Arco Iris 2008 (Spain) ABV 12.5

Brian: Jammy but good. Excellent party wine. Would go great with lamb. Acai berry flavor. Undertones of exotic berries, and not overly sulfited.

Sara: Agreed--this one is jammy. But nice and subtle--medium body--very little alcohol smell (hints of berries, grapes, and possibly vanilla), and the taste is primarily berries. This one, unlike several others we have tried, could easily be imbibed on its own out on the patio on a relaxing summer evening with a friend or a significant other. At an ABV of 12.5, it is slightly less intoxicating than many other reds, and it would be tempting to drink it while playing scrabble or engaging in some such party activity that requires fairly solid control of one's mental faculties. It would also go well with various h'ors d'oeuvres and meat dishes.

At under ten dollars, this one also comes in a rather large bottle, which makes it a good bargain, especially if you plan on having guests. It's a fun wine.

Red Bicyclette, Vin de pays D'Oc ABV 13.5

I have to admit I was wary of this one--after all, if they really wanted to give a French name, they would have called it "Bicyclette Rouge"--but any wine with a picture of a bicycle on the label has my full attention, and thus it had to be sampled. Overall, my impression is that it could be a suitable wine to be paired with fancy assorted h'ors d'oeuvres, such as stuffed mushrooms, spinach and artichoke dip, or bruscetta (or you could go the cheap route we had it with Wheat thins and processed cheese spread), but nothing about it, as Brian and I agreed, was sufficiently entertaining to make a wine to be enjoyed simply on its own.

Tasting notes:

Color

Sara: Hint of orange, red, clear, crisp

Brian: transparent, ruby (orange zest)

Nose

Sara: alcohol, berries, sweet

Brian: light, mellow, young

Taste

Sara: Berries, strong aftertaste, tannins, slightly sour note, and I swear, even though they don't admit it on the label, there is a hint of mushroom--Overall, the confusing lack of balance in the flavors results in a score of 3.0 from me.

Brian: extremely light body--which uses tannins to achieve its flavor--just not much "fruit" apparent in this wine--this fairly dry wine--strange, you'd think a bit of residual sugar might pull out some fruit flavors, but the wine would probably be annoying at that point.

!Not enough body!--it's like the light-beer of wines! Crisp, clear, but not very entertaining. 2.5 of 5