Phelan Vineyard Advertised

$16 for a $75 wine? That is quite a discount, but the bottle costs several times our usual lottery ticket. It really is sold for $75 direct from the winery. Phelan Vineyard does have a special offer for 40% off on 6 bottles, so you might call it a $48 bottle. They do have one 90 point rating from Wine Spectator, but that was for the initial 2000 vintage.

So, this is a little different for Gross Out. We have to decide whether it is worth a try.

Margarita Vinyard 5 Mile Bridge Zinfandel 06

Keeping an open mind, we are trying more wines outside of our usual Cabernets and Syrahs. This one is a "$4.99 for $12.99" at Gross Out, so it doesn't promise to be a screaming deal, but it does promise a change of pace.

The bottle says it is from Paso Robles and not much else. 14.2% alcohol. This one has a natural cork with a cute 5 under the foil.

In the glass, the wine is a dark purple. The nose is grape and berry. Nice fruit on the palate smoothly transitioning to a strong tannin finish. The sulfide detector went off on this one (one sneeze). This wine seems very correct for a Zinfandel.

We like this 5 mile for 5 bucks bottle. This 5 mile bridge is better than the Woodbridge you can get for $5.

Sterling Albert Cabernet 07

This is a wine that has been in Gross Out for a few weeks. It is $6.99 for an "elsewhere" $19.99, so it doesn't have a terrific discount. We finally decided to try it out to see how it compares.

The Sterling Albert Winery is in Alexander Valley, Concord California. The bottle has very little information on it. 14.5% alcohol. This bottle has a plastic cork. (This was a bit of a let down.) Is this a big winery that we haven't heard of before?

In the glass, the wine is very dark. There is a very light nose; maybe a touch of berry. The palate is very soft and indistinct. The finish is medium tannin with some oak. Overall this is a "small" vs. "big" Cab. There is nothing objectionable, but there is also no character. After a while, the wine opened up a little and showed slightly more fruit.

At a lower price, this would rate better, but it doesn't give a great value for Gross Out.