Ca' del Solo Big House Red (California) 2002

Bonny Doon puts everything but the kitchen sink into this wine: Syrah, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Barbera, Carignane, Mourvedre, Malbec, Dolcetto, and Negrette. Like any mutt with such a wildly mixed pedigree, it lacks any discernible varietal character; instead, it offers a tasty but rather generic red wine profile. If it reminds one a little of a basic Chƒteauneuf-du-Pape, one suspects that is Randall Grahm's intent. Good acidity and modest tannins make it a wine for short term drinking, although I always lay a couple of bottles down for a year or two of aging to see what happens (usually nothing especially noteworthy, I'm afraid). Soy sauce, violets, berries, and pepper. Pleasant for inexpensive mid-week drinking, but it's nothing special. Grade: C (When last noted in July 2004, I liked it a little better; I gave it a C+ that time.)