Monday, July 13, 2009

RH Wines Rowdy Red


The Bottle: The art of a bare-shouldered vixen spray-painting a heart on a brick wall adorns the front label. So it's not Monet. It is eye-catching. And the lettering - which appears to have been spray-painted on the brick wall earlier - proclaims that "Sonoma County Red Wine Rocks!" On the back, we learn that this wine pays "no attention to vintage or variety." I'll be honest. If I had only the label to go by, I would have gone by without as much as a second glance. But I tasted it before seeing the bottle, at Locals Tasting Room in Geyserville. I liked it and bought it sight unseen. It's produced by RH Wines of Windsor, CA.

The Nose: Blackberry, toast and vanilla are what strike me. There's also quite a bit of alcohol on the nose early on, something I did not notice in the tasting room . The aromas are rather strong and quite enjoyable.

The Taste: There's a very strong taste of alcohol at first on the palate, too. It's a good idea to let this young wine breathe - a lot. I let it sit in the glass for a half hour and it was still hot. After an hour, it started to settle down nicely. Once it's behaving, there's a nice spicy taste, like clove, amid all that blackberry and licorice. It's a big, bold red, very lively and full in the mouth.

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