I went to Kroger's and roamed the wine aisles for a couple minutes and I would go with two reds since the first blog post featured a white wine. No help from the wine guru this time! Picked the wines by myself. So I went with a 2010 Smoking Loon Cabernet Sauvignon from California and the Stone Cellars Merlot also from California (forgot to write down the date). I decanted both wines, with a cleaned flower vase (did the trick i guess, ha) and let them chill in the fridge for 30-45 minutes. I had just watched the GaryV episode on decanting so I figured I'd give it a try.
2010, Smoking Loon Cabernet Sauvignon, California
This bottle was purchased for $12 but I had tried a Merlot from Smoking Loon before and really liked it, so even though it is a cheaper brand, I was quite happy with the purchase.
Color: deep red/burgundy, looked black in the bottle but ended up being lighter when poured into a glass
"Sniffy-sniff": the first thing I smelled was berries but it was not over-powering (I'd call it a soft berry smell), I also noticed a tobacco ash/smokey smell, and the entire bouquet was kind of "blanketed" by a subtle but velvety plum aroma.
Taste: quite a sweet initial flavor with the berries coming out right away, somewhat tannic dryness in the "mid-palate", slightly bitter and sour aftertastes (the sourness, I decided, came from the granny-smith-apple-like acidity), the alcohol didn't spike for me which is awesome and the plum really presented itself in the aftertaste
Rating: I enjoyed this wine. It was not expensive nor was it too complex and I could actually decipher a few of the tastes and smells. The main positive for me was how smooth the aftertaste was and the lack of an alcohol spike. I feel the alcohol spike sometimes "scares" people away from drinking cheaper wines but there was none here. A very subtle-flavored wine that was drinkable and not harsh.
-Drinkability: 8/10
-Sweet/Sour/Bitter Balance: 7/10
-Complexity: 3.5/10
-Alcohol Spike: 2/10
-Price: 9/10
-Purchase again?: Yes
Stone Cellars Merlot, California
This vino was on sale for $7. Aesthetically, it didn't look like it should be much more; very simple and plain bottle. I wasn't aware of this but apparently Stone Cellars works or is owned by Beringer wines. If I had known that before-hand I would not have purchased this bottle since Professor Boyer advised us not to buy mass produced "crap."
Color: similar deep red/burgundy as the Smoking Loon, slightly lighter color
"Sniffy-sniff": deep almost overwhelming berry aromas, alcohol stinging the nostrils, slightly earthy and metallic/alkaline, oaky
Taste: strong berry taste right away, very dry and not smooth, sour and acidic mid-palate, the sour taste was like an unripened blueberry, spicy aftertaste with a decently long burn that made my stomach feel warm, texturally smoother when warmed on the palate (turns almost too smooth and creamy)
Rating: I didn't enjoy this wine as much as the Smoking Loon. Although Merlots can be spicy, this one just didn't have any complimenting flavors: it was plain, dry, too much berry aspect, and the alcohol spiked for me even though it has less alcohol (13.0%) compared to the Smoking Loon (13.6%). I wasn't impressed but sometimes you get what you pay for.
-Drinkability: 3/10
-Sweet/Sour/Bitter Balance: 3.5/10
-Complexity: 3/10
-Alcohol Spike: 6.5/10
-Price: 10/10
-Purchase again: No
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