Rebel Wine “The Show” Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

California, USA
Alcohol: 13.9%
Available in government ($18.99) and private stores

Rebel Wine is a joint venture between the Three Thieves (Charles Bieler, Joel Gott, and Roger Scommenga ) and Trinchero Wines (owner of Sutter Home and other brands). Their goal is to “liberate premium wine” and the packaging of their wines – including this one – is anything but conventional. (Check out their Web site to see the whole line-up: http://www.threethieves.com/index.html#1)

The Show is a big wine, no question. It starts with the eye catching label and then the bottle (heavy barely describes it!). Then there’s the nose: big, ripe, and lush sprang to mind, with lots of jammy red fruit and spices (cinnamon, pepper, and nutmeg), plus some vanilla and violets. The boldness carries on into your mouth, where the strong fruit and spice flavours are balanced by the acid and soft tannins. The finish is smooth, medium long, and clean. While I couldn’t find the exact blend, the wine is roughly 80% Cabernet Sauvignon (multiple regions), and the rest is combination of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Sirah, and Petit Verdot.

This is a nicely priced, enjoyable Cabernet Sauvignon that is more “wine fun” than “wine geeky”. It’s a strongly flavoured wine, so should be matched with similar foods (boldly flavoured sauces and grilled meats, instead of white fish or cream sauces).

Peachy Canyon “Incredible Red” Zinfandel 2006

Paso Robles, California, USA
Alcohol: 13.9%
Available in government ($19.95) and private stores

Zinfandel is the “signature” wine of California and there are a number available in BC at a wide range of prices. Zins have always tended to be big, bold wines, but lately some have become much too “jammy” and alcoholic for my taste. (By “alcoholic”, I mean not just the alcohol content – over 15% for some Zins – but also that the alcohol is more noticeable, rather than integrated into the wine.) These wines tend to dominate a meal and quickly tire out my palate.

That’s not a problem for this wine. It is 100% Zinfandel, but the 13.9% alcohol is balanced by the fruit and acid, making for a nicely integrated wine. It is a medium red colour with touches of orange brick. There are aromas of bright red fruit, spices, and oak. The wine is full bodied, with good acid and hardly noticeable tannins. The red fruit and spice characters carry onto the palate, with the alcohol and oak aging (a combination of French, American, and Hungarian oak) adding to the structure. The flavours continued into the finish, which lingered lightly and pleasantly.

The wine seems to be made for food and the fact that it’s not a huge Zin helps it go with a wider variety of foods. While Zins always seem to go well with steaks, this one would also be a good match with lamb, meaty pizzas, and pasta with tomato sauce; foods that have flavour but aren’t overwhelming.

Parducci Petite Sirah 2004

Mendocino County, California, USA
Alcohol: 13.5%
Available in government liquor stores ($17.99) and private stores

Parducci bills itself as the first Carbon neutral winery in the USA, meaning that they’ve worked to reduce their carbon emissions and off-set anything they can’t eliminate by funding environmental initiatives (such as tree planting). This is in addition to their use of “earth-friendly packaging” and sustainable farming. To me, however, that’s all icing; the test is whether the wine tastes good.

The wine is a nice rich, medium-dark red. The aromas are spicy, blackberries, and dark chocolate. It has a medium-full body, with plenty of fruit (blackberries and cherries), chocolate, spices, and pepper.  While there is a good amount of fruit on the palate, this is balanced by plenty of tannin, making for a very dry wine, well suited to grilled anything, strong cheeses, and other hearty foods.

I am surprised by the amount of tannins in the wine. I expect a goodly amount of tannins in red wines, but usually the fruit is so dominant and the wine made to drink young that you don’t notice the tannins unless you think about them. The tannins are much more obvious here, and the result is a wine that – while pleasant enough on its own – will shine when accompanied by food.