In our last review we highlighted a bottle of California Cabernet for under $10 that was actually pretty good, and as a result an pretty exceptional value. You can read about that here. In this review we’ll look at a bottle that takes the value meter to an even more extreme level. This wine brings a lot to the table, and it costs all of $6. Let’s take a look:
Wine: The Originals 2020 Washington Syrah
Winery Location: Walla Walla, Washington State
Tasted By: Neil & Cheri Date: August 2022
Tasting Notes: the wine is dark purple, with a big nose of plum, spice, oak and something savory. It is medium+ bodied out of the bottle, but with some air time it expands and becomes fuller. This juice has medium tannins, is quite smooth and has a nice fruit core. Initially the mid-palate tends to fade a bit, but that too fills in with some time. This was better the second day after sitting in a vacuum pumped bottle overnight. It’s not super complex, but it is only $6 and represents a very pleasing wine at that price.
Price Point – $6, which is pretty amazing.
Would We Buy It? – yes and we will certainly buy more. This makes a great everyday red, and has the stuff to hold up to a steak off the grill. A lot of wine for $6!
When you look at the bottle and label, you immediately think this wine is made by Charles Smith. It has that look, similar to his many popular wines (think Kung Fu Riesling, Boom Boom Syrah and the excellent Wines of Substance line). They all have that telltale, stark, black and white label. This is probably a holdover from when the wine was part of the Charles Smith stable, but that changed back in 2007 when Smith sold The Magnificent Wine Company to Precept Wine. The label endures, as does the extreme value of the wine in the bottle.
This is good wine, at a great price. Available at Trader Joe’s.
A votre santé!
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