A Good Wine Under $5

I came across an end-cap full of Chariot Gypsy 2008 wine at Trader Joes today, and something rang a bell. I think I had heard talk about this one, elusive, always sold out, $4.99 wine from TJ's that had quite a cult following. Of course since it was the same price as the frozen meal in a bag I had just purchased, I had to try it. Well it turned out to be the wine that I thought it was, and after a little bit got splashed into my bubbling spaghetti sauce, I gave it a try.

The wine is a blend (no percentages available) of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, and Sangiovese. It is a nice garnet red, and 13.5% abv. It does not really have much of a nose but gives off some raspberries, red fruit, and a little bit of pepper and sweet baking spices, some clove I guess. It has a nice medium body and soft but present tannins. It mostly comes across like a California zin with some berry jam flavors and bit of a peppery bite. I have to say, I'm not going to shave my head and start promoting this wine at the airport, but it really is impressive for under $5. To think that I could have a case for $60 is quite tempting. The wine paired well with a simple pasta and red sauce dinner, and continues to drink well several hours later as I'm writing this entry. I see why people get a little bit excited. I won't make the typical blowhard statement of 'I dare you to blind taste this next to a $45 Paso Robles old vine zinfandel.' You know my theory that a $5 wine that drinks like a $12 wine is something to get excited about, but is still only a $12 wine. I give this wine a 3, and will go back for several bottles to stock away for weeknight meals. And if you come across it you should too. If you don't like it chalk it up to a few bucks spent to realize that the wine blog you've been reading is written by a guy with absolutely no palette (and then just keep reading for fun...)