VINTJS - 2007 Red Wine ($8)

OK, I have to start by saying I have pretty high expectations for this wine. First, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I enjoy Rhone blends. And second, I very much enjoyed two other VINTJS labels I had last year (the Syrah and Malbec). This wine is bottled by Jah Wine out of Rutherford and is 70% Syrah, 29.5% Mourvedre and .5% Viognier. Pepper and spice with some heat at first taste (probably from the Syrah) followed by some earthiness and tannins (from the Mourvedre). Pepper, spice, earth, tannins - 4 things I expected. But what I didn't expect was how dry the the fruit was going to be. It was really having trouble showing itself with that first ounce in my glass. Now I'll say it right now, I'm not opposed to using a rabbit aerator to open it up a tad quicker. So after doing so and leaving it to get a bit more fresh air, cherry with a little raspberry started to peak its head out - but still light bodied. I set it down for an additional 90 minutes or so and the fruit started to emerge more and more. The spice is there throughout and the finish is short to medium. I like this wine, but I don't love this wine. I would have like to have seen the fruit show itself a bit more. But this wine still contains different levels of complexity that kept me interested. TJs has a lot of Rhone blends to try these days, so I'm not sure I'll be getting another bottle. If I do, I will give it a good hour plus of decanting. VERDICT: Get it (and let me know what you think)

Valreas Cuvee Prestige - 2008 Rhone Blend ($7)

I saw on a blog where they did a blind tasting of Trader Joes Rhone wines - and this one did very well so I thought I'd pick up a bottle to try myself on my latest TJs run. I've become a fan of the "GSM" Rhone blends the last few years. The Grenache offering the cherry fruit and soft tannins; Syrah giving it that spice and pepper; and Mourvedre coming in with some earthy tones and applying a tannic backbone. This wine is 75% Grenache and 25% Syrah and the labels says to get ready for a ripe and spicy wine. I really wanted to like this wine but I'm struggling to do so. I'm getting the cherry taste, but it is more of a dry and watery cherry, not ripe by any means. I expected some peppery kick from the Syrah, but didn't get anything. Tannins are firm, but not unusual amongst Cote Du Rhone villages blends. And where is this spice they were talking about? I'm just not finding a lot to like about this bottle. I will give it credit for opening up a bit after some time, and I found day 2 to be better than day 1, but still a downer. VERDICT: My first and last bottle.