This was our first bottle from Arcane Cellars. Jason Silva is the mastermind behind Arcane. Before becoming a winemaker ("coming to my senses" as he described the change), he had gotten his M.A. in English Lit with a focus on medieval literature. So, I suppose he and his wines are a natural match to our medieval theme. Anyway on to the first bottle ...

The first impression was: vanilla! Clearly this wine had sat on oak for awhile. It smelled of that vanilla sweetness. And while the alcohol was high (nearly 14%), it wasn't hot. Once past the vanilla, the nose had river rock, and rose pedals. I caught hints of something like cedar. And Denise claimed to smell something like Kiwi. Both of us weren't exactly sure ... elusive aromas to be sure. And a bit later, the nose had clove too.

The taste was red cherry, and vanilla. Brian noted that it was a "bit of a fruit bomb for a Cab". And indeed it wasn't your run-of-the-mill Cab. First, it was very smooth -- the mouthfeel was really great. We drank another Salem Cab along-side this, and the Arcane was much smoother. In fact, the tannins were very elusive in the taste. You really didn't taste them until the finish.

I kept some of the wine around and tasted it again the next night. The nose at that point was decidedly: vanilla, rose, and clove. And in that order. Intriguing. The mouthfeel was still very smooth, and supple. The taste was immediately sweet from the vanilla which hung there for a second or two. Imagine a cherry jolly rancher, but without any sugar -- sort of a not-sweet hard candy. It was sort of like that. And then it went dry. Even in the taste and finish, there's that strong vanilla+rose+clove. At the very end, pepper comes through and some of the tannins. No, not that bitter stem taste exactly, but it was no longer sweet.

Overall the group was split on this wine. First, we have to mention that the Brian and Wade didn't like the label design. However, Wade, Don and myself very much liked this wine. We felt it was the best bottle of the night. Don was very emphatic about this. However, Denise doesn't like wines heavy with vanilla, so this wasn't for her. It is likely that over time, that vanilla will mellow out -- if you can patiently wait for such things. Denise didn't like it, whereas Don loved it, so the rating will have to be a compromise.

Cost:    

Rating:    7.5

In these desperate economic times, finding a cheap bottle is a god-send. Frugalistas of the world unite ... and buy this Chilean Malbec!

The nose was interesting for such an inexpensive wine: raisin, bark, rainy dusty smell, river rock, clove, and pepper. Yes, there was alcohol too, but what do you expect at this price. Denise went crazy and was smelling eucalyptus. Well, perhaps not totally crazy; I can't say that it was eucalyptus exactly, but there was something unusual in there that hinted of eucalyptus.

The taste was a bit sweet. I don't mean literally sweet in terms of sugar. No, nothing like a White Zinfandel or anything. But compared to all the French wines we've been drinking, it wasn't exactly that. Mainly the taste was a dry cherry candy taste, along with vanilla and perhaps plum.

The finish was bitter, but not overly so that it ruined the wine. It had that stem taste at the end. No, at this point there was no sweetness anymore.

This was pretty amazing for about $4.50 for a bottle! Crazy.

Cost:   

Rating:    6.0

This is one of those Vin de Pays d'Oc wines. This is one of the only places in France where the varietal is clearly marked -- such as "Syrah" in this case. Usually you spin the roulette wheel; sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. And this time? Well, it wasn't so good.

The nose was nice: raisin, prune, subtle vanilla, and something metal. I could overlook that metallic smell if it weren't for the taste. In a word: bitter. Tannic. Branches. Stems. Bitter in a bad way. Oh, and some raisin in-between all that bitterness. And it keeps coming, next with a gritty finish. Raisin and prune is there at the end too, but it's hard to get past that nemesis: it's bitter to the end. For Denise, the bitterness was surrounded with metal: "it smells like metal, tastes like metal, and finishes metal". I didn't get that metal taste, but we both agreed that it was too bitter to enjoy.

Cost:    

Rating:    3.0

This is a wine that our sister-in-law had purchased years ago, and we had it following the Chateauneuf-du-Pape for our Thnksgiving feast. Being an Oregonian, it was hard to want to like this commercial California wine. But I have to admit, this wine knocked the doors off the CndP we had preceeding it (though, to be fair, it was one of the poorest CndPs I've had). Anyway, this was not that. And, honestly, it was nice.

The nose was vanilla, and a strong river rock smell. Later, the nose got a bit more funky: cayenne, tobacco, prune, smoky, raisin, and white pepper. The taste was prune and tobacco. Really strong smoke, sort of like Grandpa's pipe. Denise went off on this. She described it like a "thick button down sweater by the fire place hearth". The finish was also tobacco and prune, and a little raisin to boot.

All-in-all, this was the favorite of the night.

Cost:   

Rating:    8.5