Not All d'Arenberg's Are Created Equal

d'Arenberg's d'Arry's Original 2007 50% Shiraz/50% Granache ($14.99)

This is not this:

I knew the blend I picked up from Total Wine was not The Dead Arm, the $50ish bottle of Shiraz seen above. I went with the, "Well, The Dead Arm is one of the better wines I've had, this bottle's gotta be pretty good too, right?" buying philosophy. Remind me not to assume all of a winery's wines are the same. They're not. I knew that too. I'm a little mad at my purchase. But I've had The Stump Jump, also from d'Arenberg, and I remember it being better than this.

I'm also a little mad that I paired this with the ravioli and butternut squash recipe from Real Simple. That dish gets an A. Wow, nice work Marie and Beth. This wine was too big, too chewy and too tart for that dish. The next time we have that dish, I think I'll go either Pinot or Riesling.

Grade: D+ / 1.5


In other consumption news:

Montebuena 2009 Rioja (100% Tempranillo) ($9.99) 
Robert Parker Rating: 90 Points


Total Wine's been pumping this wine up for a while. A few of their advertisement/coupon emails have mentioned this, and when I walked into the store last week, I almost tripped on the way too big floor display.

It was okay. Nothing to write me emails about. We had (some of it) last night with baked chicken and veggies. Again, not too shabby. I felt neither ripped off nor impressed. I finished it this evening and felt the same way. Just all right for me.

Grade: C / 2