Zen of Zin Zinfandel 2009 (about $12)

About the Wine:  For some reason it has become something of a tradition for Zinfandel makes to give their products strange names based on bad puns.  I have seen Earth, Zin, and Fire, Seven Deadly Zins, XYZin, and now Zen of Zins.

About THIS Wine:  Zen of Zin has a dark center that fades to a violet rim.  Spice and indistinct red fruit are prominent on the nose and they deliver on the palate.  The palate is very smooth.  The fruit taste is jammy but not overbearing.  The finish is spicy and mildly dry.  In a blind test I would have mistaken this for a light Cabernet.

Drinking This Wine:  Zen of Zin would be fine as a sipping wine or with  grilled steak.  Sirloin steak comes to mind as an especially good pairing.  I would not let this wine age much.  Wines at this price point are not usually meant to be aged and my suspicion is that this particular wine will keep getting drier over time, losing its flavor and character.

Overall Impression:  It is a nice wine for a nice price.  At twelve dollars Zen of Zin is a good value.

La Puerta Alta Torrontes 2010 (about $11)

About the Wine:  Torrontes is an obscure white wine known for it floral nose and palate.  It grows well in Chile and Argentina but has never really caught on in America. 

About THIS Wine:  In the glass it is light and luminous. The nose is strong with citrus, reminiscent of a dry Riesling.  Minerality is sharp on the palate and lingers for an almost salty finish.

Drinking This Wine:  The taste is not altogether pleasant by itself.  Paired with white fish it could make an excellent meal.  The mineral taste of the wine would reduce the need to salt the fish.

Overall Impression:  I am not all that impressed but it is a decent wine.  At eleven dollars it is reasonable for the price.

Starborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (about $13)

About the Wine:  Marlborough, New Zealand is well known for the Sauvignon Blancs that grow there.  The terroir gives the wine a grapefruit flavor unique to the region.  The most common complaint is that all the Sauvignon Blancs from the region all seem to taste the same.

About THIS Wine:  In the glass it is light with no distinct rim.  The nose is fruity with citrus and grapefruit.  The flavors delivers on the palate, though the finish is very light.

Drinking This Wine:  Easy drinking as a sipping wine, Starborough would also go well with fruit dishes or fish.

Overall Impression:  This is a ten dollar bottle.  It is overpriced.

Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (about $20)

About the Wine: Cabernets come in a variety of styles that can range from fruity to dry to heavily oaked.  This can make it  difficult wine to buy.  Asking for a "good" Cabernet is likely to confuse the salesman more than anything else (or give him the opportunity to recognize you as a neophyte and dump something undrinkable on you.)  Part of what separates average Cabs from exceptional ones is whether they capture a range of the Cabernet Sauvignon  experience or whether the wine maker only scratched the surface of the grape's potential.

About THIS Wine:  It is dark in the glass with a violet rim.  The nose is spicy and also heavy with dark red fruit and just a hint of green pepper.  The fruit delivers on the palate.  It is luscious with the taste of raspberry and black cherry which linger and mix with spice in a dry, lasting finish.

Drinking This Wine:  This wine needs to be opened at least an hour before drinking.  The wine is complex and it needs to breath and open up.  It does well as a sipping wine and would also be good with any kind of red meat in heavy sauce or heavy Italian food such as a meaty lasagna or even good old spaghetti and meatballs.

Overall Impression:  Chilean wines have a reputation for being under priced.  This complex yet approachable Cab is no exception.  At twenty dollars it is a good value.

Firesteed Riesling 2008 (about $13)

About the Wine:  Riesling is the sweetest of the noble grapes.  It is traditionally grown in Germany but good representations of the grape can be found in Canada, New York, Missouri, and Oregon, to name a few.  While excellent sweet wine can be made from Riesling, many wine makers prefer dryer interpretations and it is not at all uncommon to see Riesling makers produce multiple lines with varying levels of sweetness.

About THIS Wine:  Firesteed is light and luminous in the glass.  The nose is crisp and has a lot of citrus, reminiscent of a good Sauvignon Blanc.The palate is very crisp with strong citrus and is not sweet at all, though neither is it especially dry.  The flavor is sharp and bold.  The finish is very light.

Drinking This Wine:  It is a perfect compliment to spicy food such as Indian or Thai.  It also makes a nice sipping wine for warm weather.

Overall Impression:  This is not a wine for the connoisseur.  It lacks complexity and the finish is light for the body.  But it is very pleasant and easy to drink.  For those with more plebeian tastes (and I cheerfully include myself in that group) it is a good value.

Primus The Blend (about $18)

About the Wine: Many wines are meant to be easy and accessible to novice drinkers while others are more specific.  Some are only good with certain foods, or have to be open for a specific period of time before they can be drunk, or are simply too heady for those with undeveloped palates.  This wine is an example of one the more difficult wines to sample.  It requires a fairly developed palate and has to be open for at least and hour before drinking for the maximum experience.
About THIS Wine:  In the glass Primus is violet with a garnet rim.  The nose is remarkably heavy for the lightness of the color.  Spice is dominant with strong notes of jammy raspberry, raisins, earth, smoke, and cherries.  It is heavy and deeply layered.  The palate is rich with syrupy smooth red fruit, spices, and a meaty flavor.  Spice lingers on the palate along with supple tannins and mild dryness.
Drinking This Wine:  Experienced red wine drinkers will enjoy as a sipping wine.  Those with less developed palates should enjoy with red meats.
Overall Impression:  This is not a wine for the novice drinker.  For those with more developed palates and an appreciation for dry red wine it is a steal.

Chalone Merlot 2009 (about $12)

About the Wine: Fun fact about the wine business; owners of stores will sometimes take things in as a favor to their sales reps.  The distributors occasionally buy products that no one especially wants and add them to their sales staff's quotas.  This results in comically desperate sales reps pleading with store owners to take in wines that no has ever heard of.
About THIS Wine: It is violet in the glass with a pinkish rim.  On the nose the wine has dark red fruits and slight acidity.  The taste is mild and very smooth with just a touch of bitterness on the finish that does not linger.
Drinking This Wine:  Too light for a food wine and not flavorful enough to be a good sipping wine.  The promotional material that came with the wine said that it is good with duck.  Let's go with that.
Overall Impression:  I'm not impressed.  There is nothing objectively wrong with this wine, it just has nothing to recommend it.  It is unimpressive for the price.