Hob Nob Vineyards Wicked Red
Wine: Hob Nob Vineyards Wicked Red.
Grapes: Grenache, syrah, cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir
Region: Vin de Pays D'Oc, Southern France
Vintage: 2011
Price: $9.99
Availability: Widely available in retail stores, including Wal-Mart and Lee's Discount Liquor
In the glass: Hob Nob Wicked Red wine is a deep purplish-red color with an inky dense core going out into a violet-red rim definition with medium-high viscosity.
On the nose: It has big, bold redolent red and black fruit melange dominated by crushed cherries, black currants, plums and raspberries. All of this lovely fruit is laced with hints of white and black pepper, spice box and freshly cut tobacco leaf, as well as touches of anise and allspice.
On the palate: This wine is an immediate fruit bomb of mashed blackberries, cassis and juicy Concord grapes. While all the upfront fruit is working your taste buds over, there's softness in the mouth-feel that indicates well-ripened tannins and rounded acidity, meaning nice balance in the wine. Through the midpalate there's persistent fruit, and toward the back end to the finish, there's a kick of sweet black licorice, mocha, peppery spice character and soft minerals.
Odds and ends: Hob Nob wines has one of the most innovative and interesting websites of any wines in the market. The wine comes in a distinctive bottle and sports the now familiar screw cap. It originates from France where this brand was invented by the storied Georges Duboeuf winery from Beaujolais. Sourced from various good vineyards in the vast Languedoc region of Southern France, it is an unusual blend. It doesn't taste French in particular, but is an imminently quaffable wine that really lends itself to any occasion. There's a whole range of wines in the Hob Nob lineup, all interesting enough to be worth trying. This Wicked Red, however, needs to be paired with something meaty, so why not try it with a roast. Drink it now through 2015.
Gil Lempert-Schwarz's wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89106-0749, or email him at gil@winevegas.com.
