Blind Red Wine Tasting

6 wines were selected at the $10-15 price point, with a $5 ringer added in. Each wine was made with a different single varietal, although this fact was not known to the tasting group. The tasting group consisted of 6 people with a broad palate range. Each taster ranked the wines from most to least favorite independently.

• 2011 A to Z Wineworks Pinot Noir 85 Points

  USA, Oregon

  Tasted blind. Light in color with weak aromas of red fruit. Acidic and dry. A plain and relatively tasteless pinot with a short and simple finish. This is the 3rd vintage in a row I've had of this wine, and the quality has decreased with each vintage.

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• 2008 Brazin Zinfandel Old Vine Lodi 87 Points

  USA, California, Central Valley, Lodi

  Tasted blind. Interesting aromas of red fruit, anise, and jam. Light in body and very fruit forward, which almost turns into sweetness. A decent zin for the price.

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• 2005 Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Reserva 89 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

  Tasted blind. Moderately intense purple in color, with lovely aroma and flavor. This wine shows its age, and is not for the fruit-forward crowd. Full bodied with ample tannins and some acidity, I nonetheless thoroughly enjoyed this wine, especially with veal. The finish was long with some complexity.

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• 2010 The Hess Collection Cabernet Sauvignon Hess Select North Coast 88 Points

  USA, California, North Coast

  Tasted blind. Strong aromas of fresh fruit, red berries, and dark fruit. Showing firm tannins, this wine could use some time but is still drinkable now as it is quite smooth. The finish is of moderate length with minimal complexity. Good QPR for a Cali cab.

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• 2010 Crane Lake Sangiovese 85 Points

  USA, California

  Tasted blind. Very light in color and acidic with an off-putting aroma. Slightly sweet with a short and simple finish. However, for the price this wine actually isn't that bad...

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• 2010 Jim Barry Shiraz The Lodge Hill 86 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley

  Tasted blind. Dark purple in color with juicy fruit aromas and hints of chocolate. Slightly acidic and tannic without much structure. The finish is fairly long yet simple. Overall a decent shiraz, but nothing special.

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WOTY was the Hess cab, with 1 first place vote and no votes below 3rd place. 2nd place was the Caceres tempranillo, with 3 first place vote and 1 last place vote (from the taster who prefers younger fruit-forward wines). Tied for third were the Brazin zinfandel (2 first place votes) and the Jim Barry shiraz. These wines formed a top tier by scoring 15-19 points.
Second to last was the Crane Lake sangiovese at 25 points (this was the $5 wine and garnered 2 last place votes). The worst wine of the night was the 2011 A to Z pinot with 31 points, with 3 last place votes and no vote higher than 4th place.