Variety: 35% Malbec; 35% Cabernet Sauvignon; 30% Cabernet Franc
Region: Mendoza, Argentina
Cost: $13 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: Violet color. Intense red and black fruit with floral aromas. Elegant and balanced with pleasant finish. Pair with pasta with red sauces and red meat dishes
My Review: At my 9 to 5 job (content strategist for an internal marketing team) we often have discussions about what’s “good enough” during the creative process. We often have to balance what we can accomplish in a reasonable amount of time versus what we really want to do. Will something accomplish what it’s supposed to without more effort, or with a little more work/effort/creative magic could we make it even better and get a measurably better result?
I bring that up because after sipping on the 2018 Virgen Red Blend from Domaine Bousquet I was struck with the idea of something being….fine. Let me talk nuts and bolts of the wine and then I’ll explain.
In the glass the wine was a nice deep purple color. On the nose I picked up aromas of dusty strawberries with a bit of funk (not from the wine having turned). On the palate I got fruity notes and fresh strawberries that led into a clean finish with a touch of mineral and wet slate.
So back to the idea of “fine.” At first sip I wasn’t that impressed with the wine. It wasn’t “bad,” but it just didn’t do anything for me. Never one to judge a wine at first sip, I let it open up while we made dinner–a Margherita pizza.
I have to admit that the wine was better with the pizza. The fruit notes were brought out a bit by the tomato sauce and the basil partnered well with the strawberry flavors of the wine.
All that to be said, I still walked away from the wine thinking it was just….fine. Which, to be fair, is nothing to cry over. For $13 I’m not expecting a wine that will make me question everything that’s come before or make me see a deity that I don’t particularly believe in.
So yeah, the 2018 Domaine Bousquet Virgen Red Blend is fine. And that’s OK.
Editor’s Note: I received this wine as a free sample for review.
