The Prodigal Son - Petit Sirah

Price: $9.99
Region: California
Year: 2006

For some reason over the past couple of weeks, I have been heading to a different country section of my favorite wine store to try and find a new wine. Last week I tried a new wine from Spain, and this week I was gravitating towards Italy, as it has just been a while since I tried a new Italian wine. For some reason though, I left the aisle without finding what I was looking for (maybe next week). Then, I ended up in a small section of the red wine aisle called "alternative reds". This is always a place I like to take a peak in order to find something a bit different. This week however, it wasn't something different, but instead a new brand of wine I buy quite often. It is hard to miss the bright colorful label, and the interesting name of this wine, and it definitely caught my attention. There are only a handful of Petit Sirah wines in this store, so I guess that is why it shows up in this section. Based on how much me and my wife love a bottle of Bogle Petit Sirah, I am always on the lookout for its equal, at a similar or better price. However, so far, no luck. So, when I saw a new bottle of Petit Sirah with a catchy name, and at the same price point, I had to give it a try.

Usually I would save this wine to have with a hamburger on the grill, or some other grilled meat, but I already knew we were having Italian take-out, and that wasn't stopping me. I was really looking forward to giving this a try, which might have been my first mistake. I have to remind myself to not get my expectations up when buying a bottle of wine under $10. Anyway, I sat down to dinner, and poured myself a glass. It started off good enough, with a nice rich, deep red color. Very similar to other Petit Sirah wines I have enjoyed. Definitely one of the things I love about this variety is the color. So, I gave the glas a swirl, and was not surpirsed that it was a nice strong scent. Pleasant enough, but for some reason, it seemed a bit young, for lack of a better word. As usual though, it was going to come down to taste, as I was a bit on the fence at this point. So, when I took a sip, it had a good start, but faded quickly. As I noticed with a smell, the wine didn't seem to have much in the way of staying power. It was a nice enough taste, but still a bit short of the Bogle, and with much less length. So, my search for an equal continues, but I'll keep trying for sure.

Rating: 2.75 Corks (Decent, with a catchy name & label)

Eguren - Tempranillo

Price: $9.99
Region: Spain
Year: 2007

OK, another trip to the store where I decided upfront to go back to a specific country. For some reason, I just gravitated towards a wine from Spain this week. It didn't have anything to do with what was on the menu, because we were planning bar-b-q pork chops, but more just that I hadn't had a Spanish wine in a while and decided it there was no time like the present. I really haven't only tried a couple different wines, and mostly have stuck with the Rioja grape, but I saw this bottle of Tempranillo, so I snatched it up.

I'm not overly familiar with the grape, so I didn't have any preconceived notions. I was getting ready to throw dinner on the grill, so I headed out to the deck with a glass of wine. A first I thought the wine was a bit pale, but it has a nice light "redish" color with good clarity. When I took a smell, it was also a bit faint, but was a little bit different then what I am used to. So, at this point, I definitely wasn't anticipating a big bold wine taste, and true to form that isn't what I got either. The tate was unique when compared with the normal varieties I usually stick to, but not in a bad way. It was a little short in length as the taste didn't hang around long, but it was a nice change of pace. Maybe in the end, it was a good pairing for pork, because that is something we choose when we're tired of the same old meats on the grill during the summer. So, all in all, a decent tasting wine, and would try it again if I was wanted to get out of a rut of having the same old thing each week..

Rating: 2.75 Corks (if you want to try something a bit different)