Crush - Cab/Merlot

Price: $14.99
Region: California
Year: 2006

Not my typical picture this week, but it will have to do as I had trouble finding one online. While I wouldn't say this is going to become the routine from now on, again my wife stopped by the wine store on Friday afternoon, and picked up a couple of bottles from the Cabernet aisle. No particular reason that I tried this one first, but I thought it was an interesting looking wine, so I popped open the cork and dug in. We decided on some pizza for dinner, so I sat down with a bottle of wine and a couple pieces of pizza with ham and spinach. Not a bad Friday evening in my book.

From the get-go, this was a nice looking wine. A dark red color, where you could see the Cabernet really shine through. It seemed a little thicker than most wines, but could very well have been my imagination. When I brought the glass up for a smell, my only reaction was wow. It had a great aroma that just oozed fresh fruit. This glass of wine was surely headed in the right direction. As I went to take a sip, the smell was still stuck in my head, and I think my expectations were a bit high. The interesting thing is, my initial reaction after the first sip was kind of muted, but the more I drank this wine, the better it seemed to get. It really had a very flavorful, fruity taste with a hint of blackberries. The wine was very smooth, and with nice tannins. I actually liked it so much after a couple of glasses, that I looked for it again the next day at my favorite wine store, but unfortunately, it wasn't on the shelf. I will definitely head back to where my wife picked up this bottle to another round. In fact, if my wife keeps bringing home winners like this one, maybe her stop at the wine store on Friday to pick out my weekly wine will become the routine.

Rating: 3.75 corks (Very fruity, very yummy)