Relax Cool Red

Grape: Dornfelder

Region: Rheinhessen, Germany

Vintage: 2008

Price: $9.99

In the glass: Relax Cool Red wine is a distinct violet-red in color with a semi-opaque core going out into a pinkish-lilac hue at the rim and relatively high viscosity.

On the nose: There is a burst of candied red cherries, strawberry sauce and raspberry sorbet right off the bat, then phenolic compounds and a touch of minerality, but it is a very clean nose of pure bright red fruit.

On the palate: It is almost like a hypothetical mix of beaujolais nouveau and white zinfandel with all that upfront juicy and deliciously sweetish strawberry and raspberry fruit, then Rainier cherry flesh, a touch of vanilla and minerals. You think this is a lightweight wine, but it is nicely medium-bodied through to the finish and actually lingers for quite a while with that touch of cran-raspberry juice and nicely structured but soft tannins.

Odds and ends: Relax Cool Red surprises by being a superb summer wine that is light and airy in style, almost like a rose, but a little more serious — and then it has that kick of sweetness from residual sugar. It is well-made from a rather obscure but apparently tasty grape varietal by huge Rheinhessen producer Schmitt Sohne.

This is not a wine made for aging, but it should drink well through the end of the year. Relax Cool Red can be drunk by the glass as an aperitif or with a light summer chicken salad.

Gil Lempert-Schwarz’s wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89016-0749, or e-mail him at gil@winevegas.com.