2007 Cameron Hughes Lot 95 Meritage				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Valle Central, Chile	$10	CostCo	2/3/09
	Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Carmenere. A deep, ruby-colored wine with a ripe nose of cherry, raspberry and plum with hints of oak, mocha, licorice and herbs, which carry through onto the full-bodied and round palate. Was worried that this would be tight, but popped, poured and enjoyed. Though the tannins are fairly non-existent the wine still has good balance. Cam Hughes claims this will age, but there's really no point with this lot. It is what it is and for the price is a juicy quaffer that should please most people.

2006 Adega Cartuxa "EA" Tinto				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Alentejano, Portugal	$12	K&L Wines	10/2/08
	Blend of Tempranillo, Aragonez, Moreto and Castelao. This blend of local varietals has a pale to medium ruby color with an aromatic nose of raspberry, roses, earth and smoke. The palate is dry, light to medium bodied, with high acid and bitter tannins that mellow as the wine opens. The flavors are mostly red fruit with raspberry, strawberry and cherry predominating with hints of spice, smoke, earth and cedar on the moderate, dusty finish. This is a very Old World style of wine, that has good structure and flavor for the price, but I fear won't inspire many people to drink more Portuguese wines.

2006 Dark Star Cellars Left Turn				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$35	@ the Winery	1/23/09
	Blend of 60% Zinfandel, 30% Syrah and 10% Mourvedre A medium-deep, ruby-colored wine with a nice nose of dark, brambly fruit, plum and notes of bacon and sweet spice. The palate is soft and ripe with low tannins, yet enough acidity to balance the ripe fruit flavors of blackberry and plum. The finish is good with hints of meat and vanilla. As the wine evolved over the night it lost some of its brightness and got a touch of a stewed/earthy quality. I think this wine needs a bit more time (6mos) to fully come together, which is typical of this winery. Not quite worth its price tag yet.

2006 Folie à Deux Ménage à Trois				*
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Napa Valley, CA	$14	Wine.com	3/18/07
	Blend of Zindfandel, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon The color is a deep, dark ruby. The zinfandel jumps out of the glass with typical brambly red fruit aromas that are tempered on the palate by the structured tannins of the Cab. The merlot adds softness and a lush mouthfeel to the red fruit flavors. A big wine that doesn't quite come together and leaves more an impression of sweetness than elegance.

2006 Foillard Morgon Cote du Py				***
	Region	Price	Tasted	Drank
	Beaujolais, France	$27		3/17/08
	Made from 100% Gamay, the wines from this region are mostly known for the light and fruity "Nouveau" style released each November. However, Beaujolais also makes more serious, somewhat age-worthy wines from this grape that can, and in this case, do deliver wonderful wines at affordable prices. A pale ruby, this wine has a bright nose full of ripe berries, cherries, cedar and spice, which follow through on the well-balanced and soft palate. The finish is full of hints of earth and pepper which linger pleasantly. A wine that is ready to drink, but could gain some additional complexity with another year in the bottle. Wines from Morgon (a specific village in the Beaujolais region) are some of the best values in the wine world and ones to seek out for those looking for well-crafted French bargains.

2006 Majella "The Musician" Cab-Shiraz				**
	Region	Price	Tasted	Date
	Coonawarra, Australia	$17	25 Degrees Bar	6/3/09
	Blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon and 33% Syrah A deep, purple-colored wine with a subtle nose of black fruit and eucalyptus with notes of herbs and vanilla. The palate is round and well-integrated with flavors of blackcurrent, plum, more eucalpytus and hints of pepper and sweet oak on the medium-length finish. A well-crafted wine for the price that truly shows exactly where it comes from. Fruity without being overripe, this is a blend that's ready to go. Not exactly a wine to remember, but it sure was good going down.

2006 Mondo Cellars Mambo #5				**
	Region	Price	Tasted	Date
	Paso Robles, CA	$26	@ the Winery	1/2/09
	Blend of Syrah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah and Mourvedre A medium-bodied, ruby-colored wine with a youthful nose of black fruit, plum, sweet spice and earth. The palate was quite tannic at first, but mellowed in the glass with flavors of blackberry, black cherry, blackcurrant leaf and notes of oak, herbs and sweet spice on the finish. A true blend with no one varietal making itself obvious, this wine is enjoyable now, but needs some time to settle down and unify in the bottle. Not quite yet worth the price, but not a bad wine for a first effort from this new Paso winery.

2006 Ortman Family Vineyard, Cuvée Eddy				**
	Region	Price	Tasted	Date
	Edna Valley, CA	$20	@ the Winery	12/26/07
	Blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Petite Sirah and Viognier This medium-bodied, ruby wine opens with warm, jammy black fruit aromas with toasty nuances. Big, juicy flavors of blackberry, blueberry and raspberry unfold with accents of mocha and vanilla bean. The texture is round and supple yet firmly structured, finishing with hints of spice.

2006 Vie Winery L'Etranger				***
	Region	Price	Tasted	Drank
	Sonoma, CA	$40	Red Carpet Wines	4/26/08
	Blend of 60% Zindfandel, 35% Syrah and 5% Petite Sirah The color is a deep, dark ruby. The nose and the palate combine the spicy peppery flavors and up-front blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry fruit of Zinfandel with the mid-palette weight of Syrah and the tannins and structure of Petite Sirah. This is elegantly integrated with a smooth, lingering, earthy finish. The Syrah tempers the usual outrageousness of the Zin making the fruit shine and hiding the alcohol. A lovely wine that's ready to drink.

2006 Vina Robles Winery Red4, Huerhuero Vineyard				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$15	@ the Winery	3/28/08
	Blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah, Tannat and Touriga A deep, violet purple wine with clear aromas of black fruit, lead, earth and hints of violets. The palate is filled with a balance of blackberry, cherry, spice and smoke with a chewy, lingering French vanilla coffee finish. So earthy and spicy, I would have taken this for an Old World wine. It's quite rustic and full flavored, as half the wine is Petite, but it has a firm backbone as well. Either leave this alone for another year or decant it for at least an hour to let the tannins soften. A very complex wine for the price. Enjoyed it more than the $30 Rhone blend we opened after it.

2005 Beckmen Vineyards Atelier				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Santa Barbara, CA	$30	@ the Winery	4/13/09
	Blend of 63% Cabernet Franc and 37% Merlot A medium-deep, ruby-colored wine with a subtle nose of blackberry, blackcurrant, green pepper, smoke and hints of violet and minerals. The palate opens with pure Cab Franc flavors and was a bit acidic to start. Once it gained some air the mouthfeel rounded out with the same notes as the nose with additional hints of black cherry, spice and cedar on the medium finish. I initially thought this wine was in decline, but became truly integrated and lovely on the second day. Could go another 6 months to a year at least. Made me sad once again that the winery is no longer growing Cab Franc.

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