#9 Ashwood Grove 2006 Petit Verdot

Wine #9 in the $100 Wine Challenge

Winery: Ashwood Grove
Vintage: 2006
Price: $8.99

Cynthia’s Review:

OK-Back to Australia- land of screw-top bottles! Fortunately, our Wine Sherpa warned us ahead of time that this wine would not stand up well with food, so we drank this on a “school night” with wine and crackers. The wine was smooth and pleasant, but I can understand why we were warned against pairing it with food- I was even wishing that I had a blander cheese to serve it with. I did like this wine, but I must say that it didn’t inspire me to want to experiment with any other Petit Verdots. Although this definitely was not my favorite wine in our challenge, I still give it a “Yay” along with some strong advice to drink this only as a “stand alone” wine.

Jay’s Review

When selecting our wines for the challenge we gave the other store clerks at Spec’s veto power if they wanted to replace any of the wines selected for us by Gerald with something they thought might be more interesting. Early on in the selection phase Gerald picked out a Petit Sirah which technically we’d had before but also technically fit the rules of the $100 challenge. When one of the clerks used his veto to replace the Sirah with the Verdot my heart sank a little because I LOVE the Petit Sirah. As Cynthia mentioned, we were warned against having this wine food of any substance so we had some mild cheese with some crackers. Overall, the wine was good. Pleasant, smooth and quite drinkable. Sadly, because this wine was a reminder of the Sirah that never was I think it was doomed not to get a totally fair shake from me. I don’t think we’ll repeat this one, but there’s certainly nothing wrong with it. Especially if you are looking for a good wine to have socially or with appetizers. A “yay” from me.

#8 Bogle 2007 Old Vine Zinfandel

Wine #8 in the $100 Wine Challenge

Winery: Bogle Vinyards
Vintage: 2007 Old Vine Zinfandel
Price: $9.91

Cynthia’s Review:

First- a confession: We actually drank the Bogle one evening, and then forgot to do a review, so we had to sneak into the Specs near us and purchase another replacement bottle so that we could do a proper review. I really liked this wine. I drank this (second bottle) with a dinner of eggplant Parmesan and pasta and it was delicious. I thought the wine had a nice aroma and a fruity, spicy flavor that went well with, but did not overpower, the food. (And drinking the second bottle caused me to remember that I really liked it quite well the first time around !) This is my first experience with a Zinfandel, and I truly enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to some additional Zinfandel recommendations from our wine Sherpa. This wine receives a resounding “Yay” from me !

Jay’s Review

I was not going to mention that we had the wine and forgot to post a review. But I guess Cynthia let the cat out of the bag. I do recall I liked the wine but could remember no real specifics. This was probably due to the overall good experience when we consumed that first bottle and not due to the wine being less than memorable. After sneaking into our alternate Spec’s to secure our re-do bottle we headed to our fave Italian restaurant to give the attention it deserved. I found the Bogle to have a good, full flavor and to be quite smooth. There was a certain pep to the wine, not really what I would call spicy or bitter, but a “zing” if you will, Nothing overwhelming. The wine combined well with the panini I had for dinner and I enjoyed it immensely. As time goes by I find I may be becoming a snob for wines from overseas so it was notable to me that I enjoyed this California Zinfandel and also the previous 2007 Ca’ Momi so I hope to explore more California wines with the help Gerald. And who knows? We may even make the pilgrimage to Napa Valley some day as part of our travels. Definite “yay” from me!

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