2009 Bolla Valpolicella, Italy

Color - Light red with a near pink rim

Nose - Slight cherry, clean herbaceous hints

Taste - Having never had this particular style of wine, I didn't know what to expect, but right off the bat two things hit me. One, this wine is much lighter than I am used to drinking. Two, this wine has an interesting sour cherry flavor that permeates every sip. The wine is light colored and light in body, it doesn't hang around on your palate after you've swallowed though the sour cherry flavor stays with me for several long seconds before it fades. There are hints of grass, herbs or light mint as the wine fades on the tongue and nearly a pucker factor. Though the wine is sour it is still fruity and not particularly dry. The vegetal flavors are quite pleasant in the wine almost enough to balance the sourness. The wine is very smooth as far as mouthfeel goes, the tannins are nearly lost (in my opinion due to the fact that your mouth is dealing with so much sour cherry). It's young and kind of muddled, but not necessarily bad, just different. I usually stick with Chianti or Sangiovese if I purchase and Italian red wine, I tried this out because it was cheap and the back label made it sound like something my mouth would enjoy. There is a slight bite from the alcohol, but not a lot of heat from it, nothing.

Overall, this is a difficult wine for my palate to peg. My gut instinct is to find a different brand of this wine before I discount Valpolicella altogether, but to be quite honest I don't really like the wine all that much. I'm not fond of light red wines. This wine reminds me more of a sour apple Sauvignon Blanc more than it reminds me of a Chianti or other light red. Even the aroma has more in common with the few dry/sour whites I've come to enjoy. It's not an unpleasant wine just not what I would pick. I would hazard a guess and say a person looking to transition from white-to-red might enjoy this wine as an ice breaker into red wines. For the price I'd pick up a Chianti or Tempranillo or even a decent red table wine before I'd buy this again.

Bolla Wines

2009 Nbed 2gether Dream Easy Red, Malbec/Bonarda, Argentina

Color - Violet/Purple

Nose - Raspberry Jam, Sweet Dark Cherry

Taste - On first taste this wine seems rather fruit forward but transitions into a rather spicy, clean grassy flavor. The Malbec definitely pushes the fruit flavor, while the Bonarda adds some depth, though I could use more Bonarda and less Malbec. Even though it's fruity, it is slightly dry with a medium body. Good clean finish, though rather short, the tannins bite just a bit as the wine leaves the tongue.
I've tried three of the four wines from this Négociant (the French term for a wine merchant who assembles the produce of smaller growers and winemakers and sells the result under its own name). First their Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, then their Chilean Carmenere, and finally this particular Argentinian blend. Unlike the Carmenere this wine gets better after waiting a few days and serving it colder rather than closer to room temperature. The wine becomes more complex though not anything super spectacular just a little more broad on the palate. Still sweet, the tannin bite is still present but the sweetness and slight vanilla spice of the Bonarda cover it well and make this wine quite pleasant.

Overall, The wine sells for 16.99 at Fry's/Krogers. In my opinion that's robbery for this wine. It's a decent wine, but not a 17 dollar bottle of wine. But it's often on sale for 5.99, and that makes this wine a steal. Pick it up when it's cheap and keep lots of it around. It's a pretty decent fruit-yet-dry red for 5.99.