Under $30.00 Blind Challenge

My friends Tom and Bruna hosted another great event with the theme under $30.00 wines you could buy right now. Great showing and the surprise of the night was the Orin Swift which was pretty good after first glass but really faded over time. I opened my Achaval Ferrer the day before and decanted another 2 hours the next day. It wasn’t until about 2 hours in that it opened up and blossomed.

The highlight of the night was reaction from Julie when I said I had a bottle that didn’t make the final cut. It was the 2022 Prisoner Red I got for $24.99 at a local shop. She instantly spit it out and hated it.

Takeaways

1. Do more Blind Tastings
2. Don’t judge labels and give the wine a try Orin Swift
3. Always revisit the wines later in the tasting for smaller groups as there is wine left.

CellarTracker! Minneapolis Wine Club Under $30.00 Challenge

Starter Wines

Love the 2023 Result White and wish I had more. Stunning value for $24.00. The Veuve du Vernay was very light and lack complexity but also it is around $15 or less.

• 2023 Result of a Crush White Blend – USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
  Outstanding wine with saline, floral, minerals, chalk, lemon and orange peel. Medium plus finish. Hard to get Result Whites but seek them out. (92 pts.)
• N.V. Veuve du Vernay Brut – France
  Very basic stuff. Chalk, spice, some fruit and short finish. Easy pass. (78 pts.)

Red Wines Blind with Mystery Bottle

• 2022 Tenuta Sette Ponti Crognolo Toscana IGT – Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT
  Liked this and had it many times but did not make my top 3. Some good competition in the blind. Red currants, blueberries, earth, spice and minerals. Nice earth notes on the finish.
  What is crazy is my notes on how this improves over 3 days and this is a testament to that. I tried this on day 1 with an hour decant and clearly not enough as did not make my top 3 but over 3 days this got to 93.
  3 Day Wine Review Rules! (91 pts.)

• 2019 Kirkland Signature Barolo – Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
  Herbs, spices, floral, some funk, raspberries and earth. Thought Rioja but second guess blind would be Italian which it was. Very good wine for sure at $20.00. (91 pts.)
• 2021 Ruffino Chianti Classico Riserva Ducale – Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG
  My second favorite wine in a blind tasting under $30.00. Herbal, spices, earth, blue currants and minerals. Very approachable now and medium finish. (92 pts.)
• 2020 Heritage Oak Zinjo – USA, California, Central Valley, Lodi
  What an interesting blend of Zin and Sangiovese 50/50. Perfume, twigs, strawberries, floral and sweeter style wine. Interesting. Solid overall. (90 pts.)
• 2023 Orin Swift Sign of the Times – USA, California
  Got to say on a pop and pour not bad. But as this wine sat in the decanter it declined and got a fruit overripe profile. Bold with cherry, plum spice earth and dark chocolate. The wine over time faded which is concerning but have to say on the first go around was a good wine. Drink now for sure. (88 pts.)
• 2020 Achával-Ferrer Quimera – Argentina, Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo
  Open the day before and still sight at the blind tasting. Thankful we had everyone revisit and my wine ended up wine of the night in the under $30.00 event. Originally I gave it 91 but changed it to 92 plus. Funk, cherry, red currants, minerals, floral and earth. Amazing as I have had this wine several times and until the next go around realized it was mine. Wine of the night by the group. 3 first, 2 second and one third. 14 points total. Outstanding value. 92+ (92 pts.)
• 2022 Prisoner Wine Company The Prisoner – USA, California, Napa Valley
  Day 1: Actually more drinkable than the recent 1858 Napa Cab from Caymus. Sweet but some nice fruit flowing with blueberries, cherry and ripe plums. Dark chocolate, spice and dust. Doesn’t have the chemical taste of some of the Caymus and other sweet red products. While I would not want to buy a bottle it is serviceable and that is coming from me. FYI poured this blind to a group of tasters and they hate it. 85 points (85 pts.)

Got to love Julie on the Prisoner. Instantly hated and it and spit it out. Tried to sell this one as an extra bottle I was deciding on for the blind challenge but no one was fooled. Again I thought prior to bringing it wasn’t too bad and I actually gave it 85 points. Way more balanced than a caymus product.