2009 Courtney Benham Lucca Red, California

Color – Ruby red

Nose – Strawberry, blackberry, alcohol

Taste – Three things influenced the purchase of this wine. The first is that I quite enjoy Courtney Benham’s Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley appellation. The second is that I have been on a red blend kick lately and after reading the tasting notes provided by Total Wine this wine had my interest piqued. The third is that at 13 dollars I was expecting to get some decent quality at a relatively low price. Having sipped this wine now for a few days and being near to the end of the bottle, I can honestly say that this wine doesn’t disappoint but it also doesn’t amaze. It’s a fairly fruit forward red blend, tasting more of “sweet” strawberry, blackberry and blueberry on the attack with minimal savory or herbaceous characteristics save for a small hint of black pepper right before the mid-palate. The mid-palate is full of playful, young tannins, abundant alcohol and what I like to call “fruit skin astringency” (the flavor of fruit skins followed closely by a mouth drying astringency). The finish is medium in length and carries more of those same berry flavors, with added dark cherry, tobacco, coffee and burnt sugar a la crème brulee. This wine falls right in the medium bodied category, though at some points it seems somewhat “watery” or thin. That doesn’t detract from the wine itself, but it just brings to mind the cheaper red blends I have had recently.

Overall, this wine is not what I was expecting, and I would rate is a mere fair QPR. It is a decent notch above Tres Pinos Three Pines Cuvee or Chariot Gypsy. But it’s also a few notches above those wines where price is concerned. I compare this to those two wines because all three of them are fruit forward, “sweet” red blends. This is the most complex of the three, but this doesn’t show off the level of complexity I had hoped for. For the same price I would much rather buy the Anakena Ona or Veramonte Primus. I advise passing on this wine unless you enjoy a more fruit forward red blend that borders on the sweet. If you like complexity, depth and boldness in your red blends pass on this and grab something else.

Courtney Benham from Martin Ray Winery