Manage a Trois - Red Blend

Price: $11.99

Region: California

Year: 2008

It was nice to have a three day weekend this past Memorial Day, and I do have a wine to review, but I decided to try and get to my backlog of wines before I don't remember some of the more subtle details that I sometimes forget to write down. This particular wine was one I had been looking for at my favorite store for a few months now. My wife had tried it at a dinner party we went to (not sure how I missed it then) & she said she really enjoyed it. When she says that about a red these days, I tend to give it a try. While I didn't have much luck finding it at my favorite store, I happened to run across it in the Zinfandel aisle of another store I stop by every now and then. Although I did not write it down, I'm pretty sure I had just picked up a peperoni pizza, and had the notion that a Zin might do the trick. This is one of those minor details that would have soon slipped my mind if I didn't get around to this review. This wine is actually a blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon, but happened to be in the Zin aisle of this particular store. When I saw it sitting there, and for a reasonable price, I had to give it a try.

Sometimes I fall prey to the notion of having to have a Zinfandel with pizza, and this just happened to be one of those days. So, I sat down with a slice, and poured myself a glass (not a bad start to the weekend). As one would expect from a wine made from these three varieties, we have a nice dark red wine on our hands here. I would tend to say it was almost purple in color, but you get the gist. Once I gave the glass a swirl, and took a sniff, I immediately realized why it was in the Zinfandel aisle, because out of all three, that particular smell sure shined through. At this point, I was pleased, but a little perplexed as to why my wife was a big fan. if there is a wine she almost categorically does not like, it is Zinfandel. Anyway, trying to figure that one out may be a bit beyond my capabilities. I was a little less surprised at that fact when I took a sip of this wine. While I definitely tasted a bit of the boldness & spice of a Zin, this wine had very smooth edges, and great length. It had a very good structure, with a bit of "jaminess" (if that's a word). I thought this wine was a great alternative to a straight Zinfandel, and definitely worth the price of admission.

Rating: 3.5 corks (Definitely give it a try)