This is a decent QPR wine from California. It's remarkably good considering the price

Picked this up at my local supermarket. It was on sale for about $17. This is the first time I have had any wine from this producer so I didn't have any preconceived notions going in. There is no listing on the bottle as to the make up of the blend so I can't report that to you. Alcohol 14.2%.

Nose: The name Claret is appropriate for this wine. It smells just like young Bordeaux. I get some blackberries and some smoke on the nose, a little cedar like a cigar box, but I swear it smells like it came from France.

Color: Garnet in color. Bright. Tending to the translucent.

Taste: Cassis, mint, leather and tobacco. Blackberries and more cedar. Remarkably complex. Some tannins but they are not sharp and do not detract from the wine at all. This one has nice fruit but it's not over ripe or over extracted.

Finish: Sweet with a hint of cedar. The tannins come on fairly strong. The length is about 30 seconds and does dry up a bit on the end. No doubt this is due to its youth.

I liked this wine fairly well. It is a pleasant drinker that has quite a bit of charm. It lacks the punch to be truly great but is a good QPR wine nonetheless. I give it a hearty recommendation if you can find it for fewer than twenty dollars. It may last a few years but I would not let it go more than four or five.

I give it an A- for QPR.
GA points: 91