Reviews of Two Value Priced California Red Wines

As strong a winemaking area as California has become, it has been forgotten recently as a location for value-based wines. Stil, though, some good values can be found in California wines. You will generally have to forgo the well-known regions of Napa or Sonoma in favor of more generic California appellations, or such areas as Lodi or Central Coast. Here are a couple of California value wines with decent value/price rations.

Review:The Concannon Petite Sirah from the Central Coast area of California has one of the beefiest bottles in all of commercial red winedom (winedom?). It is heavy, molded, and feels like it would bounce off the concrete wine cellar floor. It is also a unique offering for California - a purebred petite sirah. Concannon lays claim to being the first commercial winery to bottle petite sirah, starting almost half a century ago. It is moderately priced, and comes in at 13.5 percent alcohol, also fairly modest by today's red wine standards.

In the glass, Concannon Petite Sirah shows as deep medium red, turning opaque in the center. Beefy, bloody, slightly funky aromas spill from the glass. The funk is light, and will probably blow off with a short decant. On the palate, the first note is prickly ripe plum, which comes up and attacks the upper reaches of your tongue mouth, suggesting acids and tannins. They wrap a core of deep, purple, blackberry fruit - quite substantial behind the introductory acids and tannins. Finish comes on long, with an acid blast.

Intense experience, perhaps a bit bright and acidic for my style - but age and decant should mellow it out some. Two stars out of five on the Spirit of Wine scale, with plus for potential over time.

Find Concannon Petite Sirah at WineZap.

Review: Tin Roof Cellars Merlot is in some ways a classic American wine - modestly-priced merlot from the "California" appelation, meaning it was not sourced from one or another of the more exclusive areas of California, but is a blend of Central and North Coast vineyard grapes. It is a forgotten sort of wine today, in the post - "Sideways" world . Tin Roof Cellars Merlot, 2005, is blended with a touch of cabernet sauvignon and petite sirah.

Let's see what the wine itself brings. In the glass it is medium deep red, turning almost opaque in the center. The aromas are substantive and fruity, bringing ripe plums up to your nose. The palate is smooth, simple, full, slightly sweet but fairly balanced. You get sweet, full, bright blackberry fruit lifted to all portions of your mouth, followed by a clean, even, modest - though fairly simple - finish.

This would yield three stars out of five on the Spirit of Wine scale, since I would potentially try this again. Excellent value at its modest price. OK to allow aging for a couple more years, or offer a substantial decant before pouring.

Find Tin Roof Cellars Merlot at WineZap.