Cheap-ass Wine: 2005 Bulletin Place Shiraz

It's tax season. If you played your cards right (or are crooked), then it's smooth sailing and Stag's Leap for you. If not--well, there's always some cheap-ass wine:

Color: Deep, blood red fading to purple at the edges.
Nose: Berries! A little rhubarb, a little cranberry and a little greenery or vegetation. Just a hint of smoky leather.
Palate: This is a big wine with rich berry favors--cherry, blueberry. Large body and good tannic structure.
Finish: Lingering fruit and a fair amount of alcohol heat.
Pairings: This seems like a fairly versatile wine. It paired excellently with mojo-roasted chicken (mojo is a Latin American sauce made with coriander seeds, black peppercorns, salt and other ingredients) and polenta. It would also work well with roasted pork, and many Italian dishes. It's lithe mouth feel might fall against heavy steaks or lamb.

You know, cheap-ass wine doesn't mean the wine is categorically bad. And bad wine doesn't even mean it's categorically bad. Someone's drinking the stuff, or it wouldn't get bottled and sold. But I think there is a difference between wines you can get at your local supermarket and wines you can get at your local wine merchant. Given a choice always go for the wine merchant.

In Gainesville, we have a great resource in Dorn's Liquors. The staff there are knowledgable and the buyers maintain an exhaustive tasting schedule, brining the store excellent values and some damn fine wines. I bought he Bulletin Place Shiraz and the Three Thieves Syrah at Dorn's and wasn't disappointed with either. The Bulletin Place Shiraz, in fact, was a really good, fun wine. Perfect for a party or spring bbq.

I've bought cheap-ass wine at the grocery store. One time I came away with a Little Penguin white shiraz that was sweet to the point of cloying and absolutely bereft of backbone. It was a high-schoolers' wine, clearly, and left me feeling like I'd had a handful of Jolly Ranchers muddled in maple syrup. Never again. So next time you're going for wine, seek out your local wine merchant. Hopefully, they'll steer you in the right direction, cheap-ass or otherwise.

Cheap-ass Wine: 2003 Three Thieves Syrah

Sometimes you just don't have the money: rent's due, you had to gas the Hummer, or the heroin addiction is acting up again. Whatever the reason, you find yourself forced to cut back on the wine budget and navigate the world of value-priced wines.

It can be a tricky business. The wines I normally review on this site hover in the ten to fifteen dollar range. They're mostly good, with some exceptions being some California and Australian wines I bought from the local supermarket. The wine's I've picked up from my local wine merchant, Dorn's, are solid wines, well-balanced given the wine's intent (a drinking wine as opposed to a food wine). Recently, however, I noticed a big run on dirt-cheap wines. I don't know whether even to classify them as value-priced--$2.99 for 750ml goes beyond value-priced, I would argue, and right on into the realm of cheap-ass wine.

But why not cheap-ass wine? We're facing tough economic times. I've an adventurous food spirit. And if I can find something drinkable for less than five dollars a bottle? Well, I can halve the wine budget at your next party.

First up, a 2003 Three Thieves Syrah, bottled in a screw-capped, one-liter jug by Rebel Wine Co. and sold for $5.99. If you want to skip the tasting notes, I'll leave you with this small adage: be wary of wines packaged like moonshine or maple syrup.

Color: Dull, deep red fading to brick at the edges. A slight browning that suggested oxidation and age.
Nose: Slight smokiness coupled with dark fruits and deep berry aromas. Plum, strawberry
Palate: surprisingly silky mouth feel, with roasted caramel sweetness (could be antifreeze), and a hint of roasted root vegetables
Finish: Not too bad, after a couple sips. The initial alcohol heat dissipates rather quickly leaving the mouth mostly clean with a lingering sweetness.

This isn't horrible wine. It's not great, but it's not too bad, either. And after half a glass, it drank just fine paired with seared scallops and sauteed asparagus tips over ziti with olives and capers. It's a fine food wine and really could be served at a party where you've decided to play grown-up. Just not one with actual grownups, because they aren't that much fun anyway.