin: Central Coast, CA
Vintage: 2005
Price: $14.50

Overall:
A really well-balanced gang of ripe pineapple, granny-smith apples and toasty oak rub elbows harmoniously inside this medium/full bodied chardonnay.  By no means is she light but ladies and gents, this one gets me all kinds of fuzzy buzzy real quick.  It's the darnedest thing...  Easy to drink as a standalone or pair with light fare. 

Deeper:
Word from the corner wino tells me that this wine has a dirty secret.  Not sure if it's true but legend has it that the winery (Treana), which operates in the high-end catergory, wanted to break into the $10-$15 price point.  So what did they do?  They put the good stuff from the higher price point in to a different bottle, slapped a new label on it and sent it to market.  So now they compete at two levels using the same wine and YOU, my friends, benefit.

Look, if you like really light, crisp, dry pinot grigios, don't buy this; it's not your bag.