This wine was prominently displayed at my local Zupan's. The card said something to the effect: a "Chateauneuf du Pape at half the cost". No, not literally a Cheateauneuf du Pape, but the quality and flavors, and cheap (about $16, but I found some at Fred Meyers for about $14.50). Who could pass on such a thing? Not me.

So tonight we went over to Chapman Elementary for the annual "return of the swifts". Here's this children's elementary school with an archaic smoke stack, just towering in the sky. So it's just standing there, and these little birds -- "swifts" -- discovered it makes a good place to sleep. Swifts, apparently, are these little birds -- sort of like a swallow. Anyway, they come by the thousands -- at least. They essentially swarm this tall chimney at dusk. And finally, as the darkness sets in, they circle the thing like a tornado (seriously awesome), diving into the chimney for a nightly snooze. It can get a bit more exciting when the hawk drops by for a nightly "swift" snack. Crazy, but the hawk actually eats the poor things. The tornado disperses quickly when the hawk is on the prowl.



So the whole neighborhood comes over to watch this event. Everyone brings a picnic and watches the show. We brought a simple salad with a Dijon vinegarette, homemade lasagna, and this bottle of wine (it's Portland -- everyone drinks wine or beer in the parks).

The first thing I noticed was the smell of smoke and tobacco. It was very pungent. Later, the nose had mushroom, chalk, pepper, oak (French style, not American), saw dust, and black cherry. And there was black cherry in the taste, along with a distinct dryness and a  slight bitterness. The fruit flashes, but is immediately not sweet in any way. The finish is artichoke, currant, blueberry cherry, and rhubarb. This wine has a really nice body (medium) -- more body than a typical CdR. This wine is really easy to drink.

This is a really good value; buy some if you can find it.

Cost:   

Rating:    8.0