Novella Zinfandel Paso Robles This wine has everything I love in a zinfandel, especially that dense layer of tobacco beneath the rest of its flavors. There are thick, juicy berries along with some dried currant texture. Honestly, the Novella Zinfandel seems really well done for a zinfandel at this price range, but that might be
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Napa River Merlot 2007 Napa County Nose: Clove, tobacco, and prune in that order. There’s a lot of fruit in this medium-bodied wine including raspberry, cherry, and prune. Clove notes hang out for the aftertaste. It’s not terribly complex, but it’s a good, easy sipper.

McWilliams Hanwood Estates Shiraz 2008 Southeastern Australia Curry leaves and pepper come forward in the nose. The taste is interesting: cherry, not fully ripe, is foremost on the palate, but with a spicy tone that actually reminds me a lot of Trader Joe’s Cherry Cider. I can down a jug of that beverage in no
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Trader Joe’s Reserve Growers Petite Sirah 2008 California Nice raspberry and leather nose with plenty of clove. The wine is surprisingly thin before the spices fill in the gaps. Clove is indeed one of those spices, and anise is, too. The fruit is there, but it’s second fiddle to the spice. In addition to the
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Alexander & Fitch 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley, CA This red was really dense on first sip, with lots of chocolate, spice, and fruit. Those are all things that are good. The nose had the same qualities, except there was a light element of menthol as well. It was tart but in that great, jam-like
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La Granja 360 Tempranillo 2008 Carinena, Spain My first impression on drinking: This is not a great wine. Both the nose and first sip were of wet cigarettes. But other flavors worked their way in slowly, some tart raspberry, earth, leaves, and then clove, lots of clove. By the end, a layer of dark chocolate
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Black Opal Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 Southeastern Australia Nose: Plum and spice—most notably, paprika. The spice definitely comes to the forefront when tasting, but it’s much more peppery, though the paprika is still there. For fruit, there’s raspberry and prune, with some of the dense molasses-type of sugar that comes with that dried plum, but not
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Ravenswood Zen of Zin 2007 Sonoma County, CA The nose of this old vine Zinfandel is really nice and earthy. I could sit and smell it for a while. Of course, I wouldn’t get much drinking done then, would I? It is thin-bodied for a zinfandel. Tastes oaky, with rich plum and leather. There are
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HRM Rex Goliath Shiraz Woodbridge, CA This wine has a lot of pepper on the nose, with some rhubarb and caramel coming through also. On drinking, my mouth fills with that pepper, which is not something I ever mind. It is tart. Raspberry is the primary fruit, but there’s some rhubarb, too. It’s a thick,
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Rootstock Syrah 2007 North Coast, CA Smell: Oak, touch of cinnamon, dash of plum. Taste: A well-rounded wine with minimal fruit, though there is that bit of plum. There’s also a mellow presence of spices with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and some light vanilla. This wine is fine and dandy but nothing special.